8/26/13

 First Day...

                                             Annabelle and I on the forefront

"A true horseman does not look at his horse with his eyes, he looks at his horse with his heart."         

            Author unknown

 

 

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but the good news is that I finally leased a horse!  It turns out that I had a choice of leasing Cocoa or Annabelle, and I went with Annabelle, a 10-year old mare, half Arabian and half Paint, and a total beauty!

I've always had a soft spot for her.  She and I clicked from the beginning and we seem to be a really good match for each other. While others at the ranch don't like her oftentimes "sassy" way, I instinctually felt that she wasn't being "marish", but instead, it was her only way of communicating things that distressed her.  How else can she tell you what she thinks?  I made it my job to "listen" to her and find out what was troubling her.

I must confess that as a green horsewoman, she made me nervous on many occasions.  While grooming, she would refuse to lift her feet.  When riding, she would swish her tail or throw her head up and to the sides.  Many times, she would not let anyone mount her.  I was told she was acting like a typical mare!

 

I was not satisfied with this answer.  I felt she wasn't just telling me something was wrong...she was screaming it!  How can I not listen?!

During my summer lessons with her, I found that keeping a calm demeanor seemed to calm her too.  If I spent time grooming her and massaging her, she would happily pick up her feet for me.  If I slowly cinched her, she would remain calm.  I found that arena work is not her favorite but that she loves trail rides. I also strongly suspected that the saddle that was assigned to her caused her pain or discomfort.  This will be proven in time since I can now try a different saddle on her.

I'm really happy now to be able to be with her everyday if I want to.  My plan is to go to the ranch three times a week, but if I can make it more often, I will.  During this first week with her, I only got to ride her the first day.  When I went to see her a couple of days later, she had an injury on her knee, gotten from a swift kick by another horse, so I just groomed her, gave her an apple and called it a day.  We'll see how she's doing during the next few days.  I do miss her!

Hopefully, I'll be back in the saddle in no time! 

 

Summer Days

                                     Riding Annabelle

     

  “Life is not coming at you, it’s coming from you.  You are creating the life you live.”

                                                                                   Wyatt Webb

We didn’t go on vacation this summer, but I did have a memorable summer time, even in the high heat of the Arizona desert.  After a 30-year hiatus, I took up horseback riding again!  Who notices the heat in the presence of the mighty horse?  Not me!!!!

I discovered a wonderful horse ranch, took lots of lessons, met great people, worked at two youth horse camps, galloped through the local trails, almost bought my very first horse ever (the vet check proved the little mare lameL) and I am about to lease a beautiful, chocolate-brown, gaited mare named Cocoa!

This time around, I’m riding western and for pleasure.  I’m going on trail rides as well as doing arena work.  I’ve learned to do some ground work in the round pen and I’ve practiced my riding technique and transitions in all three gaits.  Every time I ride, I improve.

I’m so very new at all this, but every time I’m at the ranch, I learn something new.  Oh, yes, did I mention that I’m a research nut?  I’ve bought and read tons of books (the library has become my best friend!), gone through tons of websites and took the plunge and splurged on a set of DVDs by my favorite horseman – Mark Rashid.  I’ve researched the web for sale horses and ranches for sale – a girl can dream, can’t she?!

My kids’ favorite comment to me as they passed by me sitting at the computer was: “Oh, Mom…horses again?”   So, this summer has been all about horses, sprinkled with a little obsessive-compulsive behavior on my part, but what can I say?  I’ve become a horseaholic!

To know a horse

      

                    "Bread may feed my body, but my horse feeds my soul".  

                                                                                      Author unknown

                                                                                                

      

It all began when I was 10 years old, and finances being what they were, horses were not going to be in the cards for me.  However, that didn't stop me from sneaking into the local equestrian facility where I would hide behind a bush and stare at those magnificent beasts and the lucky children who got to ride them!

As luck would have it, my Dad’s uncle owned a trail horse business out in the country, and occasionally, my cousin Willie and I (did I mention I had a crush on him?), would ride and gallop to our hearts content!  Oh, what joy!

Fast forward to my early twenties.  Now I could pay for my own lessons and took up English riding for a couple of years.  Yes, I won a few ribbons and jumped some low fences, but I was always left wanting more.  You see, the horse I rode came to me saddled, I’d ride him for an hour, and then he was summarily whisked away, leaving me standing there with my arms outstretched to him, longing for him not to go… Oh, what sadness!

Fast forward 30 years to the present.  I can’t shake the feeling that it’s now or never!  This is my time to ride again!  I’m fortunate to have a wonderful husband who understands this little passion of mine and three beautiful children who’ve learned to share in my dream…the dream to know a horse!

I wanted to put "pen to paper", so to speak, and create a blog that would reflect what a typical woman beginning the second half of her life, goes through.  This blog is mostly about horses, but it's also about the trials and tribulations of aging gracefully and finding the road toward health, vitality, and beauty.

 It's never too late to follow one's dreams.  If your dream is being around horses somehow, whether you own one, lease one, or just admire them from afar, please join me and share your thoughts!