Colours in my life

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Quaint Krakow

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We arrived in Krakow on a super short commuter flight from Budapest and spent most of the weekend wandering about the charming town, constantly watching out for rogue trams that want to run us over. Our first afternoon was a delightful stop in the large market square to sit on a terrace, drink local beer, eat a lovely plate of cured sausages and meats with a kickass fresh horseradish purée, and watch the parade go by on National Constitution Day. Somehow, we often arrive in a new city on their national holiday. Krakow town square and basilica In the town square, m any fine carriages and horses are in line, with beautiful women in black hats with white ribbons driving the carriages. Its so unusual to see only women driving so many large carriages, that I took notice. At first, I thought it was because of the parade. Later that day, I watch the carriages circulating with passengers and the pretty lady is up front doing nothing while an old peasant dressed man is driving the carri...
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All kinds of feels

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Annual Trail Rides: 186/200 (Bareback 25/40) Weather has turned brisk, rain has set in for multiple days, work is very busy so riding has dropped in frequency. All this has transformed Q into a fire breathing dragon. (it could also be the Bemer sessions working too well) So much that I was screaming to myself two days ago “THIS is NOT fun. THIS is NOT fun.” after shutting down Qs bolt-in-progress on the trail. The ride before the storms  This morning I was feeling better and up for the task of channeling Qs abundance of energy. I put on his bareback pad, got on .. and then ... oops ... immediately got off. I was sitting on a live grenade! I took off his bridle, and let him loose in the big paddock. He leaped, bucked, spun, galloped and then did it all over again. I then put on his saddle (seriously this was not the day for bareback even if the trails were sloppy wet) and headed out thinking that his energy would be more normal now. It was NOT NORMAL. He was high as a kite as we hea...
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Canter Protocol

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I do lots of different kinds of rides, with lots of different kinds of riders. But cantering always has me stumped. I have an established checklist of rules, but not everybody shares my view on this. Here is the short version I do not ride on trail with anybody who is not comfortable cantering their horse (at least in an arena). I don't want their first canter experience to be the spook and bolt when their horse sees a deer. I will occasionally make an exception to this rule for very short and controlled trail rides within proximity to the barn. I do not race. The order we start in, must be maintained until the end. No passing. With some of my trail buddies we will canter side by side, and it is glorious! I do not gallop. I have made a few exceptions to this rule with individuals that I trust, and on a trail I know well. The gallop stretch never lasts very long. I do not canter up ravines or anywhere I do not have a long line of sight. Again, I sometimes make exceptions to this on ...
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First Snow

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Surprise! Surprise!  A bit early this year, but perhaps a sign that we might have a Green Christmas … because irony. Horse was way too spicy than he should have been, so we kept it to a long distance trot in mostly sandy tracks. Twas a good one. Such a good egg.
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Challenging my assumptions, the mounted police way

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Some interesting developments on the despooking clinic. Full disclosure, I write this from the comfort of my sofa, with heating pad and anti-inflammatories. My back pain reared its ugly head this week and after three hours of riding and walking, I was d.o.n.e. Having done obstacle training before I had a certain approach down pat. Introduce obstacle from the ground, ensure the horse respects your space, and reward every try. But do not let the obstacle be ignored. This is not a negotiation. Eventually the confidence builds and each new obstacle becomes easier. But most new obstacles are introduced from the ground. Here, it was very different. First the context. A smallish arena (60x120ft) with the back door opened for auditors, housed under a temporary shelter with tarp cover. Hellish gusty wind blowing through the tarp. 11 horses and handlers, most of which were hot, reactive, and lacked training. All of the walls and corners had obstacles, tarps, mattresses, stuffed animals. Br...
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