Happy Monday morning!
Y’all. This weekend was pretty great.
I will try and keep it short and sweet on the word front. We know how I can be a bit…long winded. Yes, I surprise myself. Another fun thing about blogging. Anyway, I got in tree rides this weekend. These days that is pretty good!
So, first. I rode the mare horse. That is what my dad affectionately calls her, ha! Cheetah. Cheetah Beetah. The Beets. She goes by many names. On Saturday she was my angel girl. She was being so sweet and was surprisingly focused and relaxed for just coming back into working regularly. This might mean she will be not so great for the next ride, but I am not going to focus on that. I am choosing to focus on the good and allow the good to come through on our next ride. AHA moment. I round penned her briefly to get her warmed
up before I even mounted. She seems to appreciate that most of the time. In the beginning, I thought she might have had a broom stick up her bum as she was doing her best old west bronc impersonation. It was not a very good likeness, but for me it was quite comical. Once I mounted up it felt almost like I had been riding her every day…except that she is pretty out of shape which is to be expected. She was relaxed and forward off my leg and seat, very between my legs, thinking not reacting. On the aids, if you will. I kept it pretty basic so we could stay well seated within her brain. If I start to ask her too many questions before she is ready, we move straight into the reactionary running side of her that has no bottom to the tank. She was the perfect Appendix Quarter Horse, the best of her full 50/50%. Man, it felt great! We did some big relaxed circles with some yielding in both trot and lope/canter and then called it a day to go for a cool down walk/hack up to the front gate and back. I wanted to continue going, but I decided it would be best to finish on a positive note…another AHA moment. We have all the time in the world for longer rides when she is back in shape and going consistently.
Pre-ride photos…It was one of those crazy foggy days where the fog does not clear for hours.
Cool down walk and post-ride photos…
Then I rode Second Chance, Chance/Give Me A Chance, Chance. I am not sure which descriptor name I like more. His name is Chance and we took a chance on him. He has worked out very well for us! He has his quirks, like they all do, but once he realized we were team players, he blossomed. I need to show you his ‘before’ pictures. Anyway, he was pretty darn good too. He is a very lazy horse and I am not sure who worked harder, me or him. If he could get paid for stopping and resting in the shade, he would be a rich…err…horse. Just the thing we want for beginners! We had a good arena work and then went down to check the cows. He is your typical ranch style, grade QH. Built like a tank with an unknown history. The poor guy already has half a winter coat (makes me worry that winter is going to be bad!) and needed a good hosing off after our ride. Good thing it is warm enough for that.
Last but certainly not least, I rode the Lito Man. He was pretty good. Not as amazing as he has been, but certainly not bad. I was a little all over the place, so it was mostly all me. It was is ninth ride I believe. We worked in the arena first. It lasted a little longer that I wanted it to, but I was looking for a good stopping place. He is very hard to get forward in the arena. Anyone else with young horses have this problem? I think I am going to get a friend to come out and ride another horse while I ride Lito and get a good forward pasture ride soon so he can see what it is all about. After the arena, we took a walk to the river and back. Here is his pre-ride shot. Can you see his 50% PRE blood? He deserves more text, but I said I would keep this short and I have not! He will get his own post soon.
What positives did y’all have this weekend that you are going to focus on?
Have a great Monday!
I love the colors of your horses. This morning I went on a hack ( trail ride) it was just on freezing temperature and the sun was shining. The ground was covered with a thick coating of frost, all the leaves are off the trees, and there was a rustling crunch as we went through them. In a grass field I picked up a canter. Biasini was perfect. No spooking or bucking in the cold air. What a glorious start to the day and how lucky are we to have these horses to ride and enjoy. I am very grateful. Thanks for your post I enjoy hearing of your rides ( and cinnamon bun cooking!)
Thank you so much! Oh my goodness that sounds amazing and like the best way to start the day! I bet he has the best canter out there in the field! I love what the morning sun does on frost and the crunching sound under their hooves. We are so blessed with them. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. It means a lot! Did Biasini shine like a copper penny out there in the morning sun?!?!
Lito is handsome!!!
I’ve had a hard time creating good forward with my mare too.
Written about it a lot on my blog, and yes, it is still a problem, but it’s getting better… hang in there!
Thank you so much! I think he is pretty handsome, but I find it difficult to be objective since I love him so! lol I will probably be going back and looking at your posts when I get time!
Haha, we all get “barn blind” it’s part of the game. But he IS truly sweet looking. So now you know 🙂
I am just bubbling over here!