Bit Measurements

For various reasons I did not get to ride this past week.

To drown my sorrows I got on-line in search of yet more titanium double bridle bits. During my search I ran into something really interesting, a company that sold its titanium bits measured in inches, not millimeters (mm). I FINALLY got to buy some…

Some of My Plans Go Bust

Last Sunday I did get to ride, and I continued my experiment to see if just wearing my hanging neck fan was enough so I could ride without my heavy ice vest.

It was not.

I started off the ride with the neck fan “upside down” so…

My Neck Fan Helped

My neck fan finally came on Monday. It comes with a very short cord to hook up to a charger, but no charger was included. Luckily in these modern time my house is littered with chargers, for our smart phones, tablet, and other electronic gizmos that clutter our lives. The neck fan did have a charge on its battery and it worked when I pushed the button. Before we figured out…

In Spite of the Heat

Hot, muggy weather, I deteriorate in the heat. I tend to deteriorate so much in the heat that I generally assume that summer is just not the time for me to make any changes with the horses because I am so afraid that I will give the horses an excuse to resist me.

Maybe I was worrying too much.…

We Introduce MJ to the Double Bridle

I had been worried about using a double bridle on horses during the summer heat since my body degrades so much. I was worried that my hands would not be good enough, that my coordination would be too bad, and that accidentally I would turn the double bridle into something scary to the horse rather than an advanced method of communication between horse and…

The Summer Heat

It is now that time of year, hot and muggy even in the morning, and I have to wear my ice vest.

Darn it.

I am grateful that ice vests exist and that I can afford to own one, but having to breathe the hot humid air seems to keep me so hot…

I Got to Ride MJ Again

The last two weeks Debbie had summer camps so I could not get a lesson. It worked out because I was sick the first week and recovering the second week, getting over the scary weakness and exhaustion.

I got to ride Cider last Sunday and I took it really easy, not hard since nowadays Cider is not very…

There is a very old expression in horse care that goes, “No hoof, no horse” and it couldn’t possibly be more true. Horses are very large, heavy animals that stand on what amounts to a tiny foot in comparison to the rest of them. 

While hooves seem durable and able to withstand anything, they are actually very susceptible to injury and must be maintained properly to keep your horse healthy. Improper shoeing of your…

We spend a lot of time looking for things that are wrong with our animals, be they dogs, cats, or horses. What about the indicators that you’re doing a good job and your horse is happy and healthy? We’ve compiled a list of things that will indicate that your horse is in great health and you’re doing an awesome job. Let’s take a look at the list!…

A Sacred Trust

This week Debbie had a summer camp (next week too) so I was not going to get a lesson anyway. In some ways, then, me getting sick came at a “convenient” time, I wasn't too sick, took my homeopathic remedies and stopped doing much at all, and my fever finally went away. I would have hated missing my lesson for being sick, isn't it odd how the Universe works sometimes?…

A Favorable Beginning

When I got to the stable Friday morning for my lesson, Debbie told me that Bingo was having an attack of his moon-blindness. She gave me a choice of three horses. I rejected riding on poor Bingo because I've read that horses eyes hurt during an attack, they are treating him and he just needs to chill out until he gets better.…

A Week of Nothing Much

At least as far as actually getting to ride a horse.

I did get a lesson on Bingo. Debbie was gone so her daughter Sam taught me.

Bingo is still losing his vision. Unfortunately his Guardian Face Mask is causing sores on his face.…

Rethinking Double Bridle Curb Bits

When I first envisioned riding in a double bridle again I studied Francis Dwyer's book “On Seats and Saddles, Bits and Bitting” where he talked about double bridles and curbs. Dwyer noted that a lot of mouth problems in his light cavalry troops came from curb bits that were too wide for the horses' mouths. So I got me a bit measure and measured Bingo's mouth,…

I have taken advantage of the current pandemic crisis management to give my hip a chance to heal. I came down very hard on it last October. The thing is, Oakley always bolts leftwards or wheels so he can bolt leftwards, which always leaves me hanging out of the saddle to the right side. For the first five years or so, then, I was falling out of the saddle onto my right hip into sand, grass, packed earth, ploughed fields, roads, bushes, and everywhere else he could find to drop me. It's the…

Yes, the BOT Exercise Boots DO Help Bingo

My lesson was on Friday, and it was a simply gorgeous May morning. The sun was out, the birds were singing, the balmy breeze wafted around, and Bingo looked like he had shedded out most of his winter coat. Unfortunately his Guardian Face Mask had rubbed the hair off of his head in two places, the bare patches were not big but they were there. Debbie…

Bingo's Vacation Did Him Good

I am so very glad to be able to ride again!

I just wish I could get back to three times a week, or lacking that have my two rides spread out further than just one day apart. At least I can ride and I am grateful.

Bingo was…

A Much Better Week

I got to ride two horses.

Cider was still stiff, darn arthritis. I still loved getting back up on her. We piddled around the ring, just walking, as I tried (and failed) to refine my “new” leg aid, letting the muscle on the top of my thigh, the rectus femoris, relax so my lower leg moves back. In my…

Back in the Saddle

The past two weeks have just pointed out to me that I NEED to ride horses to treat my Multiple sclerosis. I started off OK, I was slightly progressing in the difficulty of my minimal exercises, I was walking faster, needed fewer rest stops, and my muscles were getting stronger. Then—I hit the proverbial brick wall, everything got harder to do, I could not do as much, and I…

Government and health officials have made it very clear that we are all in this pandemic together and only by being apart can we come together and defeat the invisible enemy.

This has been a very difficult time for everyone both emotionally and financially.  Like many people my ability to earn a living came to an abrupt halt with the cancellation of art shows, sales and all my workshops.

It was…