# Can FINALLY, 8 horses later, officially announce and introduce our keepers!



## Mona (Sep 20, 2011)

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...I am so HAPPY to be able to announce that we finally have our "dream horses"!! After 8 gaited horses and a year and a half of searching, viewing photos, videos, asking questions, paying sellers, paying haulers, paying vets, paying fees and paying taxes, reselling, because they were not as described or not suitable for our needs, I can safely say that we finally have our two dependable, sensible trail horses, and have a third for others that come wanting to share a ride with us, hoping that after some riding, she'll prove to be as nice as the others! :thumb
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They may not be gaited the best, but they are comfortable for us.

They may not be beautiful in others eyes, but as they say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

They may not be totally spook-proof, no horse is, but they are sensible and accepting.

They are sure footed, confident and willing on the trails, and we are looking forward to enjoying them for many years to come!



They are...

*CHEYENNE*...





Cheyenne was one of our original 2 to arrive in May 2010. She was purchased to be my husband's horse, but I claimed her as "mine" when the other of the original two didn't work out. She and I spent many hours out riding together alone last year. She has challenged me and made me question myself with these crazy horse dreams I seemed to want fullfilled, but I have managed to gain much confidence and trust through riding her, going through both the good and the bad, than I ever had before. She is a truely wonderful mare and is my "heart horse". If anyone is interested, you can see more of each horse on thier personal webpage by clicking on their name at the beginning of their paragraph.

*WHITEY*...





Whitey just arrived here in August and has also proven to be a calm, level headed riding horse. Both my husband and I have ridden him and he has not given us any problems. He seems to love being ridden, and my husband (Chris) is also gaining more confidence knowing that even though we can move out a little faster, that he is not going to run away on him, and can be very easily brought back down without any fuss whatsoever. We missed a fair bit of riding this summer trying to find just the right horse for him, but it has all paid off and they are enjoying their rides together too!

*COCONUT*...





Coconut (aka "Coco") is the newest member of our small group of horses, turning "Two's Company" into "Three's a Crowd". She just arrived here this past Thursday night, so is just settling in. She hasn't been ridden much over the last 2 years, so needs some refreshing on her riding skills. Well, last night we took her out for her first ride since her arrival here and she did fairly well for us. She is a nice calm, quiet mare that with some riding time and miles, should make a wonderful 3rd horse for company wanting to join us out on a nice pleasure ride.






Also want to share a recent trail ride opportunity we thoroghly enjoyed.

This past Saturday, we trailered up to Atikokan (about 3-3.5 hours drive) on Saturday for a Poker Derby Trail Ride. It was held at the Charleson Recreation Area in Atikokan, Ontario. They did a wonderful job of hosting the ride, and was a PERFECT DAY! You can read more about the ride and facilities here... http://www.charlesonrecreationarea.com/events/eventDetails.php?eID=...

Participants collect 5 ribbons at various checkpoints throughout the ride, then when you get back, you go and draw 5 cards and whoever gets the best poker hand of the day, wins. To save time and typing, I am going to copy/paste from an email I sent out telling my friends about it.

Oh man, it (the ride) was EXCELLENT!!! OMG!! It was so nice, so fun, so exciting, and our horses behaved like the champs they are!!



The day was nice...it was cool, and overcast for the most part, but I made sure I wore a T-shirt, then a sweatshirt and a light nylon jacket over that. It worked our perfectly for the day...not too hot, not too cold at any time throughout the day!

The trails were AWESOME! For the most part, they were wide enough to ride 2 wide, some a little narrower, and covering all kinds of terrain and beautiful scenery, and with a few "extreme" type (at least to me!) spots where you had to go up and down VERY steep hills, where you were literally nearly laying right backwards or right forwardin the saddle. I LOVED it! You just basically hold your breath and let the horse go, hoping like heck they will know what they are doing to get us both safely to the top or bottom! I would say they should definitely have shoes all the way around. Whitey was shod all the way around, and Cheyenne had only shoes on the front and after some time, she was tripping up and stumbling as her back feet became a little ouchy from all the rock. Did I mention...it was AWESOME???!! We will definitely be going back in the future, weather permitting! LOVED IT!! I plan to make a habit of it!





The lady (Joy) that bought Buck, the palomino from me went too, and rode him. Not with us, as I never saw her, but she rode with some guy from Thunder Bay that rode her Arab, and he has not ridden before, and after that ride, he was literally smiling ear to ear with this perma-grin! He loved it so much and was so excited, and sounds like he's hooked on horses now too. He too said he never in his life expected it to be so extreme! LOL! Anyway, she was very happy with Buck's ride and performance and just loves him!! What a day!  She did say he needs some work on his "whoa", as she likes them to "stop on a dime" when asked, and with him, when he was going faster, and she asked him to whoa, he wanted to keep going, so she said she'll work with him on that. She "won" $500 in the poker derby for the best hand...3 queens, (out of 3 hands all I ot was a pair of 7s!) But then after awhile, the committee lady came and gathered the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners up. Some how, they messed up, as someone had a full house, so they should have gotten first, then Joy 2nd, so I guess they all agreed and gave their money back and let them do it how it should have been done to start with. Too bad though, as the 3rd place ended up bumped right out of the money, but at least for Joy, she ended up still, with $300. I told her now that she bought a gold horse (Buck) that everything she touches will turn to gold! LOL! She said to me..."There was another palomino on the trails too, but not as pretty as mine." LOL!! She was wearing a hoodie that said "one horse short of being that crazy horse lady". I told her now that she has Buck, she IS that crazy horse lady...no longer one horse away! LOL!

There were 86 registered riders in all and was a 25 km loop (about 15 and a half miles). We did it in 3 hours, the lady on Buck did it in I think she said 4 hourse, 40 minutes. It is not a race, and we did a little fast walking but not lots...they just move out at a nice clip, and Whitey loves to move at that speed, so we are happy to go along with that! LOL! There was a man that came about 200 miles north of Winnipeg...he said it was a thousand kilometer trip here, and he brought his mule to ride!! Boy, that mule sure could clip along, and he was barefoot!! Beautiful animal. We rode with him a good while and he said he was surprised our horses weren't scared of it, because many are. I told him these horses have probably seen a fair share of them on the trails in their past, coming from KY as they are more popular down there...many ride the gaited mules I guess. Chris and I and the man on the mule kept taking turns with leading too, and following, so all horses are great about that.

Oh, and in the "A Man and His Horse" photo...Chris stopped for a pee on the trail. I sat on Cheyenne, watching to make sure no other riders came along. He handed me Whitey's rein to hold him, and I told him no way, if something happens and he takes off, what am I going to do, so I told him he had to hold his own horse AND himself! LOL! I turned to look at them and was sooooo funny, as I saw that while Chris was standing there having a pee, Whitey had also squatted and was having one too! LOL! I could not resist, and had to take a couple pics of the two of them "bonding" like that! LOL! Chris said it was so funny too, because while Whitey was peeing, he was also moaning and groaning very loudly, like what a relief it was. Chris said he was surprised I never heard him from where I was sitting because he was doing it so loudly.

Anyway, these are the pics...none of the "extreme" up and downs as I was crapping my pants hanging on for dear life, hoping Cheyenne would make it to the top without going over backwards before we got there, or summersaulting on the way down. Thank God there were only 2 real steep ones like that...just the one up and one down. OY!! LOL!


I hope you enjoy the photos...it's not a video really, just a collaboration of pics from our ride that day. Thanks for letting me share our great day!



Chris teased me about our 15 hour day for a 3 hour ride! After the ride they also hosted a wonderful BBQ and prizes for every single entrant there!


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## chandab (Sep 20, 2011)

Thank you for sharing. All three are very nice. Glad you found the fit you were looking for.


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## Sterling (Sep 20, 2011)

Mona what a heart warming story! I'm so happy that you have found your heart horse and everything is working out with the other two as well. You already know how I feel about "Cheyenne"...



And Whitey and Coconut are just as beautiful. I wish you future enjoyment doing your trail rides ...you look great in those photos too! (BTW.....where's your helmet? Says the riding instructor in me



.)


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## Mona (Sep 20, 2011)

Thanks Chanda and Cheyenne.

LOL!! Cheyenne, you know what...I bought a helmet this Spring before I even started riding for the season, but I just havn't been able to bring myself to wearing it. We went on another "organized" ride around the beginning of the month, and I think there were 18 horses/riders there, and I bet only 5, if that, were NOT wearing helmets, the rest were, so on that ride we really felt out of place! LOL!


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## REO (Sep 20, 2011)

What a beautiful place! I would have loved to go on a ride like that. I used to trail ride deep into the redwoods in northern CA. I miss it!

You look so skinny!





Your horses are gorgeous!!! I have a serious crush on Whitey!





I laughed out loud to see the pic of the boys!

Chris had to see a man about a horse and Whitey had to see a horse about a man! LOL

That pic needs to be framed! Priceless!


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Sep 20, 2011)

REO said:


> Chris had to see a man about a horse and Whitey had to see a horse about a man! LOL






I haven't heard that saying for eons. My mother used to say that all the time... or see a man about a dog which actually just meant she wasn't planning anything too exciting. LOL I used to think we were really going to get a new puppy or horse and I'd be sooo excited...



well I *was* just little



.

Mona, thanks for taking us with you thro the photos. Love your horses!


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## AnnaC (Sep 21, 2011)

You have three very special horses there - so glad that you have found them at last.





And thank you so much for the fabulous pictures - especially loved the ones of the trail ahead taken 'through' your mares 'ears'! But what brilliant scenery, it must have been such a wonderful day for you all. The picture of your hubby 'just seeing a man about a horse' was just classic - many horses wont stop to pee when being ridden and poor Whitey must have been just as desperate as Chris. LOL!!

May I just offer a small suggestion? When Chris gains more confidence in his riding, it would be good if he could sit his weight a little further forward in the saddle and get his legs lower and under his body weight - should be a straight line from your shoulders, through your hip and down to your heels to be in the perfect position for the comfort/balance of the horse. At the moment his weight is directed back towards Whitey's rear end and is getting a bit close to the 'weakest' part of the horse's spine/back. Both Chris and Whitey will find it a bit easier (especially on longer trail rides) if Chris is that bit further forward in the saddle.

It's not that easy to explain, but if you get Chris to simply stand upright indoors somewhere, then get him to bend his knees a little without bending his top half, feet flat on the floor you will see when looking at him, that he is balancing with his back straight, his knees bent and with a more or less straight line from his shoulder to his heels. This is how he should look when on Whitey. Now get him to try staying there but with his feet forward in line with his knees (back kept straight) - he will tip over backwards!! He is no longer 'balanced' and you can now see that this is where his weight is 'sent' when he is riding.

Just a little tip for anyone riding horses - makes life more comfortable all round. (sorry for the rambling explanation!!)

Please let us have more pictures of your gorgeous horses - I just love the biggies and miss them often.


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## LAminiatures (Sep 21, 2011)

Very pretty herd. Coconut is a beauty my pic for sure love that buckskin pinto very flashy.


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## kaykay (Sep 21, 2011)

Wow whitey is just stunning! What a great picture. Im so happy for all of you.

Kay


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## Mona (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks for the tip Anna. Yes, I have told Chris so many times about his posture. He has such poor posture both on the ground just sitting or standing, as well as sitting on a horse. I guess when he gets comfy it all goes out the window. When he thinks of it, I will see him actually straighten out, but I don't want to be riding his butt constantly about sitting up straight or it may just frustrate him enough into not riding any more. But thanks, and yes, I do know what you are saying. One thing though, with the gaited horses, it is natural to sit *slightly* different (leaning back slightly, legs slightly forward) when riding them, in comparison to other breeds, due the their gaiting.


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## cretahillsgal (Sep 21, 2011)

Beautiful horses! I'm envious of you! Wish I could come and ride with ya!


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## RockRiverTiff (Sep 21, 2011)

Love the intelligent expression on all three of your horses, and what a great story - really makes me miss trail riding!


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## StarRidgeAcres (Sep 21, 2011)

Congratulations Mona! They all are just beautiful, but Whitey...WOWZER!



I'm in love!


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## Hosscrazy (Sep 21, 2011)

Congratulations to you!!!! That is awesome!!!! I am so blessed to have Quarter Horse reiners and get to ride every day ... absolutely the BEST!!!! Congratulations to you!

Liz


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## Shari (Sep 21, 2011)

Congrats on finding your perfect horses, they are beautiful. Loved hearing about your adventures!


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## Marty (Sep 22, 2011)

Mona you look great. You never seem to age!

I have to tell you soon as I saw Whitey I about had a heart attack. He looks so much like a horse I had in every way possible that was a breeders stock paint.

When I saw the others I knew they had to be Spotted Saddle Horses. They are huge here and very abundant and great comfort for trails.

I loved the trails and the scenery was gorgeous. Happy Day.


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## Mona (Sep 22, 2011)

Thanks Marty. Yes, I actually looked at one from your town! (Pikesville I believe it was??) It was a gorgeous wildly marked sabino mare, but I didn;t think would be quiet enough or experienced enough for what we were looking for, so ended up passing on her...broke my heart! LOL! We did end up buying 2 from TN though, but neither of them turned out either. As for theme being popular in that area, that is for sure! That is where the highest concentration of them seems to be, for sure! If not for their smooth ride, there is NO WAY I'd be riding again. It truely does make a HUGE difference on an ageing, deteriorating body!


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## Ashley (Sep 22, 2011)

Now you had to post them didnt you? I am counting the days before I can jump on and go for a ride. Even if its just a short ride..................just a few more weeks.


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## Mona (Sep 22, 2011)

Ashley, I bet you are looking as big as a HOUSE!!! What is your due date? After this little one arrives you'll be faaaar tooooo busy to find time to ride a horse. LOL!


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## 2minis4us (Sep 22, 2011)

Good for you Mona !	I know what it's like to get horses that someone claims are this and that and then you get them and it's like - WHAT ?!!

I hope you have a blast riding !


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## Seashells (Sep 24, 2011)

They are beautiful! I love their names too! Glad to know your heart is content.


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## Allure Ranch (Sep 25, 2011)

Beautiful horese....


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## Reble (Sep 28, 2011)

Thanks for the trail ride, it was beautiful. Sure enjoyed it...

We used to do poker runs with our 3 Paso Finos, and went out for 3-4 hours.

You sure brought back memories..

My daughter was 11 when she got her first Paso and still has her(Melada our first Paso Fino mare is now 22 years old and my daughter is now 26)

Hope your hubby got that white horse cleaned up tee hee..

The pictures and videos are lovely.

Thanks for sharing.


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## Mona (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your kind words, comments and sharing your stories.


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## Genie (Sep 29, 2011)

That looks like a lot of fun. Beautiful horses too


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