Some Good Hours

June 11, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

Saturday we got invited on a little trail-riding expedition. We headed out in the morning. It was a group of six horses and riders: 3 paints, 3 quarter-horses. Which is actually kind of funny because the breed selection of at our barn is fairly diverse. Unrepresented breeds include Arab, American Showhorse, Saddlebred, Warmblood, Applaoosa, Thoroughbred (cross) and Icelandic Pony. There are only about 20 horses total at our barn. I rode Steen and Brian rode Bear. It was a mellow bunch out on the trail, and we basically meandered around the fields for an hour and half. The ride was almost entirely walking. I worked on asking for and holding the soft feel at intervals. Other than one little stretch during which he got a little annoyed at after to walk more slowly than he'd have preferred, Steen's behavior was pretty much perfect the whole ride. He was quiet but attentive. When th...

Subtle Makes Supple

Robin

June 8, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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One of the reasons we got a third horse was to help us break out of the mental ruts its so easy to fall into when riding the same horse all the time. And I have to say, it's working like a charm. After my ride on Laredo on Monday, I approached my next ride with Steen from a rather different angle than I otherwise would have. Mainly, I was reminded by Laredo how important it is to be soft. Softer than you think will work. So soft you think they might not be able to feel you. Because they're horses. They can always feel you. Steen just turned twelve. While in some respects he's the same goofy guy he's always been

in others I am really starting to notice his age. I'm sure being around Laredo in all his youth is making St...

Dun Rusty

Robin

June 7, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today we decided it was high time to get back on Laredo. Sure, we still have some ear stuff to work through, but our few intense sessions had a big impact. Lately it almost seems like his reaction to stuff around his head is more of a habit than a real issue. He "forgets" to react more and more, and when he does object to our touches its in a pretty mild way. On the way out to the barn we were trying to decide who each of us should ride. This can be a surprisingly tricky question at times, but finally we concluded Bear needs to get back in shape and Laredo needs to get his education going in earnest. So that decided things. I didn't have any trouble getting the bridle on via the method of unbuckling it and rebuckling it like a halter. I got on in the indoor at first, but it was hot and dusty in there and Laredo felt quite fine. After a few minutes of walking around, I got back o...

Just Like Old Times

Robin

June 5, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today Brian and I were both still pretty worn out, so we decided to do something we hadn't done in a while: leave Laredo in the pasture and just ride like we used to before the baby came. Of course we gave him his hoof supplement when we went out to catch the other horses. He seemed pretty happy with getting treats but not work. We got Steen and Bear tacked up and out to the strip. The big change of the day was both Brian and I had new bits. We bought ourselves two nice, simple Jeremiah Watt egg-butt snaffles. I've noticed Steen lately has a tendency to sort of pop his loose-ring snaffle in his mouth when I'm asking for collection, and sometimes get himself a mini-release when the rings shift. Plus with teaching Laredo now, consistency is going to be important. Brian and I were both riding in bits we purchased before Read more

Workin’

Robin

June 4, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Usually this time of year I experience a bit of a lull with work and so I can do things like ride a lot and take short vacations but still stay on top of things with my clients. Not so much this year. I'm juggling more projects than ever before and I have a waiting list that is several months long. While this is a good thing for all sorts of reasons, it's not helping me stay caught up with my blogging.

SUNDAY

We brought everyone up to the barn at once again. They are all getting pretty used to each other now, and are content to chill at the hitching post.

I rode Steen on the strip. Our ride wa...

Musical Horses

Robin

May 26, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Since getting Laredo, our conversations on the way to the barn have become quite a bit more complicated. Today we had ample time to do all sorts of things. Both Brian and I wanted to ride our individual horses and also work with Laredo, so we formulated a plan that involved catching all three guys again and swapping off at intervals. I started out doing groundwork with Laredo on the strip. We'd never had him out there before, but they just made hay so the grass is nice and low and manicured. It's hard to resist. Plus, Laredo has seemed a tad sore-footed since his trim (he's a little flat-footed, and also his toes were long enough he's been walking on a different part of his foot than he should have ), so the soft grass seemed like a nice environment for him.

After Buck, Take II

Robin

May 23, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We built an extra day into our vacation so we could get back home and spend many hours at the barn applying the new stuff we learned at the clinic.

There were a few things I was surprised to figure out this time. For instance, I somehow forgot/got lazy about the concept that you should ask for a soft feel every single time you ask a horse for a downwards transition, and never let the horse slow down or stop if it hasn't gotten soft to your hands first.

The other major revelation I had was about timing and balance. I already knew these are my two weak points with riding, but I never realized the degree to which poor timing limits what you can do with a horse. This clinic I was more familiar with the exercises, so it was easier for me to watch people and see them doing the same thing over and over. I do it too. It's asking the horse for a motion the hor...

Buck in Colorado

Robin

May 23, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Brian and I are just back from auditing our second Buck Brannaman clinic. This one was in Fort Collins. It was an 11 hour drive to get there, but it was well worth it. I was expecting to get a lot out of seeing everything from Horsemanship I again and thought the Foundation Horsemanship class might offer some good new tips too, but I had a little fear things might get boring or repetitive at times. In all honesty, though, the whole thing was much better than I expected. I was just as riveted this go 'round as last time. I thought I remembered things pretty well from the first clinic, and I did, but what I started to get an idea of this time was how to start to refine everything and connect the dots. I came away feeling like I now have a (albeit very blurry) understanding of the "big picture." We got the see Gidget again, and she's looking quite accomplished.

Softening Laredo

Robin

May 17, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today was the first time Laredo approached me in the pasture. I stopped to pet Nadir, and he walked right up to me. I even slipped the halter on, and probably could have gotten it tied if I hadn't hurried a little. When my hand got up by his eye, he pulled back. I kept after him and got the halter on moments later, but it wasn't quite the perfect catch. We've seen what I think is a little bit of back-sliding with the ear issue the last few days, so today I wanted to address it more directly than we have been lately. After tacking we adjourned to the outdoor arena, and I started with normal groundwork, then switched to flipping the end of the mecate rhythmically up over Laredo's head and ears, then removing it. He didn't like this, of course, but I stuck with it for several minutes on each side, until he was standing with his head a bit lower. Then we did some more flexes and I moun...

The Sloppy Lope

Robin

May 16, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today on the way to the barn I was making a conscious effort to think about Steen and what he needs right now. It's easy to get a little Laredocentric, what with him being our brand new baby and all. I don't want to lose momentum with Steen, though, so today I decided one of the major things Steen needs to work on is lope/trot transitions. Of course the key to lope/trot transitions has remarkably little to do with actually loping and trotting and everything to do with being soft and supple and responsive. I spent a lot of my ride working on short serpentines and walking circles. Steen, overall, felt fantastically soft. I loped for the first time midway through the ride, moving to the left. This went ok. I was trying to work it out so I loped one lap and trotted one lap, etc. etc.. His lope circles were actually pretty fine, but his trotting circles were horrendous. As soon as I'...