Continued from Part One…

Pulley buttons removed

New cable

Loop for the pulley button

Inserting the back side of the pulley button

Cable run back through the shell

Cables run through the new cable clamp

The reassebled boots

WordPress is croaking on the image laden post, so I’ve cut it into part one and part two.

I traded a pair of size 0 Renegades for a pair of size 1. The 1s were too large for Lily. The cable clamps turned out to be stripped or jammed. Whichever it was didn’t matter. I couldn’t adjust them. The only way to fix it was to replace the clamps and cables. I searched the Renegade site and the web for instructions, but found nothing. So I just went for it, taking photos along the way. I thought that it would be worthwhile to post this How To.

The tools I used

The spart parts

Boot- cleaned with the heel captivator liner removed.

The first cable cut off

The shell with all the cables and straps removed.

Cable clamp pried out showing the adjustment screws (and mud).

Cable clamp with stuck cables removed.

I saw the sun yesterday afternoon from my office window. I finished up, hoping that it would stay long enough for me to get in a ride. Lily looked pretty good when I got to the barn, so I took her out to groom and try the Sensation on.

I’m not used to using Skito pads. The foam was really stiff from being in the tackroom, so I put the saddle on first, then went to do boots, comb her mane and brush her head. By the time I was done, it had warmed up somewhat, so that I could adjust the girth.

For consist testing of saddles, I’m developing a list of things to check. It’s mostly so that I don’t forget something and then wonder about it after I’ve shipped the saddle on.

General

Rider

Horse

Is there anything else that you would add? Please let me know in the comments.

Here’s how the Sensation rated after a short ride. We mostly walked on local roads, no real hills and only a bit of trot and canter that Lily offered. I was just glad that she was feeling good!

General

Rider

Horse

I am going to try the saddle on a longer ride with Vinnie this weekend, so the jury is out at this point.

Here are a few more photos. The rest are on Flickr here.

I love the pear trees in the background. Not planned, at least by me! Rachel took the photo.

I would like to be able to bring my feet back under me more, if I wanted to.

I am on the hunt for a new saddle. I’ve been riding in a FreeForm Classic SB (I bought it when they first came out and this was the only version) and a Wintec AP 2000. The Wintec fits both my horses moderately well, but it’s a tad small for me. I also don’t think that it’s quite comfortable enough for the long rides needed for endurance conditioning.

The FreeForm Classic is way too large for Vinnie. I would have to get a girth that was so short as to be ineffective. I already have two custom Montana Cincha dressage girths, 18″ and 20″. I really don’t think that I want to go any smaller than that. Lily became uncomfortable in it over the last month or so and I think that it’s been putting pressure on her withers. I swapped out to a Barefoot London on our last ride and she did much better. She’s currently laid up with some soundness issues, but more on that in another post… Needless to say, I can’t try any saddles out on her now, which limits my demo horse to Vinnie.

So the search is on…

I am pretty sure I will end up with a treeless saddle, as they are more able to accommodate changing condition and different horses. I realize that no one saddle will fit all horses. And I’m not closed to the idea of a treed saddle, if it fits and isn’t too heavy. Treeless saddles have come far in the last few years with many new models and options out there. I am looking forward to exploring some of them.

E-Z Fit

I tried one last month. I went with a medium and should have ordered a small. It was HUGE on my horses. It didn’t give me the close contact feel that I want, as there was too much leather between my thigh and the horse. A few of us tried it out one weekend. This particular one was not a fit for any of us. It turned out that Eli Beiler had tried out a new material to stiffen the seat. It created a ridge down the middle, not so comfortable for the rider. He was just great about it and refunded my demo fee and shipping. I am sure that the next one will be an improvement on this. This is an interesting saddle design and one to watch. It’s just not a fit for me.

Sensation Western

I received my demo yesterday! It was pouring down rain, so I only got to put it on my horses in their stalls. Lily let me know that it was NOT okay for me to even try to sit in it. This had nothing to do with the saddle, unfortunately. I did get on Vinnie and rode him up and down the barn aisle a couple of times.

I need to get out on the trail to really see how it will work out. My first impression is that I might want more twist. I think that there is a bolster to put under the seat for that. I’m also not entirely sure about how one side of the stirrup leathers hang from the bottom of the saddle flap. I understand that it is to help distribute weight, but I like to be able to move my legs as needed. Trail testing on hills is needed. Other than these two points, it was very comfortable, well made and put me in just the right spot. Vinnie moved out as well as could be expected in these limited circumstances. I really like all the choices in colors and leathers. No photos yet, but check back in a few days.

Barefoot Atlanta

This is next on my list to demo. I am being cautious about buying saddles just to try them out. I’ve done enough of that so far, so I appreciate vendors with generous demo programs. I really like the minimal look of the Atlanta, light weight and it looks like it would work for horses with forward girth grooves like mine.

Startrekk

I would also like to try a Startrekk saddle. The problem I have here is simply choosing a model. They all look nice! What I would really like is a Western in brown with border tooling and an Espaniola, maybe the simple brown model for a classic look.

Trekker

I have tried my friend, Romina’s Endurance Pro Original and really liked it. It has more structure than some treeless saddles, a built in spine channel and is quite adjustable. The only thing that I didn’t care for was the height of the pommel. A few times, I ran into it ducking to go under tree limbs. We ride in some pretty thick woods, so that’s a common occurrence even with my small horses. I rode Paisano ten miles in this saddle. We were both comfortable. I also like that it doesn’t need a special pad like some less structured treeless saddles. So this one is on the list.

I’ll have more to say after the weekend when I try the Sensation out on the trails. It’s supposed to clear up on Sunday. Keep sunny thoughts in mind for us!

And I mean true heartfelt positivity, not just acting it.

I love this blog post.

You horse (or dog or child or husband, friend, co-worker, etc.) can tell on some level whether you are authentic or not. Animals, especially horses, I find, pick up on this much more easily than us humans. They have less layers of societal stuff to get in the way. And they pay far more attention to our real intentions that we sometimes do ourselves. That’s what I find so wonderful about working with them.

Image courtesy of Claire Bow, burdyboo @ Flickr

This month is hosted by Wendy’s Horse Adventures.

I thought I would put up a How To today on tying up tails for the winter. I’ve done this most years here in wet, western Oregon. Vinnie’s tail had started to get clods of adobe permanently building up on the end of his tail. They can become heavy, get caught on branches and even pull out large sections of tail. Vinnie’s tail already touches the ground. Add a few inches of mud to sink into and I’ve got a problem… I’ve found this to be an excellent solution.

Start with a relatively clean tail. I washed, combed and conditioned both Lily & Vinnie’s tails, thanks to abundant free samples of Eqyss Premier Cream Rinse Conditioner from my local feed store. I’ve liked all the products from this company that I have used so far. I’ll see how their tails look when I take them down in a few weeks. Vinnie was my model today, since his tail is so nicely multi-colored.


You will need a strip of fabric. I use the end of a turban, handy for me, but likely not for the average horse owner. Any lightweight cotton fabric will do. Mine was about 50″ long and maybe 3″ wide. Locate the end of the tail bone and section the tail into three parts. Take the middle of the fabric strip and run it behind the tail with each side running along two braiding sections.


Braid the tail, holding it down toward the horse’s hocks and the ground, incorporating the fabric into the braid. If you don’t hold the tail downwards, your braid will not hang nicely or will have a bulge on the underside. I leave about 10″-12″ of unbraided tail. This will be left open when the mud knot is finished. Wrap the fabric once around and tie. You should have about 6″ or more fabric left for the next step.

If you don’t want any loose hair, you can braid to the end of the tail. You will either need a longer piece of fabric or braid half way before adding the fabric in. Either way you need some fabric left at the end.


Open a space in the braid at the top, just under the end of the tail bone.


Thread the end of the braid through this space from the underside.


Run one fabric end through the space and wrap them around the tail, so that they can be tied into a square knot. Be sure to stay below the end of the tail bone. We don’t want to damage any of the living part of the tail by putting pressure on it.


Lay the open, brush end of the tail flat against the front of the, now folded, braid. This is a side view of the bundle just before wrapping in vetwrap. I cover the entire braided portion, making a point of not covering the loose end or the tail bone.

If I were going to wrap the entire tail, I would make the bundle longer, just folding the braided end of the tail up. It would then get covered in vetwrap.


The end result – a much shortened tail that will stay clean and protected from the mud!

Unless my work falls apart, I plan to leave their tails up for 3-4 weeks. I’ll take them down, check them and likely put them back up. It will be interesting to see how long they grow over the winter. I may need to do some trimming come springtime.

For more photos of them enjoying the nice grass, visit my Flickr page. It was a really lovely day and they enjoyed some time in a new paddock. Their paddock was getting gravel added around the gate.

I took advantage of the sun this afternoon and put a bit more work on Vinnie’s driving. I dug out the PVC shafts I had made years ago for Paisano and took them to out to the barn. Vinnie got groomed and harnessed up. I put on the cavesson that I’ve been riding and long lining him with. Then I put the full bridle on over that. I don’t have a driving bit for him yet, but I wanted something that wouldn’t pull through his mouth. I had taken the full cheek home, so all I had was a low port Kimberwicke. Since I was mostly going just ask him to carry it, that’s what he wore today. He mouthed it at first, but once we were headed out, there was plenty to take his attention away from playing with the bit.

I got this. What's next?

When we came to the gate, we passed it and went down the other way a bit. All told, we probably walked a bit less than a mile. I practiced halting and standing, as well as asking him to move side to side on the road from whip and rein cues. He did well to the left and a bit stickier to the right. That’s likely because it’s harder for me to reach his left side with my whip. I had my ground whip with a short lash. Next time, I’ll have to remember the one with a longer drop. I really need a proper driving whip.

Doing well.

Since he had taken all this so well, I decided to try driving him off the bit. I took off the shafts first. Then we did a few rounds of the barn yard, turning and halting before calling it a day. He wasn’t too keen on this bit and pushed his shoulder through a few turns. We ended on a nice halt that only took a couple of half halts to get. Now I just have to figure out the best driving bit for him. And do more sessions like today. Vinnie is quite willing to what I ask, once he understands what that is. Repetition and practice are what we need now.

The wheels that I ordered for my cart are in. I have all the supplies to paint it. I’ve decided that it will be black. Then I will need to make the seat and back, measure for foam and upholstery material and purchase those. I am not sure what color the seat will be yet. I do hope that the cart will end up being large enough for him. I wonder if it will all be ready by April for the parade in Oakridge. Stay tuned!

Last week, saying hi to Hargobind

He did jump a few times and the loose horses running up the fence by the road made him puff up a lot and dance a little, but he never lost it. He was most spooked by a huge rock someone had put by their mailbox. It didn’t even move! But it elicited snorts, backing up and wanting to scoot down the road. I asked him to face it at a comfortable distance. As soon as he was willing to take one step toward it, we moved on.

He was light in the bridle and listened to my seat to steady him. When we rode up to the arena at Three Cedars, someone was washing the mirrors at the far end. More snorting! We had a really nice big trot along the back side of the turnouts that turned into our first short canter. And later he gaited on the pavement home. We got to the gate to his barn and he wanted to explore further, so we took another turn down the side road.

And he hasn’t even had ten rides yet. What a joy…

It had been POURING all day, so the poor boy was wet.

It had been raining steadily all day and continued through the evening. I had stripped his muddy sheet and then walked him down through the rain to Three Cedars to work. I wanted to try my Wintec AP saddle on him. It seems to fit alright, though I’ll be switching out the gullet for a slightly narrower one after Paisano leaves next week. I rode him a some after lunging. The sheepskin that Pam put on my saddle is really nice! I quit after he did a full round of the arena at the trot. Prior to that, we had to spend some time looking in the mirrors, sniffing the mounting stand and otherwise exploring.

Working away

One more week and Paisano leaves. Then another week and Lily comes home. There are so many transitions going on that sometimes, I don’t quite know what to think. Still, I keep going to the barn and doing what needs to be done each day. And it’s usually something interesting.

I found that the girth on Paisano’s harness finally fits Vinnie. He must have filled out. In fact, I measured him today and he is 13.1 hands. He HAS grown! I moved the harness over to the new barn and tried it all on Vin, then ground drove him yesterday. Pam came by just as we were finishing up, so she snapped a few photos and took a short video in his paddock.

I also spent a bit of time sanding down the cart. I removed the seat and backrest. That took some use of a small sledge (one of my favorite tools) and a hacksaw, along with drilling out rusted screws. My wonderful husband was able to remove the bolt holding on the singletree too, so now the frame is entirely stripped down. The only downside to the day was that the rust treatment I had saved from painting my trailer would not come out of the can, despite much shaking, swapping out spray tips, soaking them in mineral spirits and anything else I could think of. I might have to use something else. It’s too bad, as this stuff worked really well.

I also stopped in at a local bicycle shop to see about new wheels. All they had were ultralight, single thickness, alloy rim wheels. I think that I need something a bit more sturdy than that. And less expensive! I guess it’s back to the web to search for heavy duty, inexpensive 26″ wheels.

I'll have to make new seat and backrest. These are destroyed. I want to make the back taller and the seat a little deeper anyway.

And lastly, in preparation, Vinnie had his teeth done today. He had a few points, but otherwise a good bite. I asked how many caps he has left to loose. When Dr. C counted, he found that Vinne has one less tooth than normal in each row! It’s consistent on both sides top and bottom. It does not hurt his mouth or chewing at all. He was just born that way. Paisano’s teeth were done as well, but we didn’t think to count them. I’ll definitely ask about Lily’s when she has them done in December. Spanish Mustangs sometimes have one less rib and a missing or fused lumbar vertebrae. I wonder how many have four less teeth!

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

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.

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.

I was reading Mugwump’s latest post and I realized that Paisano needed a bit of a tune up on this front. So last night we worked on it. After a short bit of chatting with other boarders, I took him straight to the round pen, still dusty from rolling.

Paisano tried to snatch bites at his favorite weeds on the way over, then when I let him loose, he meandered over to a spot where he could reach more weeds. Instead, I sent him out at a trot. All he gave me was a little jog. I had my lunge whip that gives a nice pop and he got it laid over his rump. “NO, I want you to MOVE!” was the message. At first, I had to step into his space half way across the round pen. At one point, he kicked out twords me and that got him a response that really woke him up! I reversed him repeatedly for a few minutes.

By the end, he was responsive to all voice commands and would canter energetically until I asked him to do something else. He’s gotten into a pattern of just quitting and even slowing to a stop recently. I had slipped into the habit of always asking him to keep going, rather than expecting him to stay at any gait/speed until asked for something else. I am not going to do that anymore. My expectations are changing. I just don’t want to work that hard! Today was the beginning of that.

At a good whoa with him parallel to the fence, I asked him to come into the center. Then I gave him a good once over with my hands and some stretching and a little massage. That was his reward for the good work he gave me at the end.

On whoa in the round pen … I do not want a seasoned horse to turn to face me. This is just my preference. I know that many people always want their horse to ‘face up’ to them. Since my basis is in dressage, lunging, long lining, etc., I want a horse to stop where I ask them and not move their feet any more. If that means facing perpendicular to me, that’s what I want them to do. If I am driving, it means facing away from me. Whoa means “Whoa right where your feet are now,” not “stop and face me.” It’s hard to retrain them not to face you, when they are on the lunge line. In long lines, there is more control. Still, it can be frustrating during the transition time, where they think that is what you want. So I likely differ there from most of the NH world. So be it.

The jaquima on Lily. I've since put it on a Zilco trail headstall.

I worked in hand some on stepping under with the near hind foot. He has a harder time with this on the right. That flowed well into some lateral work. He tends to offer more sideways and less forward that I want. Or maybe that is me not getting my cues correct. Either way, we had some improvement there.

It’s supposed to rain all weekend, so I am not sure that I will be able to get any of the long rides at Pisgah done that I wanted to. I had laid out a training plan for the next six weeks until the Foothills ride. This three day weekend was going to be a great opportunity for some long slow miles. I guess I will have to get used to the rain… Today I am wimping out and working in the studio instead. Well, after I’m done with this blog post anyway!

I'll leave you with this photo of Lily being a good mom. She's telling Vinie to keep away from her baby.

Yesterday, I was up at Tired Dog Ranch. We pulled Vinnie from the pasture with his mother and siblings and put him to work!

First came the saddle. He had never worn one before. All I had was my FreeForm, as I was trail riding Paisano this weekend. I couldn’t really girth it up tight enough, so it slid forward some. All I got out of him was a little half buck. Then he settled down.

Look at that mane...

He showed us his lovely movement.

I also put a snaffle on him, which he didn’t really care much for. He kept getting his tongue over the bit. Since the saddle didn’t really fit, I took it off and did a bit of long lining. Then all tack got stripped off and we just played a bit.

Vin is a huggable pony!

I had a small audience, so just for fun, I hopped up and down next to him. Then I thought, “How will he do with my weight?” He could have cared less! I jump on him, wiggled all around patted him and bounced. Vin hardly moved.

Me saying, See, he could care less! I was pretty surprised at how calm he was about it.

Then we asked Amy Jo if she wanted to hop on him. He was a bit sweaty, so I let her take the first ride.

Can you see us all grinning? I think that Vinnie is too.

After she was up, Amy Jo said that she had never ridden bareback before. I think that they both did a stellar job!

He knows turning.

I think that he wondered what took us so long.

And after his bath - the grown up boy!

The round pen at TDR now has beautiful bark footing, thanks to Amy Jo moving two dump loads. What a grand place for a first ride. Thank you, Amy Jo! And MANY thanks to Megan for taking tons of great photos with my camera.

Last weekend, Pam came out and taped Paisano and I. It was meant to be a basaeline sort of video to record where he is at in his development and training. I rode him with a bridle first, then tried this. I don’t think that I ever rode him bridleless when he was a stallion. That makes this maybe our third or forth try. The previous times were in the round pen at Tired Dog Ranch, so a much smaller and more contained space. I was very happy with how he did. There were a few times where I had to put the rope up near his throatlatch to turn him and he really wanted to go hang out in the sunny far corner. Needless to say, those were outtakes.

He was good on basic walk, trot, canter, turn and stop cues. We have to work more on things like turn on the forehand and haunches and leg yield. Those are a bit harder to do without rein cues. I didn’t get more than a couple of steps before he moved forward. That can come with time. It’s a bit harder when there are no reins to restrict forward movement. In retrospect, I should have started this against the wall. Another step will be riding with another horse in the arena.

Watching the video, I realized that some of his apparent resistances may have been due to the fact that he had fly bites right where the rope crosses his chest. Pressure probably felt good! No wonder he leaned into it a few times, instead of backing off. I might post another clip of scratching him afterwards. It’s pretty cute. Pam pointed out that he was so relaxed that his lower lip was flapping the entire time.

Two of my favorite stills from the video…

The music is Corazon by Mirabai Ceiba, available from Spirit Voyage

When my aunt pointed me to these years ago, they resonated with me. They have been an excellent way to deal with my horses. In adopting them for that purpose, I found myself considering them with my children, my husband, my co-workers and on and on. Pick one, consider it in your life and see where you go…

From The Center for Non-Violent Communication. The italics are mine.

10 Things We Can Do to Contribute to Internal, Interpersonal, and Organizational Peace

(1) Spend some time each day quietly reflecting on how we would like to relate to ourselves and others.

(2) Remember that all human beings (all creatures, actually) have the same needs.

(3) Check our intention to see if we are as interested in others getting their needs met as our own.

(4) When asking someone to do something, check first to see if we are making a request or a demand.

(5) Instead of saying what we DON’T want someone to do, say what we DO want the person to do.

(6) Instead of saying what we want someone to BE, say what action we’d like the person to take that we hope will help the person be that way.

(7) Before agreeing or disagreeing with anyone’s opinions, try to tune in to what the person is feeling and needing.

(8) Instead of saying “No,” say what need of ours prevents us from saying “Yes.”

(9) If we are feeling upset, think about what need of ours is not being met, and what we could do to meet it, instead of thinking about what’s wrong with others or ourselves.

(10) Instead of praising someone who did something we like, express our gratitude by telling the person what need of ours that action met.

The Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) would like there to be a critical mass of people using Nonviolent Communication language so all people will get their needs met and resolve their conflicts peacefully.
2001, revised 2004 Gary Baran & CNVC. The right to freely duplicate this document is hereby granted.

I had a great (and tiring, hot) day at Inavale. I was a backup timer on one of the hazards for a CDE (Combined Driving Event). This is like three day eventing in harness. Today was the marathon, the equivalent of cross country jumping.

Many photos are here

It must have been close to 100 degrees by mid afternoon. Some of the horses were visibly tired and a few pulled. But some were very fit and really impressive!

I started to have visions of Paisano out there on the course, then Vinnie, THEN them as a father-son pair. Then I considered Lily and Margarita as a matched pair! Oh, yes, I was fantasizing big time. Then I considered the amount of training, time and funds to get to that point. Still, with long term planning, maybe…

It certainly would be great to get some Spanish Mustangs out in this type of competition. If you perform well with good turnout, you can do well. There were many breeds of all sorts and all sizes there today. And I do think that my horses could handle it quite well. Let’s see where we are in a couple of years!

Bonita did very well at the SMR meeting and is now home with Chuck and Kay Day in Camas, Washington. I enjoyed working with her and thank Kay for letting me take her on as a my first outside training project.

During the week before the SMR meeting, I showed Kay the ground work that I had done with her. We went on a few rides through the woods on narrow, very new trails. Since we had just scoped these out and barely started to use them, there were a few iffy areas, which Bonita handled very well. She is quite happy to lead and went most anywhere I asked her to. She will follow too, but it is not her preference.

Our longest ride was four and a half hours. Much of that was stopping and cutting out downed trees and brush. I did some, but mostly it was Kay doing the hard work. Bonita stood well, but wasn’t too interested in being close to the other horses. She likes her space. There was some nice grass up there in the woods, so all three horses enjoyed the stops.

The one real obstacle for her was a narrow part of the trail next to the creek with water flowing over and through some larger rocks. She had just stepped into a soft spot before we got there and I think that she was none too sure of the footing. Eventually she did follow the others over. Going back, it was no problem at all.

Bonita is fun to ride with nice smooth gaits. We did mostly walk-trot, though I did try a short canter out on another Forest Service trail on Friday. That was her second canter under saddle, the first being a few strides in the meadow earlier. She came down from it nicely and it was no big deal.

Kay will continue to ride her, with the addition of maybe one 4-H’er. I believe that she is still for sale. Please contact Kay Day for more information.

Bonita’s time with me is coming to a close. Yesterday, I trailered her up to Tired Dog Ranch for a ride. I tried out their new round pen, made from found materials. It works well! When the grass inside is eaten down, it will be a good area to work loose in. We will take care of that the week before the SMR meeting.

Here are a few photos from yesterday. Amy Jo took the ones of me and Bonita and I took the rest. Go here to see larger images.

After trying out the round pen, I rode Bonita in the meadow and we had a first few canter strides under saddle. She is VERY smooth! I did get a few little rocking bucks at one point, but she gave it up quickly and never offered any of that again. I continued to ride her around the meadow with Amy Jo on Larry following along. I wasn’t too sure about going out on a trail ride, but after a little more riding, we decided to go for it.

We went through a gate and into the forest. Bonita didn’t like it when Larry got too close or when Bob (dog) was right behind her. Other than that, she was great. She led the entire way, stopping when we had to wait for Larry, responsive and happy to explore.

We looped through the woods, ending on the gravel road past their property. Then we went down the forest service road a ways. She was sound on the gravel. Bonita could have gone a lot farther. She didn’t even begin to sweat and we were out for about an hour. She was okay going around several turns of the road alone without Larry too. Someone needs to take this mare home from the meeting and keep working with her. She’ll be a great, willing partner for somebody.

Bonita did well enough with Five O’Clock Charlie and Wonderful, that I left her there for the week. I’ll be back on Saturday with Paisano and will stay though the SMR meeting June 19-21. I hope to get in more rides on Bonita with Kay, her owner along. After the meeting, Bonita goes home with Kay to Day’s End Ranch in Camas, WA.