Hello and best wishes to you all from our winter wonderland at Riversong Ranch in Alberta.



This being my first blog here on Barnmice I’d first like to say what an honour and privilege it is to be invited to join the ranks of such renowned colleagues as Jane Savoie, William Micklem and Tim Stockdale.



I’d also like to say right up front that I believe it is truism that a writer should only express opinions about what he or she has proven themselves to know something…

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Now that is an interesting question. The rules are very clear that should a rider at a competition have a question for the judge, they must first ask permission to do so through the steward or technical delegate. An excellent tactic, in that it usually means there will be some emotional involvement and the presence of a third party may allow for some coolness of thought. However, in my experience, riders do not ask judges anything. I believe it is the general perception that to talk to a…

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Crooked Riders = Crooked Horses: Develop Your Awareness of Balance and Symmetry



Like many young girls, I grew up carousing around my neighborhood bareback on my pony. The saddle came out for 4-H, otherwise, I stuck to her sleek back like glue. In college, I went on to work for a dressage trainer, never thinking that moving with the motion of a horse could be a problem. In my mid-20s, lured north to the arctic, I quit riding. I moved with my husband to the Brooks…

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In 1733 F.R. de la Guérinière lamented that to bring out the beauty of our horse we need “an air of ease and freedom… a controlled yet supple posture...depth of seat” but riders weren’t working to achieve it.



And today? Despite knowledge of biomechanics and physiology elegance and control on a moving horse eludes many of us, Some riders don’t take the time to work on themselves. Others strengthen and stretch, yet they still struggle. Many think they just ride that way,…

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Always have in your mind that horses are unpredictable animals, not machines. Our familiarity can lead to taking liberties and accidents occurring.



How many of these practices are on your own safety list?



1. Always wear clothes and boots that are designed for riding.



2. ALWAYS wear a riding helmet that fits you correctly and complies with current standards.



3. If you are young, your horse is misbehaving, you are out of practice or you…

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Cinch Magazine will be pursuing the 'Great Bitless Experiment' in the summer of '09 to determine, once and for all, the effectiveness of riding bitless versus bitted. Our study will include: well-broken horses, green horses, a nervous pony and starting a horse under saddle with the bitless bridle. We will be using a variety of different riders: adults, children, begginer to advanced. If the bitless experience works out for schooling, we will also try it in the competition ring!



We…

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I have a two year-old AQH filly named Ms. Stormy Dry Doc. I brought her hom in May of 2008. She was not halter broke when I got her, therefore we had a long way to go. I didn't think I would ever get any where with her, because for the first week she wouldn't even eat, much less let me catch her. Finally, I changed her feed to a mix of sweet feed mixed with my usualy pelletized performance horse feed. She liked that matter, I'm guessing because of the molasses. Gradually she began to let me…

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Well, it has been pretty eventful working with Sky.



Monday, we went on our weekly trail ride.



The kayaks were going to eat her, she was convinced of this. She's a very smart horse and she kept having to look back to make sure they either weren't there or weren't following her.



We did some hills, some galloping, some cantering, trotting, and all and all, had a great ride.



But the highlight of our ride....



We jumped for our first…

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Sky and I went on our first trail ride today.



Since she's only 4, I didn't really know what to expect from her.



She was AMAZING. She was looking around at stuff, yes, but she didn't spook, she was smart, and wasn't dangerous at all.



The best part about today? She and I cantered for our first time.



At home, I've been working on our walk and trot, but she was doing so good today, I thought...well why not!



My jaw was dragging behind us. I had… Continue

when i was out in the arena today one of my Riding instructors was taking pictures of me while i was runnin the course,

So as your suposed to go direct to the barrel i was avoiding my instructor and zig zaging the first few times i was on 20 and they figured my time would be better if i wasn't dodging my instructor but on the 4th shot i asked my gelding for a bit faster we got 18 doing zig zags the instructors figure it would have been 15 if id have been going direct to.

This is the… Continue

I just joined this lovely site but can't figure out where else to post!!!



I am currently doing a free lease on an Appy sport horse. Her confirmation is GREAT and she has a great free jump form. She is 4 years old.



She has most of her professional training in western pleasure, which she does not enjoy. This is why she is now in my possession.



She is having a hard time with the communication differences from WP to H/J. My first big problem was getting her to…

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Dear fellow Saddlebred friends,

As many of you know, promoting Saddlebreds is a big responsibility for Saddlebred owners, trainers, and riders. Some areas of the country are better represented with ASB clubs and shows than others, and that is why I am writing to you today. Northwest Indiana and the Chicago south suburbs could benefit from a regional charter club for Saddlebreds, and I am proposing that we do just that. I have secured a domain name (nwisa.com) and have filled out the…

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Its my first blog post! Yay! Hehe... Anywho, I just wanted to do a little intro to my blog thingy. I'll try to post any new stuff that comes up in my horsey horse loving life! Not that most of you really care but oh well! Maybe somethings will strike you as interesting.

Currently I've but shut off from any horse interaction, but I hope to find a cool riding barn soon and maybe start some western riding and barrel racing! Who knows??

Ok well thats all for now! I'll post more…

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