Horsemanship & Knitting in April Showers
The Knitting Equestrian Nomad Season 1 Episode 2 – YouTube
Hi, I’m Corrina and I live in western Washington state with my partner, two kitties, and two horses. I’m recording on April 30, 2022 and the weather is rainy. We’ve had an unusually chilly April.
For new listeners, my horses are Odin and Bragi the Mustangs. Odin is a gelding from the Cold Springs Herd Management Area (HMA) and Bragi is a gelding from the Warm Springs HMA. Both HMAs are located in Oregon. I adopted Odin from the Bureau of Land Management program in 2018 and Bragi in 2020. Odin is now 10 and is my riding horse, on nearby trails or we work on dressage training exercises here on the farm. Bragi is just 4 and is learning good horse citizen skills, like how to be a good patient for the veterinarian, walking with me, stop when I stop, go when I ask.
Happenings this week:
- main bathroom remodel, hopefully only a couple weeks left to go!
- lesson with Odin last Saturday. We’ve been working in the round pen, practicing giving to the bit, bending at the rib cage, turning on the forehand and hindquarters. These exercises help in part with flexibility and maneuverability, balance. The exercises are like yoga for horses.
- I’m also working with Bragi in the round pen to prepare him for walking up to the front of our property where the horse trailer is parked, to load and take him places. Right now we are working on basic principles of standing and waiting, allowing me to flip the stick and string over his back and legs so that he knows my stick and string are tools or aids, not weapons. This exercise is by natural horsemanship trainer Pat Parelli. He refers to this exercise as “the friendly game”, which shows the horse that the tool is friendly, not scary. I’m also teaching Bragi how to walk in a circle on a long line around me, which can be referred to as “lunging”. He’s doing well at walking, stopping and turning on his forehand to face me. We are also practicing trotting in a circle around me, or “sending”.
On to knitting:
Finished objects:
I’m wearing a sweater my late grandmother made, probably 30 years ago. The yarn is acrylic, which she chose I’m guessing because it’s more affordable and very durable. She made it for my stepdad but my mom gave it to me when she cleaned out their closets recently. It’s warm so perfect, for a day like today. I love the cables, the fisherman’s knit pattern.
I also have a hat that I thought I finished for the first episode but afterward I decided to add ribbing to make it fit better. So now it’s a finished object again. It’s made from stash yarn for my sister. She’s allergic to wool so I’m used acrylic yarn from a sleeveless top I made for her a few years ago. The contrasting color is also acrylic and is leftover from an afghan I crocheted my stepdad a while a go.
My goal this year is to use as much stash yarn as possible so hopefully I won’t have too many new acquisitions but generally I can’t help myself if there’s a good deal or I’m sure I “need” more yarn.
My project bags aren’t anything special, except for the two that were sewn for me by my mom and a friend. Otherwise, they are canvas bags or even plastic bags — whatever bags I have!
On the needles:
This is another hat that I’m making with the leftover afghan yarn. The actual pattern is for a cowl by Mina Philipp (The Knitting Expat) and the yarn for the cowl pattern is for fingering weight. I’m modifying the pattern into a hat since I’m using worsted weight.
I’m also working on socks by yarnspiration for Paton Kroy yarn; however, I think I used too small needles so I’m probably going to rip it out and use the needles recommended by the pattern, which are 2.75 mm.
Inspiration for horsemanship & knitting:
Karen Rohlf, Horse Training in Harmony (Dressage Naturally with Karen Rohlf – Learn to Move in Harmony)
Stacy Westfall, Train your own Horse (Westfall Horsemanship | Official Site of Stacy Westfall)
Glenn the Geek, Horse Radio Network (many shows can be found here: Horse Radio Network | The Voice of the Horse World)
Arne & Carlos, Norway (ARNE & CARLOS – Designers, textile artists and authors (arnecarlos.com)
Sarah from FiberTrek, Maine Fiber Trek – Calling the wild back to craft (wordpress.com)
Chelsea & Sue, Legacy Knitz, Vermont & Connecticut spreading love through commuKNITy and creativity (legacyknitz.com)
Where I can be found:
Facebook: The Equestrian Nomad
IG: @Cmeqnomad
Blog: equestriannomad.net, which is where my show notes can be found