My Weekly Smile; Horsey Fun!

On By DianaIn Horse stories, weekly smile
Murphy makes me smile! 😀

Welcome to my smile post as I am enjoying everything horses from this last weekend. It was a very cloudy day on Saturday, so gloomy that I actually did not feel like riding. I know a lot of people would love the cool weather but I woke up not feeling like doing much and so I went with my mood and didn’t ride. I took the opportunity to visit my horsey friend who I use to ride with and she has moved her new horse Roscoe to a new stables a few streets away but in the same town. I enjoyed my visit with her and was able to see Roscoe’s new stall and see him turned out in the arena.

As we head into Sunday I woke up to a beautiful day. The sun was bright and no clouds in sight which always makes me smile. I so enjoy sunny days and I was really motivated to do more today and ride my horses. I will tell you that I was a bit exhausted with all that I did on Sunday which is a good thing, right? I know I will sleep well. Here is all that I did as I took some photos of my day.

Murphy is tied to a hitching post/rail. I have had him here before and he is learning to stand quietly.

I usually use the cross-ties with Murphy which are ties that attach to each side of his head. This way he can’t move around as much with the sides of his head held straight. He can still turn his body but he also can’t try and bite me which I will say he doesn’t do any more. He use to try and bite me frequently because he is young and thinks it is a game to bite, like I am a herd mate which clearly I am not. He was really good tied to this rail except he was biting the lead rope and pulling on it and almost untied himself. I tied it so that it would not come off but in a safe manner (slip knot) if I needed to get it undone quickly. I’m so proud of him! ❤

Here is Murphy in the cross-ties. I thought I would share so you can see the difference in the two places they need to learn to stand and be tied.

There are horses that can’t stand tied in these cross-ties. We have some at our stables where if they are tied here they will freak out and pull back. Yes, they pull back all crazy and either snap the clips, fall down or break their halters trying to get free. It’s all a terrible mess and not safe for the horses and so those horse owners stay away from the cross-ties and never use them. It takes training and a sensible horse to learn to stand tied to any post including the first one I talked about. They can do the same thing at the straight bar hitching post and can freak out and pull back. Horses are flight animals so if they get spooked or feel trapped and feel like they need to bolt to get away, and boy they are so huge it is not fun when they get that scared. I’m very thankful that both my horses are very calm, sensible horses that do not get spooked easily and they both stand nicely tied to any cross-tie or hitching post/rail. 😀

If you are wondering what owners with horses that can’t be tied do? they teach them to ground tie, which means they teach them to stand in one place with the lead rope just hanging down to the ground. Some people just loop the rope loosely around the tie rail so they aren’t tied, but just sort of tethered loosely. Horses can feel the rope get taught, so they stand still in place. But if they get spooked and pull back the rope just slides around the rail and they are free. They don’t usually go far as they all like to stay near the herd which is all the other horses in their stalls nearby the tie area. Some people just brush and tack their horses in their stalls where there is no need to tie them to anything. These are some ways to get around complete restraint with sensitive horses that may not tie well.

Murphy after my ride standing so very tall and being a good boy!

After my ride I just had to take another photo. He can reach for the rope he is tied with and he just chews on it a little bit. (I would rather he chews the rope and not me! Haha!) He knows I need to brush him and pick out his hoofs. Then we walk to his stall so he can get his lunch. He loves food and looks forward to being done with all this nonsense of getting cleaned up! Haha, He would rather be dirty. It isn’t his favorite thing being brushed but he is getting much better and I can tell enjoys being out and hanging out with me each day. 😀 I find that routine is our best friend and he is very smart and I know that helps us bond!

The weekend was fun with my stable friends!

After taking care of Murphy and getting his lunch I got Miss Chloe out and got her ready for a trail ride with a couple of stable friends. We had a nice time and it was a gorgeous perfect day! Trail rides with friends are the best and make me smile! What makes you smile? 😀 I will end with a photo I took of Chloe and when I took the photo she was just about to sneeze! She is such a good girl, I have so many photos of her but not one where she is about to sneeze. Haha! Now I have this funny photo! Even though Saturday I didn’t feel like doing much, I ended up making up for that on Sunday where I almost did too much!

Bless you, sweet girl!

She’s just so cute and beautiful too! I hope you enjoyed my horsey post with some fun sort of educational things about how we handle the horses when needing to have them stand to be groomed and tacked up! I hope it isn’t too boring for both horse and non horsey folks. It’s so FUN to share!! I hope you all have a great week as we smile through to February!

Horse lover forever!

~Diana ❤

19 thoughts on “My Weekly Smile; Horsey Fun!”

    1. Thank you so much pony friend!! I take so many photos of my horses, I have caught them with their tongue sticking out while licking after I’ve given them a treat and bunches of other silly faces but I’ve never caught the beginning of a sneeze! I had fun spending time with my Ponies! Have a great rest of the week!

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    1. Aww, thank you so much Anne! I sure do try and yes it’s amazing the hours I spend there each morning. But they are worth all the pampering I give them! 💞

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  4. It so nice that both your horses can be tied and be good with it. We don’t have crossties at the farm but I wish we did. Chole is so cute in that picture and Murphy is so beautiful I love that he has no white on him I love brown horses I also love the grayish part of Chole they are keepers for sure ❤ I love any and all educational parts as I am now relearning after not being around horses for so many years and just getting back into horses and having to remember so much lol I love reading your posts they are always so sweet and fun to read. Here's to you my horsey friend keep blogging 😀 ❤

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    1. AWWW, you are so sweet my pony friend who now owns her own pony!! I’m so happy the explanations are helpful and thanks for your wonderful comments. I’m so happy you enjoy my blog, means a lot to me your wonderful comments. I think I’ll keep blogging!! ❤️🐴🤠❤️

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  5. Been working with horses for over 50 years and I have to say you posted some great information. All my horses learned to ground tie. Some horses i shod had to be cross tied and some had to be held by someone. Great blog my friend and you explained everything so well that a beginner could understand. Happy Trails.

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    1. Thank you so kindly Wayne! I’m happy it’s relatable and that a beginner can understand what I wrote. It means a lot coming from someone who’s handled horses for over 50 years. You make me SMILE! Such wonderful comments, thank you again! Have a great week!! ❤️🤠🐴

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  6. Cross ties are the norm for most of the horses I have had . I groom Biasini in his stall and tie him to one of the poles at the front of his stall with a quick release knot. I only tie him once I am ready to put on his tack. For brushing he is not tied and is usually eat his hay while being groomed. Murphy looks so well and I enjoyed the photos of your trail ride too! Horse lovers for ever!!

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    1. I really like cross ties but at our stables it can get busy and so sometimes I have to use the tie rail or wait until someone is finished to use the cross ties. So it’s good training for Murphy. That’s so nice you can groom and tack up in your stall. If my tack wasn’t so far from my stalls I would actually prefer that except with Murphy since he’s still so young. He’s so gentle that I could see someday once he gets older for him to learn to be handled in his stall or groomed while he is eating. And Yes!!! Horse lovers for ever!! ❤️🐴❤️

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  7. Despite the bit of blues to start the weekend, it sounds like Sunday was a great day! I’m assuming that back in the day people would have specific horses that they would ride into town or such that could handle being hitched out front while they went into buildings. Never thought of the horses freaking out – you don’t see that happen in the Westerns 😉

    Have a great week!

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    1. Yes, I was definitely feeling a bit blue on Saturday and it was like a switch went off for the fun Sunday!! It’s funny because I thought about the Westerns after I posted and how way back in the day horses had to be tied to hitching posts like you stated. I think the crazy or sensitive horses were not used, and I know they breed for sensibilities as much as they breed for other traits. I think that’s why American quarter horses are a known sensible, quiet horse coming out of the wild west days! Oh and the Morgan horses too. Another extremely sound, quiet sensible work horse. 😊

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  8. Beautiful photographs Diana and it’s always good to go with your feelings. Your trail ride with Chloe and your friends looks so much fun and what a star sweet Murphy is for being so good with the ties! Wishing you a happy rest of the week and please give sweet Chloe and Murphy a big pat from us all 🤗🧡🐴 xxx

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    1. Thank you so very much Xenia!! I’m so happy you enjoyed my photos and my post with all the horsey things. 😀 I too think Murphy is a star, he’s learning so much and is being a good boy! Chloe is a sweetheart too. I will give them both a big pat from you all and sending pats your way for Eivor and Pearl! 🤩🐾❤️😍💞

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    1. Hi Ryan!
      Thank you so kindly! How fun to house-horse sit for 2 weeks and I bet you had a ton of fun in Aiken. I’ve not visited but listen to a podcast called “Horses in the morning” and they talk all horses and have mentioned Aiken and the hosts just recently visited there this last summer. Aren’t these majestic animals AMAZING! Their individual personalities and the connection between horse and human is to me almost indescribable, I love them so much! Thank you for stopping by Ryan!! 🤠

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