So often it can be hard to tell what aspects of a horse they are born with an which ones they have developed from the handling they have received over time.

Righteous is one of those horses.

He came with a whole list of behavioral issues and phobias. Luckily for him he landed with one of the few people willing to put the time in to help him. Explosive and overly sensitive, getting him closer to being a ride-able horse who could be handled on the ground has been a long journey.…

It’s with a heavy heart that I am writing this. I’m concerned I’m going to have to put my boy into retirement. What do you do if you have a 20-year-old horse that you love to death and he can’t perform anymore? There is no answer but one. You keep him. But what if you want to still compete? How does one afford two horses? I need help! Here is Henry and his ice boots for the third month in a row hoping he will be better soon.…

I Return to What Worked Before

I only got to ride once last week, sniff.

Since Cider was so upset over the last Weymouth I tried with her, I decided it would be best for both of us to go back to what definitely worked before. The time for experimentation is over, Cider did best with the former combination of the 125mm Fager…

This is the only high whorl that shows an introverted temperament.

This is also the hardest whorl for me to recognize. In fact it’s lack of definition and ease of recognition is one of the hallmarks of the whorl. It is usually a bit muddied with faint ghost whorls and feathering weaving between the two whorls.

It is the hardest whorl for me personally to work with. There are no bad whorls, just different ways horses need handled. This one needs handled with extreme care and…

Cider did NOT Like the New Curb

When I called Debbie about my lesson this week I got bad news. Debbie was tested and has Covid-19. I am really happy that I did not go to the lesson stable last week, and I will be staying away from it until Debbie gets over her illness. This is an “ideal” time for me not getting my riding lessons, Debbie had a schooling show where she got sick so I don't know if…

Back to Broiling

Earlier in the week I had switched the Weymouth curb on MJ's bridle, from the Fager Elisabeth titanium Weymouth with the little vertical to the lips “port”, to the Fager Felicia titanium Weymouth whose port is angled at a 45° angle, with the top of the port to the rear. I kept the Fager Alice titanium double jointed bradoon with the roller in…

Thank Goodness it was Cooler

Of course this did not do much to improve our humidity.

Debbie was delayed so her daughter, Sam, had gone ahead and caught MJ, fed him his private flake of breakfast hay, cleaned out his hooves and brushed the caked mud off by the time I got there. Since his belly was full/er Sam brought him to…

Full Summer Arrives

Afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s F. High humidity. Merciless sunshine.

Crippling weather for us with MS.

Fortunately I ride as early in the morning as I can arrange with the stables, 8:00 AM or 8:30 AM. I wish I could ride…

Changing Back My Bridle Works

Last Sunday Shannon picked me up. This meant that did not get to ride in the coolest part of the morning but it was not too bad.

I accidentally picked up MJ's bridle when I got my tack together that morning. Neither Shannon or I noticed this until rather late in the ride. After feeling fiery…

Negotiating Doing the Sitting Trot

When I started my lesson on Wednesday I gave Debbie my litany of the physical woes resulting from all the sitting trot I did for my lesson last week. Debbie's response was sensitive, showed that she heard me, and full of concern about my physical well-being “Well, I will stop asking you to do the sitting trot.” That was not my goal, MJ NEEDS some educated work…

This is a good summer, so far.

Last winter, I decided that I would just take it easy, no galloping through the snow in the blowing wind. my appetite for bitterly cold winds and frozen hands has severely diminished. Not this year. I did feel well enough, in January, to begin once again, with my 5BX fitness program, since it starts so gently, it was good way to get back into fit shape. Oakley got occasional grooming, maybe an apple or a carrot, and just hang out for a bit. No riding,…

Full Seated Sitting Trot

A little bit over a month ago I started off my rides on MJ by getting up into 2-point immediately after mounting and staying up in 2-point for 5 minutes. At least that was my goal. I did succeed in keeping my weight off my seat bones but there were times that my body sank down into a half-seat. This was in addition to all the times I would get up into 2-point because…

Fifty-One Years Ago Today

On July 4, 1970 I got my first horse, Hat Tricks, 5 year old chestnut Anglo-Arab gelding, green-broke and just gelded three weeks before. I had 4 years of trail riding experience, I had not ridden in years, and I only had 2 whole riding lessons in my life.

Hat Tricks was an angel. He taught me how…

My Ice Vest Helps Me Get My Butt out of the Saddle

Between doing more two-point, the increasing heat, a few days with a broken central air conditioner, and my son visiting it has been an exhausting few weeks.

No matter how much I practiced my two-point I had problems with getting my butt actually OUT of the saddle. Most of…

Too Much 2-Point Gets Me Exhausted

In the two previous weeks I had done 5 minutes of two-point for five minutes (with rests) when I started my rides, on both Cider and MJ. The results were GOOD, but I ended up just too exhausted. That puts me in a quandary, if I want a better ride I have to start off in 2-point from the first step, but after 4 sessions of this in a week and a half I was…

by Bricole Reincke | Equestrian…

As Summer Nears

It is getting warmer down here. This weekend starts a string of days at 90° F on up. On Wednesday for my lesson I had put on my protective vest, and after grooming and walking to the ring I took it off as I was just getting too warm. I did not even put it on for my ride on Friday. I am hoping to delay…

MJ Has an Opinion

But first I also got to ride Cider.

When we got to where Cider lives right now Nancy had groomed Cider thoroughly, trying to get all the loose hair out of her coat. Nancy has all these neat grooming tools that I got the stable and she just about uses all of them each grooming session, the HandsOn grooming…

Three Speeds—A Work in Progress

Another week of just one ride, but it was my riding lesson!

When I got to the stable for my lesson on Wednesday Debbie was not there yet. Mary kindly brought MJ in for me and started grooming him, starting with cleaning out his hooves really well under the bar across his frog. Then she…

At Least it is Raining Again

I probably will not get to ride tomorrow. A whole lot of rain is coming, definitely enough to make Shannon's grass ring too wet for riding.

I am not complaining, I am rejoicing. We have not had much rain since winter and the vegetation is growing vigorously. The forests, ponds, streams, fields…