Well, my trainer had her second ride on little Maggie yesterday. Maggie tried her patented move, 'The Maggie', a clever combination of buck, leap and rear. Now I've never really managed to enforce a consequence with that move, you know, laying in the dirt, with my ankle dislocated, bleeding, it wasn't something I was up to. Maggie found out about consequences!

And today was ride #3. Well well, someone's a very smart horse! She was very good, very gorgeous and very contrite. My…

Typical for southern Alberta, nothing is typical in weather. So, this weekend we had 25C and 22C or so. And after the crappy summer we had, I HAD to get outside with little Maggie.

Friday was work in the arena, 25 minutes because that's as long as I could be VERY specific and demanding with her about being forward and answering the aids promptly. She did well. This was my first ride after my trainer was on her Wednesday.

Saturday, pure decadence, I went and…

Ah my little Maggie, aka Muffin, aka Muffinator, aka Magnolia, aka Maggie Mae.

Wednesday I wasn't feeling well, so my intrepid trainer rode Maggie. This was her first schooling ride on her. So, what did we learn? Doesn't react properly to the whip (hind legs move, but she sucks behind the leg), doesn't bend in her body, doesn't really take contact on the right rein, probably because she doesn't really take contact on the left rein....

We've made progress getting…

I just have to post a couple pictures of my little man when we put a saddle pad on him. He's 2 1/2 months old and a 'whole world of trouble'. He's by Popeye out of a Cheops Z x Tango Selune mare. I love…

I've been on vacation, and that was quite nice. After the long weekend I took my mare down to Lethbridge (plus 3 cats), to visit Mom and Dad and the other three horses. My big girl is great in the trailer, but every time I put her in, I worry. I suspect part of it is just me being a worrier, part of it is that I've had some tires blow with her in the trailer, and had to change them. Now that went well, and I have a full set of new tires on the trailer (please people, after 5 or 6 years, just…

Ah my little child, she is quite the charmer. Lately when being taken out to the field, she's been squealing and rearing. Her very favourite means of letting you know she's ready to be seriously naughty. So, we've put on her rope halter, it only takes one good thwack of that with the nice heavy lead rope... consequences, and it's done.

Had a very lovely ride on her today. I think I may have convinced her that I am more patient than she is, I'm not going to give in just…