It was a nice cool morning today and one of my cowgirl friends invited me over for a quickie horse ride.
The cats were currious.
The kittens were looking oh so cute, but of course just looking for trouble.
The saddles were ready.
And the horses were patiently waiting for their ride. Meet Risky (the Paint) and Lady.
Honey would end up solo this morning, as she was more interested in my camera.
Getting the two horses ready for their morning ride took no time at all for my cowgirl friend.
As we mounted, I couldn’t help but feel oh so lucky this morning to be in the saddle once more. Can you tell The Urban Cowboy is clean shaven?
Have you ridden lately, got a memorable horse ride you would like to share? Or maybe you just wanna say howdy? Let us know!
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Love that last pic, I am totally jealous. I wish I could go ride, even though I don’t know how haha! hope you can make it out tomorrow!
.-= Jana´s last blog ..An Intellectual Affair =-.
I wish I could ride, I really really do. I spent almost a year working in a dressage barn in exchange for lessons. Had a spectacular teacher too. The problem? I have an insane fear of that ‘cantor’ thing. The horse gets to a good trot and I swear I’m going to die. I am so terrified of it it blows the whole ride. I’m so paranoid that I can’t even enjoy the walking part. What I do love though is grooming and taking care of the horses. I’d be an awesome cowboy spouse. it find grooming to be therapeutic and can do it for hours. Must be an illness. Hope you enjoyed the ride!
.-= MichelleSG´s last blog ..TV, do people out there actually watch it? =-.
I love the kitty’s! Especially that black and white! Reminds me of my Dakota.
Looks like you had an excellent ride, nothing better than being on the back of a horse!
That’s so awesome that you got to go for a great ride!! Oh I have many horse ride stories!! But my most memorable would be Memorial Day 07 I was riding a Palomino that my FIL had just gotten and she was barn sour and wanted to run back to the barn and I wouldn’t let her so she went crazy!! Wild mustang type running wouldn’t respond to anything, I had her head pulled around and she was still going (oh did I mention I was riding in tennis shoes and my FIL’s saddle that is a 17 and mines a 14) we are heading for a row of Cedar trees and I had lost my right stirrup so I knew I would end up flying into those trees so right before she got to them I bailed off the back of her and hit the ground with so much force that I broke my back…Not fun, still have problems 2 years later!!
Needless to say she no longer belongs to my FIL!!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Skywatch Friday =-.
–>I don’t know how to ride. Is it easy to learn?
.-= WebSavyMom´s last blog ..Flashback Friday (part 32) – Strike a Pose =-.
Jana ~ Your never too old to learn a new fun!
MichelleSG ~ Were you taught how to post? Sounds like maybe your just sitting in the saddle which makes for a bumpy ride. I believe you would make any cowboy happy!
Paint Girl ~ You couldn’t be any righter!
Michelle ~ Sounds very painful, my Ex had a similar experience and she had to ride out of the mountains a couple hours after breaking her vertebrae.
WebSavyMom ~ With the right instruction, yes…and it’s a blast!
Looked like a nice sunny day for a fun ride! The kittens were cute too, good composition of that first photo. Wanted to mention I liked your 9/11 post and pictures, too.
.-= Pony Girl Rides Again´s last blog ..The Wood Pile =-.
My last ride ended in flight from my son’s paint. “Sugar” wasn’t so sweet that day, and I was bruised & sore for what seemed like weeks. It’s been years. I love horses, but would really like a mule to ride! After all, those Grand Canyon mules have been packing around tourists for years, and to my knowledge… nary a fatality yet. Your cowgirl friend’s horses and cats are gorgeous! Looks like you had a nice day. -Tammy
.-= Tammy´s last blog ..Thursday Walkabout ~ Welcome Fall =-.
Cute kitties. I love paints like the one your on. I actually rode two yesterday my palomino mare Dusty and my paint Blue. The sun, no humidity and the feel of autumn in the air make this the best weather to ride in.
.-= greyhorsematters´s last blog ..Peaceful Days =-.
Looks like a great morning for a ride – we roped Sunday morning and it was wonderful out! All clean shaven, the Urban Cowboy is looking a bit like Kenny Chesney. Glad you had fun with your cowgirl friend.
Blessings~
P.
.-= Paula Yaussi´s last blog ..Quick Hello =-.
I haven’t ridden in a very long time. I loved it though. Years ago I managed to draw a horse that hadn’t been ridden in a year. He was fine in the corral but once we got out into the field he went biserk! Bucking and jumping and twisting like nobodies business! My brother was with me and he said it was the coolest bronc ride he’d ever seen. The horse stopped for what seemed like a half a second and I got off. One problem; my hand was wrapped in the reins and when he reared up again he took me right off the ground but he was tired by then and we walked calmly back to the barn where I chose a less green mount. It was a wild and wonderful ride!
No clue how I found your site but I’ve been lurking long enough. I enjoy reading it and love your photos.
.-= Linda´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – For you Jerry! =-.
It’s been years since I’ve ridden and I’m dying to go again! Especially with the fabulous weather we’re having this week. Lucky you!
I recently “reminisced” about my most memorable ride when I was with my friend in Switzerland. That ride was with her and it was about thirty years ago. She got off her horse to check out his foot- she thought he had something in it- and he kicked her in the jaw. The trip home was terrible because she was in shock and couldn’t speak and refused to get on her poor horsie or ride mine, insisting on leading her baby the whole way. It was well over an hour before we got back. At the hospital it was found that her jaw was broken in two or three places and it had to be wired shut for six weeks or so. Not fun but most memorable!
Looks like a fabulous day! I do all my riding in a ring. I’m in need of a trail ride.
That cat with the two eye colours is gorgeous.
I’ve been riding before, I swear. I just can’t remember when. I keep saying I want to go, but my husband and I both just look at each other with blank faces. Where in Orange County can you go horseback riding? I’ll have to figure it out and soon.
I don’t get to ride that often in the city, but I enjoy it so much when I do. And I’m pretty good at it, if I say so myself. My last ride was a couple of years ago on a trip to the Grand Canyon. We didn’t ride in the canyon, but nearby. It was great!
.-= Lori´s last blog ..Friday Night Parenting =-.
I miss riding! I haven’t been in forever… Hope you had a great time.
.-= HoustonGurly´s last blog ..The Kid is 12! =-.
Hey Mr. Urban Cowboy – I don’t have any recent riding experiences, which is a big problem in my book. I love horses…-well, all equine-. I’m not formally trained, but I love to ride. I have a question for you, if you don’t mind giving me a bit of guidance.
I recently moved to a 7 1/2 piece of property that has a barn/garage that the previous owner built 3 horse stalls on to. I would love to have horses, but the thing that’s holding me back are the stalls themselves. Well, the flooring of the stalls, that is. The ground of the stalls is dirt, then gravel, which is then covered with very old stall mats. The previous owner kept his 2 beloved horses here for 5 or so years and simply changed the woody pet pellet bedding frequently. These stall mats have all but grown into the ground they are on, making them almost impossible to pull out. If they were pulled out, chances are it would be a HUGE job to replace with new that would fit the way the old ones did.
So – here’s my question. I know there is a wide range of “beliefs” over what type of stall is suitable for a horse. With little money (so major changes/enhancements like cement floors are not an option), what would you do to make these stalls suitable for horses? I’ve lived here for almost 2 years and still haven’t been able to figure this out on my own.
oops…and by “7 1/2″ I, of course, meant 7 1/2 *acre* piece of property.
.-= Farmgirl_dk´s last blog ..If you need any help this weekend… =-.
Farmgirl_dk,
OK so obviously I’m not The Urban Cowboy, but I thought I might give my input in case it might help you. First off might I ask, are you planning on stalling the horses all of the time or will the stalls just be there to take them out of the weather elements if needed??
As far as the flooring of the stalls I have concrete underbase in mine (which I don’t want) so I have dirt and the straw. In a place where I used to board 2 of my fillies for weaning I had the same scenario; dirt floors with straw, now of course there would be the up keep of it but it’s a fairly cheap route to go to get those horses that you want!! And if you have an area outside then let them spend their time out there!!
Good luck and I hope you get some Equine friends at home, there is nothing greater!!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..I’m Counting the Days!!!! =-.
Farmgirl_dk ~ I agree with Michelle on the dirt flooring, but instead of straw, I would use shavings. Shavings makes it MUCH easier to clean a stall.
Hi Michelle and Urban Cowboy – Thank you greatly for your responses!!! I took a big breath of relief reading your thoughts, as I love the simplicity that you both use with your stalls. In answer to your question, Michelle, my stalls would be used only during times of bad weather – the rest of the time they would be out and about on my heavily sloped, douglas fir-treed, fenced property. I noticed neither of you mentioned stall mats or pellet bedding (like woody pet) – are their specific reasons that you don’t use either of those products?
.-= Farmgirl_dk´s last blog ..Regarding that To-Do list =-.
I used the pellets, but only where the horses urinated the most, and covered with shavings. I never used stall mats though. Dirt, pellets in certain areas, and shavings.
Farmgirl_dk~ I have never used the wood pellets myself but that simply is because it is not cost friendly LOL! Same reason I would use straw instead of shavings because I can get straw from local farmers for nothing, I have 14 horses so using “purchased” products just isn’t ideal for me. Cowboy is right about cleaning, shavings are much easier to clean! Now as far as the rubber mats go I think they are excellent, they truly are the best thing for the horse to be standing on and so easy to clean… I asked about when you would use the stalls because I think you can factor that into the type of flooring you choose, since it will only be for bad weather you don’t have to go all out and “redo” everything because they will spend most of their time outdoors!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Horse’s Butt?!?! =-.
great horse ii rode also in cattlina mountains in arizona and you look good riding hello also cute cats are you trail riding
great horses also hope you have good time riding ok
What a pretty Dun Mare!!! I stumbled upon this site from the PW’s Blog….Love love love the Cowgirl Sayings!!! I had an interesting ride last Thursday….I’ve been getting my 3yo QH gelding accustomed to the idea of team roping….he does fine until the steer turns and comes toward him….needless to say my latest ride SUCKED! Maybe you can answer a question I’ve long pondered….why is it that when ya get hurt and you’re around just friends or strangers it’s no big deal… but 20 minutes after the fact when I’m back in the saddle and have been riding just fine, my Hubby calls and when I tell him the scenario and he asks “Are you ok?” I suddenly tear up!!!!! WTH?! I can’t handle sympathy I guess. Cowgirls don’t cry anyway….right? Thanks for the reassurance!