My name is Amanda Ives and this year for the 2013 RAC I will be riding Lakota Gem. Lakota is a very green mare that needs a lot of miles to be put on her. By the end of the year I hope I can at least accomplish that! The first seven years of her life she was never handled and had no human interaction at all. She is 17 now and has come a long way, but she still has a long road ahead of her. She is incredibly sensitive and therefore becomes confused easily when cues are not exactly on point. However, Lakota is also a princess and sometimes just does not want to do what you are asking of her, whether it be walking through a patch of dirt she doesn't particularly fancy or she just does not like the scenery in that spot. She loves to be told she is beautiful and she poses for the camera. When she is in the ring she shows off her incredible bend and wants to be "oohed" and "aahed" at, and still, I am going to try and make her into a trail horse. *Sigh*
This year is kind of an off year for me, typically, I would not be using Lakota for the RAC. Although recently I have been wanting to get Lakota out and make some progress with her, I would usually be participating with my horse, Morningstar Jen, who happens to be Lakota's full sister. Jen and I have been through a lot together since the day she came here six years ago. She severely underweight, food aggresive, depressed, scared, and pregnant. Throughout those six years I have worked with Jen and over 2012 we really started to get moving. In August and September, when the weather was actually nice, we started working on the trot. While we working on trotting in the ring and I started taking her out in the yard to get her more accustomed to the trail riding I had planned for her since the day we got her. We have a blast riding in the yard together and Jen likes "trail" riding in our yard and thinks it is so much more fun than walking and trotting in circles, and I agree.
When winter came, so did the snow. I tacked Jen up just like I would any other day of the week, or of the year for that matter, and took her outside into the ring. The yard was a bit icy because of our hill the water runs during the day and freezes at night, so I just stuck to the flat ring where no icy patches lurked. I mounted, asked her for her head to drop, she did, and we moved forward. Jen soon became very worried and nervous. Sure, the neighbors kids were out screaming in the yard, like always, their dog was out barking, like always, but that was all completely normal for me and Jen. We had spent countless days with sirens racing by on our road, neighbors screaming at eachother, dogs barking because the neighbors were screaming, and trucks going up and down the driveway right next to the ring (I don't exactly live in what you could call "a quiet little ranch with birds chirping, horses neighing, and the breeze sweeping through the autumn leaves"). It was all normal and neither me or Jen had ever really paid any attention to it. But she was genuinely scared, and it made me a little nervous. My mom noticed it too and she came into the ring. As she walks into the ring she tells me "She's shaking." Previously to this we were having suspicions about her vision, she rubs her eyes on her legs, squints, bumps into things with her nose, stumbles. My mom called the vet and asked them to come out, although it was not urgent. After the first visit, she revealed that Jen is completely blind in her right eye and can only see shadowy movements through her left. The sun was reflecting off of the bright white snow and she couldn't see anything at all. It never really occurred to me that she was having problems seeing because she had always done those little things and it just seemed like more of her little quirks, and believe me, even if you rule out all of her habits that are caused by her sight, she is still just a very weird quirky little horse.
So, this year I am using Lakota, not because Jen is unable, but because Lakota needs it more than Jen does. I will continue riding Jen in the ring and in the yard just like before. I hope I can even get her out on the trails also, but if she becomes very nervous because of her sight I will not push her because of my own personal desires. Maybe someday, when I finally get Lakota to be a nice solid trail mount, I will take Jen out with Lakota to help her out through it. Jen is far more than anyone could ever understand.
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
(
Young India, Volume 1, Issue 52; 1919)”
― Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
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| Jen giving my 11 year old brother a pony ride |
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| Our "trail" rides |
My name is Amanda Ives and this year for the 2013 RAC I will be riding Lakota Gem. Lakota is a very green mare that needs a lot of miles to be put on her. By the end of the year I hope I can at least accomplish that! The first seven years of her life she was never handled and had no human interaction at all. She is 17 now and has come a long way, but she still has a long road ahead of her. She is incredibly sensitive and therefore becomes confused easily when cues are not exactly on point. However, Lakota is also a princess and sometimes just does not want to do what you are asking of her, whether it be walking through a patch of dirt she doesn't particularly fancy or she just does not like the scenery in that spot. She loves to be told she is beautiful and she poses for the camera. When she is in the ring she shows off her incredible bend and wants to be "oohed" and "aahed" at, and still, I am going to try and make her into a trail horse. *Sigh*
My name is Tammy Fitzner, and I live in Livingston, TN and I can't wait to start hitting the trails this year!!! My back is finally well enough for me to ride at all speeds, and my favorite speed is turbo on my Curly horse, DE Shya. You know, that speed you hit after the ground eating canter, when the wind begins to whistle in your ears and all you can think is "Lord, please don't let a squirrel or deer run out in front of me because it will surely hurt!!" A little over a year ago I was told that I may never ride horse again because my back was in such bad shape. When I went to the chiropractor he told me that my spine was twisted in a corkscrew and that in all probability I would have to have surgery done on my lower back. In his words "your back is crap". I had taken a nasty fall off a horse 3 years prior which ruined my lower back, followed by numerous other falls which proceeded to ruin my neck, upper back and one that caused my hip to pop out of place. I endured painful manipulations for 4 months during which time I was not allowed to bend, twist, lift or pretty much do anything other than sit in an effort to avoid surgery. All the while, my goal was to see if I could ride horse over Labor Day weekend. I was finally given the go ahead but was told I would have to wear a corset style back brace (which I will have to wear for the rest of my life when I ride) and could only ride at a walk. I rode that weekend and haven't looked back since, working my way up from riding at a walk, to a slow trot, to an extended trot and now a canter. Throughout it all my Curly mare, Shya, has kept me safe and has taught me how to completely trust a horse again. We have grown together and have established a mutual trust. She is my horse soul-mate and I am so glad I am able to spend time on the trails with her. What is really great is that we also own her sister, DE Woehnta (or Pickles as she is called), who is my husband's horse soul-mate! Here's to lots of hours on the trails!!!
Hello Fellow 2013 RACers!
For those of you who have not participated in the RAC in past years, let
me introduce myself (Susan Lejonhud) and my Curly partner. My 11-year-old Curly gelding *RCR Ah-D-Das
(pronounced "Adidas" but
affectionately known as Ah-D or Didder) and I live in a small town in Maine, and we
enjoy trail riding on the many back roads and trails near our home, as well as
occasionally going to the ocean beach or camping out at the scenic Acadia
National Park. In years past, we virtually always ventured out on the trails
alone, but now we are blessed with many horse and human friends and family with
which to ride. We head out to enjoy Mother Nature twelve months out of the
year. 
Last weekend, we had very unusual weather for January in
Maine, warmth and fog! Saturday at dusk,
when I was done with my work, I tacked up Didder and then skipped across the
road to invite my 2nd grade neighbor Megan to join me on a ride. Yep, she was
all for it! We rode in the fog and mist
until it was dark. 
Megan is a beginner
rider, and she is working on her hands and seat and posting, not to mention
keeping her butt in the saddle. Didder's
buddy Allie takes good care of her, and a week or two ago he treated her to her
first ever canter! Wow, was it ever fun
to share in her excitement! I planned the whole thing out of course, picking
the right spots on the trail and getting Didder at just the right speed to egg
on Allie (who has much more whoa than go), and my Curly cooperated fully. What a good boy he is!
On Sunday afternoon, I rode Allie down the road in more fog to meet up
with my neighbor and riding buddy Kate and her horse Jax. We came back to our barn, where I exchanged
Allie for Ah-D, and proceeded to explore the snow-laden trails behind my house. Kate has only been riding for about a year
and never in the winter, so it was her very first ride in the snow. We had such a good time. My Didder was a doll. He has so much personality, that one, and he
did an excellent job of containing his energy and behaving himself. We took every trail open and available to us,
avoiding any spots where there might be hidden ice under the snow. We also avoided a really steep hill in the
interest of safety because the snow was so wet and heavy with all the melting
that we may have just slipped and slid all the way to the bottom, on or off our
horses. Not something we wanted to
do...although, at one point when I was fiddling with my camera timer to set up
a picture of us together,
Jax thought that the snow looked so inviting that he
laid down with Kate still in the saddle.
For once the shoe was on the other foot, and it wasn't me who was
stepping off onto the ground and flailing my arms to get my horse to get the
heck up! Kate didn't step off, though,
she just yelled at Jax to knock it off and he stood right back up. Pretty funny!
My Labs joined us, and all of them were very
good girls and a joy to watch as they played and tumbled about in the
snow. After our ride, when each and
every one of us was tired and happy, Didder and Allie were surprised to learn
they had a sleepover! 
Yep, Jax spent the
night at our house because all three horses had a dentist appointment
yesterday. Didder had a wolf tooth
removed, so next weekend's riding will be sans bit. Now THAT should be interesting. I'll have to scrounge around in my tackroom
and see if I can find either that old hackamore or bosal I have hanging around.
(I am a packrat).
