Last month we featured a blog post on how to handle a rider who’s been in a serious fall. In some cases, it will be plainly evident that a rider is injured – they’re knocked unconscious or they have broken a bone. In other cases, though, the injuries might not be quite so apparent.

Concussions are serious injuries that are dangerous if they go…

As summer approaches, you’ll want to be heading out on the trails as much as possible, but sun, heat, and bugs can make trail rides unpleasant. Looking to get the most out of your rides? Here are some things that you’ll want to be sure to bring along.

Fly Mask/Ear Bonnet

Nothing is worse than pesky flies on what should be a…

There is a statement

that is often used,

"See the Forest for the Trees".

 If you look up the

exact meaning,

it is, "To be overwhelmed

by detail

to the point where it…

As the weather continues to get warmer, you may be itching to get your horse out on the trails again. But if your horse has been out of work over the winter or if it’s been a while since you’ve been on the trails, you might be in for an interesting ride. Brush up on these important skills before hitting the trails to help make the trail ride more enjoyable for both you and your horse.…

by Anna Blake

When I first mounted a pony in Chile  57 years ago I was NEVER invited to consider the horse.  At most there was a small consideration for the horse’s mouth, but in 99.999% of the cases it was assumed that the horse had earned whatever abuse it had to suffer.  I also ran into the same assumptions in Uruguay, and in the USA when I returned to this country in 1963.  I found this assumption in riders, riding stables, instructors and trainers, both in person and from books and…

Kevin and I went on an evening ride together on Starry and Cole Train.  It was on the hot side, and since it was Cole’s 4^th consecutive day of trail riding, I thought he might be a little sluggish.  Wrong.  He was just right.  We did a lot of trotting and a little cantering—on the hard lead!  We walked all the way home to cool them off and enjoy each other’s…

Horse-Filled Weekend

Friday evening, I went for a ride by myself on Cole Train.  Since I was alone, I did a lot more cantering than when I am with other horses.  We did get the hard lead once on a sharp corner—that same corner that we were successful before.  He was doing great until we reached a sharp corner the other direction—and he switched.  Well, at least I had it for a little while.  We trotted a lot towards home, too.  The ride was about 5 miles round trip, and the…

Bug Crazy Starry Starry Night

Cole and I went with Kevin and Starry on a ride yesterday evening.  it was a very warm evening.  All went well on the way out.  We rode to the fallen tree—lots of fast trotting and a little cantering.  Kevin wanted to see if he could clear the tree off the trail or find a way around it.  He wouldn’t take my word for it—but as soon as he saw it he agreed.  We needed professional help for this one—chainsaw and glove.  It is covered with poison…

Kevin and I had a really nice ride last night.  it was cool, and there are still no bugs—we are enjoying it while we can.  We assumed that the tree that was blocking the trail was still there, so we turned at the river crossing before it and headed back towards home.  to make it a longer ride, we planned to pass home and go the other way for a while. 

That made it a perfect day to work on trotting towards home.  we have regularly trotted towards home when we are far away, but…

Two Man Sorting

Last Sunday, after a good ride on Saturday morning, we took the horses out for some two-man sorting at Rancho Rio Stables by the Kern River.  In this iteration of calf work, the cattle are numbered zero to nine and there are two pens about 40 feet across with an opening between the two.  The cows are settled into the far end of one pen.  Our job is to go in and, once we cross into the occupied pen we are given a number, then we start with that cow and…

Hello

Mrs. Carol Harris who owned the world famous Quarter Horse Rugged Lark as joined forces with our crusade to force the American Quarter Horse Association to stop the sanctioned abuse of the horses.

I have filed a criminal complaint with the Texas Attorney General Office against AQHA for deceptive trade practices that sanction the abuse of the competitive horse.

We are currently trying to get Oklahoma City television media to expose this national disgrace.  Please…

Took Amigo on a short trail ride around the farm. I used my western saddle and my split reins on my reining bit. My goal was to round him up and get him using his back. He has a indent behind his shoulder from letting his back sag all summer. (He had beginner riders all summer and took very good care of them.) Ed said that riding him on the bit and rounded will help him get back the muscle he has lost. He also showed me the stretch that makes the horse arch their back. After the loop around…

I love this photo- it’s education in a trickle down sort of way. These fillies are learning the fine art of wither itching from my retired gelding- when he speaks everyone leans close and listens. He is the Master.

Maybe learning takes lifetimes… This week I have been reading…

The Running Horse

A Bi-monthly Newsletter from Horse Play

Jan – Feb 2011…

A friend of mine volunteered at a nursing home. One of the patients there was always talking about riding and my friend thought that maybe I could come along and talk horses with her. That was what I knew when I entered her room.

The walls were covered with horse pictures from magazines, a couple of medical machines were humming and sighing,…

A New Feature on Barnmice Community News:  

We would like to thank Christilot Boylen for sharing her adventures riding on a special quadrille team for an important horse show this week in Oman.  Oman is a Sultanate on the south east corner of the Arabian Peninsula.  It has a strong and ancient history of equestrian activities and horse breeding.  The current ruler, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, has promoted modern methods alongside traditional practices of horse-keeping and…

Dear Julie,

I have started riding my 2-year-old paint gelding. I've had him since he was 3 months old. He's super gentle-almost too gentle. I have taken him out trail riding with other horses, but he needs to learn…

Hi Guys,



People often tell me that their horses leg yield very well as far as going sideways is concerned, but they tend to toss their heads and show resistance to the reins. In desperation, some riders even use a tie down to put pressure on the nose to discourage their horses from yanking at the reins.



If your horse finds it fairly easy to cross his legs and move sideways with his body, yet he's tossing his head during leg yields, it sounds like he's objecting to your…