Beautiful November Ride

 Wednesday Gilly and I went for a ride, 2 hours, we visited the neighbor, rode down the road to the next township. I didn't go too far as old Lucy was with us. At 12 she still wants to go with us but can't last as long as she used to, so we go slow and don't go far. These pictures are when we were on our way back home.
Gilly checking out his shadow.

Gilly and me in shadow, I wish the weather would just stay like it was then. So beautiful, just cool enough for a light jacket and air so clear and the sky so blue! My favorite time of year.

Looking across our hay field to the back hay field and the shed beyond. Gil and I ride back there a lot, crossing creeks and riding in the creek. Gilly is not to keen on walking in the creeks but he is learning.

This picture should have been above but now I can't move it; anyway this is an old road that Gil and I ride on. A very steep rocky old township road that no one takes care of but it's still an open road. With all the rain we have had of late I haven't ridden up there, pretty muddy and slick.
Yesterday was a beautiful day but I didn't get to ride went to Stanleyville Stables to their open house, wish I had taken Gilly over just to ride around and enjoy the weather!
Today is another gorgeous day but we are going to do some work in the house I think, boo, I would rather be riding!
I love fall!!!

Jane

New Girl in Town

My neighbor, Kim, has been looking for a new horse since Lacy is lame and she hasn't been able to ride her for over two years. She found Coco, the pony a new home with a little girl and her family. And now started looking for a new horse that she can ride with me and Gilly. This is Pebbles, I think she will change her name. 12 year old mare, really, really nice very calm, laid back, trail ridden, you can open gates on her, she trailer loads, hauls around grandkids and is gorgeous!! If I could have gotten another horse, I would have grabbed her up if Kim didn't!
Gilly is gonna be in LOVE! He loves spotty girls and this one is pretty flashy. She is about 15hh, Kim thinks she is a little big, Lacy is about 14.1hh. I'll tell you I am EXCITED!!! Finally I will have someone to ride with! YIPPEE!!!
I think Kim and I will be going to get her next week.
more later......
Jane

Gilly in the indoor

 Gilly and I went to Stanleyville on Friday for another lesson. (only have two photos that were good, it was a dreary day and camera didn't like the lighting, I guess) He has been loading up just fine in the trailer and seems to like going for a ride, it's only about 11 miles over there from home.
My friend telling me what she wanted me to do with Gilly and he was very intent on watching her. What a personality this horse has!
We worked on me getting a better seat riding this big boy. I had to ride with no stirrups for awhile, boy was that hard work. I did hold onto the grab strap for support, I felt like I was bouncing all over the place but she said I was staying in the saddle.

Learning the feel of having my legs in the right place, she placed them correctly so I could feel where I needed to be. She was really helpful, to have a person on the ground to watch and correct things that I can't see I am doing wrong and that's a lot. We worked on riding without reins, scary at first but Gilly did really well. We had an hour lesson, when I got off I was pretty sore from using muscles that didn't used so much in awhile.
I don't know if I will be back at the stable arena again, my little friend is leaving and a new manager is taking over on Monday. My friend will still be in the area so hopefully we can still take some riding lessons at home, weather permitting. It sure would be nice to have an indoor....sigh...only if I win the lottery!!!

Saturday morning I was sooooo sore from all the work that Gilly and I did. Today my husband and I are just hanging out and taking it easy, enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon. A real treat, we don't usually take days off, always something to do around the farm. We did a lot yesterday so today is a good day to just put things on the back burner and do nothin'!


Lacy update. Lacy is still lame the new shoes don't seem to be helping. At first the farrier was going to put some pads on but decided to wait and see if just the shoes would help. He is coming again on Tuesday and will put the pads on then; if this doesn't work then she will probably have to be retired from riding. I don't know what Kim will do then. So sad she is only 12 years old and that's still a young horse, I hope this works.
Jane

Great day for a ride........

I had ridden Gilly up past our neighbors when I first started to ride and snapped this picture of their building with the new porch. The little building is where my neighbor works on 4 wheelers and dirt bike, he has a back door for getting them into the building. They recently added this neat porch, awning and decorations. I thought it was neat too that she added horse shoes, in various sizes too! Looks nice doesn't it?

Gilly and I rode on but I didn't get any pictures as we rode. We went past another neighbors, they have cows and Gilly was looking around for them but they weren't to be seen. As we approached the bridge and a Blue Heron flew up and over the bridge, Gilly stopped and watched it, we were back far enough that he didn't spook. We crossed the bridge but Gilly was a little concerned that the bird was somewhere around. I assured him that it flew off and horse wasn't in it's diet so he was safe. As we rode on I thought to myself that as soon as we got to the next electric pole we would turn around and head home. I think Gilly picked up on that thought but a little early because at about 10 feet from the pole he started to turn. I turned him back and went to the pole and had him turn on his haunches, which he did and did it well.

Lucy and Gonzo were with me and another neighbors dogs were barking so I am glad we turned around. Gilly isn't much bothered by the dogs but I didn't want to put my dogs are risk. Gilly was watching the bridge again still concerned about the bird but he was long gone.

When we got closer to home I could hear Pokey calling for Gilly. He was standing at the end of the field waiting for us. As we came closer he started trotting up and down the fence, Gilly pays no attention to him.

As we came closer to the house I heard a tractor coming down the road our way. I turned to see a really big tractor coming with a big round bale trailer behind it. Gilly and I got off the road by our barn and turned to watch it go by. He just watched and as it went by I turned him toward it and we started following it down the road. Gilly just trotted along behind it until it speeded up and got away from us.

I stopped at Kim's and the pictures you are about to see she took with my camera. To get the camera to her I had Gilly sidepass over to her deck railing and handed her the camera. Gilly did just what I ask....good boy!

We had moved sideways up the hill a bit from her deck so she could get some pictures of us. Gilly is getting really good at moving to the side or backward if I ask.

Lucy was across the road barking at something so Gilly had to stop and look. Gonzo had walked up on the deck and was taking a nap in the sun. What a lazy dog, if Kim's door had been open he would have gone into the house and got on the couch to take a nap. Kim's house is his second home, since he stayed with them three years ago when Mike and I had to go to Columbus a lot.

Here we are moving sideways down through the yard.

Kim's husband just came out of the house and sit down on the steps and has a big mug of coffee, Gilly is watching.

Now he is really watching and kept nodding his head as if asking if he could PLEASE have a drink of that yummy coffee? He will drink cold coffee, just straight black....uck! Oh, don't worry he has only had some a few times, I am sure coffee isn't good for him.

Here is a picture of my new stirrups, well, Ok, just the one and the horse hair shoo fly isn't attached to my boot either! Yes, the stirrup is a little larger than the English one's I had but boy is it comfortable! The wide foot bed felt great on my feet, it has put my foot at a little different angle so it will take some getting used to.

Here is a close up, it has a leather rough out piece with Velcro holding it on. It is also padded for more comfort. It made for a really nice ride, my feet are happy!!! :-)

After the ride I let Gilly eat grass where Pokey is now. Well, Pokey had a fit running back and forth along the fence where he could see Gilly and he wanted out to eat too. So I put Gilly back in the field after he had eaten about 10 minutes and got the little whiner out so he could have a snack too.

I do have some Sweet William ground cover growing in this mess but the Bermuda grass has taken over. The boys do a really good job of picking it out. I would like to put some cut sandstones at the sides and fill in with some good dirt and have a space for lettuce, carrots, radishes. this is close to the patio and kitchen. Some day!

This is a hind shot of Gilly when he was out there. Hey, Lisa, now this is one BIG butt, I would say bigger than Atta Bay's!!! LOL Looking at this makes me think of how I used to run and jump on my first horse from behind.........not on your life now!!! I bet all I could manage to do is just run into his butt and fall down.....naa, don't think I wanna try it....anyone else want too? Maybe if I back him up to the front porch?

A Ride and other stuff......

I needed to make some new address labels the other day and was playing with pictures of Gilly and came up with this. I think he looks quite handsome as an antique picture. What a handsome face, you would never know that there is a stinker hiding behind that innocent look, would you?

I rode yesterday after working in the round pen for awhile. We are working on him staying out of my space, backing away and staying put when I tell him to. He is really doing pretty well, it's me that feels bad about making him stay away. I know, I know, the horse that is the leader would not tolerate another in his space if he said stay out! I just have to be firm and not mean about it like the horse would (sigh) I can do it and we will get through this and be a better team for it.

I rode him in the round pen for a bit. We worked on giving to pressure. He is still a bit resistant but did much better this time. When he would start to get bracey I would bump, bump, bump on one rein and then he would soften. We worked on leg yields, moving his haunches and forequarters with my legs, backing and some trotting. Can't really do a lot of the trot work in the round pen but some. I don't work in there for long, maybe 15 minutes under saddle.

I moved him into position by the gate so I could reach down and lift the pen to open it, backed him up so the gate could swing in, did a turn and headed out. Stopped and backed up so I could close the gate, inched him forward and sideways so I could reach down and lock it. Then backed up more so I could pick up this halter and lead off the hook on the fence. Then we were off to drop it off at the saddle building.

Finally got him to cross a ditch he has been afraid of, why I don't know it's a really small step and he goes over ditches much bigger. I mow a path in the hay field around the gas well there so we walked around it both ways, keeping a bend to the inside as we went. Then trotted up along the fence, with Pokey running, bucking, farting and whining because he wanted out too. I should have gotten some video of his shenanigans, he was doing some pretty spectacular turns and rollbacks! He must have thought he was in training to be a reining donkey! LOL
I used anything I could, the car, the satellite dish, trees to do training. We backed around things, went sideways nothing really great but it was all good to have him move when I asked.
He was a good boy.


This is my dressage saddle, Thornhill Vienna II, and I am finding that I really like it, a lot! I like it's deep seat and big knee rolls. I sold my western saddle, I loved it too but didn't use it much, the dressage saddle fits Gilly better. I would still LOVE to get an Aussie saddle but will wait and see. I did order something new today for my saddle. These......

They are aluminum, an English version of the Aussie safety stirrup. It has a wide foot base, and has a 5 degree camber to keep your heels in a down position. Since it is wide it gives you foot plenty of support and it says it helps relieve pressure on ankles and knees. Good; I have been having a LOT of trouble with arthritis in both my feet but my right one is the worst. The English stirrups that are on my saddle, peacock safety stirrups, hit my foot right where I have been having a lot of pain in the ball of my foot and they are narrow. These stirrups look like they will be comfortable, I hope! I will post a picture when they are on the saddle with my feet in them.

No, I didn't get any pictures when I rode, no one around to take any for me. It was such a nice evening I wished I could have ridden longer.....but the kitchen was calling.....had to fix supper. Next time I will have things ready and in the slow cooker....I wanna ride not cook! LOL

Good ride, cat bite, birthday, hooked rug....

I have been absent because this PMR stuff (yes, I have the Polymyalgia Rheumatica too) is kicking my ass!!! With all the rain we have had is aggravating it also and every time the meds are changed, we are stepping back every 2 weeks.
I did get in a couple of rides, (sorry no riding pictures). Rode on May 10th and Gilly and I had a good ride; just the easy stuff. We worked on leg yields, turns on the forehand, haunches; I felt really good that day and he did well, we also just rode, back the hollow to the fence line, up and down the road.
I rode again on Sunday and it wasn't a good ride, I didn't feel very good, couldn't seem to stay balanced and Gilly felt it too, so he was having a hard time doing what I ask of him. I don't blame him though, he seems to pick up on my feelings when I have off days.

This past Monday, May 17th, was my 59th birthday....I can't believe that next year I will be....oh, my, I don't even want to say it.....60!!!!! How can that be??? Wasn't I just 39 last year??? Well, apparently NOT!
Anyway, this horse plate was a gift from my neighbor and horsey friend Kim. She had been a little second hand store and had seen some boxer plates, she has a really nice boxer, Sohpie. She found two plates with boxers on them and then found this horse plate. She said she just had to get it cause it looked like Gilly! The star is the same but no blaze but still it does resemble Gil. What a nice gift!!!

(picture of evil cat above)
Thursday morning I was sitting here on the couch looking at my computer. Kitty was bumping her head on my hand as it was hanging over the arm of the couch. I was petting her and all of a sudden the little devil bit the heck out of my hand!!! BAD KITTY!!! She always has been a biter, definitely NOT a nice kitty. Her only good point is that she is a very good mouser.
Well, I just wiped the blood off the top of my hand and (this is bad) didn't even wash my hand or put anything on it. Thought it didn't look very bad, got ready and went to town to do shopping and such. Well, Friday morning it was pretty swollen and very red so I went to a quick care place. Had to get a tetanus shot and a huge amount of antibiotics to take for a week. Still have two more days to take it then it will be all gone.
Went back to my regular doctor on Wednesday for a follow up and he said it looked good. It is still very sore and has a knot the size of a dime that is hard. When she bit down it felt like she hit the bone. Cat is fast using up her 9 lives!!! :-(

This is the Hess rug that I have been working on. I am pretty slow, hands have been bothering me too. I am not in any hurry to get it done and this is the first time I have seen the rug off the frame in awhile. Not sure if I like the colors in some of the leaves and may have to redo some of it. But I will wait until I have it finished, then study the colors. It always seems to help to have a picture of it to look at and study instead of the rug itself, not sure just why that is?
I do need to get this one finished and on to something else. Still want to do a little dog mat for a giveaway! :-D
I will try to keep my posting more current so Lisa won't have to get after me! 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???

Still waiting to ride.............

This picture was taken two weeks ago, when I could still ride. My knee is still giving me fits, even though I am icing it and putting "Sore No More" on it. I can't straighten it all the way nor bend it back very far.....like walking up or down steps....sideways one step at a time! Very frustrating, but it seems to be a little better than yesterday. I really want to get back in the saddle.....probably NOT by the creek at a canter though, dang Blue Heron! He had to pick that moment to fly up in the air and Lucy felt obliged to chase him; she always does that and there is no way she could catch him. One of these days he is going to drop an unexpected deposit on her head for that!!!

Any I am still going to the horse show on Sunday even if I can't ride. Gilly will enjoy all the sights and sounds and other horses there. Kim and I will have fun; hope to have a lot of pictures to show from it; stay tuned!!

Gilly goes to the fair.............

Well, OK not really but we did go to the fairgrounds. The fair isn't until the until the end of August but we wanted to go so Gilly could get off the farm and see some sights. Since he has done so well at trailer loading Kim and I decided to take him for a ride. First we walked him all around the grounds, he saw lots of horses, horses with wheels (sulky racers out practicing) he wasn't to sure about them and thought he might like to trot along too. No, Gilly we are just out for a walk. The thing that scared him the most was two little kids, about 5 and 3, they came running toward him and he about jumped out of his hide! Gee, mom those little humans more fast and scared me!!!

After walking him around Kim and I had lunch. I had packed a picnic lunch for us. We tied Gilly to the trailer, he had his hay bag to eat out of. He stood there resting one foot munching away. There is a bike path right behind where we were parked and there were many bikers riding that day, he would turn and look but wasn't bothered by them at all. Gilly also has some of our lunch, apple and a piece of bread, he was happy.

Picture above was taken before I started riding him around the grounds. There was another horse working in the arena close by that he was keeping an eye on.

We rode around about half an hour before we went into the arena to check it out. Gilly was looking at the shadow on the ground of the big lights. They made a funny looking shadow and he wanted to step really high to get over them! The only other thing he was a little leary of were the orange cones in the corner.

Here we are cantering..............

Here we are barrel racking, see how fast Gilly's feet are flying.....hardly touching the ground! LOL Yea, right!!! No, really we were just walking around it using leg yielding.

Walking toward Kim as she was taking pictures.

Walking past the announcers stand, he wasn't concerned by it at all. I have seen some horses in shows that are afraid of it and will shy away. We won't be showing but it's fun to just come and check out everything. The next horse show will be July 12th and we are planning on hauling Gilly here so he can see more horses and more excitement......more small humans too!
Gilly loaded up really well, I was afraid he might not want to go back in. He didn't get in far enough so I just touched his hip with my finger and he stepped up so I could fasten the butt bar and he was ready to head home.

I got to drive Kim's truck home pulling the trailer, my first time! It was fun, a little scary especially going down the steep hill (gravel road) going home. I just drove really slow and we were fine. Kim has the nicest trailer, I still wish I had one.....sigh.....maybe someday! I can use her's anytime but still I would like to have my own. The neat thing about her trailer is from the dressing room you can open a door into the part where the horses are. Makes it much easier to tie them up after they are in the trailer and secured with the butt bar.

Having a dressing room wasn't on my list of priorities for a trailer but......it sure was nice to be able to pack all out stuff in it. A 7 gallon jug of water for Gil, his bucket, saddle and tack, to bag chairs for me and Kim, the cooler with lunch and other stuff! Nice trailer....I love it!

Next week it's Lacy's turn to go for a ride!!

Cantering in the field

Here is Gilly doing a medium trot; he can do much better but was really tired from all the work we did today. Lots and lots of cantering, some 20 meter circles at the canter. Me on him, wow! He is a hard horse to ride because of all the suspension he has and trying to ride a trot or canter in a circle has been hard. But today I did pretty well, we need a lot of work. Where we were riding today we in our hay field, Gilly needs a lot of room to move the round pen is not the place to work. Since I don't have an arena we thought we would work in the hay field since we cut hay last week....nice. Haven't told Mike that I was working in there but I don't think we will hurt it.
I have some video of me riding him at the canter but need to edit a lot out before I post it. I am not a big fan of watching myself ride, ugh!!! And I do have some still pictures too.
The field we are in is right by the road to our house and there is no fence. I still can't believe that I am cantering him without a safety net so to speak but he is doing really well. When you set down in the saddle and stop moving he stops too, good boy!!! Oh, how I love this horse!!! :-)
~Jane and Gilly~

Priceless Pictures..............

More about these two pictures later, enjoy! (click on picture to make it larger!)

Riding Bareback

This is a picture I pulled from my files because I didn't have anyone taking pictures of me today. Gilly and I had a lesson from my beloved dressage instructor, it's was good. My riding is improving and Gilly is more responsive with each ride. I have been riding him everyday, mostly with the western saddle because I feel more comfortable in it but today it was the dressage saddle. I am trying to learn to sit Gilly's big trot and it's a lot of work to try and keep yourself deep in the saddle. I did it for short periods but would lose the rhythm of his trot. I hang onto the front of the saddle and pull myself deep into the seat and hang on. I'll get it at some point!

My instructor rode Gilly and worked on his stops, turns and canter. He is doing very well and learning fast, probably faster than I am. After riding him for awhile Vicki wanted to ride him bareback, cause she said he had such a nice big back. You can see from the picture above that he does have a very nice back! Well, when she jumped off him she said, your turn! Well, I'll tell you I had a heck of a time getting on him but I did it. Climbed on the fence of the round pen and Gilly being the good boy he is moved over to the fence so I could just step over and sit down. Wow, what a back he has, wide and your legs just fit right into like he is molded for you to just melt into him. How long has it been since I rode bareback, oh, 30 years or more, I can't remember. It was Copper the little horse that was pulling the sleigh in a recent post and she was a little horse not BIG like Gil. I felt so good at the walk that I asked him to trot and we did!!! I had to hold onto his mane and really pull myself down to stay with that lofty trot but I did it!!! OMG how much fun, I've got to do it again!!! This will help my balance and riding skills too but it just so much fun; will I try the canter.....probably! I will see if I can get Kim to come up and take pictures tomorrow.

The trailer loading went well yesterday, Gilly had a few fits but came out of it to finally get in the trailer for Sheri and for me. Today all I did was point at the trailer and say, "Load up"! that's the word to go into the trailer. He did it every time I ask him to and stood there resting one foot. Kim was even in the trailer once at the front with a cookie for him, what a good boy. We will practice this everyday for a week or more then try with the divider in position. Right now we have the divider over so there is more room and the horses feel more confident with more room. Lacy is doing well also but Gilly seems to be more willing to hop right in the trailer. He has been a great boy this week and learned a lot and seems to be on a roll, so I had better keep up with him...........this is great I am so proud of him. Oh, yes, he crossed the creek many times yesterday before we had the trailer lesson! You rock Gilly!!!

Carousel Horse Canter

Remember as a kid your first ride on the carousel? Riding a big firey horse (I always picked a black one) up and down and around? You felt like you were riding the wind and each leap of the horse your heart soared higher and higher. You wished the ride would never stop because you would have to come back to earth and leave the magnificent steed you were on. Well..........

I got to relive that wonderful floating above the earth feeling yesterday. I got my big bay boy to canter! For some of you reading this you might be thinking, so what??? I haven't cantered a horse in over 20 years; I have had Gilly for 5 years but we have been going slow with our training and I have fallen off or been rolled on several times so I had some fear issues. For several months I have dreamed of cantering Gilly, his black mane flying up was we rode across the grass his feet barely touching the ground. I could even feel the upward movement as he covered the ground. I got up in the morning determined to canter and I did!!! It was hard work getting him to canter, he isn't big on going forward, his impulsion button needs some grease! But oh, my when he did canter I almost cried with joy. He has a beautiful canter, it feels like riding the carousel horse; BIG up and down suspended movement...........heaven!
Did I get any pictures of this ride, sorry no but maybe next time. Oh, how I wanted to ride today but it rained last night and the round pen and arena were too wet. Now I can't wait to do it again. It's like your first taste of chocolate, you crave more!!!
(forgot to mention that my round pen is 53 feet and we did TWO laps at a canter the last time!!!)
Thank you Sir Gilly for the giddy ride!

"Posting" for Kacy

Kacy over at All Horse Stuff wanted me to post pictures of me and Gilly "posting"; well me posting not Gilly. He is just trying to put up with my riding; which isn't very good. He is a hard horse to ride and riding English is something that I am just learning to do. Hard work! Even harder is that I am trying to train him myself and work on learning to ride the high lofty suspension he has. But I am determined to "get it"!
So here we are in the round pen doing some trotting.

The two horses I had in the past were definitely western horses, Gilly is not. I can't, and do not want to, change the way he is, so I will change me. Selling him and getting a easier horse for me to ride is out of the question; I love my rescue boy.

I am not fond of seeing myself in pictures, need to lose a lot of weight and I think I do not ride very well. My teacher says I am doing fine, it takes time a lot of time to get things right. So.....

Here you are Kacy, pictures of me and Gil just for you to see (and everyone else!) LOL

Gilly did well, as well as he can with a rider who needs help! The pictures are not very good because it was cloudy and raining and he has glowing eyes that I can't get rid of, so that is why his eyes may look really black or glowing.....sorry.


Kim came up and took pictures today for me. I went out at 8:30 am and the weather was overcast but not raining, just as soon as the saddle was on Gilly it started to sprinkle and rained harder the longer I rode. We really need the rain so I won't complain.

Gilly says, "Get this woman off me, PLEASE!!!" LOL Look at his lip sticking sideways, wonder what he was thinking???