Bridles and Saddles and Rio – Oh My!
23 September 2009
Today at Horsemanship the kids (10 of them!) learned about saddles and bridles: the parts, the fit (bridles), and played with the myriad of bits in the tack room. It was fun – I watched from my paddock. Molly pony and I wondered who (which horse) would be haltered and led down to the grooming shed for the kids to play with. Rio was the man of the day. Lucky guy; he was a bit hesitant passing all the gorgeous green grass (thank you, rain!), but then he perked right up and walked along, enjoying the fuss of ten girls and Emily. Extra lucky guy: he got his new bridle today! It’s lovely! Black, raised, plain cavesson Bobby’s English Tack, shiny new stainless full cheek snaffle bit, laced reins. Wow, it looks good with his bright bay coloring. We horses love new tack! Some of you humans like to shop for your clothes and shoes, right? So why would it surprise you that we like new tack?! Emily got Rio’s new bridle at Olson’s big Fall sale, but she forgot to put the full cheek keepers on. (At least she remembered to get them!) The bridle still needs conditioning, so when she does that the keepers will go on. The kids were pretty rowdy in the gorgeous weather, but fun and happy. They set up jumps in the arena and “jumped” (no horses) while they waited for their parents to pick them up. Stephanie made Emily a necklace and bracelet out of grass. I would have eaten it! We missed you, Josie and Gabrielle!
End of Summer
19 September 2009
Summer 2009 was terrific! It got off to a very slow start weather-wise after the snowiest winter ever in Western Washington. We finally had a very short Spring in May, and then –BOOM!– summer started in June. We had some riders who rode more than ever before – 3, 4, 5, 6 days a week, learning and practicing their flat work, horsemanship and jumping. The weather is just now feeling cooler and the days are much shorter. It must be turning to Fall, which is welcome, but is a big change after such a nice, long summer.
Horsemanship Club = Fun!
11 September 2009
Seven kids started our Wednesday afternoon Horsemanship Club this week. Vashon schools started on Tuesday after the rainy Labor Day weekend, and the second day of school was a good day to get together at the stable! Welcome back, everyone! The kids got their colorful HC folders and their first packet of curriculum materials. Each week Emily will cover a different topic with the kids, they will have some hands-on time with me or one of the other horses, and even have a field trip, a visiting equine professional, and view short videos of pertinent info. Sherman was the lucky horse this week: he was a good model for talking about obscure and not-so-obscure parts of the horse, and he got a very thorough grooming. Where’s your elbow (ulna)? Where does your spine go in your neck? Check this out to learn about horses’ elbows and necks (the facts may surprise you!). I hope you can join us at Horsemanship Club – it’s really fun and the kids are all friendly!