Sunshine Award

THANK YOU Tracy at Fly On Over for nominating me for the Sunshine Award!

The Sunshine Award is given to people who "positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere." The nominee must do the following: thank the person who nominated her, nominate ten bloggers of her own, answer the ten questions given to her, and post them and the Sunshine Award button to her blog. I try to have a really positive attitude no matter what happens, so this is kind of fun to get!

I would LOVE to nominate ten more bloggers... but I think I follow a total of ten... and all of y'all that I would have chosen were nominated by others already! So kudos to you, and keep spreading the sunshine. 

Ten Questions:

Mares or Geldings? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say mares. I may own a gelding now, but he honestly acts like a mare most of the time! I love the dialogue that a mare requires... you can't tell her to do anything, you have to talk about it first. I'm the same way, so I understand them. I've ridden a lot of great mares in my lifetime and would absolutely choose to own one! 

English or Western? English for the most part, but we ride western just for fun. I can appreciate a lot of things about both disciplines. 

Do you prefer "younger" or "older" horses? All horses have something to teach you regardless of age. This is a silly question. 

Have you trained a horse from ground zero? No. I've ridden some fairly green horses and re-trained a bunch that have had time off or were switching disciplines, but I've never started one from scratch. It's something I'd like to do one day, though! 

Do you prefer riding or groundwork? Riding, but ground work is so valuable! I'm a big believer in teaching new skills on the ground first, and installing voice commands on the lunge can be a godsend. 

Do you board your horse or keep it at home? Dino is boarded at the moment, but we're saving up for a farm to eventually bring him home and be able to have a few more critters. 

Do you do all natural things or just commercial stuff? I use what works, and I don't use a lot of topicals to begin with. I'd love to go all natural for fly spray, but nothing works like good old fashioned insecticides, unfortunately! 

All tacked up or bareback? I usually ride with a saddle, but I try to hop on bareback once in a while to check my seat and balance. 

Equestrian model? This is a tough question! I don't think there is one rider or trainer that I idolize above all others. I admire horsemen who treat horses like individuals, take the time to get to know them, and train in a way that encourages confidence in the horse. I admire teachers who push their students to be their best without resorting to the verbal and mental abuse that can be common in this industry. 

What's your one, main goal, while being in the horses world? To always do right by my horses and bring out the best in them and their people, and to never forget that we do this FOR FUN!