Twitter is THE BEST!

@Goal4Pro on Twitter posted today: "Reply to this with pics of your horses and I may just sketch them today :)" Well , you saw the great picture I took of Pippi last night, so I quickly twittered out (is that a real term?) that picture of Pippi.

and Look what was Twittered back to me:

Isnt that just awesome! What a talent! So please head over to https://goalforpro.wordpress.com/ and check out what other talents this great gal has. 

This is the picture I sent. 

And you guessed it! This will be stitched as a new pattern for sure! 

Pics from yesterday.

Had to start out with this great photo from last night. I was so excited when I realized that I captured Pippis sweet nature so perfectly. She was mugging for the camera to get a treat, and was hot and sweaty from our ride. She is a Beauty!

In this photo we are trotting, which is a gait that I feel very comfortable in. The new saddle is helping me keep my position and I am finally getting to the point that my hands are quiet. 

Here we are cantering, and this is where I need some work. Pippi tends to bank a bit in right lead, and so I tend to lean in. I also bounce way too much, and although stable my hands are not following like they should. Since I at this point have access to a lot of great riders, I have reached out and asked advice from them. Even sent some video snippets to one and will share the insights with you when I hear back. If you have any advice or experiences please let me know. 

Spring showers!

It was a warm day here yesterday, so after work I rushed to the barn and gave Pippi the Spring shower she so bad needed. She was filthy, and it took a while but she was felt great afterward. Looked pretty good too. (There were 4-wheeler and dirt bikes being ridden close to us, so I took the precaution of the chain for going outside to dry off in the breeze.)

4-Wheelers & Dirt bikes - Oh my!

Took a while to clean and brush this out!

Still a few stained spots for the next shower

Lots of noise over there.

Contest - Win a custom set of Stirrup Iron Covers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Stirrup iron covers will look like these, but will be customized. You will have your choice of  Embroidered letter and color of fabric. 

Please click the link above (Rafflecopter) and enter. 

Good luck!           

(Contest open to those living in the continental US only, Sorry)

Possible Giveaway! Interested?

I am thinking of doing a Give Away of a pair of these Iron Cover bags. I'd like some feedback, would you be interested in winning one? 

Love this quote

Boys Ride too!

Saw this meme on Facebook today, and I didnt like it the way it was. So I made a quick change, and I think its better now. Boys/Men ride too, and they are and should be inspired by girls/women.

The Key to my Knee - THIS fixed it!

As a stated in an earlier post I have struggled with pain in my knees for a long time, especially the right knee. It was bone on bone grinding, and it sounded like I was using a nut cracker. After a few minutes of riding, my toes and half my foot would go numb, and I would lose my stirrup. When dismounting I would do so gingerly, its amazing how quickly we make adjustments in how we move, which in the long term may cause other issues. Last spring and summer I tried very hard to work out, doing weight training, but found that my knee just could not handle it. When fall arrived I even had issues walking my regular three mile route. Skiing has been out of the question the last few years; I am Norwegian, we have to SKI!! I was getting very discouraged, and in January of this year I saw an Orthopedic Doctor who told me that my cartilage was pretty much gone and that I was looking at knee replacement. Not now, because I am too young for it ( I am almost 45), so I would have to wait. I was feeling pretty low.

Then one day I saw Pam Stone write about Lubrisyn HA, and she raved about what it had done to for her. I checked it out at Lubrisyn, and read all that I could find about Hyaluronan.  The science stuff here. I couldn't find a reason not to try it. When I read that I would feel a change in 7-10 days and it would cost me less than $35 (Amazon) I was in! I mean, what did I have to lose? So I made arrangements to get the stuff, and since it arrived so close to February 1st I decided to start it on that day.
Here is video of my knee on February 1st:



It sounds terrible doesn't it?

Now for my knee one month later:




After seeing that and hearing the difference, do you even wonder why I would tell the world to give this stuff a try?

I take 1 small tablespoon of the gel every day. One per day! It has a sweet taste, and its about the consistency of hair gel. After 6 days I swear I felt changes going on in my joints, it felt like they were spreading or swelling. Nothing painful, in fact so subtle that I kept questioning it. At that point I was not convinced that it was doing a thing. A few days after that, about day 8 I had some soreness in the tendons behind my right knee. Again, nothing major, just sort of "whats going on there?"
A day after that I was dismounting from riding Pippi, and I noticed that I just kind of flipped my leg over the back of the saddle and jumped to the ground. I was in shock! I was alone in the barn, and with Pippi staring at me I did some knee bends and realized that my toes were not numb and my knee just felt ........perfect! I bounced up and down, crouched and rose and smiled from ear to ear. My knee was feeling really great, or to be more accurate, my knee felt like nothing. I bent it with all my weight on it and nothing. It was fine, better than fine, it was nothing.

I have felt improvements in my hands, my other knee and neck as well. And I intend to take Lubrisyn forever. I also gave the Equine Version to Pippi, and that was great too, but that is a blog for another day.

Stumpy snoring away

Thought maybe it was time to share my other furry with you, Please to enjoy, my pal Stumpy:

(make sure you have the sound on)

Links to your blogs please

I made some changes to my blog, and lost all my faves. Please comment your URLs so I can find you again. Thanks

My knees! They used to hurt!

I have struggled with pain and grinding in my knee for years. In 1996 I fell at a playground and had it partially out of the socket, and ever since then it has been a huge painful hassle. Riding has at times been quite painful, and it left my toes numb which made me lose my stirrup a lot. I bought the flex stirrups and it helped, but my knee still hurt and throbbed. I saw an Orthopedic Doctor, in January this year, who said I had virtually no cartilage left in my right knee, and was looking at possible knee replacement down the road/ They do not do those at my age (I'm 44!). Not great news. I kept riding of course, it's what we nutty equestrians do.



Here is some Video of my knee on February 1st 2015: (Turn the sound up, you will need to hear this, and yes that nut cracking sound is my  right knee)







WellI found a product that has changed my life. Stay tuned for video of what my knee sounds like now, and information on what fixed it. I am telling everyone, everywhere I go, all day long, about this product because it has been that great for me.

Pippis 50 shades of grey.

Pippis 50 shades of Grey - Horse Junkies United

I posted an article recently on Horse Junkies United that you might like. Its all about Pippi and her grey tabby cats.