Bella the Pinto UPDATE Aug-2016

Well,
I am a slacker when it comes to my blog. Sorry about that. I have taken over a new position at work and it has been a very stressful and busy time.

Next month it will be 3 yrs already that I own Bella. She has improved so much. Not only in being more collected and balanced, but behavior wise too. She is so happy to see me, nickers at me, and we now can work at liberty. She is like a puppy dog and will follow me around (unless there is a nice green patch of grass).

We have been camping, trail riding, cow sorting and did a couple of fun shows (western dressage). I took her to a clinic with Jordan Brasser horsemanship, to learn more about doing "at liberty" with your horses. She did well, and was already considered at level 2.

Next week we are going camping with the barn family at Empire. We will ride to and in Lake Michigan. It will be awesome. Although she could care less about water.

I will try to post more when we get back. Until then, toodeloo

Maryse

Trail Riding FUN

Saturday July 11, I went to Proud Lake Rec Area to ride with Linda and her Friesien mare. We rode for 2.5 hours for a distance of ten miles. Her horse is almost twice as big as mine and has large stride, we trotted most of the way and some slow smooth canters. It was so much fun. See the youtube link below for the video.

https://youtu.be/B8J4_DzW5i0

Our horses were not in the best of shape but this ride was good for them to build their strength. It was a nice 82 degrees out and not too humid. They were great and I even rode Bella without touching the reins for part of the way. She listened to voice cue and seat. I wishi she was a long distance mount I am enjoying the faster pace rides, zipping along in the woods and plains. It is rejuvenating.

Until next time.

Hocking Hills Camping with horses

In June our barn family went camping down in the Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio. Our group was composed of 25 people and about 11 horses. We reserved campground spaces at Three Reasons Horse camp where we camped, setup our rigs and had access to bridle trails in Hocking Hills. Our horses were able to be stabled or in a large pasture. 

Bella started out in a stall but she was not happy as she is pastured 24/7 back home. Also she could see her BFF Spice in the pasture with other horses and really needed to be out there with them and not miss on the fun. The second day we put her in there. There were other mares and gelding in there that she knew but was never in same pasture with back home. They managed to find their group to hang with, separated in a couple of groups and stayed clear of each other. The dynamic was very interesting. Us humans spent a good thirty minutes by the gate just observing their behavior and how they communicated with each other.

Riding was really cool. Lots of challenging hills, up and down, beautiful views and trails. There are cliffs and waterfalls, miles of trails. This was worth the trip although that weekend was stormy each day and very humid. The humidity would soak us to the bones. Even the horses were getting hot very quickly. Bella would huff and puff after each climb. We still enjoyed it and I managed to get Bella to do a search and rescue to find a lost horse boot. She did fantastic and only complained a little when we first separated from the group. But she made me so proud and we found the boot. 

Ahhh cool water from the waterfall above.
Bella did not want to move.

Video of this waterfall

Walking in the river bed at the base of a canyon.

21 horse cave site.
All horses could fit in this deep cave.

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Overall a very successful weekend. We are already planning our fall camping trip, this time in Michigan near home. Maybe next year we can go and camp near the shore-to-shore trail system and attempt a few miles. That would be fun. 

Check back often for more updates!

I love that mare!

I have now owned Bella for one year and nine months and thus far she has made improvements and became such a great mare that I am truly enjoying being with her. She and I have bonded in a way I never though I would with a horse.

She knows me and nickers at me, comes to me in the field, and learns quickly. She is also forgiving of my mistakes, and for a pony mare she is very predictable. She is a trusted mount and listens very well to my cues and vocal demands. Of course there is much more to learn and she will need more refinement. But I could not see selling her at the moment, She is very fun to ride. Even when she wants to return to the barn. We will argue lightly and then she gives in to me and we continue on on our hack. I do think however she prefers arena work. Soon we will work on our western dressage routines and work on our trail challenge course.

Stay tuned.

Mo

BELLA - My new Pony

BELLA !

I am back at it now with some different news! A year and a half ago, yes that long, I sold Annie to a young lady named Sarah. They are a good fit and she is at the same barn as me so we can see each other still. I sold Annie because she was too much horse for me and I came across a smaller horse that was for sale.

This Pinto was at the barn for training because she was deemed crazy. The trainer could not find much crazy in her while she was riding, so she thought that maybe if she put another rider on her she would act different? Well I was the guinea pig and hopped on. I fell in love right away. It felt like putting a pair of boots that fit just right. She is smooth and fun to ride.

I bought her on my birthday, September 28, 2013. We have come a long way since but lot has happened in between. Her original name was Jingle Bells, and her previous owner was always riding with bells which probably made that horse craze! Well, we got rid of the bells and I changed her name to Bella. Bella was very unbalanced and did not get ridden very structurally. So I started a work out to try get us both balanced and better at transitions.

In December 2013 I won two months professional training at a different barn by a young trainer that started a business and wanted to get the word out there. I sent her there and visited once a week, in the middle of winter so I could watch her progress and ride her. She made some progress I agree. Some people did not have much faith in this trainer. I found out later many people had her labeled as bad trainer/selling horses not owned to her, etc. Well, I made sure my horse was well taken care of and I had access to her anytime. I had no issues. This training gave Bella a good foundation so I could continue it on. In February, her canter was head high and short periods. She was very unbalanced and did not like to canter. A year later, we can canter many turns, canter right from a walk, pick the correct lead, and the head is almost collected.

We are camping, trail riding, and did a Western Dressage Show last summer 2014. We won a couple of ribbons which was really impressive. Bella is a puppy dog and loves to be with me. She loves treats and learns tricks. She can smile, kiss, reach for a treat all the way on her butt and bow. We are working on perfecting the bow, and also working on liberty riding.

She did a parade, and can carry a flag. I even blind fold her and can ride her at the walk and trot blind. That is trust. That is what I was seeking. I also bought an old trailer. This gives me more independence and I can go riding alone sometimes, or meet up with friends.

This weekend we are going camping to hocking Hills, Ohio area at the Three Reason camping ground. This will be a fun experience. I think she is fit to tackle the big hills. There will be about 12 horses and 25 people. Large group this time around. Well, some are bringing their families. I will follow up with an update. PLEASE SEE MY NEW BLOG - BELLA THE PINTO THAT COULD