My go to horse

Between Rachel and I we have 7 horses to choose from but my first horse remains my go to horse. Turbo may not be the fastest, tallest or most refined horse but he is the most willing. Turbo will do anything I ask of him and he will always be my favorite because of his personality.

Here he is playing in the water yesterday at ft Stevens

With Jessie

Neighborhood Ride

We have been doing more neighborhood riding lately and that can tend to be repetitive so we think of interesting destinations.

We started by crossing 99W at Sunset. It was interesting and we got more looks then usual but the horses did really well. We headed towards Laural Ridge at first, it is a nice straight lightly used road to canter on. Dewey would have won our little race but Jess and Brownie would not let him get out in front.

Heading towards Laural Ridge, Mt Hood in the background

Yes, that was Dewey Yawning in th last picture.
Very attractive!

After that we walked down Edy road and made our way to.....

You are seeing that correctly Starbucks. Only in Sherwood can you ride downtown and hit Starbucks.

Patiently waiting for us to be done with our coffee break.

This was all Jessielee's big idea and there she is enjoying her drink

And finally the picture that started it all.....

That is the McDonald's drivethru in Sherwood. This was from a few weeks ago with Rachel and Michelle. I have recently heard that the McDonald's corporation has made it company policy not to allow horses in the drivethru because of health safety concerns.

Jessielee

My last couple of rides has been with a new friend Jessielee. We met at "The Horse Forum" looking for horsey friends to ride with. She currently does not have a horse of her own at the moment but since we have several I invited her over. We could not be more opposite on the outside, but she is a great person. So easy to talk to and I am very glad to call her my friend.

The first day we took her on one of our signature rides. Up, up, up and more up. Did I mention there wasn't any trails? She took it all in without a whimper. even though she hadn't been up on a horse for a couple of months since she had a bad fall.

I think she fell in love with Dewey that day so from now on I will make sure he is still here after she leaves :) I am not sure what we were thinking but we didn't take any pictures that day so I am stealing one from her facebook....

Jessie and Hugger the horse she leases

Powell Butte

Similar to Forest Park, this little nook in the city has some awesome leisurely trails that even the beginner is sure to enjoy. Tina and I found ourselves wanting to ride on an unusually warm day back in March and we decided to head to a place that I knew about and had boarded my horse nearby, way back when.

We ended up taking Dewey and Tango to give them both a bit of conditioning and fun. At one point in the trail, there’s a small creek perfect for playing in the water and we actually got Dewey to go in and stand patiently! Tango handled the situation like an old pro.

Powell Butte is really easy to find, off of Powell up 162^nd and it only took us about 30 minutes to reach from the Tualatin area.  This trail system also links up to the Springwater Trail, which is similar to a mini road for riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

TBtrailrider

NW Horse Expo

I definitely have to agree that it has been a while since we posted but I do want everyone to know that our endeavors have not ended and that Tina and I trudge on to find new and exciting things to report about.

So for this post I wanted to update you guys and let you know how the NW Horse Expo in Albany went. Tina and I went in not knowing what to expect; even though I’ve owned horses for most my life I never had the opportunity to go to the Expo. Let me just start with saying, it was fantastic! The place was full of vendor booths with products I had no idea existed! I found myself saying over and over “Wow, I was wondering if someone had invented that!” This place was full of things to make the equine experience as pleasurable as possible. From Interlocking grates for your pastures to keep the mud at bay, to completely customizable saddles from Barefoot Saddlery, there was truly something for everyone.

Tina and I attended a couple clinics, watched the stallion exhibition, which I found has my dream horse, Rembrandt, a Friesian dressage stallion who’s mane is down to his knees and forlock extends to the tip of his muzzle. He was absolutely gorgeous.

Please enjoy the photos that we took and we hope you get a chance to attend next year!

TBtrailrider

Stagecoach horse camp

It has been awhile since I have posted so the next few posts might not be in order but I feel the urge to post again.

My kids and I all have birthday's within the same week so we decided to go camping to celebrate. The camp is in Tillamook forest and we were the only people there. It was so nice! There are miles of horse trails as well as fire roads. One thing that we like but other horse people may not is the fact that the area is also open to atv vehicles.

We had been in the area before and knew there was a waterfall but had never found it. Success this time we found it and it was spectacular.

Jessie and Rachel swore it wasn't cold but
I decided to trust them on that :)

I can't wait to go back, it will definitely be a favorite spot this summer.

Tuffy

Yet again we have a new horse, this time it's a new one for me, Rachel. Although I already have the best trail mount I could ask for, I had to give this horse a home since we have a history. 

I'm pleased to introduce you to Tuffy. He's a 10 yr. old breeding stock paint who spent the first 7 years of his life as a halter horse. So here is the back story. My mother purchased Tuffy as a yearling to have as her own horse that she could do all the hands on training with. We had him for 4 years and I was the one who did all the groundwork and beginning saddle work with at the ripe old age of 12. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse financially, so my mom had to make the decision to downsize our herd. Tuffy was the only one who wasn't an all around mount and the decision was made to sell him. The experience was heart wrenching to see him go.

Over the years I searched his registered name and he had come up for sale online a couple times but unfortunately it was never the right time to buy, or he was priced to high.During the beginning of winter 2010, I checked up on him again to see if he'd come up for sale, he had. I found him in a small town right on the border of Canada in Washington state. The girl who owned him had fallen on hard times and needed to sell him. The arrangements were made and after a couple months of planning we picked him up. I had my Tuffy back. 

Tuffy continues to be the same loving horse I always remembered, He shares his kisses with everyone and will lick anyone who gets within reach. Tuffy will be my backup mount for trail riding and I intend to take him with us this summer as my pack horse on the Pacific Crest Trail. 

Meet Too Tuff To Spot "Tuffy"

-TBTrailRider