Thank You All..

..for your kind comments. I promise you, I have read each and every one..which includes those sent to my e-mail and on facebook.

If you have read my equusvilla blog then you know we are leaving to go on a cruise in only 8 days. I am very excited..which is a nice change of emotion! My sweet girls will be living at the farm and caring for our animals.. When we get back, all the testing and 'procedures' will start on Don - prior to him starting another year of treatment.

I do not know what the future holds for us. I do promise though..that when things get better and I do get to ride consistently and maybe even start showing, I will again start up this blog...but for now, it was imperative to reduce my work load in some areas.. simply because other areas are about to explode! I am sure you understand. I did put a lot of time and effort into this blog..trying to keep the weeks postings centered around one topic and yet still keep it fun and new... I myself learned so much just from constantly looking for more information and history. It thrilled me that you all enjoyed it too.. I loved every one's comments! I wish I could have met each and every one of you in person.

So for now anyway ... I need to sign off. Please stop by the other blog to say hi every once in a while - will ya...

(((((Hugs and a tear)))))))

An Honest Conversation..

As most of you know, my husband has tested positive again for Hepatitis C. His liver is already permanently damaged and it is imperative, in order to stop the progress of the degeneration of his liver, that we try every avenue to get rid of the Hepatitis. The treatment for this is chemotherapy, yes - the same drugs they use to treat many types of cancer. He has already been treated with one "chemical cocktail" for a year. Everything looked so great until 6 months post treatment when he again tested positive. This time the treatment will be more aggressive. That translates into him being sicker and weaker than he was before.

When I look into the next year ahead of us, I am trying to prepare. I just sent in my resignation letter to the wonderful publication, Saddle and Bridle magazine, to which I have worked for for 3 amazing years. During that time, I have met so many great trainers, riders and family's. It has been such a pleasure.

I also feel that I will not be able compete or even go to many shows. With this reality, a good portion of this blog will be left blank as I will no longer have many (if any) contributions that are tagged as "My own experiences" which leaves me wondering how I could possibly keep it interesting.

I have been very blessed by the wonderful people who helped me via the Internet to learn all about riding aside. I think that this blog has encouraged others to take that first step to try the amazing sport...and delve into the history of it all. But now, I am left wondering if or how I could continue. I know that I will continue my family blog www.equusvilla.blogspot.com but am unsure about the future of this one.

More Young Ladies Aside...

Okay - so I had to sneek in a painting by Alfred De dreux!



















Just love the Mother - Daughter pictures!

In Honor of...

..my Grand Daughter Madison...who will be turning 4 this weekend, I give you part 1 of Very Young Ladies riding aside!!! TRY not to OHHH and AHHH to loudly!





















These are not my children ..or grand children, but have you ever seen anything so precious?? Part 2 will be posted tomorrow!

Rearing...

Ok, ..so I am no stranger to a rearing horse! (Just ignore the over bleached white hair!!) This boy just about unnerved me. You see, I chose to work with a very young green horse at a time in my life when the last thing I needed was to try and concentrate on another project of any kind. We just found out that Don was ill...and well, I could not concentrate ...and this horse got the better of me. He did not hurt me...I just did not have the stamina and fight to handle situations like this. The last time I rode him..I ended up sitting in the sand arena at my trainers farm and crying...crying over the horse, crying over Don's diagnosis...or maybe just crying to relieve my own stress. Who knows.

















I realized that I needed to shelf this horse until my inner girl was stronger...and that is just what I did. Not every rearing horse is being bad though. Look at these prime examples of controlled movement and BEAUTY!





















Notice the hawk!!!

























Okay..so this one nauseates me a bit!...snicker snicker

..and One More Saddle Rack...

Thank you Memo for finding this little treasure for us to see!!! It is called a Carbox!














I cannot help but think how much Chrissy (my sweet Corgi who passed away a year ago) would have loved to hide in here for a quick nap!
















This is one versatile piece of equipment!














..and this is where you can find out more about it:
http://www.ecurybois.com/en/produit/carbox®-one_40.html

Something to Set Your Saddle Upon..

For those of you who have been reading this blog for over a year, you might remember this. It is a wall sidesaddle rack that someone made!


















You have to be so very careful with your sidesaddles...especially if yours is a 100+ year old restored one, as mine are. Because they are made for riding aside, they are unevenly weighted..which means that they need extra support.

I remember driving to my first sidesaddle lesson. I made sure I had all of my equipment, loaded up the horse and drove to my instructors farm. To my HORROR, when I arrived and opened up the tack door, I found my sidesaddle in a heap on the tack closet floor! It had slipped off of the saddle rack on my drive over. From then on, the saddle was lovingly placed in the back seat of my truck.

















This can also be an issue with portable saddle racks and tack room saddle racks. If you saddle is subject to getting moved or even bumped in the slightest way, it will likely slide off a rack made for astride saddles. That is why I love this sturdy rack. Love the compartments too!

Saddle Pads..

This is obviously a more practical Saddle pad, cut to the contours of saddle and padded to accommodate the pressure points of a sidesaddle.



















..BUT - if you know me, I am always looking to step it up a notch. It is extremely important that my horse is comfortable...but pretty goes a long way too!


















...and OM Gosh - This is pretty!!!

More Saddles to Oogle Over...

Is "Oogle" even a real word????


Who Cares!!! Let the Oogling begin!

Post Removed

per request


















So who is gonna volunteer to try this baby out??? snicker snicker..

The Answer!

Laura - you figured it out... It is a skirt clip that is made and used to hold up the long side of an old fashioned riding skirt!





















Here area few more styles!

Not Yet....

Nope - not yet!


















No one has correctly answered the question of this objects purpose! Although the hat clip is a creative answer... It is not the right one!


















I will give the correct answer in a few hours.. I know - I am being such a tease..

Who Can Tell Me What This Is?...

Here is a tiny hint.. It was used by women in the Victorian times.



















I will post the answer tomorrow!