I am a reasonable rider. I have a good seat and most of the things that Breezy does when she is um… “asserting” her opinion I don’t have any trouble staying on. What got me was when she started getting nervous or jittery in the ring a...
Thirteen years ago, my horse somersaulted and landed on me when we were cantering during a riding lesson. I don’t remember what happened exactly. We were cantering down the long side at the end of the lesson and she felt magnificent: strong impulsion, light in my hands,...
After riding yesterday, my tailbone has been very sore. Sitting hurts. Riding is out of the question. This is unacceptable. I am so tired of not being able to ride consistently. I’m going to see my regular doctor and hopefully get a referral to an orthopedic specialist....
It is easy to feel frustrated because I don’t know what to do when Kasane says “no I don’t want to do this.” I know how I used to ride: I’d insist that she do something. With Isis, if I insisted and she wasn’t clear on what...
I usually ride English so I’m riding in a loose ring snaffle bit. Kasane has a Herm Sprenger KK Ultra 4 3/4″ snaffle with small losenge like piece in the middle of the snaffle. Rajiyyah’s bit is a similar design, except it has a copper mouth piece....
On Sunday morning, Tara invited me to come with her on a trail ride around the farm. The trail ride was fun and enlightening. Kasane was pulled out of the stall, saddled, and away we went (instead of working her in the ring first). Tara rode Rooster...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Day started early. I was at up at 7:45, tried to go back to sleep, dozed until 8:15. At the barn to meet the farrier by 9:30. Groomed Kasane and Prize and then had their feet trimmed. The farrier said that both of them had great feet,...
