Cantering Through Life » Special horses

La Cienega Ride in the Sandia Mountains

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:34:51 +0000

Even though the area was weather forecast was to have significant wind the adventurous Trio: Liz, Leigh and Linda, decided to try the La Cienega Trail hoping the wind would be less. The winds were very strong in Guiterrez

R & R

Canyon, annoying the horses no end when their hay was blowing out of their pens.

Most horses are jumpy in the wind, never knowing what is going to jump out at them from the bushes. Paso’s are of Spanish Blood and typically have more brio or spirit; however this doesn’t translate to spooky or crazy. In a well trained animal there minds are so good that they typically don’t spook or bolt!

Saddled and ready we took the blacktop road to the trail. It was a busy

Leigh and the gaiting Grace

weekend with several cars driving cautiously by. However a brain dead skateboarder came whizzing by us at a fast rate of speed. Thank goodness once again for good minds, the horses didn’t skip a beat!

These are not really mature horses they are all rather young. Casanova is the old man at 6, both Rip and Amazing Grace are 4 years old. There was no bolting or going sideways they all just kept the beat! Another reason to ride Gaited!

Northern New Mexico Adventure

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:54:33 +0000

Last weekend I was honored to meet several members of the Great Western Paso Fino Horse Association. (GWPFHA) One of the members is the current president of the club, Judi, or madame president as we addressed her. The ladies were here to consider relocating to our fine state from Utah as well as invigorate our NM branch of the club.

We had a wonderful time touring the beautiful countryside of Northern NM in our search for horse property. A slightly snowy morning greeted us Saturday as a major storm passed through the area but didn’t dampen our spirits or sense of adventure. One of the less traveled roads we found ourselves on was blocked by a herd of cows. Never to be daunted by a few dozen cows I stopped while Carol practiced her cow herding skills! There’s a reason we’re called ‘cowgirls’!

Along the way we stopped by another GWPFHA member’s home; Jacquee’ of Beautiful-horses.com.

Medusa Horse Pendant of Beautiful-Horses.com

A amazingly talented artist of horse jewelry, horse hair braiding and beautiful hand painted hobby horses, we enjoyed her hospitality with tea and home made cookies and visited with her beautiful Paso Fino Horses!

Thank you Jacquee’ !

Beth on Danza

Upon our return to Albuquerque, one of the members of the group, Beth hosted a meet and greet for the Paso Fino people. Fine food and lots of wine and all the members made merry. Of course Beth of the Cavalia girls group that ventured to Scottsdale the previous weekend to see the show purchased the Cavalia DVD and played it upstairs in the loft. At evening’s end everyone was in front of the big screen watching Cavalia, it is always mesmerizing! Horse Lovers don’t miss it!

Happy Trails till next time!

Cavalia

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:11:36 +0000

Several friends and myself journeyed to Scottsdale to see this magical performance. After hearing that there was a Cirque De So lei type performance that featured horses I tracked down the Cavalia website. When the DVD came I threw a Cavalia Party that has been the topic of many conversations whenever the horse people gather!

Cavalia

The intrepid 6, horsewomen all, consisted of Liz, Susan, Beth, Kari, Nancy and me. We drove, flew or would have crawled to get there. We opted for the horse lover tickets that enabled us to visit the stables after the show in addition to having front row seats. It was amazing to be so close to the action; a 2 foot barrier was all that separated us from the flying horses. When the trick riders galloped across the stage spraying us with dirt we were truly enthralled. The show has several acts following the seasons so we were showered with leaves in the fall and ’snow’ in the winter. ‘Mirror’ was an incredible dressage display and the ladie’s costumes were gorgeous; long Renassance type dresses draped over the beautiful white Lusitano stallions. The ‘Carousel’ was also an amazing show; 9 riders dressed once again in Renaisance type clothing performed dressage maneuvers on the incredible Lusitanos. Some of the action acts were the trick riders on quarter horses, and the roman riding on the Belgium geldings. As horse

Carousel

lovers all were mesmerized when the fantastic trainer and creator, Pignon played with 3 of the stallions.

No head gear or saddles were used and the horses truly seemed to be enjoying themselves. At the conclusion of the show 3 young horses were turned out on stage to just enjoy the crowd, action and lights as this is how their training begins!

The show is still running in Scottsdale until March 26th! After that you have to go to Montreal! Don’t miss it!

Happy Trails!

Special Horse Notes

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:10:56 +0000

Over Drive (OD)

Some horses can be difficult when trying to load them into the trailer; however some horses can’t wait to get into the trailer and even want to climb in all by themselves! OD (OverDrive) a three year old just recently gelded Paso / SingleFooter was so anxious to get into the trailer he was standing on the side rail! Definitely not a freaky horse! When he is older he’ll probably drive himself home!

Casanova

Then again there is the always popular and infinitely patient Casanova a Peruvian Paso outfitted with his sunhat, (necessary to prevent sunburn in our high altitude) and ready for the days ride! But of course I spoiled him with his gourmet baby organic carrots after taking his picture, none of those overgrown chewy ones for him!

Last summer we were honored to have Dr Mosely and Mr Eaglin from Louisiana visit us here in the East Mountains of New Mexico! They are breeders and trainers of the single footer horses and were here to visit and educate about their horses! Ride like the wind is how you describe the single footer horses, some of them attaining speeds of 25 mph while in gait!

Beautiful Rio Grande Bosque Ride

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:26:51 +0000

The view over Casanova's ears

Snow and cold weather has not been conducive to riding in the mountains for a few weeks so we headed off to the Paseo del Bosque trail by the beautiful Rio Grande River. After a few weeks of not riding we were all suffering from riding withdrawal. Just off Coors; one of the busiest thorough fares on the west side , a short jog takes you into the Bosque. Bosque means forest or woods in Spanish for the uninitiated! When you live in the desert, which Albuquerque technically is, you really appreciate magnificent trees, water and woods! Albuquerque Parks and Recreation has thoughtfully provided a parking area big enough for horse trailers. However the one draw back which they haven’t addressed yet is no porta pottie! I’ll have to speak to the mayor about that! Motorized vehicles are not permitted so there are no surprises from an ATV roaring up behind you.

Six riders, all but one on gaited horses; Paso Fino’s, Peruvian Paso and Single Footers, kicked up some dust on that beautiful sunny day. The weather was near perfect, 50 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, just a few contrails but miles of beautiful sunshine! The horses were frisky and so were the riders! Since we all had cabin fever we were more than ready to kick up our collective heels! The ride out has taken as much as 3 hours when we had timid riders with us and we mostly walked. When we checked our watches we had covered the same distance in 1/2 the time! We gaited and cantered through the woods, only slowing down to give the horses a breather. The trails are well marked and clean so a perfect area to pick up the speed. Occasionally there will be hikers but the visibility is good so they can be spotted before coming up on them. On the ditch bank where the dirt is hard packed you can really get some speed up as there is quite a lot of visibility!

Along the east side of the river the snow geese and cranes were resting and watching us across the river. This picture was taken trying to photograph the cranes as they flew over but with the delay in the digital timing I missed them entirely and only got the beautiful sky! Beautiful just the same, we’ll catch the Sandhill Cranes the next time!

Contrails on the azure sky of the Rio Grande Bosque

Happy trails, may you be always be cantering through life!

Trail riding with Gaited Horses

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:52:56 +0000

Gaited Horses are fast becoming the preferred mount for trail riding. The combination of smooth ride, great mind, easy going personality and small size is a huge plus for the trail rider, especially for those over 30 years old! Paso Fino’s and Peruvian Paso’s are a favorite for several reasons: their small size, their nimble stride and their versatility. The Paso’s relatively small feet makes them ideal for rocky trails and their smaller bone structure makes them a more comfortable ride on the rider’s hips. The Paso’s, in spite of their brio or fiery nature, are really fairly calm and trustworthy on the trail. In most situations the Paso’s I’ve ridden have responded to surprises such as motorcycles, cars, deer, ducks, unexpected trail hazards and dogs without losing their heads or taking off.

This is not to say that these horses are without heart or stamina! After a 3 day trail ride, The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Posse Ride covering more than 70 miles of mountainus terrain, Destino was ready to perform at his best for the Lincoln County Parade! He had the carriage of a well rested horse even though he had lost some significant weight on the strenuous ride. While many of the horses on the trail ride were dragging, literally, these Paso Fino’s were still spirited, showy and ready to go!

Horses can have snowball fights too!

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:41:31 +0000

Or humans don’t get to have all the fun!

I couldn’t resist given our very snowy weather today to post this! Its an oldy but a goody! snowfight2

This never fails to bring a smile to my face!

We’re having a terrific winter storm so there won’t be any trail riding today!

Destino a Wonderful Paso Fino

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:15:33 +0000

Destino was the ambassador for Paso Fino gaited horses in the East Mountain area of NM ; he filled the role magnificently. Nearly everyone who was privileged to ride and experience his smooth as glass gait was hooked and had to have a Paso Fino or Peruvian Paso for their very own! Unfortunately Destino left us at the tender age of 11, off to introduce the spirit world to gaited horses! For now his likeness in glass greets me every morning with the sunrise behind him! Destino, born and bred for show in his native Latin America undoubtedly experienced some rough handling in his training but he was able to rise above it and become a loyal and trustworthy steed. He still had the fire and presence of a show Paso Fino but he became trustworthy and was even able to flat walk; quite an accomplishment for a show Paso whose breeding and training is all about their Brio or controlled fire. Destino and I rode many happy trails together until his untimely death September 2007. My terrific friends Liz and Leigh bestowed Leigh’s last stained glass masterpiece on me for Destino’s one year anniversary of his passing. It hangs in a place of honor facing east and greeting the sunrise every morning.

Ruth and her Sport Arabians

admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:49:48 +0000

Dervatiw Gwyddion

I had the pleasure this last week of getting to Know Ruth and her sport Arabian stallion Charming Raffi WGR! Recently from California where her farm Cerridwyn Arabian Sporthorses is located along with most of her horses; she brought several here to keep her company. This 4 year old stallion is in training in Placitas where we drove up to see him. What you ask is the difference with sport Arabians versus non sport Arabians? The secret is in the correct conformation and movement which allows it to compete and perform in the sports events: dressage, jumping and eventing. Always eager to learn more about specific breeds I certainly enjoyed learning and meeting Raffles. Although not a gaited horse I look forward to more adventures with Ruth and her sport horses!