The Birthday Gets Bigger

November 25, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

I bought my current saddle about a year and a half ago, and while there are quite a few things I do love about it, there are also a number of things I don't love. For one thing, it's a trail saddle and as much as I try to situate the fenders so they are far enough back that my foot stays under my hips, they creep forward constantly and I find myself in a "leg out front" position all the time. While this is the preferred position for a lot of Western riders, the more I work on refining my riding, the more I find this laid back pose a hindrance. I feel regularly inhibited by my saddle's inability to let me really line up while I'm riding.

Also, while the saddle is an ok fit for Steen, it is not great. Sometimes he still gets dry spots on the shoulders. On Laredo the fit is dec...

Little Ones

Robin

November 20, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It's apparently been our week to do new things with the horses. Today our friend Adele brought her two sons out to meet Steen and Bear. Ben had been out before, several years ago, back when he was tiny and Steen was rather a less steady creature. Now he's quite a big bigger and more capable of doing a bit more. (Note: All photos and videos in this post are courtesy of Adele.) We brought all three horses in initially just so the boys could see the full array, but put Laredo back out in the pasture before we got them on the same side of a fence with anyone. We took Bear and Steen outside. Noah was quite focused on what he wanted. He kept pointing at Bear and saying, "Horse. Ride." We distracted him by letting him help with the grooming...

Our First Haul

Robin

November 19, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today we were invited to trailer with Cathi and her daughters and some other friends over to some local trails. This is the sort of thing we daydream about doing all the time but never have, lacking our own truck and trailer and also not knowing where to go around here. When I lived in Arizona, I had literally unlimited miles of trail right out my back door. Things are different in Iowa. While we've learned a bit about how to explore along the gravel roads and fields of people we know, it's not the same as riding on a defined trail. So we were keen to go along. We knew it could be a long ride over varied terrain, so I wasn't going to risk Steen this close to being healed. Which meant I'd be riding Laredo. We'd never loaded either Bear or Laredo before (though obviously they have both been hauled). We didn't have an opportunity to practice, and due to some logistics involving...

Return of the Double Ride Day

Robin

November 17, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today I got to use my new mecate. And I have to say, it looks pretty darn good on Laredo. It felt good too. The mane hair just has so much more life than the nylon I've been using on my snaffle. I particularly noticed it during groundwork. There was a lot more energy to the communication.

Things went well once I got on too. I only rode Laredo for half an hour today. His energy level was good and the return to more consistent work is already having an impact. He's starting to trade in the hay belly for better muscles in his haunch and shoulder, and he's feeling stronger underneath me again.

Thirty More Minutes

Robin

November 16, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I enjoyed my solo trip to the barn so much yesterday I decided to do the same thing again today.

We takes loads of photos. Only every now and then do we get a good one.

It was another beautiful day, and I had another wonderful ride. The herd was scattered and waaay way out on the big hill in the big pasture. Steen saw me when I got to the gate out of the middle pasture, and came all the way in to greet me. He even loped part of the way.

What A Year

Robin

November 15, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Sometimes it seems the years go so fast. But at other times you look back on what's changed in 365 days and it blows your mind. Today is my birthday. (I'm thirtysomething.) Last year on this day Brain gave me a hackamore. It was the first hackamore either of us had ever owned. It took us quite some time to figure out how to tie the mecate onto the bosal. (We didn't know the bosal should be shaped and the mecate soaked to help it soften.) I had never ridden in a hackamore before, and didn't do a great job my first few rides. I was inclined to cling, to ride with my reins too short and not make a large enough distinction between yes and no. Things went fine in spite of us being such rookies. It's just ev...

Early Winter Riding

Robin

November 15, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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After the cold storm, we got a hard freeze, but the last few days have been nice: sunny and in the 50s. Laredo has put on a bit of a hay gut with his winter coat, which isn't helping with his energy level. Yesterday I worked on trotting. We would trot for a few minutes and get some good things done, then stop for a long rest. It's actually surprising how difficult it is for me to really let him rest. I find after we come to a stop I am always wanting to work on something (soft feel, yield the hind, step the front over, whatever) mere seconds after we stop. Really just sitting on his back and letting him absorb what we just did takes some effort. But the resting is having a positive impact. Laredo did not shut down at all during the course of the ride, and although at the very end he was starting to seem fatigued, even late in the ride we were accomplishing a lot. I worked on a f...

Chilly Sunday

Robin

November 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today we got buckets of rain. While it was raining, it stayed relatively warm but after the storm passed temps began to plummet. We headed out to the barn in the early evening because we knew at the very least Steen would uncomfortable. He was. He met us at the gate, nickering and shivering. We took all three guys inside, although Bear and Laredo were not at all uncomfortable. We turned them out in the indoor, where Steen immediately rolled about eight times then started rearing. Total dork:

We toweled them all down, moved them around a bit to get them dry, gave them all a snack and put them back out. We're not supposed to get any more rain tonight, so I'm sure even the delicate Steen will be fine.

Rest

Robin

November 11, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I was excited to get on Laredo again after everything we saw and learned at the Martin Black clinic. There was one young, green horse in the group of riders that often bucked when asked to lope, and a couple of other horses that were kicking up for various reasons. It was great that Laredo has just recently started to develop this habit and at the clinic we got to see Martin guide several people through dealing with it. One of the interesting things about Martin Black is he consistently points out that the problem is not what you think it is. So in the instance of a horse that is cutting off part of a circle, the problem isn't that the horse is cutting the circle. The problem is the horse wants to go over to his buddies or barn or wherever he's trying to get to by cutting the circle. With horses bucking or kicking out while being ridden, Martin said the problem is either a horse...

Getting Better With Age

Robin

November 10, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I've been feeling a bit bad lately that my horse's injury means I'm putting the lion's share of time on Laredo, who Brian and I are supposedly sharing. So today we did a swap and I rode Bear.

Bear is in great shape lately. The extra hours we've been putting on him to compensate for Steen being out of commission are really showing in positive ways. He is well-muscled and not at all overweight. He's energetic and responsive and seems to like his job.

We rode on the strip. My primary goal was to make the ride pleasant for both of us. We started with a lot of walking since in cooler weather Bear needs a longer warm-up. I worked a little on some of what we learned about pivoting on individual feet at the Martin Black clinic, and was surprised at how much success I had with this even on Bear, who I don't know as well as Steen and Laredo.

Later in the ride, I...