After a long vacation in Arizona I am having fun readjusting to the cold Midwest, although I do lament the lack of snow. I’m not sure how Bear feels about it. Judging by how he’s been in the pasture lately, my guess is he could go either way.
Today they were all out with the cows, or perhaps I should say the cows were with them. But Bear was close to the gate and he couldn’t care less about cows. He was eager to be haltered and led inside.
Once tied he was his usual poke around self. He stuck his head into a new (to him) bucket, and almost walked all the way into the storage area in search of chopped hay. Bear does not need any additional dietary supplements, so he was left wanting.
As I groomed him I corrected these forward infractions, but as they got worse and not better we just went into the arena for some groundwork. We concentrated on simple circle work, leading, disengaging the hindquarters, and backing. Bear is so so at all of these. I think he knows them, the problem is he is a tad lazy (or phlegmatic if I want to be nicer about it) and he is dominant. As a result, I don’t think he takes me too seriously. It doesn’t help that I’ve been MIA for many weeks.
So as I embark on what should be my second year of equestrian living, I’ve got a lot of things to work on, assertiveness, remaining calm, posting the trot, and relaxing at the lope. Some of these are old, some of these are new, and I’m sure others will come up, too.
It has been a little over 3 weeks since I last went out to see Bear. My shoulder and rib have continued to get better (I’m wondering if I actually cracked a rib as I’m still feeling some tenderness 5 weeks out). In those 3 weeks we’ve had a few nice days, but quite a bit of cold, too.
Today we had rain turning to snow with projections of 4+ inches coming over night with some plummeting temps. So we went out to check on the guys, give them a little food and some time to dry off and warm up.
Bear was definitely soaking wet, except for his huge, round, tubby belly, which was bone dry. That’s right, 3 weeks of standing at not super nutritious bale in less than ideal weather and Bear gets bigger. At least I don’t have to worry about him dropping weight in the winter. Or any season for that matter.
Inside he was mostly good. A little frisky actually. I let him roll right when we got in. After he adequately scratched himself he just jumped right up and proceeded to run around and kick his heels up a bit.
Once he calmed down I gave him some chopped hay and proceeded to groom him and dry him off some. After the snack we did a little groundwork. His backing was great. The disengages were just OK. He was a little more willing to go on the line than he sometimes is, but I think that was also due to being inside on solid footing. He threw in quite a few little bucks and kicks and big runs. Not ideal behavior, but it probably helped him warm up and get a little drier.
When we put them out it was actually quite nice. The snow had stopped falling and there was only a gentle breeze from the northwest. Bear stood around for a few pets and then walked off to load up on hot water. I’m definitely feeling better about him going into the winter, but we’ve got a blanket coming as a just in case.
A few weeks ago I had another fall off Bear (which Robin wrote about here). It was by far my hardest fall yet. It left my left shoulder, hips, and ribs feeling pretty bad. Bad enough that I haven’t felt up to getting back out there for some riding, or for doing anything much more intense than reading or walking to work.
I don’t think Bear minded the time off. I did get to spend some easy time with him and Steen on a couple of the days. And Robin has been putting some short rides on both of them. It is nice that they’re getting more time to hang out.
Today while I was at work she went and rode Bear in the arena. They did a lot of walking and trotting. Then she tried Steen’s blanket on him.
It is just a tad big, but one size down would be way too small. And I don’t think he’ll mind the extra neck coverage at all.
My shoulder has started to feel a lot better these past two days, but I think I’m going to wait until after the holidays just to make sure everything is OK. Then it will be back to riding.
If anyone has actually been reading this blog these past few weeks they must be thinking how boring these rides have been. Walking around cones. Walking along the strip. Walking up and down hills. Is walking all those two do?
And I’ll admit, it hasn’t been super exciting. But I’ve had some annoying foot issues, and taking it slow has allowed Bear to slowly build up his back muscles. Today he was paying lots of attention to me, and I think he was almost a little bored. So I decided to try a little trotting again. We started by trotting back and forth between a few cones, and right away I could tell a big difference. His trot was still big and lofty, but nowhere close to how erratic it was a month ago.
We moved to trotting in big circles for awhile and he really relaxed into it. It was nice to see him enjoying himself and getting more and more comfortable. We only kept this up for about 15 minutes, but each minute got smoother and easier. So I’m looking forward to putting longer sessions into the trot. It should be good for both of us.
Robin had a nice bareback ride on Steen, too. He was in his normal, goofy mood. The two guys were in opposite ends of the pasture. Steen, of course, was right at the gate. Robin let him into the airlock and he proceeded to follow me all the way down to the other end when I went after Bear.
The ever curious Steen had to see what I was up to.
In the beginning of the ride he continued to act a little goofy as he would intermittently drift off to sleep and then startle himself awake. Eventually he settled down and gave Robin their very first outdoor bareback lope. It looked really good, too.
Bear continues to look good as well. Robin put together a nice shot of his two month progression. It is really rewarding to watch your horse get healthier and more fit. It helps that he likes me more and more, too.
This afternoon was the first time I climbed on Bear in 11 days. The first thing I noticed is that he is considerably wider. Like Bear I’m prone to some tight hips, and today he was really stretching me out.
But his growth is good growth. He is not getting fatter. In fact, his belly has been looking trimmer and trimmer. Instead he is putting on some really nice muscles through the shoulders, back, and who knows where else. He’s just an all around stocky guy. I forgot the camera today, but I’ll update a monthly side shot this weekend as I’ve now had him 2 months. That was the same amount of time I had Sham, but these past two months have felt drastically different. In a good way.
Today was a nice easy ride. It was the first real cool day of fall. The morning was windy and cloudy, but right before we left for the barn the sun started to come out. It helped, but it was nothing like the Arizona sun we just got a little used to.
So we didn’t ride long. My hips were actually getting a little fatigued from the stretch (I’ll have to work on that), and my hands were getting cold. So the four of us just did some light work around the cones and walked up and down the strip. Bear was really good for all of it. He was quiet and his stops were prompt. He was backing nicely and paying a lot of attention to me (except for one period during our figure eights, I don’t know what he wanted to pay attention to there, but it wasn’t me).
This weekend we’ll be sure to get back out for some more interesting rides. Although I’m a little disappointed they tilled up the soybean field, that takes away our close to home trail ride.
Bear and I just had 8 days off of riding. I was in Arizona celebrating Jessie and Susie’s wedding, and Bear was just in the pasture. The day before we left we had the chiropractor look at him. Yes, it does sound a little crazy, but she was very good. She confirmed that Bear was sore in all the spots we thought he was, then she proceeded to manipulate his legs and get some big hip pops. Finally she demonstrated a few stretches and exercises for us to keep doing, and that was it.
Unfortunately I was at work during the appointment, so Robin took care of him. It sounds like he was a little skeptical about it all, but he didn’t give anyone a hard time. The chiro said we should give him a few days off before resuming our normal riding routine, but we were going to be gone awhile, so that was easy.
Arizona was quite nice. The temps were actually not a whole lot different than Iowa, but that is only because we have stayed so unseasonably warm here. The sun, though, was noticeably more intense.
I spent some time hanging out with the Stephen horses, Jak and Rojo, but I didn’t ride this trip. We did get Jessie’s new brother in law Simon up on Jak. Having come all the way from England he was not fully prepared, so I loaned him my Wranglers.
Jak was his usual self, quiet and slightly difficult for a newbie. He would mostly just decide to not listen to the neck reining. But Simon was pretty good, he stayed calm, stuck with it, and Jak improved. Simon had a blast.
Simon and Jak, with Robin instructing amidst the Catalina Mountains.
I’ll have some not-highly-exciting video coming soon, including some bareback trotting.
The video is much more exciting than the onlookers would have you believe.
Today we got back into town. I had a busy afternoon at work and then dashed out to the barn for the farrier visit. It was a cool and exceptionally windy day. When we stepped out of the barn Steen saw us right away, whinied, and ran up to the gate. Bear looked up, and before we knew it he was running to the gate with the whole herd in tow (Bear showing us his nice, relaxed lope).
Robin let Steen into the airlock. Others tried to follow but she shooed them off a bit. Bear quietly made his way to the gate but felt a tad crowded. He pinned his ears at the others to get a little room, paused to nibble at some normally unreachable grass, and then let me halter him and lead him out.
Inside things were rather frantic. People were riding, trimming, grooming, and just taking up space. The horses were a tad keyed up, probably from the wind.
I proceeded to groom Bear a bit while I held his lead rope. Initially he tried to eat a lot of stray hay, but then he calmed right down. Unlike Steen, he was super clean, so I didn’t have to do much. His coat is also looking really good. It is bright brown and getting very thick and soft.
After the grooming we did a few pre-trim stretches. I could tell he was noticeably more flexible than he was after our last ride. Perhaps the chiro did some good? When I held him for Duke he was a tad pushy at first. He never moved his feet, but he’d nudge me with his head or try to sniff noses with the stall horses. When Duke did his hind legs, though, Bear was perfect. I asked Duke to go slow since Bear is tight in the hind end. Duke obliged, but Bear was fine with everything. He even seemed to relax into the deep stretch.
We finished by giving them a quick snack and then put them out to pasture. Steen walked off first, and then Bear put in a nice trot to catch up. I had never seen Bear run around the pasture at all, and today I saw both a lope and a trot. I’m thinking the chiro really was a big help.
I own Bear, and I now have the paperwork to prove it. We waited a few weeks before sending it in just to make sure he was a keeper.
Friday was a busy day for Robin, so I went out to the barn for a solo-ride. As it was the end of the week, I was a little tired, but I perked up once I got Bear. He was really excited to see me and eager to ride. I just went with the bareback pads since I’m trying to ride without a saddle at least once a week to keep working on my seat.
The mounting was easy again; Bear doesn’t seem to mind at all if I jump around him a few times and then leap up onto his back. When we started riding he was super responsive and attentive. I think part of it was that he was just having a good day, and the other part of it was Bear couldn’t be distracted by Steen.
Bear was doing so well I was starting to think about walking a little ways into the soybean field to see how things would go when it was just the two of us. But before I could decide he had a little half spook and jumped into a trot right when I was turning him left. Last time I rode him in the pads he was a little agitated and I think the girth might have been too tight. This time I left it a little looser.
So when he turned sharply the pads started slipping. I tried my best to hang on, but I think the slipping worried him even more, so instead of slowing down he just got a little more agitated and moved off faster. I slid off and hit the ground with my arm and hip, and he kept trotting off a bit. That’s fall number three for me.
When I walked up to him he seemed apologetic. We did a few little groundwork drills, but I could see he was calm and not worried about anything, so I hopped back on. He was a little less attentive than he was in the beginning, and since I had hit the ground once already I didn’t want to push things. So we kept it easy and brief before going in for grooming and chopped hay.
Saturday was another gorgeous day, but we took the day off. My body was sore, and I was happy to lounge around and read. Then I raked leaves for awhile and that helped loosen my body up a bit. But there was no way we could skip both weekend days, so late this morning both Robin and I went to see the guys.
They were both great coming out of the pasture and attentive during grooming to the point of almost being mischievous. We thought it was a pretty good sign.
On the strip they were both very good going through the warmup, then our friend Gay came out on her bay Doc, and the three of us walked off onto the trails. There was a tractor in the soybean field, so we skirted that and went off to some of the areas neither Bear nor I had been to since early September.
There were a few mini-starts from Steen and Doc while walking through the machine shed/silo/tractor area, but other than that, everyone was great. Steen was in super fast walking mode, and Bear was actually doing his best to keep up. I think he was feeling good, and he was taking the downhills a lot faster, too.
On the way back Steen got a little excited to be going home. Robin and I had already decided we were going to do a little extra work on the strip, and this was perfect for him. While Robin put Steen through a more rigorous routine, Bear and I used the cone set up to practice a few things and settle down. In the end it was a really great ride.
In head news, Bear got a new halter. We found a super great deal on a used leather halter. It is dark brown and wonderfully supple. It fits him much better than the black one, and he loves it (really, just like Steen he’ll push his head into it like he can’t wait to have it on).
He also loves chopped hay.
The bummer is his flymask is gone. A few days ago we noticed it was missing, and we have not been able to find it. The pastures are too big and the wind is perhaps too strong. So it looks like he’ll be back in the leopard print.
Today was another gorgeously sunny fall day, and since we started out on the strip, Bear was back to standing like a champ. In fact, he was really good at everything today. We ran through some circles and figure eights and few other things to get warmed up, and then we walked off into the soybean field.
Steen was also having a great day. It was windy, so the guys couldn’t hear super well, but despite this Steen was still shockingly relaxed. He had one funny little spook while we crossed a grassy section of field, but it was almost nothing. It didn’t even bother Bear, and you could see Steen thinking that he really shouldn’t be spooking. It is nice to see him getting increasingly comfortable with venturing out.
On the hills Bear was still stepping carefully, but I do think I’m seeing some improvement in his flexibility, mobility, and willingness to stretch his comfort zone. He also had a mini-spook towards the end. We were on the strip and something got him scooting along quickly, but both of us settled right back down. At the end we did a little more work within the cones and he was downright amazing.
So why the sadness? Jean’s horse Schooley, one of my favorite horses at the barn, will be put down tomorrow. He is a 20 year old thoroughbred and has been having some health problems lately, so this is certainly the best decision. But it is really sad.
Jean and Schooley have become great barn friends. Robin and Jean have enjoyed many great rides together, and last fall I was lucky to go on a couple of the slower and more relaxed ones. Jean also knew that I really liked Schooley. Last spring she was kind enough to let me ride him. Even for a 20 year old he was a super spunky guy, but he had no problems leading me around the arena like a gentleman. I don’t have any great photos of Schooley, but I do have a video from our ride:
That is what Bear told me when we tried to ride in a new location yesterday. A big, noisy, fertilizing machine was driving through the soybean field rendering that a useless riding space for the time being and making the strip a less attractive place to be on a horse. So Robin and I decided to check out the nice big grassy section on the west side of the barn.
The guys were a little snorty on the way over. Steen settled down almost right away, but Bear could not handle the cows in the nearby trees, all the stall horses hanging out by the fence and watching him, and he probably just didn’t like the tractor noise, either. And I guess he decided he just wouldn’t stand for it.
It was kind of funny, really, because I think of Bear as a champion stander. It is what he does best. But all horses get nervous and antsy, so it was interesting to see Bear’s more fidgety side. We did eventually get over it after quite a few minutes of circles and figure eights and one rein stops.
By that time the truck was done fertilizing and we still wanted to ride. We weren’t excited to take them into a recently fertilized field (who knows what chemical disasters could be there?), so we just did some relaxing walking on the strip and really concentrated on the steep hill at the far end. That all went really well.
We ended the day with chopped hay and stretching. Bear was super into the stretching today. He was very relaxed, and his range of motion was significantly better than it has been. That is a really good sign; I think we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing to keep him getting back into shape slowly. So far it seems to be working.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to mention the weather again. This fall has been exceptionally sunny and dry. Sunday was in the 80s, and there was almost no wind. It was actually too warm. I like a nice day as much as the next guy, but in October I’d rather have a sunny day in the 60s than one in the 80s.
Bear agrees, too. He was super crusty and sweaty after our soybean adventure. And all we did was walk. There were also no spooks or bolts or dashes, that shows how low key we kept things. Bear had definitely limbered up some from the stretching and/or day off. It also helped that Steen was relaxed and our friend Gay came who was riding another quiet bay named Doc.
Throughout the ride Bear continued to get more and more comfortable. He was definitely tight in the beginning, but as things progressed he warmed up and started walking a little faster on the steep downhills. After the ride we untacked in the airlock while the guys grazed (we actually tacked up there, too, as the barn was noisy from the stalls being power washed).
While Bear was munching on the long grass, I took the time to stretch his hind legs again. They have been stiff on and off since I got him, so I’ve really worked on picking them up and just going slow. To stretch them out I’d ask for his hoof, hold it gently, let him relax, and then slowly pull it low and away from his body. He’d continue to munch along until I hit a sweet spot, then his head would pop up and he would pause to enjoy the stretch.
It is nice to help him out and get the sense that he is aware and appreciative of what I’m doing. In the end we left the guys in the airlock to continue munching on the long grass before they have to make the switch to bales.
