Have I Found “Another Piece of the Puzzle”?

Ever since I started doing the “rider's push-ups” six weeks ago I have experienced many moments of feeling quite unstable on the horses' backs. I achieved some feeling of stability while doing the “rider's push-ups” on Bingo, a gelding, but I never really got rid of the feeling of teetering in my stirrups while on the mares, Cider and Mia. At first I…

Bingo Seems to Like My New Seat in the Saddle

Due to Bingo's extremely high croup and due to the lack of intelligent training and physical development earlier in his life, including not “fixing” his inverted posture while ridden, Bingo has back problems under saddle. It has been my goal for every ride in the last seventeen months to strengthen Bingo's back and to lead him to the best way of…

I Put My Feet “Home” in the Stirrups

I find that trying to do the “rider's push-ups” is quite challenging for me. Until my lesson on Wednesday EVERY TIME I did a “rider's push-up” I felt like I was teetering forward and back in my stirrups, my right stirrup still felt 2 holes longer than my left stirrup, and I had a great fear of falling head long over my horse's shoulder. In order to get my…

As I Strengthen My Hip Joints

Ever since I re-started taking lessons, my long term goal has been to gallop and jump again. I became so very, very week after my car wreck and the ensuing frequent exacerbations of my Multiple Sclerosis, until I was just too weak to ride faster than a walk. Through riding horses I started to regain my strength, but each exacerbation wipes out a LOT of my strength…

Have I FINALLY Found the Key to “Unlocking” My Hips?

This had been a wonderful week for my riding! Last Wednesday I started doing the “rider's push-up” exercise and I had mad and wild fantasies about jumping again, so I did not immediately notice all the other good things that this exercise is doing for my seat on horseback. The “rider's push-up” is very simple and it does not cost a penny for…

Bingo Did Not Like the Change in His Routine

When I arrived at the stable on Wednesday for my lesson, Debbie had to go and search the stalls for Bingo. When she brought him out Bingo was obviously in a high dudgeon over something, it turned out that Bingo was not put in his regular feeding stall, and he WAS NOT HAPPY. Ignoring the hay in front of him Bingo fussed over everything, so Debbie gave…

Pigs, Buzz-Bombers, Heat, Humidity, Oh My!

I had an interesting ride on Cider last Sunday at Shannon's farm. As Shannon saddled Cider I say my first buzz-bomber fly of the year, upsetting Cider, but she calmed down when Shannon put more fly spray on her and then put on her Amigo Fly-Rider exercise sheet and neck covering.…

My Base of Support Improves

This week, as I walked and trotted around the riding rings, I had to spend a LOT of time up in two-point at Debbie's stable because both Bingo's and Mia's backs were sorer than usual. Bingo had been used in a beginner lesson the day before, he is ALWAYS stiffer after someone else rides him, and Debbie had changed Mia's arthritis supplement because Mia had…

Cleaning and Conditioning Some Saddles

First, my rides. Last Sunday it was BEAUTIFUL, it was relatively cool, it was not very humid, the sun was shining through gorgeous white fluffy clouds, and I was so glad that I got to ride Cider! Not that Cider is any happier with my riding, she still points out how my balance is just too horrible to expect any straightness from her, so I have to…

It Takes a Great Amount of Time

Instead of another boring tale of another boring ride on Bingo, this week I will describe WHY Bingo's rehabilitation takes so much time. When I started riding Bingo on April 6, 2016, my first impression of Bingo's conformation was that he was a total disaster as far as suitability for a fine riding horse. Bingo had a VERY high croup, his back definitely sloped…

Rebel Without a Cause

This week we are having a heat wave down here in NC, hot and humid, the type of weather where sweat drips off of my face. Today I did not ride Mia because the dew point was 75° F, and it is supposed to get up to 97° F in the shade. All week I had been…

Bingo Obviously NEEDS his BOT Exercise Sheet

This year North Carolina is having a true Southern Summer. Hot, humid, highs in the low 90s F, heat indexes going up over 100 F. Yesterday it was already 74 F at 6:00 AM, and as the sun rose the temperature quickly increased. I rode Mia for just 25 min. and I was hot and sweaty. We only walked so Mia did not overtly sweat, but her coat was definitely…

Bingo Behaved During the Summer Horse Camp!

Two weeks ago Debbie had her Summer Camp for kids. This is the second year Bingo was used in the camp, before the first one I had been riding Bingo for 3 months, and he was not a good boy—he inverted and ran away with his little rider, who then fell off. He was wearing a soft rubber D-ring single jointed snaffle that year. Debbie did not use him the…

Cider Likes Her New “Hat”

Last week I only got to ride once since Debbie had summer camp. Fortunately I have something new to report about my relationship with Cider!

Cider, an Arab/Welsh pony mare in her twenties, and I had been in a sort of frustrating round of identical rides week after week. With the help of my Kerrits…

An Arabian Mare Can Touch My Soul

Summer has arrived down here in North Carolina, and so far this is the type of summer I remember from decades ago, HOT, MUGGY, and with many afternoon thunderstorms. Within a minute of stepping outside the sweat starts, and unless there is a breeze the modern summer tech fabric shirts and tights do not work very well. At least we are not in a drought this year,…

Both Bingo and I Were Under Par on Wednesday

When I arrived at the barn on Wednesday I was already tired. On Monday we had driven a long distance to see my son and grandson up in Asheboro, NC for dinner. Then on Tuesday I had to go a long distance to see the periodontist, go by the tack store, then to Charlotte for several hours. I told Debbie I would not be able to do much. Well, guess what,…

Bingo Does Not Want to do a Slow Walk

Wednesday was a wonderful day for riding, for early summer. Since I bought my Kerrits IceFil tights with the silicon full seat, I have stayed pretty cool, but on Wednesday my body said NO when I went to put on my grain leather half chaps, so I rode in my Moxie Air-Puff ventilated half chaps though they are a little bit…

My New Wellep Full Cheek Double Jointed Snaffle

A few weeks ago, on Ebay, I found this listing for an “extremely rare” Wellep Full Cheek Double Jointed Snaffle. Yes, this bit IS extremely rare, I have been haunting Ebay for seven years, frequently checking for any Wellep bits for sale, and this was the first time I had seen a double jointed Wellep bit for…

I Compared My Most Secure Full Seat Riding Pants

In last weeks blog I told all of you about my experiment in using both my Corrector saddle pad and my Kerrits IceFil tights, and how my Pegasus Butterfly jumping saddle stopped shifting so much to the side. On Sunday morning it was a bit cool and a wind was blowing, so I decided to wear my FITS Performax full seat deer skin breeches instead,…

Signs of Progress

This has been an amazing week for my riding.  I finally managed to stabilize my new saddle so it stays centered on the horses’ backs, and I stopped slipping and sliding around in my saddle.  The horses were happier, Debbie, my riding teacher was amazed, and if I were not exhausted I would feel like I was in my twenties again.

Two lessons ago, Debbie was please with a lot of my riding and Bingo’s responses, but she was NOT pleased that I could not keep myself…