Okay, this is just fun! It made me laugh and even cry.. talented little pony, with an opinion to boot!
Sep 282009
Sep 272009
The Cart
I ran into a friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time at the Ann Armour lunging demo a couple of Fridays ago. Afterward, I was lunging Paisano to practice some of what I had learned. We were also chatting. I mentioned that I though he would make a great driving pony. My friend says, “I’ve got a cart that’s been sitting around. Do you want it?” Do I?? Well, YES! I’ve been looking around for an affordable training cart for a few years now. I didn’t want to pay $500 for a cart that I would have to upgrade to do CDEs and entry level carts that would work were anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. I picked it up on Friday. Yea!! Thank you Candee!
After stripping the wheels and seat
I think that I'll get a new singletree to be safe. I just have to get this one off.
I will also be reupholstering the seat and may make the back a little taller. I have some birch plywood that will look nice stained and showing in back. I might even consider adding a dash and a spares box under the seat. But before all that, it will be treated for rust and repainted. What color though?? I would love to hear opinions. If you post a color suggestion, please also consider the upholstery color. I welcome ideas!
Future carriage dog?
Candee sent along a couple of sacks of harness that she got with it. There were parts of two leather harnesses and two nylon. The leather was too far gone to salvage, but I washed the nylon parts in the washer. Yes, the husband asked what was making all the noise… I had put them in pillow cases, but didn’t tie them shut, so it all came out loose anyway. I tried! It looks like I have everything except the saddle, with doubles of some pieces. Even if I don’t end up using it, at least it’s now free of mold, dirt and cobwebs.
Harness parts that came with it. Some may fit Vinnie for training. My harness may be a tad large for him for now.
Can you tell that I am excited about what we can do with this new addition?
Dream State #14 from a Twitter #MailART project
If I end up picking a color combination suggest here in the comments, I will send the winner an original piece of artwork, likely a monoprint with hand additions, similar to some pieces that I did recently for a mailArt project, but larger…
It won’t be the image posted here. I’m showing as an example only. This one was mailed out to a member of my twitter group. If you are interested in knowing more about that, here is a link to the Flickr group of pieces received.
Sep 172009
Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.
Silver Falls photo courtesy of billtex48 (Bill and Mavis) at Flickr.
Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.
How:
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Sep 162009
Father & Son
I think that Vinnie has turned out to be an improvement over his sire and dam. He has nice traits from both of them. He has Lily’s beautifully shaped Spanish head, four beat amble, and dun coloring. From Paisano he has a nice uphill build, suspended gaits and flashy sabino roaning. I’ll really enjoy watching him mature over the next two to three years.
I think that we are getting a nice group of horses up here in Oregon to do parades and Expos with. We plan to take part in a spring parade in Oakride next April as our debut. Then I’ll be looking for more opportunities in the area. I think that Vinnie could stand in as either an Indian pony or a classic cow pony.
Here are a couple more photos from last weekend…
Vin in his period looking gear. I wish that the saddle had a bit larger seat for me though...
Walking out nicely in his second ride ever and the first time ridden in a saddle.
I'll leave you with this photo of him sleeping in my lap on his first day of life.
More from that day may be found here.
Sep 132009
Vinnie had his second and third rides this weekend. I had brought Paisano up to Tired Dog Ranch for Amanda to ride. I put Vinnie in a nearby paddock to keep Paisano company for the weekend and because I knew I wanted to work with him. He called some to his friends and relatives down below, but was nicely settled down after a night near Paisano.
Saturday was his first ride in a saddle. I used my old Simco western that I’ve been trying to sell for the last year. It seemed to fit him fairly well. I got on in the 12×24 pen. He was okay, but a bit antsy. I had Amy Jo open the gate and rode him around the orchard area for maybe 20 minutes or so. At first, Amanda helped him move forward leading him with the mecate, then we went solo. He did really well. The only sticky part was him not really knowing that leg means forward. He turned and stopped just perfectly. And he looked very smart in the brown tones of the saddle, my wool pad and bosalito with mohair mecate. All the photos are on Amanda’s camera, so I’ll have to wait to get them from her.
Sunday morning, we tacked up again. This time, he took a couple of bucks in the pen when the saddle was cinched up. His pal, Cornelius was on his way up the hill to join us. I’m not sure if that’s what set him off or that maybe I cinched it too tight at first. Either way, I took him out and lunged him for a few minutes before getting on.
We went out on the loop trail through the wood around the property. If you were at the SMR meeting, you might remember that trail. It’s narrow, windy with roots and downed trees to step over. He was a CHAMP! He followed Cornelius, slowing when I asked. The bosal had rubbed a little while lunging, so I had switched to his web halter with reins attached. Paisano and Amanda followed us.
Vinnie with saddle sweat marks after our trail ride!
Amanda did really well with Paisano too. I think that they will make a great pair. He will likely go stay with her for a while on lease.
I was thinking of selling Vinnie, but now I am not so sure about that. I’ll do everything I can to keep this boy. He’s a really nice ride. We will need to work on standing still and not fussing and getting into everything. He’s a real busy body.
I also took Lily out for a short ride this afternoon. I haven’t ridden her in months. She was just fine leaving Rita, who is three months old now and quite independent. Rita looked concerned and called a little, but had aunts and uncles to take care of her.
Lily was SO ready to go and gaited so very nicely. Amanda and I went about 2/3 of the way I had ridden with Vinnie. It was really wonderful to feel Lily’s energy again. She is such a game mare. If all goes well, we should be able to do a couple of LD rides next year and have a blast!
It was very special to have all three of my horses out on the trail riding this weekend. It’s been a long time coming.
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