We just went on vacation a couple weeks ago...it was fun! And then today, I had to have a nerve conduction done. That is when they test your nerves by giving you little shocks. I have been having numbing all over by body, and we don't know what is causing it! Any way nothing really turned up, so that is good.
I am going to copy something out of HorseIllustrated.
A Good Seat
Riding by the seat of your pants isn't just a metaphor when it comes to effective equitation and proper horsemanship. Your seatbones should always be in contact with the saddle when you're riding. As soon as you lose that connection you're no longer in balance with your hose. To find you seatbones, drop your stirrups and pull knees up to the swells of the saddle. Do this any time you feel disconnected and need to re-extablish seat contact. Concentrate on maintaining contact wth the saddle throughout your ride, especially during upward and downward transitions. Remeber that this isn't just about looking good in the saddle; it has a huge impact on how our horse travels. By riding with a stable seat, you will help you rhorse work from his hindquarters and carry himself in a balanced frame.
--Dale Rudin
So the point is--to think about keeping good contact from your seat, down into the saddle!
An old work horse ambled across a field over grown with cheat grass and thistles. He had been munching on some of the soft shoots of grass he could find underneath the weeds when he heard his girls voice. He had grown to love that voice more then any other, it provided food, and water, love and attention.
When he reached the fence she was waiting there. Her light cotton dress that would normally reach to right below her knees was blowing easily in the wind. Her bare legs were bright against the sun and lead down to two bare feet, toes wiggling in the dirt.
"Oh Ransom, today has been the worst of days." She reached up and fed him the carrot slice she held in her hand, then leaned her head on his shoulder. When she started to cry he didn't move, but stood solid and firm for his little girl.
Several minutes passed before she lifted her head, whipped her eyes free of the moisture, and patted him. "Good boy, I feel better already."
Smoothing out some of the many wrinkles on her dress she turned and headed back for the small log cabin not far from the field.
Ransom watched her until she opened the door and entered the cabin before turning and heading back to the grass patch he had been snacking on. He sighed as he settled back to his grazing. Another days work done.
Spring, the time that is my favorite season. But this spring I had to do something that I have never done before and it would change my life forever. My name is Charger and this is the story of my trip to the california mines, during the time of the California Gold Rush.
The Gold Rush was all I heard of for the one hundrenth time. Today was the last day to pack and all that was left in the house were the pots and pans for cooking, the mats on the floor for everyones make shift bed, and a little food that my family would use for breakfast. The night before everyone had slept in there traviling clothes and I was left in the stable to be quickley harnesed up for the long journey ahead the next day. Well now was the day that I would leavce behind all that I knew and if it was hard on the family it was harder on me, this was because all the horses were counting on me to give them the news about what has been happening in the town. I learn a lot because Jim, my master, is one of the leading farmer and he gets to go places and learn new things all the time ; so naturely he rides me and I get news from some horses that have been on the trail all the way from california or oregon.
We set out at four in the morning and all the family was there to wish us well and to say their goodbyes, when suddenly uncle todd and his family said that they were going along with us. Of course miss julie My masters wife was asking if they were ready and if they really meant it. They said that they did mean it and have been planning on surprising us for a long time. I was so excited because mary my sister who had been sold to uncle todd when she was a colt would be coming along for the trip to california.
As we set out on the trail the days were long and hot and our masters had to get two more horses to help us. They knew this at the beginning but all the good horses had been taken months ago at the livery stable in St. Louis. I didn't like the new horse that I had to work with she was grouchy and made me do most of the work. She also ate almost all our food at night and always snorted at me when I tried to ask for a little more help on pulling the wagon. Most of the time I would see little mary or peter walking along side their mother picking up stick and wood for the evening fire if they were not playing nearby in the tall grass. I was content apart from having to pull the heavy load almost all by myself, then the sickness came. Cholera swepted into camp and many people died within days of the sickness. Even some of the animals died including my partner, this I thought was far worse than pulling most of the load now I would have to pul all the load until we got another good horse.
My little sister died along with her horse that she was pulling with. Uncle todd went to get another persons horses. All the family had died and the woman had said that when she dies that anyone can take the children ( There are inly good family people in our wagon train ) and to take whatever we needed. Sad to say but the children died an hour after the mom. No one knew that they were sick and it struck quite suddenly. We buried them and set out again. Now Uncle todd is giving one of the horses to us every other day so that I won't get so tired and he is very good company and pulls his own load, unlike the other one I had to work with, and we are one day away from california.
We have come to the boarder line of Nevada and California the line is where a steep cliff is and we will have to use the chains to get down. My only hope is that I will not get crushed by the wagon on the way down. This time I get to work with the other horse that uncle todd owns and he is also nice. He is the strongest so he will be able to handle both the loads, I passed safe and sound with him and all is well in another day or two we will be in Sacramento. We rested that night and all was well we will arrive in Sacramento tomorrow and most of my work will be done. I can only thank the Lord that all of us are safe and sound here and soon will be starting a new life. And so my story ends the life of me, the journey into the unknown.
15 year old Karen Wagner sat silently by the fire gazing moodily over the expanse of the prairie. She was sick of the endless journey to the new home out in the west. She looked at her hands and sighed. They were hopelessly covered with soot from the fire. Being too tired and cold to move from the blaze, she just had to hope that she wouldn’t become too dirty. She missed the cleanliness that had presided in her old home.
Turning to her father she said, “Papa, will we ever get to our new home?”
“Be patient, me gel,” he said slowly. “We should be getting there soon.”
“Papa, why did we have to leave home?”
He knelt beside her and looked directly into her eyes. “Listen Karen, I need you to try to understand. When your Mama died I just couldn’t stay there. It was too hard.”
Karen could see that he was trying to help her but she was feeling angry and rebellious. “I still don’t see why you had to drag me and the baby out to this place. And why do you have to start a horse ranch? I hate horses! All I do all day long is cook and look at those horrid animals.”
Pain entered her father’s eyes and he said, “Karen, go to bed, please. You need your strength for tomorrow.”
Karen rose from her seat and left without saying goodnight.
The next morning Karen awoke to the sound of her baby sister screaming. She rose wearily and proceeded to begin the duties of the day. After feeding the baby she put her back to sleep and went out to cook breakfast.
Suddenly she heard her father call her. “Karen, could you come here for a moment. I want to show you something.”
His voice was accompanied by a soft whinny that made Karen roll her eyes. “He probably wants to show me some new horse or something. I don’t understand why he likes those things.”
She walked toward the herd and halted abruptly when she saw her father. He was holding a halter rope and it was attached to the most beautiful mare that Karen had ever seen. Karen caught her breath as she took in the sight, admiring the golden coat and the long cream mane.
Karen drew closer and reached out to touch the horse. But, frightened by the sudden movement, it drew away quickly.
“I just bought her this morning,” her father said quietly. “The man I bought her from was abusing her. She is very skittish.”
Karen nodded and slowly moved her hand up towards the horse’s head, while calmly talking to her, like she had seen her father do. The horse allowed Karen to touch her neck and Karen slowly moved up towards her head, still sweet-talking her.
The horse relaxed and leaned her head down close to Karen’s face. Karen laughed happily and ran her hands across the velvety nose.
“Her name is Sunshine,” Karen said decidedly.
“She is yours,” Karen’s father said.
Karen turned to him. “Oh, papa,” she said. She ran and threw herself into his arms. “Papa, I have been so horrid lately. Please forgive me.”
“Yes, sweetheart. I forgive you. I think that you had better go ba-.” Suddenly he stopped and his eyes grew wide.
“Karen,” he exclaimed. “There it is! The stream that marks the beginning of our property. We are home, Karen!”
Karen smiled at him as he knelt down beside the water. He turned back to look at her, “You know, Karen, you chose the right name for that horse. Sunshine is what I got in my heart.”
“Mine too,” Karen replied, smiling through her tears of joy.
OK...the other day I tried taking this picture of me; with a cowboy hat, and the rope we have. So this is what I got. Then I edited it to make it look old, and put different pictures of horses behind the picture. Enjoy!
This one has no picture behind it.
-Now they start having pictures.- My Dad said that it looks like I am holding the horse on this one!
This is for my book...Hannah is the girl in the story!
Thanks to all three that entered! Since it was hard to pick one...and there were only three entries, I just made them all winners! If you guys have any problems with the ebook, just let me know. I hope you all had a great 4th!
P.S. I hope to post the stories soon.
Here is a picture I took last night(the fourth)...then edited it to lighten it so you can see the flag better.
I am going to have a story contest! Here is the information!
1. The theme is "Horses in the Pioneering Days."
2. The story should be short, like a couple paragraphs or so.
3. The deadline for entries is the end of June!
4. The winner will get this button to put on there blog. AND a free ebook copy of my book "Skylark." I will email the pdf version.
5. You can enter your story by posting a comment, or by sending me a message. MAKE SURE, you leave your email address along with it, so if you win, I will be able to send you your prize!
6. This is open for anyone, as long as you have an account with HSB! I can't know how to contact you if you don't!
7. Last but not least...have fun!!!!!!!
I Can't Wait To See What You Come Up With!
-Sarah-
Here is an short story from an old Sunday school lesson that I saved and put in my horse notebook. Here it is! -Sarah-
The Foal
Once a young lady bought a foal. She raised it and trained it herself. As the foal grew, she trained him to be a trail horse. They went riding into the woods for hours, jumping over fallen trees, splashing through rivers, joyfully taking on whatever the challenges the woods presented. For many happy years they spent their free time riding trails.
The years passed. When the horse grew to be about 18 years old, he began to stumble on trails. While it didn't seem to be anything serious. it worried his owner. She took him to the vet and described his symptoms. She said, "He's fine at home. It's just that when we're out on the trails he stumbles sometimes over little things that shouldn't trip him."
After careful examination the vet gave her the new. "Your horse," he said "has an eye condition. He's probably been almost totally blind for the last two years."
"That can't be," she argued. "We ride new trails all the time. How could he run over ground and through rivers he can't even see?"
The vet's reply stunned her heart. "That," he said, "is how much he trusts you."
I think that led into trusting God. Isn't that how much we should trust God...even trough the valleys, rivers and mountains?! Hope you enjoyed!
I thought it would be cool to have this picture taken. Riding my bike is like, and is the closest thing to riding a horse! Here is the photo my brother took of me hugging the best two wheeled horse!
-Sarah-
This is my first try at trying to draw a full horse. I got a horse book for Christmas, and in the back there is step by step instructions using the circle deal, where you draw some circles to start with to get the placing. I could not draw the circles very well! That was one of the hardest parts! Funny! So it turned out pretty good, although the body is too long. But, here it is! Enjoy!
I have finished my book! I posted the first chapter on here awhile back, and now it is finished! I am selling it on lulu as a softcover and an ebook. I have started a blog that has the first chapter and the back cover text as a sample. If you want to check it out here is the link. Enjoy! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Skylark/
Today we went to the zoo. It was free for earth day. In the American Farm barn, there were two horses. One of them was an American Cream Draft. The cream color is really pretty, and the white markings on the face is also really!!! pretty! There is less than 400 ACDHs registered. I hope you enjoy learning about this beautiful horse! Here is a picture that I took at the zoo.
About the Breed
The only draft breed to originate in the United States, the American Cream Draft Horse became a recognized breed in 2950. Nearly all of today's Creams trace back to a cream-colored draft mare named "Old Granny," who was born between 1900 and 1905. Harry Lakin, a well-known breeder, purchased the mare at an auction in Iowa in 1911. She produced a number of cream-colored foals for him, and became the first registered American Cream. Considered a medium to heavy draft horse, the American Cream Draft Horse carries the bloodlines of several breeds, including Belgian, Shire, and Percheron.
Breed Characteristics
Rich cream-colored coat with white mane and tail, pink skin, and amber or clear red-brown eyes. Foals are born with nearly white eyes, with turn darder when they are yearlings. Breed is very uniforn in body type.
What can I use it for?
Farm work,showingin harness, pleasure driving and carriage businesses.
This is out of a book that I just checked out at the library today. Here is some good....just basic stuff that a lot of books don't cover. All of this is for English style riding. See the bottom of the post for some differences between Western and English.
-Sarah-
Horses move at different paces called gaits. Walking, trotting, cantering, and galloping are common gaits. Switching form one gait to another is called a transition. A rider uses aids to signal the horse to make a transition.
Trotting Away
A trot is a slow, bouncy gait. Tog go from a walk to a trot, squeeze the horse's sides with your legs. You may have to tap the horse gently with your heels to encourage it to move. Riders post, or rise themselves up and down, as their horse trots. The rider gos up on the first beat of the trot and down on the second.
Trot to Canter
The canter is a fast, bounding pace. The horse starts a canter with its back leg. You must signal to the horse to let it know with which back leg to strike off, or take the first step into the canter. Keep your inside leg at the girth of the saddle and squeeze your opposite leg behind the girth. Gently put pressure on the inside rein and then release it as soon as the horse begins to canter.
The Gallop
The gallop is a horse's fastest gait. The horse stretches out all its legs in a running stride. To make the transition from a canter to a gallop, squeeze the horse's sides with the lower part of your legs. During a gallop, sit in the forward seat position. To sit in the forward seat position, bring your seat out of the saddle, bend forward slightly at the waist, and keep your balance over the center of the horse. Let your hands allow the motion of the horse's neck to move freely.
The most obvious difference between "English" and western is that the reins are held in one hand only, at least with mature horses. Horse show rules offer classes for junior horses in which they may be ridden with two hands, but the finished western horse is ridden with just one hand on the reins. Show rules also request the reins to be held in such a way that not more than one finger is between the reins. Good western horses are also ridden with slack in the reins - you just can't impress a judge riding a tight rein. This calls for a training program designed to work more on your horse's mind than on his mouth.
A common mistake would-be western riders make is pitching the horse the slack. This can work if you just amble through the countryside, not wanting to bother your horse much, and that's most likely how the slack-rein style developed. However, to execute precisely sophisticated maneuvers, it just doesn't work. You'll have to ride your horse according to the age-old principles of dressage, which means you need to ride him from the rear forward, push him into the bridle, and have him give to your hand. That way, the horse is providing himself the slack by tucking in his chin. Only you need him so light on your hands that he'll do that long before your reins actually make contact. The weight of the rein is felt by a horse in his mouth long before it forms a straight line between your hand and the horse's mouth - if he's been trained to be that sensitive! And if your horse works on a really slack rein, he is even working on a "mental rein". He is tuned to where he respects a rein that exists mainly in his memory.
Leg cues are largely the same as in "English", but a good rider/horse team needs less of it. Normally, the western rider doesn't use the legs just to maintain a gait. Weight cues are applied differently by most top western trainers, though. The western dressage horse (reining horse) is taught to move away from pressure, including weight. This means that the rider's weight is rather on the outside of the horse in a turn-around or a circle, pushing the horse in. If it's a well-tuned team, the rider would be sitting pretty much in the middle, but the principle of steering is one of pushing/driving the horse into the direction it is supposed to go, in contrast to putting your weight there and expect the horse to follow (move underneath it).
One could express it by saying the rider is behind the horse, not leading the horse. There are exceptions, as there is no universally accepted western riding doctrine; in the final analysis, everything goes that works. No judge will mark you down because he disagreed with your cues - he'll mark you down if your cues were too obvious for his taste, or, more important, if the execution of the required maneuvers were substandard.
We watched the this preview on their website, and we wanted it!!! We ordered it and have watched over and over. It is a really good movie...there are some really funny parts!!! Great story! We will watch it many times more.....Oh, and there is a horse of course on it. :)
Hey I just made a new dance blog on blogger! I really like it and will be deleting my dance blog on here(homeschoolblogger)...it will be easier to do stuff on blogger. And this way my horse blog will come up when my blog is clicked on, and not my dance blog.
Here is the link to my new dance blog!
Hey I was going to tell you all...I heard of this movie on Godtube. It is the ballet swan lake, and is totally amazing! Just watch it and you will see!!!!! It is on my dance blog...here is the link.
We made it back from our trip! We got in and out of airports just in time!
I am working on finishing my horse book SKYLARK. I have posted the first chapter on here...It is about a girl who loves horses but can't ride them often. The book starts when she is twelve, and goes through her life, how she is able to ride horses, the horse Skylark, and how her dream comes true.
Hey everyone! We are leaving on Christmas vacation today! We will be having to deal with winter weather, so you can pray for us! Have a merry Christmas!
Eventing: Throughout the three-day evening competition, American riders struggled. During the cross-country phase, Amy Tryon and her mount Poggio II took a spill on course, eliminating them from the rest of the competition. Several days later, Tryon was admitted to Hong Kong hospital for knee injury she sustained during the fall; she returned home to complete her recovery and is rider again. Poggio II was unharmed.
Olympic three-day veteran Karren O'Conner (USA) put in an uncharacteristically poor performance n Mandiba thought the competition, perhaps due to the untimely death of her Olympic-hopeful equine partner, Theodore O'Conner.
Gina Miles thought stayed focused. She helped land team USA in seventh place during the team competition and grabbed a silver for herself in individual competition.
Dressage: Hopes were high that American favorites Debbie McDonald and Brentina would medal in these Games, but the duo fell short and was eliminated from individual competition after scoring a 63 percent in the team round. Afterward, McDonald said of Brentina, "She's been schooling so well. I was totally caught by surprise when she started spooking in the ring." After the ride, Brentina was given a vet exam that showed she was in good health.
American Courtney King-Dye aboard Harmony's Mythilus put in a highly respectable performance during the team competition. The young and upstart outrode her veteran teammates with a score of 70.458 percent. Her performance helped the American team land fourth after the team round was finished.
Unfortunately, the Americans were stripped of their forth-place finish and King-Dye was disqualified from the Games after is was determined that Mrythilus tested positive for a banned substance.
Show Jumping: American rider were favored going into the Olympic show jumping competition. Beezie Madden and the Dutch Warmblood Authentic, as well as McLain Ward and Sapphire, a 13 year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, were all part of the 2004 Olympic gold medal-winning team. This time around, they stuck gold again with fellow teammates Will Simpson riding Carlsson Vom Dach, a 12 year-old Holsteiner gelding, and Laura Kraut riding Cedric, a 19 year-old Dutch-bred gelding.
During the individual competition, the Americans scored again, but it was a bitter race to the end. Under the unsettle skies of an impending typhoon, the individual medals required two jump-offs. Beezie Madden aboard Athentic outran six other combination to win her first individual medal, a bronze. Canada's Eric Lamaze aboard his mount, Hickstead, who had come back from colic surgery, claimed gold, while Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtosson riding Ninja captured silver.
Hi my name is Sarah. I am 16 years old and love horses. I don't have any horses but like to study and ride them! All of the entries on my blog are things I have read in books or magazines. I hope you enjoy all the information!
I have also published a book during the 2009 school year, "Skylark." Here is the blog to see more about it!
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Skylark/
This one has no picture behind it.
My Dad said that it looks like I am holding the horse on this one!
This is for my book...Hannah is the girl in the story!
This is my little brother Jonathan!
And little sister Rachel!
