The One Where I Fall Off, Again

September 15, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

The barn was empty when Robin and I arrived this afternoon. The sky was slightly cloudy and the temperatures were neither too warm nor too cool. Plus they had mowed the strip, one of our favorite places to ride.

Steen was waiting almost right by the gate when we entered the pasture, but Bear was way down at the end. So I had a bit of hike to get him. As usual, he was happy to see me and more than ready to start to fall asleep while I groomed and tacked him up. Since we would be riding on the strip, I decided to give the loose ring snaffle another go. I brought the tom thumb headstall with in case I needed it.

Bear and I started with lots of walking back and forth on the strip. There were two rather large hay bales a good distance from one another, so we would periodically circle around those and work on backing and flexing to the bit. He was quite relaxed for all this. In fact, he was neck reining better than he usually does in the tom thumb. I have a feeling that bit was pinching him a little.

After a thorough warm-up we started doing lots of trotting. With the snaffle it was easier for me to control his speed, but he still has a big, floaty trot. It is mostly fun, I just need to keep practicing at it. And what I really need to practice dealing with are his tight turns. He is a very agile little horse. Robin gave me a few pointers for how to lengthen the arc of the turn by applying pressure to the outside rein. I worked on this at the walk and Bear seemed pretty receptive.

We continued to do lots of trotting. During this time, Robin and Steen were doing their own work. Lost of circling, trotting, and loping. They were definitely busy, and Bear was often interested in them. Thankfully I could get him to pay more attention to me after we’d join up and then split apart.

Although one time I was working on some tight circles with Bear so that Robin and Steen could lope off in the other direction, Bear had other things on his mind. We had been trotting for quite some time, so Bear was tired (he’s actually putting on a bit more weight). In mid circle, he saw the open end of the strip, the one we enter and exit from, and he eagerly jumped in that direction. I reined him in and turned him away from the entrance.

And he listened, which is great. He just stopped and changed direction so fast that I fell right over the side him and landed on my already sore right butt cheek. He slowly walked off towards Robin and Steen. At least he didn’t walk out of the strip, which is where he wanted to go originally.

When I caught back up he was super calm. Like nothing had happened. I did a few flexes to the bit and climbed back on. He was fine. So after a few minutes of walking around the hay bales, we went back to the end of the strip, and I made him do some figure-eights. Sometimes we’d walk right up to the edge of the strip, stop, and then back. He didn’t love that part, but he was still pretty good with it.

After I hopped off he still wanted to be my best friend and get lots of head scratches. He’s so funny. And I really can’t be too mad at him. Sure he got a little excited at one point, but then he completely did what I asked of him. I just couldn’t keep my seat. Perhaps next time I’ll be ready.

Bear Foot

Brian

September 15, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Saturday was Duke-Day at the barn. And it was a good thing too, because Bear had been wearing shoes for quite a few weeks.

For reasons out of our control, we got to the barn a little later than we hoped. That meant we were a little ways down on the list. So I spent quite a bit of time hanging out and talking to the other boarders. It is still interesting for me to be around all the other horses and see how they are for things like hoof trimmings.

After awhile Robin and I went out to get our guys. They were easy, and they were quite happy to just hangout with us indoors for awhile. Bear was actually a bit muddy (it had rained the night before), so I spent a long while scrubbing all the crusties out of his coat. He enjoyed that.

When it was our turn for a trim Bear was pretty good. He was certainly calm and happy to be standing for me, but at one point he shifted a bit and bumped into the stall wall. And he is still pretty tight in his right, hind leg. Duke had to go slow and keep that leg a little lower. But all in all it was pretty good since Bear had never had a trim here and never met Duke before. I imagine things will go smoother the next time.

And as far as his feet go, Duke says they look great. They are solid and should be fine for barefooting in all the plush grass we have. Still, I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on them.

After some more hanging out we put the guys out to pasture and snapped a few goofy pictures of them.

Bear still waking up from our long, relaxing grooming session.

Mid yawn, or sticking out tongue? It can be hard to tell as Bear is getting a bit more relaxed and goofy around us.

He’s got a ways to go before he is as goofy as Steen, though.

Bear Back

Brian

September 10, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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After work, Robin and I headed out for quiet, Friday afternoon at the barn. But there were more people there than we expected. Usually we have the place to ourselves on Friday afternoons/evenings. Thankfully we slotted ourselves in between people leaving and arriving, so we weren’t all trying to do the same thing at once.

Bear was excited to see me in the pasture. I gave him three days off, partially because I was sore from hitting the ground, and partially because I was just busy with life stuff. But it was nice to see that he missed me.

Right when we started tacking up I realized I was missing something. No headstall, bit, or reins. We had taken them home to repair some of the leather ties after the fall. We left the whole thing on the coat rack.

But we turned the less than ideal situation into a fun opportunity. I’ve been having a sore spot on my foot and wasn’t looking forward to riding in stirrups. So I hopped on Bear bareback and used Steen’s snaffle and mecate reins.

On our second test ride we tried out Bear with a snaffle. He wasn’t too thrilled about it. But now he knows me and we’ve got a pretty good thing going. So we worked on flexing to the bit, following the rail and doing periodic small circles, and later on some tight figure-eights.

And for an older horse, he did remarkably well. At times he would get a little head tossy or stiff necked, but then he would always come around and flex very nicely. And through the course of the ride he got softer and more responsive with everything I asked of him. This is very encouraging news because I am not all that thrilled to be riding him in a tom-thumb. Those are a bit too harsh for my tastes. So with any luck, we’ll be transitioning to a nice, loose ring snaffle in no time.

After the ride we all hung out in the arena. Bear was pretty funny about it. If I took a couple steps away, he’d step towards me. It is like his favorite position is to be just a foot away from me. Very good news for our relationship.

And when we put the guys back in the pasture, Robin and I stayed in the lounge and enjoyed ourselves an ice cold Coors. It was a very relaxing day at the barn.

The One Where I Fall Off

Brian

September 6, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Yup, I took my first fall off a horse today. Like most falls, it wasn’t as bad as you think they’re going to be. Of course, falls and crashes could always be horrible, but most often they are just a pain in the ass. This one was literally a pain in the ass, as that is the first place I hit the ground.

It was a beautiful Labor Day afternoon at the barn, but it was super windy. We were planning on a nice, long, relaxing trail ride. The boys were a tad jittery in the beginning. Perhaps due to the wind, also partly due to a big rottweiler that was a ways down the road from us. All in all, no biggie, though.

We did our brief warm-up on the second strip and had plans of venturing over to the west side of Wapsi rd. When we head down a little section of double track, the horses can look left and see the barn. Bear always wants to go back at that point. On another ride he gave me a lot of trouble there, but this time he walked down the track pretty willingly. Steen was up ahead, doing his fast walk. Bear kept looking over his shoulder, longing for The Barn.

And then Steen had a medium spook and spun back in our direction. I was thinking more about Steen’s silly spook than I was about my own mount. And the next thing I knew, Bear had done a super fast spin and taken off for home. In the spin I lost my right stirrup and felt like I was leaning pretty far back. So I kind of made the decision to just kick my left foot out and scootch off the back of him. That is how it looked in my head. It was probably not nearly that pretty or controlled. And my butt is currently wishing that I came off with a bit more control than I did.

As I was getting up and shaking off the initial stiffness, Bear was trotting off to the barn. He stopped about halfway there, but then he decided to keep going. After making sure I was OK, Robin went after him. He got a few big pops on the mouth when he stepped on his reins, and one of them even broke off.

So after many minutes of walking up to the barn, fixing the rein, and getting back to the spot of the fall, I finally climbed back aboard. I was nervous, but he was fine. We walked up and back on the double track section and then rode back into the big grassy strip. Here I proceeded to work Bear a bit harder than I have so far. The fall was certainly an accident, but I don’t want Bear thinking about the barn when he’s not supposed to. And he is definitely adjusted to his surroundings by now.

I didn’t do anything super hard, but we did a lot of walking, trotting, circles, stops, backs, figure eights, and whatever other pattern I was thinking about at the time. He was paying a lot of attention to me, and he got pretty tired. So it was very productive. Robin snapped a few nice shots of us.

Bear’s got a big, floaty trot, plus I was probably a tad nervous, so I’m hanging on to the saddle.

Trotting away from Robin and Steen, things were going pretty good at this point.

Still trotting and hanging on, but I’ve got a big smile on my face.

I’m blogging a bit out of order here (but I thought the fall was pressing enough to go first), my parents were up this weekend and we all had a good time visiting Bear and Steen. The guys were on their best behavior, and Steen let both my mom and dad have a good ride. Robin’s got a nice write up about it, but here are a few more pictures from the day.

Mom and I cruising around the arena.

Bear spends a lot of time walking behind Steen and trying to catch up.

In a previous post I joked about Bear “falling asleep” during the tacking, on this day he really did fall asleep. We had to wake him just to feed him a little grain.

On the Strip

Brian

September 3, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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He’s still got the leopard print fly-mask. At least he really likes it when I put it on him.

It is only September 3rd, but it is already feeling like fall is here. Today was windy, cloudy, and quite cool. This is fine by me, as fall is probably my favorite season. And it is the season where I first got really interested in riding, so I’m very excited for this fall.

Today Bear walked out of the pasture with me, and he didn’t stop once. He was never bad about it, but he often dawdled. I think this is a good sign that he’s getting used to me being his guy.

Inside he was falling asleep for the grooming and tacking again. With the cooler weather I thought he might have a bit more energy, but not today.

My initial plan was to have an easy ride inside. The wind can be annoying, and my foot has been bothering me, so I didn’t want to ride too hard. But there was a lesson going on. So Bear and I walked outside and checked out the strip.

The strip is a quarter mile long stretch of grass with a few hills in it. It also follows the fenceline of the pasture. Last time I tried to ride Bear outside alone he wasn’t happy about it, so I thought being near his buddies might make it OK.

It did. He mostly followed the fenceline like a pro. Oddly enough, he was worse about walking back in the direction of the barn. And we were almost always still near the herd when he would have his little attempt at changing our direction. Thankfully they were pretty half-hearted, so I got to work on directing him and acting before he thought about turning.

It was great practice. Bear was certainly bored, but I got to pick where we went, and it wasn’t taxing for either of us.

After the ride I groomed him again and tried to give him my apple core. He was not into that at all. So I have a semi-tubby horse that likes neither carrots nor apples. This surprises me a bit.

More Riding

Brian

September 1, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Wednesdays I usually get off work early, so I’m going to try to make a lot of them barn days. There is a good chance Robin will join me for most of them. I wasn’t sure if she would today, as she got out for a ride with Jean this morning. But after a little work and lunch, she was ready to head back out.

And I’m glad she came. Well, I always enjoy it when she comes, but with her and Steen there I knew Bear would be up for going out into the fields. And he was.

Bear and I cruising through the fields.

Again the tacking up went smoothly. I’ll probably have to stop mentioning it soon. But today was slightly noteworthy as I picked his feet for the first time. I haven’t mentioned it before, but the first time I rode Bear I had a hard time with his feet. Or maybe he had a hard time with his feet. As a fifteen year old we thought he was just really, really stiff in the hind end. When I picked one of them up, it shot back like a rubber band and kind of kicked me in the side of the leg. Not a huge deal, but I was a little worried about the long term issue of this stiffness and the fact that I would have to frequently clean out his hooves.

The vet check was great, though. And we were assured that such stiffness shouldn’t be a big deal at all (in fact, he was not nearly as stiff as we though). So we took things easy on Bear and went slow with his feet. While some of it was no doubt stiffness and being out of practice, some of it might have just been him not knowing us and being reluctant to hand over a hoof. Today he lifted his feet like a gentleman. I think it is a nice sign of our progressing relationship.

Out on the ride things were nice. It was a cool, cloudy day, and Steen was riled up. He was antsy on his first ride, and that carried over into the afternoon. Bear and I would walk at a steady pace, and Steen and Robin would get up ahead. When he started getting goey Robin would turn him in lots of circles. He seemed OK with this. But he never fully settled down.

Robin spinning Steen in circles.

Bear and I had a couple of moments where he wanted to pick the direction. I was much better at letting him know that I was in charge, and after a few moments of hesitation he was very willing to follow along. Bear is great practice for me in many ways. He gets slightly agitated and tests me at times, but once that brief moment is over, he goes back to standing and relaxing like nothing ever happened. So I get to build confidence and assert my authority, but I don’t have to deal with a worked up horse the whole ride. It’s great.

Bear decided to go visit the camera woman (I got him turned where I wanted to go right after the picture, I swear).

The route just consisted of us going out and about on the second strip of grass and the three-hills section. The hills were new to Bear. He was pretty alert and curious about the wild turkeys, but other than that he was mostly fine with the new territory.

After the ride there were many face scratches and pets. I put him out to pasture and put his fly-mask (which is now a bit muddied) on with no problem. Watching him walk away I can already see that he’s getting some muscle back into his haunches. It shouldn’t be too long before his top-line muscles fill in a bit more and his gut starts shrinking.

Solo Ride

Brian

September 1, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We had some brief storms this afternoon. Then it got rather nice out. There is a chance for some pretty heavy storms tomorrow, so after work today I decided to get out and see Bear.

Bear is off to the left.

The herd was leisurely grazing in the pasture. Again, Bear had no problem letting me shoo away the flies, scratch his neck, and put the halter on. He wasn’t as excited about walking out of the pasture, as he stopped more than the two or so times he has been in the past. But I kept him going with some light taps on the butt and a few encouraging words.

Steen watched us from afar. He is the friendliest horse in the world who won’t come right up to you.

Inside the arena Bear was great. I worried that he’d be nervous about not having another horse there (or anything, the barn was super quiet; just how I like it, really). But he wasn’t worried in the slightest. He was so relaxed that he was falling asleep during the tacking up.

Whoever was there before me had watered the sand down, and I didn’t really know what to expect from Bear on a solo ride, so I just hopped on in the arena. He was sluggish (from the nap, no doubt) but fine with it all. We did a long, slow warm-up. Then we trotted for a little while. His trot felt a whole lot better than it did over the weekend. I think it is a mix of being active again and getting used to me.

Then I pushed my luck a tad too far. I brought him outside with the hopes of walking down the grassy strip a little ways. He was still his super calm self, and I remounted with no problem, but then he was adamant about turning back towards the barn. I reined him pretty hard to get back where I wanted to go, but he would have none of it.

So then we just sat there for a minute. He was fine with that. Surprisingly relaxed really. I decided to try a few more times, but he always reverted to fidgeting, dancing, and turning where he wanted to go. With a bit more confidence I have no doubt we could have gone down the trail a ways, but perhaps going out alone is a lot to ask of a new horse in a new setting.

We did groundwork instead. I had to show him that I decided where his feet went, not him. We did some flexing, backing, yielding of the hindquarters, and a small amount of longing back in the arena. I wouldn’t say he was good, but he knew enough to get by.

So all in all, it was a productive solo experience. It could have gone better, but now we also know what we have to work on.

And Three Makes a Habit

Brian

August 29, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I’ve had three rides on Bear, all including a little outdoors and indoors, and each one was quite good. And as the saying goes with horses, three is habit. So I have no doubt we will continue to have wonderful rides for quite some time.

But they won’t be without their hiccups and challenges, and today I saw a few of those already. It was by far the most crowded the barn has been since Bear moved in. Lots of horses were in their stalls, Cathi (the barn owner) and her daughter were doing chores, and Jean was tacking up her big thoroughbred, Schooley.

Bear initially stood quietly, and though we tied him in the same general area as we did yesterday, there was now a young mare right in front of him. I don’t think he would have been too bothered by this, but that mare has a bit of reputation for being a hussy, and she was doing her best to get Bear to break into her stall. So there were a few stamps, kicks, and squeals.

All in all, it was quite minor. We moved Bear down a bit and tied him next to some geldings. No more problems.

Once outside he was moving nicely and responding to my ques very quickly. Jean and Schooley accompanied Robin and I, so we had a threesome (or sixsome if you count the mounts, too). Bear was very relaxed around Schooley, and it looked like the thoroughbred had the same feelings for Bear. Perhaps old bays just get along.

We walked along between fields, and went through one rather overgrown area. The brush was up to our boots in some places, but none of the horses cared. After a long, slow warmup, Jean left to go work Schooley, and Robin and I continued on to another section of trail. We got close to home and this was the first time Bear strongly voiced his opinion on where we should go. I think he was tired, but that was no reason for me to let him pick the route. We were only going to add a little section of double track and then head for home.

We had a few moments where I’d turn him right and then he’d turn back left. I’d say go forward and he’d go backwards. Nothing terrible, but Bear is pretty strong. Much stronger than Cal, the mare I got used to riding out on the trails last fall. Since I didn’t know how Bear would react to my insisting we continue down the trail, I started by asking pretty nicely and then slowly increased the pressure. He got the idea and willingly walked down the trail.

So we had my first little test, and it worked out just fine. I’m sure there will be a few more of these over the coming weeks and months, but that’s all part of the fun.

When we got back into the barn we brought out our big sponge and cooled the guys down. I’m not sure if Bear had ever been sponged down before, as he was a little uncertain and fidgety, but once he felt the cool water he settled right in. Like me, I think he’s looking forward to the true fall temps that should be just around the corner.

The First Rides

Brian

August 28, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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After work on Friday, I rushed home, made a cup of tea, ate a snack, and headed out to the barn with Robin. It was day two of Bear’s stay in his new home, and we wanted to check on him. If things looked good, we were hoping for a short ride, too.

And things were better than good. No one is picking on Bear. In fact, he has a couple of friends in the herd already. But he doesn’t prefer the herd to me. At least not that I can tell. When I walked up to him he kindly let me halter him and lead him out of the huge, green pasture and into the arena.

Everything was going so well that Robin and I thought I should get on and ride. That was great, too. We walked and trotted around. Bear stops and stands like a champ, and he’s pretty supple when it comes to neck reining. I felt very relaxed and in control with him. So then we rode out of the arena with Robin and Steen and went for a stroll down one of the big green strips.

Again everything was great. He’s not scared of trampolines, silos, big farm machinery, cars, crunched cans, or anything so far as we can tell. The ride was great. I think it might have been the best Friday-at-the-barn yet. And that’s saying something, cuz we’ve had some pretty fun Fridays at the barn.

Nothing like a great roll to celebrate a fun ride.

Saturday morning we went for a repeat. And it really was quite a repeat. He was great coming out of the pasture, even more relaxed while tacking up, and better at stopping, standing, and neck reining when I hopped on in the arena. I only rode inside for about 3 minutes this time. We just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t sore or bothered by anything.

Then we went out into the fields with Robin and Steen, and they showed us some new places to ride. There is another big rolling strip of grass on the west side of Wapsi that is really great to ride on. It was so big that we didn’t even get to check out all of it.

He also doesn’t mind when I fish around in my pocket for the camera and then take shots along the ride.

I’m trying to make these rides fun and easy. Bear is a little out of shape. So for now it’s lots of walking up and down hills and a little trotting thrown in. Yesterday’s ride was 45 minutes, and today we went for an hour. It will be fun to watch his physical progression grow along with our relationship. Hopefully in the not too distant future we’ll be able to get some long loping rides on those lovely strips of grass.

I’m not really sure why I feel the need to keep the halter around his neck when I’m putting his fly-mask on, all he ever wants to do is hangout with us after the rides.

Meet the Bear

Brian

August 27, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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About four months ago I had to send my first horse, Sham, back to the guys we bought him from. He wasn’t working out, mostly from a behavioral standpoint. He had a bit of a dangerous side.

I was grateful that the guys took him back. They said they could find a horse that would suit me better and asked for a little bit of time to do that. Easy enough, though I was more than a little disappointed to send Sham back. Sure, he was difficult, but he was my difficult horse. A short while after Sham went back, Robin and I went to the UK for a month. That helped. When I came back I spent a lot of time back on the bike. Then I crashed, with my wrist taking most of the impact.

And now, four months later, I went back to the brothers who sold us Sham. They found a possible replacement. Another bay, but a little older, a little wiser, and a whole lot more gentle. His 15 years of experience had me both excited and a little nervous. He is out of shape, and he has a bit of a gut, but he’s got beautiful gaits, and he loves people.

His name is Birthday Diplomat, but he goes by Bear. It fits him nicely.

Robin met him at the barn late this morning. He came off the trailer like a gentleman and hung out while she chatted with the driver. His introduction to the herd was uneventful. Unlike Sham, he won’t be the leader of the herd, but neither will he get picked on. He’s got too much experience for that.

Head mare Star and pretty high gelding Steen give Bear the sniff from both sides.

I went out in the afternoon to see how things were going. The flies were bugging him, but we came equipped with a mask. All they had was leopard print, unfortunately. But it should serve its purpose.

Hopefully it gets really dirty soon. But Bear should feel better knowing that Schooley the 20 year old ex-racehorse has the same one.

In the arena he hung out with us like he’s been living here for years. It was a great sign, and very relaxing. One of the things I love about Steen is how easy he is to hang out with. Steen was so rough around the edges that it took many, many months to get that. It feels nice to have a horse that is willing to hang out with you on day one.

And this weekend I’m looking forward to hitting the trails with Bear. Updates to follow.