Another Passing… Lena

Lena and Steve

Squaw O’Lena

1992-2009

“If you are going to have them, you will lose them.  But if you don’t have them think of the joy you will miss out on”….W. J. Brown Jr.

Those were the words my dad told we girls every time we would lose one of our cats or a dog, and our horses…..

I went to look at Lena for a client’s 10 year old daughter.  As I drove to Warren’s house to check her out, I thought “ there is no way this 4 year old mare will be gentle enough for a 10 year old girl”…..I was wrong! I love it when the horse proves me wrong! This wonderful family ended up buying Lena, kept her with me for training and lessons for their daughter and when we moved to Wyoming we bought Lena from them….

Miss Lena was the kindest, sweetest horse that God ever created.  The kind of horse you could put little kids on and she would be so careful to take the best of care with, folks that had never ridden before she would tolerate their lack of skill and for us she would go out and do any job we asked of her with the skill of a top athlete.  She had an incredible way about her, physically and mentally that I will be comparing other horses to the rest of my life.  Our whole family adored her…she was a part of our family.

Tears stream as I write this, I grieve her loss terribly.  And I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to having her in my life these past 13 years.

Lena, you will be missed so much by the LeSatz family….until we see you again in the King’s stable…..

Steve, Amy, Liz and Ben

March – In Like A Lion!!

Dear Friends,

The past few weeks the windmills have been working overtime! Time for a break! Just get the witches knot pulled out of my horse’s manes and the wind puts them back in the next day…. If it would just blow in some moisture I would quit complaining!

Hope this finds you all doing well….the nasty flu bugs have hit some of you so hope you are feeling better soon. Speedy recovery to all of you that have had and are going to have surgery….hope this isn’t a trend for 09?!

Here is how our March is shaping up…..

• This weekend, March 7, is a Green Horse and Horsemanship clinic. We will work on ground work (from respect/manners to roping feet/hobbling), round pen work (hooking on, controlling the life in the feet, etc…) and everything else needed to help find the holes in the foundation of your horse. If time allows we can ride the horses that have been started under saddle and if you want to saddle your young horse for the first time we can get them prepared for that also. The afternoon will be fundamentals of horsemanship; finding and filling in the holes that create symptoms of less than desirable behavior! A great clinic for the uneducated horse or the horse that needs a refresher! Space is limited so don’t wait too long!
• The following weekend, March 14, is Cattle Working Horsemanship Skills. The morning is focused on horse and rider skills improvement; in the afternoon we will be working cattle. Again, we will check out the fundamentals that make a great finished cow horse.
• The third weekend, March 21St & 22ND, is our Spring Tune Up clinic. This is the clinic where you bring your wish list and we work on everything from ground work to lead changes, from getting your horse to “wait”, to turn-arounds…the “anything and everything” clinic!

If you have any questions, never hesitate to call or email. Like Ray Hunt says….”a finished horse is one that is really good at the basics”…..

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind — If you bring a friend to ride with you in any clinic or lesson you get Bridle Bit Bucks (good toward clinics, lessons, or tack shop).  Participants in any clinic get a 10% discount on the day of the clinic on tack shop items (except consignment tack).

I am also setting aside on my calendar one or two Fridays a month to travel to your place for private or group lessons. Let me know if you are interested in hosting or being included on those travel days and what dates work best for you.

Four different people have asked me to look for good minded geldings or mares that have enough experience for advanced beginners to intermediate riders. Word of mouth is the best way to find a nice horse likes that. Thanks in advance for your help!

Whew….I got a little long winded….(pun intended! HA!)! Be sure to check our blog on the web site, www.bridle-bit.com, for changes and additions to the schedule and tack for sale! Look forward to hearing from you!
Kindly,

Amy & Steve

November, Already?!!

Dear Friends,

Aren’t you glad you don’t live in Deadwood, SD today?  With almost 4 feet of snow, 60-70 mph winds and twenty foot drifts it made our “cleansing breezes” here yesterday seem not so bad!

Thanks to Kim Heavey for a hosting such a wonderful clinic in Elbert at her beautiful facility last Saturday!  We worked on everything from ground work to flying lead changes, whew! Sure kept my brain working!  Was a great day for Steve and I, thank you Kim and Lon!

With the days getting shorter and nights getting longer it gives us an opportunity to catch up on some reading or watching those DVD’s and videos that the great horseman/woman have put out for us.  Bridle Bit Tack shop was the fortunate recipient of a life time collection of equine books and tapes from Connie and Bob Brown which we have put into a “lending library”.  The list of books and tapes is too long to list here but if you are interested give us a call or email and we can let you know what we have.  Bob and Connie have also put on consignment their life time of tack and gear they accumulated on their ranch in Wyoming.  There are three very nice saddles, 2 from King’s Saddlery in Sheridan, along with everything else you can think of for your horse and barn.  Again, too much to list so give us an email or call!

We have openings on Saturdays for private lessons or half day clinics on the following dates;

• November 8 and 15
• December 6, 13 and 20

Give us a call or email if you would like to schedule either a lesson or a clinic.

Mark your calendar for our 13th Annual Christmas Open House on November 28 (9-5), 29th (9-5) and 30th (1-5).  There will be big discounts on selected items and back by popular demand the “pick your discount” off the tree!!  Refreshments and time to catch up on your year’s happenings is our favorite part, look forward to seeing you!  I (Steve has asked me to leave him out of this category!) am glad to be your “personal shopper” so call me for gift ideas and I can ship it to you.  We are also discounting special orders, so if we don’t have it in stock we can order it for you….just don’t wait too long, there are only 7 more weeks until Christmas!

Have a wonderful weekend!

October Update

Dear Friends,

The first freeze of the season hit last night and the plants that were still trying to survive have now all turned black….  The good news is that the flies should have taken a “hit” with the cold and hopefully will be less of them bothering our four legged friends!  It is supposed to warm up this week though, WHOOHOO!

The weather for this weekend’s, Oct 18th, Horsemanship/Trial clinic looks great!  We will start at 9:00 with horsemanship then head out for the Grasslands, eat lunch and then ride out, getting you back to your trailers around 4:00.  We will work on all the things that show up with our horses outside the comfort zone of the “arena walls” and give you the tools to make it a safe and fun ride out.

The last weekend in October (25-26) is our Halloween clinic which will include everything, groundwork, horsemanship, trail, cattle, fun competition and prizes!   Costumes are not mandatory, but if you do wear one there will be prizes for best and worst!  And refreshments too!

The tack store has been getting new items in for the holidays and we are running sales on EVERYTHING to help keep your cost down in these tough economic times.  Let us know if there is anything you need us to have for that hard to shop for person and we will do our best to get it for you at a discounted price also.  We still have our 50-90% off table and a nice selection of used tack on sale too.

Huge thanks to all of you that helped, donated and shopped at the yard sale we did for my sister and brother-in-law.  We were able to raise over $2500.00 which will be a big help to them while they try and get back on their feet, physically and financially.  God bless you!

Be sure to email or call if you have any questions or comments!

Kindly,

Amy