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Maybe he was tired from our epic weekend ride. Maybe he was feeling my “under-the-weather” vibe. Regardless, today I got my chillax horse for a little saunter down the trail. It was cold, but not awful. -11 celsius with bright sun and reasonably good footing despite the big thaw for two days and then a deep freeze last night. Q was definitely more in the mood to stop for treats or conifer snacks than to compete for first place with his bestie Shadow. So glad I made the trek out to the barn (2 hour roundtrip) and tackled the trails. We actually were able to quietly trot down the trail while bestie Shadow cantered ahead. The increasing distance didn't bother Q one bit. Now thats a behaviour that I can fully get behind! Independence! Oh, and there were treats. Cuz, love.

It was glorious on Saturday. I was meeting up with my buddy B and his TB, and even though the weather was a mild +4 degrees celsius, I was warmly dressed with my foot warmers. As I trotted down the trail to our meeting spot, I felt my left foot give way. I stop, look down and with shock see that my stirrup (western) has come undone. Uhoh. Im standing on this narrow trail, sandwiched between the dog sledding trail and the atv/skidoo trail thinking about what I can do. Im nervous to leap off because I have this insane fear of catching my coat in my western saddle horn and being dragged to my death. We all know by now how fearful my horse is of dragging stuff. I really don't think I can soothe him through that challenge. And I dont want to loose the stirrup part that just fell in the snow. Why have I not been checking this when tacking up? Mellow Q is just standing while Im thinking, and he is wondering when I plan on giving him a candy.  I bank on his chill vibe, and li

Everything started out as bliss. Here I was quietly jogging down the trail thinking to myself “hey, I finally got my horse back!!”. I was planning a joyous blog post about how mellow we were in our lovely winter wonderland. I was singing to my horse, and just loving his attention to my seat and legs and my ability to drop the reins and just get in rhythm. I figured it was partly because I got in a few good/fast rides in this week with the amazing footing and increasingly mild weather. I figured it was also because a new colt was introduced to him and his paddock buddies making for more cardio during his daily turnout. I figured it was because I had free lunged him before tacking up. Our first few canters were soft and lovely. He amused me by grabbing food where he could, and then literally chomped off more than he could chew with a foot long conifer branch. This horse is very food centric. My friends with their TBs just do not understand me. I ended up pulling this branch out

After a month of shut-ins because of icy trail conditions, and a deep freeze with temperatures ranging from -18 to -30 ... what happens when the magic of fresh powder, bright sunshine and warm temperatures collide at the same time? Everyone plays hooky and heads for the trails! Conditions were just magical and my buddy and I headed out with our very fresh horses for 2.5 hours of pure bliss. We took a little stretch called the “race track” where the footing was glorious but our horses were so fresh that we kept it quiet at a big trot. It took 2 hours with lots of trotting and cantering before I had my horse back. But that is just what we needed. We saw riders, sleighs, skiers, ski-skaters, snowshoers ... and everyone had a big smile on their face. Our club volunteers had groomed the trails again in anticipation (third time within a week) so we were in footing heaven. And it was so warm (hovering above zero degrees) that we were perspiring under our winter coats. But our horses? De

It was going to be sunny and cold, and so I dressed appropriately (long underwear, winterbreeches, and foot warmers... my heated insoles are en route). The beauty of battling -30 degrees is that -18 feels balmy! I kid you not! We were protected from the wind in the woods, but even on the more open trails it was very tolerable. I thought I might join some friends for a ride today, but at the last minute I bailed to do my own ride. I needed to work on some fast trot sets and I did not want to manage with someone else’s agenda. So off we went, marching down to the main trail at a good clip. The volunteer groomers had been out again this morning (twice in five days) and we had a glorious snow highway for most of our ride. Q bolted on me twice while cantering (lasting 2 strides) but clearly this horse is fit and needs a job. I caught up with our BO and fellow boarder as we trotted on the way home and they asked me to walk because their horses were winded. I dont think I have ever seem Q

It was a mild -14 degrees celsius today and I put on my winter breeches without long underwear. I was feeling daring. But all was good as we headed out in about an extra foot of fresh new powder. On top of groomed trails. Everything was light and fluffy! I went alone, so I got a chance for a few nice canter stretches although Q was still very zippy. It was like I wanted to be a Sunday driver and he wanted to zoom-zoom-zoom like a Formula 1 race car driver. He did not understand one bit why I kept asking him to slow down. As we started heading back home, he started bouncing when we got to a stretch where we almost always canter. And so, as a result, and with much reminding, we walked back on the buckle. I really can’t stand jigging. A few minutes later a horse was cantering up our ass, so I forgave my overly rambunctious horse for his zeal and we had a lovely ride home. Walking. On the buckle. Love his radar ears! Where shall we go now? Even when he is pumped, he doe

As is often the case in winter, when the sun shines the temperatures plummet. When I woke up on Friday morning to the radio announcer warning of -30 degrees celsius, I knew it was going to be rough but bright. These are the days when old people are warned to stay inside, and children/teenagers are reminded to wear winter coats (and socks, and mittens, and hats ... all the things that make you look uncool). It was definitely frostbite weather. I had not had a proper ride in a while, but I did not want to dilly dally at the barn and risk losing my motivation for the trail. We had a few extra inches of snow, and the groomers had worked on the trails the evening before. It was promising to be amazing footing. I dressed in layers, with foot warmers in my boots, and tacked up quickly. We were on the trail in minutes, battling the cold wind blowing across the first field. Yikes! We booted down to the main trail with Q marching like his ass was on fire. I was a little nervous that he mig

It was a lovely mild day and I headed out with my pals for two hours of walking and trotting bliss in the forest. I caught this short moment trotting in slow motion. To help Q forget his snorting piaffing ways, we did 30 minutes of lunging, 15 minutes of riding trot in the arena ... and then headed out in leading and following positions on the buckle. Ahhh, nice to get my horse back. ;-)

Four years ago today I made a scary decision of offering to purchase a 3 year old untrained andalusian stallion from Florida, sight unseen. It flew in the face of everything I thought about purchasing a horse. It was all business, and based on the breeders understanding of what I wanted to do with the horse. The breeder had 20 colts and fillies of the same age to sell, and my Q was the least dressage flashy and the most in-your-pocket of the bunch. And his conformation made him well suited for working equitation or western riding. We did fly down to meet Q and the breeder before we had him shipped from Florida to Quebec in the spring. But by then the wire transfers and vet checks were done. It was more like an arranged marriage kind of meeting. It actually turned out to be smart, because once we got there and saw all the other horses, I was in awe of the tremendous beauties also for sale. Had I not already made and executed on my (rational) choice, I might have made a different cho

Saturday morning with an ice storm on the way. It is raining buckets, and the trails are now trashed for the barefoot ponies for the foreseeable future. Despite the inclement weather, I make the one hour trek to the barn hoping for a fun drill team practice in our indoor arena. A text from our fearless leader of gastro and cancellation pings while Im en route. I proceed regardless. Once I arrive, I notice the packed parking lot. There will be mucho traffic in the indoor today, I muse. No worries, I manage traffic pretty well with Q. I tack up quickly, thinking of doing a session with the new hackamore and testing the limits of communication. Fill my pockets with mints and head to the indoor. Oh. There are three jumps set up. Hmm, ok. Oh. There are seven other riders coming in. Hmmm, ok. Oh. Horses are bolting at the backdoor. Hmmm, ok. Ten minutes in, I realized that this was not the ride I wanted to have. Q was ok, with the occasional scoot when someone else bolted, and

The sun was out, the weather mild, and I decided to chance the trails. Well, lo and behold, it was awesome. Q continues to make me smile every time he stops and waits patiently as I try and get the best picture of our beautiful surroundings. Every once in a while he takes advantage of my distraction to grab a branch or a leaf ... or a big branch of leaves. He walked tentatively on the snow covered ice, but conditions were such that he never slipped. We even got a chance for a short trot! After that it was a yoga class, and now Im plunked on the sofa watching a cute movie called L’auberge Espagnole ... a nice reminder of our beautiful trip to Barcelona many years ago. A lovely day, blessed with a great horse and a lovely trail.  Namaste.

The weather has been awful for the trails. More ice than snow creating a bunch of depressed shut-ins trying to make arena time palatable. Even those with four winter shoes and cleats are condemned to the indoors. I did have one good ride this week when the mild weather made the trails all slushy. But we are now back to the deep freeze, and so we are stuck again. Despite driving two hours to get to the barn, I did not want to ride. Which just seems ridiculous. So I figured I would try my new hackamore and MacGyver my bridle to keep the cheek pieces away from his eyes. It worked pretty well and it continues to impress me how good the brakes are with the curb strap. I lift, he halts. We did a few transitions halt-trot-halt and I got off after 15 minutes. No need to drill that today. I also took some pictures of his warts and markings, keeping a watchful eye on any potential sarcoids growing. And thought I would share a pic of his Prophets Thumb on his neck. Of course my thumb

I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone's decade retrospective, sparked by May as Well Event Picture Challenge . I have loved reading the history of blogs I have been following, and have added a few more to the mix. But it sure was a challenge to find some good pictures from those early years.  2010 seems so long ago, given how much my life has changed in these few years. It was a ho-hum year, with lots of work stress, and riding with my mom and our two palominos (my first mare on the left, and her son on the right). We logged lots of trail miles and I convinced my mom to do some local showing with me, including a pairs class. Note the Elvis outfits for our pairs pleasure class. Hilarious! 2011 is most notably marked by my meeting my husband-to-be and us spontaneously being engaged within 3 months and married within 6 months on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. We had a lovely honeymoon and wedding trip on the islands and New Zealand and became quite fond of the isl