Open Spaces ( Finally Out Of The Arena)

Jade and I finally made it out of the arena, Sunday was the big day. We did a little arena stuff first....just checking to make sure she wasn't into kicking up her heels and being goofy. She was excellent....need not have worried. So from the arena it was time to load up. I don't know what her problem was with that, Jade has always loaded well and never been a problem....something was off?????Needless to say that wasn't tolerated for long,loaded she was and that was that.I took Tucker and Kali with me( Sage just can't do it anymore) I was hoping Tucker would get Kali to follow along....which he did....yay Tucker...he has his moments.

Jade ready to go.

This is what we were looking at as I was finding a Rock for mounting.....yes I have to have help in that department...even with the little guys I have to cheat.....and Jade is not little.

Jade was finding the whole process interesting...which I was quite happy about. This is our first ride out of the arena and also by herself...so I was ready for anything.

Kali waiting for us to catch up.I took the opportunity while it presented itself to do a little one on one with Kali....even though Tucker was close by he just doesn't get it...which is OK because I don't care whether he does or not. Kali did really well she is getting the different signs I am using for Wait/ Down/ Come.She is a smart dog, I wish I was a dog trainer....or at least a little more informed than I am now....whatever, it is what it is.

Jade spent a lot of time checking things out which I don't mind ....as long as the body doesn't follow the head and we still have forward motion.She did OK with a few corrections, she was really relaxed and interested in what and where we were going.

I think Jade was finding the scenery as pretty as I was....or maybe she was just looking to see if any of her friends were around.

It was here that Jade was starting to get a little tense and it was here I wondered if she would trust me enough to do what I was asking.You can't see it but up ahead the trail started to go into the trees, they are very close together and it is really dark in there. This trail goes for about 10 mins in the dark before you pop back out into the open and the sun, it was here that I knew the real test was about to begin.....will she trust me? The answer to that question was a yes. She willingly walked into the dark horse eating forest...she was quite tense( poised for flight) but she kept moving forward about halfway through she started crying a bit and then decided nothing bad was going to happen to her.This ride is one big circle so the scenery you see when you start out is the same as when you come back. Shirley ( Ride A Good Horse) might recognize this place ( Stock Dog Trials)

And remember the place I said was for sale and it was only 1,3 something million. Nice view though.

  This last pic Jade was getting a little annoyed with me. (Look at the ears)I was trying to get a picture of how loose her reins were. After coming out of the dark she was totally relaxed ...had not a care in the world, we finished off the ride with me being happy with my dog and happy with Jade's performance.  

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Challenge " Focusing On The Foreground"

Well this weeks challenge proved to be a lot difficult for my feeble camera skills. As hard as I tried this is all I could come up with and I don't think this is what Linda was asking for.

These pics were taken yesterday when I was out with the KBCH.The pics may not be so good but the ride was really good.

I am going to say my foreground shot goes with the rest of the landscape because we were kind of part of the landscape....ya ya I know.....that's my story and I am sticking to it.

   Well that's it for me. I will check you all out later, gotta  go saddle up  a horse.                                                 

                                                            Have A Great Week 

Wordless Wednesday

                                                                                    

Creeping Closer

Brooding skies, and clouds abound god forbid there's snow on the ground. Well it may not be down here yet but there's sure snow in them there mountains, it's coming, it seems like everyday it creeps a bit closer. Now being as I'm not a winter person I am already finding the signs and thought of it depressing. How awful we only have maybe 6 or seven more months to go.

                                                                            

Food For Thought

Here's a first, no pictures. I would have had pics for this post

 ( cause a picture is worth a thousand words) but my camera just wouldn't take any under the lighting conditions. This is an add on post to my previous one about the little holiday.

While in Red Deer for the Canadian Cowhorse Supreme Show,correct me if I'm mistaken on the name ( Working Cowhorse/ Cutting/ Reining) I started to notice something you don't often see in other venues. Shirley and I were in the arena that was hosting the Reining horses, after watching for about an hour or so it became apparent to me that there was a huge gap in horse gender.....the majority of the horses showing were young Fillies or Mares with a smattering of Geldings and a few Stallions.  As a Mare owner I know the value of my girls, they are all heart and work oh so hard to make me happy.Now before any of you start throwing darts at me about how good your gelding is just let me say, the best horse I have ever ridden - owned is a gelding, there is nothing out there with more heart and try than this little horse and after 31 yrs in his company I feel pretty confident uttering that last statement. However to carry on with this train of thought, I have to say I took a fair bit of pleasure in the discovery of how many equine females seemed to dominate this particular venue. I am so tired of hearing comments such as: I would buy this horse if only it was a gelding/ or how about this one We don't allow mares on our Ranch/ To bad it's not a gelding. And some of the drivel about how mares always cause problems( Maybe it's that male mentality that causes problems)  It was a refreshing change to spend time around horse people that are not so uptight and old school  about their thinking when it comes to Equine partners.Anyhow I just wanted to say how nice it was to see so many  Mares being appreciated for what they bring to the table.....or in this case the Ring. As a side note : It was discussed why there were so many Fillies /Mares in all the disciplines shown at the Supreme and the statement that stuck with me most was. .....quite simply put....They work harder and have more oomph (Stallions as well) My own experience with Mares would have me agree. I don't know if this is why nor do I care, I just loved seeing so many good working/riding Mares.  Well that's my little food for thought.

   So before anyone gets offended ....this post is not intended to start a battle about which gender is better, it is just an observation and my own humble opinion.

Little Holiday

Leav'n on a road trip.......this was Thurs. morning while I was getting ready to go on a little bit of a holiday with Shirley.( Ride A Good Horse) A BC Sunrise. We were headed to Red Deer for the Canadian Supreme. ( Cutting/ Reining)

This is for sure not a great pic ( Entrance to the National Park) but if you look closely you can see the road runs up and through  a fairly small opening.... ( not sure what you call it)I think it's not much wider than the road.....I wouldn't want to be passing through there when a semi's coming the other way....talk about some kinda phobic!!!!!

The next pics are just random as we go along

Same as the one above but up close so you could see all the yellow going on.

This was some of the stuff I got while we were at the Trade Show........New riding boots which I have been in desperate need of...they were on sale. A new Headstall....you would think that would be an easy one....not so

Now don't anybody rip me a new one but I am a creature of very plain taste. I am not into shiny and gaudy or just plain ridicules THIS IS JUST MY OWN SENTIMENTS / TO EACH THEIR OWN A lot of the tack was pretty heavily decorated and so did not meet my needs....however after looking at every booth  that had tack I finally managed to find this one, it has the quick change for bits and a full buckle for adjusting the headstall size. I only found maybe a half dozen headstalls I liked and this was the only one that had the quick change, everything else was screws or ties....both of which are a royal pain in the !!!! This headstall is made from harness leather so it should last the rest of my lifetime and then some.

 

The best get though was from a fellow blogger named Sherry. Sherry gave both Shirley and I  her book titled Telling Tails....the only thing better than the book was getting to meet Sherry in person.  You know how when you talk to people on the phone etc (or in this case we type to each other)you get a certain idea of what that person is like....well I had my version of what I thought Sherry would be like and lo and behold the real deal is even better than I thought. I just finished reading her book last night ....it is AWESOME. The stories the poetry and the photos......AWESOME you all need to get one it is AWESOME. I'm not quite sure how you get one but you need to go on over to FERN Valley Appaloosas and find out. Aside from meeting Sherry we also reconnected with Crystal ( Ranch Riding) and Charlene both of them were out here last year for a blogger Ride/Camping week- end. It was really nice to see them again. Unlike the other ladies my camera would not take pics inside that arena so I don't have a group pic to show you.

This last photo was the tail end of an Alberta Sunset, closing out the first day of our little holiday.

It was an interesting two days. I saw some stuff I didn't like ( which I will keep to myself) I saw some beautiful amazing horses and some really talented riders. Overall I really enjoyed most of the show.

I had a good time, it was a much needed breather, I love my life and my routine .......but sometimes you just need a rest. We were only gone for 2 days but it felt like a week, I missed my dogs and horses and the cats( cause they keep me in stitches)  Dave wasn't home or I might have missed him too.