~More or less just horsie talk

(My sister Tashia took this picture for me. Thanks Tashy!)
Warning: If you do not like horses, DO NOT READ!

  Yesterday I decided to do something fun with two of my little sisters. So I told them we’d have riding lessons at 2:45pm. They got their horses out and were warming up in the arena when I walked in to start the lessons. It was really fun to do, but I wasn‘t sure exactly what to work on with them. The only type of lessons I‘ve seen were English (The Saddle Club!) and all they do is trot around focusing on the seat and posture or they were jumping. Well we ride western. Not pleasure, more like a performance style, cattle work, with working horses. (If you’re bored you better quit reading because it gets worse.)
   Anyway back to the lessons. I started out by writing up a chart listing all the different things I was going to have them do, such as: walk, trot, canter, bend, flex, side pass, do the gate, and other things. Then I rated them on how well they controlled their horse while doing these things.
   Marcy had a much easier time than Jessica, because she was riding Hank. He was just calm, cool, and collected, whereas Dandy (who Jess was riding) was more energetic than usual. He’s also not as…um how do I say it? Not as…handy as Hank is. (If you remember back to THIS post I talked about working with Hank.) It still amazes me how far Hank has come and how confident he is now. Next time I will have to switch the girls and horses I think. Marcy is older and therefore has been riding more so she should have an easier time with Dandy than Jess did.
   Ok you may be wondering what I meant by ’more handy.’ Well in my opinion Dandy is just a whatever horse. Anyone can ride him because he doesn't have any special buttons. But he is great for me to get out and go anywhere I want, any time I want, even if no one else is along. His problem is he's not very precise. His stop is pretty sloppy, for most people. (I say it that way because I don't have a whole lot of problem riding him, he's just not as fun.)
   Hank on the other hand enjoys making people look stupid. If you don't know what you are doing you aren't going to get much out of him. (But I love to ride him!) He knows how to swivel on his hindquarters and his stop is getting impressive. (Nothing like the reiners, but its good compared to most.) He neck reins and regular or 'plow' reins. He also can be ridden with just your legs.
   Dandy though, I just figured out, is very good to ride English. He has smooth long strides so you can sit to it really well. He also can't do sliding stops or rollbacks so you don't have to worry about quick maneuvers that will send you at high rates of speed to the ground. Maybe he was ridden English before? I don't know but I kinda doubt it because he's from out in Illinois.

So I'd like to know about ya'll!

Do you ride?
English or Western?
What breed is your favorite?
If you ride, what do you do with your horse?

~A walk that guides

  
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." ~Colossians 2:6-7

  At church on Sunday, the minister made mention of two men and asked the congregation to consider them and evaluate which of them “walked in love.” (Eph. 5:2) That got me to thinking about our walk. To start with, what is it? To me our walk is our way of life; the way we live. It could also be our testimony because it is what others see of us. What does your walk tell others? Do your words and actions line up?
  After listening to the sermon I decided to find all the verses in the Bible that contained “Walk in.” This is what I came up with.

Walk in the light  -Isa. 2:5

Walk in newness of life  -Rom. 6:4

Walk in the spirit  -Gal. 5:16

Walk in love  -Eph. 5:2

Walk in wisdom  -Col. 4:5 

If you notice, walk in, is a command. We are to be doing these things. How are we to do that? By following the one who said it, and ultimately through our life, or our walk, we will direct others to Him!

~My saddle

  I recently got a new saddle and really love it! I'm actually not sure what type it is... something like a cutter or a reiner.

Its pretty plain but I'm don't ride for the looks! :) I ride WESTERN! (Although I occasionally use my English saddle.) I love working cattle, and my latest thing is any kind of trail obstacle that I can think of. My dad recently made me a teeter-board! (Its kinda like a horsie see-saw.) I use gates, flags, lassos, dragging things, logs to back through, and logs to side-pass over, and tons of barrel patterns! (Oh and I love to jump. Western or English. Its just so much fun! But don't try it unless you know what you're doing.) If you have any trail ideas you can let me know! 

I didn't fix up very many pictures though so here are the best two. If anyone knows anything about this style of saddle I'm interested in knowing!

It was made by Jasper Haynes. I got it from a friend that no longer uses it. 

I'm very happy with it. 

Sorry that this is so short and may not interest ya'll but I wasn't able to come up with much, because I'm at my grandparents house. My younger sister and I have a craft stand, with our uncle near their place, at their county's fall festival. It's been going on since yesterday and runs till Sunday but we're only going till tomorrow. I'll be ready to go home! Hopefully you'll hear from me about something more interesting next week!

~Living today like there's no tomorrow

I was just thinking, (And yes I try to do that pretty often.) if you were to die today and all your friends came to the funeral, what would they remember and say about you? “She was so much fun to be around!” or “She was such a blessing and her life was so encouraging to me!” Which leads me to a few questions: Are you influencing others in the right way? Is your life and testimony encouraging others towards God or away from Him? Please examine your life purpose. You are right here, right now, for a reason. Its up to you to be continually seeking God till you find out that reason. Then do it! If you aren’t following through and doing what God has called you to, well then what good are you? Are you hindering Satan’s kingdom or are you helping it? As I see it, life is a spiritual battleground. Two kingdoms fighting to conquer; good against bad, righteous against evil, God against Satan. You can’t be on both sides and you can’t be in the middle. Matt. 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” You also aren’t any good flitting from one side to the other. No captain wants a traitor in his ranks. 

So the choice comes down to you: 

Who will you serve, not just now, but forever.  

~Here am I

 ~ Isaiah 6:8
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then said I, “Here am I; send me.”
   It always gives me chills to read that verse. it’s the cry of my heart too. “Here am I; send me!” I want to be completely and totally in God’s hands so that he can look down on me and say “I have a job here, and I also have a willing young woman. She can do it!"
   My heart cries out “Yes! Yes, Lord. I’ll do it for you. For if you are with me, who can be against me?”                           With you I can love unconditionally, with you I can serve wholeheartedly, and with you I can conquer victoriously!
   Without you, I am broken-with you I am complete.
   Without you, I am rejected-with you I am accepted.
   Without you, I am discarded-with you I am chosen.
   Without you, I am fallen-with you I can rise up on eagle’s wings.
              You are everything I need! 

Just decided to add this picture because its one of my all-time favorites of Dunny!