The horse, with beauty unsurpassed, strength immeasurable and grace unlike any other, still remains humble enough to carry a man upon his back.

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk. He trots the air, the earth sings when he touches it.

William Shakespeare

  

Okay, today's ride. Le sigh, where do I start? If perfect rides truly exist, this was in the top 5 of all time perfect rides. 

We had a football game to watch before we went to the barn-Go Vols!-so as soon it was almost over, we headed to the barn. We got there before everyone else, which was nice because it gave us more room to tack up and once everyone got there, we were ready to go. Mom tacked Spirit up in the barn and I tied Red to a fence post. He was really pushy up in the pasture when I was leading him down, but I think it was because the others-Bella, Bay, Tucker and someone else, I forgot, lol-were all up in our business and being pushy themselves. Bella-Bella wacked mom in the face with her head and received a very stern "no ma'am!" from mom. :)) Once we got down, he kept wanting to run in front of me but I think it was from flies. Once we got to the barn and I started fly spraying he settled down and fell asleep. Got him tacked up quickly and actually PUT MY SPLINT BOOTS ON CORRECTLY, yes, I remembered, and worked on our mounting and dismounting. One of his most annoying things is he moves when I mount sometimes and we're working on that now. I fake mounted-put one foot in the stirrup and stood there, then stood IN the stirrup, lol-about ten times then actually mounted three or so times. He did good. Then I got off and made mom braid his mane...she's my unpaid groom.

Oh so bootiful, Redman.

"Hang on, let me pose. "

After that I hopped on again and we just kinda hung out together for about 25 minutes while A and R tacked up. R, A's husband, came along this time. He rode Bay-Bay, who was very hyped today. :))

Seriously in love with his tack right now...everything MATCHES!! My bridle, reins, breast collar and saddle look like a set. Plus all of my red is the same shade. And almost everything was yardsale finds...splints were like $2, breast collar custom made, saddle was traded, reins and bridle were yardsale finds for like $20, pad was like $10...woot!

 Bay led the way for about two secs until Red decided he HAD to be right next to her. So we raced. Lol!! Red apparently needed to use the restroom so when he did he refused to go anywhere but behind a tree. LOL. Such a gentleman. Anyways, we trotted up ahead. Got Redman prepped for some work today. I love slow trail rides but if I don't start working him, he's gonna be all chubby and zero muscle! I actually think he enjoyed it though, I let the reins slack and he went faster voluntarily. Good boy! 

We rode around the trails, went the long way 'round. We went to the back pasture, about ten acres. When you go in, there's a fairly steep hill straight ahead so Red and I immediately went up it. I've never, never, never gone so fast up that hill. I felt like I was going to die. :)) :)) But we made it and after that we kinda had fun with it.

 Ignore my feet, time to shorten the stirrups. They keep slipping down!! grrrr

 We probably took the hill about ten times. He was really into it and we kept it at a trot most of the time but walked up it and went the easier way about five of those times. Cantered around the creek where it's a LOT cooler so he would cool off.

My horse has discovered he can high step.

Okay, so, we kept running past twigs. Finally, we found a bigger log, probably about the size of an average trot pole. He jumped it. Umm, Red, you aren't supposed to do that. I mean, it wasn't an eventing jump or anything but he hopped over it and scared me half to death. Proof he can do the cavalettis, lol. 

This ride was so much fun, we got tons of work done but I feel like we both enjoyed it and he liked being able to let loose without me pulling him back. I don't know why he was never worked because he likes it and I think I can improve his gait. I think some of his problems is his pasturns because they are a little straight, but we shall see. I think there's been improvement so far.

Spin

We also worked on turns and spins, nothing major, just teaching him the cues and trying to get him to listen more when I say we're NOT going to the gate. I told mom he looks like a reining horse in the picture up there, lol.

Spirit did really good today, too. Last real ride, Spirit was terrible and we now know why. :P His chin strap was missing on his bridle! We fixed it, lol. No pics of the pony because mom had the phone the whole time so I couldn't take photos for her.

Wish his ears were forward and my feet were in a better position but this is my favorite!

I really don't have a bad thing to say..he went down that steep hill that he refuses CONSTANTLY without very much fuss-I had to show him the crop but didn't even tap him with it-he had sassy moments at the barn before we left but that's normal, wanted to be next to Bay-Bay, and he had a couple other "oh no ya don't!!" moments but really, he did amazing.

Pats for the good pony.

I can't remember when we have had such a successful ride. It left me feeling really good about our training and our methods. He's doing so well. 1 year together and we're tackling so much and doing good at it. 

We went back towards the barn then, took the long way until A and mom went up the hill. R and I decided to take the trails the rest of the way. It takes longer but Red was starting to get tired and I wanted to take it easy. We ditched R about halfway and went up another way, he had decided to go ahead and untack her. Mom, A and I went up to the 4 acres for about two laps around there, in which Red decided he had another bolt of energy and raced Spirit. I didn't make him go any faster than a walk the whole time, if he was lazy,I would've because he needs work under his belt, but he literally wanted to go and I've always been told he NEVER NEVER went faster than a walk and was lazy. Yeah, not anymore. :)) After that we went ahead and untacked,sweat scraped and cooled them off. Took Red to his stall once he was cooled off and fed him dinner.

"treats?"

Gave him 3 treats too. He normally only gets one. ;) I splurged! 

We rode for a good two hours, I'd say. It was fun. Longest ride we've been able to have in awhile and we did a lot of groundwork beforehand. I'm proud. We had to get a good ride in before we left for FL. I'm hoping to ride bareback before.

Anyways, no schedule. Things are getting crazy now. Gotta start cleaning the house and preparing. We're about a week away so I have to start planning stuff, buying what we need. Gotta decide on books to buy before. :)) Any ideas? ;) I'll miss Redhead. 

Now, I must eat.

Horseflies.

Went for a ride today!! Went out at 12:30 and everyone was already tacking up, A had her grandson with her with was fun! :) He's about two or three. Mom felt up to it so she got Spirit to the barn and tacked him up, J had to help her carry the saddle since she can't lift over 4 pounds until 6 weeks post surgery. I brought Red down with the help of Bay-Bay and tied him out front with Patches and Hercules. Lady, C's horse, was lame, we think she tripped and hurt herself, so he rode Hercules. He gave Hercules to R awhile back so it's nice for him to have the ability to ride him! Hercules is actually Lady's colt. The horse flies were HORRIBLE today..the bugs weren't that bad but the horse flies were everywhere. Red stood really well and did fantastic while I tacked him up. He was sleeping the majority of the time so I doubted that he'd be energetic today! :)) A helped me figure out the breast collar because I still can't tie it right. Gonna invest in some of the clips for it, lol!! Got him all tacked up and fly sprayed a fly to death. At the last minute I decided to try my splints again so I got those on. They actually didn't slip as bad today so I'll see....medicine boots are so far in my dreams but I can't afford them ATM, so the splints will have to do. They worked well today. He came back with no nicks or anything on his legs and was much less bugged by the flies on his legs.

I hopped on before anyone else just so I could do some work on his mounting. He tends to want to move when I mount but he's improving little by little. He did SO good with it today!!! Got off because of ANOTHER dang fly but I got back on without him fussing. The fly left a pretty good mark on him so I was surprised when he just calmed right down when I got back on.. We just kinda sat there until everyone else mounted. He didn't walk when I got on him, which is what I wanted, since the others were still working I needed him to be quiet and not be a distraction, which he did perfectly, yay! After that, we were off...I took the lead and cantered Red up farther. He's a follower, NOT a leader, so I wanted to test him a little just to see how he did. Hercules was having some issues..It's only his third or fourth time out of the round pen, so considering that, he did really well. He ended up staying down there for awhile, lol. C worked on him a lot though and went on a couple of the trails by himself and we met up a few times. Red wanted to stop a few times so a couple smacks on his butt took place, lol!

Hercules and Red. NOTE: I don't allow my horses to get up too close during rides, but Hurk literally came running and I was taking a between the ears shot, this kinda just happened. :)) Red was moved up front about a second later.

We went through all of the trails and rode for about an hour. It was really hot out in the pastures so we stuck to the trails where it was shady. Once we got to the rockier area Red just stopped and I had to pick up a little twig and use it as a crop, a tiny tap got him going again. The rocks don't feel good, even when your horse has amazing feet, so I took it really slow. Once he got to the big open, ten acres, he was ready to run. I tapped him on the butt and he worked into a canter, then, finally WE GALLOPED! Yes!! :D I am so excited. Almost a year later..we finally gallop. Yipee!! We stopped shortly though. ;) Spirit wanted to run with us and mom had to take him way out to the end of the pasture, so once she was gone I talked to A and G-her grandson-and took a break in the shade, after that we walked around the creek line and I galloped a few more times around the pasture, cantered around the fenceline. G kept getting hit by Patches tail, he was doubling with A and kept saying, "PATCHES, NOOO! Stop hitting me!" and "Mimi, she's HITTING me!!"

Just a note: He had on a helmet but we took it off during breaks and A held onto him the whole time. :) The helmet was a bit large on him, lol!!

After that, mom came back 'round.

 Another stupid fly stung him and made him bunny hop, I dismounted to kill it because it kept trying to sting me plus I thought the test would be good. He REFUSED to let me back on but after about three minutes I was back on and he did great again,
 
We headed back after another lap. We went the long way around, where you pass about three hills that the horses tend to want to run up. Patches and Spirit were pretty insistent on wanted to go up them, but Red just followed and didn't mind. It was getting breezy and I kind of think he enjoyed the breezy, slow walk.

Once we walked back, we saw C on Hurk up near the house, so we turned back around. Red acted like he wanted to go back in the barn but once he noticed he was being left behind, he trotted up the hill and said hello. :) We all walked to the barn and got J to take some pictures.. A has some better ones of all of us on her phone so I'll have more pictures later, when she posts them on FB.


Once we were done taking pictures I took Red in the barn and tied him at his stall, near the fan so he could cool off. Got the sweat scraper and got all that nasty junk off. :)) He got some lovin' from G too :) He LOVES kids. No wonder he was a lesson horse ;) Gave him some treats and let him hang out while I put my stuff away.

Ignore his twisted splint, G was looking at them and asked why he had "cowboy horse boots on" and one of the straps got undone.

Pretty sure everytime I see him, I love him more. Despite his random stubborness, he did so good. Every time we go on a ride mom ends up saying something like, "ya know, he is just a good horse." or something along those lines. :) :) He really is a good horse, through and through. He's sound, he has a wonderful personality. He RUNS now, and wants to. Before he literally only walked or he would just be horrible. I'm so happy that he's actually enjoying his job now.

Him doing this every time I come to the barn or leave and whinny at me, plus just being gorgeous, helps a lot too. ;)

Hoping to get another bareback ride in soon, too. Probably this week sometime unless we get in another long trail ride. I'm getting back in the motions now so I should be back to riding at least twice a week now, just praying that mom begins feeling better. She was in horrible pain yesterday and has been light headed today. :P :P Until then, I'm the main babysitter so I can't just leave her. I take what i can get at the moment, it's nice to have her back in the saddle!

ALSO: Red's skin is doing great again and his tail is hairy!! Wooho!!! I'm kinda excited for winter because I don't have to worry and he'll have a nice tail.

OH! we will be having the thoroughbred and owner probably moving to the barn soon!! She's owned him since he was 9, he's 22 now. She jumps and does Dressage. :) Vet will be out Wednesday around 4. Gotta get Coggins pulled and some vaccines done..

Trot, canter, poop, trot, canter, pee, trot, canter poop again.

For all of you Equestrian's that are sensitive about poo, or just people who strolled on my blog to see cute ponies..sigh, I have no hope. I think Red pooped three times and peed once during our ride. He does this every time.....

Mom and I went out to the barn yesterday evening around 4:30 and decided to ride. Jeff was watching two babies, somewhat fussy ones, so we had to make it quick. I tied Red, groomed him, then tacked him up.
Let out a sigh of relief, as well.

Last time he was tacked up, he was foundering, and his tack barely fit, his breast collar didn't fit all all. This time, it clipped perfectly!! Perfect, loose fit again. Phew.

Since Red lost *another* halter, I already had put his bridle on and tied him with the reins, so I went ahead and mounted so mom could tie Spirit and get him ready. The driveway where we normally tie to the posts was full of cars so we didn't have room. :( Really excited to get our cross-ties built soon!!! :D :D


Red was a gentleman and let me mount over in the grass without spinning, let me move him around before I got on so I was on a hill and he wasn't, because hey, I'm only 5'3 and he's about 15.3 if not taller now, it's hard to mount him when your stirrups are fairly short and you are hot and sweaty just from lifting the saddle and tack, and your jeans are sticking to you. Sigh, I really want a pair of stretchy breeches for the Summer..

Anywho, A had some people out to the barn to help her work Tucker, Hercules and Jericho, just to let you guys know and brief ya a little, Tucker was a rescue, not sure of his breeding. He spent the majority of his life in a pasture and had only set foot in a barn when A bought him, he had no hoof care and he looked pretty bad. A cleaned him up and has been working him, but she's thinking about selling because she has 6(?) horses and she's never really felt a bond with Tucker, he had to be helped and so she was there. He had an abscess, a  terrible one, a couple months back and he's still acted a tad tender footed, but he needed to be worked desperately. Hercules is her husband's young TWH, I think he's four or five or something, they were recently given him by his owner who also boards, we'll call him C, at our barn and actually leases the property..we are confusing at our barn. ;) C is SUPER nice. Hercules is just now being broke and is doing amazing, but he doesn't know his cues at all and A wanted someone to help out with that. Last but not least, one of my favorite horses at the barn..Jericho is a skiddish Mustang, also a rescue. A is his owner, when she got him you could barely get near him and now he's improved like crazy. He's been a round pen horse for awhile but yesterday he *FINALLY* got to go outside of the round pen and did AMAZING! :) Yaaayy!!!!

Watching with those "I don't care" ears.

I was the first to walk out with Red and so I rode out to watch them working. One of the gates is right on a hill above the round pen about a hundred feet away, so I had a nice view and Red enjoyed watching Tucker..They brought Tucker out of the pen and he refused to move. After a few minutes we decided to walk Red out to see if Tucker would follow. I rode Red out the gate while the woman hopped on Tucker again, he bucked as Red was passing and the guy seemed a little like, "uh oh" and I hopped off, moved Red to the side so he'd get out of the way faster, don't want to be bucked, ;), and hopped back on. Somehow, I dropped my reins and I twisted in the saddle to grab them, all the while Red stood like a good guy and just waited for me to fix everything. I kicked him, pointed to the four acres and he went straight there. Clucked my tongue, he trotted up there, he went to the water in the four acres and kind of stood there like, "Uhhhh...could you drop your reins lady??" and I loosened them enough so he could drink. Tucker still didn't follow, so once he was done I cantered him back down the hill and tried again, this time talking to Tucker. He still didn't want to move, so I went and cantered into the four acres and to see if he would follow if Tucker would go if Red was out of sight. Nope. Cantered back. Nothing worked. :P A grabbed one of my crops and that got Tucker going a little. Finally, mom came up with Spirit, apparently chose to ride bareback because the only tack she had was her bridle and reins. ;) Back when my mom was younger, her first horse was well over 16.HH, she'd hop on that horse-apparently, I wasn't born yet, LOL-and go ride around with just a halter. She is known for her crazy horses. A wild App with a attitude named Beauty, her favorite horse she ever owned. Her heart horse. Before Beauty, who was actually an ugly App with a rat mane and tail and modeled skin, she owned several Arabians, all very hyper. She didn't like lazy, she wanted fast and hyper. She barrel raced, raced cars, rode into a side of public property even when a man threatened to shoot her and cussed her out because she was in "his property" and got her policeman friend to join her on a ride just to  clear it up. Later, when the man realized he couldn't do a thing about her riding, she would go there all the time with friends and their horses. So of course, when she found Spirit, she needed something a little more docile than she would've before, especially since she'd been out of the saddle for so long, but still wanted something with spirit, pun intended. We really weren't sure if he'd do okay bareback since he is very hyped up, but he did great! No pictures then because my phone was shoved in my boot and I couldn't get it out on the trails. :(

Once she was up there with me, we rode around the four acres for a minute, cantered the "pony's"  and headed to the trails. It was still muddy and we had to be home soon since Jeff was alone, so we didn't take the whole thing. Plus, we wanted to give the horses some TLC afterwards, so after about forty five minutes we headed back to the barn. Red led the whole time and I must say, he did fantastic!! He normally hates leading but he did very well. We galloped up the hill to get back, one of our steeper hills that Red loves galloping up, and I managed to hang out. :)) Tried to take me in the woods but I averted that crisis. ;) He wanted to race Spirit *so* *bad* but we didn't let them..:)) Mom bareback+Spirit's tiny hooves+Spirit's whole bucking at other horses too close thing+we weren't sure if they were still working down in the pen..yeah, didn't want to chance it. :)) I took Red the long way down and mom took the easier, shorter way. They were working Hurk then, one of Red's BFF's, so I got close to the round pen to watch for a minute then went down to untack him.

J, the owner of the whole farm, was down there with his colt that sadly got a case of rain rot and was brushing him out. Mom tied Spirit to put his fly mask on, sunscreen and fly spray and I untacked Red while he was untied..love having such a good horse! :D I randomly decided to take pictures after I got the breast collar off so here they are..ignore how ruffled and lazy I look..

Normally, I'd dress nicer even to just go to the barn, but it was a good 90 degrees and we had been working all day...

This sums up our personalities in a nutshell. Red's like, "What'cha doin' up there?"

Photo creds to my mom for those^^^^

Here's a selife.

 So I'm pretty much positive that Red has sweet itch, so I bought him some anti-fungal stuff to prevent rubbing and to cause hair growth..I forgot the name of it, I'll try and remember next time. ;) Anywho, put that stuff in his mane and tail, hopefully it works. Crossing my fingers!! He got the special treatment..fly spray, anti fungal spray, MTG on his chest where it's been scabby, SWAT on his nose and tail..Good grooming to scrape the sweat, cuddles and a treat. :)

Hmmmm?? Treats??? The only way to make his ears go up.

Once he was untacked I took some pictures.














 

Notice that tongue.

As for my schedule..I'll probably go by again tonight just to put the stuff in his mane but no riding. It's supposed to rain. :( Really not sure on my schedule. May ride again this weekend if we're able. Hoping to go to a rodeo Friday if we can find a babysitter. :)

UPDATE ON CHIP: Chip is settled in his new home!! Yay!!!

WHIP YO MANE BACK AND FORTH

Today has been wonderful. I woke up to find these cuties:

GOATS!!!!

A better picture of the brown one above!

Which are this girls babies:

Skinny..can't wait to get some meat back on her little bones! I hate seeing her so skinny...

We thought she'd have one, and when we went up there we only saw one, then I heard a bah and I looked around, then saw the cute little brown dude!! I have cuddled with them a lot. I can't help myself!

Anywho, when Step-daddy gets home from work I think we're gonna try and ride, Spirit DESPERATELY needs to be worked and I just need a ride. Plus it would be good for Red to get out of the round pen again and actually *work*. And I want to canter again. Didn't get to canter the other day because it was too muddy and we kept slipping in the pen.

Flashback to mud!

 While I'm waiting to go to the barn, I wanted to look back and show off the many manes of Red to see how much it's grown..so, without further adieu....

July 2012. Probably around the 4th! Notice the spike and burnt forelock

September 2012, probably late September..this was the first time I rode him at home...

Probably in November..

Also in November..it was his first farrier visit in TN

Probably December give or take

December

January maybe?

February?

March

March

May

June!!

His mane has gotten so much longer..I really hope he continues being gentle and doesn't rub it..I have high hopes!!!
 I've trimmed it a few times because it was a little burnt from the sun but haven't had to do it in awhile. :) Yay for long manes!!