Clover Ledge Farm

First, let me express my overjoyed, delirious happiness that my DK saddle sold a couple of weeks ago (and I got the same price I paid for it back in June, THANK GOODNESS).  A local rider purchased it from me, so I even got cash in hand, didn't have to deal with shipping or Paypal ripoff charges, and only had to drive two towns over to meet her halfway.  Never again will I stray from my beloved Stubbens!!

Anyway, on Saturday, October 21, Ellie and I went off on her first adventure.  We headed back to the farm of her birthplace for their annual fall trail ride.  I figured it would be a good way to get her off the farm to a "new" place but not totally new.  Plus, even if she was a poop head, everyone their knows her (obviously), so it wouldn't be the end of the world.  I asked to be put in a group of riders who would be willing to go slow with a greenie, and to my delight, we were to ride out with her dam and granddam, Kennebec Rejoice and Kennebec Joy!  I can hear that …

A few times in the past, I have participated in NaBloPoMo during the month of November, in an effort to write every day.  I don't use my blog to generate income nor do I honestly have much to offer the world-at-large haha, but I love to write.  I also love to keep tracking of things and being organized, so keeping my equine blog has been a great way to chronicle and remember things.

I don't really know if NaBloPoMo is still a thing, as when I was googling for prompts a few weeks ago (and again just now to be sure), nothing comes up for 2017.  So, if anyone would like to join me, feel free to take these prompts, join the blog hop, and write every day in November! 

Happy writing!



Day 01- When and why you started riding
Day 02- The last time you rode a horse and what you did
Day 03- Your best riding
Day 04- A ride that impacted your life
Day 05- Your first fall
Day 06- Your favorite tack and riding clothes you have (brand/color/other details)
Day 07- Your favorite ribbon won at a show a…

I don't feel as though I have much fodder to write about lately, so I thought I would jump on a little blog hop from Liz at In Omnia Paratus.  It is hard to write blog posts when so much of it feels like a broken record: miss mare was great for our ride, we have been working on the canter and she is becoming much more balanced, ground work is coming along, blah blah.  
1. Most equestrians quote fall as their favorite season to ride. Are you one of those that does? Or maybe not; what is your favorite season to ride, if so?
As much as I do LOVE the summertime, I also love fall riding season!  I am probably tied between summer and fall as my favorite riding seasons.  In theory it is supposed to be cooler and with less bugs, though this year fall in Maine has been a crazy mixed bag of weather and yesterday the mosquitoes were out!  YUCK!  So yes, when the weather is truly fall-like, I do love riding in this season.  Usually show season is pretty much over, and I love enjoying the trails…

I have been around horses long enough at this point to know that while I could never religiously follow any of the natural horsemanship "salesmen" out there, I do believe groundwork is an important part of a horse's education.  There are so many things that can be taught on the ground before asking under saddle, and it seems silly to not utilize groundwork with every horse.

I am definitely not an expert by any means, but I have audited and participated in a number of clinics over the years with a wide variety of horsemen, taking bits and pieces of what I think works and incorporated it into my personal equine philosophy.  My roots are classical dressage and balance seat, so I closely follow the training pyramid with my horses.  My ultimate competition goals may be dressage and eventing, but my overall horse goals are to create a partnership with my horse based on trust and to evolve my horse into a versatile and content partner.

After spending the majority of my childhood …

My husband and I made the decision to bring our little red steers to the Fryeburg Fair for the week of October 1-8, 2017.  This was a fairly large undertaking, as being at a fair for eight days is a lot of freaking work haha!  It was possible only because it was one of my husband's vacation weeks and because we live just ten minutes from the fairgrounds, so we were able to come home each night, in order to take care of our other pair of steers and the horses as well as sleep in our own beds!  We don't have a camper (yet!), but we still would have had to care for the animals at home anyway. 


I ended up being at the fair for five out of the eight days, as I took two (of three) personal days on Wednesday and Thursday.  I went to work on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.  Thankfully, we had the day off from work on Monday, October 10, so we were able to recuperate, catch up on laundry, and go grocery shopping!  And of course, I finally had time to ride my horse and actually do more than…

Having a new horse means my inner tack ho comes out full force.  I am trying my best to subdue the desire to buy all the things.  

Granted, beyond the new halter and flymask, my saddles, bridles, and most tack will not only fit Ellie, but I am totally planning to use it all anyway because I love it and I'm not a millionaire LOL.  The Stubben jump saddle looks to be a good fit already and my fitter is coming out this weekend to readjust my dressage saddle from Snappy's settings to whatever Ellie will need for now.  Just kidding, totally went back to a Stubben dressage saddle this week and the DK is for sale.  The Stubben did arrive safely last Thursday and it is PERFECT!!  More on that later!  *sigh*  That damned DK needs to sell!

Also, Ellie's current work bridle was originally Sparky's show bridle, then Dreamy's show bridle, then Snappy's work bridle (it was becoming worn out at 22 years old LOL and I bought Snappy a nice new show bridle last year), and now it i…