Just the Two of Us

June 15, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

It seems like it has been a while, but I did go out with Robin on Friday. I just got lazy and didn’t blog about it. I was worried about Bear’s swollen ankles and decided to have a relatively easy day of groundwork. I thought it would also help with his somewhat increasingly bad behavior on the ground. Well, bad is too strong a word, but it hasn’t been good.

We did a lot of our basic stuff, and he was really quite good. He was paying a lot of attention to me, and he improved in all the exercises as we went along. When we finished and I shot some photos and video of Robin and Steen in the indoor arena, Bear was standing with the kind of contentment I hadn’t seen in a couple of weeks.

Then we were out of town for a long weekend. It is always an adjustment coming back, and today was a really tiring day at work. While sipping some tea in the afternoon Robin and I decided not to go to the barn.

But then I had a little surge of energy and thought it would be better if I got myself out there. Robin still elected to stay home, and that was OK. I had not been to the barn by myself since maybe October.

All the horses were in the middle pasture. I gave Steen a few pets on my way over to Bear, who seemed quite happy to see me. He led well, respected my space and was very, very attentive. I guess the time off and groundwork session did him some good.

His ankles, though, are still swollen. I asked a knowledgeable barn person what she thought it might be. She agreed it was most likely flies, and she even thought some of the hard bumps were bites. I thought the swolleness came from the stamping, but it is possible it came from the bites themselves. Or both. Either way, she was not terribly worried about them, and Bear didn’t seem to be either.

After I tacked him up I brought him to the outdoor arena. We ran through a little groundwork and he was really good, particularly with disengaging the forequarters. When I was about to mount he moved off, so I moved his feet to make sure he knew I meant business, and then he stood stock still while I climbed on.

The ride was good. He was relaxed and pretty happy to be working. At times he would get distracted by the herds surrounding the arena, but I guess that is to be expected as this is the first time he has ridden without a buddy (specifically without Steen) since the fall. We kept things light and just walked and trotted in big circles. He was good with his transitions and I was able to keep him on a very loose rein.

After we had gone both directions, we went back to walking and trotting to the left and he got very uppity. He had the Steen problem where he just wouldn’t walk more than a couple steps. So finally when he picked up an unasked for trot, I kissed to him. He went into a very relaxed lope. I guess he just wanted to run around a little.

We only went for a short while. He dropped it once, but then he picked it right back up when I asked for it. When I cooled him down he seemed very pleased with himself. So he must just be feeling good. I’ll have to keep an eye on his ankles, but I think we can get back to the kind of rides we’ve been having lately.

Swollen Ankles

Brian

June 9, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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While I was grooming Bear at the hitching post he was very fidgety. It was a warm day and I have no doubt the bugs were the culprit. But there could have been more. While going over his legs I noticed that the area just above his hind ankles was rather swollen. They did not seem tender to the touch, so that was good. I took him into the outdoor arena and did some light groundwork. He still seemed a little bothered by the bugs and distracted, but I didn’t get the impression that he was sore. However, he wasn’t moving as freely as he usually does. His stride was more labored and less springy, also he was carrying his head a little higher than when he’s normal-relaxed-Bear.

I hope it is a minor issue. I hadn’t ridden him in two days, and while we’ve been getting some good riding hours in, they have not been overly difficult. Robin said he might be swollen from stamping at so many flies. That would make sense as bugs seem to be his arch nemesis.

I finished tacking him up and brought him out to the strip. I had no plans to ride hard at all, and I was prepared to get off at the slightest hint of discomfort on his part. We started with a little groundwork, and I thought he was moving a teeny bit better. He was definitely paying better attention to me, so that was good.

When I climbed on, though, he was just distracted. I had a very hard time directing him, stopping him (which is weird, as he loves to stop), and changing gaits. We were only doing a little trotting as it seemed to help him loosen up, but his transitions were nothing like they were before. He was actually doing the thing Steen loves to do, jump into the trot after we’ve come back down to a walk. Very un-Bear.

So we kept the ride short and I finished with a little more non-demanding groundwork. Today was a tough day for me as he was definitely not feeling great, but I am also often at a loss for what to do when Bear is inattentive. I get frustrated and irritated with him. This does not help me stay calmly assertive, and I think I lose a little touch in my releases. I’m also less likely to give him any praise for the things he is doing well.

At least I’m aware of this. Right now I’m reading Buck Brannaman’s second book Believe. I started it about a year ago, but I don’t think I was ready to get into it then. Now I’m getting some more stuff out of it. And I’m starting to come up with a few ideas to try with Bear. Even if his ankles are still a little swollen we should be able to work on stuff.

Transitions

Brian

June 6, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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The morning was wet and we also had some things to do in the early afternoon, so we didn’t get out until after 2. But it was one of those gorgeous June days: sunny, slightly breezy, temps in the low 80s. The horses were a little lethargic from standing in the warm sun all day, but they weren’t overly warm.

We continued our new routine of riding in the pasture, though they were out bailing hay. So we should move back to the strip soon. It will be fun to go back and forth as I think the variety is good for them. And me.

Bear was quite distracted early on. Turns and disengages and some of the other things I use to get him on track were not working. So we started trotting early and I planned on moving to the lope early, too. Before the lope, though, I thought we should work on our walk/trot transitions. These were great. It got Bear thinking and paying attention to me, and he seemed to be happy with the challenge. Of course, he’s always happy to slow down or stop, so I’ll have to keep the transitions in mind when he’s a little distracted.

Once we had some nice transitions dialed in, we moved into the lope. He was good almost right away (I think the transitions early on helped with that). Going right, again, was not the best. Still, at times we had some smooth loping to the right, at other times it was a little rough. I didn’t push him on it, but we did work at it some. Then we moved back to the left.

This time he gave me his best lope yet. Instead of going into the jackhammer trot, he smoothly entered the lope in one stride and gave me a relaxed and collected lope, all on a loose rein. Afterwards I gave him some big pets as a reward. He was definitely pleased with himself.

But that also might have been where I made a little mistake. I made a big deal of how well he did, and then we rested for a few minutes while Robin and I chatted and passed the camera, so then when we went back to work, he was not happy. It took many tries for me to get a nice lope out of him again. I did finally get it, but even after that the rest of the ride was a little less than smooth. And Bear was again distracted. Even going back to transitions didn’t help calm him down. Perhaps I should have gotten off and done a little groundwork with the mecate, but I wasn’t thinking that way as most of the ride was pretty good.

Making Use of the Mecate

Brian

June 5, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Saturday morning was cooler than Friday afternoon, so we decided to get an early start and head out to the barn. The guys were hanging out together right near the gate. They also seemed very relaxed and happy to see us.

As the hay is still drying on the strip we again rode in the pasture, but it has been fun to explore the new venue. Today we had to kick Cowboy and Caboose out. At first they didn’t want to move, but then we formulated a nice strategy where Robin and Steen took to the middle of the pasture and Bear and I got them away from the gate and started down the fenceline toward the other gate. They moved pretty steadily and we just slowly applied more pressure and tightened up our wall until they were out. It was kind of fun, but I’m sure if they decided to run all round the pasture it wouldn’t have been much fun.

The day was hazy and cloudy, and even though we got a nice early start it was already hot and sticky by the time we were ready to ride. And as soon as I put my foot in my stirrup I saw a drop of water on my saddle seat. When I climbed up another one hit me in the arm. Nothing looked ominous on the horizon so we just started riding.

Bear was good for a few minutes, but once it opened up into a steady rain he got very distracted. All he wanted to do was stand with his head down and his butt to the wind (which was actually blowing at about 3 mph). He also wanted to be near Steen. At one point he lined his butt up with the wind and started side passing over towards Steen, who was already in the head down butt to the wind position. It was so funny that I let him do it for a few paces, but then I turned him away so that I could choose where he went. Still, I just redirected him and then brought him over to Steen so Robin and I could chat about the weather. It didn’t look bad at all, and even as we were laughing at our horse’s desire to hunker down, it was already lightening up.

And then the rain just shut off like a shower faucet. So we resumed our ride and got into some trots. Bear was nowhere near as smooth as yesterday. We would go in circles, figure eights, and then do long post to post straightaways. Sometimes he’d give me a gentle trot, but most of the time it was not so gentle.

Robin and I were again feeling a little sluggish and unmotivated (it was probably the sticky heat), so we traded off with the camera and got some good shots of the pasture.

Bear giving me a pretty decent trot and looking very composed.

Moving out at the far end of the pasture.

By this time we had been out a while, and Bear was getting increasingly lofty and uppity with his trot. He picks up patterns so quickly, and he was definitely feeling like we were either at the point where we would start loping or end the ride. The grass was really slippery and I wasn’t up for riding through that at the lope, so Robin suggested I use the mecate to do some work on the ground.

When I hopped off Bear he seemed visibly pleased to get out of loping. He was really surprised when I fed the mecate through the bridle to give me the full 22 feet to work with and sent him off loping. He gave me quite a bit of head tossing in the beginning, but then he settled into a nice lope. He did slip a few times, but he had no problem correcting that. Still, I was happy to not have to ride through it.

We switched directions to the right, and if anything, he was moving even smoother in that direction. I only asked him to lope for about two minutes, three at most, but it was enough to completely change his disposition (and get him drenched in sweat). He was very attentive and stood still while I readjusted the mecate and reins. After the work I climbed on him again. He was not excited about this, but he also didn’t move an inch while I mounted (which he sometimes does if I get on and off during a ride). I was only planning to walk him down a couple hundred yard to the gate to swing it back open, but he didn’t know that.

After opening the gate, I thought I might as well climb on again and walk him up the hill to the other gate. Again he stood quietly and was very willing to walk out, but I could tell he was a little apprehensive about the situation. I think this was good for both of us, though. Bear needs to learn to relax and listen to what I want without guessing ahead, and I need to work on changing the pattern of our rides. So next time maybe we’ll lope before we trot. Or maybe we’ll do work on the mecate in the middle of the ride and then I’ll do a whole lot more riding. We’ll see.

We ended the day by giving the guys a cool shower. Bear showed no hard feelings for the brief, hard work I asked him to do. If anything, he gets more relaxed and comfortable after I’ve been a little hard on him. I guess it makes sense as he is such a dominate horse.

Good Gait Speeds

Brian

June 3, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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It was a hot Friday afternoon, and we almost didn’t go to the barn. I was really tired from a long week at work (even though it was actually only four days), but I figured I would probably just sit around the house if I didn’t head out to see the horses. So we went. And we had a really good time.

We rode the guys in the pasture again, and they were both really good. Bear and I spent some time following the fence to get warmed up. Then we moved into some nice figure eights where I concentrated on turning him with one hand on the reins and leg cues. He was very receptive to this.

Moving into the trot he was super smooth. We went both directions, did figure eights, and even just toured the pasture with me picking whatever direction I wanted. He never got ruffled or antsy to go faster.

I almost called it quits after half an hour as I was physically and mentally tired, but I decided since things were going so well I should give him a day where we lope for just a brief while and then calm things right back down. So I asked for the lope going in a circle to the left. He didn’t pick it up right away. I actually think he was so relaxed that my kiss startled him a bit, but he picked it up on the second ask. It was smooth and relaxed and after just 30 seconds or so I brought him down to a nice trot and then to a walk. It was are smoothest downward transition yet, and I think Bear really liked going fast for a few seconds and then stopping.

Bear’s been getting increasingly affectionate lately.

After we put the guys back out to pasture we stopped by to say hello to Whisper. He’s almost a month old now and getting much bolder. He does not appreciate people walking right up to him, but if you get within four or five feet and then look away, his curiosity gets the best of him and he walks right up to you. I got in some good pets (and a little tug of war as he’s not great at handling pressure just yet) and then we went home to enjoy some cool showers and cold beer.

Whisper was clearly not so worried about me that he couldn’t check out the camera, too.

Loping in the Pasture

Brian

June 1, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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When we pulled up to the barn I was excited to see that the strip had been cut. I wished I had a camera with me during our last ride because the wind made the grasses look really cool against the horses’ legs. They were almost up their bellies in some places.

But the grass on the strip is going to be used for hay bales, so it is drying, and we couldn’t ride there. Instead we decided to ride in the middle pasture. I rode in there twice late last spring with Steen, but neither Bear nor Robin had ridden there.

It was a very warm and sunny day with only a light breeze. The guys were both a little phlegmatic as a result. They did perk up some when we got on them. Bear seemed totally fine to be riding in the pasture. He was a little distracted by where all the other horses were and perhaps because I was riding him in “his” space, but he did start to closely listen to me and gave me the nicest trot early in the ride.

Due to his sometimes high, rough trot, I had decided to work on posting. I’ve only done it a few times, so I’m really not that great at it, but Bear seemed fine with me steering him in a big circle while I tried to get my hips into the rhythm of his trot. Sometimes I got to where it felt pretty good, other times it just felt awkward. All in all, I think it was better than some of my other attempts, so I think I will periodically keep it up.

Since he was moving so nicely I asked him for a lope and he picked up the gentlest outdoor lope yet. But then he got excited, and that brought on the rough trots. My practice posting at the smooth trots did not prepare me for the big rough trots, so I just rode them out in a way that made things easiest for both of us.

When we were relaxed I’d ask for more loping, when the lope felt awesome for half a minute or so I would ask for the trot. We kept this up for half an hour or maybe a bit more. Most of the time we were trotting, but we got a lot of loping in. He even did fairly well loping to the right. He never likes picking it up and almost always give a big head toss right when I ask. I try to ignore it and just ask again. The second or third time I ask he picks it up like there is no problem. It doesn’t feel as nice as when he is going left, but we are both settling in. Due to the size of the pasture, I was able to keep him in a circle that was as big or small as he wanted. I think this helped with the relaxation a little bit.

Because of the weather and the long periods of moving fast, Bear got extremely sweaty and tired. Towards the end of our loping he was getting a little upset about it and he’d drive me into a sharp corner and drop to the choppy trot. I couldn’t let him get away with that, so I just calmly moved him back out to a nice sized circle and kept him loping. He totally gave up on trying to get out of anything, and we ended the work portion of our ride with a very nice lope and a very willing and responsive Bear.

I’m hoping our lope will get good in both directions over time. We’ve seen Bear have a number of issues that he has overcome in the nine months that I’ve had him. First he would not tolerate trotting or loping on a longe line, now it is no big deal. Then his trot was almost always uncomfortable, and now he is completely capable of giving me an excellent trot. When we started the lope it was super fast and almost impossible to get a right lead. Now we’re going in both directions at a more controlled pace, but things are not quite consistent. I’ve got time, though. If we were able to do things quickly all the time, then it would be harder to come up with things to work on.

As a reward for his hard work, I gave Bear a nice shower afterwards. He loved it.

A Long Weekend of So So Rides

Brian

May 30, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Saturday was probably the best ride of the three. Robin and I had a family friend visit on Friday night. He had a lot of driving ahead of him and took off relatively early Saturday morning, so we just got ready and went to the barn. It was damp and quiet and we planned on another nice, indoor ride.

The guys were being good. Steen seemed to be moving OK in his dressage saddle, and Bear was attentive and trotting nicely, so we moved into some loping. Going left was by far our smoothest and most relaxed lope yet. It was wonderful. Going right, not so good. I had high hopes of riding to the right well as we did it on Tuesday, but Bear was not relaxed at all. He would give me a super jackhammer styled trot and lots of head tosses. This would pull me out of balance quite a bit, and then when we’d finally get to loping, neither one of us was set up nicely to continue it. We did this for a few minutes and almost got one nice session in, but we couldn’t repeat it. So we went back to the left and finished on a good note.

I was thinking of loping a little more, but we were joined by another boarder. Three horses in the indoor arena is a bit cramped, and I’m not used to weaving through traffic at the lope. I can do it at the walk, and sometimes at the trot, but not at the lope. So we just cooled down and then untacked.

Sunday we woke up quite early and were very excited to get out to the barn at 8 am and have the place to ourselves. We did, but then we were joined by a rather large storm. Neither Steen nor Bear were feeling comfortable with all the rain and wind. They would both be good occasionally, but then they would instantly become distracted. I was planning on just working the trot today and maybe asking for a lope if we were all relaxed about it, but I couldn’t even get anything close to a relaxed trot. It didn’t help that we got off the horses a few times when the storm was really howling and lightning was striking right outside, so we never got into a good rhythm.

Unfortunately when we were feeling at our most settled, a big wind came up and pulled at the huge door of the arena. It made a really eerie metal on metal sound and the guys spooked pretty good. Robin was riding bareback and ended up tumbling down into the sand (thankfully she is OK and only sustained a scrape on the elbow and some minor soreness on the right side of her body). I stayed in my saddle and was able to bring Bear under control, but that was kind of it for me. We had been there for almost two hours and I was physically and mentally fatigued from the ride.

On Monday we woke to bright sun and howling wind. The guys were grazing together and happy to see us, despite the lows of yesterday’s ride. We tied up outside at the hitching post and after a bit of shuffling around Bear settled into his usual nap-like state for the rest of the tacking up.

Out on the strip they were quiet. This was nice. Especially since I was getting on and off a few times trying to change the way I do up the cinch and tie-strap. I usually tie the latigo in a knot in the D-ring. It hasn’t been too big of a deal for the most part, but lately it has been bothering my knee when Bear is a little rough at the trot or the lope. I even think it hinders my balance going to the right just the slightest bit. So today I experimented with using the buckle and then putting the excess latigo leather through the loop up on the saddle. It took a few adjustments, but I think we got it to work. Bear didn’t appear to have any troubles with it, and I loved the smooth feel under my left knee. I felt more relaxed in the saddle and my left leg cues seemed to be a bit more effective, too. So hopefully I can keep doing it this way.

As the ride went on, though, Bear got really distracted and would not settle into a trot at all. I get tired of increasing the level of contact to keep him smooth as that really just tightens his head and neck up and does not help him relax at all. When we couldn’t trot nice circles around the cones I briefly had some luck going up and down the strip, but in one direction he constantly felt like he was going to explode into a run. Maybe he felt good, but it didn’t feel good to me. So we went back to the cones to trot around and he started shying away from one spot. This also didn’t feel good. He’d halt his forward momentum, throw his head up and dance to the side. This area happens to be where I often ask him for the lope. Apparently he wasn’t feeling good enough to actually do the lope as he did everything he could to get away from that spot.

After watching my frustrations Robin suggested I trot him in some nice, tight figure eights and see how he does with that. We went into those and he did a very good job with them. I had him on a loose rein and was able to use a lot of leg to push him through the tight turns. He was also very willing to bend his neck and body in the direction we were going. After awhile, he started to get a little lazy and would either drop the trot in the circles or fling himself out of the turns in a half-assed acceleration.

With a little extra leg and rein he smoothed things out again. And when he was going nicely, I would gently direct him out of the figure eights and over to the bigger circle. Again he would shy at that spot, so we’d go right back into working tight figure eights and try it all over again.

It never really worked, so Robin suggested I work him extra hard at the spot he was shying away from. This was tough, and I was glad I was feeling comfortable in my seat. I’d go through a series of tight turns with lots of leg cues and he would periodically jump up and dance to the side. He was struggling with this, though, and eventually he got a little tired. So I let him rest where he didn’t want to be and that helped things. Then I would ask for the big circle again and he would go back to shying away. So more work we did. Robin said if he does it one more time I should consider jumping off and working him very hard with my mecate. He must have heard her, because next time we trotted around the circle he looked at the spot and moved his butt away from it a little bit, but he also kept moving forward in a relaxed trot. I took that as a good sign and kept going around the circle. He never stopped or jumped sideways, but he wasn’t totally yielding at that spot. We kept it up for a few laps and because his trotting was so relaxed at that point, I felt like we had finally gotten somewhere.

But man it took a lot of work. I was hoping for a nice, relaxing outdoor ride. I guess you never know what you’re going to get when you go to the barn.

Two a Days

Brian

May 27, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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There’s nothing that gets you in shape like doubles. But it was just for Bear, today, not me. Robin went out to the barn in the morning to ride with our friend Jean. Robin used to go on trail rides with Jean and her Thoroughbred Schooley.

Jean is an English rider through and through. She has spent a lot of years competing in eventing, going on fox hunts, and working on dressage. She brought a bunch of her saddles with her today, partly to try some out with Steen, and perhaps partly because she felt better in her own saddle.

I’m not sure Bear is cut out for a little dressage saddle, though. And I know for a fact he prefers his mane to be flowing over both sides of his neck. Still, he was pretty good for Jean. She walked, trotted, and loped him around the indoor arena for awhile and afterwards rode Steen.

After work I was tired and hungry, but some tea and a snack perked me up enough to go out to the barn. I kind of thought Robin would stay home and work, but she wanted to come along, too.

Bear was pretty happy to see me, and he had no problems coming inside for another grooming. He promptly dozed off while I brushed and tacked him. But taking him into the arena did not make him happy. He stopped and balked twice, but I just patiently kept asking him to follow, and finally he resigned himself to another ride.

Under saddle he was very calm and attentive. And feeling a little thin, too. It was quite nice. We had not ridden in the indoor for quite a while and it was rather relaxing. We spent some time warming up at the walk, then moved into a very nice trot, and then worked up to some loping.

There was a little bit of head tossing when we started the lope, but he quickly settled in and gave me our smoothest lope yet. For the first time I felt very centered and balanced going through the turns. We worked at the left lead for a little while and then moved on to the right.

He didn’t pick it up quite as easily, but he did eventually give me a smooth lope to the right. It was faster than the one to the left, and his body was a little more tense and he moved his head and neck around more, but all in all it was quite good. Robin got a short video of it and I was surprised at how smooth we both looked. Afterwards, he was definitely tired.

I was very pleased with our first indoor lope. I think we’ll have to work in a little more frequently. The smaller, enclosed space made it much easier for both of us to concentrate, and he wasn’t as inclined to pick up the pace in long straightaways.

Stop Bugging Me

Brian

May 25, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Today was hot, muggy, and buggy. And Bear was not happy about it at all. Thankfully he was happy to see me, and he came up to me in the pasture again. He was probably hoping I would be able to get rid of the bugs, and when I couldn’t really do that, he didn’t seem so happy any more.

Out on the strip he was distracted. He generally felt fine underneath me, but he was sluggish and not paying attention to me. When I would ask for something more demanding, like yielding the hindquarters underneath me, he would do it quite well, but then he would go back to ignoring most of the leg and rein direction I would give him.

Thankfully his trot was pretty smooth. I really feel like we’ve made some improvements there. But since it is getting easier for both of us, it is also easier for him to trot well and tune out. So I decided to see how he would go at the lope. He picked it up right when I asked, and it was controlled and smooth, too. But he dropped it in the first turn. He picked it back up with some encouragement but again dropped it in the next turn. We trotted around a bit and I set him up for another go, but he jigged around and did his best to refuse to go where I asked. I was just building up the courage to keep asking him for the lope when Robin said he might be uncomfortable. It can really be so hard to tell with him sometimes.

I decided not to push it, and instead we used this as an opportunity to see how he looked loping on a long line going both right and left. If he looked sore and/or upset, we would stop immediately. But that was looking increasingly unlikely as Bear was not cooperating even when I was trying to lead him through the gate and into the arena.

On the line he was moving nicely, but he wasn’t happy to continue working. I smooched him into the lope and he gave me some head tossing and then settled into a nice and relaxed pace. At least the work got him paying close attention to me as he would stop on a dime when I asked. He even stopped at one point when I was chatting with Robin and said the word “no.”

Going to the right he looked equally as good. It would take him just a little longer to pick up the lope in that direction, but he still looked comfortable in the gait. I switched directions a few times and included some big stops, comes, and backs and he did them all very well. The only issue we had was when I was trying to cool him down by having him walk in a circle around me to the right. He really does hate going to the right. When I was moving him faster it wasn’t a huge problem, but at the walk he put up a big fight. I held my ground and won, and he ended up going a lot faster than I wanted him to.

In the end he was soaked in sweat as the arena had no air movement in it. I took him back out to the strip to continue cooling him off and he was very good. He stopped when I stopped, yielded to all my turns, and even starting going around me to the right in a very willing and relaxed manner. So maybe I got through to him a little bit. And now I know that I can push him a bit more to trot, lope and pay attention to me when he isn’t being all that good. But I’ll be curious to see if he comes to me in the pasture next time.

Left Leaning

Brian

May 24, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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No, Bear is not a liberal socialist. He is a ‘Merican Quarter Horse, I’m not sure you can get much more conservative than that. The thing is, he just hates going right. It is fine at the walk and trot, but I cannot get him to pick up a nice, relaxed lope with a right lead. Sometimes he won’t pick it up at all. When he does pick it up he is very stiff and antsy and just plain uncomfortable. I’m hoping he is just generally more comfortable going left and that this something he hasn’t worked on in many years. We’ll have to see how he progresses in time.

Today we mostly had a great ride. Bear was happy to be hanging out with me and was willing to follow whatever silly pattern I put him through or just stand quietly. I know I’ve said it a bunch recently, but his trot just keeps getting more relaxed. I think it is all the time we’ve been putting into it. And the good news is that relaxation is starting to carry over to the lope.

After a nice warm up I asked for the lope (going left, as I know that is the easier way to start) and he picked up a nice, smooth moving lope. I was able to give him a looser rein and he was really pacing himself nicely. He didn’t drop it once today. In the past he has always dropped it at least once. Today I could sometimes sense that he wanted to drop it, but instead he would just slow down into a more relaxed pace. It was wonderful.

Trying to go right, not so wonderful. He could tell it was coming and he was already nervous about it. I tried to stay relaxed and then just cued him for a right lead coming out of a turn. He lept sideways to the left as if something huge spooked him. I calmed him down with some easy trotting and tried a few more times. No go.

As I didn’t want to make him mad or more uncomfortable, we just went back to going left. After the aborted attempts to the right, his first lope to the left was the best we’ve ever had. I think he was thanking me for getting back to that direction. It was so funny. It felt so nice to both of us that I had him on a really loose rein and was more or less following him through the corners. He cut one really tight and I didn’t think much of it as he’s quite agile, but his inside rear foot gave a big slip. Thankfully he collected himself and stayed upright. That was my first slip at the lope. It isn’t a great feeling, but like sliding your tires through a dusty corner on a mountainbike, I suppose it is something that I will get used to.

Robin, meanwhile, had an interesting ride on Steen. She was trying out her new “spare” saddle that we got on ebay. Everything about the saddle seemed great, but the ride had quite a few hiccups. To start with the stirrups would not go long enough to fit her legs (and she’s not even that tall). So Robin and I spent some time on the strip pulling out the cordura stirrups in her old saddle and coaxing them into the new saddle. It was easier than I thought, but it still took a little while. In the end, she has mixed feelings about the saddle. It seemed quite good for her, but not as good for Steen as he had a dry spot on the left side of his wither. That guy is hard to fit a saddle to.

Bear was tired after our ride.

While the loping was really quite excellent today, the best yet really, I think the most exciting part of the day was when Bear walked up the hill to meet me at the gate into the pasture. Yesterday he came a little ways, but today he really came to me. And other than trying to go right at the lope, he was really excellent during the ride. I just feel like he is constantly looking to me for direction and leadership. It feels great.

Really tired.