It's January. First it was going to be day and night long rain. Fancy would have to be in a stall day and night. After the rain, a huge snowstorm was predicted. Fancy would have to be in a stall day and night. I elected to take her home so she could roam freely with the other two horses and have use of the run-in stalls and shed shelter. They have 24 hour access to hay in the barn and a round bale outside. It is almost horse heaven. It…

Fancy is the color of White Chocolate Mocha The whipped cream is from the white snips on her hind legs. Hmmmm, what is her darker mane and tail? I'll have to investigate further. Erin rode Fancy again before I rode her. Erin rode Fancy in near perfect canter circles. What! How do these trainers do what they do? Erin explained that the rider's body energy makes a difference. Hmmm, I'm thinking of how much torque my legs and core muscles are bleeding out into Fancy's brain. Erin further explained that…

Yesterday was slow bareback day.  I can't take slow on a daily basis.  Today, my insides were churning with a small fire called "Go Fast".  Yes, I can go out of control.  We are in our last days of Fancy training with Erin Patterson, world renown Missouri Fox Trotter champion and trainer.  I decided that today would be a good day for Erin to ride Fancy before I rode.  Fancy was quite relaxed during our ground session and games.  I figured Erin could get Fancy going. When I rode, she…

Before we begin this account of the amazing adventure today, I would like to mention that it is day five of Question Box Pattern.  Thank goodness for this pattern which keeps horses going in an circle and helps to slow them down.  I needed a pattern that barely moved. Many things contributed to this day.  I've started pursuing the Parelli Levels program.  They no longer require bareback riding, but do encourage it at this level .  Plus, I had to do it all my early life in the program with…

When we got in the arena, Fancy was very calm. We each got to walk thru the tight herd of cows. Fancy was scared to get too close. The owner went to the herd to help Fancy, but started driving the hotdog straight towards Fancy. I was saying, “Don’t  drive the cows at her”.   The herd magically split before Fancy decided to bolt!  Fancy was able to go into the spread out cow herd. She looked relaxed after a few moments. Next all cows went out and one cow…

We ended our Question Box Pattern ride today  by riding bridleless.  I took off her bridle and we ventured around the circles.  Fancy is a go, and go faster horse.  I’ve been dreading this.  There is a maneuver that can be used to slow down a horse if you have a Horsemanship stick.  When they speed up and go too fast, you direct their head into the wall.  Arena walls are very handy.  We ended with a nice full lap at a flat foot walk. Yes, it worked.  It worked…