All Blog Posts (4,786)

Crazy People Have More Fun!

Since I leave tomorrow to move my stuff home from Uni. (summer vacation, yaaayyyy) I won’t have time to write a blog later this week. Nor will I have time to ride any for at least 3 days! *Sigh*

This week has been so much fun! Linda is still on sick leave but The Pony and I have been working harder than ever. (Or not) We’ve just been enjoying each others company and having fun. I’ve also been riding Bruvin (The 4 year old) a little. (that's him and me in the picture)…

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Added by Hannah on May 28, 2009 at 8:54am — No Comments

Life's Not Fair!

This Oscar Wilde quote is a brain twister. "Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not."

If you're like me, after reading the part of the quote, you mind might have jumped to a situation where you ended up with the short end of the stick. Not fair! But the second part of the quote brings on a new perspective. How many times have we been "lucky" even when we didn't deserve it. Life is not… Continue

Added by Karen Brenner on May 28, 2009 at 7:19am — 1 Comment

Ride Better 1-2-3: Fitness for Riders- Getting better posture and aids with fitness on the go

Hi,

Over the past three months since starting this rider fitness blog, we have had some really great questions and photos submitted. We've covered topics from back strength to leg position and more.

Some of you may not realise that each week I select one reader's questions (pictures are great but not necessary), and provide feedback on fitness recommendations targeted to specific goals as a rider.

Because so few of you submit photos, I was starting to wonder if you either… Continue

Added by Heather Sansom at Equifitt.com on May 26, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Half term holidday

Just a short blog since it's half term this week, so no riding for me. I miss it already and the week is not quite halfway through yet!

I thoroughly enjoyed my week last week.

How am I feeling in myself?

well, the pain was really bad Fri through Sunday and is up and down at the moment, but I am very tired and fatigued. I am taking it easy this week so I can enjoy my lesson next week!

I have been pottering about the house, since I am car-less this week, My… Continue

Added by Cat on May 26, 2009 at 9:02am — 2 Comments

Training - small steps from a non-pro

Training Brasilia

Yesterday I was riding Brasilia do Summerwind, a green 3 year old mare. After the ride, my husband John said “You know I watch her move under saddle and she moves exactly as she does when she is running at liberty in the pasture”. What a compliment! All the energy, enthusiasm and beauty

of a natural moving horse was still there! After basking in the praise (I assumed it was for me), we talked about how we had gotten there.

We believe it is the… Continue

Added by Lynn Kelley on May 25, 2009 at 4:17pm — No Comments

Ideas?

My three year old mustang is afraid of cars. Well to be more specific, he is scared of the noise they make going down the road (think tires on pavement). Right when the car gets past him, he turns and bolts (thats how we discovered his fear at least - plowed fields make for a soft landing!). He has never spooked like that before. Because of that reaction, I've been taking him out to eat grass by the side of the road and watch cars go by (its not constant). I can tell he would run if the halter… Continue

Added by Cindy Toth on May 25, 2009 at 12:24pm — 4 Comments

Tucker is 6 today!

My PMU foal..well, not a foal anymore! Tucker, who is a Perch-QH turned 6 today! I adopted him when he was 6 months old! He has exceeded all of my expectations of him! He is stunning...he really draws attention, he is so beautiful! And jump? Oh, yeah! He is turning out to be quite the eventer! His first horse trial last month was a blast! He so throughly enjoyed the xc phase! We were 4th in BN out of 26!! How cool is that? He is a big puppy dog, wants to be the center of attention. I can't… Continue

Added by Lori Tankel on May 25, 2009 at 12:08pm — 1 Comment

8 Hints on Writing Effective Internet Postings on HorseJobs.ca!

Writing An Effective Online Job Posting

By Sarah Pratt

www.HorseJobs.ca

Many of us in the equine world have turned to the internet for any number of things; social networking, education, industry resources, show schedules and entry forms, news and employment – in fact some newspapers and even show guides are no longer printed old-fashioned paper, but, have become a successful online subscription instead.

Using the Internet to fulfill your hiring needs can… Continue

Added by Sarah at HorseJobs.ca on May 24, 2009 at 8:40pm — No Comments

Help Heart Land Horse Rescue! Get an autographed photo of Calvin Borel!

www.specialhorses.org

www.heartlandhorserescue.org

We are down to the wire with just one week left of our fundraiser. Thank you to those of you who have already donated, we have raised $400 for Heart Land!

We at Heart Land are not above stooping to low levels to get your votes!

So, for everyone who donates $50, you will get an autographed photo of Calvin

Borel! And if you donate $100 or more, he will personalize it!

So stop what you are doing and… Continue

Added by Lori Tankel on May 24, 2009 at 8:05pm — No Comments

Beautiful weather for a great week of showing in Palgrave Ontario

What a great week it was at Palgrave. Beautiful weather, great jumping and lots of wonderful horses. Chris course designed 2 hunter rings all week. The show ran so well that the over 150 trips in each ring ended by 4 pm every day. Today he set a very interesting and challenging Equine Canada Medal for the 3'6" junior riders. Over 25 took part and many mastered the subtle tests he built into the track. We are… Continue

Added by Evie Frisque on May 24, 2009 at 7:30pm — 2 Comments

A long way to go, but we'll get there in the end!

Lately I haven't been blogging much.

Had a period where we just tried to figure out how to practice the most effective way for our clinic next Saturday.

Well, to be honest, I am not sure if we will be ready to go there. You see, last Tuesday she had her hooves fixed, and had a huge bacterial infection in them. The barefoot trimmer had to dig a little to make it better, but unfortunately she was sore under her legs the day after. And she still is.…

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Added by Kine R on May 24, 2009 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

FEEL THE RIVER IN YOUR HORSE

As I travel the world working with people and horses there are significant cultural differences between the various countries. However, it is always true that wherever I go - people are people and horses are horses. But then again there is the very real challenge of how often the time needed for translation of verbal languages takes us “out of the moment” with the horses.

Of course, that delay between a rider hearing what I have to say - and then translating my English into their own… Continue

Added by Chris Irwin on May 24, 2009 at 10:30am — 5 Comments

Understanding The Art Of Buying A Good Horse

Anyone looking through a list of horses for sale needs to have a strong sense of what they are looking to buy. When buying horses in Texas, or anywhere else, most people are going to find right off the bat that they are not just looking for "a brown horse," they are going to be looking for horses that will serve a particular purpose.

Cattle Horses

When some people look to buy horses, it is because they have a ranch and they need to have a horse that will allow them to keep… Continue

Added by horsesforsale on May 24, 2009 at 6:35am — No Comments

Cracking the code

I’m not all into shows and making money off the horses, if I was I wouldn’t be riding the horses that I do. What I think about when I’m riding a horse is how can I make this work best for the both of us.

The Pony is the worlds most loveable, crazy, mad, undisciplined, wonderful pony I’ve ever met. She can be all up in my face one day and all I wanna do is give her away to the first one that wants her. She’ll jump into bushes, ruin her tack, jump around like a madman, jump into rives… Continue

Added by Hannah on May 23, 2009 at 8:07pm — No Comments

May 19, 2009 - Another Filly is Born

After a couple of false starts and mother not being able to head to Aprilfest in May Endurance Ride on Sunday, Spring (Shades of Spring+) finally decided to let the baby out.

Good strong, correct filly by Section B Welsh stallion, Rocko's Gold. Unknown colour at this time - black, black bay, smokey black, black buckskin???? 3 white feet and a reversed question mark on her face.

Name is giving us some trouble as well - Where's The Gold, What Gold, ..... along those lines… Continue

Added by Diana on May 23, 2009 at 9:18am — No Comments

The Big Day

I was so nervous! I felt really ill for two days!

Thursday was my first ever Dressage competition. It's the mid west RDA regional competition, So it's an important day for all those who entered qualifying classes. I entered a non qualifying class.

I felt incredibly smart in my jacket and pretty impressed with the hard work our groups helpers and instructors had done getting the horses ready and warmed up for us.

We were lucky with the weather as it was beautiful and the sun… Continue

Added by Cat on May 22, 2009 at 7:00pm — 6 Comments

What to do when problems crop up - Part 1

Cooperation under saddle begins with good ground manners. If despite your best efforts you are still having problems with your horse in the stable, don’t panic! Here are some things for you to consider:

General welfare

Before any type of training can be undertaken there are obvious areas that need to be paid attention to.

First and foremost, is the horse in good enough condition to do what you are asking him to do? Can he bend his head to the left and… Continue

Added by Tim Stockdale on May 22, 2009 at 10:29am — 1 Comment

Unlock Your Elbows While Riding

Hi Guys,

I received an email from a rider who said, "Can you help me with a problem I have with "locked elbows"? It is a bad habit that I've been trying to break forever. Any tips or visualizations would be really great!"

So, here we go:

In general, elastic elbows allow for movement. In the walk and canter, your elbows need to open and close to allow for the movement of your horse's head and neck. In the rising trot, your horse's head and neck is still, but…

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Added by Jane Savoie on May 22, 2009 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

It seems wind is the common thread across the country!

Just finished 2 shows....the first at beautiful Halton Horse Place which is located about an hour and half west of Toronto. Just as Chris battled with wind and rain in Calgary we fought with the same conditions.... high winds, jumps blowing over etc etc. Although jumps blew over 3 times on Saturday the worst of the storms that hit the Toronto area somehow missed the show site. Just down the road heavy rains, hail, thunder and lightning were causing havoc with traffic. Exhibitors kept calling… Continue

Added by Evie Frisque on May 21, 2009 at 5:14pm — No Comments

A Joyful Horse is an Amazing Sight!

This week's quote is about joy. And the painting is of an exuberant buckskin Morgan, running joyfully through his sunny pasture.

May your life be filled with joy and sunshine this coming week!

Click here to download this quote/picture.

Added by Karen Brenner on May 21, 2009 at 4:23pm — No Comments