I am receiving instructions before the parade.

The first three Saturdays of December is parade season around here.  On the first Saturday, Navasota hosted its annual Christmas Parade.  It is different than the other parades because it occurs at night.  A parade in the dark is pretty with Christmas lights on floats, but on horseback it is not the most fun.  Horses have much different vision than humans do.   Shadows can easily spook a horse.  Combine shadows, darkness, lights, crowds, sirens on police cars and fire trucks, a parade at night can potentially lead to disaster.  An uneventful parade with these circumstances relies on horse/rider trust.  If you don’t have your horse’s trust, then you will struggle to complete the ride.

All three parades occur on paved roads.  Horses’ hooves were designed to ride on grass, through pastures, and other natural places.  Their hooves, even shoed, can easily slip on pavement.  Last year one of the horses in our group slipped while turning onto a different road.  The horse fell on the pavement.  It unfortunately crashed down on its rider’s leg.  In true cowgirl form, she did not cry.  She walked it off for a moment and then mounted her horse again to finish the ride.  Luckily nothing was broken.

She is an experienced rider and her horse slipped and fell.  It can happen to the best of us.  You have to be careful when riding your horse on pavement.  You can have your horse shoed with non-slip shoes, but they are very expensive.  If you can afford this type of shoe, then you can ride with confidence on the street.  Horses can even lope on the roadways.

The Posse in the Plantersville Parade.

Our second parade was in Plantersville.  It rained the entire time.  This presented another problem: wet pavements.  The street was even more slippery.  Luckily, the parade happened in the morning so we could see where we were going and on what we were stepping.  Nobody in the whole parade had a problem with his/her horse.

This Saturday we will be in a parade in Bedias.  I have never participated in this parade so I do not know what to expect.  If you happen to be near Bedias Saturday morning, you can come see me ride Ladd in the parade.  I will be riding with the Grimes County Jr. Deputy Sheriff Mounted Posse.  See you there!

Baby Will sitting on Ladd.

This past Saturday my Uncle Glenn, Aunt Marisa, and their baby Will visited the ranch.  I love my family and I love horses.  So, it was so nice to be able to show Will the horses.  He went for his first horseback ride on my horse, Ladd.

First I rode Ladd down so that he would be calm for my six-month old cousin.  Then I sat in the saddle with Will so that he would not fall off the horse.  His mommy took a lot of pictures.  Will really liked the saddle horn.  He even tried to suck on it.

Then I dismounted.  My Uncle Glenn put Will in the saddle by himself.  Glenn stood next to Will and held him in place.  Now Will really sucked on the saddle horn because there was nobody in the saddle to pull him back.  I led Ladd around our round pen with Glenn walking alongside Will.  Then Glenn rode with Will.  Later Marisa rode with Will.  All in all, Will rode for a long time, especially for a six-month old.

Will is learning to move with the horse.

Babies can learn how to move with a horse as it walks.  My brother Isaac is two-years old.  He rides by himself in the saddle while I lead the horse.  Isaac does not need anyone next to him because he has learned to move with the horse and how to keep his balance in the saddle or bareback.  My youngest brother, Andrew, is eighteen-months old.  He also rides Ladd.  Andrew cannot ride as well or as long as Isaac, but he is on his way.  One day Will will also learn how to sit on a horse comfortably and naturally through practice.

Don’t be afraid to start teaching little ones to ride.  However, always use a very gentle and calm horse.  Always supervise the riding session.  Start small and progress in little steps.  It is important that your little cowboys are safe and have fun.

I am holding Will in my lap. I love Will and I love Ladd!

My sister, Kyla

It was a blazing hot Sunday afternoon.  Sweat was dripping off my face as I was standing in the middle of the round pen.  PawPaw and I were watching my sister, Kyla, ride Ladd.  She was doing a good job trotting around the pen.  Then all of a sudden, Ladd reared up and started crow-hopping.  Kyla was hanging onto the saddle as she scrambled to stay on Ladd’s back.  She fell, but landed on both feet.  I was proud of my sister because she got right back on Ladd and rode him.

Kyla followed the number one rule of horseback riding.  If you fall off your horse, you must get back on.  If you are going to ride a horse, you need to follow this not always so easy rule.  You do not want to end the session with your horse on a bad note.  You have to win!  Therefore you have to mount up and ride.  If my sister can do it, I bet you can too.