2010

2009

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010

Horses Make Me Happy

Horses make me happy.

For the last few months, our horses have been enjoying a well-deserved break while we catch up on office work. So I was pretty excited yesterday when I managed to escape from the paperwork and bolt up to the barn for a ride.

The first thing that I did was go into our pasture and rub all the horses. Our horses are pretty positive guys, and they were all competing for attention. Just scratching them and smelling that perfect horse smell was enough to put me in the running for the happiest person in the world.

And then I took out my big black gelding, Zephyr, threw on a saddle and rope hackamore and off we went! The ground was pretty hard and he’s been on holiday so we didn’t do too much, but even just a good trot down the road was enough to have me grinning from ear to ear.

What is it about horses that affects us this way? I don’t really know, but I love it - and I love them.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 4:52 PM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: HAPPINESS, WINTER RIDING

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2009

Dashing Through the Snow

Is there anything better than riding in the snow?

Well, yes actually. But tacking up on a crisp day and going out for a jaunt through the snow is definitely the best part of winter. Anna and I went out riding the other day on two of our young horses, Chica and Rosie. Chica, as always, marched through the snow with great enthusiasm. Rosie, an Andalusian-Arab cross who is our newest acquisition, was also eager to be out and about, despite not being in as good shape as Chica.

There was a definite chill in the air, but aboard the beautiful Rosie, I really didn’t care. We walked and trotted on the logging roads in the mountains behind the farm – and with that dusting of snow, the scenery was truly breathtaking and made all the better by being on horseback. We stopped and looked at animal tracks in the snow – Anna and I agreed that we need to get better at identifying tracks – and picked out a Christmas tree to chop down later.

Then we got to the meadow where we often canter the horses. Anna and I looked at each other and grinned, each knowing the other was up for a canter. Rosie is green and we hadn’t cantered her yet, but she was feeling fantastic – her gaits were smooth and easy, and her attitude was willing. I was sure she was ready for it, and I was eager to feel the canter that I had seen her do from the ground.

It was amazing. She stepped right up into the canter and followed Chica, winding through the meadow on the snow-covered logging road. She didn’t try to pass or lag behind – she maintained the exact same distance behind Chica the whole time. And she didn’t disappoint me – her canter was wonderfully balanced and rocking. It was, without a doubt, the best first canter I’ve ridden.

No matter how many horses I start, seeing them progress never ceases to amaze me. Riding out in the snow, having such a wonderfully positive ride and first canter, really made my day.

POSTED BY CELENA AT 9:27 AM      0 COMMENTS     POST A COMMENT
CATEGORIES: ANNA, CHICA, LAYING THE FOUNDATION, ROSIE, WINTER RIDING