St. Patrick's Day ride

I got to go for a good long ride on St. Patrick's Day! YIPPEE!!! This is an old abandoned barn a ways down the road from home. A swampy area at the bottom of the photo and there were lot's of peepers out there peeping their little hearts out! Ahhh, spring is here!

Now turning the camera to the front Gilly's ears pointing ahead and Gonzo and Lucy ahead on the road. We had just passed a house where there were three dogs barking and slinking around, making Gilly nervous. He was nervous because just before we came to this house there was one of the dreaded Blue Herron's standing in the creek! Danged birds I didn't think it was time for them to be back in the creeks fishing. Thank goodness the bird was just standing there and took a few steps but didn't fly. Well, Gilly didn't miss it and it startled him so now he was on high alert.

Farther down the road Lucy just couldn't resist a dip in the creek. It was close to the road so easy to get to for a quick dip!

This is the neighbor's house who comes up and helps us with hay. Really nice guy, don't find too many people who will come out and help in the hay fields anymore. So we are most thankful!

Gilly had stopped to watch Lucy in the creek. Gonzo walked into it but didn't lay down like Lucy did. Lucy loves to get in the water and really get soaked! Still a little too chilly for swimming for me! Gonzo must have gotten water in his ear the way he was shaking his head or maybe Lucy splashed him....silly dogs!

Farther down the road stands a lone cedar tree. Years and years ago there was a farm house here but it burned down, probably back in the 40's. The sandstone foundation used to be there but last year the old farm was timbered so it was all destroyed, sad. There was also a pink rambling rose growing there, of course it's now gone too.

Gonzo checking out the ditch and Lucy in the shade of the tree. After a way we came to another old farm. The house and huge barn are now gone, vandals and fire destroyed this place. I never saw it but heard it was a beautiful farm in it's day. Whoever owns it now has put a trailer there now and uses it for a place to stay while deer hunting. Our destination was the bridge just past here.

We are getting closer! I am getting tireder! LOL yes, we had been riding for a long time. But the bridge is in sight!

Below is a closer shot of the bridge but I didn't get anymore pictures. I rode Gilly up to the bridge and he said "Whoa, not me! I ain't gonna across that!!!!!" He was pretty determined that he was NOT going to step foot on there. I got off because I felt that if I pressed him into going on he might really spook and I didn't want to get into a wreck. I got off and lead him across. He still was pretty unsure about it, stepped really high over the seams in the concrete and kept looking at the sides, he could see the water down below and was concerned about it. He was hanging pretty close to me for support.
We made it across and walked around the road sign then back across the bridge. He was still pretty concerned about it. I assured him he did very well, he seemed relieved to be off of it.
I lead him back to where the trailer was, there were several large sandstones so I had something to climb up on to get back in the saddle.
I'll tell you what, I was hoping that the return trip home would go fast.....I was TIRED!!!

FINALLY we made it back home! We rode 5 and a half miles and it took 2 hours and 15 minutes. All we did was walk and Gilly was poking along most of the way, I kept having to squeeze him with my legs and encourage him to MOVE on! He is a pretty lazy guy and you have to work to get him moving. He may do better if he has some one, like Lacy going with us. I think he was pretty tired too, we have never gone that far before. Look at those eyes! LOL

Now this picture tells it all. "I am beat, I need a nap!"
I untacked him, he was hardly sweating....fed him and Pokey. Oh, yes Pokey was waiting at the end of the field, looking mad! "Why you two been gone so LONG??? I have waited here for hours! snort!!"

Gilly stayed in the barn for an hour or more then he as back out in the field running and bucking and playing with Pokey! Quick recovery! I wasn't so lucky.....I was beat! It was a great ride though and will have to do it again.
How did Gilly's feet take all the riding on the rocks on the road....perfect! Not one single chip out of those beautiful bare feet! (Thank you Mike for the wonderful trim and getting his feet into such good shape!)

Kacy, I took my GPS....not because I thought I would get lost..LOL...I was trying to figure out how fast we were traveling (s-l-o-w) and also trying to see how far we traveled. I couldn't figure it out so after I put Gil away I got in the car and drove the road to get the mileage. It was a much more restful ride! LOL

Long time.......

Gee, it has been a long, long time since I rode! Well, maybe not that long! Last time I rode was the day before Thanksgiving, over three months. The weather was really nice today, up in the 60's, sun shining brightly.......felt like spring.

I did laundry, cleaned house this morning while the weather warmed up, by 1:30 I was finished with the domestic chores and out the door. Gonzo was not a happy camper because he had to stay in the house with Petey, Buster and Laverne. Usually Gonzo gets to go but there are some mangy looking dogs at a house at the bottom of the hill that I sometimes go past. Didn't think that was a good idea for him to go, he was brokenhearted and cried and cried to go.

Sorry Gonz, only Lucy gets to go. I called Gilly and he came running, nickering all the way to the gate, he was happy to get to go somewhere. First thing I did was get Gilly out, brush the dirt off, put my new shims in the air pad, saddled up in the western saddle. Put on the new breast band and the dressage bridle with the bitless noseband. The one thing I did forget, were Gilly's necklace with his bells!!! Guess I need to take it to the tack closet then I will remember! Duh!!

Sorry no pictures, I just wanted to ride!!!

Ok, so I decided since I had no place to do any ground work that wasn't knee deep in mud! We walked down the road to see if Kim was home; she wasn't but we walked on down to see Lacy. When I say walked, I walked too, figured that Gilly would work off some energy, he walked sideways, backward and back and forth across the road.....ground work without the round pen.
Lacy was in a marish mood and was squealing and striking the fence. Gilly was feeling very friendly, licking and chewing on her neck but she didn't seem like she cared. (this is funny) Gilly stood and looked at her for a few minutes and turned and started back up the road toward home! Thought I heard him mumble under his breath, "That's the last time I'll play kissy face with you!"

When we got back to the barn I got the step stool out and climbed up in the saddle! Wow, I just wanted to sit there for a few minutes, soaking it all in......am I really sitting in the saddle again???? YES I AM! We started out up the road and Gilly seemed like he was happy to be out on the road, he was looking from side to side as if to say, "hey, it's been a long time since I saw these sights!" As we walked along I pushed him from one side of the road to the other with my legs, we worked on some flexing, turning in a complete circle with only my legs, boy, that's hard for me I want to help him with the reins but I didn't. He remembers how to do it. I just did some little things, we were mainly just out to have a nice ride and we did.

Gilly just had his feet trimmed yesterday so I was wanting to see how he did on the large stone that had been put on the road over the winter. Used to be he would take one look at the sharp quarter sized stones and want no part of it; today he walked over it like it wasn't even there. His feet are very hard and strong now, after the ride there wasn't a chip or crack anywhere! He has GREAT feet!

We rode to the bottom of the hill and the mangy dogs came out barking and heading for Lucy so turned and headed back toward home. We did some trotting too, fun! Back at the farm we went back the hollow to see what had happened to things over the winter, looked the same but with more mud! Made a few more loops around some of the out buildings before unsaddling. Gilly was a very good boy so he got a few horse peppermint treats after I got his halter back on.

Pokey was at the gate waiting and having one of his little ass-fits for being left behind. I gave him a few peppermints and he calmed down. Next time it's his turn to get out and go for a walk!

Great to be out and riding again....anyone else get to ride today???

My horse is trying to tell me something....

I have been absent lately because I have been looking at a lot of my pictures of Gilly. A lot are painful to look at. The faces he is making and his mouth open, he is telling me he hates the bit. I know I will probably get a lot of flack over this but..........what I see my horse telling me is he is in pain. I have a bitless bridle but started using a bit over a year ago because others have said that the horse needs a bit. Why? Why did I listen, Gilly does just fine with out one, he can be light, collected and doesn't need something in his mouth to guide and direct him. Do these pictures look like a happy horse?


I recently watched a DVD by Stormy May called "The Path of the Horse" something worth watching.
Review from Natural Horse Magazine "To produce this exceptional documentary,Stormy May 'gave up' her horse training career. She set off on a mission to find better and this video portrays what she learned and experienced on the journey, which will astound the viewer who is new to this kind of horse-human relationship.
This beautifully produced DVD, featuring Stormy and the visionary horsemen and women she interviews (Mark Rashid, Linda Kohanov, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Alexander Nevzorov and Carolyn resnick), clearly demonstrates how horses do have a gift to share and that the future of horse-human relationships is looking much better.
Footage of what is typical in today's training and treatment of horses is shown in stark contrast to the gentle, elegant and natural ways these folks relate to their horses and to amazing things with them, also shown.
We can be better horse people and The Path of the Horse challenges us to transcend. Thanks to Stormy May and her very impressive work, we have a place to start. This is a must-see, must-share video. Here's hoping it's impact on the horse world will spread far and wide fast."

Below is a trailer and from it.



This has given me a lot of food for thought. I need to listen more to my horse, he has a lot to say. He also has a lot to teach me, can my mind be still enough to hear him?

And before anyone asks, no it's not his teeth giving him any problems. His teeth are fine. The bit said it was a gentle training bit, expensive......but after thinking on this would I want it in my mouth? No matter how light and gentle someones hands would be it's still metal in the mouth, one of the most sensitive parts of a horse. The collage below is a sharp reminder of this, I can't stand to see him like this so we are going to leave bits behind us and move on.

To see some really amazing things with horses, check out Alexander Novzorov and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling.


This is a picture taken several years ago when I first got him the Dr. Cooke's bitless bridle. A much happier horse; check out the link to learn more about his bridle. We are going back to bitless. I was lucky and able to send the expensive bit back where I got it for a refund because Gilly hated it. Now I have a nice synthetic dressage bridle that I thought I couldn't use but then I found this site, Natural Horse World the link will take you to the bitless bridle page. Cynthia has a bitless nose band that will fit my bridle so I can still use it and be bitless too. I am going to give Gilly a chance to chose which one he likes best or feels best on a given day. He should have a say in his comfort I think. A new chapter in our relationship; for the better!

Ride to the old Church

Last Monday when the weather was nice Gilly and I went for a ride to and old church about 2 miles from home. The name of the church is Wexler Church and it's pretty old, I can't remember for sure but sometime in the 1800's. On one side of the church is the old, old part of the cemetery. Some very interesting head stones, I didn't get a lot of pictures of them, will have to go back again.
The picture above is Lucy ahead of us on the old road, it's a beautiful ride on this short road off the main road.

The water tower, I was standing on the church steps to take this picture. The road turns into the church yard as you can see. It also goes on past the tower to the left and back down to a county road; Gilly and I came in from the right on the old road.

Here is the church and on this side is the newer part of the cemetery. I love coming up here it's so pretty and peaceful.

This is a bench mark set into the sandstone steps of the church. I think it's pretty neat, this is the first one I have ever seen!

This picture was taken at the very end of the cemetery, down by the road at the tree line. It's on the left in the picture of the tower.

Gilly taking a breather after our ride up to the church. There was a nice breeze blowing that day and it was warm. Gilly was watching some squirrels and some how Lucy missed them.

Looking toward the church from the far corner of the church yard. The picture below is of that spot where the red tree is.

This is a short video clip of me and Gilly riding up the old road with Lucy in the lead. Gonzo had to stay home that day, he doesn't mind really well when we have to ride on the main road way and I am afraid he will get hit. All the house dogs were home guarding the house! LOL
I wish for more days like I had for this ride, I fear that winter will come too fast, then I won't be riding much at all.