First day, first ride

As I sat in my truck, waiting for the big diesel engine to warm up enough to haul to the barn, I hmmed and haaad and made a decision. I balanced the training and time I’ve spent with Tarma over the past year, how she’s been on our past few rides, and Benny’s training level […]

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Snowy stroll

Each time I head out to the pasture with my halter, I keep two ideas in mind; either we do whatever it is I’m planning, or we don’t and we try something else. Tarma tells me even before I put her halter on what she’s capable and willing to handle that day. It’s probably too […]

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Don’t rush

Quite a few things went just right today, though I still made two big mistakes. I had a limited amount of time today before my parents holiday party, so I saved myself some time by leaving the trailer hooked up and loaded. All I needed to do was grab the mare, hose her legs down […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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It exists!

I told myself I wasn’t going to do a post about it until it was actually in my driveway, but I’m so stupidly excited I don’t want to wait. At 11am today, 218 days since I sent the initial down payment, I received the photos of my Double D trailer, fully and finally complete!!!!! It […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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