I'm a fan of spots, those are gorgeous!

He looks nicely put together (I'm not a conformation guru AT ALL). He's got typically upright Appaloosa pasterns, and he looks a little over at the knee, but other than that he looks well made

Thanks everyone! I'm a huge scaredy cat. I'm at a jumper yard though, so to overcome some riding-related fear I joined the jumping crew for weekly lessons. It really really helps. An enthusiastic canter lengthen in the dressage arena is a lot easier to deal with suddenly :) It also helps that Odin i...

I'm Mari, was Mari on the old board as well. Not a prolific poster, but an avid follower and reader for many years. I'm 33, and I live in Pretoria (South Africa). I studied Computer Science and now I slave away in front of a keyboard to afford one of the loves of my life - Odin, a 10 year old Appalo...

We're in a built-up area, so we don't have access to good trails. But we go for walks on the quieter roads, and sometimes we box out to trails or big venues where we can go for walks.

I'm with Flight - start with shallow loops. As the strength and suppleness gradually increases, you make your loop bigger.

We had a derby jump training clinic yesterday. I held my breath through most of it, but Odin jumped like a MACHINE. He was a complete rock star, I just had to hold on and steer :) http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa75/Rue_MT/Horses/2015%2010%2011%20-%20Derby%20training%20day/Group%201%20-%2003_zps...