I took yesterday off from work because they were forecasting perfect weather—and they were right.

Cole and I went on a 2:37 hour ride. He wasn’t quite as good as last time—he went through a balky stage, tossed in some squeals and spins during the ride, and it took a little more work to settle down his trot towards home. We did canter 4 times for short distances, and that was really nice. He didn’t do the mad gallop that I have gotten in the past, but an actual canter. After…

I took Cruiser on a quick trail ride before sunset, and we didn’t see a soul—not even the headless horseman.  It was a cool and pretty evening.  There are still some leaves on the trees, and they were very vibrant in the dimming light of the evening.  Next weekend, the time changes, and there will be no more trail rides after work.  I sure will miss them.

I then rode Cole in the arena.  I had the place all to myself.  We worked on a little of this and a little of that. I…

We had a nice, horse weekend.  The river wasn’t crossable, but our younger niece came out, and she made it fun for us.  I started out riding Cole in the arena.  He had a lackluster day.  I then let my niece take him down the hill to the river.  He was pretty good for her, and she is getting used to his bouncy walk down hills.  When we got to the bottom, we let her trot on the flat part a bunch of times.  Cole has a normal trail trot, and she was posting is beautifully.  (She can’t manage his…

Last night was farrier night.  my sister and I come out to the barn after work.  Sometimes, the farrier gets there before us because he does another horse at our stables.  When he finishes, he starts Cruise and Ranger.  He waits for me to do Cole so I could help with holding him.

When I got there, my sister was talking to him and there were no horses in the crossties.  I was surprised and wondered what was going on.  My sister said that they started Cole, and he was so bad…

There was only a little daylight after work and the river was too high to cross, again.  I rode Cruiser up and down the hill three times.  He was quite energetic, and even did some gaiting up the hill.  (Cruiser has standard gaits, but he also does a stepping pace when he is excited.  He can get quite fast.  He must have gotten it from his Morgan side, as there are gaited Morgans.)  When we got back to the barn, it started to rain, lightly.  Perfect timing.  It rained the rest of the…

Steady Trotting Home

The trails by our barn do not form any sort of loop. Basically, we ride out to our desired distance, turn around and come back. There are a few tiny loops, but they join the main trail, so the horses get that definite feeling that they are headed home. 

Most horses will travel faster on the way home than on the way out—that is a given. Horses like to be home where their friends are. This doesn’t happen if we are riding Cruiser and Ranger…

Yes, another rained out long weekend for my sister and me…

Thursday, the river was too high.  We rode Cruiser and Ranger up and down the hill 3 times.  I worked with Cole in the arena, and we had fun.  My sister rode him for a little bit, and it was nice because then I could watch him.  He is quite a sight.  I then led him down to the river as a reward.

Friday, the river was still way to high to cross.  This time, we rode Cruiser and Ranger in the arena, too,…

I have finally gotten around to writing an introduction to myself.  I am an avid trail rider (which is the same thing as hacking.)  I live over here in the US in Cleveland, OH.  It is a pretty good-sized urban area, and we are lucky enough to have a terrific trail system running right through it.  We share the trails with lots of different users, so our horses have to be very tolerant.  We also ride close to the roads, so they have to be good with traffic, too.

I have 2…

It was a lovely night for riding, yesterday.  My boyfriend got in the saddle before I got there—I got caught in traffic.  I saddled up Cruiser, and away we went to meet his buddy Starry.  Cruiser knew the game, and as usual, I had to keep slowing him down.  We met them about 20 minutes later, and I talked my boyfriend into turning around and continuing with us until the next river crossing.  it was such a pretty night, that it didn’t take much coaxing.  Even his horse didn’t mind turning…

A long weekend for us, at least this year, means rain.

   The weather was great on Thursday.  My sister and I planned to go on our favorite ride with Cole and Ranger up to the show ring.10 minutes down the trail, we had to turn around.  The electric company was trimming the trees under the wires by the trail.  To make matters worse, the trail that we would take to get away from them goes out to the street by a bridge—and there were construction workers repairing it.  They were…

On Monday afternoon, I saw what the weather forecast looked like, I wasn’t too busy at work, so I decided to take yesterday off.  What a great decision.  The weather was perfect for trail riding. 

   My sister works second shift and usually rides in the mornings.  I took Cruiser with her and Ranger for a short ride.  She was really happy to have the company.

   When we got back, she went to work and I saddled up Cole.  We were going to go on our second long solo ride.  Unlike…

Finally!  A sunny weekend!  I rode on trail, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It was awesome.

Friday was just a quick trail ride on Cruiser before sunset.  I then rode Cole in the arena.  I am so glad I am going to start feeding on Friday evenings next month.  We are supposed to feed at 8:00, and the feeder fed at 6:45.  It is just hay, so I let Cole eat while I cleaned our stalls.  When I was done, I took him in the arena.  Wow, was he crabby.  He kept trying to go to the gate,…

The Big Ride

Last month, I was so frustrated with the weather.  Only once, near the beginning of the month, I was able to ride Cole with Ellen on Ranger past the big river.  From then on, even though we took vacation time, we never had another chance to repeat the ride.  I wanted to do it a couple more times with Ranger before I tried it on my own.  It just didn’t work out the way I…

The Big River

Before Cruiser and Ranger entered their senior years, every Saturday and Sunday, we took them on our favorite long ride.  It was fast paced and fun.  Usually, we would ride about two and a half hours or so.  Sometimes, we would go a little further, too. 

Due to their age, some years ago, we…

What we do when we can’t Cross the River

My sister and I took a 4-day weekend off from work to get some trail riding in.  Just like the one we tried a few weeks previous, we couldn’t cross the river the first 3 days.  That meant doing the hill leading to the river with Cruiser and Ranger and working Cole in the arena. 

Having Ellen watch me and Cole during our rides was very helpful.  She gave me all kinds of good advice, and she took video with her…

My sister and I took a 4-day weekend off from work to get some trail riding in.  Just like the one we tried a few weeks ago, we couldn’t cross the river the first 3 days.  That meant doing the hill leading to the river with Cruiser and Ranger and working Cole in the arena.

   It is great to have eyes on the ground to watch me ride—even better when she can take video.  Cole was trotting very curled up and behind the bit, a lot.  There was a lot of tail swishing going on, too, which is…

Tackling the Arena

I am riding Cole all over the place on the trail—walking, trotting and cantering, but I still felt nervous in the arena.  Now, it didn’t help that I only rode him in there a couple times a week.  It was the same old problem—the far end just got me nervous.  That didn’t mean I didn’t go over there—I did, but I didn’t enjoy it.  It distracted me.  It didn’t help that…

Motivation – Why Do you Ride?

I have started rereading “In Search of Your Image – A Practical Guide to the Mental and Spiritual Aspects of Horsemanship” by Jill Keiser Hassler.  I bought the book a number of years ago, and found it too spiritual for me.  Times change, and so did I.  My life is different, and now the book seems so much more relevant.…

On the Road to the Canter

Cantering Cole has been tough for me, but it’s my own fault.  I never taught him to canter on the lounge line before I started riding him—or for that matter—all winter when I was lounging him before I rode him.  I have to confess, part of the problem is I don’t like lounging.  I see nothing wrong with it, but my time is limited and I prefer riding.  Once I…

Cole's First Show

Don’t get excited.  It really wasn’t a big deal.  One morning, we found out there was a horse show at the public show ring.  Since we were planning to ride up there, anyway, we thought we would expose Cole to some of the excitement. 

We rode all around the back trails behind the showground, like we usually do.  This gave him a chance to get acquainted with the loud speaker blaring.

We then rode to the show grounds and stood on the outskirts…