I've been wanting to do a little giveaway of one of my homemade beaded horseshoes and was going to do it in Oct. at my one year blogging anniversary but computer issues put a crimp in that! Here is your chance to obtain your own bit of beaded luck! Just leave me a piece of horse advice/wisdom/anecdote that you have found useful in your own dealings with your horse or the horses you have ridden. If you don't ride, but just love horses, leave me advice too! I will have the drawing on 15 December...if you are an anonymous commenter, please leave an ID or name of some sort at the bottom of your comment. The winner will be announced soon after, and I will obtain contact information then. I will mail internationally so leave me some sage advice folks! The horseshoe you win may not be one of the two pictured!
MINDY girl yeeha..YOU are back and for your 1ooth...sweet giveaway too!!! Love those beaded shoes. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYoue were so funny with your cold riding daywear and then it got warm on you...had me in stitches!
Okay...well, I just had the most fabulous riding lesson yesterday with a gal that used to own a huge barn and then tradegy sturck..she does clinics from one of the many stables I boarded with now..is friends with the owner a real sweetie!. Funny too...she is able to use the arena for her clinic's cause...(my old trainer I left) is moving back to Mexico...she can't stand the cold!
Anywho~
I got such great advice in my lesson yesterday..maybe I can use some, if I can translate it here, for the contest.
um....
the horse I rode I borrowed...figured I needed to learn on another horse sometimes(that is good advice- right there actually!!) He is not as sensitive as mine but knows the aides..so as I learn them he does not get offended as mine does!
His trot is sooo BIG, it trew me up in the air and I kept loosing my stirrups...she had me stand,
drop my stirrups, rock forward so my but cleared the saddle as she had her hand on my foot bottom. I could FEEL my leg getting longer and my heal going into her hand. then she put her hand on my calf and said use the leg on the horse as you do that same excercise...she repeatedly told me to lesson my pressure! I was gripping...and it locked my ankle..making me loose my stirrup.
THE TEST~
Let the horse move you to post-keep your leg on,upper calf , but use the rocking motion(not pushing up from the stirrup).OH MY WORD!!! I was able to feel my ankle loosly moving and he relaxed as I had stopped gripping ...when I got off Mindy...I felt so completely different in my hips ans pelvis...loose and longer..felt tall!!!
So...I think that may need someone telling you right there...as she had me feel the way it should be..but sometimes thinking the right way first should help too.
LOVE YOU, so glad you have gotten the tech prob taken care of...I am next for this revamping...mine gives me fits all the time!
XO
KacyK
oops..not 100th post...one year of posting! sorry for the small novel there! haha!
ReplyDeleteKK
What a great idea!! and those horseshoes are very cool! Glad your tech issues are resolved :)
ReplyDeleteI have never participated in one of these giveaways... so, of course, all of a sudden I am feeling shy. Go figure.
But here goes. My bit of advice is something that I try to apply to all facets of horsemanship and across the 2 disiplines I play in: Jumping and dressage.
I always try my best to be quiet around the horses and use the smallest or lightest or quietest aid possible to get a response from the horse. And only increase the 'volume' when needed.
For example: when I am schooling for jumper classes I need to make sure that Fawkes will respond to light aids so we can get around the course quickly and safely and while enjoying ourselves. This means that if I give a cluck and squeeze he should have a definte movement forward and if I give a half halt and low whoa he should chill and settle in his pace.
Much better than whacking on him with a stick or pulling in his mouth to slow down. and much preetier as well!
Also makes our groundwork, grooming, trailering all that much easier and safer. I also think that if I am quiet then the horses actually listen better.
SO glad to have you as a friend in the blogger world!! I keep thinking what a hoot it would be if a bunch if us all got together and went out on a riding adventure. :)
By the way... Love the new header pic! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteAlways wear underwear when you ride.
ReplyDeleteWhat Leah said. Except for one thing. Always wear underwear when you ride. NEVER wear thong underwear when you ride.
ReplyDeletelol! Leah...and Andrea! Funny!
ReplyDeleteI sure could use some luck....especially some gorgeous fashionable luck like your handmade horseshoe bling!
My only advice is to keep in mind that a horse is not a bicycle nor a machine. Expect the unexpected with your horse, as they won't always do what you expect. I can vouch for that. lol!
Congrats on your Blogaversary!
~Lisa
ps And I am digging that cute new header, too.
Nice hat, Jackson!
ReplyDeleteMy advice: Find the quiet within yourself when you are working with your horse. Use that to guide you and center you when things aren't going right. Horses need that quiet confidence.
And my new five minute rule. A horse decides if you're the leader in the first 5 minutes of the ride. Prove it. Quick.
Love those!! Love the new "Christmassy" pic too. Here is a couple little mantras I like to remind myself of...."My horse has no goals, only I do" and "Make the right thing easy, the wrong thing difficult" and "Never take soundness for granted...everyday I ride I consider a gift."
ReplyDeleteOh wow, your horseshoes are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Try new things. Keep it fun. Take your dressage horse barrel racing. Do a competitive trail ride with your jumper. Play broomball with your trail horse. Play tag. Ride backwards bareback. Go swimming. Go camping!
Frozen mud is way better than unfrozen mud.
Mindy, forgot to ask you where in OH/PA you're from. I was born in St. Marys PA, grew up in Bethlehem, went to school in West Chester.
ReplyDeleteSo a little snow — or a LOT of snow — doesn't scare me either.
Those are beautiful!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite piece of horsey wisdom: "Horses forgive but they never forget."
Two words of advice:
ReplyDelete1) Get some horse friends! They will help you in your journey. You can laugh, cry and brainstorm with them where non-horsy people just don't understand &
2) Take lessons if its been awhile since you rode. We aren't 12 yrs old anymore!
these are very pretty! It has been YEARS since I have ridden (and I was about 100 lbs lighter as well) but when I did ride, I was always relaxed. The animal can sense if you are tense, and that only serves to make them nervous and jumpy. Plus, if you are too stiff when riding, that is nothing compared to how stiff you are going to feel in the morning! My cousin Tracy still rides and loves it-she has a couple horses of her own down in CT. I visited San Antonio in August 2008 and loved it, loved the fiestas and the HUGE flea market, but it was so darn hot! Happy holidays from Maine!
ReplyDeletemicaela6955 at msn dot com
I think the best advice I could offer would be to relax and enjoy. Putting in an hour grooming session is as educational as an hour ride. I also talk to them while I groom; nonsense, observations, whatever. They may not be listening in the least, but I just feel connected.
ReplyDeleteAfter my most recent experience my advice would be never to become complacent. My horse has never shown the slightest inclination to buck, but last weekend he bronced like a pro until he dumped me on the floor! I shall be far more wary in future, no matter how well I know the horse.
ReplyDeletethose are really pretty, i like the colorful one in the second photo, so i must participate.
ReplyDeletethink, lytha, think! i have so much stuff in my head, stuff all horse people know, but i should probably go with a bit of knowledge that has changed status over the years.
***
Always let a thirsty horse drink as much as he wants.
***
things change, theories evolve, the way we've always done it is not necessarily right.
that sounds like a soapbox huh? hehe
~lytha
Thanks for commenting! And I love a giveaway - beautiful things you have too - my advice, learned in both good and bad ways from horses, is - Pay Attention!
ReplyDelete