First Ride of 2017!

48 minutes - 1.5 miles

The clouds were amazing today ... all fluffy and white!  No resolutions for me ... just a promise to Rhulain to work on softness.

 Rhulain and I heading out for our first ride of the year.  We spent time doing some ground work, lots of grooming, and snuggling.  We rode around the yard for a bit and then headed out the gate.

 I walked with her for the first half mile, then hopped on the saddle and rode home.  Only once did she start trotting without being asked, but she came down to a walk with a vocal command.  *happy sigh* 

Love, love, love my Morgans.

Missed riding with Bill.  We haven't ridden together since last year's new year's day ride.  I miss spending horse time with my spouse: our talks, our comfortable silences, and our alone time.

First Ever Family Ride!

17 minutes - 0.54 miles - Morgan, Rhulain, and Majesty

Bill was hard at work cleaning out his shed full of tools.  Kid was busy building ramps for his dump truck to jump over.  And I took the opportunity to saddle up three horses and invite everyone for a ride around the yard.

Bill led the way, and gave the kid instructions on how to use the reins.  Morgan was absolutely amazing and so extremely patient.  Rhulain made it clear she didn't like being in the back.

Once I moved Rhu up to the front, her head dropped low, she breathed out, and she showed the Kid how to go around bushes and zig-zag through the yard.  I was very impressed with her attitude.  

Since it was over 90 degrees, we only stayed in the saddle for about 20 minutes.  Though I noticed Bill stole Morgie and took her for a lap or two around the yard while I gave the Kid instructions on untacking.  Mmm hmm.  My horse, and I'm the only one who didn't get to ride her.

A few more of these, and we might be able to start riding off property!

Rhu rides solo

26 minutes - Rhulain - 1.06 miles

We took our normal walk for half a mile, let her snack on the dried grass, and then hopped in the saddle for the ride back.

  She did well, but got nervous when the neighbor's yappy dog came out of the yard.  We faced the dog and stepped forward causing the little dog ran back to it's yard.

Noticed that she responds better to leg cues and gets a bit annoyed if I use the reins first.  We'll work through that.

I asked her to stop near the monorail so I could get proof we rode ... she stood still until asked to move.  That's such a pleasure!

Where's my after ride treat? Don't hold out on me!

I had her open and shut the big metal gate today while I was in the saddle.  She figured out what I was asking rather quickly.  Very excited to see what our future rides will hold!

Rhulain's First Ride Off Property

40 minutes - Rhulain, Bill & Wasabi - 1.13 miles

Me: Pssst, hey Rhu ... wanna go for a ride ... outside the gate?

Rhulain: What? Really!

Yep.  Bill and Wasabi are going to join us.  We'll walk down the street to your favorite snacking spot, then I'll hop on and we'll ride home. 

Um, Rhu, what are you staring at?

Wasabi.

Oh. She doesn't want to step over that log ahead of you. Shall we try it?

Sure.

Well that was easy. You're pretty amazing Rhu.

As we were almost home, Bill decided to walk Wasabi so he could open the gate for us.  

They looked deep in conversation, so we hurried to catch up, cause eavesdropping is fun.  They weren't talking about how awesome Rhulain was, so we stopped listening.

Good ride ... Rhu knows more than she has let on so far.  Her trainer did a great job or she's just really smart, or both.

Had a little trouble bringing her down from a trot to a walk; we might need to work with a bit to reinforce that lesson.  Otherwise, no complaints!





* Updated 6/12/15 - Bill had taken a picture of Rhu and I together for this momentous occasion:

She's so beautiful

First Ride Around the Yard

17 minutes - Rhulain - 0.5 miles

Me: Rhu, how would you feel about taking a ride around the yard?

Rhulain: How do YOU feel about taking a ride around the yard?

Me: I'm up to it, let's go! Through those cones, a couple figure 8 formations, take a left at the gate and let's follow the fence line, then circle back around to the tack shed and we're done.

Rhu: Wait, we're done?  That was all you wanted?

Me: Yep.  Just wanted to check your steering.  Here's your "after ride" snack.

Rhu: We're going to get along just fine.  

Me: I think so too Rhu.

Morgan: I don't see what the fuss is about.  I ride around the yard all the time.

Me: Yes Morgie girl, you do and I love you for it!

Fly Masks Are Our Friend

Rhulain
40 minutes ground work
15 minutes tacking
5 minutes saddle time

It's been windy lately so there hasn't been much flies about bothering the horses.  Realized Morgan had a few on her face, so I pulled out the fly masks.  Rhulain wasn't sure about the crazy thing I held in my hand, but she only slightly flinched when it touched her shoulder the first time.  Then she let me rub it all over her neck and ears.  I placed it on her face and secured it with no problems.

Later in the day I put a halter on Rhulain and led her around the yard again.  She handled the gate like it's been part of her everyday routine, didn't try to get ahead of me, and moved out nicely when asked to circle around.  She did so well that I decided to walk her out the front gate and into the street.  Not an issue.

We saw an ATV coming down the road, but she just looked at it for a few seconds then gave it her patented "so what?" look.  We climbed some of the sand and dirt piles on either side of the road, stepped over a log, and then I let her taste some of the local fauna.

I took her over to the tack shed and picked out her front hooves, then lifted the backs.  Much, much better than yesterday.  I took her back to her stall and gave everyone their lunch.

Later I decided to try on her tack.  I took off her fly mask and put on the bitless bridle.  I spent a few moments teaching her how the bitless works.  She was fine with it, but kept reaching out for the fly mask.  I laughed.  Didn't take her long to figure that out.  I put it on over the bitless bridle.

Saddle pad looks striking, but it's too long and she needs a cut out for her withers.  Saddle fit fine, although I'll need to switch out the cinch (36" is way too big).  No issues with cinching.  She stood there with her back leg cocked the whole time.  So, I put weight in the stirrup.  No movement.  I slid over and into the saddle, no movement.  I kissed and she moved forward.  

Had a little trouble with the bitless ... every time I picked up a rein, her head came around to touch my boot, but she didn't turn her body.  Ok.  I asked with leg cues and she turned on the forehand nicely, but a bit stiffly to the left.  Kept it short, two laps around her stall and one figure 8, then asked for a halt and she stopped immediately.  Slid out of the saddle, untacked, and put on her beloved fly mask.  She's going to be fun to ride!

Bill & Wasabi's First Solo

28 minutes
Bill & Wasabi (without me!)
1.36 miles

No pictures from today because I was at work while they were out wandering the dunes ... for their first ever solo!  He said she was just OK.  She'd do fine until the chorus of calls from home started up, then she'd get nervous.  So proud of the two of and for the two of them!

I am always fascinated by the color changes she goes through during the seasons so I snapped this shot of her hip last week ... she'll be steel grey around mid-April. Amazing.

Double Time!

45 Minutes (20 min walk, 15 min trot, 10 min walk)
Rode Morgan - Solo
Distance: unknown, tracker lost connection

Reagan was completely unfazed by the saddling process

Morgan and I went for a 20 minute walk and then I hopped in the saddle and we played in the dunes.  There wasn't another soul to be found ... not a single jackrabbit, crow, horse rider, or quad was out and about.  It was a glorious bit of wandering with just the right amount of exercise.

Reagan's "Aren't I cute?" look

I have an app on my phone that tracks our ride, provides our average mph, total distance, and shows our path with a red line on the map.  I was so excited when we were done to see how much distance we had covered and what our map would look like.

Reagan just found out that cute doesn't get you treats

Only we must have lost internet connection somewhere in the dunes because it didn't save any of our progress. *sigh*  Oh well, we'll stay away from that set of dunes in the future.

15 Minutes
Rode Reagan - Solo

Her ears just crack me up ... here's her burro imitation

Morgan and I had left late morning, so there was plenty of sunshine left to try Reagan under saddle.  I initially was just going to try on the saddle for fit, make all the necessary adjustments, and then take her for a walk.

Little tufts of funny hair tucked between her funny ears

She was so placid about the whole situation, I decided to get in the saddle and let her walk around the yard for a few minutes.  She was clearly nervous about any pressure on her face (even with the cross under headstall) so I used my legs to cue a turn reinforced by laying the reins across her neck. 

After the first five minutes, she released the tension she was clearly holding and breathed out softly.  To stop, I asked out loud then sat deeper in the saddle.  Worked out great! 

August 31, 2012 - The 3 "M"s

Rode Majesty, Mustang & Morgan

Intended to start with Sabi, but Maji wanted to go, so I took him out for a quick spin (20 min).  Didn't let him go too far or fast because he is out of shape.  He spooked at the tarp covering the feed and again when he put his nose in the feed trailer.  So cute!

Rode Sabi outside the arena for the first time!  Mounted without the stool (took two tries) and then we wandered around the house and out in the desert behind the stalls.  Had her trot back to our yard, but had trouble stopping her ... had to go round in circles a few times before we stopped.  I got mad and snapped at her.  Made her walk, stop, walk, trot, walk, stop for a while before I felt comfortable letting her an a loose rein.  We need more saddle time together, but she exceeded my expectations.

No running off, no bucking, no real fighting, and no spooking.  Had her go all the way around the house and trotted in the turn out.  She always gives a crow hop when i first ask for a trot, but no adverse behavior when asked for a canter.  It was lovely!  I would describe it as floaty ... her stride is so much longer than Morgan.  All said and done, I think she did rather well. I wouldn't hesitate to ride her again.

Since Morgan was jealous, I took her for a jaunt.  We had to argue about standing still while mounting, but that was our only "issue."  We wandered round the house until she decided to go in to the open area behind the stalls.  She continued on until we hit the "street."  It had been flooded out and washed away in the heavy rains.  The ground was still soft, but she handled herself admirably and continued around the "block."  I let her canter home from the neighbor's driveway and it was joyous!  So in love with her!