The Roaming Rider posted about some things that she has learned from other bloggers, and I thought it would be fun to jump in. (Go check hers out first. It will give you all the feels.)
While I have been blogging for only a couple of years (can I still say only?), I have been reading blogs basically since I became horsey deprived in college. The flavor of blogs is as diverse as the people writing them. Some still make me laugh out loud at my desk at work, while others will instantly bring me to tears, but that is horses too. Many of us will describe our darkest and brightest days by the horses that surrounded them.
I don’t talk about other people on my blog as pretty much a rule, but I hope everyone will grant me a reprieve just this one because you all deserve a tribute for all have taught me! I wish I could include EVERYONE, but I am not sure ANYONE would want to read that, so here are my 5 highlights.
1. Emma from Fraidy Cat Eventing.
Emma and I have somewhat similar stories. H/J backgrounds with a burning desire to event. While I tip toed my way in with lessons and then eventually moving my horse to an eventing barn, Emma JUMPED IN the deep end. Girl – you took a couple of lessons, bought a truck and trailer, and did the thing. You took a lease on an off breed horse and trained her into an eventer. When that came to an end, you took a pause before finding another horse and restarting an OTTB from the ground up. I hope you know how badass that is.
AHEM – Emma taught me to go for the things I want. To not worry if I didn’t have the fanciest horse or the most expensive tack. The only thing I had to answer to was my horse. As long as I was doing the right thing there, then I was doing the right thing.
2. Lauren from She Moved to Texas.
(I am linking her personal website because I think something funky is going on with her blog site)
I am not sure when I started following Lauren, but she was the first blogger that I took back to the beginning. The first one that I did the blogger version of netflix binged on. Why? I would say it is because her writing is beautiful, and I am obsessed with that kind of thing (which is true); however, it is because she has been so true to herself and her voice.
I am not sure I would 100% categorize her blog as a horse blog. I would say that, if anything, it is a life blog about a person that owns and rides horses. She taught me that speaking my truth is the only topic that really matters.
3. Megan from A Enter Spooking.
Is it hyperbole to say that Megan was my first Dressage instructor? My first ever introduction to Dressage was someone taking a 45 minute lesson at my barn. During that 45 minutes they continuously trotted around a 20 meter circle. I remember having to rake the ring after because there was literally a ditch growing there. “Nope,” I told myself, “Dressage is not a thing I ever want to do.”
Then Megan popped up on my screen one day, and well… just read this:
At the same time as straightening him on the outside rein to get him to step into the inside rein, TC needs to be a bit lighter off of my inside leg. His tendency is to lean into my leg with his ribcage, rather than engaging his inside hind leg and stifle under him.
– Knowledge Dump
I can feel what she feels when she writes, and I can feel her corrections. I never knew that people had these kinds of detailed dialogues going on in their heads while they rode, but here comes Megan with 81 posts tagged with “connection”. While Megan has opened up the world of Dressage for me, she has, more than that, taught me the important of really being a thinking rider.
Anyone else notice that the first three people are all from different disciplines?
4. Carly from Poor Woman Showing.
Does anyone ever know what Carly is going to do next? Carly teaches me and continuously reminds me that I am supposed to enjoy my horse. Not everyday will be sunshine and rainbows, but horses are there to be enjoyed. Does she compete? Yup. Does she win satin? Um, DUH.
Does she also stick her horse in a cart because it seems like a fun idea? Absolutely. Reading her posts reminds me that we don’t HAVE to have a serious Dressage schooling if we don’t want to. We can just go on that trail ride or attempt to jump crossrails while bareback. Dressage and “serious” eventing will be there, and I am not ruining anything by simply enjoying my horse.
5. Michele from Fat Buckskin in a Little Suit.
I am going to be super cheesy here. I fell off the blogging bandwagon in 2017 a bit. Nothing was really happening, I had no jump saddle, I wasn’t really able to take lessons, and I was about to get married. Michele reached out to me and checked in. I was floored. Here was someone I never met who honestly cared about how May and I were doing.
Michele and I have gone through very similar struggles with our opinionated, rotund creatures, but Michele has taught me, more than anything, about how a love of horses really does bring people together and create friendships. I know you’re reading, so thanks girl. 😉
One day, I will get to meet some of you in person! hahaha Who else is going to join in on this positive blog hop?
Half Lease Update
Remember how I said I don’t talk about other people on my blog? Welp. That is also true for the girl half leasing May. However, I think you all deserve an update!
May was a perfect princess on Monday night. I mean like, I got on her, warmed up a bit, popped over some fences, and she was just soft and easy and in front of my leg. MMMMMK. (like this but probably SLOWER)
So what did I do? I made a friend get on her. I then made said friend jump some stuff. May continued to just pack around like a little school horse. Welp, I thought, she will probably be terrible for the trial tomorrow.
I was SO NERVOUS. Like our mutual friend has ridden May, but May is May. We chatted a bit as we tacked up. I gave her the barefoot history and gently explained that I have no bias against shoes, and I am happy to put shoes back on the horse if it looks like that is going to be a better solution than barefoot. She didn’t seem concerned. She did ask about my spurs (little nubs at the moment), and I told her that spurs are more for moving May’s body around than they are for speed or anything.
I rode first, obviously. May was almost as good as she had been the night before. I would say she was a bit stiffer through her body, but I wasn’t about to start an argument before putting someone else in the irons. At one point in the canter, I circled through the middle of the ring and just held the reins by the buckle to show that her balance will change, but she won’t run away with you. (or at least not with me.)
I did everything I could think of to show that May was as represented. I popped over some fences, missed more than once, and then handed the reins over. Number one response everyone has had to getting on my horse? She REALLY swings through her back at the walk. I had no idea. I am just SO used to it.
There is definitely a learning curve with May, but the half leaser handled her really well. They seemed to get along, and May didn’t get frustrated or upset by any gaps in communication. She did decide to do the double add down the line of jumps… Oh mares. The strangest thing was being told how she is excited to ride something a bit more made instead of a greenie. I am still not used to the idea of my horse really knowing and doing her job. It’s a cool feeling and definitely true at this point.
Overall, it sounds like it is going to be a 2-day a week lease instead of a 3-day a week lease, but her being able to take lessons with my trainer is more important than May being ridden an extra day a week. In fact, she wants to take her first lesson the first week of November. Can it really just be this easy? I guess so!
awwh shucks. I am embarrassed 🙂 HA. i am so happy we ‘met’ like this. And I too follow most of your blogs you listed. I will have to see if i can do one of these. 🙂
i do agree blogging is great it has opened so many doors. My husband is always amazed when I say something like my friend in NC or SC or in Canada or Maine etc. 🙂 He is like how do you know all these people!! 🙂
And yay on May having a lease person 🙂 I hope she has fun with her!! And you can still get out there and ride too! Win win
So happy about the lease! Sounds like a really great fit!
Love the blogs you mentioned. I need to jump on this blog hop band wagon
Yes! So excited to read yours!
aw i needed to read this today <3 this blogging community is so amazing, and really really REALLY inspired me when i first discovered it. like you, i lurked for years, hungrily consuming every single word i could find. i had been riding for so long, had been a fixture at more than a few barns over the years… but somehow still, reading all these stories and experiences from riders just like me, with all manner of backgrounds and resources and hopes and dreams, reading about them getting out there and making it happen kind of changed my life. sounds cheesy, but it's true. i realized i could do it too, that it was even possible. and so i started sharing too – bc i wanted to be part of this amazing inspiring group who made all those 12yo girlhood pony dreams suddenly seem real and accessible. sometimes it's hard to keep writing. it's scary to put out the bad or low moments, to be vulnerable to judgement. but then again… maybe it's all worth it if literally anybody reads what i write and thinks, "wow ya know, i could do that too!"
Exactly! If something I write makes any kind of positive difference on one person, then it is all worth it. The world needs more ponies in it 🙂
Don’t tell her I said so, but Michele is just as great in person. I knew her waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before either of us ever blogged, and she’s always been pretty cool. 😉 Really glad the collective peer pressure finally got her start blogging though, because it makes it way easier to keep up with Remus and what she’s doing, even far away.
And the world needed to know the greatness that is Remus!
Agreed.
I love this idea, and 100% agree with you on all of the above blogs – they’re all fantastic and inspirational. I enjoy yours too, very much, partly because your May reminds me a lot of my Bridget mare 🙂
Thank you! Somehow horsey blog land seems to mostly avoid the toxic energy of the rest of the internet.
This is simply the greatest bloghop. So fun reading everyone’s that have been posted so far.
Also – fantastic news about the leasee! I’m glad the process was so easy for y’all. =)
Ah yes something weird is going on with Lauren’s site and she’s working on it! Glad the half lease situation is working out well 🙂
Yeah. I’m glad it wasn’t just me. Plus, she’s written some other beautiful work that is worth reading for everyone.
Glad the half lease seems to be a go. What a stress relief for you to have someone able to ride her when you can’t. I love all your blogger stories. This has turned into a fun little impromptu blog hop
Thanks! I needed the blog-spiration this week.
Great post!!! And sounds like the half lease is going to be great! Yay miss May!
Thanks! Gotta love when it just seems to all come together.
Glad the half-lease is working! And yes, the blog community is so much different than 99% of the rest of the horse community, it seems. No/low drama, great people. Love it!
Fingers crossed that it’s beneficial to everyone involved! Especially May, who is quite fat.
So happy that the lease seems like it’s going to work out for everyone! And you know what that extra day of the leasor not riding means? TIME TO GET MAY HER OWN CART YASSSSSS!!!
Could you imagine how cute that would be? Or even better, a SLEIGH in the SNOW with JINGLE BELLS?! Can anyone else say Winter Project? 😉
Oh yay! It sounds like everything might be going good with that lease. I know you don’t write about other people so thanks for the update. I’m glad to know things are working out there.
Yes! I didn’t want anyone to be surprised when I suddenly mention someone else riding May haha
Pingback: Blog Hop: Top Five Bloggers That Keep Me Coming Back For More – Fat Buckskin in a Little Suit
What a wonderful and inspiration blog hop! I follow those blogs as well, and I really do feel like I “know” all of you!
So glad that things went well with May’s part leaser, and that is so awesome she will be lessoning with your trainer. Fingers crossed that everything continues to go smoothly for you and May!