Winter Riding Weekend #2 of the Year

I had a great time riding this weekend with family and friends! Saturday, Scott and I started our trade, where I teach Curena to ride and he teaches Zach to play guitar. Now that’s a win-win situation if ever there was one! Love my sister in law Curena. She hit it off with Al, who is just the best guy for making a beginner feel comfortable. Within an hour, we were out riding on the snow covered trails, and Al was taking good care of Curena. Don’t they look great together! We both had a ton of fun. Afterwards, Layla asked very politely if she could have a turn, so I saddled up Al again and gave her a thrill. That little girl giggle is music to my ears.

Sunday afternoon, I picked up my neighbor Deanna, and we took a few turns around Jason’s loops, avoiding the Steep Hill and any icy spots. The Lab gang came along and had a blast as usual. There were a lot of wildlife tracks, including fisher, so I hope my cat doesn’t wander too far from the barn. Ah-D had too much energy again, and he wanted to put it to bad use with the occasional fake spook. I must say though, overall he was very good, considering he has been cooped up in the paddock and our little traipses aren’t doing much to dissipate all that excess energy. Al was a good boy, and Deanna felt she did better with him today than she did last week. She is getting to know his quirks a bit better and can head him off at the pass when he tries to do the decision making.It is soooo nice to get out and about in the winter instead of sitting in the house like a slug. The days are just an itty bit longer, too, and Mother Nature is being kind with her 30 degree weekend weather.

Starting out the New Year Right!

in the woods of Poland,Maine and

My handsome boy posing on the shores of Estes Bog, Poland

Oh, wow, what a blast I had riding over the long weekend! I had a cyber ride New Year's Eve with Denise Conroy, founder of the RAC, and the other Curly Riders. Ah-D was FULL OF HIMSELF. The only thing that held him in check were the slippery conditions and the treats in my pocket. :)The Lab Gang was along, scampering here, there and everywhere, noses on full alert. New Years Day ride was pretty similar, except that I took both horses out for a spin. Ah-D was still wound, but I was still able to keep him in check and on the right track. It was fun taking Allie out for the first time in a long time for me. I did notice that he "walks right through" the bit and pays barely any attention to it, so we brushed up on that. He was pretty energetic and gave some fun trots and canters.

My best ride was definitely on Monday, when Deanna and I loaded up the horses late morning and headed over to Poland to ride with Ulla. Great company, great scenery, great horses, beautiful weather (for January in Maine) - what more can I say?Deanna is tall and slim and Allie is short and stocky, but they make a great team on the trails! Ulla led most of the way on Gabby the beautiful Morgan. Her trails are quite hidden and difficult to follow unless you know them like the back of your hand.We traversed through the woods until we came to the shores of Estes Bog. I attempted to take a photo of all three of us, but it didn't work out.First I tried setting the camera on a rock on the ground, then hanging from a tree. About all that was good for was some laughs, as the wind blew it and I got a good picture of some branches. We were successfull a little later on, though.As we headed back towards Ulla's, we had a big surprise - Luvon on Indigo!We all decided this was an excuse for a longer ride. :) I missed a really good photo opportunity when Allie ran Deanna into a small leaning tree. She was screeching, "Whoa" and Allie paid no nevermind (remember, previous comment about him running through the bit!) and kept on a-trucking! We all turned around to see Deanne carrying along a tree about chest high. Well, Ulla started laughing and so did Luvon and Deanna, and I laughed so hard that I could barely control my bladder. I dismounted and helped Deanna with the tree, and we all composed ourselves and continued on. A bit later, Indigo decided that Gabby was too far ahead, and she MUST catch up at a gallop...well, Luvon of course did not think that was necessary so a battle of wills ensued. Luvon won, I'm happy to report.She is an excellent horsewoman. Deanna quipped, "Um...just for the record, I'll take the tree." Hilarious!!!We trotted back to Ulla's.

Here are the Four Amigos. But wait, the excitement was not over! The new American Cream Draft pastured adjacent to Ulla's horses decided to gallop over to meet Ah-D and Allie. This beautiful boy is built like Al, but BIGGER, so it was quite the experience for Al, who was quite unnerved.

What a great ride, a fabulous way to start out the year!

December Personal Challenge: Driving Training Blog I

Some of us in the RAC have personal December challenges, and mine (inspired by Betsy and spurred on by Donna) is putting Ah-D to a cart. We actually have gathered a decent amount of ground driving under our belt over the years, so this is a good challenge for us. It will require a fair bit of work and determination and time, yet is attainable.Day One: We are not starting at the beginning (thank God!) because he already is very familiar with the harness, happy with his simple open bridle fitted with a Mylar bit, and ACTUALLY WILL MOVE FORWARD AWAY FROM ME to ground drive. Sounds simple and easy, but it was a huge obstacle for us! Didder lacked confidence and wanted to be in my pocket, and he just didn’t GET IT that he was supposed to walk out ahead of me. Phew! We are past that point! On to Blog I. Early this morning, I took my XL thighs, my trusty pony and my five Labs out on the trail to traverse Jason’s Loop. I was pretty darn happy with the outcome. Gee and haw are really clicking with Ah-D, and I am doing my best to keep them straight. We practiced WHOA a lot, and STAND just as much. His attitude was pretty good. We did have one oopsie moment when he kicked out at me, but I just said, “HEY, HEY, AAAAAATTT!” and took it down a notch and had him stand to chill for awhile while we discussed it calmly, verbally and non-verbally. The air is quite brisk, and he was feeling rambunctious, so I made sure that I didn’t blow the episode out of proportion. I mean, there I am right beside his butt, so if he really wanted to, he could lambaste me good – but he didn’t. His attitude actually improved afterwards.

Back at the barn, we practiced our side passing, since Ah-D is going to have to learn how to step sideways and push the shafts over to turn the cart around. A successful lesson for both of us, SWEET!

A Range of Weather

The weather started out nice and hot for our Saturday ride. I took several small video's during our trek, but they are refusing to download. Luckily I took a few pictures as well. As usual, we did some stream walking. I bet the cool water felt really good on Ah-D's hooves.

After the stream walking stint, we climbed the powerline for a while. I usually don't do the powerline during super hot weather, but some clouds were starting to roll in and a nice breeze came up. I admired the wildflowers along the way. So beautiful! I will have to get some pictures for you all.
I think you can tell what is happening now by the darkness of this picture. Right about here, we hightailed it into the woods lining the powerline. It started sprinking, but we were dry under the heavy tree cover. We meandered around and explored, taking our time. By the time we found this new trail down by Back Street, I could hear thunder big time.It got so dark, this is the last picture I was able to take. The heavens opened up, the lightening flashed and the thunder rolled. We just continued on continuing on. :) We paid no nevermind to the storm, but by the time we were only about 10 minutes from home, oh my Lord, it was crazy-raining. The very last portion of our ride on the road turned into a Susan-and-Didder-jogging-beside-each-other-festbecause I was afraid if a car passed us 1) they would not be able to see us for the sheets of rain and 2) the noise of the water might spook my horsie. There were rivers of water flowing down the road. What an experience! Once in the barn, I hung the tack to dry and slicked off Ah-D. The only dry portion on him was a small place under the saddle. There were no dry parts on me. I even had to wring out my underthings! You may be thinking, "how awful," but it really wasn't bad at all! A good journey!

Cold Air Makes For Frisky Horses and Ponies

I have been enjoying the forward energy of AhD (Didder) the Curly horse and Alley the Haflinger pony this season and managed to take a couple of videos of our rides together. Since I have been on trails and avoiding roads lately, I’ve been able to take at least one dog, and usually three, on our rides together.

Here is a video of my Saturday ride on Didder.

I just LOVE how forward he is on a loose rein. Didder has an AWESOME swingy walk, when he applies himself. He did break into a trot, and I went to put away the camera, but he slowed back down without a fuss so I filmed a bit more. I still have not even come close to figuring out exactly WHEN I am taking a video and when I am not, so it ads a bit more amusement, especially in the Al video to follow.

It is not surprising to me that Didder is forward, but Al has delighted me with his energy. We went out Sunday evening on the trails. It was cold and windy, so I layered heavily for warmth and used a bareback pad instead of a saddle. Al seems to take to me riding bareback; he willingly offered to trot down every single hill available (I even had to use a one-reined stop once!) and gave me several delightful ongoing canters. His back is like a big comfy couch – until he trots! I challenge anyone to sit to that choppy pony trot, but nonetheless, it is wonderful.
~Enjoy your day, get out there, and HAVE FUN!~

Youth Day

Today being Youth Day ~ as in kids hunting deer ~, Alijah and I donned our red and orange (and flannel lined jeans and wool socks!) and headed up the road to Back Street to try out his brand spankin' new Easyboot Gloves. I am in love with these boots, and I'm pretty sure Al is, too.
Back Street is still really beautiful, full of deep yellows, with the strong fall sun casting long shadows. Al kept wondering why we were sticking to the road instead of taking some of the many trails that lead into the woods. He willingly trotted and even cantered up the side of the road. The wind was blowing a gale, but Al never spooked once, which is very typical of him. Steady Eddy.
This maple was spectacular against a clear blue sky.
I think this is my favorite picture of today. You can see what a good attitude Al has now that his front feet are protected. He also had more vroom in his step, even when we first started out and were heading away from his bossy buddy AhD. He walked at a nice fast "We're headed home!!" pace right up the road, not the pokey, "Oh, jeez, are you REALLY going to make me WORK??!" pace. His trots had more energy, less tripping, and were way more rhythmic, making it much easier to post. Ian is going to love it!
I meant to stay on the road, but this wide open field beckoned me for a canter. We got in several good ones, and not even a hint of a buck!
Hmm....now I am re-thinking that "favorite picture" statement I made earlier. This shot is pretty nice and reflects the flavor of the ride. We went all the way to where Back Street meets up with Route 119. I toyed with the idea of making a big loop and taking 119 home, but then two trucks went by at about 55 mph, and I very quickly changed my mind. I think we went about six miles today.
Here we have returned home, and Ian took our picture in the yard. I told Ian all about the changes in Al with his new boots, and how he trotted farther and cantered nicely, and then turned Al into the first pasture to actually show Ian the difference. Al picked up the canter after only three strides of trot! TA DA! No hunting on Sundays, so back on the trails we'll be. It will be Ian's turn to experience Al with his new boots while I will be on my sweet but finky AhD.

Fall Riding

I have done a lot of fall riding this year, but it is never enough. Here are some pictures from some of my bestest rides. :)
Last weekend, Ashley and I loaded up Al and Didder and headed out to Ulla's house in Poland. We tooled around her back roads and woods until she arrived home from church, and then we all went out on a long trail ride.

I've been for some very nice rides on Alijah, too. He is comfy and dependable, and he never spooks, even when it is windy. The dogs love to come with me, and I love having them.

This was taken on Horse Hill in Norway. I have always wanted to get Didder up there for a ride against this view! We also rode in the woods, along trails that Doris and Grace discovered.

Here is Ashley riding Al in the ring at Ulla's. Love the color in this picture! We had such a good time.

Riding along the back roads in Poland.

This doesn't even include any of the pictures from Acadia! They deserve a whole blog to themselves.