Day One - Our Place
Published by Cari Zancanelli under horse keeping, Horse training, pasture on 10:44 PM
Welcome to my training diary! I hope to be able to show the daily process of working with my horses and also the other necessary aspects of owning horses. If you have a horse crazy kid, I hope that you can point them this way so that they can see what kind of work is involved before you go out and buy a horse. I will be throwing in "recipes" for various things like hair conditioner, treats, hot bran mash, etc. and I hope that I can get recipes for horse stuff from others as well.
Here is what you need to know about me, my family and our little ranch:
We live in a small town in Western Colorado called Rifle. We live about 20 miles from clinician John Lyons (and yes, we have barbecues with him all the time... ha ha, not!). When he first moved to the area he lived very near where we now live. No, I am not implying that his knowledge somehow seeped up through the very dirt and into my head. If only it were that easy!
We rent a little yellow house on ten acres. When we first moved here we weren't sure how long we would stay, or if we would like it, so we rented. Four years later we are still here, but we like the place a lot. There are four pastures and two paddocks where the horses can be locked in at night with shelter. There are no stalls, no arena, no round pen (yet). We are not wealthy folks and don't have any fancy equipment or facilities. We have to use what we have, but that doesn't mean I don't wish for those things... The horses are not refined, expensive or registered but we love them as if they were. Two of them are mustangs because I have a very soft spot for mustangs....
Our six horses are named Bella, Bj, Tequila, Luna, Snickers and Angel. You will get to meet them in more detail in my next post. We have an adopted barn cat named Nemo. He walked into our yard two weeks after our previous cat, Cecil, passed away. It was destiny...
I prefer to ride English with a dressage saddle because it is the most comfortable for me. I love dressage, as well but have not been able to take lessons for quite awhile. I ride western on occasion and have nothing against it as a sport but find the saddles generally uncomfortable for me. My husband Doug rides western and likes trail riding. He used to be a rodeo judge and had to ride a horse as part of judging. In other words, I am not a purist and not a hard-core competitor, nor a snob and neither is my husband. In the past I have competed in a few dressage and 4-H shows but don't consider myself an expert by any means. If the money and time became available (at the same time) I would go for it.
Due to various circumstances in my life, there were many times that I was struggling just to hang on to what I already had. About ten years ago I got a divorce which affected my life for the worse. The financial struggle after that was epic for me but I couldn't bear giving up my horses. I worked 3 or 4 jobs just to pay my bills and stay afloat. The horses were like my children, though, and somehow I managed to find living situations that allowed me to keep them. Unfortunately their training suffered as a result. Life doesn't always follow the script we want for it and we must adapt to what life brings. For that reason I have a 12 year-old mare and a 7 year-old mare that need quite a bit of training. Two others need consistent work to improve as much as they are able. I feel a measure of embarrassment about this but looking back I didn't shirk my duty, I simply did not have any time to train them. Now I do, and I am determined that they will get their due training.
I have loved horses since birth, and there are many other people out there just like me, I know. Horse lovers are born, not really made. We just know and we do what we can to ride or be near them. Right now I am watching a recording of the World Equestrian Games from last fall. It's taken me 5 months to watch the tape because it's hard to watch all those great riders on beautiful horses.... The most successful horse folks of our generation competing on the most beautiful and athletic horses in the world. But for every top rider there are 30 amateurs like me out there, just happy to own and/or ride a horse. We don't even care what the horse looks like, do we?
Without the privileges of others, the rest of us obtain horses where we can, spend what we have and love every minute of it all the same. We are thankful for what we do have - our horses that we are able to keep at our home and enjoy. Sometimes the idea of riding in front of an audience is daunting enough, so a ride down the road is enough limelight for me. Besides, Angel is always dirty! Our life and horses are simple, uncomplicated and wonderful. I just want to share them with everyone and perhaps those of you who don't have a horse can live vicariously through our experiences.
I hope you enjoy this site and if you are able, please feel free to contribute ideas, recipes, experiences or comments.
Here is what you need to know about me, my family and our little ranch:
We live in a small town in Western Colorado called Rifle. We live about 20 miles from clinician John Lyons (and yes, we have barbecues with him all the time... ha ha, not!). When he first moved to the area he lived very near where we now live. No, I am not implying that his knowledge somehow seeped up through the very dirt and into my head. If only it were that easy!
We rent a little yellow house on ten acres. When we first moved here we weren't sure how long we would stay, or if we would like it, so we rented. Four years later we are still here, but we like the place a lot. There are four pastures and two paddocks where the horses can be locked in at night with shelter. There are no stalls, no arena, no round pen (yet). We are not wealthy folks and don't have any fancy equipment or facilities. We have to use what we have, but that doesn't mean I don't wish for those things... The horses are not refined, expensive or registered but we love them as if they were. Two of them are mustangs because I have a very soft spot for mustangs....
Our six horses are named Bella, Bj, Tequila, Luna, Snickers and Angel. You will get to meet them in more detail in my next post. We have an adopted barn cat named Nemo. He walked into our yard two weeks after our previous cat, Cecil, passed away. It was destiny...
I prefer to ride English with a dressage saddle because it is the most comfortable for me. I love dressage, as well but have not been able to take lessons for quite awhile. I ride western on occasion and have nothing against it as a sport but find the saddles generally uncomfortable for me. My husband Doug rides western and likes trail riding. He used to be a rodeo judge and had to ride a horse as part of judging. In other words, I am not a purist and not a hard-core competitor, nor a snob and neither is my husband. In the past I have competed in a few dressage and 4-H shows but don't consider myself an expert by any means. If the money and time became available (at the same time) I would go for it.
Due to various circumstances in my life, there were many times that I was struggling just to hang on to what I already had. About ten years ago I got a divorce which affected my life for the worse. The financial struggle after that was epic for me but I couldn't bear giving up my horses. I worked 3 or 4 jobs just to pay my bills and stay afloat. The horses were like my children, though, and somehow I managed to find living situations that allowed me to keep them. Unfortunately their training suffered as a result. Life doesn't always follow the script we want for it and we must adapt to what life brings. For that reason I have a 12 year-old mare and a 7 year-old mare that need quite a bit of training. Two others need consistent work to improve as much as they are able. I feel a measure of embarrassment about this but looking back I didn't shirk my duty, I simply did not have any time to train them. Now I do, and I am determined that they will get their due training.
I have loved horses since birth, and there are many other people out there just like me, I know. Horse lovers are born, not really made. We just know and we do what we can to ride or be near them. Right now I am watching a recording of the World Equestrian Games from last fall. It's taken me 5 months to watch the tape because it's hard to watch all those great riders on beautiful horses.... The most successful horse folks of our generation competing on the most beautiful and athletic horses in the world. But for every top rider there are 30 amateurs like me out there, just happy to own and/or ride a horse. We don't even care what the horse looks like, do we?
Without the privileges of others, the rest of us obtain horses where we can, spend what we have and love every minute of it all the same. We are thankful for what we do have - our horses that we are able to keep at our home and enjoy. Sometimes the idea of riding in front of an audience is daunting enough, so a ride down the road is enough limelight for me. Besides, Angel is always dirty! Our life and horses are simple, uncomplicated and wonderful. I just want to share them with everyone and perhaps those of you who don't have a horse can live vicariously through our experiences.
I hope you enjoy this site and if you are able, please feel free to contribute ideas, recipes, experiences or comments.
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| Me and Luna |
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