Kevin and I went on an evening ride together on Starry and Cole Train.  It was on the hot side, and since it was Cole’s 4^th consecutive day of trail riding, I thought he might be a little sluggish.  Wrong.  He was just right.  We did a lot of trotting and a little cantering—on the hard lead!  We walked all the…

Horse-Filled Weekend

Friday evening, I went for a ride by myself on Cole Train.  Since I was alone, I did a lot more cantering than when I am with other horses.  We did get the hard lead once on a sharp corner—that same corner that we were successful before.  He was doing great until we reached a sharp corner the other direction—and he switched.  Well, at least I had it for a little while.  We trotted a lot towards home, too.  The ride was about 5 miles round trip, and the…

Bug Crazy Starry Starry Night

Cole and I went with Kevin and Starry on a ride yesterday evening.  it was a very warm evening.  All went well on the way out.  We rode to the fallen tree—lots of fast trotting and a little cantering.  Kevin wanted to see if he could clear the tree off the trail or find a way around it.  He wouldn’t take my word for it—but as soon as he saw it he agreed.  We needed professional help for this one—chainsaw and glove.  It is covered with poison…

Kevin and I had a really nice ride last night.  it was cool, and there are still no bugs—we are enjoying it while we can.  We assumed that the tree that was blocking the trail was still there, so we turned at the river crossing before it and headed back towards home.  to make it a longer ride, we planned to pass home and go the other way for a while. 

That made it a perfect day to work on trotting towards home.  we have regularly trotted towards home when we are far away, but…

Two Man Sorting

Last Sunday, after a good ride on Saturday morning, we took the horses out for some two-man sorting at Rancho Rio Stables by the Kern River.  In this iteration of calf work, the cattle are numbered zero to nine and there are two pens about 40 feet across with an opening between the two.  The cows are settled into the far end of one pen.  Our job is to go in and, once we cross into the occupied pen we are given a number, then we start with that cow and…

Hello

Mrs. Carol Harris who owned the world famous Quarter Horse Rugged Lark as joined forces with our crusade to force the American Quarter Horse Association to stop the sanctioned abuse of the horses.

I have filed a criminal complaint with the Texas Attorney General Office against AQHA for deceptive trade practices that sanction the abuse of the competitive horse.

We are currently trying to get Oklahoma City television media to expose this national disgrace.  Please…

Took Amigo on a short trail ride around the farm. I used my western saddle and my split reins on my reining bit. My goal was to round him up and get him using his back. He has a indent behind his shoulder from letting his back sag all summer. (He had beginner riders all summer and took very good care of them.) Ed said that riding him on the bit and rounded will help him get back the muscle he has lost. He also showed me the stretch that makes the horse arch their back. After the loop around…

The Running Horse

A Bi-monthly Newsletter from Horse Play…

A New Feature on Barnmice Community News:  

We would like to thank Christilot Boylen for sharing her adventures riding on a special quadrille team for an important horse show this week in Oman.  Oman is a Sultanate on the south east corner of the Arabian Peninsula.  It has a strong and ancient history of equestrian activities and horse breeding.  The current ruler, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, has promoted modern methods alongside traditional practices of horse-keeping and…

My wonderful son asked me last week what I wanted for Christmas, muttering that it was probably too late to order on-line to get something by Christmas.  I went to the wonderful book site (amazon) and found that I could get any amount of horsie books by Christmas, and I asked for "Riding and Schooling Horses" by Harry D. Chamberlin, the Captain of the US Cavalry teams for international competition so long ago.  This book, an old…

I have been a very good horse this year, so I was wondering if you could pass this list on to Santa and the Elves! Here is my holiday wish list.…

Debbie worked her usual magic on the mare she is training.

She finally found a Western saddle that fit the mare's shoulders (a Wintec synthetic). Then she took the mare too the beach (lucky mare) and faced her with new challenges. Debbie said it all came together when the surf crashed into the mare's hind end, the mare spooked, got…

BRRR. It is COLD outside, when I woke up it was still in the high 20's F with a brisk wind. Since I no longer have horses I could stay warm this morning. I am so glad not to have to carry feed (I always fed more for the cold), hay, warm water (to wet the feed), and break open the ice on the water trough. With my MS this had gotten REAL challenging. Such a luxury to be able to stay inside. No frozen fingers or toes, and I do not have to feel sorry for the shivering…

ZACK

1979 – 2010

Polo pony, Barrel racer

Trail horse, Babysitter

I caught your last breath in my hand

and I will forever hold it in my heart

Your spirit runs free once again!

October 18 2010 was a sad day here. Our beloved Zack was humanely euthanized due to complications from cancer and old age. He is missed!

The Running Horse

A…

Congress!!

Recently, the U.S. experienced the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky and the horse world lit up with the news and events. But…