Musical Ponies

Alyssa started a sort of informal blog hop about what music makes us think about our horses and it was so awesome to see I'm not the only one! I've waxed poetic on this blog about all the music I listen to while riding and which songs are my favorites. I listen to a pretty wide variety of music, including pop, alternative rock, dance music with hip hop/elecronica mixes, breakbeats and house being at the top of that list, oldies from the 60's and 70's (love the Beatles and the Bee Gees), Spanish rock, Spanish ballads, reggaeton, ska, funk, reggae and anything ragga (ragga-jungle, dancehall, etc), country rock, heavy metal and even some industrial. Music basically sets the beat of my life, and it is essential for both working out and riding. It is a HUGE motivation factor for both: I only allow myself to listen to Pandora while riding or running because it is something additional to look forward to. That's how much of a difference music makes for me!

Here is a brief compilation of some of my favorites. Song titles have links to the videos on YouTube.

Lily's Music

Katy Perry's song Roar is and always will be Lily's song:

The lyrics are here. This song came out on the radio right along the time I realized Lily had finally let go of all of her fears and was starting to trust me 100% of the time under saddle. She'd always trusted me on the ground but we hadn't made the connection under saddle. This song pretty accurately tells the tale.

Other songs that make me think of her when I hear them on the radio:
 Bumpy Ride by Mohombi was Lily's first song ever! Because when I first got her she used to buck every time I cued the canter!

Wild Ones by Flo Rida with Sia. This was Lily's song from the moment it came out, and it was the hymn of my turning point with her last summer, where I realized and accepted that her and I are the same.

"Hey I heard you are a wild one

Oooh

If I took you home

It'd be a home run

Show me how you do

I wanna shut down the club

With you

Hey I heard you like the wild ones (wild ones wild ones)

Ooh"

Little Bad Girl by David Guetta and Taio Cruz. Great song for a badass mare.

"Look at her go on the dance floor

She's amazing on the dance floor

When she moves, girl, I want more

Keep it going girl, like I got an encore

You got me sayin'

Go little bad girl, little bad girl

Go little bad girl!"

Kickass!

 Say Hey I Love You by Michael Franti and Spearhead. This used to be very much Cloud's song but it has become Lily's as well.

"It seems like everywhere I go

The more I see, the less I know

But I know one thing

That I love you (baby girl)

I love you, I love you, I love you"

Fallin' For You by Colbie Caillat. This one also used to be Cloud's and Lily has inherited it. It is my heart horse song. And there is nothing quite like cantering to this song out in wide open spaces on a horse that you love.

"I've been spending all my time

Just thinking about you

I don't know what to do

I think I'm fallin' for you

I've been waiting all my life and now I found you

I don't know what to do

I think I'm falling for you

I'm falling for you."

Gracie's Music

Gracie doesn't have such a huge repertoire yet (3 years of owning Lily vs 5 months owning Gracie) but the ones that make me think of the G-mare without fail are: 

 Cruise by Florida Georgia Line.

 Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker

 Melena Al Viento by Roy Brown. Roy was a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter, and he wrote some really wonderful songs about island lore and culture, and about the internal struggle for it to be free. He set to music the poems of some of the island's greatest poets too. This was Lucero's song also. It is literally a song about a girl's coarse, wild and untamed mane of hair. It's a fun song with a beat that will match most gaited horses' way of going. Very appropriate for a horse with a long mane!

   

I apologize for the anarchy "A" that is this video, but it has the original version of the song. Just so you guys could listen to it. :) A lot of Puerto Ricans haven't heard it either.

 Songs for riding in general

Most of these are part of my "Workout Mix" playlist on my Nano. I've worked out to music since owning my first Discman back in...1996? Not long after that I realized I could stick it in a fanny pack and ride with it. Music became the background to most of my training/practice rides since then too, except when riding especially skittish/spooky horses. I honestly don't pay attention to the beats per minute when choosing songs for riding/working out; I just go with the feeling the music evokes in me that can change the tune of a ride more than whether it matches my horse's gaits. If the song makes me want to dance or sing, I'm going to want it for riding.

Junto Al Amanecer by J. Alvarez. The beat matches both Lily's trot and Gracie's gait, and I just like the music. I love it for running too.

Limbo by Daddy Yankee. Pandora played it while galloping across the soybean fields last fall and it's just stuck as one of my favorites for any kind of speed work!

Let Go by Frou Frou. This was one of my brother's favorite bands when we were growing up. I simply LOVE this song. It made me love the movie Garden State even more because this was one of the songs on the soundtrack. It has a beautiful flow to it for riding.

Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. Because moves like Jagger.

Tracking Treasure Down by Gabriel and Dresden. LOOOOOOOVE this song! Great for long trot sessions.

Never Let You Go by Third Eye Blind. My favorite decade in music is the 90's. All that 90's alternative rock is fantastic for upbeat rides. At least, for me it is!

Rock Your Body Rock by Ferry Corsten. Work it!

Sunday Morning by DJ Ka-Os. This song has so many positive associations for me: Charles played it for the first time on the way to the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando (it is an awesome veterinary conference if you're in the field! Totally recommend! So much to do and see and learn!) I used to listen to it a lot when I worked Saturday overnights back in my first veterinary ER job. I literally looked forward to Sunday mornings! I love it for running and I love it for riding. There is something about the music that just carries you along. But that might just be me. :)

Black Betty by Ram Jam. More power trotting. Even before endurance, the gait at which I worked the most was the trot. It also matches the beat of Lily's canter.

There are many, many, many more. I have about 70 songs on the one Nano playlist alone and for riding I alternate between the same 6 Pandora stations.

What about you? Do you have songs for your horse(s) and/or for riding in general?