Valentine’s Day Ride

February 14, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

After yesterday’s successful ride but unsuccessful ground work, I decided to stick to what Sham and I know, tacking up and simple rides.

When I went into the pasture Sham came right up to me (he also hung out with me in the pasture after the ride). That was very nice. It feels good when your horse wants to see you. I shooed some of the other horses away and put his halter on with no problem. On the walk to the barn we worked on a little bit of leading control. I brought a small crop with me and gave him a few hearty smacks on the chest when he was getting pushy. It certainly didn’t fix the problem, but he did get the message a little bit.

The grooming and tacking up was quite good. I worked on paying attention to what I was doing and not really worrying about Sham. He seems to like that best. In the arena, though, he was quite jittery before I climbed on. I’m not sure why. But he does still have a lot to get used to. Once up there I felt OK. We walked around in circles. He explored some of the corners of the arena and a few of the mud piles. Occasionally he’d step into a trot. I’d yank him back down. I say yank because I did have to pull quite a bit to rein him in. In reality it was not a big yank, but I’m used to riding super sensitive horses, not cow roping, ranch horses.

After a couple minutes of walking Sham got rather keyed up. Some of the horses in the pasture just outside the arena were running pretty hard. Sham didn’t like that. I think he wanted to be out there, or perhaps at least be able to see them. So he picked up some fast trots and even a lope once. He got so worked up I could feel his huge heart pumping right next to my leg. I’m not sure if this is a big deal or not, but I don’t have any recollection of feeling that before.

Needless to say this all made me a tad uneasy, and I was ready to call it a ride. Robin said I would be better off riding him until he calmed down. So I went back to thinking about me and making Sham do what I wanted him to do. I sat up straight, I smiled, I practiced having soft eyes, I put my heels down, and we trotted lots of circles and figure eights. Sham has a super nice trot, and he is able to turn very quick and tight 180s. This worked really well to calm him down. The horses continued to gallop along outside, but Sham wasn’t paying as much attention to them.

All told it was a rather brief 25 minute ride. But we went through a lot. Sham is definitely relaxed and also a lot of horse. Robin occasionally questions if he is too much. But then he comes around and we know he’s still adjusting. I never seem to question Sham, I just question my own abilities. I usually keep track of things like hours on the bike or miles of skiing done. This year I’m logging my hours on horseback. I’ve only got about 40 minutes on Sham and 2 hours 35 minutes total. I’m looking forward to watching those numbers climb.

After my ride I snapped a few photos of Robin riding Steen. In the middle Steen had a big spook when another horse tried to sneak into the barn under a closing garage door. Everyone was OK in the end. And all in all, Steen was back to being the dream horse he often is.

First Ride

Brian

February 13, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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After sleeping in and having a great morning ski with Robin, we went over to the barn to keep working with Sham and Steen. Robin went out yesterday and rode Steen and also put in some time with Sham. He had a small cut on his leg from the trailer ride, and Robin made sure that was starting to heal up. Then she did some leading and ground work with him. So that was the plan for today, too. Neosporin and ground work.

Before coming inside we turned Sham loose in the airlock so he could meet Steen. There was some quiet sniffing and a little bit of chase at the trot. But it was mostly uneventful. It turns out my horse has one of those indifferently dominant personalities. He is just kind of in charge, but he doesn’t force things on others. I think that is a good way to be.

Unfortunately, that personality, and his previous training as a ranch horse, mean he’s not that good on the ground. He is a bit of a barger. I can usually make him back up, but the leading around in the indoor arena was very hit or miss today. It is true there were three other horses getting ready to go out for a ride, and he’s also still getting used to things. But it made for some tough moments. I’m not the most effective horse handler yet. When I ask them to do something that they really know how to do, then I’m OK. Almost good, really. But when we’re both in the gray area, I’m not so in charge anymore.

Still, with some coaching from Robin I think we made a little progress. And with that small progress we stopped short and put him in the tie stall. With some grooming and then putting Steen’s saddle on him he calmed right down. He is definitely good at standing quietly and being patient. Steen’s saddle fit him quite nicely, which is good, because I think I want the same one. It fits me nicely, too. And the bridle with the loose ring snaffle went into his mouth much more easily than the curb the ranch guys were using.

Once we knew all the tack worked out, I looked at Robin and asked if we should put him back out. She kind of smiled and said, “well, we could ride him.” This was not the initial plan. We wanted to get him settled and not ask too much of him in his new place. But I had to admit he was looking pretty settled.

Not settled enough for me to jump on him, though. OK, that’s not totally true. He was settled down enough for that, but I had not fully settled down after our fumblings at the ground work. So Robin got on and they did some very nice walking and trotting. I watched and held the very unsettled Steen. Maybe it was the game of chase between him and Sham earlier, but Steen was not super happy to be hanging out with us today.

After Robin’s brief ride I lengthened the stirrups and climbed on.

He is very good under saddle. Super relaxed and not worried about a thing. He stands well. He flexes to the bit well. He stops well. And he’s got big, energetic gaits. He will be really fun to work with. It will just take some time for me to get used to him. I kind of think he’s almost used to me already. Except with the leading part.

I Have a Horse

Brian

February 11, 2010

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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For weeks I have been shopping for a horse. I met Sham on Sunday and decided he was the one for me. He was up at the Meyer Horse Co. He is a 15.3 hand bay Quarter Horse. He’ll turn 9 this March. Most of his life was spent as a working ranch horse in Wisconsin and later Iowa. Although there are some cows at Skriver, most his new life will be spent cruising around the trails. I think he’ll like it.

Here is a little video from our test ride. Nothing too exciting.

This afternoon he was delivered to us. He came off the trailer with a little hop, and within moments, he was almost totally at ease with his new home. He rolled in the indoor arena. He ate an apple core. He ate apple-flavored wormer, which wasn’t quite as good as the apple core. He was groomed. And he was really good for all of it. Surprisingly good. I knew he was relaxed when I met him, but this was more than I had hoped for. And through it all, he remained attentive and inquisitive.

After the indoor fun we took him out to the airlock and turned him loose. He sniffed many a nose over the fence, but none of the horses showed any signs of concern or aggression.

So we opened the gate to the pasture and let them mingle. Again he seemed right at home. He trotted over to the salt lick like he had been eating off it all year. He even pushed one of the mares away when she came close. Of course, others pushed him around a bit, but nothing big.

Over the next few weeks I’ll let him settle in, start doing some ground work exercises, figure out his tack, and then start riding. It should be a great adventure.

Check out Robin’s blog for another take on the arrival.

Date Night

Brian

July 1, 2009

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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On Wednesdays Robin and I always have some sort of date night. Sometimes we stay in and eat cheap Chinese food or just have leftovers and watch silly movies or TV shows. Other times we go out. Last week was a particularly enjoyable date at Giavanni’s with great food and a super tasty bottle of pinot grigio.

But this week Robin is out of town. So I had to take Steen out. I don’t usually bring things to date night, but as Steen and I are still getting comfortable together when it is just the two of us, I thought it would be rude to show up empty handed. So I brought him a new fly mask. I’m not sure how he feels about it yet, but he did take it.

It was a nice night, and there was not much happening at the “barn.” I went in the evening because that is when dates usually happen, but also because I did not want any construction crews with nail guns ruining the ambiance. And it is a good thing I waited; things have been happening.

On the left you can see Steen by the red gate sporting his new fly mask.

The lack of construction crews was great, but then we had a date crasher. When I picked Steen up from the pasture his little adopted nephew would not stay with the herd. I don’t do threesomes and did my best to send this message to the little thing. He didn’t take it too well. Steen and I had a ways to walk to get to the gate, and the baby would go tearing back and forth, kicking his heels up, and then stop a few feet in front of us, hind quarters facing me. I used this moment to prove to Steen that I was a worthy, and somewhat tough, date. After many snaps, shoves and smacks with the lead rope, he relented. Steen was remarkably calm throughout all this.

Then I tied him to the trailer and we had a nice grooming session. I could not remember the proper knot for horse tying, but I kind of remembered what it looked like. So I imitated as best I could. It might not have been right, but he could have easily gotten out of it. Thankfully we were having a good time together, so he was in no hurry to leave.

After the grooming, hoof picking, and grazing we went for an after dinner stroll down a pretty gravel path. Things were going great. Or so I thought. After we rounded a bend and walked into a corn field Steen started to get antsy and did not want to be there. Perhaps he thought I would try to take advantage of him now that no one was around.

I didn’t push him, but as he grew increasingly antsy and nervous I felt I should take a minute to give him a job to do and calm him down. So we disengaged the hindquarters and did a little backing. He took a few steps back and I still had plenty of rope in my hand and wanted to get one more enthusiastic step back. I gave the rope a rough shake, put my hand out, stood tall, and firmly said, “back, back.”

Instead, Steen decided to run around me in circles. Great. Now our easy stroll turned into a crazy version of groundwork where I was trying to cut off Steen as he whipped around me. I got him to do some quick disengages a couple of times, but this wasn’t enough to relax him. Right after the disengage he would just turn and run in the other direction.

I finally managed to shorten the rope and get him to come to me. With his head down we walked back towards the rest of the herd. He only gave a few snorts, and when I slowed his fast walk down, he was OK with it.

He didn’t ask me out again, but I think I might just show up sometime anyways. In the meantime I’ll enjoy the nice St. Bernardus Tripel that I picked up tonight.

Progress

Brian

November 10, 2008

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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In the past eight days I have gone out to the stable to ride on 5 of them. That is a personal record for me. In those five rides I struggled in the outdoor arena through my first lope, had my first solo loping session on Tuesday, refined my lope a little more with the help of Robin on Friday night and Saturday morning, and then had my first real (although short) bareback ride today.

I had experienced some very short bareback riding on two other occasions. On one of our visits to Tucson I climbed up on Jak, and Robin led me around the property a bit. It was weird. I was surprised by how much movement of the horse’s body I could feel through my legs. At that time I was not very comfortable on horses even in the saddle, so I did not ride for very long.

My second bareback experience was with Steen. My parents had come to visit, and Robin was helping my mother learn to ride. At the end of the first lesson, I got on Steen and walked around in a circle while Robin had Steen on a longe line. It was nice to feel a different horse, and one that I knew better from many weeks of riding.

But Steen is a bony guy. And I know, because I am a bony guy, too. When Robin and I were riding bareback today she rode first and would occasionally yell out pointers as they occured to her. When she would pass by the end of the arena that I sat at she would say things like, “lean back far on your butt; this will help you keep your balance.”

This made sense when I was on the ground. My other brief bareback rides left me worried about leaning too far into Steen’s withers and injuring the more sensitive parts of my male physique. But when I got on Steen, I realized that I could not lean forwards, for obvious reasons, or backwards, as his spine would dig into my tail bone.

Nevertheless, I continued to walk around on Steen and work on my seat. As he often does, Steen decided to sporadically jump into a trot in one of the turns. I easily reined him in, but the few seconds of trot felt OK. And Robin said I looked stable through the changes. So we did a little bit more trotting and it was OK. Fun even. But only for a few minutes, as my comfort area on him was very, very small.

Thankfully we have a bareback pad coming soon. It should provide just enough cushion to let me ride bareback comfortably. Because now that I can lope somewhat comfortably, I really want to do a bareback lope. Robin makes it look so easy, but I know looks can be deceiving. So I have a lot of work ahead of me.

A Manure Barrel!

Brian

July 8, 2008

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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While Robin is in sunny, hot, and dry Arizona for the week, I told her that I would check up on Steen. I had a wonderful 4^th of July weekend that involved multiple BBQs and nice bike rides, so on Sunday I was more than happy to take an easy ride out to see Steen and maybe even ride him.

The ride out was nice, a little warmer than the past few days, but not bad. Changing into jeans and boots out of wet cycling clothes was not that much fun, though. After that I just couldn’t stop sweating, and my glasses were sliding all over my face. I thought it best to just go outside and get Steen.

He was in the biggest pasture and hanging out in the second farthest corner from me. He picked his head up immediately when I called his name. He then took a couple steps towards me. But that was it. I had to go in and get him. Despite his unwillingness to meet me halfway, he was still happy to see me and had no problem with me putting his halter on and leading him out of the pasture.

After walking out the gate, through the owners’ yard, and up to the barn entrance with no problem, Steen just decided he would go no further. I had never encountered this in a horse before; easy and congenial following, and then staunch refusal and pulling back. And there was no way I could out pull him, any shake of his head brought me stumbling back. So I made him do some backing, just gently pushed on his chest and said ‘back.’ You know, just to show him who’s boss.

And he went back fine. So apparently I was only the boss sometimes. And I could guide him in all directions but forward. At this point I was feeling silly and thinking that I would have to return him to the pasture without any grooming or ground exercises. And right when I was feeling silliest a cute, young horse person comes out and smiles at me. Great.

I explained that I was the novice horse boyfriend trying to work with the experience horse girlfriend’s Paint. She took pity on me and asked if I needed help. I handed her the lead rope. Steen continued to give her a hard time and I didn’t feel so bad. But slowly and patiently she led him up to the door and let him sniff the piece of farm equipment that was sitting near the entrance. A small, insignificant little barrel (compared to a horse) that apparently isn’t always there. That is what freaked Steen out and I didn’t notice it at all.

After that Steen was great. He was still on edge, but he conceded to my slow and clumsy grooming and even picked his feet up before I asked him to. That was rather amazing. I saddled him up and we went into the arena to do some groundwork. After the manure barrel fiasco, I had decided that it would be best not to ride him that afternoon, so we did a lot of walking and trotting exercises. Occasionally Steen would get a little worked up at various noises, but for the most part he was really calm. And when I unsaddled him and took off his lead rope to let him role in the dirt (which he loves), he would only follow me around.

Even though I didn’t get to ride him, and felt silly much of the time having a horse drag me around, it was still really good for our relationship. Despite being nervous(Steen, that is. Well, mostly Steen), he did everything I asked him to and was really happy about it. And when I turned him back out into the pasture, he was semi-reluctant to leave me. What a softy. I only hope on Wednesday the manure barrel is gone so that neither one of us is nervous and we can ride.