Mara and I rode with three Iclandics this afternoon and I enjoyed following those cute Iceies as we refer to them. Mara B is taller but she fits in nicely with them.

Ride Like You've Never Been Thrown

Part Four

True Grit

I have named this final segment ‘True Grit’ as I believe that this woman is the epitome of the term. She is strong minded and even stronger willed. She was competing at Congress before…

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As published in the Rider Newspaper

Ride Like You’ve Never Been Thrown

Part 3

A Diamond Dozen

 

 

When I started writing this series of articles to assist those who have…

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There were lots of great rides in Spirit’s 25 years, but this was the most perfect ride…

Spirit was something in the day- he and I agreed. He was fun to show, always a crisp and spontaneous ride. His confidence improved year by year, and still, every day was a brand new day.

That day, our first…

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I fell in love with horses all over again this week. Yes, it was a pretty short fall and yes, it does happen every week. And no, it never gets old. Does my enthusiasm make me seem less professional?

It has been also been one of those weeks when most of my clients are having challenges with their horses. Some of the challenges are old ones and some are brand new but regardless of origin or cause- a challenge is an opportunity by another name.…

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Yup, that seems about right.  The ad flat out states the the mare is not sound, and yet they want you to breed her and put an additional 100 pounds on a bum hock.  Let us then ask you, oh knowledgeable seller, if you were crippled in some way, would you want to carry a child around your midsection for 9 months?  No?  WE DIDN’T FREAKIN THINK SO!

We’ll stop taking ads from craiglist when… no wait, we can’t think of scenario wherein stupid people stop posting on craigslist.  Case in…

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… and Grace gives herself a promotion.

Dressage borrows lots of language from ballet -after all, we are the dancers of the horse world. Pas de Trois is a dance of three. I have commandeered that phrase to describe riding lessons as a conversational dance between horse, rider and instructor. All three participants have to be heard for the dance to succeed.

I am always…

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It’s generally considered good manners in the barn to graciously take the blame anytime your horse is less than spectacular, and give your horse all the credit after a good ride. But it is more than manners, it is also a rider’s responsibility.…

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Flying snow from pounding hooves,



Gliding, the sleigh onward moves.





The trees with white wondrous seem,





The horses snort and blow out steam.



Our hearts are glad with family and… Continue

It is important to celebrate every time you accomplish something with your horse. It is also important to stay motivated by taking the time to step back from all your hard work and have fun. Here are some suggestions: Continue

Saturday, March 7, 2010

Well, I settled for free lunging and wind sprints today. Not enough hours in the day. Still, for the week, Belle got ridden 3 times and free lunged twice, and I can’t recall when she has had that consistent of work schedule! Still, I need to…

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Music has well established psychological effects on moods and emotions.



Think about that.



We already know this if even subconsciously. If music did not have a physiological effect on our body and mind, marches would be played at bedtime and not at the half-time of football games. Lullabies would be heard at parades and Gregorian chant would bombard our ears at the grocery store.

Want to know more? Here is the scientific answer to how music affects our physiology and… Continue

So, after enduring -15 tempatures in Manitoba, fog so thick in Edmonton that you can cut a hole in it, and the 2 hr farry ride to the island, we are doing pretty good. We got here I sware by a divine blessing. But now that I'm here, I really love it. Today Im going to call (hopefully) my new employer, and set up a time to meet with her early this coming week to see her barn, and hopefully try out a horse that she has for sale. Im really excited. I have, by the way, been off riding for 2 months… Continue

Comments and questions recently posted to my last blog were really excellent. I've copied them here, with some answers. Remember- you can post questions, comments and even photos for analysis to the latest Ride Fit blog. I try and respond in the next blog posting.



QUESTIONS FROM BARNMICE MEMBER, 'SIT_THE_TROT':

OK, I totally agree with this:

"we do look for alignment from the elbow through the forearm to the bit, regardless of discipline. A rider should also have softness… Continue

Hello everyone, my name is Paige and I'd like to welcome you to my blog! I am currently a Senior in college and am studying English and Music Performance. I was recently certified as an equine massage therapist, and three months ago I bought my first horse, a Thoroughbred mare.



Now on to my blog. Each Monday I will be posting a blog highlighting three horse-related events that occurred during that week in history. This week's events feature the first Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race… Continue

Ride your HORSE to MUSIC and solve training issues! Whether you are riding a dressage musical freestyle, or just riding your horse to music, there are TIPS you should know before you start. Over the years, you have told me that the most important thing to you is that you want the RIGHT MUSIC for your HORSE and you WANT TO HAVE FUN!!



You've also told me that:



You want help recognizing the rhythm of your horse's gaits.



You can't maintain a rhythm.…

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I've blogged about Ride Bare already, but now its almost here! In less than 3 weeks time, Sarah Braithwaite and I are setting off on our biggest riding challenge yet, riding from North Wales to Exmoor, a distance of over 200 miles, and we will be riding for at least 2 weeks, camping or staying at farms along the way.



A couple of weekends ago, Sarah went off to try out the second leg of our ride, and I've put the video of that day up here… Continue