Bridle-Bit Training and Tack Weblog

Dear Friends:

Welcome to June and the beginning of summer!  Sure warmed up in a hurry….from winter to summer!

June has been super busy with group lessons, clinics, training, and watching the babies playing in the pasture. Still waiting for the last mare to foal…. Hope you are having lots of time to ride and enjoy your horses!

LESSONS

The group lessons on Tuesday and Thursday morning are very popular, a great way to get some work done with your horse in a low pressure and fun atmosphere.  The weekday afternoons have been filling up with private lessons, and I am doing a few private lessons on some of the open Saturdays also.   Please contact Cheri (CarstenCK@aol.com) if you want to be included in the Tuesday or Thursday group or private lessons with me. Also, please let us know if you are interested in joining a group lesson on Friday mornings at 9:00 with the young horses.  We will work on preparing them to be ridden some day!

CLINICS

On June 28 we have a one day clinic that applies horsemanship to ranch working and trail riding.  We will work on things encountered on a daily basis on a working ranch, and on things encountered on a trail ride. The limit is 10 riders and the cost per rider is $125.00.

Our July clinic schedule is as follows:

July 12 is a 1/2 day Cow Working clinic in the morning to beat the heat, 9-12.  Limited to 8 riders and the cost is $90.00 including the cattle charge.

July 18, 19, 20 – Horsemanship and Yoga for Women Only Retreat in Silverthorne hosted by Debbie Stringfellow.  I will be teaching the horsemanship and Debbie incorporates the Yoga at it applies to balance and strength in the saddle.  Limited to six.  Gorgeous cool mountain getaway!

August 9 - 10 – Ranch Working Clinic in Granby, CO, horsemanship, trail, ranch roping, mock competition hosted by Lisa Pratt and Sandy Vernon.  Another wonderful opportunity to ride in the mountains and beat the summer heat!  We are looking at trailer pooling up the hill to save on fuel….spots are limited to 10.  Email for details on horse and human housing.

There are still some open dates in July (the last weekend in particular) and we are always open to your comments/feedback on clinics you like best or what clinics you would like to see in the schedule.  Please let us know what you thoughts/ideas are at either CarstenCK@aol.com or amy-steve@bridle-bit.com.

TACK STORE

We have 3 used wade tree saddles in the shop, all 15 ½ inch, 2 lady wades and a Steve Mecum.  We also have a good stock of SunBody hats with wide brims for ladies and the traditional style for men with more arriving soon.  As always, we can custom order almost anything you need for you, your horse, or your house.  Send Cheri an email (CarstenCK@aol.com) and let her know what you need.

Check the web site for horses we still have available for sale.  Their training continues with myself and James Morgan who is starting my colts for me now.  After 30 years of starting and riding colts for myself and the public I have decided to retire from that end of the business….very, very hard to do but feel very good about turning them over to such a fine young man as James to get them a good solid start.

Look forward to seeing you soon, be well and stay safe!

Amy

Dear Friends,

Our hearts and prayers go out to all our neighbors here in Northern Colorado that were affected by the tornado that went through our area yesterday. Here at Bridle Bit we were spared that brunt of the storm, just had some pretty strong straight line winds (and again today!) that went through and “re-arranged” the green house, tree branches and anything else that wasn’t anchored down. We feel so fortunate that none of our livestock were injured. Please let us know if you know of anyone that needs our help following this tragedy in our area.

June is almost here, ready or not! We are ready…ready for lots of riding, seeing old friends, and making new ones. There are several clinics coming up:

• June 7 - Horsemanship/Cow Working I clinic – 9:00 - 12:00
  This clinic covers the basics of horsemanship as it applies to working cattle and then we apply our newly polished skills to actual cattle work. Limited to eight riders and the fee is $85.00 which includes the cattle fee.

• June 7 – Horsemanship/Cow Working II clinic – 1:30 – 4:30
  This clinic continues to push our learning curve by practicing more advanced horsemanship and cattle working skills. Participants must have ridden in a minimum of 3 Horsemanship/Cow Working I clinics prior to riding in this clinic. Limited to eight riders and the fee is $85.00 which includes the cattle fee

• June 8 – Ranch Horse Clinic – all day (9:00 - 4:00 with an hour break for lunch)
  This clinic will cover many things encountered on a daily basis on a working ranch, cattle work (gathering, driving, sorting, penning), opening gates, dragging logs, hobbling, roping, etc. This is a warm up to the clinic and mock competition held on June 21 and 22. Participants must have ridden in a minimum of 3 Horsemanship/Cow Working I clinics prior to riding in this clinic. Limited to 10 riders and the fee is $140.00 including the cattle fee.

• June 21-22 – Ranch Horse Clinic and Mock Competition – two day clinic.
  Saturday’s clinic will cover many things encountered on a daily basis on a working ranch, cattle work (gathering, driving, sorting, penning), opening gates, dragging logs, hobbling, roping, etc. Sunday will be a Mock Competition on horsemanship skills, trail skills and cattle working skills with awards at the end of the day! Limited to 10 riders and the fee is $250.00 (includes cattle fee) for the whole weekend.

• June 28 – TBA – we are looking for your feedback, what kind of clinic would be helpful for you and your horse….drop us a note at with your ideas and suggestions to CarstenCK@aol.com or amy-steve@bridle-bit.com

Keep an eye on our web site for more details on these and many other clinics coming up in July and August including our Cowboy/Cowgirl Basics Clinics, www.Bridle-Bit.com

Also, our weekly group lessons are going well. We are switching to riding in the morning now to beat the heat and the thunderstorms. Here is the weekly group lesson schedule. Let us know if you are interested in being part of one or more of these groups (send Cheri an email CarstenCK@aol.com).

Tuesdays - 10 to 11:30 followed by lunch.
Thursdays - 10 - 11:30 (no lunch planned)
Fridays - 9:00 - 10:00 Youngster lesson…round pen and ground work, preparing our young horses to be ridden some day….

The tack shop is “stuffed” so we are running some specials in June to help you get some great tack or supplies at great discounted prices. Always have a great supply of used tack and some really nice saddles on consignment including a used Lady Wade and a custom Robert Chavez.

I did an interview for the Horseman’s Corner at Hale Broadcasting with Marty Marten and Howard Hale. It is on the web site at www.halebroadcasting.com in the Horseman Corner’s section, weekend section, part 1, 2, 3 and 4. Howard put part of the interview on the Cattleman’s Corner too. Don’t know how long it will be up on the web site so if you can’t listen to it there it will be on this Saturday on the KSIR 1010 in Brush, CO at 9:00 a.m. Was sure fun to do this with Howard and Marty, let me know what you think!

Hoping you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend! And again, please let us know if you know of anyone in our horse community that has family or friends that need our help after the tornado.

Thank you!

Heard a news report about a dairy who’s cows have a hard time adjusting to the time change.  I didn’t know cows wore watches? Cows, horses, dogs…their ”clocks” don’t change for day light savings.  Just another indication that humans need to “adjust to fit the situation” with our livestock….not the other way around! 

 We had a great weekend of riding with those that attended the all day clinic on Saturday and the half day clinic on Sunday.  The temperatures on Saturday said it should have been warmer than it felt…the wind blew the temps down about 15 degrees.  Thanks for hanging in there all day, Karol, Jim, Linda, Robyn, Bobi, Mary, Jane and Lucie!  Sunday’s temps were great and the cattle still worked well even with the work they got on Saturday.  Thanks to Anna, Howard, Liz, Sheri, Marty and Jody for coming to spend a great afternoon working cattle!

Looking forward to the clinic on the 22nd and the two day clinic on the 29th and 30th!

 Have a great day!

Dear Friends, The Colorado weather has sure been on a roller coaster ride this past week, 70’s and sunshine to 30’s and snow!  I don’t mind riding in the cold and snow, but add the wind and I become a wimp. And I don’t think my horses like it much either.  They aren’t in much of a “learning frame of mind” when all they are thinking about is “turning tail”! Getting our horses in a “learning frame of mind” would be a great topic for our new “blog”.  Yes, we are stepping up in the world by adding a blog to our web site!  This will help me keep you updated on a more regular basis on “what’s happening” at Bridle Bit.  Just go to our web site at www.Bridle-Bit.com and click on the “blog” link for news and updates.  Would love some feedback! We have two clinics this weekend, March 8^th and 9^th, and the weather looks great!  Sunshine and 50’s!  Saturday’s clinic is horsemanship in the morning and cattle work in the afternoon.  If your horse is “fresh” from time off this winter and you need to spend some time with ground work or in the round pen to get the “ya-ya’s” worked out, we can work on that and then saddle up for some horsemanship as it applies to working cattle.  Then we will finish up the day working cattle either in the rodear or in a cutting/penning situation.  The clinic starts at 9:00 and goes until 4:00 with an hour break for lunch.  Sunday’s clinic is horsemanship/cow working for a half day, 1:00-4:00.  There is till plenty of room in both clinics so call or email if you would like to join us! A change in the schedule is the weekend of March 22 & 23 clinics.  I didn’t realize when I set the dates for that weekend that Easter is on the Sunday!  Whoops!  So I am combining the Green Horse (9-12) and Intro to Cow Working (1-4) for that Saturday, March 22^nd.   The morning clinic will cover all the basics to see if there are any holes in your horse’s foundation and find areas to work on to “fill the holes” so you can really start to progress towards a more “finished” horse. The afternoon session, Intro to Cattle Work, covers all the basics, stops, turns and getting our horses “exposed” to cattle in a controlled, safe manner.  You can ride in one or both of the half day sessions and there is still room in this clinic also. The last clinic for the month of March is our Spring Tune Up clinic on the 29-30th.  We are going to work on “anything and everything” to help prepare you and your horse for the riding season ahead, like getting our horses to “wait”, or hobbling for those long trail rides or buddy sour or “grouchy” horses, etc…  You name it; just bring your list of “opportunities” you would like to work on with your horse and yourself.   The tack store will be hosting a “St. Patrick’s Day Blarney Sale”, March 8-30.  For those of you that are great at “blarney” (smooth talk used in flattering or coaxing), come on in and put it to good use by talking me down on the price of your “must have” item/s in the store!  Buy something with the color green on it and take an additional 10% off! To temp you even further all the in stock Tom Balding and Jeremiah Watt bridle bits (snaffles excluded) will be on sale at HALF OFF!  There are many closeout items being added to the 50-75% off table to make room for the new items arriving weekly.  And if you can’t make it in person, we are offering free shipping for March also.  Store hours vary each day so best to call ahead before you stop by! Thanks for you time! And remember to check out the blog page on the web site for regular updates! 

Yeah!  The weekend is here and we are ready to ride!  Saturday and Sunday we are doing half day horsemanship and cow working clinics. Sundays clinic is full but there are still 2 openings in tomorrow’s (February 16) clinic.  In these clinics we start with horsmanship as it applies to working cattle, good solid stops, turn arounds, “waiting”, etc… and then get our horses on cattle, tracking, rodear work, sorting, etc…  The cattle are “fresh” and ready to “rock and roll”!  Come join us if you can!

This winter was a reminder of long, cold winters of years gone by…and I am so glad it is almost over!  These past few months with the colder than “average” days, snow and ice have made me long for days like today….warm (50 degrees!) and sunshine!  In between customers stopping by for the Sweetheart Tack Sale today (and Sunday) at the shop I have been going out to “breath” in the sunshine!  My horses are starting to shed and my brood mares bellies are starting to drop and I can smell spring today….

 The clinic schedule through June is posted and you will notice some new clinics we are offering this year.  We will continue the “tried and true” favorites and have added some new clinics to accomodate many of your requests, like “intro to cow working”.  This sessions will be great for those of you new to cattle work or have a horse that is new to cows.  We will be doing a “Spring Tune Up” clinic that will give us a chance to dust off the cobwebs (mentally and physically!) and get a good start to the riding season.  Other new clinics we are offering are the ground work and round pen (half day) clinics for those of you that have a youngster or an older horse that thinks he is still a youngster that you want to just check out all the basics, fill a few holes, before you start riding again.  We love your suggestions, keep ‘em coming!

 Toby, the new pup, has survived his first week and is figuring out where he stands in the “herd”.  The older dogs have made it clear to him that he is NOT the top dog, but give him time and knowing this precocious pup he will make his way to the top before long!

 Hoping your weekend is wonderful!  Stop by for the tack sale if you can tear yourself off your horse on this gorgeous day!

The group lessons this past weekend were wonderful!  Felt so good to get back into the teaching and learning mode even if we did turn into ice cubes by then end of the day. 

Saturday a group of die hard cowgirls came over for a group lesson and we focused on horsemanship as it applies to working cattle.  Hot coffee and tea was waiting for us following our ride (THANKS, STEVE!) and we thawed out while shopping in the tack shop. 

Sunday I had a wonderful, talented group of 4-H kids come over to work cows.  Well, this was the first time in 2 months that these calves had been worked and it took several “laps” around the arena to get them settled!  But once we had their “yah-yah’s” out (the calves, not the kids) we had an excellent session on herd work.  Even with the cold temps and breeze, was an excellent day horseback.

Today it had to remind me that it is still winter with a brief but heavy snow storm, wind and cold temps.  So back to ground work in the barn and looking forward to warmer days toward the end of the week.

And last but not least…Steve says I have “sucker” tatooed on my forehead…because we have a new family member.  Toby, a 14 week old Corgi, needed to find a new home that didn’t have cats.  Seems this Type A pup was terrorizing the cats at his previous home and that just wouldn’t do.  The email was on my computer Sunday morning with a plea for help finding this adorable fellow a new home and I was on the phone to “offer” my assistance within, well, seconds!  So next time you stop by you will be greated by the “faithful four” (Dolly, Cody, Cisco and Liebschen) plus one, Toby!

 Have a Wonderful Monday!

It has been a wonderful week of working horses, teaching and not having to thaw out waterers!  Hope you are finding a “dry” spot to ride your ponies too!  30 plus degrees is feeling like a heat wave after sub zero and teens!

The latest Clinic Schedule has been posted.  I had to make some changes and corrections to the last one.  There are still some dates available if you would like to book a clinic at your place or a private learning experience for you and your favorite horse friends.

Don’t forget the Sweetheart Sale next weekend, February 9 & 10, Saturday, 10-5 and Sunday 1-5.  EVERYTHING will be on sale including the new merchandise that is arriving for spring, new headstalls, 5 Star pads, stampede strings…. 

If you get a “wild hair” and want to join us today for a group lesson at noon, for some “getting ourselves and horses” back in shape work, you are more than welcome!  Just give me a call to let me know you are coming.

Thanks,

Amy

It is a balmy 4 degrees with a slight breeze and light snow today!  Bet most of you are loving this as much as I am!  Since it is too cold for this wimp to be out in this wintry weather today thought I would take this opportunity to send out the first half of 2008 clinic schedule.  I am so ready for warmer (and 40 degrees sounds like a heat wave right now!) weather and consistent days in the saddle…  So in between hot chocolates and warming your feet by the fire…take a look at our clinic schedule and call (970-454-3064) or email (amy-steve@bridle-bit.com) if you have any questions, suggestions or additions!  You have a captive audience in me today since it is too cold to be outside, except for running outside every now and then to check on that steer that thinks he might need to be sick…

We are having a Sweetheart Tack Shop Sale on Saturday, February 9, (10-5) and Sunday, February 10, (1-5).  Everything in stock will be on sale from 10-75% off.  You can find all kinds of goodies to give your Sweetheart, for Valentine’s Day, the two or four legged kind!  The coffee pot will be on too!  Just got done searching for what’s new and cool at the Mart so look for “new items” arriving in the tack shop soon!

Stay warm and be safe!

Amy and Steve