Another trail ride!

Caitlin and I went riding today- she rode Medias, and I rode Abner. We had so much fun!

We pretended to be Lewis and Clark (I was Clark), and we went adventuring to find "a new America". We played around, and Abner forgot that he wasn't a racehorse. We did a little bit of cantering, and a lot of trotting around. Abner behaved himself, as always!


I didn't get many pictures of me on Abner today, except the one where I am hugging him. He is always good for snuggles, and tries to turn his head around to see what's going on.

Abner saved my butt today- more than he usually does! We were walking along the grass, and I was talking to Caitlin and distracted. All of a sudden, Abner took off in this slow, weird canter. It turned up that he had walked into some REALLY thick mud- and he got himself out! My reins were on the buckle the entire time, and as soon as we were clear from the mud Abner stopped, as if to make sure I was okay.


I am thankful to have such an amazing horse, and fun friends to ride with!









(In this picture, Abner had just finished throwing a fit because we were brushing the other horse. He threw everything off of his stall- all the brushes, his halter, leadrope, everything. He had been sticking his tongue out like crazy trying to get our attention! He has so much personality- what a cool dude. See his tongue out, trying to lick Caitlin?)

How to Save Money...And Still be Fabulous.

Okay, so I have been wanting some TwinkleToes for a while now for Abner. For those of you who don't know, TwinkleToes is a sort of glitter that I can use on Abner's hooves and anywhere else I want to sparkle.


Well, TwinkleToes cost about $20 for a small bottle. But I had a better idea- I'm going to buy plain glitter in the color of my choice (probably silver, because we're trying to be Classy, not Trashy), and sprinkle it on top of plain hoof oil- which I use quite a bit for Aby.


Now, how cool is that?! I can make my horse prance around glittering like a fairy without spending all of my money.

Regular Glitter- about $3
Hoof Oil- Free, because I've had it.
Making my horse a glitter princess- Priceless.



I'll have to grab some pictures next time I do it!

Awesome trail ride today!

I went on an amazing trail ride today with Christina, who rode Medias. We didn't bring the camera because I was scared of dropping it, but I wish we had brought it!

Christina loves Medias, and Abner was great. Well...except when he forgot he had brakes once while we were cantering...


He is such a steady trail horse- he's so fun!


Abner also had a visit from his old owner, Cindy. She came out and fed him an apple, which I'm sure he loved. :) I'm disappointed I couldn't be there, but definitely next time!

Here are a couple pictures from around the barn today:

Christmas With Abner

I got a whole bunch of stuff for Abner this Christmas. I got a new saddle pad, some show sheen, and some white spray for his legs. (I'm sure he's going to love my new assortment of sprays...)


I rode him around and made my dad take some pictures, too. I figured I needed some record of our first Christmas together!


Abner loves the snow- once I got on him, he wanted to trot around and play a little bit. I just let the reins go loose, in case he slipped, and just hung on. I was in my PJs and boots, so the pictures aren't very "professional", but I like them.


I gave my dad a framed picture of Abner and I for his desk for Christmas.


Here are a couple pictures that I took!





Okay, and I totally have to give props to my dad, the best hay feeder/caretaker in the world. He's wearing the hat I made him for his birthday! He loves Abner as much as I do. :)

Just a quick update..

I haven't been riding because of the snow, I hate the snow. :) I'm probably going to suck it up and go riding this week, just to get some fun pictures.


Last week, Aby bonked his head (or got kicked, we have no idea), and pretty much had a black eye. We cleaned it up, and it's completely better now.

My friend Caitlin came out to the house the other day and she rode Abner around a little bit before he ate dinner. He was a little bit grumpy, and reminded me NOT to mess around with dinner time!


I'll try to get some pictures of Aby this week!

So much fun today!

I took Abner on a huge trail ride today!

There's a big field next to our property and leads to the C&O Canal. My dad went with us, and he had Jack in the backpack. I could tell that Abner had been a foxhunter! We didn't do any "real" work, but it was a great break from the usual work in the pasture. Abner's ears were pricked forward the entire time, and he didn't spook once!

We jumped a small creek, and he took it all in stride like he does this stuff everyday. There was a small creek, which made me a little nervous at first, but Abner jumped it like a champion. This summer, once we're both in shape, I'm going to look into joining a foxhunting club- we're still going to do dressage, but it'll be fun to do all sorts of things.


When we were in the field, we took the opportunity to canter a little bit on the paths. Abner sometimes get excited and canters like a madman, but we were cantering on a loose rein on the buckle, and he was so calm and relaxed!

When Abner gets really excited or spooky, sometimes he'll "roar"- that's always my heads up that he's going to do something! During our ride, he was roaring a LOT! He never did anything bad afterwards, so I think he was just really excited.


I decided today that Abner's color is purple. He's wearing a purple blanket right now, and I want to get some purple polos and saddle pads- I like the dark purple the best, because it's the color of royalty. :)


I also decided that I wouldn't sell Abner for a million dollars. Well, I wouldn't even sell him for four million! He's worth his weight in gold, at least! I feel so safe when I go riding on him, even if I'm just riding in a halter and lead rope. I think he's definitely my "forever horse", and he's totally irreplaceable.



We're going back on the trail tomorrow, and I will definitely take some pictures!

Fun Winter Pictures!

No, no pictures of us cantering in the snow. Yet. :)

It's been way too muddy to do much outside, I'll ride him around bareback, but otherwise we've been taking it easy. He loves to hang out in the barn with me, and Christina was with me today and took a lot of great pictures.







I love having the same color hair as Abner. :)

Christina got a picture of Aby bowing today- that horse is FLEXIBLE for being the age he is! I know it looks like his belly is big in the picture, but it's really just the angle! And it's winter, he's hibernating, you know?




In this picture, I am giving Abner a stern talking to about how he needs to put his head down and POSE like all the famous-ribbon-winning horses do, because otherwise, how will we know what to do when we win those ribbons?



In most of the pictures of me sitting on Abner, he is wearing nothing but his halter. I had unclipped the lead rope because it was annoying me, and it amazes me how he still listens even when he KNOWS I have no control over him.


Today, while I was lunging Lady, she was bucking/rearing/striking out like a maniac, and Abner was trotting around on the lunge line like he was in his own little world. I love when he does that, and it's especially funny when he'll look at her as if to say, "Um, what are you doing?!" We like to show Lady how to be a good equine citizen by using Abner as an example.




I love when Christina comes over, because I always end up with great pictures. :) She ate dinner with us today, and we had a lot of fun! (Well, except when Albert started trying to constantly hump her arm/leg/whatever body part was closest...) Good thing Christina has a sense of humor!

And here is the leg humper himself. Shame. (Okay, I wasn't much help! I was laughing too much to do anything!)