All is well in the world of Ace, despite some funky looking feet and having a pretty easy summer so far. He’s happy spending long nights out to pasture, and hot days in the shaded, bug-free barn. He’s sound and healthy, and most importantly happy.
Where We’ve Been
It’s been slow riding for the last two months for several reasons. We spent half of May and most of June without a properly fitting saddle. I rode bareback maybe once a week while we waited for the new one to arrive. Then when …

Most horse-crazy girls of any age will tell you that of course a horse can love you back. And I don’t care what the skeptics and hard-nosed trainers of the world say. They didn’t see what my horse did the other day.
I’ve been a little busy lately with house projects and committee meetings, and not riding a lot since I’m still sans saddle. I’ve been visiting Ace, brushing him, playing on the ground in bits, and riding bareback some. But no serious work. And I spent two days painting and …

Ace and I have been having a ton of fun over the last week or so, finding ways to play and train without a saddle. The obvious is continuing to ride bareback – which we do surprisingly well. Unfortunately, the temperatures in Northeast Ohio have been unseasonably hot – hovering in the upper 80’s – which makes bareback riding rather wet and unpleasant. We’ve kept the rides short, but fun.
We’ve also been doing some fun ground work – including jumping on the longe and going for trail walks.
On Monday, we …

One of the things that I fell in love with instantly about Ace was his exceptionally expressive face. You can always see exactly what he’s thinking in his eyes.
Most of the time it’s “Hello! Do you have cookies?”
Sometimes it’s “I’m tired. You aren’t really going to make me work are you?”
More often than not, it’s “Hey mom! Good to see you! Do you have cookies?”
When Dave his trimmer comes, it’s “Oh no, YOU again?”
When I hose him off in the wash stall, it’s “I feel claustrophobic AND I’m getting wet! …

It’s been an interesting week in horse ownership for me, with two pretty large revelations about Ace:

my saddle doesn’t fit any more
he’s allergic to … well … something

I swear, with everything our horses put us through, it’s gotta be like raising kids sometimes.
Saddle Selling and Buying
Ace is a tough on saddle fit, because he’s got such a high, long wither. I was so fortunate that the saddle I had fit him, as a new one wasn’t really in the cards. It was narrow enough to fit his back well and …

My typically laid-back pony was all thoroughbred on Saturday, a very unusual state of affairs for him. Somewhere in his subconscious he must have known it was Kentucky Derby day and decided it was high time he act his breed.
Ace was on high alert as we rode late Saturday morning, spooking and dancing and generally feeling good. I had actually taken the time to set up three whole jumps in the arena, a small crossrail and two small verticals that were barely 18 inches. Nothing he hasn’t done  many times …