Sunny Strip Ride

April 4, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

Today we rode on the strip. It was great to tack up outside and ride outside and feel warm the whole time. We're still way below average temps for this time of year, but at least we're getting some days that it feels nice to be outside. I rode Laredo. I continued with my focus of being precise with what I ask for, with a concrete goal in mind every single time I asked him to move. We also took plenty of breaks between asking for things. He was pretty good. I expected him to have more energy and distraction because we were outside, but that wasn't really the case. We worked a lot on moving the front around the hind. He's gotten stuck with this lately. He always wants to rock forward, so I worked on asking him to back a few steps, then step across, back a few steps, then step across. We did that over and over until we got to a point where he took one step and was actually set up t...

A Ride in Thirds

Robin

April 2, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I forgot to mention last post that Steen kicked himself during our unplanned gallop and split open his heel. It was bleeding a lot when we got back to the barn, and I hosed it off and packed it with Neosporin. The bleeding stopped quickly after that and I wasn't too worried about. Still, I was anxious to see how things were looking today.

Steen has been coming to me in the pasture like a champ since our re-education on that subject a week or so ago, so I took him in and looked at his foot, which looked fine. Still, I rode him with an over-reach boot on that side to help ensure we didn't re-open anything.

Today we rode 1/3 inside, 1/3 on the strip, and 1/3 out on the trail. Inside I worked on rectangles and figure-eights. My work on asking with the leg befor engaging the supporting rein is starting to result in a big difference in how Steen responds to my legs. To...

Spring Fever?

Robin

March 31, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today we got back to town from a trip to Chicago. We were exhausted, as the trip involved the arrival of our new niece and a lot of quality time with our 2-year-old nephew. But we rallied and got to the barn, and decided to ride Steen and Bear to keep things easy. We started in the indoor arena and at first were keeping things pretty mellow and low-energy. I worked more on rectangles with Steen, and also tried to start rocking his weight between different feet without actually moving them.

We worked on the routine a little, and had a horrible, sloppy run-through at the trot. So we decided to try it at the lope, and (bizarrely) it went much better. In spite of a lot of sharp turns and having to change leads twice, we made it through with pretty good synchronization. I think it was one of those things where we upped the challenge level by a lot and our horses stepped up.
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Squishy Ground

Robin

March 27, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I was curious to see how Laredo would be for me today after his long, somewhat difficult ride with Brian yesterday. I expected him to be tired, so was pleasantly surprised when I got on and that was not the case. He was soft to the hackamore and moving out nicely from the start. My goal for the day was to achieve energy in all movements, most particularly at the walk. I wasn't riding with my spurs, because Laredo is getting increasingly sensitive. It used to be that if I kicked him without a spur, it meant nothing to him. Now he really, really doesn't like it when you kick him. That is great because it means he will start to try to find ways to avoid being kicked, which means we have to kick him less and less. One of Laredo's most frustrating habits is he loses considerable momentum every time you turn him. So I worked on walking him out in a straight line and bending him into a...

Searching for Center

Robin

March 26, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Steen's basics have been so solid lately I've been having to push myself a bit to be equal to the task of teaching him more. It's one thing to have a good seat and to guide a horse through the basic maneuvers most people expect a horse to do. It's something else to keep yourself positioned so as to never inhibit the horse's ability to do what you are asking. I am by no means perfect at this, but it is starting to be more obvious to me when I'm getting in the way. Today we were stuck in the indoor again. I started with using the flag. One of Steen's major remaining flaws in terms of groundwork is he has a tendency to interpret unfamiliar stimuli as a command to move. So if I twirl a rope or flap the flag around he tries to yield to that object, whether or not I'm actually driving him with it. So today we worked on standing still even when the flag was making a lot of noise everywher...

So Much For Spring

Robin

March 25, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We woke up to snow and chilly temps, but headed for the barn right away in spite of the weather. We found the herd all tucked around the wind-block.

Steen came trucking up to me as soon as he saw us, which was just fine because although I intended to give him the day off I had a big old bowl of chopped hay for him. He's losing weight lately, the way he always seems to do in the spring. He's not too thin yet, but nevertheless it seems worth upping his calorie intake in any way I can.

Laredo was wet and covered in clinging ice and snow. Inside, I rubbed him down with a tow...

Out Again

Robin

March 23, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It was cooler and partly cloudy today, with a chilly breeze, but we were determined to get out and about again. We waited for the day to warm as much as it was going to, then headed for the barn. I rode Steen again. He came to me as soon as I went into the pasture today. Good boy. We started with another little warm up in the arena. I did some work with the flag, both on the ground and under saddle. Steen gets so funny with groundwork. He tries so hard, and then when you let him come in for pets, all he wants to do is stand there and get loved on. In the picture below his body language makes it look like I've been hounding him for half an hour when in reality I moved him around a little for less than five minutes.

He was better with...

Getting Out!

Robin

March 23, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It has not been the nicest spring, and while today only graced us with highs in the 30s, the sun was out and there was no wind. We bundled up, but shortly after getting to the barn realized we'd be able to tack up outside. The herd was feeling a bit frisky, and when we went out to get our horses a couple others who have only recently been added to our pasture began to romp around. Steen had almost come to me, but then decided to run off after his buddies. Steen will usually come, and will always, always, let me approach him. But I would prefer him to come all the time. So I decided this was a good moment for a lesson in coming no matter what else is going on. It ended up being a bit more of a job than would have been ideal. Steen got pretty riled and I had to move him quite a bit before he finally conceded the point and came. Brian helped by blocking escape routes, and he had Bear ...

Needles and Flags

Robin

March 21, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Last night we got an email saying the vet would be at our barn in the morning for anyone who needed vaccinations and teeth. Our guys had their teeth done in the fall, but we needed shots. We had to cram the barn in between two other things, but it was good to get out there. We also had a new piece of equipment to take with us. We finally got around to getting a flag, and we were curious to see how the horses would react. We brought all three in and turned them out in the indoor. I took the flag and walked to the center of the arena and waved it around for a minute. I was careful not to look at them or make it seem like I was driving them. They all freaked out. It surprised me, actually. Our three are pretty quiet about most things, but apparently a flapping piece of fabric on the end of a metal pole is its own category of scary. So I just hung out with them for a while, pl...

Frigid March

Robin

March 18, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today the farrier was out, so there were a bunch of people at the barn to get their horses feet done. Brian and I got there early to fit in a ride before it was our turn. I rode Steen. It was a super cold morning, and he was riled up and snorty when we first brought him in.

Ready to flee should the blanket turn out to be of the horse-eating variety.

But he settled right down as soon as we started grooming. We got our ride started before anyone else even arrived. He felt powerful but relaxed. Steen was great again. I worked on outside turns using the haunch, so I'd walk along next to the wall, bring him to a stop, and ask him to ste...