Simple Sunday and a Limerick

I thought I'd give everyone a break from my recent wordy posts and just post a few simple photos, and later, a limerick I wrote.
So without further ado, I have some night time photos of my mare to share(hey! that rhymes), taken last night when my neighbor friend/riding buddy, Val came over to worm my horse for me, and work her in the round pen. Baby Doll hasn't been ridden for 3 weeks, ever since the day I fell off her on Christmas Eve. She's getting out of shape and her muscles are flabby like mine.
I was so excited to see my girl, I crutched myself outside. And one of my twinlings brought me a chair so I could watch, as well as visit, my furry paint pony.






(Thanks Val!!! You made my night!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, Gail At the Farm recently challenged her readers to come up with their own limerick. And seeing how poetry, especially cleverly written poetry, is one of my favorite things, I decided to come up with my own personal limerick. Let me know what you think.

And just so you know....Wickipedia says:
A limerick is a five-line poem with a strict form, originally popularized in English by Edward Lear. Limericks are witty or humorous, and sometimes obscene with humorous intent.

Here ya go:

There was a woman who rode a paint.
This horse was usually a saint.
But one day it did jump.
And the woman did thump.
And now, as for walking, she aint.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Guest Room of,

H~is for Horses (and Hay, too)

So, you knew I'd pick horses, for the letter "H', didn't you? Yep, I'm an open book, aren't I? hehe

So, look at this photo I took today. See anything 'not quite right'?
If you guessed that a horse is sneaking hay right out of the barn, you'd be right. Baby Doll is not supposed to be in there....at all. It's a tight fit, to say the least. She opened the barn gate and just helped herself to an opened bale of hay. "What's wrong, Mom?" (munch, munch) Ranchman John had forgotten to latch the snap clip to the chain on the gate. Baby Doll just uses her very agile lips to remove the chain, and then she just pushes the gate open with her head. "Awww, come on, Mom, Can't I come in?"

Ok, this post is not just about how my horse has Hay Kleptomania. I'm also going to share a bunch of photos, from this past year, of my experiences with horses.
As most of you know, horses are a fairly new thing for me. Dreaming and doing are two different things. And for the first 42 yrs of my life, I dreamed of horses. And this past year, I did horses.
And here's a little re-cap of my year with horses.

I met Baby Doll and learned to ride bareback. Bareback riding taught me how to develop my seat and be balanced while smoothly moving along with the horse. It's also such an amazingly liberating feeling, too.
My friend and neighbor, Val started inviting me to ride with her. In the beginning I rode her beautiful, calm 26 yr old Arabian mare, Nadia. Here we are riding all 3 of her horses. Val's pretty daughter is on the far right.
Baby Doll and I started riding together at home once I got my new saddle.
I rode quite often with Val around our 'back-40'. And Val's lovely Arabian mare, Annie learned how to become a very good trail horse during our rides, too.
Val is never pushy, but she does encourage me to step a little beyond my comfort level and to go on adventures with her. I appreciate that more than she knows. She started inviting me to ride with her at night. What fun!
I even began riding my own horse, Baby Doll, at night, too.
She's usually relaxed, just like she is during daytime riding, but sometimes the bushes, trees or boulders look different at night and she gets concerned. Thankfully, with a few calming words from me, she is at ease again.
Val even let me hop on her lovely Arabian mare Annie. It made me realize that not all Arabians are goofy and out of their minds. She's a good girl under saddle, though she does have a little too much spirit for me as a beginner.

I rode a few horses over at my instructor's lesson barn. I took this dressage trained horse out on the trails, for the 'ride of my life'! I prefer not to experience that ever again, thank you.
My instructor taught me the basics of reining, on this horse, Goose, who was patient and well-versed in reining.
I put on my 'big girl panties' and started riding my horse by myself, out on the trails. It's a great experience for both me and my horse.
Sometimes my 11 yr old twin son, Jax, joined us to ride, either in the arena, or out on the trails.
Most of the time it was just Val and I. With her, I even took my mare across our fairly busy, paved county road together. Another great learning experience for me and my painted pony.
We rode over mountain ridges together, too. What a blast!

My dreams have come true. I get to be around beautiful horses whenever I want.
They fill my spirit with joy and make me laugh. Me: "Um, whatcha doing there, Baby Doll?" Baby Doll: "Who, me?"
And I love just watching horses do their normal 'horse things'. Here's Val's Appy/Arabian/Paint gelding and my girl, Baby Doll, getting all 'kissy-faced' together.
And seeing the horses run gives me a sense of their spiritual freedom set loose, like the wind.
I've enjoyed all of my horse experiences this past year. They've all taught me something that has molded me into this new being that I am: A Horse Person.
And I just can't help but wonder what new experiences and adventures this next year will bring. (And you just know I'm going to say).......The End!

So, are you a horse person, too?
What is/was your favorite horse you've owned/ridden?
How did you spend this last year with horses?

Music for Horse Lovers

My friends over at My First Horse Blog just shared some news about a wonderful musical artist who lives and breathes horses and created a couple CDs just for fellow horse lovers. The artist's name is Mary Ann Kennedy and her first album's name is: Hoofbeats, HeartBeats, and Wings.
Check out My First Horse for more info and even a few music samples. It's good music for everyone who appreciates their horses!!

Owls and Night Riders

Last night while feeding and 'tucking in' the animals for the night, my neighbor friend, Valerie called out to me. When I walked down to her barn, she asked if I wanted to join her for a night ride in her arena. It sounded like a great idea even though the wind was gusty and made the night feel chilly. I had never ridden a horse at night, nor a horse at night and bareback. I was nervous but also excited. Valerie rode her Appaloosa, Scout, and I rode my horse, Baby Doll.

Almost as soon as we were in the arena the winds ceased and the night was quiet and warm. Lightning was seen out in the distance exploding from a pink tinged cloud. We walked all over her large arena together, Baby Doll was completely relaxed with head down low. When it was fully dark, with the stars shining as bright as pen lights, the dark shape of an owl glided over our heads about 20 feet above us. It didn't just fly away either. It stayed above us for a few fly-bys and then landed on a pole at the edge of her arena. I was spell-bound at this little gift given to us from the night sky.

What made it even more interesting is how it led to a converstation about owls because of what my sons and I learned earlier in the day while at Star Fire Day Camp.
You can read more about that in my Star Fire Day Camp on Twins Plus One blog.

We rode the horses in the dark, with only a pale light from a post light on one side of her large arena, for at least an hour. When I started to feel unbalanced and sore in the legs and pelvis, I knew it was finally time to call it a night. Baby Doll was very responsive, gentle and quiet the entire time, but ironically started to get a little sour at the same time that I was feeling tired, too.
When we'd get to one of the two gates in the arena, she'd try to veer off to them and then stand still.
Normally, I'd not let her get away with that, but she and I were both feeling the same weariness, so after just one more go round, I dismounted. Valerie and I stood for a while chatting, with her on Scout, and Baby Doll napping beside me.

By the time Baby Doll and I walked back over to our barn, she and I were ready. I wrapped my arms around her warm soft neck, breathing deeply of that cozy horsie scent, and by the time I got back into the house, it was after 11pm. As soon as my head rested on the pillow I was asleep instantly.