Friday, January 26, 2018

Horses of my life: Buttercup, a High Style Stable Schoolie

Image result for pinto pony illustrationThat first ride. The real one. Not when you just sit on a pony at a carnival or you are lead around on a family friend's horse, not a trail ride at one of those farms when one horse follows the other, but that first real ride, when you get the reins, and you steer (sort of). That horse. That is the one that starts it all.


Mine was Buttercup. Plump little stout pinto pony mare with a dirty white coat and big splotches of burn orange. I can even still remember what some of those splatters of color looked like. She had a sideways ice cream cone across her butt, with her fluffy dirty tail dividing it. And on the left side of her neck a chestnut ghost rose up. In the winter she was so fluffy!

Buttercup was the beginner's horse. Almost everyone started out on Buttercup and then moved on to more challenging horses as they learned about balance, and legs and rein aides. But it was that little pony that started us all out. She was a good packer and did what she was told.

Except speed up. Each of Buttercup's gaits had one speed, and it wasn't all that fast. As we got better and better at riding, we wanted to trot and canter faster, but she wasn't having any of it.
     "Use more leg," our trainer would shout out and we would kick with all our might.
     "Use the crop," our trainer would say and we would smack her little shoulder.
     Finally our trainer would roller her eyes at us, "Hit her behind the saddle! Make her move out!" We would oblige and smack that poor little pony's butt. She would respond with a little buck.

Buttercup knew who was in charge, and it wasn't the little kids she was packing around. She never bucked hard, and never more than once per tap, but she would make her point. As I gained in confidence, but maybe not to much knowledge, it because fun to make her buck.

                                                         Tap, buck, tap, buck, tap, buck.
Image result for pinto pony illustration

Poor little Buttercup, would take it all. Of course, like everyone I quickly out grew Buttercup and moved on to more challenging horses. I was still always drawn to that little mare. I never failed to stop by her tie stall and give her a peppermint and a scratch or two. Even after I left High Style Stables and got a sorrel mare of my own, I never stopped thinking or loving that pony.

In college, I ran into one of my old stable mates from High Style. She has gotten her own horse and kept him at High Style. One winter break, we stopped by the stable. It has been sold and renamed. All the old schoolies had been sold, but one woman bought several of them and still used them for lessons. She had Buttercup. Now she was in a box stall, so that was a step up. I was so happy to see her, just had to sit on her one last time. The old mare was just as sweet and gentle as I remember, but much older. We just walked around the arena one last time.

Thinking back on Buttercup, I'm filled with mixed emotions. She has a hard life living in a tie stall, no turn out, and hauling around little kids everyday. Kids that bounced on her back, pulled on her face, and smacked her with a crop when her weary little body was too slow. There must be a special place for those ponies that taught us to ride. Although she is long past now, I like to think that she spent her last days earning a reward of turnout and peppermints.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Weighty Issues


This is an actual picture of me trying to ride a horse.





 Okay, maybe not.

By the way, these lovely props are from my classroom. What you see in the background in my library. 

This is how I feel on a horse though. Probably what the horses feel also.

I feel I need to make a disclaimer here that these are my opinions about myself only. I do think that everyone should make their own decisions and choices as to riding.


So, how did I come to this conclusion for myself?

So glad you asked!

The typical standard answer for how much weight a horse can carry is 20% of their weigh. This article from Horse Science News has a short article confirming this and also notes that this is the same guideline that the U.S. Calvary used in 1920. That is a pretty good general guideline, except I think a lot depends on what is being done with the horse and how experienced you are.

Obviously if you are riding a jump course your weight is going to affect the horse more than if you are just hacking out on a flat well groomed trail. Thinking about what the horse is being expected to do is just as important as how much work you are expecting them to do. Walking around an arena so you can socialize with your friends is a lot easier on a horse than trotting down the trail for several hours. Not to mention how well you know to ride. A beginner can hurt a horses back by bouncing all over the place, where as a heavier person who know how to balance can make the ride easier for her horse. So I don't believe that weight is the only reason to not ride, fitness, goals, and ability also need to be taken into account.

In my other blog, Fearless Riding, I  was overweight and rode. I was also a lot more fit. Back then I was taking care of chickens, goats, horses, exercising every day, and just being a whole lot more physical. I had a better diet and was making progress to losing weight. I was overweight, but I was also very strong.

Today, I have lived in the city for several years. I have to be honest with you that city life is not the life for me. I have dealt with depression and everything that goes with that, including lack of energy and stress eating. I do teach (and 3rd and 4th graders can keep you on your feet!) but at the end of the day, I am exhausted and don't have much energy left over. Hubby also was a factor. He loves his carbs, and I am no stranger to crackers, bread, potato, and rice. It did not take much to convince me to up the carb intake. I changed my diet down here. Oh and entering my 40's didn't help either. All that has lead to an increase in my weight. So much so that I don't personally feel like it would be fair to ask a horse to carry my weight.

Another reason that I am not riding is my butt and thighs. They are HUGE! It changes how I sit in a saddle and how I FIT in a saddle. It is harder to keep position with all that fat in the way. Not to mention that it is difficult to keep everything still. I have good balance and all but fat jiggles and moves. Fact of life people. My butt cheeks and stay in the same position, but my butt bones move.

My extra weight also makes me nervous to sit on a horse. I know that my muscles are not strong, my core is weak, and if I fall there will be issues. Being overweight is more than just the extra pounds I carry around. It is how it affects my breathing, makes my joints weaker. My knees are sore all the time and I have hip pain from time to time.

So for me there is no riding until I slim down and get stronger.

I will talk more about this on and off. I don't want to boring you with my struggles, but I also know that I am not the only one that struggles. I hope others can learn from what I share.







Wednesday, January 24, 2018

I have a horse to play with!



Actually 2!

Working all day, knowing that your life is about to change afterwards is so hard. Even so, I really was in a good mood. 

Because ... 
Image result for horse wordle
The thought of just being around horses again, just made it worth the wait.

And it was ...

I really like the people I met at the barn. Sometimes you just get a vibe and the one I felt was like walking into a SmartPak video of things horse people say. Horse standing in on cross ties with half the blanket ripped. Couple of people standing around trying to figure out what happened and how to fix it. Another horse on the cross ties, just chilling and waiting to be groomed. A girl on a horse with her parents watching her ride. I just had a feeling like I was home.

The trainer I met has a string of lesson horses and two that are not used as often. They were out in the paddock, and it was muddy so I didn't get to see them, but I am excited to the next time I go out. They are not really great about standing on cross ties and need a little work on ground manners. Also, because they are for more advanced riders, they just don't get used as often.

What I get out of it is two horses and I can fool around with once a week. Although I have not met either of the horses, I am really excited to meet them the next time out. Getting used to standing on cross ties, means lots of grooming and messing with them. I have a great book on braids that I am excited to try out.


For now I am happy just to know that there are two horses that are going to get some love and attention.





Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Going to see a woman about a horse.

Leasing a horse: Paying someone else to play with their horse.

In my current situation, I have no horse, I have no barn to keep a horse, and I have no way to get a horse, I weight too much to ride a horse, and I have hubby that isn't convinced I need a horse. I am working on all of those things.

After consulting with other horsie people on the internet, cause ya know when you don't know what to do you should ask random people on the internet, I got three main suggestions. The first of which was to take lessons. A great idea if you want to ride or drive, I don't/ can't right now. Another idea that was suggested was to volunteer. I like the idea of giving back. Finally, the last idea tossed around was to lease.

I am not in a position to ride or take lessons right now, I'll talk more about that later. Although I would jump at the change to take driving lessons, they are hard to find around here. So taking lessons is out, but the last two ideas held the some promise.

Volunteering appeals to me. I want to help others, horses, people, etc, in need. I have found a place to do some volunteering and I will get to that in a few days.

Leasing a horse was highly suggested also. I did try to do this last year with horrible results. But I think a lot of that stemmed from the fact the owner could not see any reason to be with a horse if you are not on it's back and she was not only young, but immature. Many leases I found advertised were private owners wanting their horses to be worked. I am leery to go back that way. When I saw several horses listed for the same person to be lease, I thought that might hold some potential.

I was up front with the lady. I am not going to ride. I have 30 + years of experience with horses and don't own one right now. I just want to spend some time on the ground with the horses. Messing around, grooming, going for walks, working on ground manners, that type of thing. She seemed open to that idea and so tonight I am going out to see her horses.



The Writer of Fearless Riding Returns

Some time ago I started a blog entitled Fearless Riding. In that blog I chronicled my return to riding after dealing with some issues of fear. The blog petered out after I lost my ponies to an accident. I highly encourage you to take a look at that blog in the link above. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to continue on that blog, so I started this one.

My life since then took a few twists and turns. Looking for a full time job, moving to Chicago, and falling in love.

Heed my warning girls! Don't fall for a city boy. They don't get horsey girls!

No, no, I jest. I found a boy I liked and fell in love. My dad always hoped that would happen, and I would forget about horses. It only took until I was 39!  I have a good man. Now however, it has been 7 long years without a horse and I am attempting to get back into the saddle, so to speak. He is being a good sport so far. Although, I have yet to actually buy a horse or even drop a dime to horsey things.

 Poor boy, he doesn't know whats coming. 



Blankets ... should you, shouldn't you

A little miniature foal stands shivering in the spring rain, even with full shelter available. His winter coat is soaked through to the skin...

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