Ole' Trusty

I took Abby, our 3 year old Paint, out on her first trail ride Saturday.  Mark, the horse trainer wanted to go with me on our first ride, so we picked up a friend, Faith, and headed out to Cold Branch in Cripple Creek.  Abby hopped on the trailer, looking forward to her next adventure.  We noted that she was in heat, when Faith's gelding, Caller, came a callin'.  lol  Oh, well.  I wouldn't have ever known it was her time of the month, had she not peed every time she got close to her new boyfriend, Caller.  

 I hopped on her, and we rode off to the trail head.  She was curious, but very relaxed.  You can tell I was too, because I was able to take pictures of her maiden voyage.  

 There were 2 water crossings such as this.  She did great!  We're out in front in the above and lower picture.  

At this water crossing, the water hit her belly and she snorted a bit.  My feet got wet, but it felt great!  I'm so proud of this filly!

 She was shortly drinking and eating on the trail like any great trail horse!

 It was mostly a wooden path, with some mud, but nothing bothered Abby.  She remained calm, and seemed to really enjoy herself.  We opened a gate, rode through meadows, and crossed some treacherous water crossings.  She took it all in stride, though and didn't spook once.  

We took the lead the last leg of the journey.  She really liked being the boss.  Typical woman.  ha!  The scenery was gorgeous and I can't wait to take Ole' Trusty out on the trail again soon!

An A-Typical Thursday...

Since I've been working crazy long hours for nearly 2 weeks, I was given some time off.  SO, I decided I needed to hit the trails with Iney.  The endurance race is right around the corner, and I wanted to be sure I got as much riding in as possible. I hauled 2 hours to Falls Branch, Tn to a friend's 100 acre farm.  It was an eventful day.  It rained, I had a flat on my trailer, the farm ride scared the snot out of Iney (many boogie men trying to eat her), and then she decided she didn't want to get back on the trailer.  I was beyond exhausted, but it wasn't a complete wash.  She learned many valuable lessons on that ride.  I did too. 

Our garden this year has taken off.  We grow organic, no nasty dusting on our veggies!  We fertilize only with compost from our critters.  It really pays off!  Look at those zucchini!  The red and russet potatoes have done well also.  We dug up all the ones that were dying off, and collected about 15 gallons of potatoes.  Whew! 

We were invited over to Jenn's house.  She and her family are from Maryland and they came down for little Steven's 5th birthday party this weekend.  They brought 2 bushels of blue crabs.  Oh, my!  I was in heaven!!!

Jenn's brother-in-law, Bubba, showed Pyper the crabs.  She loved them!

Steamed goodness with Old Bay...



This was our pile of carnage.  It's a messy business, but man, it's sooo good!  It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. 

Horse Heaven

This weekend was one of the best ones in a long time.  We had fun last weekend camping, but this weekend was so relaxed and we got to spend it with our favorite 4 legged companions.  Mark Noel has introduced the bit to Abby, and like all things, she took it in stride.  He took her out in pastures to cut cows, and though she has NO cow sense, she didn't spook at them.  That's perfect in my book.  I don't want a cow horse.  I want a great trail horse.  And I think I've got her!

 Mark is very soft with his hands, not pulling in her mouth, and she responds so well to his gentle training.  She's very responsive and compliant.  She has some fire in her belly, and that's good.  I don't want a horse that's so laid back as they're boring.  I can't wait to ride her.  I could have on Sat, but I wasn't in the right attire (ahem--sundress and flip flops). 

 She picks up the lope and I could tell she was enjoying herself. 

 Look at that alert headset.  Just waiting for Mark's next cue.  That is the look of a happy horse!

After we visited Abby, we went to a yard sale down the road.  I bought a nice Hereford Yoakum western saddle for Shannon for a steal and a hay bag for future horse trips. 

 Our next trip trail riding was Sunday.  We met up with Kay and Joe (I did the endurance race with them 2 years ago) at Horse Heaven about 30 minutes from our little farm.  Shannon decided he wanted to come along.  He's never formally ridden on a ride, other than riding Anna bareback in the pasture with a halter and lead rope.  Kay brought Hank the Wonder Horse for Shannon.  They got along great.  Although Shannon said he felt sorry for Hank during the ride, because he had to put up with Shannon shifting his saddle and learning to ride a trot and canter on him.  I'm sure Hank didn't mind too badly. 

 Iney saw her buddies and wanted to be near them.  She was very anxious to go, and I had to really hold her back the first hour or so. 

 Midway through the ride, I took the camera from Shannon and tried taking pics while riding.  I'll apologize in advance for the blurry ones.  Kay takes MUCH better pics, and you can see them and her post on the ride at their family blog: http://4rranch.blogspot.com/2012/06/first-ride.html

 Shannon and Kay.  We did some trotting (we are conditioning for an endurance ride in Aug!) and Shannon held his own.  I was very proud of him and his willing attitude.  At one point, he wasn't sure if Pyper and Raegan would have siblings, but then he recovered and enjoyed the rest of the 8 mile loop.

Almost back to camp.  We took a side trail and went through the most relaxing and lovely trails at the end.  The Mountain Laurels were in bloom, moss on logs, birds singing, soft (then later, hard!) rain falling, creek crossings, and introspection made a great end to the ride.  Once back at the trailer, Iney had a bit of a horse tantrum and didn't want to stop.  She kept trying to get back on the road to the trails.  I think she could have gone another 8 miles with no problem.  I love trail riding.  Looking forward to more in the coming weeks and months.   We really enjoyed ourselves.  And Shannon's not very sore this morning!  Bonus!!!

Riding High

This Saturday, I loaded Iney up in the Barbie trailer and headed off to Fox Creek Horse Camp in Troutdale, Va.  It's "SUPPOSED" to be only 45 minutes away from my house, but the Nat'l Forestry Service gave some CRAZY directions.  Needless to say, it took me 2 hours to get there and I even ended up in NC at one point.  *SIGH*  Oh, well.  We got there in one piece, and I was very proud of that seeing as it was my first time driving a truck and trailer.  Whew!

 Iney munched on hay waiting on me to get my ride on...

 I met up with Nickie and Grace.  My Craigslist stalkers.  I met Grace (right on gray horse) 2 years ago when she came and took Blackie, our mini, off our hands.  I had listed him on Craiglist and she sounded like the best fit for our little guy.  She's an experienced horse lady and so much fun!  She, in turn, brought Nickie, who SHE met on Craigslist.  This is starting to sound kind of creepy, so I'll end the story about how we met. hee hee

 The best view a gal can have...

 Going up the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.  We were in Mt. Rogers National Park in Grayson County.  It was BEAUTIFUL and about 10 degrees cooler than further down. 

 We had to figure out where we were going, so Grace refers to my map.

She gets a second opinion from her horse Sophie Mae.  Sophie said we needed to go back.  HA!

 Iney and me!!!

Sophie Mae and the wild pink roses. 

The mountain laurels were about a week from really busting out.  They were bountiful and beautiful.

 Iney loved being in the back of the pack.  At one point, she was in the lead and kept snorting.  We need to build up her confidence a bit, but every ride will do that.  This is only her 2nd ride. 

Nickie on Sugar, me on Iney.  I was BEYOND proud of my girl.  She crossed difficult water passages, bridges, mud, saw deer, heard the wild ponies, saw motorcycles, cars, crossed a busy road, picked through some very rocky terrain and didn't balk once.  She is really coming along as my trail buddy.  Oh, and with the correct directions, it did take me only 45 minutes to get home. 

Moving Right Along

I got home last night at 6:30, got changed, packed up the kids and hubs and booked it over to see Abby.  She was going to have her 2nd ride!  She has mellowed out so much!  She never was very excitable, but she just takes things in stride.  My little girl is growing up!  *tear*  Mark saddled her having left the lead rope on the ground and she just kind of stood there.  He took her out to the arena, and she acted like it was a typical Wednesday night.  He put a rope halter he had made on her and attached reigns.  Viola!  An instant side pull was created.  He will start her with a bit a little later.  No need to rush!  Besides, I ride Iney and Anna in a bitless bridle. 

 He flexed her on both side and he commented how soft she was and will be on the bit.  He just picked up the reigns and she flexed. 

 He asked her to move forward, and she did so with no trepidation, and a willingness to please.

He then trotted her out.  I think she looks like a little endurance horse in the above picture!  Head high, proud to be doing so well.  She is incredibly flat kneed and throws her legs out in front of her.  To the point that Mark said she feels *almost* gaited.  LOL  He made sure to ask if I had verified her parentage and registration papers.  I don't know if I should be insulted or proud.  :)  Either way, she'll be a smooth ride. 

 He nudged her up into a canter, or lope as westerners call it.  She moved fluidly and gracefully as though she could care less that she had a man on her back.  Her canter will slow with experience and training. 

 Very soft, and he was able to do one reigned stops with her.  He is confident on how well she's doing that he's going to take her out on a trail soon.  I'm very proud of my little girl.  She'll be perfect for our family.  A trusty trail horse and occasional local show horse for me and the kids.  I don't dream any longer of APHA or AQHA shows.  I have lost all interest in showing the big time.  I just want to enjoy my horses and the scenery that is seen going down a trail with a trusted friend.