The Lipizzaner Stallions

The Lipizzan Stallions are amazing. They have four main moves: Capriole, Levade, Coubette, Mezair.

The Capriole is when the stallions leep high into the air with his feet by his chest and kicks out violently.

The Levade is when the stallion maintains a haunched position at 45-degree angle to the ground. This position requires muscle control and a perfection of balance that is quite difficult.

The Corbett is when the horse balances on the hind legs and then jumps, keeping his hind legs together and the forelegs off the ground.

The Mezair is a series of Levades in which the horse lowers its forefeet to the ground before rising again.

Riding Out On A Lipizzaner Stallion,

Merrin

I found all of this information on this site

Horses Jumping

Skye sent me a video on youtube of these people riding and just horses jumping and it is so awesome. I showed my mom and she was amazed that horses could do that.

Did You watch it? Did you like it? Well I liked it.

Merrin

iDVD

At my barn I have been video taping people ride and I have been making video's of them.

What I do:

1. Take pictures and videos with my moms new camera (even though its kinda more mine than hers)

2. Upload the pictures and videos to iMovie and iPhoto

3. Edit the videos and add titles, transitions, photo's, and even music.

4. Upload the video's to iDVD

5. Add more photos and other semi-related things then finally

6. Burn the video onto a blank dvd and whala you your own dvd ( You can put the dvd in your computer or t.v.)

10 Things I Want To Do Over The Summer

Each year during summer break, my mom tells Pearl and I to write ten things we want to do over summer break. Then we try to do as much on our list as we can. What I want to do over summer is:

1. I would love to do some thing to my hair. I am always on the safe side, I want to be crazy
2. I want to be with horses more than half my summer. Horses are the best thing that happened to me.
3. I want to go off island more than once. It would be awesome if we could go to Honolulu for my birthday and go again with Skye for school clothes.

For right now I can only think of three but I will tell you everything else once I am think about it.

Merrin

Schools Out!!!!!!!

Finally I am out of school. Since schools out I can do more things, like write more blogs, be at the barn almost every day, and spend more time reading. My mom recently came back from San Francisco and in San Fran she went to China Town and got me and my sister necklaces with our birth symbol like the tiger, horse. and dragon. She also got us some new Pajamas, shirts, and pants. One of my favorite things she got me was the Chai powder mix. The mix is called: Elephant Vanilla Chai by David Rio. It is the best!!!

Riding Into The Sunset,
Merrin

The Eriskay Pony

The Eriskay is long legged and has a dense, waterproof coat. There is little feathering on the back of the legs. It is an easy going and can be used for trail riding, jumping, and driving. It is technically one of the United Kingdom's native ponies. The foals are born black or bay but eventually turn gray as they mature. They are normally 12 to 13 hands tall.

Love to Ride,

Merrin

The Sorraia

The Sorraia is a small, but compact horse. The horse is always a dun or a grullo. A grullo is a grayer version of a buckskin. The foals or baby horses are born with zebra stripes covering the body. They are about 13-15 hands tall.

Riding away into the sunset,

Merrin

American Cream Drafts

The American Cream Drafts are tall being around 15-16.3 hands tall. Their personality is sweet and gentle. They are a strong sturdy breed so it makes it a perfect all around horse. It's breed is good for hobby farming, logging, driving, and riding. The horse are normally cream colored with white/cream colored manes and tails.

Riding Out,

Merrin

Show Competition

On Sunday ( April 18th) there is a Horse Jumping Show at the Hpa fields. So Skye and I are entering in it. Ooh it will be lots of fun. I can't wait. We will jump logs in a field called the Taj fields. I am kind of nervous but totally excited.

<----- I won't be jumping that high. The logs are nothing higher than 2 feet which i have been practicing at the barn.

Riding Out,

Merrin

The Cleveland Bay

The Cleveland Bay is an elegant, full-bodied horse. It is fancy enough to be a carriage horse, but people can also ride them. These horses are quite athletic and some have long sweeping gaits, but some are more upright in their strides. The horses are very sturdy and are easy keepers. They are almost always dark bay with back mane, tail, and legs. Sometimes a chestnut can be seen.

Riding Out,

Merrin

The Saddle Club

Well right now I am ubsessed with The Saddle Club. Man on youtube I have been watching every episode ( because it is a TV show and a movie). I own the movie and it is super good. Lisa, Carole, and Stevie with their horses Prancer, Starlight, and Belle. Well I sure hope you check it out.

Riding out,

Merrin

Horse Night

Well over spring break I did a lot of things. Some thing I did were:

1) Read some books

2) Spent the night with some friends

3) Was totally utterly bored

4) Maka breaking her leg

5) (and the highlight) had a barn party and spent the night at the barn!

(those were not in order) Spending the night in a white sand arena which was not raked made it not comfortable. Skye, another girl, and I spent the night. In the arena we had two horses ( Rocky and Cimmy) and Patron a little donkey. It was the longest night in the world. We woke up around every two to three hours. One time I woke up and went to the bathroom and when I came back into the tent I could not find them but then I went out and saw them petting the horses. Did you now that 2 in the morning is totally freezing? Gosh it was sure cold.

Riding/Sleeping Out,

Merrin

Barn Party

Well ever once in a while around or close to a holiday Waimea Equestrian has a barn party. The barn party can be for a holiday like Christmas or a birthday. This time it was my riding teachers birthday so they had a barn party! It was so much fun. Tom ( a person who works there) brought his miniature donkey Patron to the party. He has a saddle and if you are under 50 pounds you can ride him. Only one kid could so he got to ride a mini donkey. I made my favorite brownies and my friend Skye ( her mom is a pastry chef at Hualalai) made the best almost flour-less chocolate cake. It is to die for!! Well we ate smores and corn on the cob and we ran around in the indoor arena.

Hope you guys can try a barn party out,

Riding Out,

Merrin

My Dog Maka

Well my sister, my dad, and my dog, Maka go camping every once in a while. Well they went camping on Tuesday night and they normally go to the Hilo dock. Well on the way down to the dock and Maka jumped out of the truck while they were passing a fence with three dogs running along the fence. When she fell/jumped out she landed hard and rolled sort-of over and she could not get up. She ended up breaking her femur. She broke her left back leg. She is a big time runner but she can't run for six weeks!! The vet said it will take about five days for her to figure out that she can use the leg but it has been at least two days and she is trying to get up the stairs and chase the cats and even run around. She had her surgury on Wednesday and she came home on Thursday. Maka is a strong girl but it will be a long six weeks. Right now she is laying on her bed snoring (she is good at snoring). All she needs is some rest and sleep. When she has to go the bathroom or is thirsty she will wine like a little girl.

<------ This is a picture of a broken human femur not a dogs but close.

Riding Out,

Merrin

The good old Hackamore

Hackamores can be very helpful. Hackamores are bit-less bridles. Some people prefer riding with hackamores some people don't. It all depends on the person and the horse. When it comes to older horses and people who don't know how to ride, a hackamore is a very good option. They are easy to use and can help your horses mouth. Richard Winters is a Champion and he only uses hackamores. He is a great rider.

Riding Out,
Merrin

Jumping

Well my friend Skye and I have officially learned how to jump ( she is my riding partner)! We took a video to show what we have learned.

Did you watch it? Did you like it. Did you?? I sure hope you did. I spent at least 45 minutes working and editing it. I sure like it. My friend Skye is a great rider and she is super nice. Well thats it for right now.

Well goodbye,

Merrin

Myler Bits

This Bit is a Myler bit combination. When I ride Hansie and other young horses I use this bridle. The creater of these bits is Dale Myler. Everyone I know that uses these bits loves them. there is a string that connects from the nose band to the brow band. Th bit ring (I don't know what it is called) has a little nub coming out where when you pull back it tightens up (on the bit) which makes them slow down or stop. It also pulls on the nose band which the string pulls back. The connection is on the poll and somewhere else which I forget (dumb me, I should have been paying more attention). These are great bits and bridles. I have used them in fact when I was jumping I used this bridle. I totally Love it, THANK-YOU Dale Myler.

Riding Out,

Merrin

Farrier

Waimea Equestraian Center's farrier is Tom Richmond. He is a great farrier. He knows everything plus he is funny. He tought me and my friend Skye how to correctly shoe a horse. It was soo much fun learning plus we got to put a horsey nail polish on Hansie. Ohh yea here is a picture of Hansie. We saw a very clean hoof. Farriers have a very important job, for if we did not have farriers there probably would not be such things as horse shoes and horses feet would be a mess. One of my friends told me that horseshoes were made for the war. To elevate the horses foot so it would not step on nails and prickly things. Horseshoes that are very heavy were used to keep the horses feet up, you know when they lift their feet up high. That is why. Sliding shoes are cool. They are only put on the back hoofs to help the horse slide. Yes I like lots of pictures and visual aids. This is randomness but what is life without sound affects???? Good questions.... Got to Go

Merrin

Hansie

At my riding center, there is a horse named Hansie. He is a really sweet horse. Even though he is young he is very calm and gentle. My friend loves riding him. Anyway we started learning how to jump. I rode him and My friend rode the big black horse (i probably should not put his name) and our teacher put up a tiny cross rail. She told my friend to try first. She went and did great. Then it was my turn. Right when i was about to go over the jump he sped up and jumped it as if it was a four foot jump (my friends way of saying it). I was totally not ready for it and unbalanced and so I fell. It was not his fault. He is just a young, big horse. I am fine (luckily). When i fell i rolled off to the side, and Hansie ran off so he didn't hit me with his hoof. When i got back up I was covered in sand and Hansie was just standing off to the side with the reins all crooked, ears pricked forward, I actually wish I had a picture of him then. Well then i dusted myself off. I felt really embarrassed because some students from HPA came to watch us. The next time we came to our riding place, Hansie was gone. We looked everywhere. When I asked my teacher where he was she said he was in San Fransisco, California at a sale barn. She said he had good qualities and he needed to be showing and live in a good barn. He has very good bloodlines so if you live in San Fransisco (and if you are a horsey person) check out some sale barns for a tall bay male horses with a star. He has good qualities so yea.

BUB BAI,

Merrin

P.S.

I wish I had a picture. I will try to get a picture of him.

Howrse

Howrse is a virtual computer game about horses. I play it and love it. You are allowed to breed, sell and raise your own horses. If you want to brush your horse then you click the grooming button. I like it a lot. It is fun and appropriate. Doesn't show anything nasty. Please log in. You can also manage your own equestrian centre.

Addios, Merrin

Kerrits

Kerrits Has got to be my favorite brand. They are always so comfertable and fit well. I have a great pair of new breeches from them that reinforce the sewing so it will last along time (hopefully). For Christmas I got a purple short sleeved riding shirt. It is great. Whenever I ride, I use my Kerrits apparel. It always fits me and is great. I Love Kerrits. Another great thing is when you buy clothing from their they give you a free pack of carrots to plant. The best thing about Kerrits is that they are totally green. If you want to check out their site here is the


Addios,

The Usborne Riding School Books

The Usborne Riding School Books are great to start learning about horses, ponies, games and everything. I started reading them and i have learned how to correctly jump, ride do dressage, show, and do pony games. Some of my favorite books are the Jumping, Dressage, and the Pony Games.

Why I love Horses

When my family first moved here I saw my first horse. Then it clicked to me I want to ride. So my parents found a great place to learn. My teacher was great. I rode with her in western for six whole years. Then something private happened and I stopped riding with her. I do recommend her for learning to ride. After that I was riding with HPA's horse back riding program. My favorite horse was a horse named Francesca. She was Half Tennessee Walker. She was fun to ride. I rode there for about two or three months. Then I went to the Waimea Equestrian Center. That is where I am riding now. So far i have been riding for a month or two, and I am LOVING riding there. It is my favorite place so far. On the first day i learned about balance. I ended up cantering around with no stirrups or reins. It was hard but super fun. Plus the horse (Rocky) is super bouncy but fun and lazy. Since then i have been riding every Wednesday and Saturdays. I feel like I have grown as a rider and in my experiences, which is very good for me. We (me+my friend we ride together) will soon start jumping which will be fun.

oven cake

Me and my sister got up really early to film this recipe episode. It is our very favorite breakfast. We are sleepy when we started but then woke up a little. Here it is...