In The Saddle (literally!)

I ride horses and joys of joys, yes, there are horses in Alaska. Some roam free somewhere in the mountains. I prefer the tame ones. The ones you can sit astride and pretend you are a knight conquering the mighty dragon, or maybe pretend to be in the pony express. I prefer just riding at a walk and enjoying the scenery, enjoying the clipptity-clop of the horse's hooves. I prefer to ride with a saddle, not bareback. Saddles are so much safer...less risk of falling off. It all depends if you tack up correctly. 

You have to make sure-first off- that you have brushed the horse off really well, nothing like twigs and thorns and clumps of dust in the equine's pelt that makes it irritable to no return. Just make sure the horse's back ids clean and the fur goes in the correct direction. Then you can put the saddle pad/blanket on. After that, heft the saddle up and put it on gently. No tossing or throwing anything as the horse will get spooked. Make sure the girth is right behind the forelegs and that it is the right size and is comfortable for the horse, after all, this ride isn't only about you! Leave the girth loose and put the bridle on. The bit should go into the mouth, or if you use a hackmore instead, that goes under the chin. Then tighten the girth a little. Walk the horse around in for a minute, then tighten the girth again. Be sure to slip your hand under the girth, this means you should be able to slip your hand between the girth and the horse's belly. This gives the horse room to move and breathe comfortably. Then you can flip the reins over the horse's head and loop them around the saddle horn. By then, you can climb up into the saddle and begin your ride. 

Not all people find riding horses fun, but I find it exciting with a passion. The horse I rode during Summer 2010 were Courtney's horses...I rode Ellie, a Morgan mix mare, for the first half of Summer, and then switched to Ginger, an elderly Quarter horse mixed mare. They were precious, well, Ginger was. Ellie was a little stubborn when I was riding her. The most stubborn horse I have ever rode was Yankee, a purebred Quarter horse mare. She was so stubborn you couldn't get her to turn without her throwing her head down. I'm going to work her in Summer 2011, which will be loads of fun and tons of work, but I am sure she is worth the time. 

Horses are one major thing in my life and I have loads to learn from/about them. I do not consider myself an expert, just a novice. I have barrel raced in  the Deltana Fair 2010, which was fun and a good experience. Well, I'm going to wrap it up (my fingers are sore) and no worries, I will post more one day. =)

This Is Me

First off, I am going to introduce myself. I am Ruth Lorena (I refuse to put up my last name) and I live in Alaska. Can you comprehend that? Most people don't. No worries, I'm not mad, I just like explaining things in a serious sort of way. I am naturally friendly. I am Eskimo (Inupiaq), mixed in with British and Irish. If there is one thing I do not like about myself, it's my being hearing impaired. People are always trying to see my hearing aides, acting as if I'm some kind of a specimen. I'm not, I'm human like the lot of them.
I ride horses for joy. I like to barrel race, pole bending, and snowshoe race. It's the best thing to do all summer. I don't get on the computer that much during summer (who wants to waste good time in the sun or the rain?), and if I do, it's only at night time. I like to stay up late and curl up with a good book. I like to read the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer, but I quit reading them due to the fact that I have read the whole series multiple times over, and the books are now very predictable. I prefer to read new books that seem interesting, and promise hours of being curled up with my nose stuck in a book.
You might think I'm kind of crazy, with all this information being thrown at you like a frisbee. No, I'm just an all around friendly person who likes to share with people about my life in a "deaf community". We're not as easy to discriminate. We seem "normal enough", but truthfully, we're kind of different. We know what it's like to lose one of the five senses. It's kind of hard to explain. Maybe I will explain later. Thanks for taking the time to read this! ♥