Majesty takes me for a whirl

30 minutes - 0.90 miles - Majesty

Got home and asked Majesty if he wanted to go for a ride.  He was slower than slow all the way to the mounting block.  He lowered his head, took a deep breath, and stood so still I thought he'd fallen asleep.  He was absolutely delightful.

We faced down dangerous discarded bumpers, stepped over the fallen log, and then we worked on opening and closing the front gate from the saddle.  Maj has never liked doing that, but with some patience we were able to work through it.  I untacked him and put him in a stall so he could eat dinner in peace and quiet.  I turned around to see Rhulain staring at me.  I gave her some snuggles and headed in feeling fantastic.

Lesson Horse?

23 minutes - 1.05 miles - Morgan & Foster

Who knew Morgan would turn out to be a lesson horse?  Gone are the days of me swearing no one else would ever ride her, and I only partially curse under my breath when she gives the kid a ride.

It seemed like the right time to pop him in the saddle and take him for a walk off property. I attached reins to her halter just so he would get used to holding them rather than the horn.  Showed him how to mount properly, and off we went.

We went up and down some mild washes so he could learn to balance as she stepped up or down, she stepped lightly over the fallen log, and he learned how to get her to back up using the "reins." 

Morgan was really well behaved, and only slightly mugged me for the carrots she knew where hidden in my front pocket.  Good girl Morgie.  

As we approached the gate, I looped the lead rope over the saddle horn and let the two of them walk "alone."  He thought he was big stuff and she was a model of good behavior.

Oh how I love this horse!

I Love the Smell of Morgans in the Evening

36 minutes - 0.85 miles - Rhulain

Had such a good time last night, I decided to do it again!  First, some grooming, then some groundwork, a bit of trailer loading, then let her snack while I tacked up.

 Three quick laps around the yard and then I was going to call it quits and let her eat dinner. On the last lap, she picked up speed and we loped right past the hitching post.  We zoomed by the turn out, then made a quick turn only to find the ground had been washed out.  She slammed on the brakes and we avoided any catastrophes.  Gotta love self preservation!  We turned back the other direction, hopped over the fallen log, and then untacked.

Five days in a row I've been able to spend with my horses ... I feel like the luckiest woman alive!

Monthly Totals

May 2015

Morgan - 188 minutes - 9.28 miles
Reagan - 20 min - 0.92 miles
Rhulain - 376 minutes - 8.23 miles 

Bill & Majesty - 66 minutes - 3.2 miles
Bill & Sundance - 10 minutes - 0.5 miles
Wasabi - 40 minutes - 1.2 miles

Wasabi Saddle Time:
2014:     12.25 hours

2015:  
Jan: 0
Feb: 0
Mar: 1.5 hours
Apr: 0
May: 40 min/10 min ground

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

Out for a stroll

60 Minutes Total
Walking for 25 minutes - Trotting for 20 minutes - Walking for 15 minutes 
Distance: 3.6 miles

Majesty stepping over our favorite log ... oh, and Morgan's ear

Morg and I getting ready for our 20 minute walk. We look so little from Bill's viewpoint :)

And we're off!  Bill says I'm a bit confused ... I'm supposed to ride my horse and walk the dog.  Ah well.  The walk does us both some good.  

But I must say, all this walking and only down 2 pounds. Ah well, getting in shape is always harder than putting on the weight.  A bonus is that I'm spending a lot more time with my favorite Morgan!

Who's That Redhead?

Sunday, December 7th  60 minute ride 
Rode Sundance, with Bill and Wasabi

Me: Hey Sundance, who's a pretty girl?

Sundance: Oh yeah baby, that's me.

Sundance: We're really going out those gates?  You realize I haven't been off the property in a year, right?

Me: Don't be worried, we'll be fine!

Sundance: Holy crap! What's that noise???!

Me: Calm down, it's a camera. I'll put it away for a while.

It was obvious Sundance hadn't been out in quite some time.  She gave me a hard time a mere two houses away from our place, and then refused to move forward after another two houses.  With reassurance and calm directives, we were able to work through the issues.  

Before Morgan, I would have given up when Sundance started acting spooky ... now, I put her to work and then breathed in and out calmly until she moderated her breathing to match mine.  

Each time she did what I asked, I praised and rubbed her ... a little positive reinforcements went a long way to calming her down.  With a few more rides she'll be back on track.

What I learned is not to match Sundance & Wasabi.  Sundance and Majesty have the same slow, ambling (more like shambling) walk so they would be a better pair.

Wasabi stepped over that log with enthusiasm!

She might make a jumper yet.

Morgan: You went for a ride without me? Seriously?!

Morgan: Come here, let me sniff you all over to make sure you're ok.

Me: Oh Morgie, I love you.

May 28, 2012 - First Jump!

Over 90 degrees, so I kept the ride short.  Took Morgan out at dusk for 20 minutes.

Let her have her head and we cantered down the driveway & into the yard in front of the turn out.  Had her walk to carport & then cantered back to tack shed.

Morgan jumped the logs in the yard at a trot.  1st jump ever for me!

Walked to the end of driveway and a little way into the desert before heading home.  I've discovered that I love when she runs!