Rally CAN walk :)

It's been a while since my last post and if anyone is actually reading this, I'm sorry!!

So Saturday afternoon, we lunged Rally and got him to walk, trot and canter both ways which is something I didn't even try for before this. But he can do it!! Chrissy (AMAZING barn owner where Rally lives) showed us some new lunging techniques so we'll be teaching him what we learn. It's a learning process for all of us...which doesn't work for some horses but our Rally is a very patient guy and doesn't mind being in the slow learning class with us humans :)
I also got to ride SUPER calm Dakota...wow I totally forgot what it's like to ride those big ol' Quarter Horses. His spook is like a freeze in your spot but not think about going anywhere spook. Very different from Pride's AHHH IT'S GOING TO EAT ME!! RUN AWAY!! EVERYONE!
He is so well trained...he can be steered completely with legs, no rein contact needed, which is as it should be for a well trained reining horse like himself...I'll post some pics next time I ride him. He is a western riders' dream. Chrissy would like to see him in an English saddle...which I can totally help with!
I rode Sir Rally on Monday...MUCH BETTER. He didn't even get to a canter or a fast trot...he'd break into a trot I would say ah ah in my mean LISTEN TO ME voice and he would slooooow down. Bryan actually got to get on him for his first ride on Rally boy since Bryan got broken :) HOORAY for the boys riding together.
The new farrier comes tomorrow...should go well. I'm excited to meet him. Dakota threw a shoe and might get it put back on...we'll see. I'll post again either tomorrow night or the next day...I'm getting a lesson from the lovely trainer Terry Peiper and looking forward to it :)

It's official...

Rally lunges!! I checked him out today and since it was so beautiful, I took him to the round pen to see what he knows. WOW, he has spent some time on that. He knows all the cues that I know and executes them very well!! I'll have to get some pictures. I decided to teach Bryan how to lunge in a spur of the moment decision, and he's not too bad at it. Bryan is a great student, and soaks up every bit on information. I'll have more tomorrow!!

Welcome to my blog :)

This blog is named for a wonderful Arabian that passed on July 28th, 2009. He was fifteen years old at that time and was taken from me after five wonderful months of a partnership. It was way too soon. I rode Western before I found him and switched to English just for him. He was the sporty type of Arabian, descended from Padrone lines, and you couldn't have found a horse that was more like Padrone than this boy. He would do anything with me. By anything I mean one day we were riding along a road that happened to be busy at that moment in time, and what comes along but a lumbering big rig along this back country road. When I say lumbering, I mean this thing was clanking and jake braking and just causing a ruckus. I said to Pride before it got to us, buddy it's going to be okay if you keep your head about you and I promise you'll be fine. And it was okay, because he just poked his head up and puffed up his chest like his aggressive self and kept on marching. I said good boy and hugged him as soon as it passed. He was supposed to teach me how to jump. I had never taken a jump before in my life. I took a foot high one at a trot, and ended up hanging off his neck. He looked me like okay mom, that's not where you're supposed to be, climb back up so I can keep making us look good.

He meant the world to me and I think I was something special to him. His previous owner told me several times how he was never that nice with her and he would prance all over the place and constantly try to bit her. He would put his muzzle against my chest and would stand with me 'til the cows came hom. That gelding taught me more in five months than I learned in eleven years of horsemanship. He was not my first horse, but he was my favorite. As this blog goes on, so will the memories of Pride.

I ride a couple different horses now but haven't found that perfect one yet. I'll wait and I don't mind it one bit. My man has a horse, an Arabian and Appaloosa cross; aka- Arapaloosa (I hate these chopped up breed names). He's a handsome big guy and has already thrown the man off to get a broken collar bone and rib. That does not mean Rally is dangerous. He heard a gun shot and my man lost his balance and Rally didn't appreciate it. Rally is teaching my man all about horse ownership and I need to teach Rally that not all owners want him to just go fast. He was badly trained for either barrel racing or reining, as soon as he's in the ring he just wants to take off. I've ridden him several times and have managed to get through to him. He's a self conscious horse that thrives off of praise.

My project for the winter is a friend Reining Quarter Horse. He's for sale by the way, a big gray gelding that has a huge personality. I'll keep the blog updated as I can.