2023 & 2024 Riding Journey

Introduction / Meet the Horses

Hello, and welcome to my riding journal for 2023!  This is the third riding journal I've posted on wattpad, I've also done a riding journal for 2021 and 2022. 

I do this riding journal as a way of chronicling my equestrian journey.  Most of the entries will be about the weekly lesson I have with my trainer.  Others might be recommendations for horse related things, or essays on horse stuff, and there will definitely be some updates about Shorty, my own personal pinto pony.

Also, a disclaimer:  I'm not a professional horse trainer.  And while I relate what my trainer has taught me, I can't guarantee that it would work for you or your horse, and I'm not responsible if you decide to use anything you learn from this book.  Take advice from this book at your own risk.

Secondly, I'm NOT going to tolerate any slander, abuse, or bullying against me, my trainer, or any of the horses / other people mentioned.  You're free to have your opinion, but you're not free to beat me over the head with it.

Now, about the horses you will meet in this book.

First of all, there's Shorty, my adorable pinto pony.  That's him on the front cover.  This year will mark 6 years that we've been together, and for about 5 of those years I rode him consistently.  That changed in June 2022, when he went lame with a tendon sheath injury in his left front leg.  He's still recovering from that, and I hope that maybe I could record our first ride back in the spring of 2023.  But we will see...

Now, for the horses at my trainer's place.  I've ridden many different ones over the years, and I won't list all of them here.  So you may be a little bit out of the loop unless you've read my 2021 and 2022 journals.  If you wanted, you could just read the introduction parts of those journals and get a general idea.

First off, there's Mariah, a 14-something hand skinny black mare.  I've ridden her a lot since she came to my trainer's and became part of the lesson horse program.  She is very sensitive and full of go-go.  She used to be more touchy and feisty, but she's changed a lot since coming to my trainer's.  She likes to pin you with dagger glares when you tack her up, (though as far as we know the tack doesn't cause her pain), and is definitely a boss mare in the herd.  She also used to be terrible about running out with jumps, but she's a lot better about it now.

Then, there's Cordell.  He's a Tennessee Walking horse, so he's gaited.  His confirmation is definitely not great.  Someone once thought he was a mule, and to be fair, his head does look mule-ish.  He's pretty tall, and a caramel brown color.  He is also one of the sweetest horses on the place, he just adores people.  Everybody loves him. 

Twister is a paint QH gelding.  He came with some bad habits to my trainer's, but those have pretty much cleared up.  He's part of the lesson horse program, but he's also one of my trainer's personal project horses.  One of his bad habits is running away from you when you go to catch him, but that's gotten better, and if you play the 'catching game' then it's not hard. 

Lily is a bay mustang mare who is even worse about running away from you than Twister.  While she's not feisty like Mariah, she's not a people person, and can be a tricky horse to ride because she likes everything to be exactly right.  You've got to have a plan when you're on her and know what you're doing.  She can also get anxious easily.  But she can also be really fun to ride if you're riding well.  

Riggs is a roan QH mare that my trainer does not own, but who's owner has let my trainer use for the lesson horse program.  She is fairly sweet and nice, does not try to run away from you, and is pleasant to ride.  Mariah actually came from the same place that Riggs came from, but Mariah is owned by my trainer. 

Romeo is a chestnut roan with a big blaze.  He came to be a part of the lesson horse program, but because of a condition he was so fat that he had to loose some weight before my trainer could use him.  We're still working on his fitness.  He's pretty nice.  I don't actually know if he's still there at my trainer's, as it's been 3 weeks since I've taken a lesson.

There are also other horses which I haven't rode but you may hear me mention on my trainer's place.  And who knows, I may ride them this year.  And there's other horses who I won't be riding but still may mention.

There's Rugar, a tall skinny bay thoroughbred.

Blueberry, who's a tall bay mare.  She and Cordell are best buds.  I think my trainer plans on using her for lessons, but hasn't had the chance to really work with her yet. 

Mistletoe is a cute little paint pony that can pull a cart if you want.  Tidbit is an even smaller and cuter white miniature pony with one blue eye.  Yucca is a chestnut two year old gelding owned by my trainer.  They all live together in one pen that is called 'the littles' or 'the babies'.  

There are also client horses that come and go, it's mostly my trainer who works with these, but every once in awhile sometimes she'll have me ride one.

So, there you go, you've met the horses.  In this book, I refer to my riding instructor as 'my trainer' or 'Trainer'.  Maybe not proper grammar, but it is private.

Anyhow, I'll see you in the next entry, whether that's a Shorty update or a lesson entry.