Weekend Report

" Blue "
"  How do I get myself into this stuff, I should have hidden behind the shed "

Friday was the most gorgeous day, sunny with temperatures in the 70’s.  Of course, due to prior commitments, I didn’t get to ride.  Saturday started out cold and windy with temperatures in the low 30’s.  This is the day I get to ride after not being able to mount up for over two weeks.

" If you want to ride, you better get a brush"

 Saturday

Dusty was pretty well behaved although she was a tad over-enthusiastic and had to be brought down from a trot bordering on canter more than once.  A canter would have been fine except I wasn’t exactly asking for it.  All of the horses need to be brought back slowly after a miserable winter and sporadic work.  Everyone is out of shape, including me.

Next up was Blue.  I asked my daughter to ride him first as my “crash-test dummy,” since he hasn’t been ridden all winter either.  And due to the Wild West rodeo show he put on while longeing him last week, I thought it was in my best interests to have younger bones test the waters.  Turns out he was the Blue we all know and love; he’s one of the laziest, calmest, safest horses in the barn.

" Grady "
" I'll just be good and do what you want "

Sunday

Sunday morning was also cold with temps around 20-25 to start with.  I opted to ride Blue first since you really need a lot of leg to keep him going.  Although he looks like a pudgy quarter horse (and he is at this point) Blue has a big, athletic trot and is prone to throwing you out of the saddle with every stride.  My new saddle fits him like a glove, which is good, but it is still slippery and the panels feel like stiff cardboard. I found it very hard to stay tight with my thighs and drape my lower leg with little contact and pressure.  One of my worst habits when I get tired trying to maintain the correct position is to simply stand in my stirrups, relying on them for balance.  Not the correct way to ride, but I find myself falling into this trap once in a while.

Blue is trained to do just about anything that is asked of him, but he’s no push button pony by any means.  The minute you lose a soft following contact or pull on him in any way he will pull down on you and revert to going on the forehand and relying on you to hold him up (as any horse worth his salt should.)  I was treated to this little idiosyncrasy of his while trying to keep my balance in a slippery saddle a few times. We did a lot of circles and change of bend at the walk and a few trot circles and called it a day.  He was a little winded.  Small steps are the order of the day with Blue until he’s in shape.  When I dismounted my legs were Jell-O, which later turned into outright pain.  Blue is the perfect horse for getting your legs in shape if you can take the agony.

Next I took Dusty in the arena and my daughter rode Grady.  He’s such a good guy.  Well trained and sweet. I’m of the opinion Dusty was showing off for him.  She was an angel (yes, I did just say Dusty was an angel) and never took a wrong step, but did everything asked of her.  Which leads me to believe that she knows exactly what I want, she just doesn’t do it if she’s not in the mood.

We had a good laugh when we realized that, although Grady is 18 hands and Dusty is all of 15-1 hands, she wouldn’t let Grady outdistance her.  Obviously, he’s got a huge stride and was trying hard to keep up, but even at the walk Dusty overtook him with her normal enthusiastic forward walk. 

I’m glad she was well behaved and comfortable because by now my legs were not in any sort of shape for horse antics.  Thank you Dusty.  And thank you Blue for being you.

Until next time

Quote for Today

When riding my horse I no longer have my heart in my chest, but between my knees.

Our Horses, Our Farms, Our Riding

Our Horses, Our Farms, Our Riding

The daily maintenance of our farms and care of our horses is demanding on our time, we are bogged down with the routine chores of daily life on a farm. It seems there is never enough daylight to accomplish all of our farm duties and yet we somehow manage. The horses are fed,watered and turned out for the day, the stalls are mucked, the aisle is swept, everyone is groomed, and horse laundry is washed and dried. Fence boards are repaired, paths are shoveled if need be, riding rings are dragged- weather permitting, and the thousand and one little things needing attention are seen to if the clock co-operates. No matter how organized you may think you are, usually something will crop up to throw your schedule completely off balance. From an unscheduled vet visit for injuries, frozen pipes, to thrown shoes, it seems the rules of ‘Murphy’s Law’ applies, if something can go wrong it will, at the most inconvenient time.

Which brings me to the point of this post, although we take excellent care of our horses and our farms, providing we are lucky enough to have either, there is little time left for us to actually ride our horses. Even though there is much work to be done, we must not overlook the fact that the horses we have in our care thrive on the attention we show them. I realize no one can allot time every day to ride, unless of course you employ a full staff, which for the majority of us is financially impractical.

Our horses are uniquely complex and sensitive creatures, and yet require the simplest gift we can give, a little of our precious time and the affection and thoughtfulness they deserve. Time spent grooming, riding, even playing with them is time well spent, and it means so much to your horse. Our horses see into our souls, they know our feelings intimately and rally round us through the bad times and celebrate the good. They are our steadfast companions in all we do and we owe it to them to reciprocate the love they show us.

Take advantage of your horse’s naturally joyful grace and elegant movement, ride as much as possible, it is one of the best feelings in the world. Weather conditions don’t have to be perfect, if it’s not a sunlit warm day, bundle up and go for a walk in the snow, it is good for you and good for your horse.

At times, we may fail to remember our original reasons for including horses in our lives; there are always too many things needing attention. Nevertheless, we should by no means neglect our loyal friends. Make the time to ride; and keep in mind, even the manure pile does not look quite as bad when viewed from the back of a horse. (These are the times to remember because they may not last forever…’Billy Joel’)

Horses Are Fun

Horses are fun to be around; just watching them at liberty interacting with one another in a herd situation never fails to bring a smile to my face. They may play hard but they know the rules and usually no one gets hurt. We should not overlook our horses’ carefree natures and we ought to encourage them to play and have fun. The ability to be a part of the good times horses have amongst themselves spills over into our own lives and we are better people for the privilege that allows us to share their lives.

Our herd thinks it is about time they were introduced:

Is this my best side

' Blue '

Help I've injured my leg and I'm being held prisoner in this pen

' Mellon '

I can't blend in with the snow now, I am way too dirty

' Donnie '

Just wondering who I can torment next

' Nate '

What are those stupid boys doing now !

' Dusty '

Until next time

Quote for Today

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle
- Winston Churchill