As much as it was fun to work with Jak and Rojo while we were in Tucson, it was really pretty wonderful to see our boys again this morning. The herd was way out in the pasture, and as Brian and I hiked out to them Steen saw us and started to walk in our direction. Nadir was grazing right next to him, and decided to go where Steen was going. Their movement caught Star’s interest, and she came racing down the hillside with Cowboy in hot pursuit. The commotion resulted in an all-out stampede up to the the waterer in the winter lot. Steen and Bear, of course, participated in the mad rush. So Brian and I turned around with our empty halters and headed back to the barn.
Of course we didn’t have any trouble catching them once their entire herd wasn’t running somewhere, and they were both great for grooming and tacking. They are both looking on the round side of a nice, healthy weight.
Out on the strip, Steen was very nearly perfect, although he felt HUGE to me when Brian gave me a leg up. (Jak is a good six inches shorter than Steen.) Steen didn’t seem to experience any similar disorientation to be working again after his week off. He was quiet, collected and responsive. The leg-yielding exercises we were working on before I left seem to have cemented themselves in his brain while I was away. He was super happy to zig-zag back and forth and we walked and trotted up and down the strip. He was also great with standing and backing, though his stops were on the sub-par side.
We only rode for half an hour as Brian and I both have jobs and obligations to get back to, but it was great to get back to our horses. The transition to summer made some serious progress in our absence, and I’m looking forward to a few warm, sunny months of riding.
Horseback hours YTD: 24:50