Everything is in Bloom, Even Tumbleweed

 

I can’t believe it’s April already. We went away for a wine weekend and when we came back, a mere two days later, the flowers had popped open.

It is also spring break for our grandson, who I will now refer to as Pilot, since he is an avid collector of airplanes and has memorized most of the US airports, their call names, and all the types of airplanes who take off and land at them. 

Grandpa and Pilot spend many hours tracking planes, then running outside to see them pass overhead. Grandpa even bought a laminated map for Pilot to see where the airports are located. 

When Pilot isn’t tracking planes, he is tracking grandma out at the barn in his dump truck mama got him for Christmas. 

Since it is spring break for Pilot, grandma cannot schedule any rides for herself. That is where the Katie Plan comes in handy. 

We met yesterday and we will meet again on Thursday for her to ride Tweed. I will go to the park with my husband in the evening, tonight and tomorrow, to do my part.  Having someone ride your horse is great, but there is no substitute for building the relationship yourself. 

The fact is, there are upsides and downsides to every plan, but one of my goals for Tumbleweed has always been that anyone can ride him. I’m not getting any younger, and if anything catastrophic happens to me, I want him to be able to make his own way through this life. Being able to be ridden by multiple people is a good start. 

The downside, as I mentioned, is that there is what feels like a watering down of the direct relationship between he and me, especially on weeks Katie rides him more. It may or may not be a real thing, but there is a part of me that wants to do it all and has a hard time watching from afar. 

Then I see her do something like she did yesterday, where she ended their ride going Man From Snowy River style down a steep hill to the trailer, and I’m like, Nope, glad it’s her and not me. 

It is amazing seeing what he’s capable of doing with her. 

One funny moment from yesterday, though, was when I heard a high pitched whinny break out across the valley. I was like, please don’t let that be Tweed. But there were only two horses out riding so a 50/50 chance it was, indeed, him. 

It was. 

I asked Katie about it and she said it occurred when they rode past the business area for guided trail rides. A mare there locked onto Tweed through the fence and he wanted to go see her. Katie had him go past with no real trouble, but when they took the trail away from her he grabbed the bit and threw a hissy fit. Katie shut that down quickly and easily with a mere smack on the butt with her rein end, but as they left the mare he continued to call out for her, and that’s what I heard. 

Oh, Tumbleweed. You really are a gelding, right? I mean, I saw them do the deed with my own eyes, so…yeah, you are. 

Spring is just a beautiful, crazy time. Green grass. Mares in heat. And a young, fresh, good looking stud gelding out in the big world. 

Getting In Those First Trail Miles

The last few days have been more trail rides. One by Katie, one solo ride with just me and Tweed, and a date night with my husband yesterday. 

On Katie’s ride she used him to chase deer, getting him right into the fray with them bounding all around him. This is something that happens naturally on trail rides all the time, when we come across a little group of deer and they go running off. 

Years ago it happened to me while I was riding Cowboy along a steep drop off. To the right of us was the drop off and to the left of us were deer hunkered down in trees on a hot day. They popped up when we reached their hiding place, and could have caused him to shy off the cliff, but instead he just jumped in place, then continued on. 

I asked her what she would do if she ran into a moose, because we see those a lot around here. She said if it isn’t huge or a mom with babies, she’d chase it, too. She wants her horses to have the highest level of confidence no matter what they encounter. 

On my solo day, Tweed was awesome. I think I told you all that Katie speaks to him before asking, both on the ground and in saddle. I tried it on the ground first, walk, trot, lope. Tweed obeyed all three exactly as they were uttered. He did them immediately, no clucking or kissing needed. 

When I tried them in saddle it was 50/50. He needed more cues from my body, but his transitions were effortless. 

On our trail ride, I concentrated on gait changes out in the open, walk and trot. I will eventually add lope. Katie has already added it. The goal is to teach him that just because we’re going faster it doesn’t mean we’re being chased. He’s doing very well with it so far, and he rides out alone better than he does with a buddy. 

We also went through more large standing water puddles and down some of the most technically difficult hills. 

During one of our puddle practices, three walkers emerged out of nowhere. Tweed wanted to look at them, but continued his job. They enjoyed the show very much and commented on how beautiful he is. Whenever I encounter people, I always engage them in conversation so that Tweed sees they aren’t a threat. 

Last night’s date night was more of the same, but with Leah in tow behind us.

It was dusk, and the “hills were alive” with the sounds (and smells) of wildlife. Tweed was more alert than usual, but I worked to keep his headset in a relaxed position, nothing to be scared about Tweed, through vertical flexion, released to a loose rein when he found it. (In the photo above, he’s in alert position.)

As you can see in the video, my husband has ceased asking Leah to cross puddles. He has decided he doesn’t care and doesn’t want her to get amped up about anything. Leah likes this new arrangement.

There was one issue when we turned toward home and had to ascend a very tall, steep hill. At the bottom, Tweed did a head toss and kick out. I turned him in a circle and he proceeded up at a walk. I assumed it was his protest at having to walk, not run, but my husband informed me, over wine later, that he’d allowed Leah to get up on his butt when it happened, so I’m not sure now what it was about. I’ll file it away.

So far, Tweed has only ridden trails at the equestrian park, but I have a new one for him that takes us along a lake and to a waterfall. It’s a 30 minute haul, but well worth it. I hope we can do it in the next week.

Fingers crossed!

 

First Trail Ride 2026

 

Last year I started Tumbleweed back to work on March 26, 2025. This year we are way ahead of that schedule thanks to the early start we got. And, there is no doubt that Katie’s work is moving us along faster. 

We started off in the arena, which was good for work on separation anxiety from Leah, and a surprising amount of deer who were fleeing from a very loud work crew clearing trees. (We only found that out because we encountered their trucks and chainsaws out on the trail.)

The deer in the video above walked through the obstacle course, which was our next stop, but it gave us the opportunity to let the horses chase them out. 

Katie shared a video from her ride yesterday where they met a coyote and she let Tweed chase it through the woods. It was very cool, and inspired me to do more of the same today, both with the deer and then a man with his dog. We didn’t chase the man and the dog, but I did turn and let Tweed follow them, thinking he was pushing them away. 

On the trail, Tweed went through every puddle, and there were lots of them. 

Leah was about 50/50 on the puddles, but she is starting to remember her trail manners. It was day 6 of her Equioxx and you can tell a drastic difference. 

There was one point, going up a hill, that she got right onto Tweed’s butt and he was able to flip a decent kick at her. After that, she kept a more respectful distance. We were turned towards “home” at that moment and she wanted to run up the hill, so I think she was trying to pressure him to break out of his walk. He put her in her place and did the job I was asking him to do. 

We saw lots of deer around the trails, but it was excellent practice for Tumbleweed since the trails we ride are usually full of them and wild turkeys—an occasional moose. 

The thing that scared him the most were the chainsaws we came across in the valley. The noise was very loud. You could see the red truck and work crews clearing trees not far off the trail. He did great despite that. 

It was just like Katie told me yesterday, he still wanted to rush up and down some hills, but he could be checked, then walk properly. He still prefers to go around a puddle, but if you point him at one, he goes through. That’s all I want and all I require. 

In a nutshell, it feels like a have a horse under me, if you know what I mean by that. The foundation is there. Now I just need to continue to build his exposure and confidence and help him to really enjoy the trails. 

We are kind of there already because when we returned to the trailer we went past it and back out again and Tweed seemed happy. Leah was not, and that’s why we did it. We don’t want them to think getting back to the trailer is “the end.” I was surprised that Tweed was so willing. 

The first trail ride is on the books, and it was a wonderful one. 

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!