Fall Riding...Nothing like it.

Hi all...in an effort to help keep things flowing, thought I would do my part and share one of my favorite photos from a trail ride last weekend. This was taken by a lady by the name of Jan that was also riding with us. Reese and I are the second from the right...he is drinking. My friend, Carrie who also owns a curly is the next horse. There were 14 of us. I feel so blessed to have connected with so many awesome women to ride with this fall.

Ride With a View

Just look at this fabulous scenery! I have been wanting to return to Norway and ride with Doris and Grace, and the planets must have aligned perfectly to get AhD and me there at this time of year. This view is just incredible, isn’t it? Doris took these pictures for me. We had a great ride, maybe even better than the last one. No rolling this time; I guess it was because AhD was not embarrassed by the western saddle (per Harold). AhD WAS pretty frrrissskkkyy a few times when we cantered. He was bounding up in the air for joie de vivre, I guess. I spoke sharply to him and he settled down, a bit grudgingly, but, hey, no one’s perfect. And I was having sooo much fun, it didn’t bother me! What a ride! We explored a new trail that Grace and Doris had just discovered the previous weekend. The wooded scenes were beautiful as well.

When we came upon a fork in the trail near a stream crossing, Doris explained that we were avoiding the stream because of Justin the Morgan’s fear. I said, “How about we go that way and I cross the stream with AhD to show him it’s not scary?” So, we did! It took us about 20 minutes, but in the end, after AhD had crossed the stream with and without the bridge about 10 times, Justin was across and even willing to go back and stand on the bridge! It was a win-win, and we were all happy. I was so proud of my Curly!!!! Especially when Doris complemented him on how he was willingly backing up over the bridge in front of Justin on my cue. I am still so proud about it that I’m smiling thinking about it.

Hey Ya' All from Hokah, MN

I just returned from Lexington, Kentucky and the WEG. It was awesome and everything I expected! The only disappointment was I did not see any Curly horses in any of the events or on the grounds :( Still, I wore my Curly shirt proud and struck up conversation about the Curly breed with several visitors from France, Austria and Canada. It was a very enjoyable experience but I was glad to return home to my 3 Curly horses.

Curls coming in.........

Well we haven't horribly productive, but we have had a good fall. I did manage to help a Amish gentleman with Curly info (I sent him to CurlyHorseCountry too) and looks like his son who is allergic to horses will be able to be around Curlies.

Mouse, my two year old gelding has made progress, we were able to trim him without a twitch this time, I am so fortunate with my farrier. (Before I owned him, his first time trimmed he was laid down to get it done, talk about mental block with feet) So I introduced his first bit to him that day also. He did well and I am so encouraged by his progress. (He is for sale fyi)

Mouse, a.k.a. *Abracadabra..........and the curls are coming in, I love fall!

Two Oopsies

Hints of color everywhere in Maine now. I took AhD out last Sunday, and he was a twit. Grace had a lot of fun, though.
Today we headed out for Marshall Pond. Grace couldn't accompany us because of the road travel. AhD was sometimes good and sometimes annoying. I bet I was annoying to him, too, because I wouldn't let him turn for home the 1,000 times he tried it.
But with scenery this beautiful, how annoyed could I be?The woods were dark and quiet.
The trail was covered with beautiful fallen leaves.


My first Oopsie was thinking that this offshoot from the known trail went somewhere.
NO, it didn't, and no, we didn't jump that log!
I stopped to tighten the girth, and I could tell AhD was annoyed at ME. I chose a place where there was nothing for him to eat! He stomped his leg in protest. I ignored him, just like he had been ignoring MY leg on his 1,000 tries for home. Tit for tat!
We reached the pond.Gorgeous!Peaceful. The sun looked like diamonds on the water, and the water lilies were really pretty.

My cell rang. It was my husband, telling me his mother and sister were on their way to our house, EARLY, for supper. Oopsie #2! Of course I did not clean before I left to go riding because I was in an all-fire hurry to hit the trails on this beautiful day. So, speaking of all-fire hurry...we trotted fast and/or cantered ALL THE WAY back to Hebron Academy. We passed this guy on the trail who asked, "Did you see any kids out there?" We did NOT stop trotting! I said, "Nope," and put a little more leg on AhD, since I did not know this guy. AhD seemed to think he was alright, though, but I think AhD was pretty busy trying to figure out just why I was not giving him a breather. He gave me a couple of good shies over nothing I could see, but I stuck right with him and made him keep going.
I let him walk up the road. He did not care for this political sign. I guess he is not going to vote Yes on 1. ;) My in-laws beat me home and saw the messy kitchen, but I guess they still love me. :)
We had steak on the grill, and AhD got his reward, too. Tomorrow I am looking forward to trailering out to ride with friends!

The Horse Tooth Fairy meets Lakota at the State Fair

Hello All,

While we were at the State Fair of Texas. A really neat horse person who is a equine dentist was out sharing information about the importance of dentistry for horses. 

I asked her if she had ever met a Curly Horse and she had a puzzled look on her face.  In all her 62 years of being around horses she had never heard of Curly Horses and American Curly Horses. So I quickly walked her over to meet Lakota. She was so impressed with his calm personality and of course his beautiful curls. She asked if she could look in his mouth and see his teeth and he was willing. She was very impressed with his conformation. She asked more about their history and I shared the fact that they all have Mustang origins and that we are working with Dr. Gus Cothran on research and genetic mapping. For example, Dr. Mitch Wilkinson explained to me earlier in the week that the blood and hair samples we sent to Dr. Gus showed the Black Rock East Mustangs (Sparky's herd) has no Arabian DNA. This may give more insight into our Curlies being closely related to the Mongolian horses.

Chester watched closely as she interacted with Lakota and I mentioned he was our Curly Stallion. She asked if she could meet him and look at his mouth. Interestingly, she noted he had no wolf teeth. 

I love sharing our Curlies with others, especially someone who is in the horse world. 

 

Angie and her smiling Lakota

Talking "Curlies!"

It has taken me several days to get this blog post done!! While I am entering this post on the last day of the mini-challenge, it actually took place over last weekend.

Twice a year there is a BIG multi-family yard sale that takes place at the home of one of our friends, whose house is on busy Route 202, a state highway. Well actually it has Rt. 202 out along the backside and then a quiet little road that does a loop off of Rt. 202 called Old Village Rd. is what their house actually sits on. It is the most perfect place to hold a yard sale because of the volume of traffic on Rt. 202! Plus, the people passing see the big sign,and the carefully placed items that catch their attention, and can quickly catch the end of Old Village Rd. to safely park!

I used this as an opportunity to wear my Curly apparel and talk about Curlies to any unsuspecting soul who might ask!! On Saturday I wore one of my RAC T-shirts, and only got to talk to a couple people about my horse briefly. But on Sunday, we weren't as busy. I wore a long sleeved T-shirt that I made for myself in 2008 after Dream won one of the CSI Horse of the Year Awards. Maybe it was because another friend there brought an old western saddle to sell, or maybe it was because the weather was suddenly colder and we weren't as busy, but I was actually approached by two people and asked about my horse, and "what IS a Curly?" One of the women has a horse now, but isn't real happy with it, so we had a long conversation. She will probably actually come to my farm at some point to meet Dream! I, wisely, actually had my camera with me, and got a picture taken for verification!! I'll also attach a close up shot of the shirt that I was wearing, so you will be able to read it.

It was a MOST successful yard sale, in more ways than one!

Golden Red gets a pedicure at Texas Horseshoeing School

Hello All,

We took our Curly Mustang mare, Copper D's Golden Red to our local horse shoeing school The owner John Burgin gives six week instructional classes to prospective Farriers. His programs are very well thought of and folks come from all over to become certified. The students were very impressed with Miss Golden Curly girl.

Golden Red was due for a pedicure. Here are a few photos of her.  

Another Month Gone

How time flies. We've been in the RAC now for a full 9 months. Sure doesn't feel like it!! I'm heading out with my Mom this afternoon so it will be my last September opportunity to sport my RAC gear. Then I need to update my logs! I'm surprisingly not that far behind.

Poor Linus has had a pretty miserable week. We've had SOO much rain. I wish we could export mud! And today we're under a rainfall warning there is so much of it expected. I think I will give him a break and put him in for the day. His feet won't know what to do on firm ground!! Putting him in is similar to puppy-proofing or baby-proofing. If he can reach it, he will get into it. The spot I normally put him is a wide open area with gates on one side of it. The pitchforks etc. usually lean up against those gates. When Linus is in not only does he knock them over, but he somehow manages to pull them in with him. He unplugs the radio, so we had to move that cord. He pulls his halter in with him off the hook, so I hang it somewhere else. And I have even caught him standing with both front feet in the bunk feeder. This one scares the crap out of me because I worry about him hurting himself.

If Saturday is dry enough we are going to hitch him, its been a few weeks. I am still waiting to try him driving with the Bitless! Sunday we are going to our last local Fair of the season. We are going to watch the heavy horse pull, the driving classes and the Minis. I should probably poke my head in on the Angus show too!! Next year we hope to have some there showing and maybe Linus too....we'll see about that one.

I took him out last Sunday and we practiced trotting on the lead. He took some getting used to it because more commonly I am behind him when we are out trotting while ground driving. He was a good boy. Then I hand grazed him just enjoying his company and the peace and quiet!

Beautiful Fall Day!

What a beautiful Fall day we had in New Hampshire today! I shot out of work - and hit the trails with my riding buddy today. We went for a 2 1/2 hour ride - made it home just before dark.

I've been out of commission with my computer for a while - so it's been some time since I last posted.

(Not so little) Lakota High Socks was recently gelded - and is doing very well. He's been allowing me to get out riding with mom with little whinnying. We will be doing the real weaning soon (still working out the logistics). He's a confident little man.

Curlies and Family at the State Fair of Texas

My son, Andrew, spent the day with Chester and Lakota at I at the State Fair. Here is a photo of some of my favorite guys - Angie

Lakota and Chester at the State Fair of TEXAS

Hello all,
Here is our boys, Warrior Mead Berndt Lakota and Renegait Chesterfield at the State Fair of Texas. Robert M. Liner, owner of the Spirit of the Horse is introducing Golden Curlies, Lakota and Chester.

Elbe Hills Endurance Ride

So to give Traveler a break from jumping & dressage I decided to do something really fun.... ha ha ha.... as it turns out - and head off to an endurance race. I have done plenty of endurance races in the past and several flat land races on Traveler, so I was sure that we would go out, do some trotting, canter a little and finish up in the middle of the pack.

I paired up the my friend and vet on her Molly mule and we coined ourselves the "odd couple" - me on my Curly stallion and her on the little mule. And off we went - up the side of Mt. Rainer and back down for 25 miles. Literally, we climbed up muddy, goat trails littered with tree roots, rocks and logs and then switched-back our way down the mountain.

38 people started the 25 mile race and 23 people finished. 15 riders were either "unfit" to finish or they pulled themselves out of the race, it was so difficult. I am so proud to say that Traveler was one of the finishers. We came in at 17th and ended up with an "A-" overall score. My poor little Curly had never climbed so much in his life.

As for the 50 milers, 15 people started the race and 3 riders finished - that gives you the idea of how tough the Elbe Hills Challenge ride was, and it was a challenge.

Here we are at the vet check cooling down to get our heartrate down. He is growing his winter coat - so we needed lots and lots of water.

This picture was taken after we finished and passed the final vet check receiving a much better score than I imagined! Good job Traveler. I actually had tears in my eyes I was so proud of my boy. He has the heart to go and go and go and finish strong.

It was a beautiful, scenic ride with breath-taking views of Mt. Rainer. But I tell you, if I had known was lay ahead on the trail........

I told Traveler I wouldn't touch him for a couple of days, but then back in training we go. We are riding on an eventing team and going to do the "Hunter Pace" in two weeks at a new equestrian park in Cle Elum. Now, that will be fun!

Here Comes the Color!

Looking up at the sky from the back of my Curly! What a sight! Fall colors have arrived in Maine.
There is even a smattering of color among the birches at the point we enter the trails. What a beautiful day it is today, an unexpectedly hot day right at the beginning of the fall season. AhD and I meandered around some familiar trails, and my Lab Grace meandered right along with us.
Most of the sumac are already red.I thought this maple along the edge of the power line was especially pretty.
I tried bushwacking to a new trail my nephew made, but I almost got my handsome steed in trouble. We were winding our way about in the woods when we hit a marshy patch, and suddenly AhD was up to his knees in muck that had been hidden by some spongy moss. I could feel my heart racing as I tried to navigate him through this area, but AhD seemed unconcerned. I paused to assess, and he ate some ferns. So, I took a deep breath, and we made our way out of the mess. Once on the trail, I dismounted to tighten the cinch. AhD was so hot that steam was rising off of him like a cloud, and trails of milky sweat lined his front shoulders. We continued on, along the sun dappled trail.
We came to this steep hill.It doesn't look like much from this camera angle, but it is REALLY steep and rocky. It didn't bother AhD a bit. I leaned forward and grabbed a good handful of his short mane just in case, but I tried not to pull on it. You all know what Curly manes are like! Not too secure!
I hope you are all able to get out and enjoy your Curlies this fall, and I am looking forward to your posts.