Possibilities

I thought I'd post a few pics of horses I've been thinking about (too early to buy just yet). This lovely Morgan filly is Lady in Red. She is 3 now, but how can I resist that face? She is chestnut with a lot of white (my favorite). She is $5,000.00 (may be more now), and I would love LOVE loooove to have her.


Here's a Morgan gelding offered for $5,000.00 as well. I just think he's kind of cute.



I like this guy's coloring and conformation. He could easily be converted to hunt seat. I think he's priced at $5,000.00.

I think this Morgan gelding is adorable. Another great buy at $5,000.00

Last but not least is this guy - again, $5,000.00. He's not my favorite, but still, he's cute.

There are some more pics. following the above horses, the next pictures are all of Morgans that I'd love to own, but could never afford ;). They are all good examples of why I love this breed though.

Riding horses like this is a blast! Some may not like the high stepping look, but it's common for many Morgans to naturally move this way. It's gorgeous and ground covering too.

This is a 5 year old Mare that I've been admiring for some time. She is just stunning to watch. The pic doesn't do her justice either :).

See, we have Paint Morgans too :)


Here's a Morgan Stallion - I just think he is the quintessential Morgan - super cute.

This is a Cream Morgan, we have a few of his babies at the barn, and they are lovely. I wanted to put him up to show that Morgans have quality in color as well. I'm not a huge fan of Cream Morgans, but there are some nice ones.

Here's a famous Morgan Western Stallion. Tanqueray.


Another great Morgan Stallion.

Most people who show Morgan Horses in the Western Division use dark oiled tack. Circle Y and Dale Chavez are very popular brands. I think it looks stunning on this horse!

This is Troutbrook Playboy. I very famous historical Morgan Sire. He was my former horse (Shaker's Sierra's sire).

Morgan horse - cowboy dressage.

Another gorgeous Morgan Western Pleasure horse. Fancy fancy.

Woops - I pasted this one twice. Oh well, he's still cute.

Horse Country

Over the weekend, I traveled along with my Aunt Penny and mom to Lexington Kentucky. We spent 2 whole days visiting all the sights in this unbelievable area, and let me just say, Michigan just isn't doing it for me after that! Not that Michigan isn't great, it is with the Great Lakes and all, but Michigan doesn't have all of those miles and miles of Black-wooden fence. Michigan doesn't have pastures as far as the eye can see of grazing horses. It doesn't have rolling green acres that stretch into oblivion; or barns that are nicer than the nicest mansions, barns with chandeliers, barns with 3,4,5 or 6 Cupolas. Oh, I could go on and on and on!

Morgan Horse Statue at the Kentucky Horse Park

Our first day we woke up to find a dreary, rainy day. It was warm though, so we drove ourselves out to the Kentucky Horse Park. Not sure what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised to see that not many people were there. Perhaps because it was torrential down pouring or that it was a Friday, but we parked right up front and at times, felt we were the only ones there. We made our way to the statuesque Man O' War statue and spent about 20 minutes reading about this grand and very famous Stallion. Since I was very young, I have been fascinated by Man O' War. I really enjoyed reading about him and learned several interesting facts about him. For instance, his stride was an incredible 28 feet....very very huge! Also, he was the first horse to be embalmed and was buried in a fancy casket. Morbid, but interesting nonetheless. Did you know he lived into his 30's? I didn't.

My mom and I in front of Man O' War

At the horse park, we immediately made our way to the Hall of Champions where we were introduced to Cigar, Funny Cide and a few other famous horses. One was a retired American Saddlebred and the other was an old, blind ex-Harness racer. My mom and I couldn't help but smile. These horses were all quite full of themselves, even in their older years, and a few even nipped at their handlers a couple of times. I think they were a bit mischievous, but it was amazing to see these guys and to imagine what they must have been like in their glory days.

Beautiful countryside - see the rainbow?

Cigar

After the horse park, we made our way to Georgetown for some lunch and shopping. The town was cute, but we happened upon a gallery of some of the most breathtaking equine photography I've seen. We were very fortunate enough to meet the photographer and snatched up some of his signed art along with a gorgeous book of his titled : Gypsy Horses and the Traveler's Way...it's an amazing book full of unbelievable pictures and stories. At $50.00 it's alot, but the book is worth it! The photographer's name is John Stephen Hockensmith, and he is also the official photographer for the Kentucky Derby. How cool is that? Here's his link: http://www.finearteditions.net/equine-portfolio.php

We spent alot of time just driving around the countryside. Because none of us had ever been to the Lexington area, we allowed ourselves to get lost deep into the countryside several times, only to have our GPS get us out when we were through wandering. I will honestly recommend doing that to anyone, we saw some amazing farms and sights that way; in fact at one point we rounded a bend and came across a home who had 4 camels pastured in their front yard. Saturday we went to Keeneland Racetrack and had a blast. We bet on about 8 races and maybe won $30.00 total. We drank alot of beer and watched some amazing fillies run their hearts out.

I was really impressed with the Southern hospitality too. Everywhere we went people were smiling and greeting us. It took us aback at times, because people tend to stick to themselves alot more up here in Michigan. I really felt at home there though, and I'm convinced I'm a Southern girl at heart. I'm very friendly, and at times I have to hold myself back from being too nice because I feel like others might think I'm a freak of nature.

Keeneland - our view!

We got home Sunday afternoon, and I spent some time at the barn. When I got there, stalls were being cleaned in the front area, so the big old tractor and spreader were blocking a big portion of the front barn. Because of that, it limited my choice in what I could do. Usually, I help Barn Owner's husband (M) out with chores, but it wasn't possible with the tractor. So, I rode instead. I chose Contro because 1. he needed a beauty spa day and 2. he looks like a pregnant mare and needs the work, badly. As usual Contro was a sweet heart, and I had a great ride (hunt seat style). Afterwards, I clipped his bridle path, muzzle and cheek/chin areas. I also trimmed up his feathered up legs and finger combed his long black mane. I have to say, he looked alot better after that treatment, and he really seemed to enjoy the attention *minus the tightening of the girth part.

There are two horses that Barn Owner and I are going to look at soon as a trade in on her older show gelding. One is a black yearling with 3 white socks. His coloring is flashy, but his head and body do nothing for me. The other is a 3 year old bay gelding who is just adorable. I am rooting for that one, and will perhaps own him at some point, but that may be wishful thinking. B, my husband is NOT fond of that idea at all. I need to work him slowly to idea that I hope to own a horse by the Spring/Summer of '10. Wish me luck!

A horse of My Very Own (Maybe)

Long and rambling post alert!!!!

In June of 2008, my boyfriend (now husband) received a job offer that just couldn't be turned down. All that I'll say is that it was and still is an excellent opportunity for him. The problem was that this particular job was located roughly 120 miles from where we were living at the time. The economy, especially in Michigan was hurting and the unemployment rate was rising by the second. I had to find a new job and fast, but it wasn't easy. I left my very secure and decently paying job of over 6 years, only to bounce around from part time job to part time job. Trying to find a job was stressful, I spent many nights crying, stressing and worrying. I had student loans, car payments, cell phone and credit card payments to deal with. I am a pretty good interviewee, however getting to the interview part was next to impossible. I imagine Human Resources Departments across the country are absolutely swamped with overly qualified applicants. Very disheartening it was! I finally signed up with a temp agency as a last resort. I did not want to temp, but it beat working as a waitress (I dislike waitressing immensely). Before long, I was offered the opportunity to cover for a woman who was just about to leave for Maternity at an Engineering company. Because I have a degree in Technical Writing (don't judge based on my terrible blogging skills), I was offered the position with potential to be hired on full time in the Fall.

FAST FORWARD TO NOW: I have finally been assured that I am definitely to be hired on FULL TIME and my salary - oh my blessed salary - will be a bit higher. In fact, it may match or possibly even be better than my former job on the other side of this state. YES YES YES! so, I immediately began thinking "I can get a new car, wait wait! I can get.....duh duh duhhhh....a horse!" And you know, I started getting butterflies and daydreaming like I was in 3rd grade again. I am tentatively planning to purchase a horse by Spring of 2010. This is very very tentative, but I can't live without my own horse any longer - I just cain't! (can you feel the drama)? This horse cannot really be more than $2,500.00, so the gelding (my preference) may not be a Nationals calibre kind a horse, but who even cares? I'm beginning to wonder if I enjoy showing anyway. Maybe I'll get a yearling - or maybe an older trail savvy horse. I do know one thing though, he will be a Morgan :).

Mares

Why does barn time travel at warp speed? I swear, 1 hour in the barn feels like 5 minutes, even if I'm cleaning stalls. The time just zooms by, that I feel rushed and usually only get a fraction of what I'd really like to get done - done. Yesterday at the barn, I only had about 2-hours. 2 HOURS!!!??? I had really hoped to ride at least 2 horses, but with 2 hours and the time it takes just to groom and tack up - pshhhh...I barely got 15 minutes on 1 horse. I had to choose who to ride - Gypsy? She still needs a lot of canter time - outdoors is ideal as the indoor arena is slippery for her lumbering awkward canter strides. Sid? Ugh - Sid. He's easy enough, but do I feel like dealing with his bellowing today? No. Bobby? Bobby pulled a shoe. Contro? Contro is always true blue, besides another lady Marcia has been riding him lately ;). Should I start working on some of the unbroke brood mares? Not enough time. With those options, I finally decided on Gypsy who appeared to be in the midst of that time of the month, if ya' know what I'm saying.

Boy was that girl moody. I started off by telling Barn Owner's husband how sweet Gypsy is. I went on and on about how she's never pulled a stunt and how willing she is. I mounted up, and she walked off (no big deal, only she's never done that before). She was hot to trot though, and so I took her around the arena at a good clip. She apparently didn't want to be bothered with setting her head, so she flattened her ears and pulled on the bit a few times, but quit after I scolded her once. Her little temper tantrum didn't work with the head thing, so on the far side of the arena, going at a nice paced trot, she squealed and kicked out. What the? Ha ha, of course I barely felt it, but that was so unlike Gypsy. I guess she was just having one of those PMS kind of days - I sort of felt bad for her, as I know how it feels. Just to show her that behavior like that will not be tolerated, I kept her going at a nice trot with a collected head set until she simmered down and started listening. Murphy's Law lesson of the day: don't tell someone how great your horse is BEFORE you ride in front of them.

After about 15 minutes, it was time for me to go...sigh. Gypsy was glad when I turned her into the center of the ring and dismounted. She turned her head to look at me in disbelief as though she were saying "that's it - you're realllllly getting off - you're done torturing me today?" Yes, Gypsy you snotty hormonal little thing, you're done for the day. Unfortunately, I spent so much time trotting her around and getting her to relax, I didn't get in any cantering. I think that I will just have to do canter work on the lunge line indoors during the winter months. It's just too risky and unsafe doing it on her back in such a small and slippery arena.

Deals and Steals

The shirt I just sold!


Over the past year or so, I've really gotten in to selling and buying on EBay. I'm not trying to make a living out of it or anything, I just think it's a great way to (sometimes) get a great deal on otherwise expensive items such as horse tack, show clothing, blankets, coolers, brushes, etc. I also have had success selling my unused horse items *and other stuff. I've sold and have broken even or made profit on several things, western headstall, breast collar, show bits, and have just sold a Hobby Horse show shirt that I purchased at a tack sale last spring, and only wore once (purple is NOT my color). Recently I purchased an English breast plate for the show ring only to find the leather torn in a few places. I only paid $15.00 or so for it, so it's not a huge loss, but disappointing nonetheless and I can't seem to resell it for the same amt....I guess I'm too honest about it's condition. Some of my favorite things to check out on Ebay are Vogt bits (some are way over priced, but some of the used ones - so much cheaper than if bought brand new); Rommel reins w/ silver, Show Saddles - Dale Chavez and Circle Y - tons of deals; Breast collars, show clothing for a fraction of the price. Last year I bought a Baker blanket used for $6.00. It had a few homemade repairs, but otherwise looks great and the quality is there. Gosh, once you start looking through all of this stuff, it's very difficult to go back to tack stores where these items cost lotsa' moolah.

I also really like Craigslist, but find it's more difficult to find specific items. I only ever inquire on things that have pictures, and I tend to only want to sell stuff on that site. I think Craigslist is best for larger things, I sold Barn Owner's horse trailer on CL as well as a few other things that weren't shippable.

As usual, this is probably quite a boring post, but I just had to put it out there, especially to penny pinching horse owners about the fabulosity of these websites. Amazon is great too!!

Sid in Color

Here's a picture of Sid, just so we can put a face to the name. He is a cutie pa-flippin-tootie, but again, kinda' little at 14.3 and dainty-ish. These days little isn't exactly what people are looking for. His gaits are great, his jog very very slow and he has an amazing headset and lope. Literally, this horse hasn't been ridden in over a year, was just gelded about a month ago and is still full of hormones. He tipped his little head right over and mostly did exactly what I asked. GOOD BOY!!! ;) Maybe I'll do a little showing with him next summer, if I'm lucky and things go well. His story is a long one, his former owner is MIA and Barn Owner is trying to obtain ownership of this seemingly abandoned horse.

Trail Rides and GeLdInGs

I turned 30 in July of this year. It was a milestone birthday of sorts. It was a sad farewell to my 20's, a depressing reminder that I do not have children nor feel ready for them yet, that I do not own my own horse/house yet and that at 30, I can no longer tell people that I am "twenty something" years old. I haven't been telling people my true age since I was 18 - LOL.

The past year had been a somewhat difficult one. My dad had been very sick, hospitalized and even near death at some points over the year. He suffers from Diverticulitis, and had (by the time of my birthday) been in the emergency room countless times, gone through 2 emergency surgeries and without going into too many details, suffered a great deal, as many do with an underlying and painful illness. Over my birthday, he was recovering from his 2nd surgery, so he had gone out prior to his surgery, and gotten me a $100.00 gift certificate to go riding at the local Recreational Riding Stables. In some senses I thought it was an interesting choice on his part. I can ride anytime I want for free, but I was very touched by his thoughtfulness, and planned on going this Fall for a nice, relaxing trail ride.

I originally thought it would be fun to take my dad along for the ride, but he declined, so I took my mom instead. She is a great rider, and my best friend, so it was a great 2nd choice. Mom and I both kind of thought the ride would be slow, steady and kind of boring. It was a guided trail ride, and most of us know how those can be. I rode an adorable chestnut 4-year old QH gelding named Rain, and my mom rode a nondescript bay mare of unknown breeding named Layah.
The ride started off as I figured it would. Though we mentioned we knew how to ride, I'm sure the guide assumed that we were like many others who say the same thing, only to prove themselves wrong as they hold the reins in the wrong hand, grab onto the horn/pommel of the saddle, point their toes downwards in the stirrups and yammer on and on about how they once rode a black stallion at their grandma's stable in Ohio....uh huh, sure you did.

Anyway, as we approached any inclines, the guide would turn and tell us "as we go up the hill, lean forward - heels down, toes up!" any declines were " sit back, heels down, toes up!" As redundant as that was to me, I had to appreciate her guidance. I've never been on a rent-a-ride where the guide has ever explained to the riders how to properly sit/ride their horse. It was refreshing to see/hear actually. Anyway, eventually I let it slip casually that I actually really do ride, show and in some cases train horses on a regular basis. She listened patiently and within 5 minutes, she turned and said "since you two can ride, I'm going to take you on the trails I never get to go on." Pretty soon, we were galloping up steep inclines, trotting through narrow trail passes and having an unexpected adventurous and very exciting ride, not only that but we stayed out for 2-hours. There was also an Endurance Competition going on, so we got to see many Arabians and some Morgans trotting by with their smiling and friendly riders too. I really got a feel for how challenging yet fun Endurance could be. Maybe someday I'll do that too.

At the barn on Sunday, I rode a horse I've yet to ride. This particular horse has been at the farm for about 2 years now, but he was left in tact due to his owners opinion that he was worth more that way. Never mind that the horse is 14.2 and has nothing incredibly striking in his appearance. To make a long story short, the horse was relinquished to Barn Owner due to non-payment of board. He is now NOT in tact, and though he is still quite vocal and somewhat of an idiot while bellowing and blowing, he is also very sweet and gentle (when not in sight of mares that is). The horse hadn't been ridden in a good year and a half, his former owner never once came out to the barn, the horse's behavior was okay as a Stallion but he was and still is vocal and somewhat of an idiot when able to see Mares. Anyway, I had been lunging him since his surgery several weeks ago, and he really acts like just a sweet little teddy bear, except for the mare thing. He still has a ways to go before all that testoterone exits I think. Anyway, the horse (whose name is Sid) has an amazing head set. He just kind of hinges right over at the poll and knows his ques splendidly. He jogs and lopes like he's been doing it non-stop his entire life. I think that in a few weeks time, he'll be on the market and will make a jr. exhib or small amateur rider an excellent little show GELDING. He had a few little incidents, but nothing major. When I first got up on him, horses were still out in the pastures and were visible to Sid. He was mostly good, but on occasion would forget and bellow out to the pastured horses. It's like he looses all other train of thought and nothing NOTHING you do can stop him once he starts bellowing. Well, while on his back, I snapped the reins to get his attention back, and he popped up into a low rear (yikes). After that he bellowed a few more times, but once the horses were brought in, he simmered right down and acted like a 20 year old gelding....interesting. To stop the rearing, by the way, I bopped him in the poll, right between the ears. I am not super aggressive though, so it didn't seem to faze him much. Rearing scares the crap out of me, I alway envision the horses falling back onto me, so it's so important to stop that little habit before it becomes dangerous.

I have little to no experience with older Stallions being gelded. I didn't realize that they could still behave like little stud muffins for so long. I just have to remember to be on my guard with him and to treat him like a Stallion for a good while longer I guess.

I will have pictures of him soon, he's a cutie patootie!

Bronco Bob

I finally rode Bobby yesterday. I think the last time he was ridden was shortly after the Morgan Showtime show in June, so the boy was a bit rough around the edges to say the least. I plan on riding him throughout the winter just to keep his mind in the right direction and his body somewhat in shape.

Anyway, our ride yesterday was light. I put a close contact hunt saddle on him and we just kind of trotted around the ring. We did some slow trotting and sped up to a nice tempo just to kind of work on pacing and also to get us working a bit harder. I used to always always always lunge Bobby before riding. As I've mentioned, he's a bit of a buckaroo bonsai when he's got energy, so I lunged as an extra precaution. Lately, though I've been lazy and have just been hopping right on. Yesterday, he had a bit of a pep in his step and even gave a crabby little head tossed when asked to move out at the trot. I knew he was going to try and pull something at the canter, so when I asked for it, I prepared myself to correct whatever he tried pulling. The first canter felt a bit funny, like he was bouncing or pushing off a bit more off his hind end. I asked Barn Owner what he was doing and she said "he's doing a half assed buck. He'd like to really give you a ride, so stop him, get his attention and start over." I couldn't help but be amused by his naughty behavior, but I stopped him, and re-started as I was told. This time, he lowered his head and began to try out a real life Bronc move, but instead he tripped some over a bit of piled up arena dirt. Not expecting this, I came forward and the brim of my helmet knocked him in the high neck area as he corrected himself from the trip. HA! No more bucking from the bronco after that.

Barn Owner talked to me about possibly sending Bobby to a local Quarter Horse trainer. She mentioned that other Morgan trainers in the area have sent their naughty horses to this man, and he has -a-hem - straightened them out, if you know what I mean. I honestly think Bobby needs a good old fashioned bop in the head when he tries pulling the bucking nonsense, so hopefully this will work. I couldn't help wondering though - why are Morgan "trainers" sending their horses to a Quarter Horse trainer? Hmmm....kind of funny.

Random jibber jabber

Over the summer and after our first disastrous show together, I kind of put riding Bobby off to focus more on Gypsy. Bobby is more suited for the shows really, for one, he's a gelding - two, some would say he's cuter. Me though, I still love me some Gypsy.

Anyway, after the Fun Show, I started getting an itch to pull out the ole' Bobby Sox again and start riding, but just for fun. One of the reasons I decided to stop riding Bobby this summer had to do with the barn owners' frantic critiquing. What would start off as a somewhat pleasant ride, would shift to the barn owners' appearance at the side arena and ultimately end with Bobby sweaty and frustrated, me frustrated and somewhat pissed off, and the barn owner, ranting and raving about why Bobby needs to be PERFECT and not set a hoof wrong under saddle EVER. You see, she wants Bobby to be a walk/trot horse - one of those horses that anyone could get on and he'd take care of them. The problem is that Bobby (as flippin' sweet as he is) isn't a super honest horse. He will take advantage and pull minor stunts, and he does buck on occasion when he's frustrated or too energetic. Bobby is a horse for an older jr. exhib. or a somewhat experienced amateur rider. Barn Owner doesn't want to hear that as it makes him less marketable, but we have to face these realistic facts. I'm sure there is some trainer out there who can break him of his habits, but it's probably not me. Anyway, the last two weekends I planned on pulling Bobby out, clipping him up and just putting a hunt saddle on him for some carefree riding. I really love Bobby and most of the time he's a very willing, very tolerant and sweet guy. He's a joy, and if I could afford it, I'd buy him in a hot minute and just show him at smaller shows in the area from time to time (sigh).

Okay, enough about Bobby. So, Barn Owner has been training/assisting a local family with their new horses. This family doesn't have much, if any experience with horses, but they went out and bought 4 of them for trail riding and general around the farm riding. The 1st day of riding ended with the father being thrown from his panicking and bolting 6 year old Appaloosa gelding. So, Barn Owner was called in to work with the horses and give some lessons (SMART). Anyway, Barn Owner is unable to ride due to arthritis, so she called upon me to hop up on these stock horses to kind of put them through their paces. It's so interesting to see what horses will do when they have been with humans who don't know much about what they're doing. For instance, Apache, their very sweet but smart Appy, figured out real fast that his riders were beginners. He acquired a balking problem. So I have ridden him twice (much to his protest) and have gotten him so that he moves out, passes other horses without issue and even canters. The horse is great for beginners though...I've pushed him pretty hard, and all he's done was give a bit of a toss of the head. I feel he is great for beginners.

Domino, on the other hand is the gelding who bolted and injured the father. He is a good boy, but is incredibly nervous. He needs an experienced rider who knows how to handle a spooky, flighty horse for sure. It makes me very nervous that his owner is so adamant about using this horse on the trails with his family...yikes!

It had been a while since I'd ridden a stock horse. One thing I notice is how incredibly bouncy they are compared with Morgans. I know this isn't a general rule, and there are smooth stock horses out there, but theses guys - whew! On a positive note, it was pretty cool getting on these guys. Apache for instance is very athletic, he's 16.2 and can bend and turn, stop and pivot like no Morgan I've been on. Pretty cool, but I'm still a Morgan girl through and through.