Something Clever...

Today was windy, freezing, snowing and the horses were crazy! So, needless to say, I couldn't play with them and it was too cold to trim Eddie's feet. (I'll probably do them tomorrow or something)

So... That leaves me nothing to blog about... Hence, I must think of something clever to write about...

Thinking...

Ok, I've got something. I don't know if it will at all be interesting to you or not, but here's a little something that you never knew about me.

I've written a series of books! :-) Yupp, I've written 4 books that are medieval/fantasy with a meaning. Although I'm working on the meaning part. ;-)

 The first book is called, Lady Knight. And it's about a young girl named Lily, who runs away from home after loosing her father. She then runs into a group of knights from the castle, is mistaken for a boy, and taken in as a page. Growing in rank, and achieving friends, she earns pence for the family farm.

After becoming a heroine in the eyes of her countrymen, and her identity is revealed, she is dubbed the first lady knight.

 The second book is called The Rush of the Water and is about Lily's daughter who is also training to become a knight. However, she has no friends (except for the boys she trains with) and she befriends a separate kingdom's princess. They grow into the best of friends and meet secretly behind the waterfall. They swap stories of what's going on in each of their kingdoms. When invaders threaten the Four Kingdoms, it's up to the young friends to save their kingdoms.

 Then, the third book, is about Princess Danielle, Sky Kingdom's princess. She is beautiful, energetic, engaged to be married, and life is as  flawless as can be. However, tragedy strikes. Their entire kingdom is annihilated and forced under complete slavery. Danielle flees by force of her fiance and travels east for months into unknown, wild territory. When all hope is lost for the Princess, she bumps into a small, dear friend. Together, they travel and stumble upon the greatest thing they had ever seen. A completely new country, Rhodienia. Danielle's life is changed, but her heart is forever divided between her two worlds, one of which she will never see again.  

Finally, the fourth book is about Danielle's son, Nehemiah. With the dark cloud of being Sky Kingdom's rightful heir, always hanging over his head, he grows up in Rhodienia. With the coming of his age, he decides to return to the Western Lands and free his people. But many battles must be had, and with multiple defeats, things are looking grim.

Will he ever free his people that are under the reign of the tyrant, King Titus? Will he ever be crowned king? With many twists and turns, the future is never certain.

Hehe, now that I've left you on the edge of your seats, what do you think? If you would ever like to read them, contact me and I can see what I can do! The first one is done, and so is the third one. :-) It might take me a while to finish the 2nd and 4th one. But hopefully they will be done soon!

~Lea & Eddie~

2 Peter 3:10-11

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?

535 - Wow!

Wow, this is my 535th. post! Just about a year and a half! 0_0 Pretty crazy!

Anyway, it's been prettttty windy out and prettttty chilly too! So Eddie and I have been just playing together and doing lots of energy things! lol! He's been really hyper, so we go out, run around, either at liberty, or on the long reins. And he just has a ball!

We did get to ride for a nice, long time the other day. I think it was Saturday. I rode bareback and halterless for about 20 minutes, and he did so great! I was so proud of him!

I fell off, but we had a great time! ha-ha! He was just kinda spooky because it was windy. But he was listening to me, eager to do what I asked and stopped on a dime!

Wowweee!! Where did that come from? Thank you Eddie for the amazing ride! <3

 Then, yesterday we went out to the pasture and did some long reins. We trotted around, cantered (therefore, sending me into a sprint that I've never done before! lol!) and jumped!!

What a good boy!

I love you Eddie!

Finally, we went for a walk around the track and ended on a great note!

Isn't he so handsome?

Oh yeah! And today, I played with Eddie and Scout in the outdoor together. We all cantered around together, did some fun sidepasses at the trot, and ran around.

It was really fun!

Hope that you all had a great day!

~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

Psalm 136:1

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
         For His mercy endures forever.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family, friends, food and faith!

We had a great day here. It was really cold out - just windy - but still cold. We spent most of the day baking, playing games, working on winterizing some things outside, and watching movies. I did get to play with Eddie today, and it was very fun!

Eddie and I played in the outdoor at liberty and just ran around together. It was pretty cold, so we kept moving!

After that, we went out to the pasture and played with the cavaletties, jumping some things and going for a walk. I was froze, but Eddie had a ton of energy. So we ended on a good note, and I ran inside to warm up.

Thank goodness for snow pants! hehe, even though it's not snowing!

So, what are you all thankful for?

I know it's a generic question, but seriously. What are you most thankful for in your life?

We make it a habit to go around the table during dinner, and say what we're most thankful for. We've been doing it for as long as I can remember. And sometimes my #1 was as simple as a gift, or something small and insignificant.

What made it to my #1 this year was homeschooling! I'm so blessed that mom and dad took me out of regular school and homeschooled me. I probably wouldn't be into horses as much as I am now, I probably wouldn't be trimming hooves and neither would I be taking horse nutrition classes! We removed ourselves from public schools and embraced our values and standards.

So, that's what I'm thankful for!

What are you thankful for?

~Lea & Eddie~

Psalm 100:4-5
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
... Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

 

Brrr!!!

Wowza, from tornadoes yesterday, to 35 degree high today - I think I can safely say that Illinois has very weird weather!

Unfortunatly, it was too cold (I'm sure I'll look at this post in January with 10 degree highs and go, "What was I thinking!?") so I didn't play with Eddie. :-( We let them in and out of the pasture and track before the wind was pretty bad and they were cold. So they basically ate hay all day, and I was on the computer/doing school/playing piano and doing lots of chores too.
So it wasn't a totally boring day... Just slow.

Anyway, here a video that it absolutely my favorite! Perfectly sums up what I desire to accomplish with Eddie or horses in general. Not a lot of tricks, but enough to have fun, and just a true, fun, beautiful connection.



Well, I guess that sums up my post for today.
God bless!

~ Lea & Eddie~

2 Kings 2:11

Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 

What a Day!

Tornado warnings & tornadoes, oh my!!!

Today was a very interesting day! This morning it rained, then it was pretty sunny, then it got cloudy again, then it got windy, then it started to rain, then there was a tornado watch, and finally a tornado warning! It was crazy! There was a tornado north of us and I guess it was a half a mile wide. 0_0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEgbm-t0_As

Here's the Youtube link ^^^ Be sure to check it out! Thank the Lord that nobody was seriously injured!

But this morning, (before it stormed, after it rained) I got to play with Eddie and ride too!! :-) We went out to the pasture and he was so sleepy!!

 So we took it slow, and just walked around. We did some long reins, trotted to different barrels and jumped a few things.
We also played with the cavaletties and he trotted over them beautifully! He's such a sweetheart. I love him!
Because he was so sleepy, I hopped on and we walked around a few times. He almost jumped too, which was really fun!!
I had gotten on from the tube, and then he tucked his back legs. I was going to let him go over it,
but
A) I didn't have a helmet
B) I was alone and
C) I didn't have any reins. (Except for a lead line.)
So I hopped off instead of jump. ;-) It would have been fun though. ;)

Here are some pics!

 Eddie's nose!!

 Eddie's feet! So pretty! hehe!

 Riding!

Yeehaw!!

Fall Ride

What a lovely fall day it was! Pretty chilly, but that's ok. I took Eddie and Scout for a walk in the track and then Scout and I played in the pasture for a little bit. Eddie was pretty sleepy, so I let him go inside. It was cold too - 33 windchill and it was very windy. So I played with Scout, rode around for a little bit, then went in the outdoor.

Once we went out there, I hopped off of Scout, hopped on Eddie and we rode around for a little while. He was sort of worried (whooping cranes were going over and my cat was following me around, meowing for attention) and plus it was windy, so we just walked around, he did trot a little bit, and we ended on a really good note.

Hopefully we'll be able to ride more too, it's just been so windy and cold!



~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

How Far We've Come

Lately, I've been going through old pictures and videos and I'm amazed at how many I have! lol! But that's beside the point... ;-) It was just really fun to go back, look at pictures and see how far we've come. Because, trust me, we've come a LONG way! Maybe I'll upload some pics or videos soon of old videos. Tomorrow maybe! ;-)

Anyway, Eddie and I went for a nice, long walk around the track a couple of times. That was really nice, and Eddie likes to mosey around, eat hay, graze a little bit and look around. It was really windy today and cold, so we finished in the outdoor with some liberty play. We trotted around to different barrels and just hung out. Because they had a whopper of a play time this morning! All the horses decided to play Seabiscuit, and run around like crazy ponies. It was good though, they could all use the exercise. lol!

Here are some pictures from yesterday!
We played for a quite a while at liberty with both the horses. So much fun, so much fun!

Nine Quick Tips To Help You Sit The Trot

Nine Quick Tips To Help You Sit The Trot

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "Can you help me sit the trot better?" The following tips will help you with this all-too-common challenge:

1. First and foremost, your horse needs to be on the bit. If his back is hollow, stiff, or tight, you'll find it impossible to sit comfortably--and, in turn, you'll make your horse uncomfortable too!
2. Slow the trot down. Ride "sub-power," and when you can sit easily, increase the impulsion for just a few strides at a time. Then slow down again.
3. Put your horse on the bit in posting trot. Once he's round, sit for just a couple of strides. Start posting again before you feel like you need to grip with your legs. Reorganize your body, relax your legs, and sit again for just a couple of strides.
4. Cross your stirrups over the front of the saddle. Post without your irons until your legs are tired. If they're tired, you can't grip, so you'll sit deeper.
5. Focus on your hips. Notice how they open and close in the walk. Mimic that motion when you're in sitting trot. The looser your hips are, the easier it'll be for you to sit with the motion of your horse.
6. Pretend you're a belly dancer. As you swing your hips, use a buzz phrase like "Do the hootchie kootchie."
7. Hold the front of the saddle with your inside hand. Use that hand to pull you deeper into the saddle so you can learn the feeling of sitting close to your horse in sitting trot.
8. Relax your knees and thighs by taking then an inch or so off the saddle for a moment, letting them drop, and then placing them on lightly again. (If you pinch with your knees or draw your legs up, you pop yourself right up out of the saddle!)
9. Take lunge lessons. This is the best way to develop an independent seat so you can sit the trot easily. Don't use any reins or stirrups. Let the person lunging you handle steering and controlling the speed. Do exercises in which you move one part of your body while you keep the rest of your body still (arm circles, scissor kicks etc.). Also, just practice sitting deeply on your horse in his traveling gaits as well as through upward and downward transitions.

Riding, trimming and playing!

What a wonderful day!
I did school this morning, then once that was done, it was time to play with ponies!
So, first I trimmed Scout and he was excellent! His feet are doing great especially considering he's foundered in the past. I'm learning more and more every day from natural hoof care professionals!
Then, I played with Eddie in the outdoor at liberty. We trotted around for a nice long time and played with some transitions. Which I think really helped once I hopped on! I got some new reins for my sidepull and they are really nice! A little short (8 ft) but they are really light and I think he enjoys that they aren't heavy.
After we played on the ground for a while, I hopped on and just rode around. We touched lots of barrels, stood on the pedestal and I asked him trot.... ;-) lol! He didn't really want to! But that's ok! ;-) Maybe tomorrow he will!
Jane Savoie had a really good newsletter today about sitting the trot. I'll post it after this post, because it was really good! Especially for bareback riding, which is all I do!




Lea & Eddie & Scout

Psalm 119:18

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law

Chilly with a chance of...

Snow!? Not really... just being hopeful here.

I wish it would snow though, it's so stinking fun!! My mom wishes that I wouldn't be hoping for snow, but alas, tis my favorite season!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf71RsyT52c

Anyway, the last couple of days have been busy ones!

We've finished the chicken coop, so we're all done with that. Yay! It looks great! Then last night I went over to On Eagle's Wings Equine Center and spent some time with Bec and her horse, Savannah. They are both doing great! I got to play with Savy too, and she is such a sweetheart! Bec and Savy have both really formed an amazing relationship and I am blessed to be able to help them!

I've been playing with Eddie a lot too!

We've been going for lots of walks and just today I took him for a walk up towards the front of the house and he was so awesome!! He was relaxed, confident and very willing!

Yesterday we had a mini break through. Sometimes, when he's grazing, he'll pull on the lead rope a lot when I'm asking him to go. So I did something Carolyn Resnick suggested on her blog. It didn't pertain to grazing and leading, but just horses in general. She said:

"We as leaders must also focus on the rhythm of our horse while we are working with him. I have found that I can communicate clearly to my horse whether I am in the saddle or from the ground by matching his rhythm and then signaling my request between the strides. I will often times choose a slightly different rhythm from the horse that would cause the horse to want to match my rhythm. For example, if my horse is walking too fast I will choose a rhythm in my own body that I would like him to have rather that trying to slow him down with stronger requests.

When we ride or work the horse at liberty we must maintain the horse’s desire to follow our lead as we are directing him. This takes practice in developing the know- how in making the right choices in what program to use and how to lead. Nothing is achieved in the battle or disconnect." Click here for a link to her blog post.

And that just really struck me that I can do things with Eddie according to his natural harmony or rhythm! Much better than pulling on his head to get him to follow me.

So we've been playing with that lately and it's been great! He's so much more willing now!

Man, you really can never learn too much! Check out the rest of that blog post, it was really good!

~Lea & Eddie~

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and man.

Fun fun day!!

It was such a beautiful day today! The sun was shining, it was breezy and probably for the last time this year, I was able to wear a t-shirt outside.
So I got to play with the horses a lot today!! I trimmed Eddie and Diesel in the morning, then played with Eddie and Scout in the afternoon. Ed and Dies did really well with their feet, and they are all trimmed up and pretty now! :-) Nothing like a natural hoof!
Then I played with Eddie in the track (we went for a walk) but he was really sleepy. So I hopped on and walked around for a little bit in the track. Which was fun! We haven't ridden in there for a long time! We went into the pasture after that and just trotted around (I got off, so we could play some more) and we jumped a few things. By then he was very sleepy, so I let him go graze and I opened the pasture gate so that the ponies could come graze on the pasture for a little bit. I  played with Scout then too and got him some exercise. We did some cavaletties, trotted around and I took the halter off and just sat on him while he grazed.
Such great ponies! We're so blessed to have them! <3


Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel

 

Going for a Walk

The sun sure was shining today!! It was very warm out (gosh it's already November, but it's 68 out!) So we played for a long time outside! I played with Eddie first. Well, actually I trimmed Eddie first. He did really well and his feet are looking great. I'm going to trim his hind feet tomorrow and then do Diesel too. But, anyway!

Eddie and I went for a really long walk! We went out by the muck heap, down towards the silo, through the backyard, through the orchard and down to the low spot. We grazed there for a while and then headed back. We played a lot throughout our walk and just did some small sidepasses, some circles and trotting around. It was really fun and I think he was having a blast!
I remember when we couldn't even take him past the garage. But that was almost 4 years ago, and things have changed SO much since then!

After that, we went into the outdoor and played at liberty in there. We added Scout to the mix and he came trotting in, with Eddie soon behind him - chasing him - of course! ;-) I hopped on Scout a little bit and we trotted around without any ropes, or anything. Just me and him. It was really fun!

Overall, we had a great day, and it is so nice to have an indian summer!

 ~Lea & Eddie & Scout~

A Wonderful Day!

Today was a full day of pony play!!

First, Eddie and I played in the pasture. We haven't really done that for a little bit, so it was fun! We did some cavaletties, and he looked SO pretty going over those. He got in a nice rhythm and was great with those! It was funny though, he would cut to the left or right, on the last one to avoid it. hehe! Silly guy! He always makes me laugh! Then we did some weave cones and he liked to chew on those. ;-) After that we jumped the log a few times, went sideways over it and stood on the pedestal for a nice long time! :) He sure does love that pedestal!!

Second, we went into the outdoor and rode for 20 minutes! He was great! We walked around, went to different barrels and just hung out together. My mom came out for the last 10 minutes and ran around with us, which was fun.

Third, I played with Scout out in the pasture!! We trotted over the cavaletties, stood on the pedestal and he pawed at the cones. ;-) Such a silly pony! Then we started to go for a walk on the track, but I stopped and we went outside of the track instead. Much more interesting! We walked down the south line, through all the brush and he was very confident with it all! There was some plastic down there and lots of rocks, but it didn't phase him. He just wanted the long grass that was under the tarps. hehe!

Fourth, we all ended on a great note and they are all outside grazing together now!


Such a fun day for all of us!! <3


~Lea & Eddie & Scout ~

Joshua 24:15

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

Busy Day!

Yesterday we had a very busy day!

We built another chicken coop for our hens and that took almost all day. But we got a lot done, and it looks great! Hopefully we'll get the rest done soon! :-)

So after we were done with the coop for the day, I got to play with Eddie a little bit!

We went for a nice long walk around the pasture, went for a walk in the track and then came back in the outdoor and rode for awhile. It was really nice! Very still and very sunny!

We went to different barrels, licked them (That is one of his favorite pass times) lol! Don't ask me why! And then we even trotted for a little bit. It was great and he was relaxed, calm and just awesome!! We've really come a long way! Our riding has gotten so great, I'm just so happy for him. He doesn't have to be scared or frantic any more when we ride! Yippeee!!!

~Lea & Eddie~

1 Timothy 2:1-2

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Windy, windy day!

It was so windy today!! So Eddie and I played in the pasture for a little bit. We jumped some things, trotted around and just did some small things. He was very... silly today! ;-) He just wasn't that respectful of my space and kept trying to bite me, so I don't know what that was. But instead of punishing for it (I did move him out of my space so that I didn't get pushed around) I just checked what could be causing it. I didn't find anything, he wasn't sore, he might have been a little cold, or maybe he was just having a bad day. But anywho, we did some small things, went for a nice long walk, played at liberty and then we just rode around for a little bit. Pretty much just spending time together. :-) Then he was fine, and not mouthy/bitey/pushy anymore! Hmmm, wonder what that could have been...
It wasn't a big deal though, and we ended on an awesome note! He let me ride him around bareback and bridleless! Yippee!! :-) He's such a good boy! Even if he has a bit of an off day.


Here's a new video from the past couple of days!




Lea & Eddie


Luke 5:20
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

A Nice Little Play Time!

Eddie and I had a great little play time today! We ran around out in the pasture, did lots and lots of sidepasses and went for a long walk. He was pretty frisky because it was windy, cold and raining on and off. Which he was very concerned about... So we would run inside when it would start raining, and run back outside when it was done.
I also took Diesel for a walk through the south line. Which is mostly composed of brambles, trees and bushes. He really enjoyed that and was happy to grab mouthfuls of grass when we came up to a patch of long grass. hehe! He used to live in a field, all by himself, so I think it reminds him of that. :-) He's so cute!
But Eddie got really nervous when he couldn't see us, so he just RAN around out in the pasture! 0_0 Seabiscuit much?

Anyway, we ended on a really good note, and trotted back to the barn. With Eddie following closely behind of course. ;-)


Lea & Eddie & Diesel

2 Corinthians 3:6

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

A Beautiful Day!

Today was an awesome day!
First, this morning I played with Eddie and Scout in the outdoor at liberty. They were great and very very happy to play and run around together. They all got lots of exercise! ;-) I rode Eddie after that, (he was very frisky!) So we trotted around and went to different things and stood on the pedestal.
He did really good, and even though he was hyper, he was still listening to me! Yay! (haha!)
Here are some pictures:

Then this afternoon, I played with Diesel and Scout in the outdoor together. They ran around, went to the pedestal a few times and then I hopped on Scout! We trotted around some more, and just had some fun! He was so light and very happy to play!
More pics!

November 1st!!!!

0_0

Wow!! It's November 1st already!!!

I can't believe that it's almost December, pretty soon the snow will be flying! Yay! I love snow! :-)

 It's been really frosty out in the morning, but quite warm during the day, so that has been nice.

Anyway, today I got to play with all the horses!! Yippeee! First mom and I played in the outdoor with Scout and Diesel. We had them get some exercise, and let them run around for a little bit, then we all trotted around together and Scout and I stood on the pedestal. After that, mom took Diesel for a walk and Scout and Eddie and I followed. It was really fun, and they all got to run around, kick up their heels and play!

Once Scout and I were done running around, Eddie and I played in the outdoor at liberty! We trotted around, did a few laps at the canter and then we did a fun barrel pattern. It's just the barrel racing pattern, but it was fun! We trotted around them and ended on a really great note!

I hopped on after that and we walked around the barrel pattern and I basically just let him go wherever he wanted. It was really fun, and I think they all enjoyed it! We were all playing for a good long time!

Such good ponies! :-)

Lea & Eddie & Scout & Diesel

Ephesians 1:18

the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,