Blustery Days - rides and drives

Today - as Winnie the Pooh might say -- was a blustery day in the 100 acre wood !

" Oh the wind is lashing lustily And the trees are thrashing thrustily And the leaves are rustling gustily So it's rather safe to say It looks like a rather blustery day. " We did not receive the wonderful end of rain reward that Susan did -- what a gorgeous rainbow and a double one at that !

A very busy day - but we got out twice actually. Mid-day - Zoe took OYY Niobe out for her first trail ride... I rode my Keri as the 'nursemaid' horse. Niobe went great - she enjoyed her adventure immensely. The Treeless saddle fits her perfectly and she was brave and forward. What a nice little pony mare - maternal sister to Nimue - the Queen of Carts. It was fun to be astride Keri. This was not a long ride but a nice noon interlude. Also - not a May challenge qualifying ride, but fun.

Back to work for the rest of the day - Zoe and I decided to try for an evening ride. We saddled up around 6:30 or so... intending to just go out for a refreshing 6 mile trot. Once we were out though... the trip was altered a few times onto this trail and that -- and it was too much fun to return home.

Here are the two girls side by side -- Fee and Elektra.

Some of the time Fiona cantered ahead..

Some of the time she had to play catch up. After all, Elektra's legs are a bit longer than hers.
Actually the only time Fee is in front is when Elektra slows down and allows it.

Fiona wasted a little bit of time jumping sideways mid trot and mid canter at this and that - but it was mostly wind and leaves... she spends too much time looking right now - a few more times out and she'll quit that. I did tell her repeatedly, I'd like to return home in the saddle :)

Fiona found her 'puddle' :) so we walked through that a few times.








I love this part of the trail --

We spied a log which maybe Miss Fee can jump.... she tried to veer away but we kind of made it over.

We can work on that 'skill' (or rather lack of skill).

Exiting out onto the road -- we trot up to the turn into my road... while we were out and about, someone piled these tires here with a Free sign. The horses spotted those right off.. something new that was not there before. We urged them to approach and walk quietly all around them -- close enough, but don't tip them over !

As we head for home -- we detour into the trail that we rode earlier in the day with Keri and Niobe. We are not ready to quit our ride yet !

On the trail it's dusk enough to make photo taking difficult.

Here we are passing the little beaver pond on the trail

As the trail opens up into the big field... we pause to play a bit.. the wind is tossing the tops of the trees creating an ocean sound of sorts and the first star is out --- very pretty.

What a super evening ride :)

Now - Wednesday, Zoe and I did ride in the cart over Mount Ephraim with Miss Nimue... this is also not a May challenge task - but pretty darn fun :) I'll just post a bit especially for Donna who was curious to find out how it went. Awesome !! The long version is up on You tube. The following video's are actually of the easy parts... she did great -- the most upsetting part of the ride was when we discovered our can of salted nuts (our cart ride snack) had bounced out of the cart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZFND5ETZ6Q

We got to trot by a big herd of Belted cattle.. what a super day ~ we trotted over the mountain on one trail, drove down and around on the roads to another trail for the return trip.

More wind today -- lots of sun.. maybe we'll tackle some ground work and a bath. I need to find myself a nice flag too :)

Enjoy ~

Wind and Rain

Well, we didn’t INTEND on riding in the wind and rain, but a storm blew up while we were tacking up.

Didder got that wild look in his eyes before we even headed out, and I couldn’t help being a bit nervous, especially after seeing him charge all around the yard earlier when I let them out for fresh grass. I relaxed, breathed and smiled. AhD did too.

We headed down the road. AhD behaved perfectly.

We took Jason’s Loop and did some stream walking. AhD played in the water and was alert, but he was not On Full Alert – a big difference. He was responsive and willing, and I gave him lots of praise and neck rubs. It helped ease my nervousness. I was expecting HIM to be spooky with the crazy wind, so my imagination started running away with me, but I successfully quelled that nasty ol’ fear. Whew! We crossed the powerline and headed into a mucky point. Ian’s pony decided he would rather take Ian through the saplings instead of walk through the deep muck. It didn’t set well with Ian, and he became sullen and bad tempered over the issue. Teenagers! It started to rain, and we headed for home, but, hey, I get some extra points! I just ignored my spawn and concentrated on my spunky Didder. Look what greeted us as we arrived home! Oh, I haltered AhD on my knees after the ride, and it was noooo problem! I let him graze on some sweet lawn clover as a reward. Maybe next ride I will try bridling him on my knees. I love my handsome Curly!

So glad it was windy!!!

This challenge is changing my whole mind-set about the weather in Michigan. I got home and it was extremely windy and I thought "Great!! Time to do a challenge!" I have even been wishing for rain!

Last night, with the help of my husband and Rylee, we did some more challenges. Billy was a little more excitable this time. But, he was still a good boy!

For the Windy Challenges, we did the bag on a stick (we don't use those plastic grocery bags anymore, so we had to improvise), stand on a pedestal, wagonwheel, and Rylee and the basketball. Notice Rylee HIT Billy with the ball the second time! I had to crack up because Billy gave the look like "What the heck kind of game is this!"

After the Windy Challenges, we did the tarp and jump (he is a VERY lazy curly). Not so sure the jump will count for points. Denise will have to let me know on that one. It would take ALOT of energy out of ME to get him to jump. The tarp was just funny. The wind was blowing it all over and then all of a sudden he looks up the driveway. I couldn't figure out what was going on. My husband mouthed "turkey" to me. I thought "Really Billy??? A turkey is getting you all upset?" Very humorous in a way!

Hope you enjoy another video!

I am going to start the riding challenges very soon. Those will be difficult for me and it will probably take me forever to get one video done!

Windy Day In Hokah, MN

I selected Stormy as my participant in the Ride-A-Curly mini challenge. One of the activities is to expose your horse to items or perform a simple task on a windy day. And it was windy as bad weather was blowing in. We chose a tarp, flags and a plastic bag for our lesson. Stormy performed wonderfully of coarse....he was a little spooked by the plastic bag but did not bolt.

Then we ventured out on the trail for a short ride and encountered some other de-spooking tools....barking dog who saw us coming and raced to the end of it's yard (stopped there-good dog, good Stormy) Appaloosa stallion who also noted us and trotted to the fence to nicker and make his presence known (walk on Stormy-good boy) Oh, look Mrs. Idecker has done wash today and has hung several flapping sheets on her clothesline....can you hear them snap in the wind Storm? (yup! stayed calm-good boy) Moving on, look Storm, our neighbors received a package from the post office and it is swinging in a bag attached to their mailbox. Should we take a closer look (not a flinch-good boy)

After all that, we headed back towards home and loped in the open field. We ended our ride with performing some figure 8's around some cones at a trot and then walking over the tarp (with me mounted) a few times. Storm was perfect!

Super FUN!!!

I was so excited to get home last night and work on some of the challenges! It was a beautiful evening and Billy's mood was just as beautiful! It is an amazing learning tool to video tape yourself working with your horse. Besides noticing that I need to do some situps (hahahahaha), I also notice times when my cues are not clear, when I am holding the rope to tight, when his ears are pinned! Big stinker!

The first set of challenges we completed were picking up feet from one side and bridle and halter from ground. We did not practice any of it. I just went on a whim when I saw that he was in a very good mood. :-) The picking up of the feet was interesting. He did not quite know what I was asking of him. I imagine horses get used to the feeling of our body on the side we are asking for. For the haltering and bridling, I did use my lead rope to maintain control of the unruly beast and to help with the cue to lower his head. I hope that is okay Denise??..

When we got done with those challenges, Iwas having so much fun that I decided to do some more. In this video, we are doing the Squeeze Game (notice Billy's belly scraping both sides of the door!), pull a log, barrels, and finally bikes. As you can see, I felt the need to show off when it came to the bike challenge! And I had the audience (my JRT and Golden) in a trance!




This challenge is just such fun! My whole family got involved last night and it was a great hour that we spent together. I look at Billy and how well he handled all these things and I wonder "Why do I have so much fear???" But, I realize that it is my riding and the energy I convey to him while I am riding that probably has an effect on his attitude. Somethingfor me to definitely work on!

Challenges

Well, I signed up for the May challenge with my mare *Charm and she fell and injured herself on the last day of April, so I'm thinking I won't be able to do the things with her - I'm going to ask our fearless leader if I can switch horses...... will let you all know.....
*Sandman First Level test One

*Sandman First Level test Two

In the meantime - I took *Sandman to yet another show this past weekend and he won high point for his category - I was pretty thrilled with him.  We didn't get pictures from that show, but here are a few from the show the weekend before and also the video of him - enjoy.

Shelly
www.curlystandardplace.com

"In the game" with Reese!

Hello!! Wanted to present proof that I am working right along side you in this challenge. =] On Saturday it was warm and muggy...the PERFECT day for a bath! =] Then later, Reese and I played in the arena and freshened up on some of our ground stuff. We are working on the back up - can't quite get 30 fluid steps but we are working on it! =] Sunday, I rode with my friend but I think it was 10 miles and I didn't clock it...so will have to do that one over. It was threatening rain and I thought I might come home with some points for riding in the rain..but no such luck! Lol. (Funny how now you hope for rain! Changes your whole outlook when you gain points! =] )

Note: Ruby, my JRT makes her usual appearance! Watch closely! =]

Platform!!

This is Linus investigating the platform I brought over on the wheelbarrow. It was a great indicator that he was so curious already!!
In December, when I had only had Linus for about 2.5-3weeks, we went to a nearby farm that was hosting a Parelli play-date. While there, Linus absolutely hated the platform. Lynn may have (can't remember if she got all 4's), but I definitely could not get him to go over the platform. As I said in my last post, I was very concerned about the platform. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. My platform was at one time used angled across a corner in the barn for feeding hay. The platform part prevented the animals' feet getting in the feeder and the open parts (built in cavaletti!) was where the heads went to get the hay. So, now you know where it came from. It's about 5' in length and 8" high.
I haltered Linus and he was so eager to try it out I told him to wait for me!! In no time at all I had him on it completely. We repeated several times and I was able to get a pretty good picture of him on it. He is a bit damp in the picture because we had rain almost all night and this morning too.
In terms of mini-challenge points, I did not ride or drive him over the platform but that's ok. It shows how much more he trusts me since we last attempted this task. I spent a good while hugging and rubbing him in his favourite places. I was stressed about getting him to do this and he taught me!!!!
I have finally found some harness for him. It should fit him now and as he grows. I am hoping to have it home within the next 2 weeks. Next equipment find will be a light cart of some kind for training!
My husband bought a flag for our house a couple of weeks ago and not having read the label it is too small for our pole. So, perfect thing for us to go for a walk with tomorrow if the weather allows for it!!!!!

May contest challenges

Well, this set of challenges could not have come at a better time. Weather is warming up down here in Central Texas and I had just made a "bridge" from an old pallet we had lying around. Simultaneously, my weanlings were learning how to turn on the faucet and created a nice puddle for us to ride through. Ginger was fantastic as she stepped carefully through the puddle, went around the cones, smelled the "bridge" and hopped up and over with nary a complaint. Later, the weaners also investigated the new noisy, scary "bridge" and before long they too were sniffing, pawing, and fighting over who could be first to jump on top!

I have ridden Ginger bareback a lot but this time had a nice Barefoot treeless saddle on her, although as her pregnancy progresses, it's harder than ever to keep it from slipping around. I just bought a new Aussie hackamore from Clinton Anderson and can't wait to try it out as a "new" bitless bridle next weekend.

As for some of the other tasks, I will have to endeavor to meet up with some others for trail rides, as that is my greatest challenge. With 4 kids, homeschooling one, and living about 1.5 hours away from our horses, it's often just me and my lonesome trying to whip these Curly MFTs into shape. I doubt I'll get much done in that regard during May, but will make it a yearlong goal to get to by Dec 31.

Also, as with a prior contestant, I am recovering from a bad fall last year that cost me my confidence. The ground is a lot harder than I remember and I had decided not to wear my helmet because it was just too hot! Well, never again after that hard bump...helmet is always on now, no matter how sweaty I get..

Thanks, Denise, for inspiring us to do more with our curlies and get the word out, too!

Back in the RAC!

Well, Billy and I are back in the RAC and I could not be more thrilled! Although, Billy might not feel the same!

My goal for this year is to conquer my FEARS! And there are many! Fear is something that CAN keep us safe, but it can become debilitating when it is unfounded. And, the majority of my fears are unfounded which leaves me so frustrated at times.

Billy is an amazing horse. He does not rear, has only bucked once (and I stayed on). He has unbelievable ground manners. In the last couple years, he has just started to express his opinion at times. Things such as "I don't want to stop right now even though you have my head cranked to my belly" and the all too common "I don't want to go that way." He is not an energetic horse, so bolting has never been an option for him. All in all, he is extremely manageable. It is just all the "what ifs" that constantly circulate through my brain!

I guess as I get older, I realize that I am more fragile and take much longer to recover from even the slightest injury.

Denise's mini-challenge could not have come at a better time for me. I have been working with Billy on a daily basis in the roundpen with amazing results. I am so excited to challenge myself and push through my fear and work on the list she has developed! I am sure that I will not complete them all in a month. But, that is okay. I will continue to work on them throughout the year.

By the end of this year, I want to be able to blog that I am no longer terrified to put my foot in the stirrup. That the knot in my stomach is gone. It WILL happen! WoooHoooooo! I cannot wait to say that!

Happy Riding everyone. Let's get busy on this challenge!

Laura and Billy

Something New

On Sunday, AhD and I trailered up to Laurie Lee’s house for to ride in a new area with new friends! Well, new to AhD, I have known Laurie for several years but we have never ridden together. I am very fortunate to actually have a fellow Curly lover within an hour or so driving distance. Dream is a sturdy and eye-catching ambassador for the Curly breed, with her buckskin-toned bay summer coat and her wildly curly fetlocks. At first, Dream did not really care to be riding out in her territory with a new guy, but she never once pinned her ears or kicked at AhD – and AhD does seem to bring that out in many horses with his too-friendly demeanor. AhD was happy to be out and about, and we enjoyed a low-key, relaxing trail ride in Laurie’s BEAUTIFUL countryside. We meandered through back roads and up an old county road trail that was lined with stone walls and trees. It was wicked hot and muggy for early May in Maine and the black flies were in full force, but the flowers were blooming and the birds were singing. Being a good friend and thoughtful person, Laurie chatted to me and kept my mind occupied with happy thoughts; she knew that I had lost a good friend to cancer on Saturday. We passed a large farm that used to be the most cutting-edge farm in Maine with its newfangled cement floors. It is no longer a working farm, but there were 10-15 diverse cows hanging about in one of the pastures who were very interested in our horses, and vice-versa on AhD’s part. Dream paid them no mind. I was impressed with Laurie’s very calm, relaxed and loving way with Dream and in the trust Dream had in Laurie. Other than being totally fidgety before we hit the trails, AhD was likewise an outstanding and very well-behaved boy, and I can’t even begin to count the ways in which he was good!

This is going to be a FUN month.. this challenge comes at a very busy time for us on the farm - with spring time STUFF that must be done... but I am determined to try as many challenges as possible. BUT then again--- Denise... the mini challenge came at just the RIGHT time. My sweet Keri lately has been struggling with the intense pace of most of our trips. We cover a lot of ground and only have certain time frames to complete our trips. Sometimes, this year, she's not fast enough. I have been saying and planning for years -- 2 years anyway -- I need to start her replacement ... EEEEKS. Every time, I would say -- OK tomorrow I am going to ride Luna (her daughter) or Fiona .. but I LOVE Keri.

The emotional piece is huge and I procrastinate. Keri and I have especially bonded over the last 2 years with our aging process :) as we grow old together we love each other more.

She was there for me during my in jury and healing.... what can I say -- we are a TEAM.

When this mini contest first was announced, I went and signed on with Keri and me. Over the month of April - I gave that a lot of thought.. it's a challenge after all... how challenging will it be to use Keri ? What will I learn -- how will I grow ? Is it really going out of my box to fall back on my familiar ? All month -- I agonize... ridiculous :) I could use OYY Luna and learn to bond with her - she's Keri's daughter and one of my offspring raised expressly for me to use as Keri's stand in .. Or I could always choose a horse and work on the ground - I considered OYY Sweet Dreams Baby.. .(Mari is her barn name) she's a beautiful cremello who will be a mount for me someday and a lesson horse. The work would be great for her and I. I also briefly flirted with the idea of working with a young gelding we have for sale. That also would be the ground work section.. he'll certainly benefit from the extra sessions and he adores me in that school boy crush kind of way-

silly boy. :)

As Denise will affirm -- my very LAST minute down to the wire decision... I am selecting OYY Fiona for my partner this month -- also expressly bred for a possible replacement for Keri. She is out of our Chip - and a wonderful very much loved mare Teena - who the entire family rode and had fun with. We all loved Teena, she was absolutely a member of the family... and Fiona is a curly replica. She will be a lesson horse someday also - but this year, she still seems a bit immature for the demands of therapeutic lessons. She's had some training (minimal as she was never for sale) and she has been out on the road a few times. I had myself pretty well worked up (YES... like all of us -- I have anxieties about my safety.. .) -- am I going to love her ? Is she going to be good to me ? How much am I going to miss Keri ? Is this going to be a chore or a delight ? BIG SIGH... I'm committed.. I already signed on for this.. it's going to be fine :)

May 1st.... the big day -- Zoe and I went for a nice energetic trot over the mountain to check out a trail we are thinking we can take Nimue and the cart on -- with brooks to cross .. it's going to be so much fun. There was only 2 problem areas that we could see -- at the start of the mountain trail, it's well washed out with a cobblestone effect all uphill. That's going to be tough on the cart.. and we may have to get out and walk beside the cart for a mile. The other -- to complete the loop -- to get past this padlocked gate... we'll have to unhitch Nimue and some how drag the cart separately through the opening.. we are planning maybe Wednesday -- not part of the contest -- but .... This may be our last big Keri Teasel ride for awhile ..

Return to the farm -- and here it goes.. a deep breath for me ... camera for Zoe -- I am mounting my new horse of the month and going for it. My first goal is the big ring and the figure 8's. Fiona has never done a figure 8-- she's not particularly well schooled in ring work .. She serpentines down the driveway (you know how green horses won't travel in a straight line ? ) Enters the ring and I can feel her hesitation and I know a lot of it is coming from me as well. Looking at this photo - I think I am feeling too serious... this is supposed to be fun . Fiona looks beautiful here though --

I give myself a big girl scolding.... and as we warm up - I'm loving the way the saddle fits Fee.. and she's listening to my leg (pretty well) .. On the bottom half of the 8.. she does try to dash out the gate. :) Typically little girl green horse stuff.

I feel accomplished enough and pleased enough to brave putting the shortened version of our little video here for scrutiny :) Just a partial 8... all 3 figures would be a mite tedious.

Whaddaya think Zoe ? good enough ?

wow... as I cantered back up thedriveway -- I am feeling part way there.. I am not completely immersed in this horse but I did accomplish a nice ride. :)

Sunday morning, Zoe and I ride the 6 mile loop - this will be Fiona's 5 miles. Poor thing- she gave it her all but the day woke up already hot and humid and she was tired for the last mile for sure. I don't know how to document a 5 mile ride on video (hey.. I love earning points ) The first mile she had to look around at everything -- trot, stop, trot, stop... I learned just how much I could push her and by mid-trip I was using the crop rather freely with a tappity tap. (wow is she her mother or what ? ) We had some nice canters.. I encouraged her to walk out without having to break into a trot. That was a bit tricky for her. Zoe was astride the "T" man .. and half way out - Fiona and he were trotting and walking aside each other -- that's great .. they'll make super trotting partners. Did I miss Keri -- surprisingly NO.. yikes I should feel guilty about that. Just abandon my wonderful mare because of her age and limitations.. what will I do when I have to experience that ? When I get left behind because I am too old ?

3/4 of the way into the journey, we try the brook. It's quite a steep incline from the road down to the brook and Fiona was a champ-- sitting right down on her butt and bracing carefully. She has never been on a brook walk before.

I am feeling so proud of her, I don't have time to feel any nervousness. She hesitates but listens to my asking. And as we stroll down the opposite end -- eureka... we find deep water !! I intend to bring Fiona over to the river crossing that we just did with Keri and Elektra -- but that's a LONG trip for her -- so not sure she'll be in shape by the end of May for that. What a fortunate discovery.. a bit of deep water close to home :) We go back and forth through the deep water several times.

I know this is a rather lengthy entry... but meaningful for me and I so wanted to share it all :) Would I have ever switched off... tried a new mount ? Stepped out of my comfortable Keri box ? without this little challenge.. I'd like to think I am mature and brave enough ... but I so love Keri -- and do have insecurities about my safety .... in all honesty.. it would not have happened so quickly without the MAY contest. I feel so successful and accomplished... I am proud of Fiona and -- bashfully proud of myself. :) The real crux of the issue is .. habits and patterns - grabbing the easy first.. and the BIG emotional piece of riding someone other than Keri. With my beginning passage into the elderly years... I struggle with those issues as well... can you teach an old dog new tricks ??

Finally -- And like the Pointer Sisters -- " I'm so excited and I just can't hide it " Isn't it so great when we surprise ourselves with our capabilities and meet a new goal ? Thank you Denise -- and don't forget my gift of a daughter who is always supporting and encouraging me too.. (who does not have a clue what it is like to reach 60 years of age and still put aside your worries) AND carries the camera and records my new baby steps. :) Yay for ALL of us RAC'ers.

Now - speaking of Zoe -- she has chosen to work with OYY Queen Jane Approximately - who is just turning 3 years of age. It's her goal to be riding Queen by the end of May. I'll take lots of photo's and video of her and her new partner .. but She's going to do all the blogging herself. we have to work out the logistics of that (I'll have to e-mail her the photo's so she can use them) -- but in the meantime, here's a couple of photo's of her and Queen.

Here's Queen returning from her first trail ride with Zoe !

It will be fun to keep track of the journey - Queen and Zoe- from here to the first intro level test maybe in the fall.

Enjoy ~

Wonderful Weekend

haltering on my knees!
wearing the tarp!
squared of with no halter! I will get a better pic!

standing on the tarp!! YAY!!
just a picture I liked from the interview. RAC shirt!

The email from Denise came through at a perfect time! Right before I was about to have a reporter from the Seaway News come out and do a story on Linus and the RAC Competition. The story will be in this upcoming Friday's edition. I will post the link for the story as I think it will be part of their online version. I can't wait for her to email me the pictures she took. I think she got some really great shots of Linus and I together. We had a great day. I cleaned him up, took him for a walk and not long after, she arrived for the story. I had done some prep and research the night before so I was ready for her! We also took a picture of one of Karalee's curly Curlies who is stabled right around the corner from me. Lisa, the reporter, couldn't believe it!! She thought I was kidding when I told her the body looked like it had been permed.

I attacked some of the challenges already too. I've had a lot of fun thinking of all of the new things I can get us to do together. And also of how I can adapt them to the groundwork portion. I love logging/blogging on here because I think by the end of May I will be able to look back and be pleasantly surprised at how far we have come!! I had a brief feel-good moment today when somebody was driving their 5 year old past our house (where I live, not the farm) He is a big gorgeous quarter-horse cross (Belgian, I suspect) and it was only his second time out. He did very well but it made me happy knowing that Linus has already overcome a lot of the things this horse was facing. I'm glad to be facing them now at less than 500lbs (ish) than a 1200lb fully grown horse!!

I love the task of making your horse stand square, I don't know why I hadn't thought of previously practicing this with Linus; it was a MAJOR part of my showmanship training with the beef cattle. I always like moving their feet with halter pressure for the judge rather than the show stick. It was faster, easier (if the animal was trained to do so) and really kept the the show animal on their toes listening to you. I was able to get Linus to square off using pressure on his nose and shoulder. (not wearing a halter) It was great!! It will become part of our regular routine.

I haltered and un-haltered him from my knees yesterday (the reporter even got to see me taking it off!!) I was nervous about trying this, you are in such a vulnerable position for being run over. But, I trusted Linus and was able to get it done!!

It was a horribly humid day today so I left it til evening to do anything with Linus. I had a small tarp that I had purchased long ago at the Dollar Store so I brought that out and unfolded it in front of Linus and rubbed his head and neck with it. He seemed to accept it. So I waved it around and dragged it around, which turned into a game. He thoroughly enjoyed trying to catch the tarp!! I thought this would be a great game to encourage him to "catch" it by standing on it. It worked!! He walked right onto it. Several times. Then I covered his body with it and while it worried him a bit more from there he soon figured out that it wasn't hurting him and accepted wearing it.

I have posted all of my pictures above, I usually end up spending a lot of time reloading the same pictures over and over...I have yet to find out where they disappear to when I am moving them! I am hoping to eventually get video too and get that posted. Most of the time I am alone so video is hard but I promise to try. My husband is very enthusiastic with helping me. He is why I have Linus, he is VERY allergic to pretty much everything. Linus is definitely proof that this breed is hypoallergenic.

I'm starting out the challenge month with some of the stuff I think I can pretty handily accomplish. I am nervous about, though looking forward too things like water crossing, the platform, bathing and a couple of others. These are things I know Linus isn't fond of. But all the more reason for us to conquer them!!! I am confident that we will, it might take the whole month but I am determined!! Even if it doesn't happen within competition time, it will happen by the end of the 2010 RAC.

Good luck everybody!!!!!!

Curly *AhD 'n Me, First Challenge Post

We started out the mini contest on a good note by taking a good, hard two hour trail ride up to Sanitorium Hill. At first, AhD was all antsy, so I took a few turns in and around the birch stand to get his mind on business. Once out and about, we collected some points by crossing several streams. The muddy spots were more challenging than the streams. My clever pony has learned to feign being stuck in the mud so he can snatch a few mouthfuls of whatever grass, leaves or twigs he can reach when I lengthen the reins to enable him to catch his balance. His smarts just amaze me sometimes. Like this morning, when I was tacking up and picking his feet. He would let me have only just so long on the white fore, and would proceed to lay down if I held on to it longer. We did this dance three times. The third time I stood up, waggled my finger in his face and said extremely sternly, "I KNOW YOU CAN STAND ON THREE LEGS; I HAVE SEEN YOU DO IT!!!" He actually had the nerve to do it again. Ya know…it just cracked me up, because he looked so ridiculous as he would bend his legs and scootch…so I actually laughed and hugged his neck and didn't get mad. Guess what? Miraculously, he let me clean the hoof.
Back to the power line ride, up and down the steep hills, all the way to the other side of town. Took this beautiful steep trail to the balance of the way to Sanitorium Hill. The view was incredible, and these pictures don’t do it justice. I have my camera duck taped and electrical taped together, so it was a miracle I got any pictures at all. We stopped and chatted with a friend along the way, and then trotted and cantered home along the road and discovered a new small trail that cut off maybe ¼ mile of pavement riding. We went quite fast on that stretch, with me ducking branches. I said to my pony, "Take it easy, we don’t know this trail!" but he was very bold and forward, and I was enjoying it immensely.
At one point we were back cantering along the side of the road, and AhD spied something in the woods that unnerved him. Lickity split, we were on the yellow line…good thing a car wasn’t coming up behind us. I stopped cantering on the road at that point. Too dangerous.
Back home, AhD received his first bath of the season. The water ran white with the sweat coming off his neck and back. I think he enjoyed it! He turned right around and let me get his other side with the hose. Pretty sure I could use a bath, too - don't want you all to see just how sweaty and hot I was, so I had Ian pose with my wet and handsome Curly.
I was very happy with this ride. We are more of a team since our join up at the clinic. I feel less fearful, and AhD respects my leadership. Love the journey Curly and me are on!

What we have been up to.........

Royal, learning to tie, Feb 2010

Buck, ground driving March 2010.

We have really awesome news here in Indiana, DSL is up and running!! So now I can post more freely about what the ponies have been up to. My focus has been Royal (aka *Zephyr Blue) whom arrived in February. He is a July 2009 colt so hours and hours have been spent on groundwork and I still don't think I've gotten everything down on our groundwork log. He is coming around from a skittish freakazoid to a calmer more princely boy. He ties, he leads, he lunges, he lifts feet and *gasp* he even lets them be trimmed. But I also have three 2yr old geldings to continue groundwork(how in the heck did that happened?) Whom (shameless plug) are also for sale to good homes. They each have such interesting personalities.

I also have managed to get some quality time with Buck, my 4 yr old gelding. Still working on getting that great fit with harness, bit, and cart. But he mostly goes along with the flow so we'll get it right eventually.