The weather has been unusually spring-like, which has given me time with my horses. I've ridden at home and on the trails.
I took it slow with Leah--ground work, then light riding in the arena, and obstacle work. She did great. I really feel that SLOW is the new FAST when it comes to horses. Solid steps forward are priceless, as they build the relationship with your horse. She and I will go out on the trail together this week. None of the horses have shoes yet, but the ground is soft.
As you know, much of my herd is geriatric, so I ordered a new swayback saddle pad today by Reiner. It has great reviews, and I'll do my own when it arrives. The horses in my herd which it might help: Cowboy, Foxy, Little Joe, and Leah. If I like it, I will order another. (I'm not a fan of neoprene, but the reviews were glowing.)
I have continued to progress in knitting: hats, baby blankets, and shawls.
(A mild winter was good for Cowboy!)
I took it slow with Leah--ground work, then light riding in the arena, and obstacle work. She did great. I really feel that SLOW is the new FAST when it comes to horses. Solid steps forward are priceless, as they build the relationship with your horse. She and I will go out on the trail together this week. None of the horses have shoes yet, but the ground is soft.
As you know, much of my herd is geriatric, so I ordered a new swayback saddle pad today by Reiner. It has great reviews, and I'll do my own when it arrives. The horses in my herd which it might help: Cowboy, Foxy, Little Joe, and Leah. If I like it, I will order another. (I'm not a fan of neoprene, but the reviews were glowing.)
I have continued to progress in knitting: hats, baby blankets, and shawls.
I experimented with my own leather labels--ravens, with my initials on the flip side. Knitting is very relaxing for me and helps the time pass on road or plane trips--or while watching TV at night.
I also threw myself back into guitar study, but this time I found a GREAT online course by Guitar Tricks. I've been at it for a few weeks, going way back to make sure I fill in the holes of my self-training, and it is an amazing course. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone wanting to learn to play the guitar. They have awesome, easy tutorials, play-alongs with their bands, downloads of the sheet music and lessons. It's remarkably incremental.
Tumbleweed has a reservation for kindergarten training in June, and my daughter, Shiloh, who has been working horses with me, decided to take her horse Cowgirl, at the same time, for a refresher. I couldn't be happier, as that will give Tumbleweed a herd-mate and lower his stress level.
She's not Foxy, but she is the herd leader, and is the one who tells them all what to do and when. I often find she and Tumbleweed together in the turnout. He lives a charmed life.
My trainer is amazing at putting a solid foundation on horses, foundations that stick. As long as I've known her, she has had waiting lists to get in, especially during spring/summer--so I reserved T'weed's spot over a year ago. He'll go for a month, then come home, grow up, and go back for 60 days next year. At that point, I'll probably do the rest myself through lessons and clinics. I expect that he will be easy, but he does have a stubborn streak, and a mischievous side--like most babies. She's used to that.
Oh, another thing about T'weed--he's a natural herder. He herds Cowboy around in the turnout--running him down the fence, getting out in front of him, turning him around, running him again.
My granddaughter came over Saturday (I gave her the Penny hair bracelet--it was small, but she was able to add an extender onto it, which made it perfect) and T'weed was herding Cowboy as we all watched from inside. It was quite the show, and everyone was amazed at how genetically wired he is for it. Movement is good for Cowboy, too. Cowboy was never a natural herder, but he always liked bossing cows around. A natural omega, he makes a great practice cow for Tumbleweed. LOL.
