On the loose

One in the saddle, one on the ground

horseback riding

  • Tarma Eats a 50

    The true measure of endurance for me isn’t just completing on time, or having the vet declare my horse fit to continue at the end of a long day. It’s the week after, especially the first few days after you get home. Do they stiffen up? Look off in any way? Dip any weight? Do… Read more

  • Grizzly bound!

    After last weekend’s ride, I’m pretty set on a 50 at Grizzly. There’s a lot going into this, so let’s dig in: Our last conditioning ride went swimmingly; the Octos stayed on and both horses were thrilled to move out without feeling the rocks as much or dealing with rubs, we got several up and… Read more

  • Two weeks to Grizzly!

    With just over a week to go until we load up the trailer to (hopefully) haul over to Central Oregon for our first endurance ride of the year, the to-do list gets rather busy. I save myself a lot of packing by leaving most things in my trailer year round, but I still have to:… Read more

  • Conditioning Check In

    Once again, I’m bouncing back and forth between posting straight to Facebook and here on the space I actually pay for. Folks don’t always follow a link to a blog, but they usually take a few moments to read a full FB post. I value the blog as a much better way to search and… Read more

  • Missed connection

    The reason I always ask “what am I doing that isn’t right” when Tarma’s not responding the way I’ve come to expect it’s cause it’s pretty much always a me problem. Yesterday was a good example. Tarma actually came up to me in the pasture instead of waiting for me to hike out to her,… Read more

  • Day of the Horse

    It’s a bit sad that on a day I should be stuffing my mare with treats and fussing over her, I’m stuck at home with brain fog, thanks due to COVID finally catching up with me. Our two year anniversary together (and the one year anniversary with my Double D trailer!) also passed with me… Read more

  • Circles

    There are days when I’m on top of everything, I have a good handle on the life stuff. Work out, eat mostly ok, get the kid out the door and the dog happy, do my work, take care of my horse, listen to my son’s day, share some funny TikToks with my husband. Then there’s… Read more

  • Wrong Turns

    Some rides I can’t wait to get home after taking care of Tarma, shower and share the photos for all my friends to see. Other rides never get shared, for reasons ranging from a tad too short to too much time passing and life happenings. Others, like yesterday’s, I’m compelled to share, but only after… Read more

  • Trust

    I had plans for this week, oh so many plans. But the Universe said, “Ha ha, take a break!” Tarma’s coming off her first endurance ride, so I gave her last week off. We did some ground work and I lunged her a few times, but I didn’t ride until Monday. On Sunday I drove… Read more

  • Shifting Focus

    Before every big trip or event, I try to carve out some quiet space to tinker with something and visualize the path ahead. Usually this is done around packing, though last week I hauled out my saddle and futzed with my saddle bags after noticing how jangly they were at speed. I set the Wintec… Read more