THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

(Susan & Ahd) To my fellow RACers: Today was a perfect winter day for riding in Maine, with temperatures in the 30's!  We had an ice storm last night, but it was on top of an inch or two of new snow so it was not dangerous to ride.  The trees were coated with shimmering ice, and since the wind was blowing gustily, it made for some sharp ice pellets shooting around.  I was very thankful for the visor on my helmet.  The trails were so beautiful and refreshing!  For a while, AhD was on edge, due to all the wind and falling ice, but I was bound and determined that we WERE getting out and we WERE going to have fun...and BOY DID WE EVER!  I took lots of pictures from horseback to share with you all.  I so much enjoy seeing all of your pictures; I was pleased to learn that Harold Fairchild had joined again this year - his scenes from 2007 were awesome!  AhD was ready to go, so go we did, from the deep snow wooded trails to the powerline trail to the groomed snowmobile trails.  At one point, we had a good lesson on How to Stand Still on a Trail that I thoroughly enjoyed and AhD throughly did not.  We passed by lots of Horse Eating Objects such as a flat trailer, a camper, heavy equipment, and several tarp covered objects with nary a misstep.  What a good boy!!  We got in an exciting gallop and FOR ONCE a nice, controlled canter!  For some reason, my handsome little Curly has had a somewhat disjointed, uneven canter virtually every time I ask him for it - which hasn't really been many times at all.  I'm thinking that now that I am regaining my confidence and we have experienced more gallops under saddle together, that AhD has figured out how to carry us in a canter.  In other words, we had to go faster before he could figure out how to do it slower - the opposite of what I would think.  This summer, one of my goals (besides riding the ocean shore) is to do some ringwork with AhD, even though that is not my cup of tea.  I hope my fellow RACers are enjoying this "contest" as much as I am, and I look forward to reading YOUR posts.

(Adria & Beau from Green Mountian Curlies) Finally! Finally, finally, we drove *Beau again.
This time of year is difficult for us, because as Chuck is an accountant, it is year end and tax time, so his hours tend to be long. Finding time on an evening to work with horses is next to impossible, so we only get to work with them on the week-ends. We have concentrated on *Beau because he enjoys the work and we love being with him. The past few week-ends have been in-hand work, getting him primed for the cart again. Today, he went between the shafts and I tell you, it is as if he hadn't had any time off at all. He is so brilliant! The one thing that we could feel though is that he is not in shape. So, I ground drove him first for about 10 minutes and then we limited his time between the shafts to 20 minutes. Each weekend we will raise the amount to increase his fitness again. If we get time during the week, you can bet we'll be bringing him down for more driving. He is just incredibly responsive and so obviously proud of the work he does. Of course, it helps that we tell him how wonderful he is all the time. Stallions love that! So, *Beau got 20 minutes pulling the cart, and I got 10 minutes toward my RAC points. Not much, but it is a beginning. It is also so very different driving in the arena compared to driving in the old one (now our barn) due to the base. You go much faster in the new one and it is much easier for him to turn and pull the cart as the drag is much less than the sand of the other base. Wahoo!!

(Lynn @ Homefire Curly Horses) Five Hours, Three Horses & One Happy Face Better late than never, I suppose.  Just when my saddle was ready to sue me for neglect and abandonment, I got the ball rolling for the 2008 riding year.  An unusual move on my part, my straight bay mare Misty was the first contestant.  After recent reorganizing of the herds she's been feeling sorry for herself.  I was on my way to the barn to tack up Thunder and saw her standing by the gate looking like she could use a friend.  I brought her to the round pen and, while I had only planned for some very light lunging and some nice grooming, there really wasn't any reason not to get on and work on some bending.  Misty is in her last trimester of pregnancy so the ride was short and not terribly demanding, but an excellent experience for both of us.  Thunder was the next "pony-de-jour."  While he is the best trained horse I own I always struggle to find a reason to ride him.  There is nothing to teach him, nothing to fix with him and nothing I can improve on as he is ready for something beyond my current skill set.  I am still trying to find the right path for him; he is worthy of being more than my "Zen zone" mount.  Perhaps I am finding issues where he has none?  Last up was Samurai.  He is young, green but the gentlest giant you could ever hope to find.  I haven't handled or ridden him much but I am always pleasantly surprised by what I find when I get him out of the herd and on his own.  I am quite looking forward to spending more time with him and getting to know him better.  I didn't have a photographer for the session so had to make do with "top shots" for my ride on Misty and Thunder.  Brian showed up after I had dismounted from Sam.... and, after this wonderful afternoon, I simply didn't have the energy to climb back on to that 16'1 hand monster.  Next time, perhaps?  I will post a more in-depth discussion of my sessions with those horses to my blog, definitely lots there to chew on.  Lynn

(Lesly from Big Sky Ranch) I FINALLY took the time for my first ride of the year...OK, so it's the 3rd of February, but as I am generally a day late and a dollar short, I am thrilled that we are only 34 days into the year! After a long day of stripping stalls, it was after dark, a snow storm was brewing, and I got an irresistible urge to go for a ride...so by the time I gathered all my tack the snow flakes were gently floating through the air.  I tromped through the snow to catch Lejonhud's Nokwisi, aka Kwis or affectionately dubbed Wussy by my husband, Dan, only because she is such a mush bucket of lovin'.   I couldn't find a girth for my synthetic English saddle that fit this mare, so I (experienced a brief moment of insanity) and decided to make the ride truly memorable; by going bareback. Fortunately Wus refused to cooperate for me to climb atop one of the outdoor benches to mount her (a pitiful excuse for a right knee dictate the necessity for me to be on high ground!:~), even after hubby came to my assistance....so I resorted to a Western saddle...Good thing too!  Between my bad ankles and knee, and Wussy's fresh behavior (we haven't ridden since October) I certainly would have joined Betsy's Air Amateur flying club! As for our ride....WOW! A wet snow was increasingly floating on mounting gusts, joined by a luminescence created by low hanging clouds, it was my living fairy tale....so incredibly peaceful!  God works in wonderful ways to bring us the tranquility we need. Wussy snorted and side passed before we crossed the ominous culvert where a creek passes under our driveway...she ALWAYS does...but this time I gave her a loose rein, told her it was OK and gave a little squeeze...she confidently crossed.  She seemed to enjoy biting at the snow filled branches of every pine we passed.  We brought her almost yearling (April 2nd) filly, Matte, along and she had a blast running freely through the woods...though never straying too far from us...at least not after that point at the beginning of the ride, when she thought she had lost track of us and start bellowing for mom!  Babies! At some point during our ride, the wind kicked up ferociously and the snow (as I learned later) came down at a rate of almost 3 inches per hour--a virtual white out--which was the probable cause of a major power outage...But when the lights of all the distant homes went black through the woods it was as though we were out in the middle of nowhere versus the northwest suburbs of Chicago!!!  Incredible. Of course the furry of the wind and blowing snow through the trees gave Wuss a few moments of her own insanity with a couple of twisting bucks and snorts.  Or perhaps she, too, was simply in awe of the beauty and was just kicking up her hooves caught up in the excitement of the moment.... I so enjoyed the beauty and calm (even the WET and wind chills) of this evening that I can't wait for another ride...suppose to be more snow (or rain...you never know this year!:~) tomorrow night, so hopefully both Wussy and I will be up for another RAC adventure. Or if she isn't, perhaps I'll get even crazier and take out one of my other curlies for one of their first rides (no one else is under saddle, so it will surely be an adventure to share.) Looking forward to doing this again and again and again--and bringing my camera for the next rides.

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(Michelle & Lakota @ Chestnut Hill Curlies) On Monday, we had a gorgeous sunny winter day, so I pushed off the grocery shopping and decided to take Lakota out or a little while.  We went down to the roundpen (I have no trails off the property) and I remembered how much I LOVE my Bob Marshall saddle, it was like settling into a comfy sofa.  Lakota remembered right where we left off, and we had a very nice little slow ride, since the snow was getting quite slushy and slick, and weathered a little spook when the snow slid off the hay tent roof.    Lakota now has a pretty decent set of brakes installed, and stops on a breath out and seat cues, with a "whoa" as backup and perhaps just a lift of the reins if she's really spooked (ha!).  She is beginning to corner like a little racecar.  I think this year we are going to spend most of our time working on her confidence out in the big scary old world. I'm by myself, so can't get any photos of myself mounted :-( 

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