I Discover a New Muscle in My Back

This was a good week, I got to ride all three horses!

It was so warm on Sunday Shannon did not even put the butt blanket or neck cover on Cider. The ring was a little squishy because of the snow and rain last week, so all I could do was walk. Cider gave me an indication that she wanted to…

Spooking from Gunshots and Dodging Raindrops

After two weeks of not riding due to the freezing temperatures or rain I was very glad to get a lesson on Wednesday. The two weeks of not getting out much resulted in my body becoming a LOT weaker! Debbie and I have decided that if I use the Equicube for a few minutes at the beginning of my lesson my back…

The Deep Freeze

Even down here in the sunny South it has been COLD this month. I feel so sorry for all the horse people further north than me, because it has been so COLD the past two weeks. This is North Carolina, we are not supposed to have weeks of bitter cold, we are not supposed to wake up to single digit temperatures. We are not supposed to have weeks of bitter north winds.…

Bingo Reverts to His Old Habits

Because of the cold my riding schedule got messed up. Wednesday morning it was 19°F at the stable, I had already rescheduled my lesson because of the weather forecast. Debbie was willing to give me a lesson on Thursday morning, but then Debbie called me about how she had to baby-sit…

Even at 31 Years Old Mia Still Improves

Mia is old. Mia is ancient. Mia has arthritis problems in her hocks. Mia has the most sensitive mouth of any horse I've ridden in the past 47 years.

I have been riding Mia for 8 years, accepting the fact that she will never, ever become completely sound. All this time I have been…

I Move My Grip Up an Inch or So

When I talked to Debbie before my lesson on Wednesday, I told her about my hip bursitis and that I would not be very ambitious, no “rider's push-ups”, limited 2-point and limited posting trot. I had been hobbling around all week and I did not want to do anything that would trigger my hip bursitis again! I asked to use the Equicube so I would work different…

I Get to See Debbie Riding Bingo

This week at Debbie's stable I got to show her how I “customized” my new Free Jump Collar so I felt comfortable using it on a horse. I used a combination of a Western curb strap, a 1” metal ring and a doubled up stirrup leather attached to the girth to keep the collar down at the base of the horse's neck, I added a pair of “breast-plate Ds” to the breast-plate…

When the Weather Interferes With My Riding

It has been a frustrating week for me as a horseback rider! I missed out on riding Cider last Sunday because the weather forecasters were predicting rain in the morning, so I called Shannon and we canceled my ride. Sunday morning there was no rain and I was miffed, until later in the afternoon when there were…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

Winter Tries to Return

This week was full of physical soreness for me, and changing weather for the horses. 

When I arrived at Debbie’s stable Wednesday morning for my lesson I told Debbie that I was not up to much activity.  That suited Debbie just fine; she had to give her soon to be endurance horse, the Arab gelding Tercel, another ride before her first formal long distance ride to get him used to his new endurance bridle and breastplate.  She also wanted my opinion on how…

Sitting Up Straight Takes a Lot of Effort

Ever since I started using the Equicube for one to four minutes a week, I have been tired.  The rest of the time, I try to replicate the spinal alignment I get from using the Equicube, both on horseback and just walking around on my own two feet.  I have to retrain my body how to stand, sit on horseback, move with the horse, and how to walk on my own feet while keeping my spine straighter and my face vertical.  I get some muscle aches too, in…