Finally a horse in my backyard!

Eddie, home for the holidays! Having trailered to the barn across the road for weekly jumping lessons, I decided it was time to bring Eddie over for a visit.

What a horse, he was so regal and polite.  What a treat to have a horse in my backyard after all these years!

The "ah ha" moment.

Any rider will appreciate the  ah ha moment.  The moment when you and your horse finally move together as one rather than two entities trying to sync with each other and end up going in completely wrong directions. After struggling to learn how to jump and ride a rather sensitive horse all in one, I have finally reached the ah ha over a jump. Turns out trying too hard, giving your horse too much freedom to do what they want  and then pulling them up at the wrong moment and not riding with enough leg just doesn't work when guiding them to the fence. Hats off to my coach who has helped me find my way. All I wanted was this ah ha moment, and I think I got it :)

Horse love

I often wonder where all my time has gone. The past few weeks are flying past way too fast. Answer? Horses. Why do I devote so much time to horses, riding, coaching, mucking out stalls, hauling water, frozen hoses, tending to needy animals, mending wounds, sweeping, mixing grain, throwing hay, trudging through the coldest, wettest, muddiest, windiest weather,  and attempting to push a wheelbarrow where no wheelbarrow should go when I could be inside relaxing in the comfort of my lovely home like most normal people do?  This is the life of horses. Any respectful horse owner/lover can understand that there is truly no good answer to explain all our craziness except for our true love of horses. We have the inept drive inside us to do the insanest things all for the love of our horses, things that we would never put ourselves through for any other reason.