I have been thinking a lot about the new challenges Shannon’s Arab-Welsh mare Cider has been presenting me.  I went through my old calendars and I started riding Cider regularly in 2006 until January 2012 when I switched to riding Merlin and Bobby until I could get Cider a saddle that fit her properly since her back had changed.  At the end of those 6 years Cider was super responsive to the bit (Dr. Bristol snaffle), aware that a twitch of my little finger was a valid aid to…

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I have always said people were the most difficult part about being involved with horses, and I stand by that statement. My dad and I have affectionately named this quirk "HPS," standing for Horse Person Syndrome. In a sport where so much emotion, pressure, money, fears, expectations, etc., are a part of the daily…

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Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life…

The Beginning

My sister decided that she wanted to buy another horse last fall because Ranger is getting older, and she can’t ride as fast or as far as she would like. Don’t worry, she is going to keep Ranger—and ride him as much as she can. She just wanted to ride more than he was able. I wanted her to, too. I would love to go on long rides with her and Cole.…

“That horse has been beat!” is her opinion. Sometimes you can look at a horse and just tell. He’s showing every sign, and he has been passed from owner to owner. Abuse is always possible, but working with him, I don’t think he’s literally been beaten. Who’s right?

The horse is. It’s my As-If Rule.  His history doesn’t matter that much. If he acts as-if he has been…

Most riders eventually understand that it is ideal for their horse to work in a frame. A frame is a way of carrying the body that utilizes the ring of muscles by asking the horse to engage his haunches, lift his back, travel lightly on the forehand, round the neck from the base and drop the head. This is an efficient way for the horse to move that prevents injury and helps the horse to carry the weight of the rider. Unfortunately, many people lose sight of the whole picture and focus only on…

Many, many decades ago Piero Santini wrote in one of his books that one reason to wear the knee high boots was that when the leather of the boot was against the leather of the saddle flap the rider’s grip was stronger.  It has been decades since I rode in the high leather boots, but I do look back at them with fondness, and every once in a while I consider getting high boots again but they look so HOT.  With my MS anything that makes me hotter makes my MS symptoms worse so I…

Horses are fluent in the spoken language of the horse.  Any movement that you ask your horse to perform is something he already does naturally.  The horse can carry himself with perfect balance while executing the most technical movements.  We do not need to teach the horse how to move.  However, we do need to teach the horse how to move under our weight based on our cues.  This is the equivalent of teaching a child who can speak how to read and write.  We must take the horse’s natural…

I’ve been thinking about the words we use to label our relationship with the animals in our lives. It isn’t politically correct to say we own a horse; instead, we are its caretaker. That dog doesn’t belong to you, you’re its guardian. Swell.

Referring to an animal as a family member is the norm; it’s common to hear someone in the barn refer to themselves as Big Red’s Mom, or say that Bandit is their fur-child. No shortage of Fur-Daddies either. I understand the intention and if the…

Riding can be a form of moving meditation.  When you do a walking meditation you work on quieting the mind, becoming fully aware of your surroundings and experiencing the present moment.  You use intense concentration on each movement your body makes to help bring you into this meditative state.  Walking meditation is often easier for an individual than a long sitting meditation because you do not have to quiet the body and the mind.  I would argue that a riding meditation is even more…

This has been a slow week for me since I have not gotten back my energy after being sick with a head cold weeks ago.  By the time I get to the stables, the horses are groomed, tacked up, and I get to the ring and mount I am already tired, and after the second trot I am exhausted, wrung out and hung out to dry.

Wednesday I got my lesson on Mick, using my new EZ-Fit treeless saddle of course!  This time I decided to go back to the Mullen mouth bits since I seem to have…

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We are taking you on a journey to South Africa into the wilds of your soul and the continent of dreams. Marina Visser and African ElephantsHere you will find…

Tuesday, April 2 2013

We went up tonight to meet with the farrier and try on the new Myler bit. When the farrier was done with Cooper he thought he was done and since we were right in front of his stall he started to back into it without me asking. I brought him back out and then walked him in so he wouldn't think he could do what he wanted. The farrier was going to do another horse in front of Cooper's stall so I took him out and moved down the aisle to try on the new bit. I attached…

After a long week and a half of no riding I was excited to get out this morning.  Last night when I talked with Shannon she told me that her mother was sick and would not be out, so I asked if I could ride Cider (an Arab-Welsh pony mare), and she said yes!  Cider is one of the horses that I got my EZ-Fit treeless saddle for and I was really wanted to try it out on the widest back that I ride.  Since it is finally getting warmer down here in NC I went out an hour earlier,…