The Trail Plan

 

No matter how you choose to train your horse, the most important thing is consistency. The last three years have been lacking in that for me as I help to raise our grandson. 

In stepped Katie, and our plan for her to ride T on days that I can’t. 

Today was our first day testing the plan. I hauled both horse and grandson to the park to meet Katie. 

She rode Tweed in the arena, obstacle course, and then the trail. 

While she was gone, Cam and I went for a hike to find Cowgirl’s hair and place wildflowers in it. 

After about 1.5 hours, we met back up. 

Katie and Tweed ran into a little issue at the obstacle bridge. Rain the previous night created a puddle on the dismount side, and Tweed wanted nothing to do with it, thus, the extra half hour of training. 

That kind of resistance is worth addressing because the work it takes to get past it sets him / them up for success on the trail. She said he went through every puddle on the trail and did great on the downhills. He thought about going around puddles or rushing down hills, but a simple check fixed it. 

She said he even saw a coyote that was about 15-20’ from them in the grass, and didn’t care, except to look. 

It was a success and will be our new plan: on days I babysit, she will ride. On days I don’t babysit, I will ride. And, when we get Tweed going well, she’ll haul her horse down to ride with us and get us going good as a team. 

Year of the, Weekend of the, Road to the, Horse

My Weekend of the Horse, in the Year of the Horse, consisted of watching Road to the Horse, a vet appointment, and two days at the park with the loves of my life, Tweed, Leah, and my husband. 

Hard to explain how happy it makes me to see my husband with Leah. Our vet assessed her arthritis to be in her hocks, stifle, and hips. He agreed that movement is good for her, and suggested daily Equioxx, Cosequin ASU, and possibly the subcutaneous injection of Renovo. (We’re researching it now, but it looks promising for exactly her issues.)

My husband has knee surgery in May, but he should be able to get Leah back to light work all through April. I can then ride along with Katie on her, too, when Katie rides Tweed. 

An interesting thing happened last night on our ride, Tweed attracted another mare. It is the third time this has happened. The first one reared up on her owner and snatched the rope away, then ran across the park as fast as she could to Tumbleweed. The second was a mare on a trail ride who refused to leave Tumbleweed as they were passing going the opposite direction. The one last night was a little Arab who broke free of her owner and came running to him. I dismounted, grabbed her rope, and waited for her very apologetic owner. 

For the record, Tumbleweed never does anything to encourage it, nor does he look surprised when they lock onto him. 

It is wildflower season again. 

I enjoyed watching Road to the Horse, which I got into because Ryan Rose (one of my favorite horsemen) was a contestant. 

The two lady contestants were new to me, wildcard champion, Tiffany McLaury, and eventer, Elisa Wallace. I noticed they talked to, and touched, their horses more often, and their horses responded well to it.  Tiffany was more traditional western and Elisa was English / bareback / freestyle / jumper / at liberty/ emotional connection, which defies category. Both did awesome. 

Elisa’s methods were unusual and surprising, but when it came down to it, exactly what I have been writing about the last few months put into practice. She brings a joyful spirit of fun to her work and she strives for real, emotional connection. She was like a heat seeking missile toward connection, and she went from dead last to World Reserve Champion (2nd place) because when it came to the obstacles (the true test), her horse trusted her to do every single one of them and still had 8 minutes leftover. 

On her rail work she got spun or bucked off due to the premature clapping of the audience, but she got right back up and finished stronger than anyone imagined possible. She never stopped believing in her horse or what they’d formed together. 

She was very emotional after it all, and ended up buying her horse, Wendy/Windy, and taking her home with her. It will be fun to follow their journey. I wish every contestant also took the horse home so we could see what it looks like to build that relationship in a normal setting. 

You can still watch Road to the Horse, at the links I shared in the previous post, and see Elisa’s methods from Day one (start) to Day three (competition). 

All four competitors had very different methods, and I’m sure, given more time and less stress, they’d get the same good results. But when it came down to it, I really felt that connection and trust trumped everything else. The extent to which they got that, early on, determined everything else. Nick Dowers got it, too, and he ended up winning it for the 3rd time. He used his saddle horse to help get her trust early on. That was a bit messy the first day, but paid off on day 2 and 3. The first time he loped his mare, Precious Teapot, was in the competition.  He was more interested in getting the “feel” right between them.

The takeaways. Go out and have fun with your horses. Play with them. Get to know them. It should always be about working with, and rewarding, their natural curious spirits. Honor them for the gift they are and their supernatural ability to bond with their humans. Above all else, embrace that childlike joy. 

Permission to be silly!

Road to the Horse Live Feed

 Friday’s Link

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You can watch Road to the Horse LIVE on YouTube. It’s fun to see them start a horse from scratch. Ryan Rose is one of my favorites, but they’re all good. 

They make it look so easy!

Road to the Horse 2026 Wild Card Competitors include Sadie Fischer (USA), Tiffany McLaury (USA), Jason Irwin (CAN), and Rob Leach (AUST). Championship Competitors are Elisa Wallace (USA), Nick Dowers (USA), and Ryan Rose (USA),

Saturday’s Link: you can watch the clinics and the competition. 

Saturday Schedule. It appears to be EST. 

You can rewind the live feed to watch the clinics the competitors offer beforehand. 

Oh, To Be a Child Again

I attended a western horse auction yesterday, and was amazed by not only the quality of horses, but the horsemanship of the Junior Wranglers riding them in the show pen. These were young kids, little ones, having the time of their lives. No fear. No baggage. Just pure love of riding those horses.

It hit me hard, and it brought back memories of my own youth. The desperation to be with them. The freedom. The pure, ecstatic, grateful, carefree joy of horses. 

For many years now I have looked back with almost embarrassment of those years. How little I knew. How dangerous I was. How maybe even I shouldn’t have been allowed to have horses. 

I was dead wrong. 

The concentrated enthusiasm I brought back then was, in fact, far superior to the knowledge I have now. 

So, today I ran out to the barn like a child in love with horses. 

Tumbleweed and I jogged and plodded together through puddles where the snow had melted on the road to the barn. We splashed together like babies, me in my Bogs, and him with his hooves and nose.

And then I bridled up, jumped on, and fulfilled my “goal” this year of riding T bareback in snow. 

He was wonderful, and made my heart sing.

My new goal is only to be a child again when I’m with my horses. Leave the adult baggage in the trash heap, where it belongs, look less at my fears and more towards my dreams, be a little stupid and silly, and allow myself to feel the joy and presence of my horses as fully as possible.  

Working Past The “NO” Mind

Yesterday was another Katie Day here with Tweed, and he was a bit of a stinker. 

When I first got him, he was as sweet as he could be. She barely had to do any groundwork, and was able to hop right on. 

Everything went well, until he knocked the beam off the new blue razers, which scared him and became his big refusal. 

Much drama ensued as he retreated behind his NO brain. But Katie was patient and worked him through it. 

Afterward, she worked on vertical flexion at trot and lope and he threw her some stuff then, too. Head snaking (as Shirley called it), tossing, and a little jumping around. He was continuing the same refusal attitude from the beam. I was glad it was her, and not me, because she was able to ride through it calmly, continue the work she asks for, and end on a good note where he was loping beautiful circles around the arena.  

She noted afterward that when he gets into that NO mindset it is around 30 minutes to get him back. She wants to see that shorten. 

After she unsaddled him and left, I took him back through at a walk and he didn’t have any issues going over the same pole. She had ended the work with him in a positive, trusting, “yes” head space. She remarked before she left that she wanted him to remain in that space and rest, so I didn’t do anything else with him. 

He gets shoes on Monday, so her next ride will be at the park. I’d like to increase her rides to 2X per week for the first month. 

Before she left, she asked me if he puts his own safety at risk when he refuses on the trail. That was a hard one to answer. When he was plowing down hills last summer, I did think it was dangerous for both of us, but I was also able to address it by taking him down a different way where he had to pay more attention to his feet. The same naughtiness he demonstrated with his NO over the pole is what he does on the trail. He did it going up a hill, but he also gave me time to dismount and walk him up and then remount, where he rode perfectly the rest of the way. 

My answer was, no, I don’t think he puts himself at risk with his refusals, but we do need to address these refusals where it is safe to do so, which means starting him slowly on the trail work and choosing spots that offer safe places for correction. 

We also have to choose our battles. For example, working at home, and being able to see his herd mates chowing down at the round bale, is more difficult for him than working away. He hasn’t acted herd bound with my friend’s horses, only his own herd. 

I probably won’t take a herd mate for the next few weeks of trail training since it will only add one more layer. I’d like to see him going well first, then add that layer. 

One last thought: it was windy yesterday, too. We had a cold front swoosh in and there is no doubt extreme weather changes affect their behavior. It’s not an excuse to forego work and, in fact, makes them better for having gotten to a working mindset DESPITE the weather, but it is a factor. I didn’t even like being out in it. It was that cold, wet wind that seeps into your bones. 

Spring is challenging. 

Let the Sun Shine

Yesterday was cold, wet, and windy, so I figured it would be a good day to do bodywork in the barn. My husband was excited to learn all about it, and work with Leah as I worked with Tumbleweed. (Unfortunately, I didn’t take a single photo. But it was a lovely way to spend time with them.)

We have a Bluetooth speaker in the breezeway, and we played “relaxing piano” as we did the work. Leah loved it. Tweed was a bit worked up for a while, but finally relaxed into it. It’s good for him to learn to settle and it’s good for Leah’s overall health and movement. He got big releases from her. 

My husband isn’t used to the quiet language of connection through bodywork, but the horses all trust him. They do more for him than they usually do. He has some quality they relax into. Leah seems to really enjoy their relationship, even more so than she does with me. I wonder if it’s because he rarely asks more from them than just being petted. He’s always feeding them and fixing things, but not riding them.

Speaking of riding, I got some new obstacles for my arena, stackable rail razers and bending poles.

The razers are meant to get them picking up their legs higher. The bending poles, which just arrived, are to work on…bending. I see the obstacles as mental and physical fitness builders. 

Today we set the clocks ahead, and even though it changes nothing about how much sun we actually get, it changes everything about how much sun we get with our schedule. My husband works from home and now we will have more daylight to do things when he gets off work. 

We plan to take the horses to the equestrian area in the evening and have it be our date nights. A little horse play, a little wine, and some good old medicine that comes from horse/human communion. 

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Cowboy

Happy heavenly birthday to the horse who helped me live the dream. He would have been 31 today. 

Cowboy showed me what a horse and human heart connection could look like. I love and miss him today as much as the day I lost him.

And yet, and yet, I almost gave up on him early in our journey. Imagine that. I almost missed out on all of this. 

Up To Bat: Leah the Lover Girl

I’ve been working with Leah, off and on, alongside Tweed this year with the hope of her being a light trail horse for my husband. 

One thing about my husband, he’s rather fearless. He just jumps right on and giddies up. 

The old girl wanted to race back to the trailer, so I told him to direct her into a circle whenever she sped up, and that cured it. (The above video is an obstacle with criss cross beams). 

The car wash. She's quite oblivious to “whoa,” but I had her stopping on a dime at home, so I know she knows. I need to help him get her “whoa” on. 

The logs. These logs are very large, and Tumbleweed does them easily, but I was surprised to see that Leah also did them with no problem. 

He’s not a fan of being given advice, but they do need slack when they’re coming off an object like that. 

Tumbleweed is a pro at the sandbox. 

We’re kind of limited what we can do until they get shoes on, so we’re going to keep doing the tuneups at the obstacle course, and Leah needs it. They both do. Tweed needs a tuneup in being herd bound. He really has taken on the role of herd stallion, and she’s a mare in his harem. When other horses get near her…watch out. And there were other horses yesterday, so he spent some quality time in the round pen with me. 

When we got home, my daughter and I baked a cake for mu husband’s birthday. He requested lemon poppyseed. 

It was deliciously dangerous. 

Oh, one last thing. I had Cowboy’s bridle set aside after he died, but I couldn’t help borrowing his tassels for Tumbleweed’s. A bit of dejavú yesterday as they swung from side to side off Tweed. It fills my heart to see it. 

 

Walk and Whoa Leah

 

Today was another Katie Day, and we decided to stay home and see how he did on the gate backing from last week. Spoiler Alert: he backed right into the arena at first ask. We were like, well, that was uneventful. 

He had other issues though. The wind was blowing and he was a bit wound up and herd bound. Katie got to work him through that, but it wasn’t as dramatic as last week. One of his things was stopping and putting his head up, rather than stopping with it down. That was a new one.

I took the opportunity to ride my old trail horse, Leah. I figure a little walking and whoaing, sprinkled with backing, is good exercise for her. 

At first, she was excited thinking I was going to put her to work (or who knows what), but when she figured out all I wanted was the walk, she began to drop her head, calm down, and enjoy the ride.

As we were going around and over obstacles, I told her we’re less rock and roll now and more walk and whoa.

She seemed to understand what I meant. 

Tweed was so good at the equestrian park Sunday that I figured it would be best to put off having Katie ride him there until he gets shoes on. I prefer that she be doing what I can’t do already. Plus, the work he does at home pushes all the right buttons and that makes him better away, too. 

Pay Off

Today was the opening day for the equestrian area, and I wasted no time getting there. 

Tweed came out of the trailer relaxed, but I still took him to the round pen to see how he’d do. We were only there 5 minutes. 

He did all his transitions perfectly and was extremely relaxed and locked on. 

I walked him through the obstacles, then saddled up and rode them all.

Again, he was calm and willing. He went over every obstacle I pointed him at  

Afterward, I ground tied him, unsaddled, and took him for a walk on the trails. He’s unshod, so I stayed on mostly soft ground. 

Last year, when Cowgirl passed, I rode through the park and tied bits of her tail hair to trees on our regular route. 

It is still there, and that made me happy. 

This is going to be our year where it all comes together. I can feel the difference. The plan was a good one, and it’s working. 

What I learned this winter is going to serve us well. Trust the feel. Lean into it. Take your time and let them think. Communicate better. Embrace the new day, new horse.  Build trust in myself and my horse and help him build trust in himself and me. See him for the rock star he is and make sure he always succeeds. 

I’m going to learn as much as I can from Katie and lean into the feel that she has found, too. I’m going to study her like a hawk!

I’m going to have myself a certified trail horse.