Weekend Update                           

I decided to give Cole a break on Friday and ride Dante in the arena instead; since Ellen wasn’t able to ride him on Thursday.  Wow, was he a nice horse to ride—smooth—responsive and fun. …

Another ride. Another day. And it was great. Well,good at least if not great. If ya'll been following my posts(I Know Jackie has) then you know the horse I so madly adore(he's just so cute and handsome), has been being a devil to me.  Some of these issues, I know, is me. When Cody starts to act out(tossing his head;snorting;pawing the ground;shifting;etc) I get... nervous.... nervous that I'll lose control completely and that once I do lose control, I'll…

The Akhal-teke horse is truly remarkable. Pictures of the Akhal-teke have been found dating back to the 9th century B. C. which means it's older than the Arabian horse. The Akhal-teke was favor by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Marco Polo as a mount…

More Ground Work with Cole

Cole and I have been working on our ground work every time I see him.  He is now doing all the simple exercises very easily.  It was time to move on a challenging exercise—shoulder-in.…

Today I wanted to curl up into a ball and ask why. Just why? …

Up here in Michigan it's way too COLD to ride. At three degrees and lower,to ride now would provoke frostbite. Fortunately, being from Michigan, I could careless about it being cold, just give me my horse. Today, this afternoon, my dear friend and trainer, Julie and I, went to the barn in a whopping 10 degrees(somebody say heatwave?!). While I didn't ride due to the both of us being sufficiently frozen, we did let the horses run. I took Cody and she took…

Ground Work Lesson Day 4:

I rode Cole in the indoor arena for a half hour.  The thermometer said it was only 20 degrees—which isn’t bad for me, but it turned Cole into a frisky colt.  He was like riding a stick of TNT—very volatile.  We…

Ground Work Lessons 1, 2   & 3

For those who have not been following my adventures with Cole Train from the beginning, let me bring you up to date.  When I got Cole, he was an untrained 4-year-old.  He was halter broken,…

Trying to work in the Arena

Since Ellen and I took so much vacation time in November and December, combined with conquering the loop in the back of the property, I have never ridden so little in an indoor arena since the years when we didn’t have one.  This is a good thing—and a bad thing.  It’s good that I have been able to ride…

2014 has come and gone like the leaves on a ttree in the fall. Now we embrace 2015 with open arms and new goals. Last year was the year of the horse. For me and some of you, it really was. Four months ago, I started riding again. Something I had given up on doing due to fear. Now, four months later, I am doing great. I usually don't make resolutions,I've never been one to do that. But this year, I did make one. My goal is to accomplish my fear head-on…

Dante’s Dark Side

Ellen was working Sunday, and I thought I would take advantage of the great weather and ride Dante on the trail. I knew I couldn’t cross the river because I already rode down there with Cole Train.  We would have to do the hill multiple times.

The hill can be a tricky place to work a…

I have read many articles on Lusitano and Andalusion horses;some say there are differences between the two and other articles say there is no difference, they are the same horse From different areas. Well, Let's see…

Ranger’s Issues

Ranger, my sister’s horse of nearly 20 years, has developed breathing issues.  It was something that occurred gradually over the last year or so, but this fall, it got pretty bad.  He wasn’t coughing uncontrollably like Cruiser was, but…

I have been working on lots of ground work with the horse I ride lately. It's been a blast, Parelli training is really fun. Each time we cover something it goes a lot smoothly than before. I've been covering backing through a space, roughly three feet wide and over a pole. At first, the horse I ride was apprehensive about going through that small space and over a pole. Not only was he apprehensive, but my cues and directions were off a little. We made…

The Loop

Last year at this time, I tried riding Cole out on the loop—a small track that is about a quarter mile long that is behind the barn—and it was a disaster.  I ended up riding him in the arena when it got too dark in the evenings to go on the trail.  This year, I decided to try it again.…

Old Poke Meets Mr. Smooth

Oh, what a long weekend we had.  It was 4 consecutive, sunny October days—perfect for riding.  Of course, we had our usual vacation disaster, but this time, it had nothing to do with the weather or a high river.…

Making Lemonade

My sister and I take our vacation days together so we can go riding. We have to pick our days weeks ahead of time because if the way her employer’s system works. It’s not like we can look at the forecast and pick the days with the best weather. Instead, we just guess.

Our vacations are notorious for having bad weather and high rivers.…

The Goldenrod Ride

My sister and I love to ride up to the show ring trails all the time—but particularly when the goldenrod is blooming. Sunday was a chilly, sunny morning—a perfect day to see the goldenrod. Instead of Dante, Ellen took Ranger. Ranger loves…

Struggling with My First Arena Ride of the Season

It was rainy, cold and dark.  It was time to try the indoor arena.

Just a reminder for my readers—I had issues with Cole in the arena in the…