A quick tour of the arena on Belle; she approves!
A good roll in the mud, some Nickle rabble-rousing, and Rose gets the last word with Belle!
More video from Belle's ride today! This is Belle leaving Molly and Krishna in her dust.......it's such a BIG WALK, poor Krishna had to trot to keep up!
Another ride at the BLM for Belle! She prefers to lead, and has a HUGE walk, and covers a lot of ground! But, she never offered to trot, and I didn't ask her to, so why would she? Even going up and down the hills, she just walked on a loose rein. I did ask her to go behind another horse this time, she doesn't mind that, but Krishna walks really slowly and it's not natural to Belle to walk that slow! But, she did it. She does get excited when out (SHE LOVES IT) but her "excited" is just a please-can-we-stay-out-longer, not jiggy, not rushed, ZERO SPOOK. She could have gone for hours!!! She looked for the cows, we didn't see them, and that was disappointing to her. She knew where they were, I think, but I didn't have time to go the way she wanted to go to find them. All in all, she was great. She's like a little machine!!! She could do trails for a living!
My little pen has been a good place to ride, but it's time for an upgrade! This next week we'll be busy building fence for a new, bigger, riding space with better footing. In the meantime, Belle is working on her long-and-low in the fence-less, new arena. And yes, I see the squirrel hole. We went around a few times and the little bugger popped out twice. I think Belle expects it now 😁
A few people have asked what Belle is like if she sits for a while. Well, I'm paid to ride them, so they don't usually sit here! But Belle is now a boarder, not in training, although still available, and she sat this week from Sunday to today...and this is how she rode. I'm pretty impressed by this little mare. I want her to find a great person who will appreciate how loyal, honest and hardworking she is!
CONGRATULATIONS to Lisa! Easy to remember when the previous owner is named Lisa and the new owner is a Lisa as well! Belle is a fabulous addition to Lisa's herd! This is a great fit for Belle; she'll have a herd, hundreds of acres of pasture and regular trail rides...all things she loves. She'll stay here a bit longer for some additional training and for new Lisa to get to know her, take lessons. I could not be happier! Everyone please congratulate her!
Rose helps me with so many other horses, she is just so solid, so kind, so dependable! I have to say that she is by far, the kindest mare I have ever, ever seen. I really think she would do anything I asked her to! With Belle, she has helped build her confidence, shows her "how-things-are-done" and today walked Belle through a tight gate space with a running pickup truck inches away (Belle doesn't do vehicles well yet). But when Rose leads the way with her laid back, no-spook attitude, Belle just assumes everything is safe, and follows along. HERE'S TO HORSES LIKE ROSE!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER!
Belle's first ride at the BLM today! No spook, no nonsense! She moves out and really covers ground! She wants to be first, and did NOT want to come back; she would have gone on for hours if allowed. At one point she saw cattle at a distance and I "think" she thought they might be horses. She got excited and walked a little faster until the smell hit us both and she knew it was cows. She was disappointed. She walked the entire ride on a loose rein, even up and down the hills, never tried to trot or lope; because I didn't ask her to. SO PROUD OF HER! This horse has so much potential to do so many things!
I guess Nickle thinks he can do a better job giving Belle a bath? No horse bathes alone at Partners.....Nickle is always RIGHT THERE 😆
No longer a hoe-down, but definitely not a Spanish walk, how 'bout a big-white-pony-with-a-heart-walk? Could any horse try harder than Nickle? 🥰
I had a lot to cover with Belle today! After the warm-up in the pen, we headed back to the trail course. I'm always careful when introducing obstacles but Belle is willing to try anything, especially when Rose is with her. She didn't mind all the brush rubbing up against her, ground poles, logs, and the bridge was easy-peasey. After one pass with her buddy, she navigated the course multiple times. Once the riding was over we moved on to trailer loading. I was told she had some challenges but you'd never know it by her performance today! By the time we were finished she had a decent "send" cue. Belle is just one incredible mare; very smart and SUPER OBEDIENT with no anxiety or drama. LOVE THAT!
I have yet to find any holes in this mare.....and she sure 'nough knows how to stand and wait!
Krishna just stood in the lane and watched the clowns run by. Pasture antics.
IT'S HOT! Everybody is a little tired and cranky from the heat; humans and horses! So today Rose got to do something she likes; play on the trail course.
Everybody likes to see perfect, but I want to show you a horse at its WORST! This morning, after everyone had breakfast, I turned all the horses out on the grass EXCEPT BELLE. Belle instead was tacked up and worked. This is the video! Fresh Belle, all alone! At first, she is a bit concerned that all her friends are gone, but we just keep going, working. Then change direction, and she's over it. That fast. This really is her worst...not bad huh?
Janet's little trail mare, aka Rose, rode like a pleasure horse today! It's hard to believe that she arrived with no lope, no idea what leg was; other than to go as fast as she could in a trot, zero neck reining and no trail experience! There is no short-cut. NO QUICK FIX. The journey happens step-by-step and if you skip a lesson, you'll get stuck, and have to go back. Rose was always this sweet mare on the inside, but the riding anxiety and previous neglect of her feet and health were in the way of her shining like the star that she is. Horses are a gift; we need to treat them that way! That doesn't mean that they shouldn't work, it just means we need to appreciate what they do for us and provide the care that they need and deserve! Rose deserves to be treated well, they all deserve to be treated well!
I honestly believe that if we could get people with hate in their hearts to be horseback, with others that they view as "enemies", they could find a lot of common ground. Horses have a way of bridging any divide. Janet and I solving the world's problems today with the help of Nickle and Rose.
Although I only ride Belle in a western saddle for schooling, she would make a lovely hunt seat pony! I have yet to try any fences 🥰
Rose is such a pleasant ride. Quiet, calm, always works hard. As soon as the mini-horse show season slows down (Rose's owner is in the great-trailer-race with miniature horses) and the heat goes away, her owner and I will get back to the trails, which is what she loves to do!
