Obstacles you say...........no problem !

Sometimes it is fun to make horses really think @ their next step....one way of doing this is by setting up an obstacle course...thank you Kayla.

 Here is such a course.....the barrels are to walk/trot around, the white poles are also to walk/trot over & the wooden polls are to side pass around.

                Here are Black Jack & Kayla trotting over the poles

Here they are going around the barrels - she had braided his tail - that's why it looks SO skinny !

    Melody & Ms. Tia also took a turn - altho T does not look too thrilled :)

       Back in the day, Tia used to race barrels - so she's happier doing this.
Notice the freight train tooling by in the back ground - luckily these horses rarely react.....as opposed to new horses who freak out when they first get there!

Here's the Buddha doing wonderful - until - I asked him to back up thru them...he panic'd & completely wiped one out :))

          And finally showing his stuff - head & eyes up - right Patty?

Breakfast in bed???

It certainly seems like for every chance we get to ride.....there's a penalty in the form of rain right around the corner :(

                            Soggy-ville on the tract.......

                          And in the other pasture.....


 So, our equine had " breakfast " in their bedrooms aka stalls since it was raining too hard to put their hay out in their runs where they usually enjoy dining.

        Bud actually stopped eating ( rare happening ) b/c of the camera
In the corner that is a apple toy he likes to mess with - not edible altho sometimes he does try!!

              Tia is such a profession ham - she actually posed !

            Regal was unfazed by the camera & even wanted to check it out

And Blackjack wanted absolutely nothing to do w/him being photographed - probably learned that from the Buddha :)

Unfortunately, it rained the entire time we were there....so we'll shoot for next week & hope the rain gods are on our side!

Hee Haw!!!

Finally...a beautiful warm dry day to ride!!!  I knew Bud would be a pistol to lunge having been sequestered in the barn/run area w/ his stall mates. Every year they have to keep all the horses off the grounds to allow the pastures to produce lovely thick green grass for their eating pleasure from late Spring to fall.

         He was fit for spit as we say - notice the stink eye I'm getting!

                    He's just about to display a big buck!!

  Bru said " You look like you were hanging on for dear life....yes dear I was:)

                  Here's an example of a lil horsey attitude!

            Now he is starting to settle down & is doing a lovely trot

              Next up is Ms. Tia who also was ready to party!!

     After just a few laps around...she decided to change direction...NOT!

                    She definitely had  a lil pep in her step :)

       We ended on a very positive note as usual & had a lil love fest!


The horses behaved themselves after that ( I think they were pooped )  & it was wonderful to ride ......minus wearing long underwear or a coat :)

The Sun!!!!

Finally...sunshine in Wisconsin...yay!!!   We groomed, tacked & went out to the tract :)

    Here are Black Jack & Bud not believing their eyes - where's the mud??

             Tia has already figured out that mud disappearing = riding

It was chilly & windy ...as you can tell from my hair & Buddha's forelock...but we had a ball anyway!!

Rain rain GO Away.....

Needless to say ...the rain in April was the absolute pits!!!  Sometimes Wisconsin rec'd even more than Illinois (which doesn't seem possible!).  Horse back riding outdoors when the ground is saturated or has standing water is not a good idea.  The horses ( especially having been kept in the barn for 6 weeks so the grass can grow in the pastures ) are VERY energetic & could hurt themselves as well as those in the saddle. It's a known fact that horses & mud are not a good match....much like horses & ice - the risk of tripping or falling is magnified 10 fold.

              This is the entrance to the tract where we would ride :(

                    Here is the tract itself - what an oozy mess!!!

                    You can barely make out Tia's white stockings.

                  The Buddha wasn't looking too worse for wear.

             Blackjack is shedding out BIG time - yep -that all came off him!

       Kayla braided his mane AFTER making HIM wear his pink halter - yikes!!

             Lastly, the Buddha & I having a love-in in the barn :)


Hopefully, by next week, the sun will actually appear & the tract will dry up so we horse lovers can get some much wanted saddle time under our belts for 2011!