Getting More Independent

Hey ya'll.
So today was awesome. I got to ride on my own! By that, I mean nobody was watching me, and no one was telling me what to do. It was wonderful.
My trainer let me take her pony Lyric (Who is on the "My Horse" page) out on my own. It was so much fun.
I've never been able to ride outside of a lesson before! And today, I had the opportunity. I loved it. I felt so independent and confident and... It was amazing. I felt like this gif:

Even though it wasn't quite that dramatic. lol.
Another horse gif that's awesome in every way:

He he he...

Any-who, I'm going again tomorrow, and I'm going to ask if I can canter her, because I didn't today. I just went for a peaceful trail ride.
If you're taking riding lessons, ask your trainer if you can go out on a ride on your own. It's loads of fun! Personally, I've found I'm much more comfortable in the saddle when I'm not being watched.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this post! It means a lot to me. Horses are a big part of my life, and I want to share my experiences! Right now this blog has 4 followers, and I'm super grateful for all of you. Thank you!!! ;)

Upcoming posts:
"Breeches Collection"
"So you want a horse?"

15 Facts About Tuesday!

What's up?
Today I have a fun post planned. I'm going to give you... 15 facts about Tuesday!

#1. I did not name Tuesday. Her original owners gave her her full name, Ruby Tuesday. I couldn't change it, because she was already registered under it. The obvious thing to call her would be Ruby, right? Well, yes. But I have a dog named Ruby, so it just seemed weird. After trying stuff like RT and just random nicknames, I finally settled on Tuesday. And that is why she ended up named after a day of the week! I'll refer to her as Ruby occasionally, but not often. And people around the barn that don't really know me well still call her Ruby. But that's okay. I just have my own little nickname for her, even though you could say her "barn name" is Ruby.

#2. Tuesday is 14.2 hands tall. That's about 4 feet 8 inches. She's not very big, but I'm not so tall either.

#3. She has the longest, prettiest tail. I love it so much! I'm not trying to brag, but a lot of horses tails are hard to keep nice, and Tuesday's is just soooo goergous! It's just one thing I really like about her. ;)

#4. Tuesday is 8 years old. I have no idea when her birthday is... I know that's bad, but I just never found out! I'm sure I could find it in her papers somewhere though...

#5. I have had her for about 5 months. It does not feel like it's been that long though! I got her late May, and gosh... Time flys!

#6. She loves to jump. You can just tell! I haven't jumped her yet, but my trainer has and Tuesday just... She loves jumping. I can't wait until we can jump together. ^-^

#7. Tuesday's breed is a quarter horse.

#8. Her favorite treat is carrots, I think. She seems to really like carrots, although honestly, she'll eat anything. I haven't tried a ton of different treats for her, but she likes apples, and the little oatmeal treat things...

#9. She makes a face when she eats a treat. She doesn't do this when she eats her hay or her grain, but when she eats treats she makes the most ridiculous face. I mean really... Look at this!

#10. She loves her neck to be brushed. Tuesday loves you to brush, scratch, and pet her all over her neck, especially where her mane starts.

#11. Tuesday doesn't care about whips. Honestly, it's a teensy bit annoying because you could hit her again and again with the crop and she just does not care. It takes a lot to get her attention.

#12. She is shoed. There's really no other reason then just that she's always had them... I don't know. She has shoes on all 4 hooves.

#13. Tuesday's original owners didn't do much with her. I think she was in a few little hunter-jumper shows, but not much. Apparently another girl had her, and she just didn't care about her... She liked
cheerleading and gave up her horse. THAT I will never, ever understand. I'm an awful rider, I can't really do much on her yet, but I wouldn't think for a second about selling Tuesday.

#14. Tuesday likes her ears brushed. I have a really soft small brush that she just adores getting on her ears.

#15. Wow, it's getting harder to think of facts! I guess I'll go with... Tuesday's trot is very nice to sit. It's really smooth, and it's one thing that encourages me to ride her. Sitting Lyric's trot is like getting put in a blender, it's so choppy compared to Tuesday's!

Oh! That was #15! I guess I'm finished! Well, guess that's all for today! Tomorrow I'm going to the barn to try some new halters on Tuesday. I'm pretty excited! One's a pretty leather halter that I'm excited for, and one is a simpler green. Would you like pictures of her trying them on? There's a small chance I'll ride tomorrow evening, but it's unlikely. Been really busy lately! Anyway, thanks a lot for reading this post. And please, spread the word of my blog to any other equestrians you know! I'm not looking for a huge number of followers, but I'm hoping for a few horse-loving readers! Please comment, maybe any unanswered questions you had about Tuesday? Which fact did you think was the most interesting? What would you like to see in my next post? Comment please!!

New Pages!

Hey!
A week or two ago, I added some pages! They are "About Me" and "About My Horse". Please go take a look, and comment!!! Thanks!

Edit: I just realized I've already posted about the pages... But nobody really looked at them. If you've already seen my pages, sorry to bother you!!!

The Oddball Sport

You know what really bothers me?
People that don't understand horses. I'm not saying I don't get that some people just haven't had the opportunity to be around horses, that's fine. I'm talking about people who just plain out act dumb. Like, I understand people don't know that much about horses, but gosh, sometimes they are so rude about it! Stuff like this really gets on my nerves:

"Oh my gosh, you have a HORSE?!" : I doubt you are as astonished as you are acting. If you are, just... Calm down.

"Oh umm... Cool. Do you play an actual, you know, sport?" : This usually comes after someone asks if I play a sport, and I respond, "I ride horses." If you tell me this I am going to go crazy on you. Not physically of course, I'm not stupid, but I will snap at you like no tomorrow.

When people act like I'm so unathletic : Even my closest friends do this, they treat me like I'm a couch potato just because I'm not a volleyball fanatic.

"Do you race?" : This one does have some practical excuses, but honestly, it bugs me anyway. Maybe you have never met a real equestrian before, but anyway, CHILDREN ARE NOT JOCKEYS. Quit asking this unless you want me to go insane.

When I say I have a horse and I get this, "Can you ride it?" : No... No. Of course not. It just stand in a stall and I feed it. Well of course I can ride!

Now I'll dump a bunch of equestrian-power, (similar to girl-power) stuff on you. Mainly pictures off Pinterest.

So, next time you want to say that horseback riding isn't a sport, is easy, that we do nothing, think again. And if you do any of the annoying things I said, try not to anymore, K? ;) Try and help me, help me change things. Riding shouldn't be the oddball sport.

P.S: This post is not meant in any way to offend non-equestrians. If you find this rude or anything like that, please explain why, and I'll change it or take it down. But I promise, any offensive content was unintentional, and I'm sorry if I bothered you in any way. I can get a little snippy about this sometimes, so, my apologies.

New Pages

Hey guys!
Go check out my new pages! They are "About me" and "About My Horse". Find them in the sidebar!
~Tenley

Evening At The Stables

Hi!
Today I went to the barn to spend some time with Tuesday without riding her. It was quite nice! My brother came too, and he took some pictures!

First is just me brushing Tuesday. She looks really calm here, and I look weird. :P I'm looking at her face I guess... I really don't know. Just pretend I'm not there!

This one's a funny scene! My brother was like, "Here, let me take a picture of you." and Tuesday decided to be weird and make a face. XD This is a really funny accidental photo. It's not the most glamorous but hey, it's cute. Does your horse ever make this face?

To top my wonderful evening at the barn off, I took Tuesday out to graze a little. She always loves that, and I love it too. It's a great feeling to just stand there, leaning against her soft side, under the shade of the tree. The sun was also beginning to set, so that added to the prettiness of the beautiful afternoon.

Being at the barn was the highlight of my day. I love to go and just be around the horses, and while I love to ride as well, that is a really fun thing to do. I'm so grateful for Tuesday, she's my dream horse. Did you like the pictures?

Equestrian TMI Tag

Hey! 

So this is the Equestrian TMI Tag. I found this tag in a YouTube video from MyLifeInTheSaddle. Edit: It is NOT from that channel! In fact, the YouTube channel, "MyLifeInTheSaddle" does not exist! I have no clue why I put that. I do not know the name of the channel I got this tag from. It sounds like fun! It just gives you some fun info about me, my horse, and my riding! Here are the questions! :

1. Last outfit worn while riding?

School tee-shirt, and khaki full seat riding pants, which help me get a better grip with my seat. And of course my Ariat paddock boots and half-chaps.

2. Horse you had a strong bond with?

I'm beginning to bond with my horse, Tuesday.

3. Ever had a terrible fall?

Sort of. I've never been injured (seriously anyway, I've twisted my ankle and stuff...), but one of the first times I was riding Tuesday, she got a little out of control, caught me off guard, started galloping, I flew over her neck, hit a wall, landed on the ground, and then she trampled me. I was really scared and VERY shaken. I wasn't hurt though, which was very lucky. I was extremely nervous around Tuesday for long after that.

4. How tall is your horse?

14.2 hands

5. How old is your horse? 

8 years old.

6. Any markings?

She has a blaze/star on her forehead and 2 white socks. 

(Sorry I don't really know all the specific marking terms, I may have got them incorrect.)

7. Favorite horse color?

Chestnuts, Dapple Greys, and Bays.

8. Favorite color combo?

Hmm... Chestnut+Teal, Grey+Pink

9. Favorite discipline?

Hunter-Jumper. Jumping is so fun! 

10. Who do you look up to in riding?

My mom and dad, as my mom rode horses and my dad grew up in a family that raised racehorses, as well as my instructor, and all the other girls that ride at my barn.

11. Quality you look for in a horse?

Calmness and intelligence. 

12. Favorite thing to do with horses?

Jump!!! I loooove jumping! I also just like cantering, nothing fancy, just cantering around. Not super fast, but a canter.

13. Favorite horse quote?

15. Favorite breed of horse?

Quarter horses, Appaloosas, Thoroughbreds, Arabians... I love them all! They're all unique and wonderful! 

16. English or Western?

I've never tried Western, so I don't know!

17. Bareback or saddle?

I've never ridden bareback either! It'd be fun, but I need more experience before I try that! 

18. How long does it take you to tack up?

With grooming included: 20-30 min.

Without grooming: 10-20 min. 

(I know, I'm really slow.)

19. First horse you rode?

An old Appaloosa mare named Dally.

20. Fears when riding?

Losing control. Making a big mistake. Embarrassing myself. Mainly losing control.

21. Last horse ridden?

Lyric, a dartmoor pony I ride for lessons.

22. Horse's fave treat?

Tuesday loves carrots. :)

23. Favorite thing your horse does?

I love that when Tuesday is in the paddock, and I go to get her, she trots up to the gate. <3

24. Who should do this next?

Everyone!! ;D 

Thanks for reading this guys! It was super fun to do and I encourage ALL OF YOU to do it! Riding tomorrow, hoping to get some pictures and videos of me jumping!!!

Things Equestrian's Say While Riding

Just a list of funny things I usually will say to my horse while I'm riding:

• "Good grief!"
• "Slow down already!"
• "You're not a race horse!"
• "Could you go any slower?"
• "Come on!"
• "And...Canter! Or walk... Okay that's fine too."
• "Nooooooo!"
• "Why can't you wait to poop? This is not a good time to do that."
• "Whoops."
• "Oops."
• "Sorry, my bad."
• "Come on!." 
• "Oops."

Okay, some of them are pretty riciculous, but truthfully I say all of those. Constantly. Especially "Oops!" And "Good grief, slow down! You're not a race horse!" He he he. For any riders out there; do you ever find yourself saying some of these things?

My Last Lesson

Hey!

So on my last post I was freaked out because I had a riding lesson and I hadn't ridden in quite a while. I shouldn't have worried because it went GREAT!

That gif really doesn't fit but whatever, it's cute.

I rode Lyric, a little 20 year old dartmoor pony who I love. 

She's so sweet and old and cute and awwww yaaaaaay!

Lyric isn't at the place I normally ride at anymore, she's at my instructor's place where she gives lessons sometimes. I like it better there, I think, it's much more laid back and there's no huge indoor arenas to intimidate me, lol. Her "arena" is a little round clearing, which is actually pretty nice because all the trees provide plenty of shade.

I didn't do much really, just some practice changing direction across a circle, sitting trot, and working on getting a faster, more working trot. I didn't even canter! I wish I would've. I'm looking forward to getting back to jumping. I have another lesson Monday and I'm super excited! Soon I'll be doing 3 lessons a week, and hopefully I'll get to go see Tuesday a lot too. 

I'm not sure if I said this before, but I'm taking a break from riding Tuesday because I need to re-gain some confidence and work at a higher level on Lyric. I'm just not quite ready to ride Tuesday, but hopefully, with some work on Lyric, I'll be able to soon!

AHHH!

Hey guys...
I have a lesson in 10 minutes and it's going to be my first ride in almost 3 months. I'm SO nervous!!! What if I forgot everything? What if my heels won't go down? What if I do EVERYTHING wrong? What if it's a group lesson and I make a fool of myself? Soooooooo many things could go wrong...
~Tenley

The "I Love Horses!" Tag

Hi!

I haven't posted on here in forever. Sorry! Anyway, today I'm making a tag. I noticed there are a couple of people in the blogging community who love horses just like me, but haven't really talked about it. So, for any of you horse lovers out there, take this tag and post it on your blog!

Rules
1. If you have one, upload a picture of you and your horse, or just your horse, or a lesson horse you ride...
2. Answer the 5 questions.
3. Add 1 horse-related question of your own.
4. Tag anyone you know who likes horses, and tell them they've been tagged.

Questions
1. Do you currently own a horse? If so, tell us about him/her!

Yep. I have my horse, Ruby Tuesday, and she's an eight year old, 14 hand, chestnut mare. I love her to pieces, but I'm still getting used to her, she's bigger than the ponies I've ridden in the past!

2. What was your favorite lesson horse you ever rode?

Lyric is the sweetest horse ever... she's a dartmoor pony and she's 20 years old now. I still get to ride her occasionally, here's a picture.

3. How long have you been riding?

Well, I started in around 2009, but then I didn't ride again until December 2014, so I'll just say around 8 months, I remember NOTHING from the lessons I took so long ago.

4. Who was the naughtiest horse you've ever ridden?

Probably Tuesday... All the other horses I've ridden have been angels, trained for beginners like myself.

5, Favorite horse breed?

Quarter horses, Appaloosas, Arabians, and Dartmoors.

I Tag

Maddie (DollsOnMyMind)
Bella (DollCrossing)

I don't know anyone else who rides! I know the people I tagged don't really ride anymore... but I hope they'll still do this tag. If you love horses too, please take this tag! I want to see people do it! I want to find people who love horses as much as me!

5 Reasons Horses Are Better Than People

Hi!
I made a funny slide, I'm kind of new to Google Slides though, so it's not perfect. Hopefully you'll like it anyway. Here's the link:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11bpdA60Y0L6tJ8HfC49t6Cc4ad9mP0GTAxP1-tRLVcI/edit?usp=sharing

Horse Related Birthday Gifts

'Ello.
My wonderful friend, fellow Percy Jackson lover, fellow horse lover, and fellow fangirl, Lacey, got me some wonderful horse stuff for my birthday, here's what she got me.

This nice purple rope halter... I've never used a rope halter! It's adjustable, which is cool.

2 Breyer Dartmoor model horses. I love these! I now have a total Breyer obsession. Plus, the old pony I used to (and still do occasionally) ride, was a Dartmoor!

This very cute halter, which will be very helpful since Tuesday's current halter is WAY too big.

YAY!!! A NEW LEAD-ROPE! Tuesday's old lead-rope is falling apart.

And lastly, the newest issue of Young Rider magazine. I love this magazine, it's great if you love horses like I do.

Thank you Lacey for the the presents! Sadly, the day after Lacey went home from my house, her sweet horse Mac passed away. He was 27 years old. Poor guy. At least he died with a home and people who loved him.

I Shall Learn!

Do you ever feel like you can't do anything right? That's how I felt at my riding lesson yesterday.
I feel like I forget everything I know as soon as I need to use it. A few things I did totally wrong:

• I had too short of reins. 
• I sat way too far forward.
• I had my foot too far in the stirrup.

Do any of you know how to fix those? Because I have no clue how to stop. 

On the bright side, we put Tuesday on the walker for the first time, and she did great! I also cleaned and polished all my tack so now it's all shiny and new-looking! >-<

Also, sorry for the lack of pictures in my posts but it's hard to take photos AND do everything I need to do with my horse. Maybe I can show you my grooming supplies or something? I don't know. What would YOU like to see? A few options...

• Grooming supplies

•  What's in my tack box

• Pictures of Ruby Tuesday (my horse)

•  Videos of me riding

Or anything else you think of. :) Comment down below your advice for what I'm having trouble with, as well as what you'd like to see. Thanks for reading! Bye!

~Tenley

 

Am I Scared Of My Horse?

Hey!
So, I'm with my Dad for 3 weeks, and he's only taking me to 1 riding lesson within that time so yeah... My apologies for the lack of posts. I am going to ride on Tuesday, so I'll probably post then.  
           I'm going to try to convince my stepbrother to come to my riding lesson, because I've been to SO MANY of his baseball games and practices. (Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Fall and Spring.) Going to one of my riding lessons wouldn't kill him, would it? Now, what I'd like to talk about is this: I think I'm scared of Tuesday. (Not the day, my horse's name is Tuesday.) Here's why.

     The first time I rode Tuesday, she broke into a gallop and threw her head down. Which obviously freaked me out. Long story short, I flew over her neck and hurt my ankle pretty bad. Luckily, it wasn't  broken. So, even though I wasn't hurt horribly, I was terrified. Now, I can't help but hold the reins a little stiffly and sort of freak out when Tuesday does anything different then a simple trot.
      Am I scared of my horse? I think so. How do I fix this? I have no clue. It's like I totally forget all I've learned when I get on Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, I love her, she's a wonderful horse. I love going to see her and I will talk to her and pet her in her stall for hours, but riding her? That's a little more difficult.

      I'm going to have to at least canter her at some point, but how? What do I do to get rid of my fear? Let me know any advice you may have in the comments. Bye!

~Tenley
Have you ever been scared of a particular horse, or just horses in general?

What I did at my riding lesson yesterday

Hi.
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was rather busy, but today I'll tell you how the riding lesson went. I tried 3 different saddles, because we're looking into buying one so I don't have to borrow one anymore. Here's a picture of one of them in the store:

We also tried the one behind it. The first saddle was too big, the second one too small, and the third one too old. So, at my next lesson I get to try out another saddle. *Sarcastic Cheering* Nobody stayed to watch my lesson, so I didn't get any pictures of me actually riding, but I did get a picture of Tuesday in the cross-ties.

Sorry it's not the best. I think she's looking at the feed-truck lol. At my lesson we lunged her, and then I just did some basic work at the trot in each saddle. She was pretty good being lunged, she only bucked a little. For those of you who don't know what it means to lunge a horse, it's when you have the horse on a long rope, (A lunge line) and you put them in some sort of an arena or enclosure, and basically let them run some energy out. You also use a whip to pop the ground if the horse doesn't move. That was a really bad explanation, but at least you sort of know what lunging is now. Sorry for such a boring post, I may show my grooming supplies later today. I have the pictures ready for that. Anyway, bye!

~Tenley

I Still Need Practice!

Hey!

As promised, here are things I need to work on in my riding.

•Keep my stinkin' heels down! 

I have way more trouble with this than I should. I REALLY need to keep my heels down! TOES UP HEELS DOWN TENLEY! HEELS DOWN! 

•Keep only my toe in the stirrup!

I always have like, my whole foot in the stirrup... And that is NOT GOOD!

•Look up!

I seriously don't even look where I'm going. It's like driving with your eyes closed... And I NEED to stop doing it! 

•Sit back!

I keep leaning forward when Tuesday advances to a faster gait, this is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, because I've already toppled over her neck and been run over by her at a gallop.

•Stop flinging my legs around!

Okay, so I know that sounds weird but when I kick, I use my whole leg and end up flying around if the horse is cantering or galloping.

•Just fixing my equitation and position in general.

Yep, I need to work on a lot. If you ride, can you help me fix any of these? I'd love to hear some tips. I'll try and post tomorrow, I have a riding lesson at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for reading! See ya' later!

~Tenley

P.S: Shout out to Maddie... 'Cause you're awesome, don't forget that. 

My Riding Story

Howdy!
This is my first real post on this blog. Here I will explain the story of my riding journey, and how I got to where I am today.

This picture is REALLY old! It's from when I took my first riding lessons, on an Appaloosa mare named Dally. I barely remember taking lessons there, I was around 5 years old. Then we moved... and I didn't take riding lessons for another 5 years.

Yay! Now stuff I remember! This picture is from my first lesson at the place I ride at to this day, I don't even have proper riding boots or pants in this picture! This was in early December 2014, 7 months ago! The horse's name is Lyric, she is a dartmoor pony who I rode until very recently, this month!

That's me just a few weeks ago, on my own horse, Ruby Tuesday! I have improved so much since I started, but I still have stuff to learn! In my next post, I will share with you what I'm working on in my riding! Thanks so much for reading! Bye!

~Tenley

Hello!

Hi!
I've decided that since I'm really getting into riding, I'd make a blog for it. I'm looking forward to posting here and I hope you'll like my posts. :) I'd love to talk to fellow equine fans! Even if you've never ridden a horse in your life, you're welcome hear to here about my horse crazy life. I'll create an "About" page soon so you can learn more about my horse life. Thanks for stopping by!

~Tenley