Walk, Trot, Canter

A weekend on a horse. It was loads of fun. I can't wait to scrapbook about it; blog today! I tried to take a self portrait with the horse, but his head was took big to fit in the pic! =)

So, the picture of me is with the horse I rode, Rio. He had quite the mind of his own, which sometimes proved to be quite...vexing. Amy's pic is with Solomon, who wasn't ridden because he had a cold. But he was still sweet!!

So, there were these mini horses there too. Oh my goodness, so cute! Hilarious!

We had to braid their hair. When I braided Carolina's, the front ones stuck out like Pippy Longstockings...

We got to canter through the woods -- I felt like someone from Lord of the Rings. It was way cool. We got pretty sore, and the sides of our knees were getting raw from rubbing against the saddles. :) Our horses were pretty different. Blackie, who Amy rode, liked getting away with going her own way a little bit, but she got started so easily. Blackie didn't even need to be kicked to start going at a faster pace; all she needed was a little clicking noise from you. My horse on the other hand, need a few good hard kicks sometimes to get him going. I even got a whip!

Trotting is actually very, very bumpy. So, you have to "post" where you stand up in your stirrups in rythm with the horse. Blackie's canter was really smooth; Rio's felt like a faster trot. It was just so much fun!

We got to go get the horses from the pasture, and bring them in and get them ready, then afterwards take off all their gear. It was just all super fun. And just the farm-type setting is great. So many animals, but relaxing at the same time. They have barn cats, and even a turkey family who lives on their land! Like, ten turkeys!

This video is of me on Blackie and Amy on Rio -- cantering! It is really fast. A lot of the cantering time I had mixed feelings of amazingness (the wind flying past you, you're on top of a running horse moving fast) and uncertainness (I don't wanna fall off, of course). When I would trot or run, I would hold onto the saddle horn -- you're technically supposed to keep your balance on your own, but, you know, for a beginner, I think it's okay. =)

We wanted to make the little horses run around the arena. This has to have been one of the most hilarious parts of the weekend.

Some final pics: One of the barn cats climbing down from the hay loft on a ladder!

This picture just made me feel great because it looked like Amy's dream! She wanted a dog for so long; now she has one. But a picture of Amy sitting with a beautiful golden retriever was just awesome!

Us with Kitty, the house cat. She was really, um, loving.

Me leading a little mini.

It was a GREAT way to spend a weekend. Horses and animals are so fun. The Yankees were so hospitable to us and made the weekend just great. Much fun we had!