Sep 282009
 

Okay, this is just fun! It made me laugh and even cry.. talented little pony, with an opinion to boot!

 
The Cart

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

After stripping the wheels and seat

It is really pony size, so I will be looking for larger wheels. There are several inches of room in the frame for that. I think that I can go to almost 26″ in diameter, though that may not be needed. I would love to get wooden wheels, but a short search of google didn’t turn up much. I’m also not sure that I want to invest that much in it. Bicycle or motorcycle wheels will work just fine.

I think that I'll get a new singletree to be safe. I just have to get this one off.

I think that I'll get a new singletree to be safe. I just have to get this one off.

The bolt holding the singletree is rusted on, so that may be more of a project to replace. I’ve soaked it in WD40 and will try again in a couple of days.


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?

Future carriage dog?

It will likely be driven most with Vinnie, a dun sabino, who looks like a strawberry roan in the summer. If the shafts fit, I might try Lily some day too. Black, of course, is safe and would fit with anything. My harness is black with stainless hardware. I might also consider a dark mahogany or maybe dark green. Please comment and let me know what you think…


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.

Harness parts that came with it. Some may fit Vinnie for training. My harness may be a tad large for him for now.

It was serendipitous to have this just fall into my lap. I guess that the time was not right, when I was looking so hard before. And with Vinnie soon coming down the hill for more work, it’s great timing. I may not get it done in time to try hitching Paisano, but I think that Vinnie will likely do well driving. And I’ll be ready for him! I wonder how he will like my strap of rump bells? Paisano carries them without a care. They are loud and quite fun! Though most of the horses in the stalls next to the arena at my new barn didn’t care too much for them. I might have to save them for road driving. Come to think of it, thy are loud enough to be a good safety warning that we are coming. And they would be very fun for parades!


Can you tell that I am excited about what we can do with this new addition?


Dream State #14 from a Twitter #MailART project

Dream State #14 from a Twitter #MailART project

The CONTEST


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.

 

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.

Photo courtesy of billtex48 (Bill and Mavis) at Flickr.

Silver Falls photo courtesy of billtex48 (Bill and Mavis) at Flickr.


  • I have matching bruises on the outsides of my knees. One on the left from Vinnie knocking me into a large tree on our trail ride last weekend; and one on my right when he objected to my trimming him and clipped me. Why are they on my Thankful Thursday list? Because they are tangible reminders of how, otherwise, great he was. And the trimming episode was an opportunity for training. He learned that kicking at me is not something he wants to do.
  • I’m very much looking forward to Sat Nam Rasayan tonight. It’s been a few weeks, since our regular practice sessions. I think that I need to practice in between, as the space of SNR renews me.
  • Another great event to look forward to is two days this weekend riding at Silver Falls State Park with good friends. I’ve never been there and it looks beautiful. A checker at Trader Joe’s even piped up about how pretty the falls were. It may likely be my last fun, group ride with Paisano.

  • Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.

  • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch
  • Earth Dancer Spanish Mustangs
  • From the Horse’s Back

  •  

    Father & Son

    Father & Son

    Amanda posted her photos from last weekend on Flickr here. I took this one and photoshopped the horses a bit closer to have a nice picture of Paisano and his first born, both as riding horses. What a treat! Vinnie is just over three years old, having been an August baby (22nd). After Paisano ships to Amanda for lease, Vinnie will come down the hill for some light riding through December.


    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...

    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.

    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.

    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!

    Vinnie with saddle sweat marks after our trail ride!

    When we got to a straight stretch, we trotted. He has a nice long trot like Lily. Then he led the group for a while, even at a trot! By the end of the ride, he was trotting on leg cues and going off on his own. He went in the middle, at the back and in front and I dismounted and mounted back up a couple of times. I was nearly speechless. I knew that he would be easy to start, but this was almost too easy. There is still a lot to be done with him, of course, but to go out on an hour trail ride on his third ride was pretty darn cool! And it was a great feeling to ride my first bred Spanish Mustang.


    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.