"Cute horse! :)"

"Hi everyone! I've just been lurking for a while because the end of the school year was upon me and I was mired in exams and report cards. Yesterday was the last day here in Mexico, and today I am clicking the "stop following this…"

"Had to jump in because to me hacking means - going somewhere, going exploring. But some people in my barn say they are going for a hack and all they do is go down the driveway and back, or around the front fields. ... I don't mean to be…"

"That's my feeling, too. Preferably a nice, clean back!"

"I made a visit to a therapeutic riding facility recently (want to volunteer, but am still looking for one close enough for feasible winter driving), where I was shown special reins for people with hand function problems. The part you hold is double,…"

"I found it with google. Broadleaf Guest Ranch. http://www.broadleafranch.com/ The one thing I have to warn you about is BOOK EARLY! They only have a few cabins, and are booked up a year in advance for popular weekends! Other than that I thought it…"

"I also dislike bareback pads, although I suppose some are better than the one I bought. I have heard it said that the ones with no stirrups are much safer than the ones with. The one I bought had stirrups, and I felt like I was riding a greased pig!…"

"I used my own horses, just used my friends' paddocks! I didn't get to know a whole lot of NB, but I do know the area around where I was (Sussex/Petitcodiak area) has lots of trails and wilderness. Some overgrown and some overrun with…"

"Well I love trail riding but don't have my own trailer, so it's so expensive to hire one I only get out once in a while. I do go as many places as I can ride from the barn, as often as I can, but since it's southern Ontario that is…"

"I have always ridden bareback a lot. I used to ride my Arabian stallion out on trail and on the roads bareback all the time. Amber too, I hop on her wherever with just a halter, in the winter I will just get on over her blanket. It was a couple of…"

"All right! I love that too! Had to quit because Amber started popping her back up, almost felt like bucks but had a friend videotaping and her legs weren't involved, only her back. I decided she was telling me that it hurt her to canter or jump…"

"You're right, until recently close contact was pretty much an English saddle thing. A few years ago a Canadian saddlery whose name escapes me at the moment came out with a team penning saddle that looked like a western saddle but was built on…"

"That sounds interesting, Eileen. Do they have it on line, and would you send a link? Thanks!"

"Oh, and about the English/western - I go both ways. I actually feel more secure in the English saddle because I feel lower, closer to the horse, and with more leg/seat contact. In the western I feel up high and a little out of contact."

"I wholeheartedly agree with Fiona's statement that you should walk away from any coach that has you pull on the reins. I would add, any coach that has you riding as much with the hands as with the seat and legs. One of the warm-ups I do with…"