Fun in the Fall

I LOVE this time of year! Look at the beautiful trees along Baseline Rd on my way out to the stables. The colors are so bright! Sights like this greet me when I'm driving out to see Rusty.

Oh, you should see Rusty! He's getting his winter coat and he looks bushy! They say we're due for a cold winter and the horses are gearing up for it. Coats are getting thicker and, praise God, the flies are dying off. What a relief!

Now that Rusty is getting his winter coat, I can use a stronger curry on him than I can in the summer. His coat is very fine in the summer so I can only use a very light curry mitt on him then.

We've had a couple of trail rides these past weeks. Soon it will be too cold to do that and we'll be in the indoor arena for the winter. Last Dec. we had an unusually warm afternoon and Joan and I rode out in the snow! Hope we get another opportunity like that!

The babies are getting so big! They all scored very high on their inspections for the American Warmblood Assoc. Marie is weaning them now. Five out of the seven mares have been separated from their foals. What a carrying on they did! Whinnying and running back and forth along the fence line! Those babies are so beautiful. One has been sold already. They will make excellent Dressage, Hunter, or Jumper horses for the lucky persons who buy them!

Rusty Reunion!

I rode Rusty today for the first time since a week ago Thursday! He was awesome! I tried to apply some of the techniques I learned with Clyde. I rode Rusty with lighter contact on the bit and he seemed to appreciate that. Just a touch got him to stop when I asked him to. He didn't ignore the bit like he had done once before. I find that if I'm not "hanging on his mouth" he responds better. The cues are clearer for him. He appeared to have missed me while I was gone. I sure missed him!

New things at the Barn: Gary installed a new wash rack so the hose goes over the horse's back. He put in cross ties so we can secure our horses better while bathing them. Rusty and I tried out the new wash rack today after our ride. It was so easy to use! Thanks, Gary!

Marie took Stilts to a dressage show this morning. I'm looking forward to hearing how they did! He's such a beautiful mover! Good luck, Marie!

Wow! What a Horse!

Here is Clyde with his friend "Puppy". Clyde is a World Champion Clydesdale in Showmanship and under saddle. He is 18.1 hands tall and weighs 2100 lbs. He and Puppy are very friendly. Clyde especially loves attention. His trainer Sara Shalda rides him with no saddle or bridle. Using leg and seat cues she can walk, trot, canter, jump, pirouette on the forehand or hindquarters. Look Ma! No bridle!

Sara was kind enough to give me a lesson on Clyde for an hour. What a ride! I first rode him at the walk, trot, and canter with the bridle. Then Sara took the bridle off and I rode at the walk guiding him with my legs. This was quite a Workout!

This was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I learned many things and I hope to be able to apply them when working with Rusty. I learned a whole different way of communicating with my horse and that I don't always need to rely so much on the reins. You can see in the photo that my hands are centered on the front of the saddle. By the position of my legs I could get Clyde to walk, stop, back up, and turn. I learned to prevent him from turning when I didn't want him to. This was so amazing! As Obi-Wan said to Luke when he first felt the force "You've just taken your first step into a much larger world." What an experience!

You can contact Sara Shalda at www.sarashaldaperformancehorses.com. She has a great website. She writes books, makes and modifies tack for the larger breeds, trains, and gives lessons. Check her out!

Chance of a Lifetime

Guess What???? This evening I'm going to get to ride a Champion Clydesdale! His name is Clyde and his owner/trainer rides him without bridle or saddle!! He is fantastic! Sara (Clyde's owner/trainer) is giving me a lesson on him tonight. I know if I miss this opportunity that I won't get a chance like this again. I'll be back after the ride with the whole story AND pictures to back it all up!

I can't wait for this evening!

By the way, Doug and I are in Michigan on vacation and got to meet Sara and Clyde last evening. We're having a wonderful time up at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Brandie helps me at the barn

Yesterday, my good friend Brandie came out to the stables with me and helped me with Rusty and some of the barn chores. I was glad to have her come along! We Horse-crazy people should stick together. I'm glad she enjoyed the day and I hope she'll come with me again.

Soccer Ball II

Who can figure horses?

Today, before my lesson, I had Rusty in the arena with the same "scary" soccer ball that had him on alert Tues. No problem today! He went right up to it and pushed it with his nose and tried to bite it! Maybe our part in a soccer game isn't too far off.

Soccer Ball Fun!

Today I rode with some of the girls who were going to have a horseback soccer game. I wasn't sure how Rusty would like the ball. It turns out he was not happy about the big multi-colored ball at all! This ball is about 2 1/2 feet in diameter! Rusty saw it blowing around and was on instant alert. With someone holding the ball so it wouldn't roll, I got off Rusty and led him over to the ball. He went just a few steps at a time, his neck arched and his nostrils blowing! I put a treat on the ball and he finally ate the treat but it took some time for him to do so. I got him to follow the ball but he didn't like it when the ball came toward him!

I called it quits with the soccer ball after I got Rusty to follow it around. The girls had their game but Rusty wasn't ready for that yet. I think a little more time getting Rusty used to the ball is in order.

We had a wonderful ride and it was hot today so I hosed Rusty off afterwards and took him out to graze. He really likes that!