A Game Plan

On my morning walk I found the place where Bombay had his hissy fit...





I even found scuff marks in the dirt where he started bucking...



Here's an example of the gates we have to ride our horses through when crossing roads...



When you consider that my horses spooked at every sign on the sides of trails I rode back in Nevada, it's no wonder they struggle with these gates.

I've been

Bombay's Play Date

Sunday morning Cut-N-Jump brought her mare Solis over to my place for a ride.  I locked my mares up in the stalls so that they wouldn't hassle the new girl on the block.  Bombay was on full alert, excited to meet our guests, while Solis was a perfect lady, very well behaved.






My mares did a bit of screaming and that didn't ruffle her feathers.  CNJ and I tacked up our horses and rode in the

One Pissy Mare

Thanksgiving was great.  It went very smooth thanks to each person chipping in.  My husband cooked the turkey, I made the side dishes, we all set the table, my daughter washed the dishes, my son carved the remainder of the turkey for leftovers and wiped down the table.  I didn't have to ask anyone to do anything.  They just did it.  I have a really awesome family, and am thankful that we all

Caught Ya!

I've talked about the "bluff" where my property line ends and how people are constantly driving, walking or bicycling up to it and looking down at me while I'm working with the horses.  Drivers often hit the dead end and turn around there, despite the road having plenty of warning signs on it that it is a dead end.

So, today I was busily cleaning house to prepare for Thanksgiving when I noticed

Cone Concoctions

After walking my morning mile, I lunged Gabbrielle.  She started out great, but then got bored and started bolting and pulling my arm out of its socket.  My husband wants to buy me a round pen so that she can't do that, but I want her to just learn to be light on the rope and only change gaits when I say so.  It's going to take a lot of corrections and praise at this point to get her to that goal

A Nerve-Wracking Ride

In Nevada, Sunday was my best horseback riding day because the neighbors were in church.  In Arizona, Friday is my best riding day because most neighbors are still at work, but my husband is home to help out with my nervous Nellies.  Half the houses on my street have been empty all year, but with each week more and more new neighbors filter in, and I never know what to expect.

I rode Bombay in

Dr. Doolittle Gets a Little Red in the Face

You
know, I have got to learn to trust my instincts. Us animal people are sensitive folk, and when we sense something, it should never be ignored.  All week I'd been
getting the feeling that someone has been watching me, but when I
looked around, I never saw anyone. So, the other morning I was having a
chat with Lostine about her nervousness regarding taking walks around the neighborhood, and
I

Scheisters

I don't know what is going on, but there has been a major influx of scheisters coming out of the woodwork this week.  First off, the same Anonymous person (probably a server) had left dozens of advertisements for drugs in comments on two particular posts I wrote in the distant past.  At first, I just moved the comments into my Spam folder since I'm moderating them.  But these obnoxious comments,

A Day in the Park

I went to see Cut-N-Jump compete in her arena driving trials this Sunday.  Here are my favorite pictures of her, her pony Kat, and her hubby:




The salute at the beginning of a dressage trial. 




I think I know what CNJ was thinking here, but I won't repeat it.




A lucky shot between hazard trials. 




Preparing for a turn.

And here are some of my other favorite photos from the day:




 

A Twist of Fate?

Something fascinating happened to me this weekend.  You may recall that I am working on my novel this month with the help of NaNoWriMo.  With the NaNoWriMo dashboard, you can select your region and keep in contact with other writers in your area through a forum and emails.  I originally became a part of one region and then discovered that there was another region closer to where I live.  I found

U-Turn Tracking

I'm trying to make good on a promise to my old doctor to walk a mile every other day.  It turns out that from my house to the end of the street and back is exactly one mile.  So far I've been doing better -- more like one or two miles a day.  These walks are giving me a chance to learn subtle things about my new neighborhood.

There are houses lining one side of the street, and public desert

Pushing Ahead

After giving the horses their breakfast, my husband and I debated on how to spend the day.  We decided to scrap our original plans in favor of working with the horses.  I had lunged both Bombay and Gabbrielle the day before.  Bombay hadn't changed one iota despite me not working with him on a lunge line or under saddle in over a year.  Gabbrielle hadn't changed either, unfortunately.  She was

A Relaxed Visit

While watching the horses through the window enjoy their new sand dunes, I became aware of some movement between the deck and the gate to the horse paddock.  Right before my eyes, a coyote laid down in the shade to enjoy watching the horses too.  My experience with coyotes is usually having them come through at night in packs, whooping it up over fresh meat and waking up everyone in the