I stuck to it ....well for the most part !

As I write this I can honestly say I'm a little proud of myself.....yes, just a little bit proud.

I said I was going to ride Red horse in the arena working on specifically collection and flexing, so I did, now I will openly admit that as an old re-rider that has not been riding much (HArdly Atall), I am not always motivated physically to saddle up, I am always motivated mentally, aaaaaand it's been getting worse.
Along with not saddling up comes getting very out of shape for riding and just life in general, which I must change for health sake anyway.
So when you do go to saddle up a 17hh horse it seems like such an effort, honestly by the time I was done grooming I felt like my work out was done....but I didn't stop there oh no I kept right on going until you guessed it the saddle was on!

I then took my good ol boy and went to the very important mounting block, next thing you know I was aboard and off we went. We opted for the indoor arena as the dust is fairly non-existent in there and we started off at a collected walk, I'm not going to lie that horse made it hard for me to keep him collected at a walk but we got it most of the time.
To make my job easier I kept him in a nice circle not using the whole arena, then we picked up that trot .....ohmyGod....I felt like we were every which way, between posting and attempting to keep Red on the circle and collected YIKES....but we got it....not the entire time but we had moments of good stuff!

I have to say it was not a long work out since the two of us were not at our best so to speak, well one of us more than the other, but it was good, very, very good!

The best part of the work out for Red horse....until next time happy trails !

RED HORSE !

I got to thinking after my last post, Flirt needs time to heal, I really need to ride or get off the pot and call it a pasture pal hobby. Not that attempting to ride and bond with my mare wasn't a really good intention, it was and it still is, just delayed a little that's all.

With that said, my next brainstorm was one I had blogged about earlier, RED HORSE, I had full intentions of getting in to shape using Red horse as my work out partner, so what happened, well I got to having fun doing all kinds of things but not riding that's all, life of a re-rider, we do a lot of other stuff.

Red horse has been having fun this summer with others, he has taken out trail rides, he has been playing at the river, Red horse horse has been borrowed to head out to have fun, he has had some rides from my daughter, none of those things will get Red horse to use his body or improve his gait.

It is my intention to work with Red horse to improve his work ethic (mine too), get him to start using his body correctly (mine too), collection, flexing, and improve his gaits. When this light bulb went off in my head I reached out to a fellow blogger who is also a Standardbred trainer http://harnessphoto.blogspot.com/ for some tips on where to start, got those tips and I'm ready to roll !

Of course here comes the hard part, getting myself to follow through regardless of all the other fun things that I can find to do, this re-rider is not so fond of working that hard anymore....hey, kinda like Red horse imaging that, I wonder where he gets it from!
So I am off to the barn tomorrow with the intention of getting a "good ride" on that beast LOL, there will be an update, I promise!

Until next time happy trails !

They just aren't built to last....but it could have been worse !

So, the one thing I've learned in the years of having horses in my life is that they are not built to last.
I suppose when I was young I didn't really understand just how fragile they are, from their digestive system to the intricate make up of their hooves, they just aren't made to last. I suppose that's how the herds were thinned back before they became our companions.
Of course now we spare no expense on diet, health, hoof care etc......soooo speaking of sparing no expense, yes, as I type I am reminded of how my bank account gets smaller every month due to pony care, there is regular pony care monthly expense, there is the every few month added expense, then there is the dreaded they just aren't built to last expense that comes with the vet visit.
As I described in my last blog my mare has been off in the rear for a couple of weeks, had the Chiro out $, let her rest, then had the farrier out for the every couple month expense $.
During the farrier visit $, when my mares turn came for her shoes, my very competent wonderful farrier could hardly get the back leg up, she was not being difficult or naughty in any way she was just avoiding pain $.
The plan, trim her only and call the vet $, which I did, on the following Thursday our great very competent vet $ came to call $.
My dear Ms. Flirt has a stifle injury $ which he fittingly called stiffling herself $, with that I paid the nice man $, and our rehab plan is in affect $. This turns out to not be such a bad time for this since I am also rehabbing a bad foot $.

Hey it could have been worse!

Until next time happy trails and stay healthy, you and your pony !

Like horsey, like rider!

So last week when riding Ms. Flirt I realized she was "off " on the back end, at the same time I was also off on the lower end, actually we were both off on one foot.
I took myself to a foot Dr. where I had the shot from hell, but alas it's feeling better, Ms. Flirt had the chiropractor out, she also had several issues, but yes she is feeling better.
Which brings me to my curious thought, as the chiropractor was working on the mare we discussed how out of shape she was and how conditioning will be her best friend to keep her sound, then it dawned on me....ME TOO!
Lord I hate that......but it means I am going to have to make an effort.......oh poo, I'm going to give it my best.

This never happened when I was young.....only as a re-rider!

Until next time, Happy trails....

"OH MY"

As promised on my last post I gathered up the UMPH to get over to the stable and ride, I did, I drove right on over there. On my way there I also decided that I was going to start riding my pretty little mare (well not so little) anyhoo I got there with all the enthusiasm I needed to follow through with my intentions. 
I haltered her up and we headed up the drive, leaving her screaming 2 year old to throw his tantrum with out us watching or validating his behavior.....I didn't always do that so I was very proud of myself.

I groomed then saddled, walked around the indoor arena in hand looked at scary things like jumps and stuff, then headed out to the large round pen, where we could see our 2 year old in full view still throwing a tantrum {he's very fast by the way).
Not having ridden my girl in about 3 years I was a little apprehensive as any old re-rider should be, I also watched her short amount of training at which time I realized, I REALLY liked my Red horse, he has never displayed the kind of moves my girl did. But that's all behind her she's a good girl now, that's what I was telling myself before the mount, so I did, I mounted up from the ground as I could not find my beloved mounting block, up I went breath held landed where I wanted to and my good girl just stood there.
OK we are off to a great start, I'm up she's standing still life is good, except for the annoying 2 year old throwing his tantrum, STILL.
Feeling pretty darn good about things we walk off, we walk a while all is good so we pick up a trot, that's where the whole day took a turn for the worst.
We are trotting around, I'm trying to pay attention to giving the correct ques (as she's very sensitive to that), I feel something that's not quite right, so we come down to a walk and all seems fine, we pick the trot back up and there it is again, that down right awful feeling that screams, lame.
To be absolutely certain I call over the resident expert, she first watches and says yes it's in the rear end, at that point I dismount (without crumpling to the ground I might add) and have Bekkah get on and take a spin while I watch the poor girl short step on the rear end.
What can I say "OH MY" no that's not what I said, mine sounded more like "OH F%*#K.
With that said, I am now on a mission to find out what the heck is going on, that can be a process but one we can handle.

I  kept my promise I got my behind on my horse and I blogged about it, that's a good thing, I'm also just certain that my sweet little momma will be back to good in no time, myself and the professionals will see to that!
Our naughty 2 year old, well, he did get to come out and get some attention, but that's a whole other post:)

Until next time...... happy trails!

Motivation or lack there of....and stuff

OK so it's been a very long time, in fact a really really long time.

This is sort of a confession I suppose, not only have I lacked complete motivation to Blog I have lacked complete motivation to ride, a very sad but true statement.

I did have one little short episode I should mention, my daughter has been riding our Red horse a little and on one of those occasions I decided I should hop on and take a little walk around, so I did.
Of course Red horse being the steady eddie that he is it was completely UN-eventful, until I decided to get off.
I brought Red horse up to the barn and parked him facing the inside, I then swung my leg over and of course being that he is 17hh I take my foot out of the stirrup and jump down, sounds easy right.
Well on that particular day I forgot that my left foot has been swelling from some sort of injury that my old brain can't remember but that's another story, the BOTTOM line is I landed on the ground and the foot didn't hold or anything else from the waste down.....I just kept right on going until I was sitting along side of Reds front leg looking the opposite way...REALLY...that did not just happen.
I not only landed flat on my tush I had shorts on, not a pretty sight......but good OL Red horse behaved as if this never happened, he just stood looking directly at the barn and didn't flinch, I can't imagine what was running through his head but the sweet boy never showed it.

Just prior to the incident

So there you have it, I will say I am going to make a big effort to take the time to ride and blog, you heard it here first!

Until next time..... Happy trails to you and hopefully me !

Return of the Red horse....well really he's a bay:)

Red is back, he did not turn in to the worlds best back country trail horse, it just wasn't in his cards.
What is in his cards is a silly old woman that thinks he's the cats meow, so we start our relationship back up with some trail riding, most of all he will be my personal trainer.
Yes Red horse is a work out, you can't sit that trot without an awful lot of core strength, needless to say posting helps with the thighs and bum :) YES my personal trainer is back, just in time for summer!
I've taken a couple of rides on Red horse since his return, we picked up right where we left off, I think the world of him in return he is as honest as the day is long, so we are off to a good start.
Of course that leaves my sweet mare, never fear along my journey I met my soul mate, my best friend, my love....his name as you will probably see him scattered throughout my posts is Jim, I am a very lucky lady, it just so happens that my sweet mare is just what Jim would order, size gaits temperament, yup she's his girl.
Of course we are talking about trail riding as I have not given up on barrel racing, oh know that is just starting up again now the sweet mare delivered the naughty baby, she will be my partner in crime in the gaming world, we have a lot of work to do.
So there you have it, some changes yet again, life is always changing this time for the better.

Until next time.....HAPPY TRAILS!