I kept my head, and didn't let my nervousness get to me. I call that a success! My trainer went up the night before with her horses/ponies/kids and everyone spent the night there. We helped the organizer set up the course, and I am impressed by her collection of jumps. I intended to ge[...]
In the past, I've gone extended amounts of time without a trainer. When I was a kid, I literally thought I knew all there was to know, causing me to get untrained Vintage and fall off so many times I lost count. Also, one time she threw her head back so hard, it smashed my face and I literally saw[...]
This warm weather has been incredible, and inspired me to make the beautiful image above of trotting through a glorious meadow (just squint and use your imagination). Finally, I can emerge from my hovel, and get back to riding. Except that my poor Berry, who has been mostly idle for the duration of[...]
Today is the month I start taking monthly conformation pictures of my horses. Next month will be the month I start taking monthly conformation pictures of my horses and my pony, as he is not here right now. I have never actively tried to take a conformation photo of any of them, and it proved to[...]
I had an amazing ride on Saturday. Berry was so perfect, she was like an old school horse. She is clearly better at this course/jumping business than I am, and I am so thankful she doesn't take advantage of my floppy self. (although I've been promised lots of no stirrup work, so floppy will soon be[...]
The day has arrived - Berry and I's lesson focusing on learning our flying changes. Hilariously enough, Berry caught on way faster than I did, and I could sense her irritation at me not getting it right. We started with cantering a squared off figure eight, preparing for the change going through[...]
I did not expect this, but Dave has found true love in the form of a goat. The goat was super awesome. Apparently it was bottle fed, which makes it super friendly. It acted more like a dog than any goat I've ever been around (granted, I haven't been around many/any). Dave wanted to j[...]
I finally rode! With the weather improving, I needed to make up for my lesson deficiency. It's only been three weeks, but it feels like it's been a lifetime since I rode last. It's not right. Anticipating that Berry would be a little bit crazy, I decided to head over there early so I would have[...]
I don't know how it happened. I brought her into the barn the other night, and a chunk was missing from her hoof. My farrier said this can happen when there's tons of moisture. I want to figure out how to prevent it, but I feel like I'm already following horse care best practices. She comes into a[...]
I went to visit Pony again, and he is doing amazing. He's even seemed to recognize me! I gave him lots of scratches and he seemed happy enough to see me, even if I did not have treats. He is now undersaddle, with his former feral life only a distant memory. Trainer Sarah brought him down to t[...]