Monday, September 1, 2008
Back in the saddle again!
Well, today is Labor Day and I was able to go get a saddle I had sent off for repairs. Now we can both get on a horse at the same time. Yeah!!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Helmet debat
I live in Texas where everything is bigger, and I guess that includes the vanity. So I began recently to wonder what is it about the western sports that insist that participants wear cowboy hats. I understand that people look "dorky" in helmets, and you can look at the post below and see how I look, but I think I would rather look dorky while I ride than have an accident and not be able to walk or possibly worse. So, My question again. English sports and racing require helmets, even for adults, but western events, with the speed and unpredictability of all the animals involved do not. It doesn't make sense to me. See the following youtube video to maybe get your brain working more on this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0-A6T45xB0&feature=related
For more information about my opinion read more of my posts, especially the one labeled helmet.
For more information about my opinion read more of my posts, especially the one labeled helmet.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Parade Picture
Here's a picture from the 1st parade Koda and I were in. Notice the new blanket bought just for the parade. Isn't she purty!! No, I'm not pregnant!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Holiday Riding
Yep, Takoda's my dream horse!
I rode her three times this Saturday and Sunday, and have fallen in love. I will tell mainly about the 1st ride then skim the others. But first some background. My horse friends came up from near San Antonio and
spent the weekend with us. They brought their 3 beautiful horses. Tib is an 11yr old bay and white paint gelding that a very smart 14 yr old girl rides. She is going to the state horse show on him and does well in western pleasure riding events. Chubby is a 16 yr old palomino mare that the 11 yr old sister rides in the same events and is also doing very well and going to state. The mom was riding a 4yr old buckskin mare named Demi that the family is training for a cousin of theirs. Demi is green broke and has around 6 months training. She was started when she was 2, but got hurt so was not ridden for over a year.
In addition, my Kid rode her 30 yr old horse Scarlet (the first time outside an arena since the big fall (see the helmet to the right). I rode my WONDERFUL mare Koda.
The first ride was just with the mom, Gay, and her horse. We rode out in the big pasture with the snakes, cows, and pond. Demi was trying to spoke at anything that would move, but Gay's good. She had Demi side-pass to the gate to open the gate. A side-pass is where you make the horse walk sideways instead of foward. Koda did everything that I asked her to do. I walked her behind the 4 wheeler (she hates that) and then went to the pond. There is a
ravine into the pond that draws the water from the pasture. She went down the side of the ravine and to the water. She took a sniff, a drink, and then plowed through. No extra prodding needed. Then up the steep bank on the back side of the pond and a meander around to the dry creek bed. Again the sides were steep. We followed the cow trail in and up to the other side. We can't go in that pasture because of all the bugers we might find in the tall briars. Back through that creek bed and up a steeper section out. Gay and I then began searching for logs to cross. I started it with a small limb that was maybe a 3 inch diameter and we worked our way to more complex obstacles. All of this Koda just took in stride except for one limb. It was forked and she got her back legs tangled the first time she went over it. I had to work her back to that section of the limb. We quit after the logs to get the older daughter from the train station.
When we got her home from the station, we saddled all 5 horses and walked down our dirt road for about a half mile. We had to turn back because it was dark. Danged nighttime interferring with our riding! Again, Koda did everything I asked her to.
Today, we rode at the church arena after church. I go to a cowboy church and they just got the arena ready enough that people can cautiously ride. It still needs work but the church has only been open for 2 months. The kid wasn't feeling good so she just went home with her dad. I cantered (loped) on Koda for the first time today. I felt like I was going to fall of the whole time I cantered. I adjusted the stirrups and still felt like that. We do well in short distance trots but I really enjoy trail rides so I guess trot and canter are not very important right now. I guess that's something we have to work on. We did more trailriding type rides there and then came home.
Now that's a weekend like I have always wanted to have.
I rode her three times this Saturday and Sunday, and have fallen in love. I will tell mainly about the 1st ride then skim the others. But first some background. My horse friends came up from near San Antonio and
spent the weekend with us. They brought their 3 beautiful horses. Tib is an 11yr old bay and white paint gelding that a very smart 14 yr old girl rides. She is going to the state horse show on him and does well in western pleasure riding events. Chubby is a 16 yr old palomino mare that the 11 yr old sister rides in the same events and is also doing very well and going to state. The mom was riding a 4yr old buckskin mare named Demi that the family is training for a cousin of theirs. Demi is green broke and has around 6 months training. She was started when she was 2, but got hurt so was not ridden for over a year.In addition, my Kid rode her 30 yr old horse Scarlet (the first time outside an arena since the big fall (see the helmet to the right). I rode my WONDERFUL mare Koda.
The first ride was just with the mom, Gay, and her horse. We rode out in the big pasture with the snakes, cows, and pond. Demi was trying to spoke at anything that would move, but Gay's good. She had Demi side-pass to the gate to open the gate. A side-pass is where you make the horse walk sideways instead of foward. Koda did everything that I asked her to do. I walked her behind the 4 wheeler (she hates that) and then went to the pond. There is a
ravine into the pond that draws the water from the pasture. She went down the side of the ravine and to the water. She took a sniff, a drink, and then plowed through. No extra prodding needed. Then up the steep bank on the back side of the pond and a meander around to the dry creek bed. Again the sides were steep. We followed the cow trail in and up to the other side. We can't go in that pasture because of all the bugers we might find in the tall briars. Back through that creek bed and up a steeper section out. Gay and I then began searching for logs to cross. I started it with a small limb that was maybe a 3 inch diameter and we worked our way to more complex obstacles. All of this Koda just took in stride except for one limb. It was forked and she got her back legs tangled the first time she went over it. I had to work her back to that section of the limb. We quit after the logs to get the older daughter from the train station.
When we got her home from the station, we saddled all 5 horses and walked down our dirt road for about a half mile. We had to turn back because it was dark. Danged nighttime interferring with our riding! Again, Koda did everything I asked her to.Today, we rode at the church arena after church. I go to a cowboy church and they just got the arena ready enough that people can cautiously ride. It still needs work but the church has only been open for 2 months. The kid wasn't feeling good so she just went home with her dad. I cantered (loped) on Koda for the first time today. I felt like I was going to fall of the whole time I cantered. I adjusted the stirrups and still felt like that. We do well in short distance trots but I really enjoy trail rides so I guess trot and canter are not very important right now. I guess that's something we have to work on. We did more trailriding type rides there and then came home.
Now that's a weekend like I have always wanted to have.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Summer update
I think Koda and I have finally figured out the bonding thing. Usually, when I go in the pasture to catch her or just to go up and scratch her, she runs away taking the other horse with her. Since Saturday, she's been standing still and letting me catch her or at least not running off to the other end of the pasture.
So the routine with Koda has been every night or at least 4 nights a week, I go out and do something with her. I wait until 7pm to do anything because it is still so hot here that it's torture before that time. As it is, we are both sweating profusely within 20 mins. We started the month with longe line work. I did that for about 2 weeks. Then one day, I finally got brave again and saddled her up. The first day I did that, I rode her with a hackamore. We got the hackamore from her previous owner when we got her. She has never accepted the reining commands I give with the hackamore and that day was no different. I had my husband hold her on longe line while I instructed her gaits (walk, trot, and stop) and directions. Later that week, I got off the longe line and rode her in the small section of the pasture. By this time I changed her to a ring snaffle bit. I eventually started riding her in the big part of that same pasture.
The big change was this past week. We went to New Braunfels Wednesday, and I rode Koda out in the open. No fence to block her in. She did great. She got a little skittish when it got dark and the other horse we were riding with disappeared. She was probably sensing some of my concern too. The other rider is an accomplished rider who started training my kid and myself before she moved. She was riding a horse they are training and it was acting silly. My concerns were that it was dark, I couldn't see the path, and she didn't know it that well either. And there was always the possibility of the horse throwing her. It was dark after all. But Koda was great, just a little nervous and everyone made it home.
The next day, we took her with us to their horse show. One of my friend's girls rode Koda most of the morning and she behaved really well, until her friend left the arena (notice a pattern here?). Then I took her on Friday evening on a trial ride where we were going to ride in the parade. I even took her to the fire station where they were getting ready. They blew their sirens. She was a perfect angel for all except the truck's backing racket ("beep, beep") but even then, she just was jittery. She listened to me and followed my instructions.
The parade was a HUGE success for us!! She was perfect. She did kick at 2 horses, but we think she did it because she is in heat. When she kicked, she did not make contact. I think it was a warning to the other horses..."I'm slightly moody right now and my boyfriend is in New Braunfels, Back Off!" We will have to watch that to see. By the way, we will be in the 4th of July parade in a nearby town.
Pictures coming soon.
So the routine with Koda has been every night or at least 4 nights a week, I go out and do something with her. I wait until 7pm to do anything because it is still so hot here that it's torture before that time. As it is, we are both sweating profusely within 20 mins. We started the month with longe line work. I did that for about 2 weeks. Then one day, I finally got brave again and saddled her up. The first day I did that, I rode her with a hackamore. We got the hackamore from her previous owner when we got her. She has never accepted the reining commands I give with the hackamore and that day was no different. I had my husband hold her on longe line while I instructed her gaits (walk, trot, and stop) and directions. Later that week, I got off the longe line and rode her in the small section of the pasture. By this time I changed her to a ring snaffle bit. I eventually started riding her in the big part of that same pasture.
The big change was this past week. We went to New Braunfels Wednesday, and I rode Koda out in the open. No fence to block her in. She did great. She got a little skittish when it got dark and the other horse we were riding with disappeared. She was probably sensing some of my concern too. The other rider is an accomplished rider who started training my kid and myself before she moved. She was riding a horse they are training and it was acting silly. My concerns were that it was dark, I couldn't see the path, and she didn't know it that well either. And there was always the possibility of the horse throwing her. It was dark after all. But Koda was great, just a little nervous and everyone made it home.
The next day, we took her with us to their horse show. One of my friend's girls rode Koda most of the morning and she behaved really well, until her friend left the arena (notice a pattern here?). Then I took her on Friday evening on a trial ride where we were going to ride in the parade. I even took her to the fire station where they were getting ready. They blew their sirens. She was a perfect angel for all except the truck's backing racket ("beep, beep") but even then, she just was jittery. She listened to me and followed my instructions.
The parade was a HUGE success for us!! She was perfect. She did kick at 2 horses, but we think she did it because she is in heat. When she kicked, she did not make contact. I think it was a warning to the other horses..."I'm slightly moody right now and my boyfriend is in New Braunfels, Back Off!" We will have to watch that to see. By the way, we will be in the 4th of July parade in a nearby town.
Pictures coming soon.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Summer's Here!!!
It's almost been one week since school let out and I have been busy. Of course there's the standard catching up on laundry, cleaning house and so on. In addition to that it's now time for the horse and myself to seriously bond. I started at the beginning of this week with daily training for both of us. The goal is to be ready to ride Takoda in a parade at the end of the month.
I am learning how to longe her. I found a website that has great information. http://www.kbrhorse.net/tra/line01.html has a step-by-step guide to longing, round pen work, and other basics. We have been working on getting the instructions for walk, trot and canter (though I think I am going to say "lope" instead) together. Koda and I are having to do the ground work without a round pen. I just found a place in the pasture close to the house and started doing the ground work. We are having issues with keeping the circle round and having serious trouble with the lope. It will come though. I will have the husband record a session and I'll post it soon.
When, if, I start teaching others to ride, I think I will begin the students with ground work. When they can do the ground work, they can then begin to ride. Ground work is hard and has not been covered at my riding lessons or at the 4-H riding club meetings. It's kind of weird that the way to get respect from horses gets neglected in the training sessions.
Horse events coming up this summer:
There is a rodeo in a nearby town this week, then a local 4-H district horse show next week for our 4-H district. The ferrier comes next weekend and then the following week, we go to New Braunfels to visit some friends and go to their district horse show. That weekend is the local parade I want to ride Koda in.
I am learning how to longe her. I found a website that has great information. http://www.kbrhorse.net/tra/line01.html has a step-by-step guide to longing, round pen work, and other basics. We have been working on getting the instructions for walk, trot and canter (though I think I am going to say "lope" instead) together. Koda and I are having to do the ground work without a round pen. I just found a place in the pasture close to the house and started doing the ground work. We are having issues with keeping the circle round and having serious trouble with the lope. It will come though. I will have the husband record a session and I'll post it soon.
When, if, I start teaching others to ride, I think I will begin the students with ground work. When they can do the ground work, they can then begin to ride. Ground work is hard and has not been covered at my riding lessons or at the 4-H riding club meetings. It's kind of weird that the way to get respect from horses gets neglected in the training sessions.
Horse events coming up this summer:
There is a rodeo in a nearby town this week, then a local 4-H district horse show next week for our 4-H district. The ferrier comes next weekend and then the following week, we go to New Braunfels to visit some friends and go to their district horse show. That weekend is the local parade I want to ride Koda in.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Dogs, Horses and Wind
I got home from work today with a couple of expectations. First was that my husband would be in a class tonight and not home. Second, we were supposed to have lots of rain. Third, is that I had to rotate the animals tonight.
Our wonderful labweiler (part lab - part rottweiler - mostly goofy) decided to let his lab parts
shine lately. He is escaping the fence where we keep him during the day. To correct this temporarily, we will put them in the horse pasture. It's fenced with bull wire and is about 2 acres of land. He should be happier in there for a little while. We closed off part of the cow pasture and put the horses in there. This is good because it was time to rotate pastures anyway. The 2 problems with this pasture are that it is leased for cattle (we have permission to rotate occasionally as long as the horses don't eat it all to the roots.) and there is not much shelter from anything in there. We build the loafing shed in the horse pasture.
So I decided the weather was going to miss us so the kid and I went out and got the horses and started grooming them. As we were grooming, it started thundering. We picked up the pace. I asked the kid if she wanted to go ahead and put them in the new pasture or wait until tomorrow morning in case it storms. We decided we don't get up early enough to switch pastures in the morning. So first, I close the pasture off, then the horses are released. Then we have to deal with the feed. Their feed containers are clipped to the fence on the horse pasture and have to be moved to the new one. And we have to feed and we have to water.
Meanwhile, remember the thunder? It's getting worse and now there's even lightening to go with it and the wind picks up. We got through with every thing except the water as the worst of the storm is beginning. It was around 8pm. I left the water running and ran the kid inside so we could listen to the fire dept scanner. As I turned it on they announced that there was a TORNADO warning for our county and specifically that they have sighted funnel clouds in our town!! We got flashlights, cell phones, and my kid's mattress and huddled on the floor by my bed for a while. The tornado touched down southeast of our town and we are west of the town.
The horses are ok (no thanks to us moving them in the shelter-free pasture) and we had absolutely no damage at our house. Unfortunately, my husband, the firefighter, is out still helping with damage repair in our area. He was called out of his class to help.
It is now 11pm. The stars and moon are out and my household is safe even though he's still out.
Our wonderful labweiler (part lab - part rottweiler - mostly goofy) decided to let his lab parts
shine lately. He is escaping the fence where we keep him during the day. To correct this temporarily, we will put them in the horse pasture. It's fenced with bull wire and is about 2 acres of land. He should be happier in there for a little while. We closed off part of the cow pasture and put the horses in there. This is good because it was time to rotate pastures anyway. The 2 problems with this pasture are that it is leased for cattle (we have permission to rotate occasionally as long as the horses don't eat it all to the roots.) and there is not much shelter from anything in there. We build the loafing shed in the horse pasture.So I decided the weather was going to miss us so the kid and I went out and got the horses and started grooming them. As we were grooming, it started thundering. We picked up the pace. I asked the kid if she wanted to go ahead and put them in the new pasture or wait until tomorrow morning in case it storms. We decided we don't get up early enough to switch pastures in the morning. So first, I close the pasture off, then the horses are released. Then we have to deal with the feed. Their feed containers are clipped to the fence on the horse pasture and have to be moved to the new one. And we have to feed and we have to water.
Meanwhile, remember the thunder? It's getting worse and now there's even lightening to go with it and the wind picks up. We got through with every thing except the water as the worst of the storm is beginning. It was around 8pm. I left the water running and ran the kid inside so we could listen to the fire dept scanner. As I turned it on they announced that there was a TORNADO warning for our county and specifically that they have sighted funnel clouds in our town!! We got flashlights, cell phones, and my kid's mattress and huddled on the floor by my bed for a while. The tornado touched down southeast of our town and we are west of the town.
The horses are ok (no thanks to us moving them in the shelter-free pasture) and we had absolutely no damage at our house. Unfortunately, my husband, the firefighter, is out still helping with damage repair in our area. He was called out of his class to help.
It is now 11pm. The stars and moon are out and my household is safe even though he's still out.
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