Hey
The cookies were great... at least Miles enjoyed them. He wouldn't let me put the hat on but my friend's horse did. It would have been cuter on Miles. We never got around to decorating his stall but I put a stocking up for him and we will go out on Christmas Day.
I rode him in the front arena yesterday. He doesn't like the front arena because of all the cars that rush by it. He only startled a few times though. Since it was 37 degrees out, he was really frisky. We jumped every jump in the front arena. There are some really tricky jumps in that arena so that was awesome. I had never jumped all the jumps. The hardest was the in and out. Miles hated it! He always tried to turn out. I think because he was cantering/jumping right toward the scary cars!! Since we cantered it he took it in one stride. It was so much fun. Another fun jump that we both enjoyed was the blue barrels. Miles always over shot them!!
Bareback jumping is so much fun!! I can't believe you have never tried it. Miles likes it. I think because there isn't as much tack weighing him down. It is so much fun. If you come and visit you will HAVE to ride him bareback!
He went to the farrier yesterday. He was really well behaved!! His buddy before him , Cannon, flipped out. The other horses startled him and so he reared up and slammed the farrier into the pole. The farrier wasn't hurt though. Cannon was tied up with cross ties and when I ran over, with my instructor/friend Taylor, he was rearing and facing the other direction!! We still don't know how he turned around. Cannon cut his nose and his foot. He had already injured his other leg so Taylor and I had to doctor him for his new injuries and re wrap his other.
For Christmas Eve we always have a party. My friend Morgan comes every year! It is a lot of fun. Honey is arriving today and on Christmas day Tia, Tio, Cubby and Asa are driving in. The day after Christmas ALL THE BOYS are going dove hunting or something like that. We will go see Miles on Christmas day!!
What are you doing for Christmas??

Hello again!!!

It sounds like you are doing fabulous with Miles. He is very good at bending in the air and picking up the correct lead, I’m so happy that he did that well for you. I almost never have to do flying lead changes on him because we pick up the lead over the jump.

I’m sure you have purchased bell boots by now but for next time, the ones that stay on the best are the ones that you pull over his hoof. They don’t have Velcro. I think that they are a pain to get on so I leave them on him all the time. It doesn’t hurt him and they will keep his shoes on better when he gets turned out. You don’t have to get those, just an idea. Tell your mom that I looked online for that stretchy tie I told her about and I can’t find it. They might know what you’re talking about if you go into a tack store.

I can’t believe that you jump him bare back!!! I have never done that before because his withers are so high. I’m sure that it hurt without a pad and I bet it will still hurt with one ha ha.

That Santa hat your mom got you sounds so cute, I would love to see a picture. The ribbon also sounds adorable, I wish I had something like that when I gave out barn gifts. By the way, how were your cookies? Did the horses like them? Did you enjoy them? How does his stall look and what does he think of the decorations? There was a lady at my barn who had a horse that was scared of plastic bags and ribbon so she hung a bunch of it in front of her horses food. He went crazy at first but then he got used to them and was much less spooky. I always thought that was clever and very funny.

I am so happy that everyone likes Miles, I think he is the best horse ever. All of the neighbors would feed him and spoil him rotten so I think he is used to and loves all of the attention. Are you excited for Christmas? What are your plans?
Hope you are having a great break!

Hey...
When I read your blog the system wouldn't let me log on... That's why I haven't responded yet. We are going to decorate Miles' stall for Christmas. My mother has some really cute, non spooky, ideas. I rode Miles last night for the first time in a week. That was the longest time I had gone without riding him! He was really frisky and the whole lesson (after warm-up) we worked on jumping and landing the right lead. There was the awesome instance were I bended Miles right as he jumped and he curved his body the correct way and landed perfectly, right lead and everything. My instructor said that he had never seen anyone my age do that like that! I gave all the credit to Miles, he deserved it.
School is getting harder so I am having trouble balancing but there is no way I am going to cut back on Miles time. It snowed on Wednesday!! We went and saw Miles and he looked all cozy in his blanket and stall. I had been thinking about riding but the instructors suggested that I shouldn't because of the weather. When I rode last night, Cathy noticed that Miles had a cut on his leg. She said it wasn't bad but I had to put on this icky medicine. Miles did not mind at all. During the lesson he lost a bell boot twice so I am going this morning to buy new bell boots and the medicine for cuts because he has been getting a lot of them lately. I am hoping for a blanket for Miles for Christmas and a plain bareback pad. It is very uncomfortable to jump bareback with no pad... but it is still fun!!
So my mother does this thing called advent elfs' and every morning we get a little present. You will never guess what I got for Miles!! It is a Santa Hat with ear holes and reindeer antlers on it. I'll send you a picture. For Christmas I got ribbon to tie my barn gifts with. It says "Merry Christmas from Emma Grace and Miles" I think Cathy really likes Miles. All of my friends are obsessed with him. They are constantly spoiling him with treats. I think their own horses get jealous. My instructor Evan likes Miles a lot. The first time he saw me ride Miles he thought Miles was 6-7!
I guess there is nothing else to say.
Bye

Hey!!
I’m sorry it took me so long to reply. I didn’t bring my computer home over Thanksgiving and then I went straight to Miami (it was very fun). I went back to Tucson for Thanksgiving and saw Toni which was very fun. What did you do? After Thanksgiving, I went to Miami Beach for this big art fair called Art Basel. It is one of the biggest art fairs in the world and is very exciting. I saw a lot of celebrities ( Ivonna Trump, Kristen Dunst, Paris and Niki Hilton, Laura Bush, and Beyonce and JZ) There was also a huge kick off concert on the beach by this French pop star named Yelle. It was really fun, my entire school and teachers were all dancing on the beach.

Miles gets a very thick coat in the winter. It isn’t determined by how cold it is, it grows in based on how long the days are so it is very common for him to get really wet after a workout. You don’t need to worry about it at all but it does make cooling him down much more difficult. I like to clip him in the winter. He turns a very cute pumpkin color. He is really well behaved when he gets clipped. If you don’t know how to do it I bet someone at your barn does. Usually you have to pay them, it was anywhere from 50 to 80 dollars at my barn so ask around.

I’m glad you rode him bareback. I always find that he behaves a lot better when I do. It is like he knows he needs to behave better or something. His back is super uncomfortable. I never canter him without a bareback pad, it hurts too badly. But I like to just sop on with nothing on him sometimes, I feel more connected with him.

The bumps are also normal. I think they are bug bites too. They have never bothered him so I don’t worry about it. What else is new? What have you been up to?

Hello from Houston
Miles and I rode bareback for the first time yesterday! I used my friend's bareback pad and it helped a lot! I rode bareback (walk, trot, slow canter) this morning without the pad and it was the most uncomfortable experience! He has a lot of bumps on him and the trainers think they are mosquito bites and he doesn't flinch or anything when pressure is applied. Did he get those bumps in Arizona? I think he is cold here because he started growing his winter coat. He sweats easily but he always has enough energy to trot when we are walking and canter after jumps. Don't worry he does not get away with trotting when he is not supposed to. I published a post a few days ago so I am not sure if you read it, but I really wanted you to get a more recent update. Please read the other blog (it is right under this one) and respond to both of these.

Hi!
What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Did you end up babysitting my friend? If so, did you like her? I think Miles' winter coat is thicker than all the other horses so when he is ridden he sweats a lot more. He was so sweaty today and we only rode for 30 minutes. Do you think I should be worried about it? Today I took pictures with Miles and they might be used for our Christmas card. One picture of Miles and me will be in the card but we don't know which picture will be used. My brother got sick two nights ago and my mother is sick also so my father and I are next.
Check the blog often!!

I’m so glad you are having fun! Where are you going the next couple of days? That plaque sounds so cool. I got a wooden one made for him at Sea World . . . I have no idea what ever happened to it. Tell Tia hi for me. That is really cool that you guys decorate the stalls for Christmas, I bet it is a lot of fun. I also think that Miles will not be thrilled with the bow at first, especially if it is shiny ha ha. I say you get the biggest shiniest one possible and make him get used to it. Does your barn have stall decorating competitions? My old barn (not the one you were at) had a Halloween party every year and we would all dress up our horses and there was a costume competition. I only had Miles there for one Halloween, he was Harry Potter. New York is cold but great. What’s new with you?
- L

We have been having a blast together. I won't be here on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday so I'll ride him on Sunday. :( He has had thrush recently so I have been treating it. Tia got Miles a beautiful plaque for his stall and it is up. She is here right now visiting. We just got back from the barn. I will send you a picture of the plaque. After Thanksgiving I will start decorating Miles' stall for Christmas. We have a decorating contest every year and I am going to put wrapping paper on the stall door and also put a big bow. I will also take a picture to show you. I am going to get him a stocking to.
See you later
P.S. check the blog more!!!!

Ha ha, Miles thinks that a lot. Just make sure that you don’t let him get away with any little thing and he should realize who is in charge. I mean anything, make him stand exactly where you want him to. Another big thing is not to let him nudge you . . . it is cute but its really a bad habit. Don’t be afraid to be stern with him . . . he will love you more in the long run. Your mom told me that he ran up to you when he was in the turn out. That makes me so happy!!!!!! I’m so happy that you two are getting along. How is the jumping coming? Are you getting into Dressage at all with him? Also how is the drill team going, any competitions in your future?

New York is great, school just got really busy all of a sudden . . . it is taking away from my New York fun. One of my best friends came out to visit me last week. It was so nice to have a friend from home come out. Halloween is a big event out here. We went downtown to watch this big parade . . . it is a big deal and it is on TV. Somehow, we ended up marching in it ha ha. It was so much fun. I have never seen so many people in crazy costumes, it was really fun. What did you dress up as? I was a sailor ha ha.

He has been acting like he can get away with what ever he wants, lately. Everything I do, he seems to just ignore. We are cantering into low verticals. He wants to get fast the first time we do it but then he calms down.
Its a lot of fun!
Nothing else to say!
Love
eg

Good Job!!!
I’m so proud of you! Another exercise that I have done with Miles is to make him stop in the middle of the line, just so he knows who is in charge. Congrats on the drill team, that sounds like so much fun. I have never done it with Miles but I tried it out a few times before I had him. He does like to be lazy when you lunge him. Remember to keep using your voice. Give him a couple chances to listen and then get mean ha ha. As for keeping him going, get after him with the whip. Make him think you mean it. You could also try turning him out before you ride. If you chase him, he will get very tired. What else is new with you?
Love
L

Hi
I'm glad you are having fun in New York.
Miles and I have started cantering in between the lines of jumps but I also like to make sure he is listening and every once in a while I make him trot in between the lines. I rode him on Saturday and he was spooking at a loud sound that the people behind us were making.
Miles and I are joining a drill team. Kathy said that if the team is good enough she will enter us in a competition or demonstration.
Miles has only been turned out with a horse named Cannon. Cannon is a horse Kathy rescued and his hoof had holes in them when he came so he doesn't run as fast as Miles.
I'm having trouble keeping Miles going at the canter when we lunge and he is slow when we lunge but then when I get on him he mysteriously finds new energy and turns hyper on me!
Have fun in New York!

I am so glad you are having a good time with Miles. It sounds like you two are doing great! If you took pictures of his tail send them to me, I would love to see how good it looks. Your mom also told me that Kathy loves him, that makes me so happy! I told your mom this but I will tell you too. I wouldn’t worry about wearing gloves with Miles. If he tries to pull back like that, just let go. He will always be stronger than you and if you try to fight him, you could get hurt. Every time he has done that with me (which isn’t often) he doesn’t run away. He stops pulling as soon as you let go. I’m glad your friends came out. Did they like him? You asked me how I got him to side step. It is just something I learned when I took dressage lessons. I’m sure Kathy can teach you how. Basically, I just put my inside leg on him and move him over.

New York has been great, I still love it. Last weekend, I went to Philadelphia with two of my friends. We took a train there which was really fun. I like train rides much more than car rides. The first thing we did when we got to Philly was get cheese steaks. I had never had one before. We went to the original cheese steak restaurant called Pat’s Steaks. The line wrapped around the building, across the street and down the sidewalk! It was crazy. I don’t know if you know this, I didn’t, but the cheese on the cheese steak is cheez-wiz!! I did not think it sounded good but it actually wasn’t bad. We also went apple picking when we were out there. It was so much fun! All the leaves were changing which was really cool, I have never really seen fall before.

I hope you are doing good. I miss you!! I promise I will post on the blog more often. Say hi to every one for me!

Today I had two friends come out and see Miles. One friend rode him and the other just walked him around. Mamma was holding Miles while I brushed him when all of the sudden he pulled back and so Mamma let go of the rope. She has a rope burn now. He didn't try to run but it took a carrot to be able to grab the rope. We now hold him using gloves. The friend who rode Miles rides at a diffrent barn but she might switch to my barn. Miles was behaved when ridden. He didn't want to keep the canter when lunging though. Any tips to keep him going? Also, I was wondering how you side-step him. I have trouble doing it. I can kind of get it but not really. I have a show tomorrow but I'm riding a barn horse since I haven't even jumped Miles yet. I won't get him out since you said he gets really keyed up at shows. He likes to be ridden in the dresage arena which is in a more secluded area. We even tacked him up back there today. I'm getting to know little things about him every day.

How is New York City?

It sounds like you are doing great with Miles! I'm glad he still behaved with the colt. The show tonight was really cool. Most of the marble sculptures were selling for 20-40 thousand dollars and her sketches go for about 2,000. Alot of the pieces tonight sold before I even got there! There was this really cool spinning pinwheel she made too. I'm so happy that you have Miles and I hope that you love him as much as I do.
Love you!

PS this blog is fun!

Thursday!

Hello!! I rode Miles today and we cantered for the first time! There was a colt on the next property going crazy! Miles kept wanting to see what the insane colt was doing, but he was well behaved! His feet look great and there was no problem with the ferrier. Do you know if the shaver for his whiskers was sent? Maybe Uncle Susan wanted to keep it for his own whiskers!
Elizabeth Turk's artwork is amazing. I liked Collar # 13 the best! How much do her peices sell for?
I'll keep you "posted" on my "posting trot" and everything else! Ha ha ha!!

Hi!
I’m so glad Miles is safe and with you. I just remembered that your mom said Miles threw one of his back shoes. Until he gets the shoes fixed I wouldn’t lunge him and when you ride him try to just walk. His hind feet are at different levels and if he does a lot of work, there is a chance he could get lame. Remember, it is ok to be a little tough on him, you don’t want to let him get any bad habits. Ha ha.
NYC is great, I love it here but it has been raining a lot. In Tucson I loved the rain but it makes life difficult when you don’t have a car. Tomorrow night I’m going to a gallery opening. It is kind of like a big party. They are exhibiting an American artist named Elizabeth Turk. She makes some very pretty marble sculptures. This is a website about it if you are interested: http://www.hirschlandadler.com/exhibitions_1.html?id=1477
I miss you all! Let me know how it goes with Miles tomorrow!

Day 3

Hello!!
Miles is doing great... On Monday he was running around checking everything out and we introduced him to his stall... He has already made a lady friend, Dixie... She is in the stall right behind him... We turned him out in the arena and he met Shaw!
Yesterday I had a lesson with Cathy and I rode for 30 minutes... He was a perfect gentleman... We took a nice bath and grazed awhile.
Today we just lunged since I had to go to volleyball... I spoiled him rotten with treats!
He seems fine, and I'll keep you updated!! :)

First Post

Hello to my two favorite girls! I hope that you all will use this website to talk about all the cool experiences this year brings to you both! Love you!