Colours in my life

-












 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Riding English or Western? Which is safer?

-
Image
We had another trail accident this week, the fourth this season, that required an ambulance. All four accidents involved solo riders in English tack. Our club facebook posts were all atwitter about the safety of English vs Western tack. As an amateur rider having spent equal amounts of time in both types of tack under similar conditions, I feel reasonably confident in my perspective. Western tack is safer.  The saddle fork on a western saddle (also on an iberian, australian, and some endurance saddles) blocks a certain amount of the centrifugal force that comes with a sharp spook, hard buck, abrupt turn or stumbling horse. The stirrup leathers provide more stability and it is more difficult to get your foot caught in the stirrup during a fall. However, the bulk and heft of a western saddle can also make a wreck worse, such as riders getting bucked onto the neck and caught in front of the saddle, horse and rider falling and getting pinned under the saddle, boot stuck in stirrup with...
Read more

Pocketful of mints, aka the slowroll

-
Image
It has been over twenty-five years since I did a solo trail ride bareback. Today was the day. Q was amazing, and gave me the confidence to ride on the buckle most of the way. When we came up to a road crossing, I got nervous because I could hear an unseen car climbing the road and was afraid it was the roadster sans muffler that had been gunning it up and down the road earlier. So I asked Q to trot, and he steadily complied with the smoothest transitions. Comfy and confident! The last time I had done this was with my first QH Rocky that I moved from Canada to Costa Rica (in the winter - bad idea) to live on the Pacific Ocean with me. We would go ride on the beach and in the ocean and bareback was the way to go. It was mostly walking around and I honestly don’t remember galloping bareback since my poney days as a teenager. Of course my new best friends bareback pad is amazing. It provides a little cushion, gives a stickiness to my seat with the suede-like top and adheres to Q...
Read more

Whoa whoa dragon

-
Image
Just when I start thinking Q is too mellow, and maybe something is wrong ... a fire-snorting dragon appears and he bounces me home. The first half of my trail was delightful and relaxed. The second half, Q was so amped that I feared to let him canter for not having any brakes. So in between his jumps and jigs, I promised him a long cantering session in the arena upon our return. He lasted eight 40 meter circles (4 on each lead) at a canter before he exhaled, relaxed and was able to lope on the buckle. I gave him a double dose of that and then finished off with a gallop and sliding stop. Hopped off, gave him a peppermint and a nice pat on the neck. After which was a shower and a nice graze on the grass. And I realized I need to do a bit more of that. I think I will declare the summer of 2020 to be the season of canter. We need to work on it. He is tricky cantering on the trail and will not consistently pick up the right lead, nor am I able to rate him with my seat. He is all go...
Read more

Zoom Zoom Spring

-
Image
Had a lovely solo ride in the beautiful woods. The tree leaves were so green from the morning rain that I thought it was neon. Because our trails are mostly sandy loam, they dry up real quick and we don’t have much to worry about in rocks, stumps, or mud.  Q was a great partner and let me know when he wanted to go faster. Nothing obnoxious, but a bit more bounce in his step and his ears would speak volumes. It was lovely to be just the two of us, and he was smooth as silk cantering down the path. A busy week ahead with too much work, and not enough barn time. Happy trails to all.
Read more

Section 1, or Q’s revenge

-
Image
Me: Can we walk please? Q: But you said “zoom zoom zoom”. After yesterday's ride, Q decided to show me just how much he had a need for speed. Our first day of summer and it was hot and sunny. I packed a water bottle and set out on the buckle.  As soon as we hit the last ravine and got to the first long sandy track, he was all business. I spent the whole rest of trail either on the buckle or on the handbreak. Not much middle ground with Q today. The last ravine of Section 2 before we get to Section 1 Each of these ravines has a bubbling brook at the bottom, some of them the horses can drink in. This sandy track is the official beginning of Section 1, occasionally called The Arches for a large wooden arch that used to stretch across this trail at the top but has since crumbled to the ground. This fork is actually a great loop through the forest. I started trotting down the right, and then came galloping up the left 15 minutes later. Mostly ...
Read more