Posts Tagged ‘Trail Riding’
Trail Riding Triple Lindy
Hi Elizabeth,
I sure hope it was as beautiful in Canton as it was here! It took until about 11:00 for the dense fog to burn off and the sun to bring about a beautiful day. It hasn’t been this nice in forever it seems. I went and picked up some hay this morning and got back around lunch to prepare for my afternoon ride.
Lindy and I took our first of many long trail rides cross country. I’m guessing it may have been a first for her since she looked at everything. We rode up and down the hills, through the fields and on the trails through woods for about two hours. It was wonderful!!! She was very brave and very honest– no silly or thoughtless moves 
Lindy learned about stepping over logs and by the end of our ride she was a pro.
Our next outing will involve the little creek. Read the rest of this entry »
Five Weeks – Our First Trail Ride
The trail ride was the true test of whether I successfully ride my new OTTB.
Elizabeth,
This seemed like a fitting time to do an update story for you on Maverick. I really am both excited and sad to be moving Maverick next weekend. I honestly can not believe how lucky I have been to not only get Maverick, but to have been taught by you and to have met so many great horse people at your farm.
Update on Maverick:
5 Weeks and Our First Trail Ride
I have proudly owned Maverick now for 5 weeks and aside from marrying my husband and having my children, it has been without a doubt the best 5 weeks of my life. Maverick is the sweetest horse I could ever imagine and he is incredibly smart. Some people think of OTTBs as wild, crazy horses that might run away with you at any given moment. While I think that might be true of some OTTBs, I can tell you that it is not true of Maverick or any of the other horses I have had the pleasure to watch at Bits & Bytes.
This weekend Maverick and I will take the next step in our journey together. We will be moving him to his new home closer to me. I am excited to think that I will be able to see him every day, but I am also sad to see him leave his wonderful, temporary home at Bits & Bytes. In addition to it being a great facility, it has been a place of real learning and confidence building for me. I have learned from an expert (Elizabeth) how to do everything from selecting tack that works best for Maverick, to ground work, to riding in the ring, to our first trail ride together last weekend.
The trail ride for me was the true test. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in B&B Success Stories, Brat Maverick | 
Tags: First, Prospect Horse, Trail Ride, Trail Riding
Rap It Up Opens Gates & Jumps – One Month Update
I didn’t get to ride as much this weekend due to the rain, but Rap had a good day Saturday. I worked him in the ring schooling him over ground poles to improve his stride and then over low jumps up to 2′. He is doing great and gets better with each session. I also took him on a nice quiet trail ride after the ring work and he did great on that too! We rode out across the hayfield while the tractors were raking and baling hay, he never paid a minutes attention to the tractors.
Here are some pictures of Rap opening the gate to the ring. If ex-racehorses lived up to their stereotype, Rap would have had plenty of opportunities to have a “meltdown” since he has been at out farm. He has encountered tractors, ATVs at night complete with headlights, he has been around foxhound pups, our border collie who trail rides with us, and constantly runs under Rap’s feet and he continues to be okay with all of it! His experience at the track has only prepared him for life away from the track because he has seen and done so much. I think this is the reason that he is already so steady even though he is only 4 years old.
Just wanted to let you know that he is doing great and I am very pleased with his attitude and his progress.
Just Three Weeks Off-the-Track, Marvin is Fabulous!
Marvin is fabulous! He is so adorable that I never want to take a step back to snap a picture.
Just like Becky said-he is very quiet and sane. I can ride him up to a gate and he’ll stand quietly while I unlatch it, and doesn’t mind helping me close it after we’ve passed through it. Any day of the week, I can hop on him and walk/trot/canter anywhere I want to go without a care in the world. He’s best in an open field. He acts like a ring is too confining. Our goals right now are rhythm, relaxation and impulsion.
He had his fall vaccinations Friday, so I gave him the weekend off.
Will talk to you soon.
Best,
Kathryn
“It’s a Rap”
Rap It Up at the creek crossing. This is about a 4' slope down the bank to the water.
Hey Elizabeth,
Just thought I’d send you a quick update on Rap. He had a great weekend. I was able to ride him all 3 days, between rain storms. My wife and I set out an a trail ride Friday evening, a little later than we had intended, we took our usual route out across the hay fields and down to our trails in the woods. We rode across creek crossings and up and down several hills and Ol’ Rap did great. It got dark pretty quick so we decided to head back to the barn. As we were making our way back we met one of the guys who deer hunts the area who was riding his ATV with headlights on and Rap acted as if he saw stuff like that everyday. After chatting with the deer hunter briefly, we headed on back to the barn, by this time, it was very dark in the woods and Rap led the way as if he had been on those trails all his life rather than just for the last month. When we got back from our ride, I clipped his bridle path and the whiskers on his muzzle, he stood in the middle of the barn hallway with his head down completely unrestrained while this was going on. Read the rest of this entry »
Rap It Up’s First Ride
I rode Rap It Up for the first time today and he did great!!!!!!! He was actually pretty lazy! Not at all what I expected from him! He was pretty rowdy on Monday, but the more time he spent NOT confined to a stall, the better he was. He is adjusting to his new home very well. He spent some time on the hot walker today and was an “old pro”.
My Dad and my brother were there today to help with his first ride and both were impressed with how quiet and laid back he was, and let me tell you, it takes a lot to impress those two! We will take him out on trails, Sunday or Monday. So far everything is great! I trust and quietly often seek the opinion of my father and my brother when it comes to horses and they both like him a lot! My brother rode him today and had nothing but good things to say about him.
I am attaching a couple of pics from today’s ride. Everything is going great and I am very pleased with Rap’s progress so far. I believe that he will continue to improve with time and work. I anticipate that I will be using him as a staff horse before this (fox hunting) season is over.
I hope that you and Barry are having as good a weekend as we are having.
Sincerely,
David
Posted in B&B Success Stories, Rap It Up |
Tags: First Ride, Fox Hunting, Prospect Horse, Trail Riding
OTTB’s Set New Standards for Equine Obstacle Course
Icy Event is doing much better – putting on weight. He is so good-natured and appreciative.
Laura
While we don’t have any new photos of Icy Event, we have fun photos to share of “Dudley” aka Josh, one of the 25 Special Horses and Coinmaker.
They Have Strange Looking Things in Texas
The "A Team" - Alex and Tucks St. Aly
Elizabeth and Barry,
Well, it’s been a bit since Tucks St. Aly and I have sent in a report of our doings, but all the better, we have so many things to tell. I’ve been riding very steadily for the last week or two, sometimes every day and almost always every two days or so.
Day before yesterday in fact, I rode bareback for the first time. It was really neat!!! I must say, I’m sure it was a bit uncomfortable for both Aly and I, as I didn’t even use a bareback pad (we’ll be getting one very soon!!) however I was really, really happy with how great Aly behaved. After a good 30 minutes in the pasture, we even road around the rode beside our house. Aly was a superb gentleman. I trotted him a good bit, and even though it was somewhat painful, as Aly has such high withers , I didn’t really have trouble staying on! I am really excited for when we get the bareback fixed up, I think doing some trotting and canter bareback will be the very best way to get a good seat when in the saddle. It’s amazing how much it encourages you to reach your legs down and really have your legs in the classical position opposed to the ‘chair position’. Read the rest of this entry »
Bato Loco the Seahorse!
When I put my mind to something, I get it done! Tux (Bato Loco) and I went on a birthday beach ride Friday. He was perfect: loaded great, hardly blinked at the waves, galloped like he was winning the Derby, and even loaded gracefully to go back home. What a day!
~Melissa
OTTB Vilas County – Building a Strong Bond
Vilas (Vilas County) is doing great. I’m planning on showing him the end of May at the Poplar Place Schooling Show in a few Jumper classes. He really loves Jumping, but still has to improve his technique. He is very bold to the fences and there’s nothing that could scare him – he jumps everything – which makes it so much easier.
My long-term plan is to show him in the jumpers. I think he’s to good to “waste” him for the Eventing. And also since I’m more a show jumper than an Eventer, I would love to go back to the Show jumper circuit. So, I’m putting a lot of hopes into him…and hopefully it will work out…
He has gotten so mature over the last few months…I definitely have to send you some new pictures. He also finally gained some weight around his rips and hips…he just looks fantastic. Everywhere I go, the people tell me how nice he looks and how they admire him. Which makes me really proud.
