On the loose

One in the saddle, one on the ground

Horse

  • Now and Then, Trailer Edition

    I started to write this while sitting at a truckstop waiting for my best friend caravan down to the Oregon Horse Center with me. For the first time ever we will have almost matching trailers, which differ only in the details. In the span of three years of actually owning horses I’ve gone from a… Read more

  • Anniversaries

    Benny is now six months old, halfway to a year, and it’s been a year since the Very Best Dog slipped away from us. Benny is a delight every day, and forming him into his own Very Good Dog is by turns exciting and fun, frustrating and puzzling. We’re getting to see a different aspect… Read more

  • Tarmageddon

    On some days Tarma is sweet and smart and relatively chill, riding out on the buckle and easy. Today she had a different feeling, so my friend called her Tarmageddon and it fits. Even when she’s at her worst, just not checked in or throwing shade, it never feels dangerous, just a different shade of… Read more

  • Sore but solid

    Yesterday I joined several other OET (Oregon Equestrian Trails) members in some vigerous leaf raking, followed by an excellent but too quick solo trail ride. We rake big leaf maple and other leaves off the trails so they don’t turn into a slick, muddy, boggy mess in the winter. Tarma stayed tied to the trailer… Read more

  • Short sleeves in November

    At one point during today’s mostly successful trail ride, I had to take off my jacket as I was so hot. In November! I say mostly successful due to the fact that my Nemesis Hill stuck again. There’s this one hill at Battle Ground Lake State Park that is perfect for a good long canter… Read more

  • Today worked (aka, titles are hard)

    Today was brought to you by winter crud, which is apparently going through my household. I’m fine and the dog is fine, but Kade and Tom have been wandering around with stuffy noses and aching heads, so they are stuck at home. Kade’s covid test was negative and Tom’s is pending and we’re vaccinated (Kade… Read more

  • A Wednesday

    I did all the things today, and the brain said it was good and let me be happy, if tired. Work wasn’t too stressful, the child’s new pediatrician said he’s growing fine, and the puppy got adequate exercise. I ate the right things, mostly, including not all of the Halloween candy. Just a few pieces…… Read more

  • Spicy Fall Ponies

    I finally rode my horse again this Sunday, but maybe I could have chosen a better day than Halloween to break our dry spell. We putzed and futzed all day, and finally hauled to the trail head in the mid afternoon and took our time tacking up. It was my second time hauling with my… Read more

  • October Blahs

    I read another excellent, too on the nose for comfort newsletter by the savvy Anne Helen Peterson. It pretty well sums up what’s going on this month, the Fall Regression, so hop over there and let her much better writing suck you right in. Everything feels a bit on pause, or the same old same… Read more

  • On The Other Hand…

    It’s been a bit of a mixed week in the Morse household. I came back from my “No Responsibilities Mom Trip” to the hot springs in Eastern Oregon feeling…human. I was happy in my skin, calmer and relaxed and dare I say it, myself again. I, of course, immediately ruined the mood by opening my… Read more