New filly!

Back in may I purchased a gorgeous little filly! Lucky for me, I found quality breeders right nearby. It was hard waiting all summer to get her home, but at the end of august we finally went to pick her up. I got to meet her big handsome dad and a bunch of the other foals. They are all very nice looking horses. I was tempted to fill up my trailer with pretty babies! I'm really excited about her! She's my favorite color too, a lovely grulla. I couldn't have asked for a better horse, she's been a lot of fun and handles everything so well. I'm hoping the good weather lasts a while longer so we can continue to make progress. She's going to be a great addition to my herd! The first picture is her at a day old and then 3 1/2 months. I love her!

Updates

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. My journey is still going pretty good, slow but good. I'm trying to find time to play with all my horses but it hasn't been very consistent. I'm happy to say that we've progressed to the point where I feel like I now have 2 riding horses. My levels horse, Moon and my second horse, Buddy. He's coming along pretty good, I'm quite happy with him. I've really only started riding him this year and he's doing fairly well. I managed to get a few rides on him off the yard in the field nearby as well. True to his left brain self, he's taking things well and is nice and quiet throughout most things we've tried.
My paints are in another pasture for the summer but I had a couple good days with each of them. Everytime I'm with them I realize just how much I really like those 2, they are going to be some lovely riding horses someday. I had a first ride on Copper, just hanging out on his back and doing a few things. I can't help but like him :)
I'm also excited to say I have a new addition to my herd, a lovely new filly! I've had her for a month now and she's been a lot of fun. I can't wait to see where the 2 of us can go together.
I've even been invited to play with a few horses belonging to a friend. It's always fun to play with new horses and hers have all been great.
I've even found some new riding buddies this fall, that's always a bonus, can't have too many riding friends!
So to sum it up, I really can't complain about my summer. I'm surrounded by good horses and good people to enjoy them with! I'm pretty lucky!

Fun with our stump :)

It rained most of the day but after it stopped this evening I found some time to play with Moon and Buddy. Moon and I played around with sideways over the barrels online. We haven't been getting it yet, and last time I worked at it I think I made it stressful for both of us, so I made sure not to do that today. We got it so she could line up beside the barrels with a few inches of herself overtop in each direction. I had to remember to find a good spot, then stop and wait, not push for more. I was on the right track because I got more licking and chewing when I did that. She also stood with both front feet on our stump for me. I think this is only the second time without using a rope for support. She did great and even stayed up there for quite a while. I was able to drop the lead rope and walk all around her while flapping the string on the ground. I even asked her to lower her head enough for me to reach so I could remove her halter, walk away, come back with my hackamore and lower her head again to put that on, all while still on the stump! Finally I asked her to step off so I could step onto it to get on her. We rode around freestyle, me just getting some bareback practice in, before returning to it. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I asked her to step back on it while I was on her and she did!!! That was a cool feeling! We ended up doing that twice during the ride and it felt great :)
I also played with Buddy. He backed nicely through the gate, just like Moon had earlier. We played around with squeezing over the barrels. He was funny, pretty much doing anything but jumping over! He found out he could squeeze around the outside if I gave too much rope, push them out of the way with his nose, or jumble them around with his legs to create an opening to walk through. I thought it was pretty creative, but he did end up giving me a try at jumping in the end. I haven't done a lot of sideways with him, but we achieved some sideways over the stump today. That was a nice surprise. I used it again to also get on him for a short bareback ride. We did some follow the rail which seems to be improving nicely. I'm really loving my bareback pad and should use it more often. It was a nice evening to be out and the cooler temperature was a nice change.

Fun day!

I had a fun day this past friday, playing with 2 of my horses and 2 of a friends. We started at my place where we ended up riding Moon and Buddy. Took them for a ride in the arena first, then all around the yard and pasture. Buddy's been doing good, I'm starting to feel like I now have 2 riding horses instead of a bunch that are not yet started. At the end we returned to the arena and I rode Moon around bridless for a bit. This time I rode with a carrot stick and we just played around with that at a walk. I thought it went pretty good. I was even able to guide her up to our stump and ask her to put one foot on it :)
At my friends place we played with and rode her 2 horses. She had a nice area set up for us and I had fun playing online with her main horse. He seems to be in the same area of level 2 that Moon and I are so that felt just like playing with her. He was great and it's always fun to play with a new horse! We also did some riding in there before going for a little ride down the road. When we came back we switched horses and I got to try out her mare who is the most comfortable horse to ride bareback on! Not so narrow like all my little horses.
I love it when I can get in lots of riding on lots of horses, and hope to have more days like that one soon!

Some bridless!

I rode Moon finally on wednesday. We used the cradle bridle for the second time too. Mostly following the rail, going sideways, backing and doing some weave patterns at walk and trot, and working on having a soft feel on the reins. It was a nice ride and I decided to leave the arena and ride her around the yard too. We rode around freestyle for a bit before returning to the arena. I got off, took the bridle off without putting the halter back on and decided to try something. I got my savvy string and put it around her neck and got back on. We rode around at a walk with me guiding her around things and changing directions with just that string and my legs. We even did a backup before I got off for the day. It was a really cool feeling to be doing that, we've never rode bridless before!
I rode her again today doing pretty much the same with the cradle and trying some more bridless riding at the end. It went ok, but there is lots of long grass in there that is tempting for her! I'm going to try using my carrot stick next time and maybe practice with a bridle/hackamore to make sure I keep things going good, but it's been fun so far!
I also had a nice ride on Buddy, I had a passenger lesson at the walk. We even trotted for the first time. I rode him with the cradle bridle on. He's never worn a bridle, so I used my halter with the savvy string attached and left the reins on the horn. I only used them a little at the end of the ride. He's doing good.
Copper wore my natural performer saddle for the first time today and looks good in it. He was accepting it real well so I sat on him in it for a while just hanging out.
It's so nice to be getting more horse time in now that the sun is back!

More firsts

In between all the rain I managed to get a few play times in with the horses. I was on Copper's back for the first time on may long weekend. He took it well. Shadow's been doing good too and we've had a couple more rides.
Today I drove my truck and trailer by myself for my second time. I took Buddy to a friends and we brought our horses to the town arena to ride. I'm happy with how nicely he took it all. It was his first time riding in the trailer, first time going to a new place and our first ride this year. I'm happy with how well he did, it was a good day and a lot of fun! I hope to do more of that.

Long time!

It's finally drying up outside! We had a couple weeks of rain making my yard very mucky and soft. I didn't get anything done outside. Now the sun's back and things are going well.
I've spent the past week playing with Shadow and putting some first rides on her. She's been doing great and it's been fun. I started just being a passenger and rubbing her all over, getting her to accept me on her back. The last few days we've also played around with lateral flexion, hindquarter disengagement and go and whoa. I'm very happy with how she's doing. She's fairly soft and everythings feels pretty good. Yesterday I rode her in my NP saddle for the first time. We've been using the bareback pad up until then. It worked well and seems to fit her good even though she's smaller. The more I use that saddle the more I love it!