An evening at Sebald Park

Most of our adventures start out the same way. With Belle and Jasmine anxiously awaiting our arrival.

"Where are we going?!"- Jasmine "What's taking so long? Let's go!"- Belle

Last Friday was no different.  I swear if they girls were able to they would load themselves up in the trailer and then yell at us for taking too long to get the equipment together.  After much commentary from the peanut gallery we loaded up and headed to Sebald Butler County Park.  Butler County Ohio Horseman’s Council (OHC) maintains these trails. It is such a pretty little park.  The parking is located in a valley surrounded by hills.  The trails are well kept, just recently mowed and downed trees were removed.  Once at the park we met up with a fellow OHC member and started out on our little adventure.  Belle and Ben started in the lead but Jasmine and I soon became tired of the view and took the lead.

"I know that there are monsters out here, I just have to find them"

And Jasmine started her hunt for imaginary monsters and scary shadows. She found several including one mud pit that she thought for sure was going to swallow her up whole.  We took our time and after several moments of the “friendly game”  and a little “Yo-Yoing” (advancing towards challenges and backing away from them) Jasmine moved forward bravely defeated her foes. After a mile or so in the lead Jasmine decided that it took more effort to find monsters than it did to go through them.

Belle was her consistent self including not drinking while on the trail or back at the trailer. We have had a history of Belle tying up (think of the worst muscle cramp that you have ever had and then magnify that by 10) due to dehydration. She has 24 hour access to a salt block, electrolytes in her feed, and we take our own barn’s water with us in a 10 gallon bucket so that she can have that good ole familiar tasting water while out and about. But alas she still won’t drink.

I'm not drinking that it smells funny! Ewww

We had a great ride and enjoyed the company of our friend Jen the trails were uneventful minus one wrong turn. Which just means that our ride was a little shorter than planned. One day we’ll remember to take a map with us! I don’t know what we have in store for us in the next week but I am looking forward to the trip!

Who are we?

Who am I?

My name is Melanie and I have always been passionate about horses. I have had horses in my life since I was four. In the past I pursued equestrian careers including; competition, trainer, hippotherapy, riding instructor, etc. I have had several serious back injuries which placed these ambitions on the back burner. Now a days I am just a recreational rider, photographer, and riding instructor. I am a student of Natural Horsemanship I take a little advice from each of the big names John Lyons, Clinton Anderson, and Pat Parrelli just to name a few. My horses have been the best teachers. You can attend as hundreds of clinics but the horses in your life will always be the best teachers. My husband Ben never had horses until he met me. Luckily he always wanted to be a cowboy. He has always loved animals and embraces the idea that horsemanship is a partnership. He is a wonderful student and soaks information like a sponge. My goal is to share my experiences both on and off the trail creating a dialogue with other avid horse persons and trail riders .

Our Horses

We currently have 2 horses. Ben’s horse is named Belle she is a 19 year old Belgian/QH cross. She is 16.2 HH and every bit of 1600lbs. We affectionately call her our BBW.  Belle is part mountain goat as she is very nimble and graceful. She navigates the toughest terrains with ease. Personality wise she is all Belgian pushy and stubborn which fits Ben’s personality perfectly. Belle has been with use since March of 2010. They are great partners and attached at the hip.

Due to my back injury I gave up my Arabian horses. I started my search for a gaited horse last July. Call it fate or what ever you prefer but I found Jasmine almost immediately. I found her on Craig’s list the picture was poor but there was just something about her that made me call the number attached to the add. When I met Jasmine she was a 3 year old 13 HH starving horse, she has scars upon her body that I care not to imagine how they got there. I walked out to the roped in back yard where she was kept. Jasmine looked wore down but had the kindest sweetest eye that just said “If you take care of me, I will take care of you”. Once Jasmine put her nose into my hand and took in my scent I was sold, she was going to be my horse.  I knew the road of recovery for her would be long and hard and I suspected that her growth would be severely stunted. A short horse was okay by me because that meant I would be able to mount her with out assistance. Well the joke was on me, Jasmine is now 4 years old, 15.2 HH and STILL growing. We have had a share of hoof and nutrition issues but Jasmine has made a full recovery.  It took several months to build her trust but through ground work and consistency she trusts me fully. With  a little reassurance and my confidence she will now go through any challenge I present to her. She remains to be apprehensive about new people unless they have food!  She is the most elegant Tennessee Walking Horse I have ever met and has made my transition from Arabians very easy. On the trail Jasmine is a very protective horse she has even slammed her shoulder into a tree so that I wouldn’t be hurt when we slid sideways down a muddy hill. She’s fun to watch because she will often stop at an obstacle be it hill, log, or deep mud pit and think her actions through. She will then head off to the direction that I had indicated I wanted her to go.  Jasmine is extremely smart I never have to tell her anything twice.

I think that about sums it up!

A well deserved reprieve from the heat!

Finally the long streak of days of heat indexes well over 100 degrees are over. Ben and I were able to begin our conditioning training in preparation for our 6 day trip to Big South Fork in Tennessee.   This weekend we were able to take the horses out for two trail rides. Saturday we rode the C trail at Hueston Woods it’s nearly 6 miles of winding terrain. We got started around noon the girls were eager to head out. Belle was a little moody and made her opinion known about pace her choose for her. Jasmine on the other hand started out as she normally does a little nervous about her new surroundings but as always she faced her fears in stride. Jasmine is most comfortable following the lead horse so we focused on her taking the lead and maintaining a running walk. We made good time and only ran into a few scary log monsters that the girls felt placed them in danger.  We took a break at the dam overlook and enjoyed the fresh breeze coming off of the spillway.  On our break Belle met several admirers who appreciated her as the BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) that she is. We continued on and picked up the pace on the remaining portion of the trail.  We did our best of dodge minor mud pits. Jasmine maintained a lovely running walk most of the way back.

Day Two:

We went to Paint Creek and it was well worth the 100 mile drive there. Our girls rode very well in the trailer munching on hay all the way. Once there we met up with our friends Sue and Bob.  We rode the South Loop almost six miles of mostly flat trails which was very good after a fast paced ride the day before. Weather threatened to rain on our parade but held off until we were half way home. We rode in a cool 70 degree temps. The cooler weather encouraged the horses to be a little feisty. Jasmine and Belle rotated taking the lead while Sue and Bob brought up the rear. We took a leisurely walk around the 6 mile loop. We enjoyed limestone overlooks and rode alon steep ravines. The girls enjoyed play time in a slightly slick limestone fossil bedded creek. The trails were well maintained and in good condition. Later we learned that the North Loop is much more hilly and challenging. I look forward to going back for an over night camping trip sometime in the future to take a grand tour of the rest of the park. After the ride we ate cold cuts and enjoyed good company and laughter.  While we ate the horses had their dinner Belle finished her hay bag first and moved on to eat Jasmine’s.  As Belle would steal Jasmine’s hay Jasmine took the hay right back out of the corner of Belle’s mouth as if she were saying “Hey!  that’s MINE!”

I’m already looking forward to hitting the trails again next weekend! Next time I’ll take photos!