Gabbrielle's First Trail Ride

The trainer felt that Gabbrielle was ready for an hour trail ride off the property with me on Lostine.  Gabbrielle got a little nervous around fallen cacti, logs and rocks, so the trainer pointed her at them and encouraged her to investigate.



Each time she backed away, the trainer circled her around and made her approach the scary object again.









Once she showed signs of relaxation, we

A Pre-Test for Gabbrielle

Yesterday afternoon it suddenly hit me that my trainer was talking about possibly riding Gabbrielle on the trails today, depending how well she does in the arena and on the property outside of the arena within sight of her buddies, and Gabbrielle has only been hand-walked off the property twice.  One time my husband led her, and she pulled the entire time on the lead rope, so he kept circling her

Trail Ride Alone Minus The Dismount

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood...  Trust me, it's coming your way.  I just get the good weather first.

Lostine ran from the halter for the first time since I trained her not to run from the halter, so we had a refresher course.  She decided she liked being petted more than the alternative.

This time I halted her at the end of the driveway and looked both ways before crossing the

Critter Madness is Springing Up

It's warming up fast after that snowstorm and arctic winds we had last week, and the critters of the desert are all starting to make appearances.  The lizards and snakes are coming out, I saw my first butterfly of the season today, and my husband had a bobcat run in front of his car across the street to our neighbor's house last night.  The hummingbirds and quail have been out for a few weeks now

Just Me and The Queen

We finally got a nice day when I haven't been sick or busy and I had a hankering to go on a trail ride.  I knew I'd have to venture out on my own since it's not the horse trainer's day to be here and since my husband and friends are at work.  I figured if I ran into trouble, I could just dismount and walk back.  I'd rather have the options to ride or walk, and when I take the horses for walks

A Day at the Ballpark

Check out what I did this weekend. I hung out with some Cubs...






And Giants...



I got some incredible shots of the players warming up and playing the game with me being seated just three rows from the field near first base, but I don't want to post the best photos anywhere online until I get my watermark on them. Some of them are good enough quality to sell.

It is my husband's birthday,

The Itch

Anytime I go for a while without riding a horse, I get the itch to ride.  The last time I rode was 10 days ago.  Then I got sick.  Then I got busy catching up on all the things I didn't do when I was sick.  I've also had to contend with a string of "special" days, meaning holidays, birthdays, and special events that change people's schedules and routines.  I'm anxious for things to get back to

A Different Kind of Progress

My horse trainer has been (ahem) encouraging me to flatten out the mounds of sand in the riding arena.  She doesn't like walking around in sand dunes while giving lessons.  I don't blame her.  It's impossible for me to haul the wagon through the thicker spots to pick up manure.  I occasionally go out there with a shovel, wheelbarrow and rake to spread the sand around, but that method has

Gabbrielle Gets Her Week

I've been sick for the past week and unable to ride, so I encouraged my horse trainer to re-start Gabbrielle under saddle.  She's a high energy horse and can be crabby.  If she doesn't understand what you are trying to get her to do, she'll pitch a fit.  So, I forewarned my trainer of all my horse's quirks and told her to take her time and do whatever she needs to feel safe.

On Tuesday she did

Creepers

Three mornings ago, as I was waking from a dream, I heard a voice say, "Someone is watching the house."

When I went out to feed the horses I noticed a little white hatchback with fully tinted windows all the way around parked at the trail head to my backyard.  I wondered what the heck that was all about, but chalked it up to one of the handymen who has been working on my neighbor's deck parking

Snow in Central Arizona

If the storm that just passed through Phoenix is headed your way, batten down the hatches.

Taking Stock of the Goods

I totally forgot that the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is one of the best places to buy horse supplies and tack at sale prices.  Schneider Saddlery had a huge tent set up there, so I went in to get some new splint boots for Lostine and came out with much more.  I kept looking around and remembering things I should be replacing.

Lostine wears small splint boots for leg support, and the Velcro on

Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show 2013

Now that I live in Arizona, I almost completely forgot about the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.  My husband came home from work on Thursday and informed me that it had started, so we planned to drive out on Saturday for me to take some pictures.

We didn't stay long.  It seemed like every time we sat down in one arena to watch, they were just finishing the last class and opening up the arena for

I Made It Happen

This morning my husband and I headed out to search for a drag harrow to flatten the rest of the sand in the arena. When we turned the corner we saw three police cars and a ranger's truck at the entrance to the desert where I hike and ride. There were other patrol cars parked in front of nearby gates. When we returned home, they were still there, except the ranger's truck was parked next to the

Doing My Homework

My homework is to practice catching Lostine with the halter using the trainer's method, and then practice riding her at the walk/jog/walk/jog until she's better about waiting for my cue to trot and responding quicker to my cue to walk.  At the same time, Bombay, who I'm trying to prepare for a trip to the cattle ranch, has been sitting on the sidelines for the past couple of weeks because Lostine

Flunkin' Her Way Back to Kindergarten

This morning was the first chance I've had to work with the horses after our last horse training lesson and it showed.  Between having both a busy and rainy weekend, my daily workouts with each horse seriously lapsed.  My trainer wanted me to wait for her to get here before trying to catch Lostine, because she wanted to show me her method of catching a halter-resistant horse.

Here is her

A Day at the Driving Trials

This past Saturday Cut-N-Jump's pony diving club came my way and put on a competition at the fairgrounds just down the street from me.  I gathered my camera equipment and raced out the door to try to catch her in her first class.  I found her hooking up her trusty steed Kat to his carriage.  Cut-N-Jump is one tough cookie.  She recently obtained a painful injury doing yoga that makes it

Never a Dull Moment

This morning my farrier came by to do his routine barefoot trim on my three horsekateers.  He discovered that Gabbrielle's right shoulder is wasted away.  It's much lower and more sunken in than the shoulder on the left side.  She nearly has a club foot on the right front, so his theory is that she had some kind of injury when she was little that led to both the club foot and the withered

Testing the Waters

Our horse trainer came out again today.  She's been working me into her schedule one way or another, and as the time of day that we meet changes, my horses and I are met with new challenges.  When she comes in the mornings, the biggest obstacle is crossing the street on horseback with trash trucks racing up and down.  The speed limit on our street is 25 mph, but since the trash trucks don't stop

Bombay's Embarrassing Moment

There's a story behind this picture.  You see, there are a couple of piles of sand I still haven't spread in the arena.  Okay, there are a lot of piles of sand I still haven't spread in the arena.  My horse trainer is getting sick of trying to find smooth spots to lunge the horses in, so she's putting pressure on me to rent a tractor and finish spreading the sand.  I prefer to do it by hand

Lostine's Assessment Under Saddle

If you read my last post about Lostine collapsing after taking a few steps with a saddle on her back, you know about the debate over whether she has a physical/medical condition or was just trying to get out of being ridden.  Since I didn't know what the heck was going on, I removed the saddle and walked her around without it for a while.

So, today I saddled her a second time with our horse

Another Scare

I guess today is just a scary day.  After running into aggressive loose dogs while walking Bombay this morning, I went outside this afternoon to do my homework.  My horse trainer wanted me to ride Lostine before our next lesson and let her know how it goes.  I've told her about the arthritis in Lostine's joints and her pedal ostitis, but Lostine moves so well from the ground without any lameness

Reader Feedback Applied

Though I read everyone's comments on my blog, I don't often respond to comments.  So, I wanted all of your to know that I do take what you say to heart and sometimes apply it to my life.  Here are some recent examples:

Mikey mentioned in a comment on my post about the coyotes stalking my horse and I that it's a good idea to carry a big stick while out in the desert to protect yourself and your

A Ride on the Trails

I'm fortunate to have my husband home from work on Fridays when all the kids are still in school, the neighbors at work, and the trash trucks parked in their yards, because it makes for a perfect trail riding day.  I don't know what I'd do without being able to bring someone along with me either on foot or on another horse while I train my horses to behave themselves out there in the wide open