Mom brought down two of her mares to board at my barn. The new girls are Cedars KenyaCatchMe (Botswana x Cedars Farah Moniet) and RSA Sahra Nazeem (BB Akeem x Ilehnisa Azeem). Kenya is Kasane’s half sister by the same sire. Kenya is also Rajiyyah’s sister with the same dam. Sahra has some similar blodlines to all Kenya, Rajiyyah, and Kasane. You might say she is their second or third cousin on the...
Continue reading...Kasane
Best view in the world
First time I had these two pictures side by side, I was struck by how similar my two Bay Wonder Mares(tm) looked from the back. Same expression of the ears: listening, attentive and relaxed. The bright copper bay ears and neck belong to Isis. I took this picture when we were out on a trail ride around the farm’s perimeter. And then this picture, taken at the end of a ride on Kasane....
Continue reading...Saddles and shoes
Since Kasane has been undersaddle, we’ve gradually discovered and corrected several problems. We did a saddle fitting and discovered that my Courbette Magic dressage saddle didn’t fit her at all. Got a new saddle which made a huge difference. Over this past winter, I’ve noticed Kasane moving oddly on her back legs. For example, her stride when trotting looked uneven like the paces were not the same between one side and the other....
Continue reading...Fog in the fields
The weather was perfect at the barn. We had a nice quiet ride (more on that in another post). At the end of the evening, the fog settled over the pasture. Evenings in Tennessee always looked like this, but it isn’t something I see very often in North Carolina. Related Images:
Continue reading...Equine insurance
Equine insurance is almost as much fun as people insurance. Almost, but not quite. Don’t get me wrong: I’m very glad I have insurance on Kasane. When Isis needed colic surgery, the only way I was able to afford it was because of the insurance. Here’s the catch: Once you make a claim for an issue like lameness, for example, there will be an exclusion on the policy the following year stating that...
Continue reading...Where did October go?
Where did October go? I suddenly blinked and it was gone and November is looming large. December isn’t too far behind, judging by the Christmas crap that’s appearing in the stores. (Christmas crap = the tacky decorations that get shoved on unwilling consumers to encourage them to buy buy buy during the ever-extending holiday season.) I think I lost most of October partially due to shock. October 11 was a very hard day...
Continue reading...The quality of autumn sunlight
The quality of the light is different as summer fades into fall. The humidity haze burns away and is replaced by a golden glow at dusk. I couldn’t wait to get out to the barn on Tuesday. It was perfect riding weather. I would only have enough time to do a little with Kasane besides treating the scratches (rain-rot like scabs) on her legs. Not enough time to ride, but enough time to...
Continue reading...Intrepid jumpers
Last week at the barn, we had a special jumping session to introduce the horses to some of the crazy things you might come across with jumps. Sylvana and Tara came up with some crazy, amazing jump “enhancements.” Okay, most of the time you probably won’t be asked to jump stuff animals or comforters. We had our three six year olds: Kasane, Sylvana’s Renegade, and Tara’s Rooster. Kasane was the smallest of the...
Continue reading...Lessons learned from riding when not riding
I went to the barn tonight to ride Kasane. It was a lovely evening: mild weather, light wind, bright sun. I brought out all of our tack to the outdoor ring, so she could eat and play while I got ready. At one point, she looked up from eating, and took off down the length of the ring at a gallop. She rounded the corner at the end and slowed to a bright...
Continue reading...Kasane learns consistent collection
After the power outage this afternoon, I packed up my gear and headed out to find a place with free wifi. The Sheetz station has a cafe with free wifi, so I headed there — and to the tack shop behind it. The tack shop is going out of business so everything is 50% off, including the Cortiflex joint supplement I wanted to try for Prize and Kasane. At 50% off, that makes...
Continue reading...Week 2.5 of riding bareback
I never expected to be having great schooling rides bareback. We’re walking and trotting bareback and I’m not losing my seat any more. The differences in how Kasane responds to my aids are subtle but amazing. For a while, we had trouble free lunging. She’d race from one corner to the next and not pay attention to me. We’ve had several weeks of primarily lunge line work using larger spaces. We’re still working...
Continue reading...Her Highness all curled up
Saturday it poured and poured and poured. We had several inches of rain over the weekend. In between rain showers, I went to the barn to play with Kasane. I walked out to the field and found her laying down. She was so cute and tired. She let me walk up to her and kneel next to her. So happy to have fingers scratch the long hair under her chin. So very cute....
Continue reading...Riding in the Prestige Venus K
Today was the second day of the test ride in the Prestige Venus K monoflap. Yesterday when I rode, it was in the small square ring behind the barn. That ring is on a slight incline and not quite large enough to have a straight line for any distance. Kasane did very well in the small ring yesterday, but I didn’t have a chance to ride in the larger ring because of a...
Continue reading...Comparison of saddle length
For comparison purposes, here is a picture of Kasane in the Courbette Magic Dressage. I took these pictures to show off the new saddle pad, but they turn out to be pretty good at showing the saddle fit. See how long the saddle panels are? You can tell by where the saddle comes over her back — it comes over her lumbar. When you look at the front of the saddle, see how...
Continue reading...Saddle fitting pictures
Here are pictures of the saddle fitting. After the saddle fitter took Kasane’s measurements, we went through most of the saddles in the shop to find one that fit me and had short enough panels for her. Most of the used and new saddles I sat in didn’t fit my seat bones. The Prestige Venus K monoflap fit my seat and was so very comfortable. (It is the pretty saddle with the fancy...
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