Riding thread for January!

[Deleted]

I hope this ok with the mods! I thought anyone who wants can journal their riding for the month here in this thread. We can all learn from each other. We can start a new thread each month. Some won't be riding in the winter months, some won't in hot months, etc, but we can still enjoy and learn from those that are.

[Deleted]

My goal for 2014 is to ride at least once per month. Now just waiting for temps to ride above 20 degrees to get in a January ride.

[MaryS]

Perfectly okay! This is a great idea. Will post my yesterday's ride later tonight after work.

[Deleted]

Yay! Can't wait to read it!

[MaryS]

New year's day:

Saddled up my two horses, amigo and thumb, for a ride.

Amigo was really good. Not having ridden him in a month or two, he was an angel. Did a few barrel runs at a trot. He's good to the right, balanced even at a lope, but left is another story. He seems to not be able to carry himself to the left. He drops his shoulder and swings his butt out. But he stops so underneath himself, should be good for stock horse shows.

Thumb was thumb. He was in a bull headed mood, so it was not as enjoyable a ride. He did what was asked, but chose to take his time responding. Asked for faster response, got more sluggish in return. Needs to be worked more often is my take.

[Deleted]

Good for Amigo! I'm sure once you are able to get out more Thumb will get with the program.

[Deleted]

1/05/14: I rode Angel today. It was ab out 27 degrees when I headed out. I walked into the paddock, walked up to Angel, and fell down. LOL. I landed just under her head. She looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

I could tell from the get-go that Miss Angel was not in the mood for a ride. It made me stop and think because I wasn't quite sure how the footing was. NO need to set myself up for wreck. She's a honey, but I always think ahead when I ride. If the footing isn't good, I don't want to put myself in a bad situation.

I hand walked her to the big "drive" at the farm. It's big enough to park big equipment and semis, etc. on. It seemed fine, so I saddled her up. We got there and I had so many clothes on that I couldn't get on! My DH came along at just the right moment and helped me.

We rode on the drive for about 5 minutes only. There is some gravel there and she was trying to avoid it the whole time. I decided to give her a break, ( her injured foot is still thin there at the sole), and took her for a walk around the buildings, through the deep snow. Gracie was hollering for her so we went that direction. I wanted to see if she'd gladly walk away from her. She did! We went up the hillside and behind the barn and then walked around my daughter's back yard. There are some pine trees on the boarder of the yard and I used them for cones. It was fun! She slipped pretty good a couple of times so I decided to call it a day before we fell or something.

Just as I made that decision, she decided she absolutely HAD to itch her head on her knee. I let her, but then I thought she might lay down, so I stopped her. I asked her to go forward and she squealed and humped her butt! Angel!! I got her going forward and rode her to the barn. Hopped off and she whipped around to scratch her face on me and almost knocked me down. I stopped her immediately and we worked a bit on remembering who was who and whether or not she should actually put her head in my space uninvited. LOL. She caught on fast. Whatever was going on with her face must have been serious.

So...I rode in January. I have NEVER ridden in January...not even as a child. My goal is to ride once per month all year, but if it's still really slippery in Feb, I might not be able to meet that goal. We shall see. I'm going to try, even if it's just for ten minutes.

Edited to add: DH brought out a tractor and skid steer right by us while we rode. The renter had a couple of pieces of equipment there too and she didn't care. Also lots of cars going by on the road. We walked and jogged on the drive, but walked everywhere else because of the deep snow.

[ghostrider]

Mary those lazy horses are great on trails though aren't they? Thumb sounds a lot like Buddy. Sometimes we have to ride with a quirt so he can find a bit more energy.

nana good for you! I always let Buddy scratch his face or nip at a gnat or fly when we ride. He doesn't abuse the privilege and I wouldn't like to have an itch I couldn't get at. Now Boomer would go from "hey I itch" to AND "look at the clover down there!"

[cyndi]

Mary, my mare has way more whoa than go, so I know what you're talking about. lol Unless, of course, she has her heart and mind set on going somewhere particular...like the barn. Then she can walk pretty fast! Funny how that works.

Way to go Nana!!! You did it!! You rode in January for the first time ever!!! That's HUGE!! I hope that you are able to ride even a little bit in February, but I know what you mean about being aware of the footing and so on. Would hoof boots help Angel on the gravel until her foot is better? They might offer a bit more traction, too, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

[Deleted]

It's supposed to be 30 next fri and sat. I will have to see what the footing looks like.

Cyndi...I think she would benefit from boots, but I am hoping to eventually get that rock hard natural foot. If I ride on my farm I rarely encounter gravel. That spot where we were yesterday one of two places where there is gravel and if I had her on it it would only be to pass through to the trails.

[luvmymorgan]

Had a really nice ride today. First (by ourselves) in the arena and then on the trail with the BO-Holly. On Sunday's she rides a horse named Holly for a boarder who doesn't ride much. So Risty & I rode with Holly & Holly :)Did some flat trails & a lot of small hills, skirting around a lot of cactus but both horses did great. I'm really liking Risty's new headstall, reins & bit. Holly said I got a good deal since Amy hadn't used the bit more than 4 times & I think she paid around $120. for it.

[cyndi]

That sounds great, LMM!! Holly and Holly...that's too funny!

I'm happy that you are enjoying your new tack so much!

[ghostrider]

I have Cavello boots for Buddy and he still slips on the icy snow. They probably do help a little though. IMO rock hard hooves are genetic, Boomer has rock hard hooves and never had shoes. (Chip too) Two other mustangs after 7 years never got those tough hooves even living 24/7 on sand and rocky ground. Without rider they are fine but it's not natural for a horse to pack 200 lbs.

[Deleted]

I used to have some boots for a horse we don't have anymore. I can't remember the kind they were. I have thought of getting Angel some but she used to have rock hard feet. Hoping we get back to that. I agree...some don't even get hard enough to handle rocks, etc.

[Kirk Martin]

My good friend has 10 Paso Fino horses. She invited me to her farm on last Sunday after a recent snowfall. She asked me if I wanted to ride one of her horses bareback (I'm an advanced beginner and had never ridden bareback before). After thinking that landing on snow would be preferable to hard dirt, I went for a ride. An amazing thrill! The Paso Corto and Largo gaits made it a lot easier to stay on. Found some new muscles I didn't know I had at the end of the day. Lotta fun!