Anna Blake “Slow down. No one’s tombstone ever says ‘I wish I would have mucked faster.’” Edgar has lots of opinion when I am mucking the donkey pen. He runs to greet me- which usually results in him blocking the gate I am trying to get through. That takes some un-tangling. Once I am in, he carefully positions … Read more
I wasn’t born in a barn. It was the small building south of the barn- our house. As the youngest, there were times that I needed a baby sitter, but there weren’t always hands free for that job on our farm. I gave everyone a good scare as a toddler. My Mother noticed I was missing from the spot she … Read more
There is a front coming in tonight. Clouds are moving low and fast, the wind is howling around corners, as the temperature drops like a rock. Spring and fall bring this kind of barometer-bouncing weather. Worst of all, the horses are acting unsettled as the atmosphere. There is a name for this kind of weather, … Read more
Here at Infinity Farm we are riding in a rut- literally a rut runs along the rail of the arena. The first definition of rut in the dictionary is “a sunken track or groove made by the passage of vehicles.” Most arenas have ruts. Every week I do Zamboni work to the sand, but a … Read more
The gate opened and in came the first horse/rider combination. The horse was a post-prime Arabian, trotting quickly with her nose out. She was groomed to a shine, with a braid in her mane already beginning to fray. The rider was a tiny girl in jeans, rubber tall-boots and a scuffed helmet. I think she … Read more
There is a delicate quality to the outdoors just now- like the earth is holding it’s breath, waiting for the wind on it’s way from the north. Any minute that wind will bomb us naked and mono-chromatic till spring.
They say that old age is not for the faint of heart and neither is this post. Don’t expect a warm Disney story about my horse aging. Spirit is 23 years old this fall -retired for 7 years. He has hated every day of it.
I was at a dressage show earlier this season and overheard two women talking about a rider they both knew. “She isn’t driving the horse onto the bit; she just isn’t strong enough to drive him to the bit!” one said with a sharp edge to her voice. My heart sinks when I hear comments … Read more
The World Equestrian Games are in the United States for the first time, at the Kentucky Horse Park. It isn’t too late to watch it on FEI TV. Eight riding disciplines are represented, many reflecting old world skills like dressage. Reining is a comparatively new sport, born in the American west, competed on American Quarter … Read more
Autumn came this week on the calendar, agreeing with what the great outdoors has been saying for awhile. Evening chores have been so Maxfield Parrish; ethereal colors with a sweetness in the air, and a near-full moon over my prairie. The horses are changing coats for winter.