Last Friday was the first time I rode a horse in a year and a half. And it was fun . . . even though I couldn't walk for the better part of five days!
A little over nine years ago I had to sell my appendix Quarter Horse, Buster. I bought him as a green-broke 2-year-old. Green-broke means he would carry a rider at a walk, trot, and lope--a Western cowboy broke him so he loped, not catered. He had little-to-no steering, but he did have a stop. Buster was the one horse that I didn't want to sell, but I had to sell. It was all about the finances at this point. When I told the trainer to sell him, I didn't expect him to be shipped off to Kansas City and sold within a week. I expected the more traditional timeline of 6 months to a year before he was sold.
I guess I did a good job training him as an event horse.
Buster was a blast to ride. The combination of thoroughbred and Quarter Horse was perfect. He was always willing to try something new--though I do have a busted finger from the time he didn't want to jump the Liverpool and I did (my finger was tangled in the reins--a no-no as you should drop the reins when you go flying). In the ten years that I owned him, I think that was one of the handfuls of times I actually paid a trainer to get on my horse--to teach him to jump Liverpool's.
He was such a good boy. Many times I would be bored working him in the arena that I'd leave the gates open gallop into the arena, concentrate on various types of collection, and then gallop out of the arena to run up and down hills and through the pond. And if you thought I was a kid riding like this, you'd be wrong. I was in my forties. This type of fun kept us both happy.
Ah, he was about as bomb-proof as a horse could get. I still get teary-eyed when I think about him.
Fast forward to a year and a half ago--The horse I rode was a pasture horse owned by my previous barn owner. He was a good horse and eventually, I worked on making him supple--he was like riding a two-by-four, with no ability to bend and he motorcycled around corners (leaned in), etc. It was fun to be riding again, but there was no real 'purpose' to riding this horse.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I was chatting with swim mom Margaret--yes, her name is the same as mine--about horses--coincidence? I think not--and she suggested I ride her horse as she hadn't been able to ride him as often as she would have liked. She also told me that I was in a blue funk (my words, not hers) because I missed the smell of manure, leather and that spiciness that is pure HORSE.
She was right.
Last Friday, I took a 'lesson' (I think Margaret and her trainer wanted to see what I remembered and to know Bounce wasn't going to toss me) on a horse named Blue--a round little roan that rode like another 2 X 4, and then Bounce, Margaret's thoroughbred.
I still got some skills, not mad skills, but rusty ones!
Neither Margaret nor the trainer realized how the horse got the name Bounce. I found this very interesting since I figured it out with his very first canter step!
His bouncy canter nearly popped me out of the saddle!
Afterwards, I went home and took a hot shower and ate Aleve for five days while my inner thighs screamed in agony.
Yesterday, I rode Bounce again.
We had a few conversations about his jigging at the walk--that's where they prance in place, usually in anticipation of cantering. This is not a behavior you want in dressage or the hunters. After trying to figure out how to 'fix' this, I realized what was causing the problem. While you could get him on the bit at a walk, he had a hard time actively walking forward, and Bounce's answer to this problem was to jig.
It took me about 40 minutes, but with numerous shoulder-ins and haunches-in, I managed to get him to stretch his hind legs up under himself to actively walk forward, instead of jigging or trotting. When he kept a nice frame both directions, I stopped for the day.
Shoulder-in/Haunches-in: Normally, horses track in two paths, one for each side of their bodies. With the shoulder-in/haunches-in they track in three lines. For example with a right shoulder-in: the right fore hoof will be on it's own track, the middle track is the left fore and right hind will track in the same line, with the final track being the left hind. This makes the horse have to stretch under himself more to keep the correct angle of the drill.
He'll need work to stretch those muscles every time, but once he understood what I asked, he was very happy to comply.
When I chatted with Margaret's trainer last Friday, she commented, "You need a project horse." That is so true. I love riding, but I love riding with a purpose. Since I don't have a horse of my own, I'll enjoy Margaret's horse for as long as it is mutually beneficial for three of us--yes, I included Bounce in this.
As a thoroughbred, some horses tend to gather steam as they gallop--Bounce does this. I want him to be truly focused on ME and my requests before I take him out of the arena.
But I can't wait until we're ready to gallop around the the property.
Later, Peeps!
Showing posts with label horses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horses. Show all posts
5/2/13
2/27/12
Touching Others
I will be the first to admit that I live in my own little world, a vacuum if you will. I do my thang. I do family stuff. I'll post to my goals groups. I'll help friends out if they are in need for a shoulder to cry on, to critique, to gritch about life in general. I belong to the PTA, but I'm not really 'active' unless someone calls for help. I do know the word NO and I know how to use it.
But last week, I had a few surprises. None of them were big surprises, but each one of them touched me.
1) My friend Cyndi sent me 21K on her new story to critique. Now, Cyndi writes contemporary cowboy stories, romances along the lines of Harlequin. I don't read these stories on a regular basis, but I do enjoy Cyndi's stories. Imagine my surprise when I saw my name, MAGS.
Recently, I've been calling myself Mags when I comment on blogs, post to my goals group, or whenever. This isn't unusual since I tend to add an "s" to other peoples names as a term of endearment (Jods, Megs, etc) if it works with their name.
So when I come across this secondary character's name in Cyndi's manuscript, I laughed out loud. Mags in her story is an older woman, secretary to a lawyer who delightfully banters with the hunky cowboy hero. Trust me, this made my day! I sent Cyndi a quick IM and she told me she had forgotten she put my name in there and would take it out if I was upset--Heck, NO! Again, funnly as H3LL!
2) My friend Jody has been around for decades! We met at KJM Stables--at the time she had Quincy and I think I had Princess, but the Abe monster brought us closer together. We lost touch when she moved to Califorinia, but managed to find each other again about five years ago. Jody is an uber-talented struggling artist who has found her groove and is catapulting her horse cartoons into the spotlight. Check her out on Misfit Designs Facebook page or CafePress.
Jody has been in my cheering section from the first time I started to write middle grade novels. In fact, Jody was the one who gave me Kyte's name. It was her Dungeons & Dragon's persona, so she connected with Kyte on the visceral level. She was one of the first people to read GNOME and her words of praise helped me realize that this was the writing path I needed to travel. Fast forward--we were emailing each other last week or the week before and she sent a note along the lines of "expect something in the mail". Okay, I was excited because she recently sent me a Mac & Jill coffee mug and I LOVE IT!
It wasn't a Mac & Jill mug. Instead, it said, "oh, fizznuts!" I died laughing!! I'd take a picture, but I'm currently using this mug while I'm typing this. If you havn't read my stories--and trust me, I will NOT take offense if you haven't!--but since Kyte is an 11-year-old, she doesn't curse. I don't want her to curse, it's not in her to curse, but when things go awry she has to say something! My daughter used this term, I don't know if she made it up or read it somewhere, but I took it.
And it tickled Jody's quirky side, thus the coffee cup. :-) Yes, it really does make me smile.
3) If you've read this blog through any Christmas holiday, you'll know that I make candy--LOTS OF IT. It's a very lonely, time-consuming, back-breaking and laboreous process. Virtually all the candy is given away to my hubby's peers and employees. I never see their reactions. Oh, I hear about some of them, but maybe only 2%. It's one of those thankless jobs that I like to do because it makes me happy. Anyhoo, we were at a going away party for my husband's boss and I was approached by one of the wives. She told me that they FIGHT over the candy. "What??" Yes, my secret hidden smile popped out right about then as I got all warm and glowy. And then she wondered if I took special orders. Again . . . "What?" Turns out she's thinking about giving my candy to their daughter's swim coaches at the high school awards banquet. Too Kewl! I doubt if it will happen because it would probably be too pricey for them to afford. I did price it out since I am donating 5 one-pound boxes to Brenda Novak's For the Cure Auction to benefit Juvenile Diabetes in May. It would cost me close to $18 just in supplies to make the candy and that doesn't count my labor.
But again, it was nice to get that feeling of touching someone else's life even through my candy.
4) One of my writer friends, Karin Tabke, posts on a group blog, MURDER SHE WRITES. These ladies write romantic suspense. I've been reading the blog almost from the inception. Periodically, they will add new writers and one or two will have to drop out due to obligations, but they always have something fun to talk about. About a couple of weeks ago, they released an anthology called GUNS AND ROSES. An anthology is a book of short stories. Many times they will have to have a key ingredient to link the stories, this time each story had to have a gun and a rose. Period. I was reading away and then I start reading Karin's story. Imagine my surprise when I come across the name of the police dispatcher--MAGS. Yep, me again. I sent Karin a note, and while she didn't confirm or deny it, she did mention that she had to cut many of Mags scenes, but she would have more air time in another story. I hope Mags is a quirky character who has tons of idiosyncrisies!
So even though we don't realize it in our every day grind, we do touch other people's lives. You never know who you might touch or bring a smile to their face simply by sending them a {hug}, or the words you write or by showing them a little of your heart. Think about it and don't be stingy, we only have one life to go around, so make it a good one!
Later, peeps!
But last week, I had a few surprises. None of them were big surprises, but each one of them touched me.
1) My friend Cyndi sent me 21K on her new story to critique. Now, Cyndi writes contemporary cowboy stories, romances along the lines of Harlequin. I don't read these stories on a regular basis, but I do enjoy Cyndi's stories. Imagine my surprise when I saw my name, MAGS.
Recently, I've been calling myself Mags when I comment on blogs, post to my goals group, or whenever. This isn't unusual since I tend to add an "s" to other peoples names as a term of endearment (Jods, Megs, etc) if it works with their name.
So when I come across this secondary character's name in Cyndi's manuscript, I laughed out loud. Mags in her story is an older woman, secretary to a lawyer who delightfully banters with the hunky cowboy hero. Trust me, this made my day! I sent Cyndi a quick IM and she told me she had forgotten she put my name in there and would take it out if I was upset--Heck, NO! Again, funnly as H3LL!
2) My friend Jody has been around for decades! We met at KJM Stables--at the time she had Quincy and I think I had Princess, but the Abe monster brought us closer together. We lost touch when she moved to Califorinia, but managed to find each other again about five years ago. Jody is an uber-talented struggling artist who has found her groove and is catapulting her horse cartoons into the spotlight. Check her out on Misfit Designs Facebook page or CafePress.
It wasn't a Mac & Jill mug. Instead, it said, "oh, fizznuts!" I died laughing!! I'd take a picture, but I'm currently using this mug while I'm typing this. If you havn't read my stories--and trust me, I will NOT take offense if you haven't!--but since Kyte is an 11-year-old, she doesn't curse. I don't want her to curse, it's not in her to curse, but when things go awry she has to say something! My daughter used this term, I don't know if she made it up or read it somewhere, but I took it.
And it tickled Jody's quirky side, thus the coffee cup. :-) Yes, it really does make me smile.
3) If you've read this blog through any Christmas holiday, you'll know that I make candy--LOTS OF IT. It's a very lonely, time-consuming, back-breaking and laboreous process. Virtually all the candy is given away to my hubby's peers and employees. I never see their reactions. Oh, I hear about some of them, but maybe only 2%. It's one of those thankless jobs that I like to do because it makes me happy. Anyhoo, we were at a going away party for my husband's boss and I was approached by one of the wives. She told me that they FIGHT over the candy. "What??" Yes, my secret hidden smile popped out right about then as I got all warm and glowy. And then she wondered if I took special orders. Again . . . "What?" Turns out she's thinking about giving my candy to their daughter's swim coaches at the high school awards banquet. Too Kewl! I doubt if it will happen because it would probably be too pricey for them to afford. I did price it out since I am donating 5 one-pound boxes to Brenda Novak's For the Cure Auction to benefit Juvenile Diabetes in May. It would cost me close to $18 just in supplies to make the candy and that doesn't count my labor.
But again, it was nice to get that feeling of touching someone else's life even through my candy.
So even though we don't realize it in our every day grind, we do touch other people's lives. You never know who you might touch or bring a smile to their face simply by sending them a {hug}, or the words you write or by showing them a little of your heart. Think about it and don't be stingy, we only have one life to go around, so make it a good one!
Later, peeps!
10/3/11
Horse Sense
 |
| Jody is on the ground. I'm wearing the hard hat. |
Long story short, Lindsey doesn't troll FB as often as I do, so I called the phone number of the stables--I can't remember my cell phone number, but I remember that number--and Kevin answered. So I had a nice talk with Kevin, and then Lindsey sent me her phone number.
About a week later, I was set to ride Kevin's horse Dooley. Lindsey spells Dooley as Dually. I don't know the correct spelling of his name, but for the purpose of this blog, he will be Dooley.
Dooley has been in a pasture with a run-in shelter. Periodically, he had been ridden by a lady who was a barrel racer. But for the most part he is a good dude who is as out of shape and condition as I am. He's acquired a few bad habits, but nothing that isn't fixable.
The first day that I rode him, every time I picked up the reins he scooted forward with his head up in the air. Walk, trot, and a few canters were all I was able to do. My leg muscles were simply too loose to be effective tools.
Needless to say, I could barely walk for the next five days much less get on a horse. Inner thighs, my friends, my inner thighs were screaming when I sat, stood and walked. I made the mistake of not popping any pain relievers.
The next time I rode Dooley was a week later. He was still squirrely. Every time I tried to pick up my reins, he threw his head up and scooted. We walked around the farm (outside of the arenas) until we chilled. I worked him in the arena just trying to soften his jaw and having him curve into the turn instead of outward. I took three Aleve when I came home. I was able to ride on Thursday, but the weather didn't cooperate.
The third time I rode him, we started by walking around the farm. After I got a feel for the lay of the land (dips in the contours, or soft, muddy spots, low tree limbs, etc.) I kicked him into a trot, squeezing doesn't work yet.
Dooley basically took the bit and went with it.
I like Dooley, but I did mention he had some issues--not stopping is one of them.
He just doesn't listen. This isn't uncommon in horses who haven't been ridden for awhile.
So we worked on a variety of things: stopping, trotting, suppling, softening his jaw, and cantering. Dooley likes his right lead, no matter the direction we are going. His canter isn't smooth to start with, as it currently feels disjointed like he's cross-cantering all the time. So I worked on his left lead canter. My legs weren't strong enough to keep him on the correct lead, but after about five minutes I tried again. He kept his left lead around the arena and a circle. YAY!
Needless to say, we stopped for the day on a high note.
I'll periodically post horse stuff on this blog, but unless we do something spectacular, I don't expect it to be a common topic.
Later, Peeps!
5/25/11
In Tribute to the Critters in our lives
Pets enter our lives enriching and enhancing our day-to-day living. Some are service, hunting or work animals, while others are companions to the elderly or disabled. Most of them are simply pets.
Our family has run the gamut of critters. Pre-marriage, I owned two Great Danes and two horses, plus Kato Kitty. My husband was raised with schnauzers, guinea pigs, and baby turtles that were found in their swimming pool, though I believe there were other little critters, too. Together we owned one more horse, two bunnies, two Old English Sheepdogs, two guinea pigs (one still alive), a plethora of Siberian hamsters (had two, then the babies came! Three batches of them--no, it wasn't on purpose!). And a gazillion fish--some indoor, some outdoor. We actually had a beta live for four years!
Every single animal brought something into our lives. One of the bunnies lived a very short life after getting a disease from it's mama. I had to give the baby daily shots, but when it started having seizures while I held it . . . well, it was horrible. I never want to go through that again.
Evil momma hamster was a good mother even if she would chomp a finger just because. One time she bit me and my reaction flipped her up in the air, off my finger and she ping-ponged behind the bookcase where we had her cage. She was still stunned when I snatched her up and threw her back into her cage. Daddy hamster was really nice until he developed a tumor and died. Of course, the evil one managed to live for another year or so.
We have a small pet cemetery in our backyard. Harry (guinea pig) and Katie are buried next to each other in a garden bed that I can see out my kitchen/writing window. I plan to bury Kato (he's being cremated) in the back bed under a couple of pine trees. The baby bunny is buried near the corner of our deck.
Our first house also has a pet cemetery--hamsters and bunny. Luckily, I never had to bury my horses--they were sold--because a backhoe would have to have been rented!
Animals will always be in our lives. Yes, they can be a lot of work to train, feed and groom, and costly to take to the vet, groomer (Hubby clips our furry beast) and feed.
But the little buggers are worth it . . . even if they do fart under my desk and gas me out.
Later, Peeps.
Our family has run the gamut of critters. Pre-marriage, I owned two Great Danes and two horses, plus Kato Kitty. My husband was raised with schnauzers, guinea pigs, and baby turtles that were found in their swimming pool, though I believe there were other little critters, too. Together we owned one more horse, two bunnies, two Old English Sheepdogs, two guinea pigs (one still alive), a plethora of Siberian hamsters (had two, then the babies came! Three batches of them--no, it wasn't on purpose!). And a gazillion fish--some indoor, some outdoor. We actually had a beta live for four years!
Every single animal brought something into our lives. One of the bunnies lived a very short life after getting a disease from it's mama. I had to give the baby daily shots, but when it started having seizures while I held it . . . well, it was horrible. I never want to go through that again.
Evil momma hamster was a good mother even if she would chomp a finger just because. One time she bit me and my reaction flipped her up in the air, off my finger and she ping-ponged behind the bookcase where we had her cage. She was still stunned when I snatched her up and threw her back into her cage. Daddy hamster was really nice until he developed a tumor and died. Of course, the evil one managed to live for another year or so.
We have a small pet cemetery in our backyard. Harry (guinea pig) and Katie are buried next to each other in a garden bed that I can see out my kitchen/writing window. I plan to bury Kato (he's being cremated) in the back bed under a couple of pine trees. The baby bunny is buried near the corner of our deck.
Our first house also has a pet cemetery--hamsters and bunny. Luckily, I never had to bury my horses--they were sold--because a backhoe would have to have been rented!
Animals will always be in our lives. Yes, they can be a lot of work to train, feed and groom, and costly to take to the vet, groomer (Hubby clips our furry beast) and feed.
But the little buggers are worth it . . . even if they do fart under my desk and gas me out.
Later, Peeps.
4/10/09
Horsin' Around
I woke up in the middle of the night trying to decide what to write about today. I drew a blank. Actually, this is a pretty normal occurrence for me. I think so much stuff is crammed in my noggin that I blow a fuse. Or it could be because I didn't want to figure out how I'm going to get my little gnome, Rory Leafhopper, out of the mouth of Mr. Bickles the witch's cat! But that's my middle grade novel and doesn't belong here.
Anyhoo, I thought about Facebook and my 'friends', and then I thought about one of my friends who refuses to cross over to the dark side. And she took it one more step and became my first follower on this blog! Wow, how cool is that?!
Jody and I go way back. Time, distance, and becoming horseless has taken the toll on our relationship. I thought I'd be better at emailing people, but I've failed in that respect. Jody wrote me a long note after I sent her the Facebook invite, and I started writing an answer. . . wait, that's a lie. I thought about writing her an answer, but got bogged down in other miscellaneous crap. Your note is still in my inbox, taunting me everytime I open my email. I WILL get to it, Jody! Though it will have to wait until after this Easter weekend.
So, instead of an email--this blog is for you, Jody!
We met when we stabled our horses at a local barn, KJM Stables--best place to kill some time! Jody is the perfect Hunter rider. She has long arms, long legs and a shortish torso. This translates into a beautiful picture on the back of our equine friends. She's a beautiful rider with a wickedly funny sense of humor. She also is a very talented artist, and draws the best cartoon horses EVER! Check out her store here.
She made a shirt for the 1993 Oklahoma Hunter Jumper Association that I wore yesterday over my workout clothes. Yes, I realize that it is currently 2009 and the shirt is 16 years old. But I LOVE it! Washed about a bazillion times, it still has the horsy sweat marks where I was used as a rubbing post!
It has the picture of a schooling ring on the back. And I really can't describe the pictures, but it depicts the chaos of schooling your horse before a horse show. If you can survive the schooling ring, then jumping eight fences with no one in your way is a piece of cake!
So if you love horses or know someone who loves horses hop on over to Jody's website, Misfit Designs. I know you'll find something!
I miss owning/riding a horse and would love to have another one. You know, I never did clean my tack as I kept hoping that I'll use it again soon. It's been five years now, I think it's time I clean my tack and properly store it.
Bummer.
Anyhoo, I thought about Facebook and my 'friends', and then I thought about one of my friends who refuses to cross over to the dark side. And she took it one more step and became my first follower on this blog! Wow, how cool is that?!
Jody and I go way back. Time, distance, and becoming horseless has taken the toll on our relationship. I thought I'd be better at emailing people, but I've failed in that respect. Jody wrote me a long note after I sent her the Facebook invite, and I started writing an answer. . . wait, that's a lie. I thought about writing her an answer, but got bogged down in other miscellaneous crap. Your note is still in my inbox, taunting me everytime I open my email. I WILL get to it, Jody! Though it will have to wait until after this Easter weekend.
So, instead of an email--this blog is for you, Jody!
We met when we stabled our horses at a local barn, KJM Stables--best place to kill some time! Jody is the perfect Hunter rider. She has long arms, long legs and a shortish torso. This translates into a beautiful picture on the back of our equine friends. She's a beautiful rider with a wickedly funny sense of humor. She also is a very talented artist, and draws the best cartoon horses EVER! Check out her store here.
She made a shirt for the 1993 Oklahoma Hunter Jumper Association that I wore yesterday over my workout clothes. Yes, I realize that it is currently 2009 and the shirt is 16 years old. But I LOVE it! Washed about a bazillion times, it still has the horsy sweat marks where I was used as a rubbing post!
It has the picture of a schooling ring on the back. And I really can't describe the pictures, but it depicts the chaos of schooling your horse before a horse show. If you can survive the schooling ring, then jumping eight fences with no one in your way is a piece of cake!
So if you love horses or know someone who loves horses hop on over to Jody's website, Misfit Designs. I know you'll find something!
I miss owning/riding a horse and would love to have another one. You know, I never did clean my tack as I kept hoping that I'll use it again soon. It's been five years now, I think it's time I clean my tack and properly store it.
Bummer.
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