tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71874267965839477812024-03-14T06:54:26.400-04:00A Good HorseMusings about horses, things related to horses and other things that are interesting... to me.SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.comBlogger373125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-27280052730770972182018-09-21T13:57:00.001-04:002018-09-21T13:57:58.940-04:00Riding After Dark - Help Me Light My WayI need help.
I am struggling with the onset of another season of early darkness impacting my already sparse riding time.
Having to ask the barn owners every time I need the lights turned on in the riding ring makes me feel powerless and forces me into a specific time that I have to be there.
I wish I could somehow safely illuminate my path, just so I could manage a 20 or 30 minute walk/trot SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-70801616320375704592017-06-12T17:00:00.001-04:002017-06-12T17:11:12.141-04:00Joey the JumperLong time since I have posted about us but thinking of trying to return to it.
Update on Joey, my Good Horse is that he is doing well and is still a much loved member of my family. We still don't get out much for time and financial reasons but below is video of us competing at a horse show in November of 2016 in a Baby Jumper division. Fences are set at 2' - 2'3".
This was entered at the last SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-21907607791682618612016-05-15T17:00:00.001-04:002016-05-16T16:04:03.284-04:00A brush with the past.
From the mindless to the mindful.
Grooming Joey before our ride today. I grabbed this old, worn out brush from my grooming box. Looks like it should have been thrown out long ago, right?
As I brushed the dust off of my horse with it, then put it down, it occurred to me. This brush has been across the backs of every horse I've been privileged to own. Even a few that weren't mine, but I had SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-59840973402852619952015-05-21T14:54:00.000-04:002015-05-21T14:55:21.724-04:00Best Pony Smooches Award Goes To...
Yeah, he's THAT cuddly.
SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-65299126164522344092015-05-18T12:58:00.001-04:002015-05-18T12:59:12.826-04:00Living for the WeekendsThis past weekend was a good one for me and Joey. The weather was good enough and both rides were just great.
I've been slowly, slowly working on flying changes with him. Like slowly over years, LOL. Which started with simple changes, then simple changes with only one trot step between, to clunky flying changes to every once in awhile a perfect change.
Last year he was getting pretty good at SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-8266844543586527882015-05-14T15:49:00.003-04:002015-05-14T22:30:00.589-04:00Painting Class Tonight!
So excited! I attended another "Sip 'n' Paint" class tonight.
Looked forward to a relaxing 2 hours of creativity.
Here's the result of the evening.
"Starfish Beach"
SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-29201678933957536882015-05-13T17:49:00.000-04:002015-05-14T15:50:54.524-04:00What Can I Accomplish With Only 20 Minutes To RIde?Yesterday was probably the only day out of this week I'll get to ride. I was looking forward to it. The work day was long and before I knew it the clock said 6:25PM and I wanted to be on my way to the barn by at least 6:00.
Great.
I now feed and water all the horses at my barn in the evenings to help bring down my boarding costs. I've been rediscovering my barn worker skills lately in order to SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-12295820508469672362015-05-12T11:19:00.000-04:002015-05-12T11:21:07.581-04:00Rediscovering MyselfI'm a professional artist. I design Halloween costumes, accessories, and seasonal novelty items. It's been my career for the past 28 years. So my days are spent creating things for the company I work for. And it's challenging and can be lots of fun. But after that, I rarely create anything simply for the sake of creating to make me happy.
Art used to make me happy. I used to enjoy drawing and SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-67938044605468010632015-05-11T15:30:00.000-04:002015-05-12T11:20:09.935-04:00Still here after a YearLooking back at "A Good Horse", I see my last post was just a year ago. Well, first off I'm glad it certainly hasn't been longer than that since I last had something to say.
:)
(excuse me, Blogger but you mean to tell me you haven't added emoji's to the blogs yet?)
Many times I had thought about adding a blog post but just didn't feel up to the task of expressing myself. I guess I also SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-30135234689755300742014-05-01T13:38:00.001-04:002015-05-08T13:57:36.085-04:00The Struggle of the Tall Boots
Tall boots.
They are the English riding discipline's staple item. Some riders live in them. Some break them in and save them for shows, preferring to school in paddock boots and half chaps. Some ride wearing dress boots such as dressage riders or field hunters and the rest of us wear field boots with the lacings over the ankle.
Whichever way you wear your tall boots, there's one thing theySolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-72396891573045024082014-04-15T12:02:00.002-04:002014-04-15T12:02:39.850-04:00So Where is This Going?Lately I've been thinking about my blog a lot and have a faint desire to post something, anything but I don't know what to post.
Has anyone missed this blog? I know I had a little following for awhile but I'm not surprised if people have moved on to more current blogs.
SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-45218274712690611912013-12-12T16:15:00.001-05:002013-12-13T09:19:32.051-05:00EquiRoyal Stirrup Covers are a great idea!
This is both a product review and a great idea for a Christmas gift for the English equestrian who has everything!!
The picture above is of the EquiRoyal Quilted Fabric Stirrup Cover. This nifty item has become one of my favorite pieces of tack. I had something similar to it that I bought years ago at a swap meet but it was hand made and I never saw one like it again. I came across this oneSolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-10012318213091464132013-11-21T17:24:00.001-05:002013-11-21T17:24:57.385-05:00Nice horses don't always just come that way.This is a rant, mixed with a message. Just venting my feelings here.
So many people compliment my horse. They admire his calm demeanor under saddle and his gentlemanly manners.
And I say "thank you". (This is the reason I bought him, because I saw these things, too.)
But I have this feeling that what others perceive is taken for granted. As if I just bought a horse that is like this and I SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-32008703910538665012013-10-21T15:10:00.000-04:002013-10-21T15:10:16.237-04:00The Circle is Complete.Four years ago, I lost my equine partner and friend, Monty. The search for another Good Horse to love and have a partnership with has taken me into some places I never thought I'd go. But I don't regret any of the lessons brought to me on this journey, even the hard ones.
Yesterday I rode on a hunter pace with Joey. The first time in the two years I have owned him that we were able to do this. SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-11622328967261021512013-08-12T14:53:00.001-04:002013-08-12T14:53:05.000-04:00What is A Good Horse?
SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-33521880339638162832013-04-15T12:15:00.000-04:002013-04-15T12:19:01.234-04:00Horse PersonalitiesDoing a quick catch up today on some of my favorite blogs and loved this post by my friend at A Horse and a Half. It's a quiz about horse personalities. I laughed at the results for the two horses in her life and decided to take the quiz myself for Joey.
Darned if the quiz didn't get it 100% right! Joey is a "Steady Eddie" - If you are a novice or amateur, this is the horse for you. SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-5118973030433216462013-03-19T14:35:00.000-04:002013-03-19T14:35:06.145-04:00Happy 75th birthday to George Morris
He was the "word" when I was growing up as a hunt seat equitation rider. His emphasis on horsemanship is to be commended and his record does speak for itself. Not always the most congenial in conveyance of his message but still a worthy master of his craft to learn from. Ride on, Mr. Morris.
SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-60455495651090855432013-03-06T13:20:00.000-05:002013-03-06T13:20:35.159-05:00Are Registration Papers Important When He's a Gelding?Maybe, maybe not, right? I can't breed him. I am sure enough he doesn't come from any famous bloodline that I'd wager on it. He will never be sold so I don't need the papers to make him look fancy.
Yet I have been emailing the American Warmblood Society and trying to get his AWS papers since I first posted about my figuring out his early origins here: OMG I Found Him!
I know many of you SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-19624471349066153022013-02-11T15:54:00.000-05:002013-02-11T15:54:46.731-05:00The Horse Dictionary
It's been forever since I posted anything on my blog. I'm good, Joey is good and we're both stuck in this godawful winter! No consistent riding all through January and now this big snowstorm has frozen us in our tracks! But I just came across this and thought it would be a day brightener so enjoy!
(I especially like the Owner, Rider and Trainer descriptions!)SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-22083780660327788882012-10-25T22:14:00.003-04:002012-10-26T12:43:02.999-04:00Stolen Saddles!In less than a week, two stables in my area have been broken into and saddles were stolen! One place lost 25-30 western saddles and the place that was hit today had dressage/english saddles stolen. No news yet on the details from that most recent one.
This is pretty bad. I don't remember hearing of tack thefts of this size around here for many, many years. Local folks are convinced it has to be SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-48454840693394958942012-10-22T14:23:00.000-04:002012-10-22T14:23:21.124-04:00He's still awesome!Even with the weather turning crisp and chilly, Joey continues to be his same, unflappable self. Can't ask for better than that. I have plans to enter our first hunter pace event the first weekend in November. I'm excited, a little nervous but determined to make it happen. My team is only interested in taking it easy, which is fine by me.
Here's some recent pix of my pony after a weekend ride onSolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-47948971419547593102012-09-26T14:06:00.000-04:002012-09-26T14:06:20.916-04:00Autumn in the airLast night I rode Joey for the first time under the lights in the riding arena at the barn we now board at. Since the light switch is inside the barn owner's home, I have to text her and request the lights be turned on for riding. The barn owner is so, so nice and put the lights on for me even before I headed out to ride. It's been getting dark now at just 7:15PM and usually the earliest I can SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-23006480773474015362012-08-28T21:29:00.001-04:002012-08-29T09:08:00.620-04:00Mosquito Bites, Tiger Balm and Fly SprayWent to ride after work today. We had heavy rain late last night into the morning and everything is soggy. When it rains heavily, the mosquitoes get really bad at the new barn. They owners have two huge fans blowing through the barn to move the air and keep the bugs away and it does help but today was buggy even with the fans.
Poor Joey, he was miserable. Stomping flies as I tried to groom him, SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-75650015651106988222012-08-27T08:53:00.000-04:002012-08-27T08:53:11.384-04:00A Good WeekendSo I rode both Saturday and Sunday and Joey was a rock star as usual. There were lots of jumps set up as the barn owner's daughter was prepping for competition at the Hampton Classic on Sunday. I played with the cross-rail, LOL. I also was daring and trotted him over the small liverpool she had set up. Joey jumped it with no hesitation and better than the cross-rail.
The best part was SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187426796583947781.post-68663491383008577372012-08-24T11:16:00.000-04:002012-08-24T11:20:58.064-04:00Pictures from Joey & I at our first Horse ShowWell, they were pricey, and it's taken awhile but I caved in and bought two of the pictures from Joey's first Horse Show. They arrived the other day and now seems like the best time to share them here. Both pictures are ©Bruce Smith of Digital Hoofprints.
We competed in the English Hunter Pleasure horse division. I know, he's a little too "framed up" for a pleasure hunter flat class. Too SolitaireMarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05573053727692879169noreply@blogger.com7