What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Oh nellie, I'm gonna be sore!!

My lessons have begun.....

Here is the story of how it all came to be. I knew that finding an instructor for any type of english riding in my area would be challenging. There are a few beginner riding instructors. I knew if I was going to stress my budget a bit and spend money on lessons and learn something new, even if I did not plan to compete, it was important to ride with someone who knows their discipline. Even I am experienced enough to give beginner basic riding lessons.

I found one person that was well-qualified. However, this instructor did not have a school horse, only access to a boarder's horse for schooling use, one day a week. That would work fine, except the one day a week was also the day I happen to work! I was still determined to make it work somehow, when Ranch Boy's mom suggested I contact another gal we know through the ranch so I messaged her on Facebook.

What a great connection I made! This gal recommended her instructor whom she rides with, and said she had a schoolmaster horse I could ride! She offered to haul the horse to the barn with her mare for me to use for lessons (we just have to ride on the same day and back to back.) Could I get any more blessed? So a week later, after itching to get started on lessons and unsure how it was all going to come together, I had my first trial ride on her gelding. She also loaned me riding pants and gave me some older dressage saddles and tack to try on my horses as she is selling them.  I would like to purchase one to use on My Boy so I can continue to practice what I am learning.

{Photo of V a few years ago when he was a bit younger and wearing his summer coat!}

Let me tell you about the gelding (who I am on in the photo at the top.)  He is a 16.2 hh, 26 year old Dutch Warmblood gelding. This guy, who I'll call V, has quite the resume. He is a former Grand Prix jumper, imported from Germany, and has done it all. He acts more 13, has a huge engine, and will be a great babysitter for me, but skilled and challenging enough to help me learn.

My friend and I met up and rode Sunday so that I could get to know and ride V a bit before my first lesson.  V and I mostly puttered around the arena at a walk and trot- he was very forgiving of me bouncing around and trying to post on the correct diagonal. Then, on Monday afternoon I had my first official lesson. The instructor was great. I got to wear a little earpiece which amplified her voice- a brilliant idea! I didn't even feel or know it was there but it really helped me hear her because riding makes its own noise, not including other outside and barn noise.   This first lesson we talked a lot and I worked on using my seat, such as to speed up and slow down the walk, keeping my leg back under me and my toes pointed ahead- not out (I have no problem with heels down for some reason- in fact I almost overdo the heels-down), posting the trot, and a little at keeping my shoulders back. V was a great trooper he just kept trotting so I could work on all these things without having to fuss with him to much.

The instructor was easygoing and explained things well and I did not feel intimidated by her. I can only take one lesson a week so I am going to get on My Boy at least one other day in between.  Due to winter weather we can probably only walk or trot but I can at least practice the positioning and using my seat.

I will also begin the chore of trying saddles on My Boy and seeing if one of the two she has for sale will work. I am hardly an expert but got some helpful tips at the lesson (even where a dressage saddle sits on the back is different then I am used to. ) They are older style dressage saddles, one Crosby and one Passier, both brown which is not as common in dressage saddles these days, but I like it. I have only ridden in the Crosby so far because it is the one that fits V the best- it's very comfy! It needs minor stitching repair around a part of the seat but other wise in pretty good shape for its age. Until I know where I am going with this I do not want to invest in an expensive saddle and I keep reading about saddle fitting and how difficult it can be. If anyone has any dressage saddle experience or advice I will appreciate your help! I figured a better quality older saddle is a better choice then a cheap new saddle.

Anyway I am excited to be riding again and to be learning something new- dressage techniques are applicable to all styles of riding and it is going to really help me in my riding of both My Boy and getting Luna going the next few years!

Ranch Girl

Look Out PW Cooks- Not!

First, thank you all for the advice on the hay. I felt that mixing was the best option and you all validated that for me. I will continue mixing for the winter as long as I have access to those two kinds of hay- I do know both sellers have limited amounts. I'm due to restock next week!

Onward- look what I got for Christmas!

Now I don't have to borrow Ranch Boy's mom's cast iron dutch oven.

Having a baby has domesticated me a little. Plus, it's winter and I'm only working one day a week and Ranch Boy Jr. typically (as if anything with an 8 month old is typical.....) and conveniently naps right around dinner prep time. I used to enjoy baking (muffins and cookies and the like) but never cared much for cooking dinner beyond pasta or tacos (something I couldn't fub up!)

I got the Pioneer Woman's new holiday cookbook at Costco. Now I have all three (and the first one I met her and got autographed!) Why do I love to cook from her recipe books? Let me count the ways:
1. The ingredients are normal things I can find at a small town supermarket. 2. The recipes are easy to-follow and understand. Have you ever looked at a Martha Stewart magazine recipe? I swear they take hours and involve things like string and cheese cloth. Huh? I just learned how to use parchment paper. Baby steps, people!    3. The photos are delightful and helpful to me, in encouraging me to try to a recipe (because if it looks yummy, it probably is!) The photos also help me to know my attempts are on the right track. (Oh, that is what 'diced' looks like.....) Her cooking show is great, too! Even Ranch Boy will watch it with me. Sometimes we even drool.

I've made her meatballs (the sauce is to die for!) pulled pork, glazed ham, enchiladas, and Mac n' Cheese, just to name a few.  I pretty much want to try everything and my mom just gave me a freezer full of freshly butchered beef so I've got my measuring cups and chiles ready..... (PW likes the chilies...)

I think Ranch Boy appreciates the effort at cowboy food as he's a meat and potato kind of man.

Who is your favorite cookbook guru?

Ranch Girl

Hay There- I need your Opinion

Since I am feeding only two horses, which are in my backyard, I only buy about a ton or two of hay at a time. That is what is in my budget and what I have storage for. I have found a few local neighborhoods that have small hay fields and sell it for around $7 a bale.

I have two different types of hay right now and I am wondering if I should continue mixing them or switch over to one or the other.

The first is an alfalfa Orchard grass mix. I don't know the exact percentage I'm guessing 30-50 percent alfalfa. It's pretty green and has some good leafiness. The bales are really light and between the two horses I go through almost a bale a day. I don't like to feed alot of this hay because it seems richer for horses just sitting over the winter and not getting worked.

The other hay is an Orchard grass mix, I'd call it a "local grass hay." The owner told me it had some alfalfa but I don't see it. It got sun bleached after baled so it's pretty dry on the outside, and a little stemmy inside. It is not the best hay. But the bales are big and last longer. I consider this good filler and "munch hay" for cold, wet winter weather.



I feed each horse one flake of the greener and two of the grass, two times a day. They always go for the greener hay first, of course. They will eat the other but leave some and go back to it throughout the day.

You can see My Boy is choosing the greener stuff over the grass hay.

I feed my horses on the ground, and when it is wet and muddy I have two spots that are the "least wet of the wettest." They have a run in shed with footing that stays totally dry year round but I do not feed them in there because it is too small for them to eat in and get along nicely.

My horses don't use their shed very often. You can see "evidence" that they have been in there. When it is raining buckets I don't have sympathy for them when they are standing out in the rain soaking wet far away from their dry shed. I guess you can build it- but that won't necessarily mean they'll come. If it pours for about 24 hours straight they will usually succumb and stand in there together. Its small but they both fit. When Luna was 2 and the only horse in that pasture I'd catch her napping in the shed flat out on her side after breakfast when the sun was shining in it.

Back to my question- should I continue to mix the two types of hay? Or switch entirely to the alfalfa mix? I don't think I'd switch just to the grass only, because of the quality. They also get a pound each of grain supplement at night. My concern about the alfalfa mix alone is that I have to feed more of it to keep them happy and warm in the winter but it might be too rich to do that for horses that aren't getting worked right now.

If you haven't checked out my previous post with the yard sale tack items be sure to check them out! :)

Ranch Girl