And what can I write about this week?  For my lesson on Wednesday it was HOT and muggy.  Then it cooled down on Friday, when I could not ride, it didn't even get up to 70 F, nice, cool and breezy.  Now the heat is coming back in, this morning when I rode it was not too bad but the weathermen are predicting brutal heat by Wednesday.  It was nice to have a break in the heat. 

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I finally got the reins fixed on my Spirit bridle so I could use them without getting distracted.  Since Debbie is off showing at the NC State Fair this week I did not get a lesson, I could not even go out on Wednesday to ride since everybody was leaving early, right when I ride.  So Friday I cheerfully got out to the stable, my son was with me so he could do most of the work!  I got to trim Mia's hooves and for once she was not too kicky with her hind…

Since I finally found a tack repair guy willing to make the reins of my Spirit bridle shorter I could not use my Spirit bridle this week.  Deprived of my new tack I sat looking at all my other bitless options and I remembered the sort of dead feeling contact with them.  I decided to see if I was right with my hypothesis that the feel of the Spirit bridle was so much like that of a bit that I would have no problems switching back to a bit.  So I sat…

I read something this week that totally mazed my mind.  Since I am unable to even think about anything else I guess I will write about it. 

On Barbara Ellin Fox's US Horsemanship blog she has a posting on the modern misuse of draw reins (the web address is at the end.)  As a general rule I do not like draw reins, I know that, in experienced well trained hands, they can be…

I just got to ride once this week, this morning.  I missed some glorious low humidity and cooler riding weather this week because Debbie had her camp.  Now the heat and humidity are back.  At least my ice vest helps. 

As usual when I cannot ride I drowned my sorrows by reading a horse book.  This time it was "Equitation Science" by Greely & McLean, a book about the…

This week it has been HOT and muggy down here in N.C..  My body is having some trouble adjusting to the heat this year, nothing major, but the heat came on so quickly!  I have really needed my canes to walk this week.  At least I can still ride at a walk! 

This all worked out good with Mia.  When I got to the stable Debbie's husband brought Mia up like he usually does,…

I only got to ride once this week.  At least it was interesting!

Because of Mia's stone bruise I could not ride her this week.  So Debbie put me on Amira, another Arab mare who needs work.  Just what I needed, getting up on a new horse during a hot muggy day.  I am not at my best on hot muggy days, I do not notice as much, my intelligence goes down, and I am worse…

I finally got to ride Cider again today.  Since she had turned into a nappy pony the last four times I rode her I sat down and thought about her reactions.  I realized that each time she had turned nappy she had something between her front legs in front of her regular girth, first the anatomic girth and then the running martingle.  So today she got her regular girth, no running martingle, nothing between her front legs,…

Two weeks ago an interesting thing happened when I rode Mia.  I finally had found my old string fly fringe that goes over the browband.  I really like the anti-fly tack that was developed in the days before effective fly spray.  I try to avoid the fly sprays and persticides as I do not think they are good for my compromised nervous system.  I put ear nets on my horses when the gnats appear in the spring, and I also use a fly whisk on the horses who…

Around 2 years ago I discovered Barnmice and started blogging for the first time in my life. 

I was in shock, for I had been on the net for several years and could not believe how much the horse world had changed since the last time I had been involved with horse shows and riding.  I…

Over 40 years ago when I got my first horse I never saw a woman under a horse trimming hooves.  I bought into all the people that said that only farriers knew enough to do a good job on hooves, and as I looked around ALL the farriers were men, strong muscular men.  However once I switched my horse to pasture board he just did not get his feet trimmed regularly.  Luckily I had his shoes taken off or the situation would have been worse!  One day I was in…

First, let me send my sympathies for all of you affected by the wildfires, droughts, floods, tornados, earthquakes and other disasters.

I was not in my best riding form this week since I'm on an antibiotic.  My feet feel sort of like they are not attached to me.  My balance is not at its best either.  In spite of this I had some amazing rides, well amazing rides for me. …

The heat has come back to NC.  Both my teachers have already started murmuring about me coming out an hour earlier to ride.  My wonderful half chaps have come off--they are too hot.  Fortunately my new support stockings are tight enough so my lower leg has some idea of where it is.  Soon I will have to start riding in my ice vest, though I am delaying this as long as I can since the ice can trigger muscle spasms if I use it when the weather is still…

Normally at this time of year I am happily riding in a bit, but with the horrible cold I had two months ago my hands are not currently good enough to ride with a bit.  I was not looking forward to riding bitless because, face it, riding bitless in all the different types of bitless systems I've used, I NEVER got the type of results that I expect with a bit.  The obedience was fine, but I was missing the subtlety of the bit, the ability to make all those…

Fatigue is the worst symptom of my Multiple Sclerosis.  Not only does it affect my riding, my fatigue makes it extremely hard to take care of horses.  If it was not for the fatigue the rest of my symptoms would not matter as much, but everytime I ride or handle horses I tire quickly, and as I tire all the rest of my symptoms rapidly get worse.  ANYTHING I do before I ride tires me, getting up, eating, riding in the car to the stable, and then walking…

I have had problems with my balance my whole life.  My faulty balance is part of the reason that I never really learned how to jump well.  It is probably also the reason why I never managed to get the results I wanted when I tried to use my seat aids to subtly influence the horse.  When I learned I had MS I finally realized why I was unsuccessful in attaining the highest levels of horsemanship.  They all require perfect balance.  This lack of balance is…

When I got back to riding after being diagnosed with MS I found that I never knew where my lower legs were.  I would start of riding with my lower legs in the right place, and sometime during the ride my attention would go elsewhere and my lower legs would start drifting along the horse's sides.  My toes were pointing too far out, I was pivoting on my knees, bringing my lower leg too far back, and when I tried to correct this I would put too much weight…

Ever since I got my first horse, the Anglo-Arab Hat Tricks, I have been trying to ride at as high a level as I can.  I faced repeated frustrations due to my undiagnosed MS as it affected my balance, coordination, and proprioceptive sense (I could not tell where parts of my body were.)  In spite of all this my riding gradually improved, and I got to riding reliably at a low to middle intermediate level in the Forward Seat system.  Even my jumping improved, not that I was ever…

This is just one of those Sundays, it is raining so I can't ride, but I can't complain as we are in a drought and we need every drop of rain.  The horses are going to adore the fresh new growth in their pastures and we will have a whole week with no below freezing temperatures.  Ah, spring.

Wednesday, when I got to the stable Debbie was trying to finish a barn chore and…

Spring has arrived early here in NC.  Today it is supposed to get up to 70 F.  The horses are shedding like crazy, the trees are pumping out pollen, and the fruit farmers are really worried because the flower buds on their trees are preparing to bloom.  Sometime in the next month or two we will probably get another sharp freeze down in the 20's F.  Meanwhile I am enjoying the clement weather.

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