Summer Horses

Spencer and Grace have been taking horseback riding lessons for a year now. This summer, we decided to lease some horses at the barn where they've been riding. In essence, they have what I dreamed about for years as a child--their very own horses! (Well, at least two days a week, anyway).

Spencer's horse is a tall paint National Show Horse. That's a cross between a Saddlebred and an Arabian, if you know your horse breeds. His name is Atomic Superman and he's quite a gentleman. He and Spencer get along well. Grace's horse is a little bay Arabian mare named Miranda, who is very gentle and careful with her, but can be stubborn as a mule at times (much to Grace's frustration).

Our lease days are Tuesdays and Fridays and the pictures below will take you through a typical horseback riding adventure. Yeehaw!

Having some lunch before riding.
We first get the horses from their stalls. Here's Grace and Miranda.
Spencer getting "Soup", as he's nicknamed.




The kids give their horses a good brushing.

Then it's time for saddles and bridles. They've learned how to do this all themselves!
Justin doesn't usually come with us as he's allergic to something out there. We don't think it's the horses, but there is a lot of dust that makes his eyes start to itch and his nose run. He had to come with us this day, so Grace took him for a quick ride before his symptoms got bad enough for him to watch with me from the car.
The kids warm their horses up in the indoor arena to make sure they're not feeling too frisky, then head outside. I love watching them ride! They've gotten so confident and it's fun to watch them talk to each other about what to do next on their horses. They've had some fun riding bareback (Spencer even trots and canters on Soup without any trouble staying on!) and trading horses on occasion. I hope they'll have lots of fun memories of their summer horses.