What Affects the Legs Can Affect the Back

When we got to Shannon's last Sunday Cider was all groomed, draped with the BOT and Fenwick ¼ sheets over her back, and all four exercise boots were on her legs (plus the Fenwick pastern wraps on her front legs.) Cider did not look completely happy, but hey, it was cooler and nippier, plenty of reason not to be…

Then Life Interferes

I just got to ride twice since my last blog, my grandsons visited, I got a little sick, then Debbie went on a vacation, so I did not get to ride this week at all. Of course my balance is suffering, right now I have a tendency to want to face plant if I don't watch every step, hopefully I'll get to ride Cider tomorrow and start getting my body back. Right now my…

Amazing Progress

I actually have something new to report this week.

In my last post I described how draping the Fenwick quarter sheet of Cider's croup while she was being groomed and saddled positively affected her. After that I went on line to the Fenwick site and bought her a pair of pastern wraps and a pair of leg wraps.…

A Warm Croup

Last Sunday I had a pretty good ride on Cider. Even though it was cooler Cider was not flinching as much.

When we drove up to Shannon's place her mom, Nancy, was getting Cider ready. I noticed that Nancy had put the Fenwick quarter sheet over Cider's croup, she said that she thought Cider might appreciate it…

I Return to What Worked Before

I only got to ride once last week, sniff.

Since Cider was so upset over the last Weymouth I tried with her, I decided it would be best for both of us to go back to what definitely worked before. The time for experimentation is over, Cider did best with the former combination of the 125mm Fager…

Cider did NOT Like the New Curb

When I called Debbie about my lesson this week I got bad news. Debbie was tested and has Covid-19. I am really happy that I did not go to the lesson stable last week, and I will be staying away from it until Debbie gets over her illness. This is an “ideal” time for me not getting my riding lessons, Debbie had a schooling show where she got sick so I don't know if…

Back to Broiling

Earlier in the week I had switched the Weymouth curb on MJ's bridle, from the Fager Elisabeth titanium Weymouth with the little vertical to the lips “port”, to the Fager Felicia titanium Weymouth whose port is angled at a 45° angle, with the top of the port to the rear. I kept the Fager Alice titanium double jointed bradoon with the roller in…

Thank Goodness it was Cooler

Of course this did not do much to improve our humidity.

Debbie was delayed so her daughter, Sam, had gone ahead and caught MJ, fed him his private flake of breakfast hay, cleaned out his hooves and brushed the caked mud off by the time I got there. Since his belly was full/er Sam brought him to…

Full Summer Arrives

Afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s F. High humidity. Merciless sunshine.

Crippling weather for us with MS.

Fortunately I ride as early in the morning as I can arrange with the stables, 8:00 AM or 8:30 AM. I wish I could ride…

Changing Back My Bridle Works

Last Sunday Shannon picked me up. This meant that did not get to ride in the coolest part of the morning but it was not too bad.

I accidentally picked up MJ's bridle when I got my tack together that morning. Neither Shannon or I noticed this until rather late in the ride. After feeling fiery…

Negotiating Doing the Sitting Trot

When I started my lesson on Wednesday I gave Debbie my litany of the physical woes resulting from all the sitting trot I did for my lesson last week. Debbie's response was sensitive, showed that she heard me, and full of concern about my physical well-being “Well, I will stop asking you to do the sitting trot.” That was not my goal, MJ NEEDS some educated work…

Full Seated Sitting Trot

A little bit over a month ago I started off my rides on MJ by getting up into 2-point immediately after mounting and staying up in 2-point for 5 minutes. At least that was my goal. I did succeed in keeping my weight off my seat bones but there were times that my body sank down into a half-seat. This was in addition to all the times I would get up into 2-point because…

Fifty-One Years Ago Today

On July 4, 1970 I got my first horse, Hat Tricks, 5 year old chestnut Anglo-Arab gelding, green-broke and just gelded three weeks before. I had 4 years of trail riding experience, I had not ridden in years, and I only had 2 whole riding lessons in my life.

Hat Tricks was an angel. He taught me how…

My Ice Vest Helps Me Get My Butt out of the Saddle

Between doing more two-point, the increasing heat, a few days with a broken central air conditioner, and my son visiting it has been an exhausting few weeks.

No matter how much I practiced my two-point I had problems with getting my butt actually OUT of the saddle. Most of…

Too Much 2-Point Gets Me Exhausted

In the two previous weeks I had done 5 minutes of two-point for five minutes (with rests) when I started my rides, on both Cider and MJ. The results were GOOD, but I ended up just too exhausted. That puts me in a quandary, if I want a better ride I have to start off in 2-point from the first step, but after 4 sessions of this in a week and a half I was…

As Summer Nears

It is getting warmer down here. This weekend starts a string of days at 90° F on up. On Wednesday for my lesson I had put on my protective vest, and after grooming and walking to the ring I took it off as I was just getting too warm. I did not even put it on for my ride on Friday. I am hoping to delay…

MJ Has an Opinion

But first I also got to ride Cider.

When we got to where Cider lives right now Nancy had groomed Cider thoroughly, trying to get all the loose hair out of her coat. Nancy has all these neat grooming tools that I got the stable and she just about uses all of them each grooming session, the HandsOn grooming…

Three Speeds—A Work in Progress

Another week of just one ride, but it was my riding lesson!

When I got to the stable for my lesson on Wednesday Debbie was not there yet. Mary kindly brought MJ in for me and started grooming him, starting with cleaning out his hooves really well under the bar across his frog. Then she…

At Least it is Raining Again

I probably will not get to ride tomorrow. A whole lot of rain is coming, definitely enough to make Shannon's grass ring too wet for riding.

I am not complaining, I am rejoicing. We have not had much rain since winter and the vegetation is growing vigorously. The forests, ponds, streams, fields…

An Odd Type of Spring Fever?

It has been sort of “odd” riding the past few weeks. The two horses I ride now, well they have been old reliable lesson horses who face new things with at most a flick of an ear. Now, however, everything is viewed with suspicion at first, and they require a few “meditation breaks” where we just stand while the horse views his/her realm, eventually sighing, moving…