Icy Cold Weekend

Soon as the weekend showed up, we plunged into the Arctic Circle.  Friday evening was so cold, that I couldn’t talk kevin into riding with me.  The river was too high to cross, so I planned to do a few trips with Cole on the hill.  He was one little bundle of energy.  When I got to the bottom, flat part of the hill, I hesitated to trot at the usual spot.  I wisely decided to shorten distance to the stopping spot.  When I did ask him to trot, he made a  huge…

I Slept on It

The following morning, I sat up in bed and said, “I’m getting a new horse.” It was just that easy.

So, I went to work, put a few hours on the job—just giving myself time to change my mind. When that didn’t happen, I typed up an email, leaned back and looked at it for about a minute. I typed up an email, leaned back and looked at it for about a minute. I hovered the mouse over the send button, paused and------click.

I took another deep breath and sat there,…

And the Trainer Says…

I sent out the email to MerryLegs’ trainer.  I told her how I liked a horse that wasn’t lazy and unmotivated.  This was my biggest concern.  His owner made me think he wasn’t, but she didn’t actually ride him.  Mingo was a very quiet, sleepy horse, and he drove me crazy.  For many people, he would have been the perfect horse.  My older niece simply adored him.  They were the perfect pair from the very first ride, and I am so glad I had him so she could…

Working with Dante

Each time I go out to the barn, if Ellen isn’t there, I spend a little time with Dante doing spring tuning.  We are just reviewing the things what he knows to prepare him for trail riding.  For the first week, we played bus stop.  He remembered the game quite well.  It is where I take him to the end of the driveway and we wait for cars to pass.  If he stands still, it click and treat him.

Dante remembered the game very well, and just loves…

Good News

Yes, this is good news. I finally got the results of the latest medical test, and it isn’t the C-word (and I don’t mean canter.) The problem is something very manageable, so that means life can go on. It is spring, and it is going to be a good one.

More good news—Kevin and I cross the river! Hurray! The first time was Friday night. Cole and Starry did great for their first trail ride of the year. They were both somewhat startled by a turkey running behind them, but…

Waiting

I waited and waited to hear from MerryLegs’ farrier, with no response.  I told MerryLegs’ owner, and she sent an email to him to check his spam.  A few more days went by and nothing.

In the meantime, my health problem got more complicated.  My health wasn’t any different, but the test that would let us know what was going on couldn’t be completed and my doctor wasn’t sure of the next step.  He wanted to consult with a colleague—who turned out to be out…

The Thaw

It is so funny how something like just riding up and down a hill to a too-deep-to-cross river can be so satisfying in early spring and so unsatisfying later in the year.  The hill is thawed enough to ride on the whole thing.  The bottom is still icy/snowy, so we walked on that.  Once that thaws, we like to use that section to trot back and…

Update on the Present

This is the most frustrating time of the year. The weather has warmed up, the river has thawed (though it is still very high) and we can’t even get down the hill. Our trail has turned into ice from us walking on it so much this winter. Since it doesn’t get much sun, it takes a long time to melt.

It is now light enough to ride after work. Last week, when the trail was still snow, I did get to ride Cole a few days on the hill. He was very excited the first…

His Name is MerryLegs

I anxiously awaited more photos. She promised to send me some over the weekend. Her farrier was coming out to trim, and she would get them, then. When the photos finally came, they weren’t the best. There were, what appeared to be frost spots on the pictures. She claimed it was 28 degrees below zero. Wow, her farrier must be a tough guy. Our farrier has cancelled on us when the temperatures were below zero. What does 28 below feel like? She said it had gotten as…

The Conversation

First, I have to tell you about me and telephones.  I just can’t join this world where everyone seems to be attached to their smart telephone.  My main phone is my land line.  Believe it or not, my home has the old fashioned rotary phones that came with the house.  I am certain they are older than I am.  The voice quality is great, and my…

The Risks of Getting an New Horse

Choosing a new horse, whether you buy him or he is given to you, is a very risky endeavor. All the riskier when you are like us, and plan to get a horse for keeps. Ellen and I are just not the kind of people who can pass our animals on to an unknown future. It doesn’t take very long, and we are so attached to our animals that we can’t let them go down an uncertain path. So, when we choose, we choose carefully.

Who am I kidding. We were all…

A Free Horse

Now, just because a horse is free, doesn’t mean taking him is a smart thing. I've done this free horse thing before. My first horse, a Morgan named Brandy, was given to me by my aunt. I had ridden him a number of times when I was a kid--mostly in the arena, and I thought I knew what I was getting into. My aunt sure knew what I was getting into, but she wanted to get rid of an expense.

He was way, way too much horse for someone of my little experience for trail…

Things on my mind          

This year has been a tough one for me, medically.   Don’t worry, yet, there may be nothing wrong with me.  No reason to panic until it is time to panic.  I just had a medical screening test that had positive results, and there have been complications with getting to the bottom of it.

I know that I shouldn’t get too worked up about it, and most of the time, I was doing fine—but I am still human.  My imagination sometimes gets the…

A New Adventure Begins I have been looking for a new horse since last spring when Cruiser flew off to greener pastures. I would have liked another Morab, since Cruiser and Cole turned out to be such wonderful horses, but that didn’t seem possible. The Great Recession seemed to have wiped out the Morab breeders. I found plenty of older Morabs from before the recession, but I didn’t want in older horse. My second choice was a Morgan. It was a close second. After experiencing Cole who is mostly…