Saturday August 22, 2026

Had a wonderful ride with Mr. Hanz today out in the trail field behind Quail Roost. I arrived about mid-morning just before lunch. I was surprised to see that the horses were turned out and roaming the fields. I was glad about it, but usually the horses are in during the day and get turned out in the evening around mid-afternoon. I got my tack ready and set up for Hanz before I went out to catch him. It was a relaxing and quiet day on the farm, which is personally my favorite. Don’t get me wrong; I love socializing, especially hanging with my horse peeps, but there is something calming and charming about the quiet stillness of a good Saturday mid-morning. As I went to catch Hanz, his pasture mate was a little worked up because his best friend was away at a show at the Carolina Horse Park. I tried not to make a big deal of it as I went to catch Hanz. Hanz was being a little difficult to catch this morning as well; every once in a blue moon, he will get this way, but we’ve been having some intense training rides, and I thought that he was a tad worried that we were going to work hard today. I remained as calm as possible, and after about 10 minutes of dancing in the field making a fool of me, he calmed down and I caught him. All one can say sometimes is, “Oh, Horses!” Hanz was as pleasant as ever in the cross ties, and as I got him tacked up, he never made a fuss over being bridled. Sometimes I deeply question how I got so lucky with a well-behaved horse (knock on wood! haha). I wanted to give Hanz a relaxing time on a good hack today for being such a good horse in our lesson and training rides this past week. He deserves it so much! I think every horse deserves it! They work so incredibly hard for us and put up with our inconsistencies and shenanigans as people, and they still let us come back day after day and let us work with them. God definitely created a living, breathing, galloping piece of art! They are truly incredible creatures. As we made our way down the driveway, I paid close attention to how Hanz was riding. I constantly had to readjust my seat and my lower legs to keep Hanz forward and straight. We have been working tightly on keeping Hanz working under himself with his hind legs and keeping him straightly aligned in his shoulders. It’s something that, as an Adult Amateur, I’ve had struggles with. I did my best to keep him forward thinking, and as we made our way through the grass trail in the field, I felt Hanz starting to rebalance himself more underneath, and his shoulders slightly lifting as he regathered his straightness in his shoulders. I felt as though he was saying thank you by becoming much more enthusiastic and even more forward as we worked more on rebalancing. To this day, I’m stunned by how sensitive and cognitive these creatures are! One slight change in my balance helped Hanz rebalance himself when being ridden. How can they even tell what we are thinking? It shocks me every day! He came forward and even into the contact, and I started to feel his back swing a little more. As we made our way down the trail, Hanz was happily looking around the trail and staying alert to his surroundings. Something of a hint of relaxation and a deep calmness took over me. I love a forward-thinking horse. After just about one lap, I decided to head back to the barn. I didn’t want to be greedy since Hanz was being so good and glad to be out of the arena. That’s something I never want to take advantage of at all! I think we should never overextend our welcome, especially when it comes to riding a horse. As we headed back to the barn, Hanz did pick up even more momentum, but I’ve never been on a horse that wouldn’t do this on their way back to the barn. “Let’s get home so I can go out and graze with my buddies!” said every horse ever, haha. I never blamed him for being a horse. I dismounted and headed back into the barn after about a good 1-hour ride! Hanz was visibly more relaxed and happy to be back. I kept him in the stall as they were about to bring horses in for dinner and then turn them right back out! As I drove away from the barn, I was extremely glad about a good hack. Sometimes all I need is a good relaxing hack! It’s like Dressage and all those training and exercise rides with your trainer actually work!? Who would have thought that!? I thought about one of the most classic riding quotes of all time from Gustaf Steinbrecht’s “Gymnasium of the Horse”: “Set your horse forward, and set him straight!” Wow, it’s like he knew what he was doing!?