Today DeeDee picked me up at 8 am and we went out to Madam Dorian for a ride. Linda met us there. We had a very nice ride in the dunes and even saw an Eagle up in a tree! There was less gunfire today, although it is the last weekend of duck-hunting season.
At one hill DeeDee pulled over so I could go up it first. She wanted to walk up and I figured I would let Sinwaan trot up it. Well he really wanted to bolt on up and I let him until about 1/2 way it felt like he was bucking, so I verbally scolded him and slowed him to a trot and we made it the rest of the way up without incidence. As Linda came up I said "Rodeo!" and she replied 'No, I think he was slipping, I don't think he was being bad intentionally.' That section is more dirt than sand and it has been wet lately. She commented that she could see his skid marks as she came up behind us.
We did some trotting and some cantering, which is really fun, I hadn't realized how much I had missed that. I don't canter on the road rides and haven't lately with Ruth either since her horse is a youngster. Sinwaan was full of it, he was second in line and wanted to GO. Once in front however he was not very consistent in his gait. Trot, spook, stop to poop, trot, canter, spook. Oh brother. So we didn't lead much. He does best in the middle, where he doesn't have to worry about being on the look-out.
Almost to the end (going out) we encountered a man setting up fake people and contraptions for training hunting dogs. We rode on out to our end point, took a break to feed the horse treats and give them a breather and then headed back the other way. We stopped to talk to the man and ask more about his equipment. The contraption was remote-controlled dummy launcher to throw out a 'dead duck' in the training process. We took the horses over to have a look and it wasn't really a duck it was just a dummy. Sinwaan walked right up to the fake person, it didn't phase him at all.
Had a nice ride back and all told we were in the saddle about 2.5 hours today. Weather was a little gray and overcast but clear on our level, saw the sun trying to peek through in spots. Rain is predicted the rest of the weekend so I was very thankful to get in a ride now.
* * * *
Forgot to blog about last weekend. Sunday five of us went out to Madame Dorian - Ruth, Heather, Hope, Cheryl and myself. We also had a nice ride, with Otto leading a lot of the way. A couple of the gals had never ridden out there and were glad to discover it. It was a gorgeous day for a ride. We did not make it all the way out to the end because we ran out of time, Ruth had to be back so we turned around early. Sinwaan did some leading on the way back to the trailer and we did some trotting and then he broke into a canter for a short spell and I was just pulling him back down to a trot when I heard someone yell and I turned around and Ruth was on the ground. Unseated, but landed on her feet. Naughty Otto. Needless to say he is now at the trainers.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
This old horse
Today I logged into the AHA site to record our past rides for the Frequent Rider Program. I saw Sinwaan's birthdate - March 10 1997 so I pulled up the calculator (that's right, I am not that great with math in my head). Apparently my horse will be 13 this year, not 12!! I guess I lost a year somehow, all this time I thought he was still 11. Oh well.
Yay! Two days of riding!!
How have I not blogged yet about last weekend? It could be that I was too busy riding! :)
Saturday DeeDee picked me up from the house at 10 am and we went out to get Sinwaan. We then trailered out to Madame Dorian at the Wallula junction. This is a fantastic place to ride in the winter because the footing is usually always great (sand) and the trail takes you out about 5 miles from the parking lot. DeeDee parked in a different spot, so I would guess we did about 7-8 miles. We really had a great ride, most of it I even got to shed my coat and was in just a t-shirt - in January!! It was phenomenal.
Sinwaan did great. He had one little spook at a white bush and was slightly edgy when we got close to the hunters and the gun shots were going off at the ducks but I have no complaints. He worked hard for me. We did a variety of walking, trotting and even some cantering. At the end (half-way) we stopped to let the horses take a rest before turning back around. DeeDee busted out the goodies. She fed the horses all kinds of treats, including Good & Plenty. I never would have thought to give a horse that, but Sinwaan loved them. So did the dog!
DeeDee's dog, Shiloh was a great little tour guide. She ran ahead of the horses and knew all the trails. DeeDee could tell her "right" or "uphill" and she knew just which way to go. The only drawback was that she ran herself into some sticker bushes and we had to stop so DeeDee could pull them out.
Coming back Sinwaan was feeling lively, leading at the trot, and there was a tumbleweed in the trail. He JUMPED over it. I was not expecting that! Kind of fun! A short time later he jumped another one. Silly horse.
I had a wonderful time. The horses seemed to get along great. I am thankful to DeeDee for the transportation and good company! Weather report said 60% chance of rain, but we never saw it on the trail.
* * * *
Sunday I met Leila and we went out to Sinwaan's pad for take-off. When we got to the barn the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day, Very promising! I was expecting Sinwaan's usual shenanigans riding out from his home, but saw none. Must be tired from the ride yesterday! Leila and I got out about 2 miles and it got overcast. The sky started spitting a little. It wasn't horrible so we kept going. At about the 1/2 way point it started raining. Too late to turn back now. We did a fair amount of trotting. As we walked by Jenee's place she came out to wave hello. I hollered "Isn't this wonderful? Don't you wish you were riding with us?" Jenee' shook her head Nooooo way! :) We were pretty well soaked by the time we got back to the barn, but I didn't mind. It was a good ride, very refreshing. Hee hee. Another 5.8 miles!
Saturday DeeDee picked me up from the house at 10 am and we went out to get Sinwaan. We then trailered out to Madame Dorian at the Wallula junction. This is a fantastic place to ride in the winter because the footing is usually always great (sand) and the trail takes you out about 5 miles from the parking lot. DeeDee parked in a different spot, so I would guess we did about 7-8 miles. We really had a great ride, most of it I even got to shed my coat and was in just a t-shirt - in January!! It was phenomenal.
Sinwaan did great. He had one little spook at a white bush and was slightly edgy when we got close to the hunters and the gun shots were going off at the ducks but I have no complaints. He worked hard for me. We did a variety of walking, trotting and even some cantering. At the end (half-way) we stopped to let the horses take a rest before turning back around. DeeDee busted out the goodies. She fed the horses all kinds of treats, including Good & Plenty. I never would have thought to give a horse that, but Sinwaan loved them. So did the dog!
DeeDee's dog, Shiloh was a great little tour guide. She ran ahead of the horses and knew all the trails. DeeDee could tell her "right" or "uphill" and she knew just which way to go. The only drawback was that she ran herself into some sticker bushes and we had to stop so DeeDee could pull them out.
Coming back Sinwaan was feeling lively, leading at the trot, and there was a tumbleweed in the trail. He JUMPED over it. I was not expecting that! Kind of fun! A short time later he jumped another one. Silly horse.
I had a wonderful time. The horses seemed to get along great. I am thankful to DeeDee for the transportation and good company! Weather report said 60% chance of rain, but we never saw it on the trail.
* * * *
Sunday I met Leila and we went out to Sinwaan's pad for take-off. When we got to the barn the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day, Very promising! I was expecting Sinwaan's usual shenanigans riding out from his home, but saw none. Must be tired from the ride yesterday! Leila and I got out about 2 miles and it got overcast. The sky started spitting a little. It wasn't horrible so we kept going. At about the 1/2 way point it started raining. Too late to turn back now. We did a fair amount of trotting. As we walked by Jenee's place she came out to wave hello. I hollered "Isn't this wonderful? Don't you wish you were riding with us?" Jenee' shook her head Nooooo way! :) We were pretty well soaked by the time we got back to the barn, but I didn't mind. It was a good ride, very refreshing. Hee hee. Another 5.8 miles!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Goals, and weather
I recently had 10 days off work for Christmas vacation. So I set a goal of riding four times during this extended break.
I did my first solo ride on Monday, Dec. 28th. This means that I rode Sinwaan from his barn, out on the shoulder of the road, around a large country block of 5.8 miles. He did well. Better than I expected. Oh, he had his moments, but overall I can't complain.
Since I was also doing the feeding and general care of the animals during break, I learned a little something about Sinwaan. His issue is not that he is barn-sour. No, he is herd-bound. Armed with this new knowledge, it is easier to deal with his antics when riding out from the barn. It is so basic and simple I don't know why I didn't figure it out before. Leaving 'his herd' he has anxiety (even when riding with other horses), and once we make the turn back towards home he tries to pull my arms out of their sockets, wanting to go faster faster back to his fellow equines. So we have some new things to work on.
I planned to ride on Wednesday with a friend at Madam Dorian, however Tuesday night the snow started falling and made it too dangerous to trailer out on Wednesday, so we cancelled. I could have done another solo ride that day but with all the stress I was dealing with I decided I better not. (I had gotten dressed for riding and then had a small breakdown and stayed home).
I attempted to ride on Friday, even had the saddle on and was cinching up (in the rain) when suddenly big gusts of wind started blowing hard and whipping all about, and a big black cloud covered the sky and I decided, nope, not today. I am crazy enough to ride in cold temps, or light rain, but not that crazy. (I am a mother, after all) I feel fortunate that it all happened as I was tacking up, and not after I was a mile into a ride out on the road.
Sunday, Jan 3rd, I finally got in another ride, my second of vacation. Not nearly enough, but I'll take what I can get. Another solo ride, this one another success, a little bit of acting up from Sinwaan but overall nothing to worry over. I would never put a beginner on him, but it's nothing I have not been able to handle. He seems to be doing better with each time out, esp. now that I am understanding his issue.
Hopefully my friends will once again be able to join me this coming weekend and perhaps we can make the ride a little bit longer than the usual 5.8 mi.
I did my first solo ride on Monday, Dec. 28th. This means that I rode Sinwaan from his barn, out on the shoulder of the road, around a large country block of 5.8 miles. He did well. Better than I expected. Oh, he had his moments, but overall I can't complain.
Since I was also doing the feeding and general care of the animals during break, I learned a little something about Sinwaan. His issue is not that he is barn-sour. No, he is herd-bound. Armed with this new knowledge, it is easier to deal with his antics when riding out from the barn. It is so basic and simple I don't know why I didn't figure it out before. Leaving 'his herd' he has anxiety (even when riding with other horses), and once we make the turn back towards home he tries to pull my arms out of their sockets, wanting to go faster faster back to his fellow equines. So we have some new things to work on.
I planned to ride on Wednesday with a friend at Madam Dorian, however Tuesday night the snow started falling and made it too dangerous to trailer out on Wednesday, so we cancelled. I could have done another solo ride that day but with all the stress I was dealing with I decided I better not. (I had gotten dressed for riding and then had a small breakdown and stayed home).
I attempted to ride on Friday, even had the saddle on and was cinching up (in the rain) when suddenly big gusts of wind started blowing hard and whipping all about, and a big black cloud covered the sky and I decided, nope, not today. I am crazy enough to ride in cold temps, or light rain, but not that crazy. (I am a mother, after all) I feel fortunate that it all happened as I was tacking up, and not after I was a mile into a ride out on the road.
Sunday, Jan 3rd, I finally got in another ride, my second of vacation. Not nearly enough, but I'll take what I can get. Another solo ride, this one another success, a little bit of acting up from Sinwaan but overall nothing to worry over. I would never put a beginner on him, but it's nothing I have not been able to handle. He seems to be doing better with each time out, esp. now that I am understanding his issue.
Hopefully my friends will once again be able to join me this coming weekend and perhaps we can make the ride a little bit longer than the usual 5.8 mi.
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