Cool, Sunny Trail Ride

May 25, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

In spite of having rather cushy work-weeks, Brian and I were both pretty tired heading out to the barn today. In the car, we chatted about what to do, and eventually agreed it would be nice to just take our two most solid ponies and hit the trail. We tacked up Steen and Bear, and headed out. Bear's energy and overall perkiness-factor have been way up the last few days, so we were hoping he'd hold up well out and about. Brian commented when we went down our first little hill that he was feeling really loose and moving well, so that was encouraging. We went to the back corner of our barn's property and out the gate that basically lets us out on our vet's land. From there we went up a gravel road for a short stretch, and onto a nice grassy lane where we ran into a woman walking her dogs, off-leash. I'm all for letting dogs run free, but I tend to think that if you're going to let y...

Zoey Gets a Trim

Robin

May 23, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Zoey has been in need of a trim since we got her, but it took us until today to coordinate with the farrier. I had a meeting in Cedar Rapids in the afternoon, but my morning was quiet so I went out early to sneak in a ride before he arrived at 11:00. I rode Steen. It was a chilly morning, and I wanted to be able to be fast when the farrier came, so I put Zoey and Bear (we thought he might need a trim too) in the side pen and rode in the indoor arena. Steen was great. We rattled through all sorts of things, including lots of work in a circle, and some simple lead changes. Those were good. I feel like we had more control returning to the trot and going back out of it in a deliberate way, rather than just rushing through the transition. I stayed focused on being precise with the hackamore, and we got some nice circles moving into and out of collection. I also worked on varying spee...

The One Where I Don’t Fall Off

Robin

May 23, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today was Steen's birthday. He turned 13. My gift to him was a day off, which translated into some quality alone time with the bale.

I rode Zoey today. We started off trying to saddle at the hitching post. In my efforts to be graceful with this, I tied my offside stirrup up with my saddle strings, so I wouldn't have to swing it at her to get it on. She did ok. Three seems to be the magic number with her. She managed to stay still for the pad (just some serious crunching up and stiffening the first time), but the first time I raised the saddle she stepped away. I went with her until she got to the rail and stopped, and I set the saddle on her back. Not ideal. I moved her back into position, removed the saddle, and petted her until sh...

A Ride on a Different Girl

Robin

May 21, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Bear seems to be over his bug. So although he's probably still struggling with the anemia, the vet suggested getting him back into some light riding would be good. So today we set out to ride all our horses, two each. I started on Laredo in the outdoor arena. We rode him there a lot last spring, right when we first got him, but not at all since. He was lively and curious about the different space. During our groundwork I experimented with something we saw recently in a Richard Caldwell video (Starting in the Jaquima) where he used his hands and arms to apply pressure from a distance to a particular part of the horse when the horse was walking around him in a circle, and thus helped the horse maintain a more consistent bend in its body while moving without a ride...

Just One

Robin

May 20, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It stormed in the night. The area around the barn was soaked and soggy, and there were more patchy storms that had the potential to hit us. With Zoey, we were again confined to the indoor. On the bright side, Zoey came to meet us in the pasture today, was scared off by Laredo pinning his ears at her, came again, was scared off again, and finally let me approach and halter her with no fuss. So in spite of our interfering youngster, that was a big step in the right direction. She was ultra relaxed for grooming, too, and almost seemed happy to be hanging out with us. I again started with groundwork in the indoor arena. Touches from the flag caused no flinching today, and I had Brian help with saddling again to help things be smoother. She only shied away twice, then stood quietly and accepted the saddle. She also stood solidly when I mounted, which was good because Brian had some t...

A Young Whippersnapper. Also, Trees

Robin

May 19, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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The outdoor arena at our barn is kind of a joke. It's not really an area at all, just a fenced off area that doubles as an isolation pen for sick/injured/special-needs horses. It's rarely available. Today it was empty, and while the footing on one half is jagged dried mud too rough to ride on, the other half was actually in a usable state. It was Brian's day to ride Zoey, and we were hoping to do this outside. Yesterday the indoor arena was overheated and crowded, but we're not so settled in with Zoey yet that we want to test her in the wide open spaces where we usually ride. So we started the day in the outdoor arena. We brought Zoey, Laredo and Steen up to the barn, (Bear seems to have started wondering why he's not invited anymore. He hurried up to me in the pasture today and stood there looking hurt when I didn't put a halter on him.) groomed them all, then left Laredo and S...

Friday at the Barn

Robin

May 18, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We were super happy to wave goodbye to the work week and head for the barn today. We found the herd warm and bored, and everyone but Zoey seemed really happy to see us. I wove my way through the welcoming committee at the gate and went into the second pasture. Zoey seems to have systematically dismissed her enthusiastic entourage. Even the pony seems over it as far as she's concerned. She was grazing alone. I employed a different strategy catching Zoey. Instead of walking up to her, I circled around her and put some pressure on her haunch. I was hoping this would build on our lesson in the arena yesterday, but instead it pushed her forward. She walked into the other lot. I didn't up the pressure on her, but I followed her at a consistent distance, keeping with her enough so she couldn't relax and forget about me, but not pushing her enough to make her run away. She went into ...

Groundwork Day

Robin

May 17, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Thursday is Brian's late day at work right now, so I was on solo barn duty today. I had a weird, busy schedule with a lot to get done and a few things that had to happen at specific times. I also had to swing by the vet's to pick up phase two of Bear's meds, then at a minimum doctor both Zoey and Bear. I was hoping to ride Zoey too. I arrived at the barn a little later than I'd wanted to because I was slow getting something off to a client (I hate writing project proposals -- they always take way, way longer than they should), but Zoey was near the gate dozing in the sun. I approached her, and she stayed put. I rubbed her neck. She sniffed at me but didn't move. I backed off a few steps. She didn't come with me but she didn't go away. I approached again, and rubbed her neck with the rope. No movement. I looped the rope around her neck. Nuthin. I haltered her and stood there lovin o...

Steen Does Double Duty

Robin

May 16, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I took the good camera to the barn today. The phones are great and all, but sometimes it's good to get some nicer shots. (see more photos on Brian's post about today) Upon arrival we first checked Bear's temp. He was 99.6°, which made us happy. Our plan for the day was for Brian to do a light ride on Zoey, followed by a ride on Laredo, and for me to ride Steen that whole time. Of course that meant we had to catch Zoey first. This was the first time Brian set out to catch her. We started the clock. Just like last time, she wanted nothing to do with us at first.

But just like las...

A Name and a Ride

Robin

May 15, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I think we have decided on a name for the new girl. At the moment we're leaning towards calling her Zoey. We tried it out today and it seemed pretty natural. So for the moment, Zoey it is.

We got the barn and attended to our sick ponies first. We gave Bear his meds and checked his temp. He was at 102°, but it was also really hot out (over 90°), so we weren't sure if that was accurate. Zoey needed her meds too, and she happened to be alone in the feed lot when we arrived. We shut her i...