Hay in Her Pockets

For the last year, I’ve been watching Lindy trot around at liberty and wondering what I have done by bringing home this horse who moves like a sewing machine needle when she gets excited– her legs going up and down faster and faster and faster. Meanwhile, there would be Sadie, doing a lovely, floaty, balanced [...]

This past weekend, Lindy made her road-trip debut. Which is to say, I put her in the horse trailer for the first time since I brought her home a little over a year ago.  But what made Sunday special was that after she got in the trailer, we headed over to my friend Mariah’s house [...]

I’ve been a bit worried about cantering Lindy.  Sometimes she is just so uncoordinated and unbalanced at the trot that cantering seems like it might be potential suicide.  But she’s been understanding lateral flexion.  She’s been spiraling in and out on a circle.  She has a very rudimentary idea of half halting.  All these things [...]

Lindy is working on some kind of big-girl stuff this week.  Because apparently going to a show with Sadie is making me focus on Lindy a little more too.  This is partly because I’ve had a little more time to devote to the horses between waiting for the editor to send the novel back and [...]

Yesterday Lindy walked and trotted over poles for the first time under saddle.  I was a little worried that she might forget to pick up her feet and just trip over them, especially since last week she tripped and stumbled just trotting the slight down slope in our arena.  Added to the fact that my [...]

I have very mixed feelings about the sport of horse racing.  I love watching the horses race when it’s clear that their hearts are in it.  Every time I see horses galloping around a track my heart rate goes up.  If I’m actually at the race track and have placed my standard $2 bet, by [...]

We had our best ride yet.  By “Best” I mean: 1a.  We made it around the round pen in both directions several times. 1b.  The Kid didn’t even cry!  Maybe I should have told him sooner that Lindy might be his very own pony some day.  Or maybe I should have figured out sooner that [...]

…almost didn’t happen.  I was sorely tempted on Thursday to just hop on, but I was alone.  I know it’s never really a good idea to ride when no one else is around, but sometimes that’s the only way I get to ride.  Still, on a super-green horse like Lindy, it’s an even worse idea. [...]

Lindy’s first ride (<– link to the video) Here it is in all it’s glory!  The video of my first ride on Lindy… Today I had my support crew (although as you’ll hear in the video, The Kid wasn’t super happy about being there).  The weather was clear and calm.  The ranch was deserted.  Lindy [...]

…to ride Lindy.  She was calm while I groomed her.  She was mostly calm except for a few wild woman head tosses when I round penned her (and that was just because the side rein buckle and the stirrup were clinking together.  It was kind of legitimate).  She had moments of being soft and round [...]