Stable Days

FIVE FUN FACTS OF MY FAVORITE HORSE BREEDS ~ TENNESSEE WALKING HORSE

Hi Horse Pals,

Due to a special request from Eloise, we are going highlight the Tennessee Walking Horse. Early in our riding careers, Avery and I got a chance to ride a Tennessee Walking Horse. Our friend owned a few Tennessee Walkers and at her barn it was all Tennessee Walking Horses! And a few others, of course.  They were so beautiful and their gaits were so smooth - it was a really nice ride! 

So, let's get to the facts:)

TENNESSEE WALKING HORSE

Fact#1 :  The Tennessee Walking Horse was developed in the 1800s in Tennessee, America by land owners who wanted a comfortable riding horse for use on their land.

Fact#2 :  The Tennessee has an unusual stance with both pairs of legs pushed away from the body.

Fact#3 :  The Walkers have three very comfortable gaits - the flat walk, the running walk and the smooth rolling canter.  Both the walks are a 4 beat pace.    

Fact#4 :  The Walker can be any solid color, and stand between 15 and 16 hands.

Fact#5 :  The Walker is said to be the most good-tempered of all horses.

 

And an extra bonus fact!

Fact #6:  Strolling Jim was foaled in 1936 and was bred by Ed Gilliam near Viola, Tennessee.   He was a chestnut gelding with a near hind sock, a star and a snip.   He was a three-year-old when he won Grand Championship honors at the first Celebration in 1939. 

We hope you enjoyed this horse breed.  Thanks for the suggestion, Eloise! 

Your Horse Pal,

@raya

CONGRATULATIONS, CORBY ON A GREAT HORSE SHOW!

Hi Horse Pals ~

We just received this exciting news from Horse Pal, Corby and wanted to share it with you all. You and Roxy look amazing! Congratulations, Corby!  Excellent show!!

hi this is me at the show and my reserved champion ribbon and i won many more ribbons tough and jumped much higher on sunday

Keep sending photos, Horse Pals!  We love seeing them and sharing them with everyone!

Your Horse Pals, 

@raya and Avery

Q&A: CAN YOU RUN ANOTHER CONTEST?

Hi Horse Pals ~

Here is a question from Corby I wanted to share with you all.

hi guys i was just wondering if u could hold another contest to win episodes.  I really want to see them .  or if u can not have A Contest then can u tell me where i can get the DVD`s love corby

We would love to run another contest for our DVD Stable Days The Road to Jumping! Great idea, Corby!  We have an idea .... why don't you write in and comment here with ideas for what our contest could be. Maybe Horse Pals could write horse stories or poems or share a photo of their horses.  Let us know what you'd like to do.

And for those interested, you can buy our DVD on our blog or website. 

On the blog, you simply click the Stable Days picture in the left hand column, right below the About Us.  We would love to hear from you after you watch it and tell us your favorite parts.

Your Horse Pals,

@raya and Avery

Q&A: HOW DO I GET MY HORSE TO JUMP STRAIGHT?

Hi Horse Pals ~

Elizabeth wrote with a great question that I wanted to share.  We look forward to hearing any of your suggestions.  Keep the questions coming!

Hi Araya! 

I was hoping you could help me. Snickers doesn't like to jump straight,

and he is allways pulling towards the right side of the fence. Do you have any tips for how I could get him to jump straight?

thanks!

Elizabeth and Snickers

Great question, Elizabeth!  Laurel, the Quarter horse pony I used to ride, sometimes jumped to the right and this is an exercise my trainer did with us to correct it.  Start with a simple cross rail and place a poll on the right side in front of the jump perpindicular to the jump.  Jump this a few times at the trot and then add a poll on the near left side of the jump (the opposite side of your other poll) so basically the horse has to go down the middle.

I am sure over the years I have used lots of exercises to work on this but this is the one that comes to mind first.  I hope this idea helps you and Snickers! Good luck!

Your Horse Pal,

@raya

TIPS ON PREPARING FOR A HORSE SHOW

Hi Horse Pals ~

Corby wrote in and asked a great question that I wanted to share with you all.  I know lots of you will have great advice for her so make sure to comment on this post and share your ideas.

Corby writes:

i can see you guys have been to a lot of shows so i was wondering if guys could give some tips.  i am showing strawberry for the first time so any jumping or flat work tips would really help me out love uguys corby  @('..')@

I think the most important thing to bring to a show is preparation.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!  My trainer often sets up mock courses and we pretend like we are doing each class I plan to enter. For jumping, we will set up all different types of jumps and courses I might encounter and then pretend like our arena is the show arena.  She will quickly tell me the course and then off I go.  We also set up mock flatwork classes and she calls out the varying gaits and positions.  Avery and I also love to do this on our practice days.  It's fun to imagine being in the show arena and it's great practice.

For flatwork classes, make sure you stay focused on your correct diagonals and leads and listen carefully for the change of commands.  For jumping, remember strong flatwork is key and maintain your rhythm and balance throughout the courses.

Also, it's important to be really organized prior to the show ... we always check and clean all of our tack and try on our show outfits to make sure everything fits well.

And once you arrive, do your best to stay calm.  It will help you and Strawberry relax and have fun!!

Hope this is helpful!  Can't wait to hear other Horse Pals' thoughts!

Good luck, have a great time, Corby!!

Love,

@raya

P.S.  Horse Pals, if you have any questions, send them on over and I'll post them so all of our fellow riders can share their ideas.

AMAZING NATURE'S WONDERS PHOTOS

Hi Horse Pals ~

Avery and I have been busy taking photos of beautiful nature spots with our Shutterbug Club.  I recently took this butterfly shot that I love and wanted to share with you all.  We are having so much fun capturing insects and wildlife in their natural environments.  We've updated our Nature's Wonders Photo Album with new photos, so check them out!

We would love to post your photos so send us any you'd like to share!

Your Horse Pals,

@raya and Avery

A MAMA AND HER BABY ... TOO SWEET FOR WORDS!

Hi Horse Pals,

Our friend sent us these adorable photos today and we wanted to share them with all of our Horse Pals.

This is a newborn offspring of Taskin, a Gypsy Stallion owned by Villa Vanners that was born in Oregon.  These pictures were immediately after his birth on April 6th.  The mare laid down and then the foal trotted around and crawled right up into her lap.

How sweet!  Your Horse Pals,

Araya and Avery

MORE NEWS FROM HORSE PAL CORBY

hi this is my pony Dixie she is a Connemara. She is fast and I like her trot and canter but her jump is not as great as strawberries.  She is so awesome.   

    

Here are some pics of my english bull dog Luther.  One pic is of him sleeping and one of just him.  He is so funny and very stubborn he will only sit if there is a treat envolved.  I love him and we are teaching him to jump small courses.  Talk to you later corby:)

WELCOME NEW HORSE PAL, CORBY FROM PA :)

Hi Horse Pals ~  We're happy to introduce our new Horse Pal, Corby to you all. Welcome to our blog and we hope to hear from you lots, Corby. Your horse is adorable! We would love to see photos of all of your horses and maybe some of your barn because we love PA! Love, Araya and Avery                         

Hi this is me riding strawberry fields she is an appaloosa.

 

She's slow and you need to keep a leg on her at all times.  But when we jump she just flies it`s just pure magic.  I usually jump higher but I just got her 3 weeks ago.  But in this pic I had just gotten her 3 days ago.  Now I jump 3 feet on her.  I love riding her.  I ride at Bargee Farms in PA.  It's a great and fun place to learn horse back riding.  I have lots of barn friends and we study show courses together.  In one pic I am watching my friend jump her new horse she got with me. 

 

I have 3 horses strawberry(appaloosa) Dixie(connamara) Roxy (warm blood).  I have been riding for 8 years since I was 4. Now I am 12 now. Bye love Corby