So far, 2014 has been… interesting. We’ve had crazy weather — temps lower than I really realized they could get in regions where things live, followed by warm stretches that have the horses sweating through their fuzzy coats. And my injuries from my tumble with Steen have been really slow to heal. Really slow.
And so, I have not ridden a ton this year. But I’ve ridden some. Last weekend I rode Laredo. This weekend I rode Steen two days in a row. The effects of the bad bale appear to finally be behind us, and all our horses are doing pretty well. Steen, in particular, is making me happy. After his couple of weeks of slightly jittery behavior (all related to the bad bale, I think) he’s calmed right back down, and Brian has even been using him as a lesson horse for his new student. Steen is also holding his weight really well this winter.
For the last couple of weeks, for the first time ever since I’ve owned Steen, he’s been handled by other people more than he’s been handled by me. And I’m happy to say he’s behaved really well. He’s packed a relative beginner around the arena a couple of times, and behaved well for Brian, both in terms of just general handling and work under saddle. But he still has a slight tendency to put his head where it’s not necessarily wanted.
The other person who is doing great is Zoey. She got compliments from the farrier today on how much more relaxed she’s gotten, and overall she’s starting to open up and get curious. She’s showing more of an inclination to explore things she’s unsure about rather than run from them. I’m looking forward to riding her again soon.
Horseback Hours YTD: 5:05
Funny. Steen and Tranikla are similar on a number of levels. And both of them certainly have a healthy regard for their own fantastic looks. Ha.
Ha ha, Tranikla likes to stick his nose in the camera too. Apparently he feels that I should only take pictures of him, after all, nothing else is nearly as pretty!