On the Road to the Canter

Cantering Cole has been tough for me, but it’s my own fault.  I never taught him to canter on the lounge line before I started riding him—or for that matter—all winter when I was lounging him before I rode him.  I have to confess, part of the problem is I don’t like lounging.  I see nothing wrong with it, but my time is limited and I prefer riding.  Once I…

Cole's First Show

Don’t get excited.  It really wasn’t a big deal.  One morning, we found out there was a horse show at the public show ring.  Since we were planning to ride up there, anyway, we thought we would expose Cole to some of the excitement. 

We rode all around the back trails behind the showground, like we usually do.  This gave him a chance to get acquainted with the loud speaker blaring.

We then rode to the show grounds and stood on the outskirts…

If you, like me, subscribe to Practical Horseman magazine, odds are you might also be a devotee of George Morris' monthly column called Jumping Clinic. Each month, readers faithfully turn the pages to see which four riders he picks and what he has to say about their equitation, their horse's jumping ability, and their turnout.

Just about every month one finds George bemoaning the prevalent habit today's riders have of jumping ahead of their horses.…

Learning a new skill in riding can be pretty daunting. Not only do you need to coordinate your entire body (including the ever-pervasive ‘core’ of your body), but you also need to stay in balance while moving, in time, in partnership with the (much larger) horse that happens to be using his own feet while yours are dangling in mid-air! You get my drift….

So at best, it’s not easy. When other people tell you that riding is all about the horse and not about the…

Before I got Oakley, I'd never actually loaded a horse on a trailer myself. I've led horses up to someone who took them onto the trailer, I've seen it done a dozen times, but never done it myself. So, I figured, since he's going to have to go to shows, therefore I'd better learn how to put him on board and get him there safely, in comfort.

The first thing I learned was how not to do it.

Under instruction from his previous owner, we led him to the trailer. I climbed up…

First lesson of the next group of 10 but I am just going to continue numbering them as if it were in sequence.

It was after 7 by the time we got to the barn tonight. I groomed and put Coopers boots on him and took him into the round pen as the sun was going down. By the time I was done that and tacked up it was time to for the lesson. It is dark now and the earlier lesson was indoors too, I think it was too cold for them outdoors. It will soon be too dark to do round pen work and we…

The equestrian world can seem kind of bi-polar. Some of us ride like headless (brainless) horsemen with little consciousness for our horse or surroundings.  Some of us are such control freaks that we slow every walk stride and micro-manage our horse’s nose into being afraid to take a breath. Most of us are working towards a middle ground.

Dressage seems to attract riders who like…

Your horse’s skin and coat form an important protective barrier against bacteria and infections. If his coat is short on shine, that could be an indication that his skin isn’t as healthy as it should be. Adding a high quality skin and coat supplement to his diet isn’t just a great way to boost his good looks, it’s an investment in his good health.

Fat Facts

To get a glossy coat, add essential fatty acids to optimize skin health. When comparing…

Yup, that seems about right.  The ad flat out states the the mare is not sound, and yet they want you to breed her and put an additional 100 pounds on a bum hock.  Let us then ask you, oh knowledgeable seller, if you were crippled in some way, would you want to carry a child around your midsection for 9 months?  No?  WE DIDN’T FREAKIN THINK SO!

We’ll stop taking ads from craiglist when… no wait, we can’t think of scenario wherein stupid people stop posting on craigslist.  Case in…

At a horse show the other day a horse came firing backward out of a trailer, breaking the trailer tie (and the pride of the red faced owner) as she pranced free, tail flagging, touring the show grounds. Her  owner had tied her up, and then went around to fasten the tail bar….

You never know…

Remember the mare from “Solid doesn't even begin to cover it"?  Well we think we’ve found her long lost twin on equine.com! 

 …

Then don’t go to the show. Seriously.

DON’T go if:

- you aren’t getting excellent rides at home, mentally and physically, both you and your horse.

- you haven’t taken your horse off-property in many months (go somewhere lower-key first).

- you haven’t done your “homework”: both you and your horse are fit, and riding AT LEAST one level (regardless of discipline of riding) higher than what you will be doing at the show.

- you are struggling…

Aah, such a nice week, I got to ride both Mick, the new Arab gelding, and Mia, the Arab mare I've been riding.  Two Arabs, I haven't gotten to ride two Arabs in one week for decades.  Joy!!!!!!

Yes, I know each and every horse of every breed and type is a wondrous creature, but to me Arabs have that little extra.  That extra sensitivity, that…

Sorry about the wait; as Dressage Princess delighted in pointing out the other day, I’ve been slightly distracted lately…  I promise I’ll improve!

And now, without further delay, our (my) thoughts on the ponies:

None of the examples are ideal, especially if we are considering the POA breed standard.  That said, our first place pony is Pony C.

 …

W. Brett Wilson, Canadian Entrepeneur and multi-millionaire, stated that on his upcoming "Risky Business" television show “We’ve got a guy who’s been a standard bred horse trainer and he is a hustler. This guy knows how to buy horses, run them and then flip them. So we’ll probably buy a race horse, run it in four of five races, and then we’ll see if we can make money by flipping it."

What is being planned as regards a…

One of our regular readers sent us a photo of her project POA in the hopes that we would use it for a conformation clinic.  We happily agreed and immediately started searching for comparable ponies to use in our post. 

Holy hell, was it ever depressing!

This is Natchez.  He’s a 4 year old we found on equinenow.com.  His owners…