Sunburns and Light Rides

September 16, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

I've never owned a Paint before, and when I was shopping for Steen I had no particular thought of getting a horse with color. In fact, when I went to look at Steen, I did so precisely because I didn't think I would want him. I didn't want a horse that was seven years old or a pinto of any kind. I just thought it would be a good idea to look at some horses I didn't want.

Fast forward four years and as much as I love Steen, more often than not the white markings are a bit of a pain. They do get him a lot of compliments, but the hair that grows out of his white skin does not seem to insulate him very well, so he needs a blanket in the winter. In the summer, it doesn't do much to protect him from the sun. Every skin problem he's had has been on his white areas.

He's had sunburns before, but they have always been minor. But this year almost all the pinto hor...

On the Trail with the Kid

Robin

September 15, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today we wanted to take Laredo for his first trail ride. Hunting season isn't all that far off, and we want to make sure we get him out soon enough that we have time to get a good number of rides in before we are limited to closer ground where we feel safe riding. And we decided Brian would be the pilot, which meant me and Steen would be his other companions. We also thought it would be good to have a third horse along, so we invited Kat to join us. She rode Kafteinn. Things started out very quietly. Steen was just about the mellowest he's ever been on the trail for the first half of the ride. He was the slowest walker of the three, content to even lag behind a little. This is a far cry from his usual power walk, and Laredo actually led the ride for quite a while. We left Cathi's land and turned left to head to the trail we like, and when we got to a long, flat open stretch we t...

Duke Day Lite (Solo Edition)

Robin

September 15, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Our barn is currently full to the brim, boasting a record number of horses on the premises. This makes some of our traditions a bit cumbersome. Duke Day, for instance, is when the farrier comes and does all the horses' feet. Except there are so many horses now this is actually no longer possible. It's too much for one man to do in one day. So Brian and I have partnered with our friend Kat (who has the two Icelandic ponies) and split off from the main group so Duke can do our five horses on their own day. Unfortunately we were a little slow getting it on the calendar this time, and Brian had to work when Duke was available. Which meant I found myself driving out through a wet, rainy afternoon to tend to all three horses. I decided to lead them all in at once, but thought I might have to leave one in the airlock while I maneuvered through gates. It ended up though that the hardest...

Return to the Trees

Robin

September 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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One of the peculiarities about where we board is that (other than the indoor arena) there is nowhere that's guaranteed to be available to ride in any given day. There are plenty of places you can usually ride, but between moving herds, changing seasons, farm equipment, and various other factors, if you want to ride outside you have to be flexible. This used to be hard on me. I'd go out expecting to ride on the strip only to find it had a planter parked right in the middle of it. Or I'd have decided to use the outdoor arena only to see it was occupied by a sick horse. I'd have to shift gears and figure out something else to do, which I found stressful. The good thing is there is always somewhere to ride, so it's just a matter of being adaptable. Over time, being forced to change plans so frequently has made us more inclined to change things up on our own. Today Brian noted...

Steen the Accomplished

Robin

September 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I was a little engrossed in my work today when Brian got home, and when I get engrossed it can be hard for me to switch gears. It was a beautiful day, and I worked for twelve hours straight yesterday. I knew I could benefit from a break. Still, it took a little bit of coaxing on Brian's part to pry me from my laptop. All the way to the barn, my mind dwelled on work. I have two huge/important sites launching within days of each other right now, and at such times I can get a little over-focused. But as always, I stepped into the pasture and all thoughts of work and real life left my mind. I had one of those rides that is hard to put into words. Steen was soft, attentive, energetic (ok and a little fat too). We worked on all the basics and pretty much nailed everything. Then I threw in some large figure-eights at the lope with a simple lead change in the middle. This is something I...

And More Cows

Robin

September 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Pretend cows, that is. Today some ride plans fell through, and Brian and I found ourselves trying to decide if we wanted to hit the trails alone. I was riding Steen and he was riding Bear, so we could have gone out and about. But we also wanted to have a day where we swapped horses and rode all three, so we opted to stay near the barn, but to play cow. We learned about playing cow a long time ago, but for a long time utterly lacked the skills to do it. It basically involves one horse and rider trying to get to the "herd", and the other horse and rider trying to stay in their way. The "cow" must behave in a cow-like fashion. (Brian has a more detailed explanation here.) The two horses and riders circle the "herd" until the "cow" either outmaneuvers the "horse" or runs out of time. ...

Feelin’ It

Robin

September 8, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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This was the day:

Sunny and in the low 70s. Beautiful. It started with me attempting to familiarization myself and Steen with a rope. He was fine with it coiled. I could bang it all around his saddle and body. When I started swinging it around he wasn't as cool with it, though I couldn't tell if it was because he was scared of the rope or just embarrassed to be seen with me.

Once I got on, things were just amazing. Steen was soft to the hackamore, willing to collect and stay soft at all gaits. At...

First Laredo Lope

Robin

September 5, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Last Monday I went out to the barn telling myself I would lope Laredo. We've been a bit slow to get there because we usually ride in such irregular, open spaces. For so long he had such a tendency to lock up on the bit and lean into pressure it didn't seem there was anything to gain from trying too soon. I kept thinking one of these days we'd end up in an arena and it would be a good moment. But my last couple of rides out on the strip have been feeling different. Laredo is really settling in, and there have been a number of times we've been trotting along and I've thought, "I could just push him into the lope right now." But then there is always the cautious side of my brain that starts counting up all the things that could go wrong. Then the moment has passed and we haven't done it. When we got to the barn on Monday, I was mentally ready. But then we had our impromptu cattle d...

Gettin a Moove On

Robin

September 3, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I was all set to ride Laredo today. I even hiked way way out into the pasture to get him, and worked on hurrying his walk while leading (he can be a bit pokey) all the way back, which meant I was pretty hot and sweaty by the time I got him tied up. I hadn't even had a chance to take off his fly mask when Sylvia (the 9 year old daughter of the barn owners) stepped out of the barn and said, "Do you want to help us move the cattle?" As I may or may not have mentioned before, there is a small herd of 20-30 cattle that belong to our barn. Most of the time they are over in a nearby pasture, but for a month or two each year they join our herd in its big pasture. We told Cathi a couple days ago that if she ever needs help moving the herd to just let us know. Not that we have any experience moving cattle. But we have decent control over our horses and we can follow directions. While I wa...

Remedial Right Turns

Robin

September 2, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today I was happy to put Steen's halter on and lead him in. As much as I had a great ride on Laredo yesterday, my comfort level with Steen at this point is like nothing I've ever experienced with another horse. All his movements and behaviors are so familiar, being around him feels completely natural. Out on the strip, I did a little groundwork. He's following a feel so well now our groundwork is starting to feel more like a dance than me moving him. It was quite a contrast from all the work I had to do to get Jak going a few days ago. It's always so fascinating to work with a different horse and then come back to your own. Once aboard, I started with circles to the right. I noticed a few rides ago that Steen does not bend to the right very well, and that my left leg feels strained and uncomfortable when I use it to try to move his front end over for more than a moment. So I've ...