Quick Study

May 13, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

Today it took about three minutes to catch Laredo. It's getting to the point that it's really not an issue. He walked away from me for a moment, then turned and stepped towards me and stopped. I walked up to him and started stroking his nose with the halter. He backed up for a little ways, stopped, and I slipped the halter on. It was a beautiful day, and quite warm. We were not feeling very excited about the prospect of riding in the indoor arena, so we tried the outdoor arena. I did a little bit of groundwork before mounting, and at first Laredo was stiff to pressure on the bit, but he softened up quickly. He was also moving all his feet quite well when I asked for them. I climbed on and after a few flexes we started walking around. I could tell immediately Brian made a lot of progress with him yesterday. Although he was slightly more distracted by the environment, he was givin...

Trims and Vaccinations

Robin

May 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We got the barn early today because both the farrier and the vet were scheduled to come out. We wanted to ride before the chaos started. Catching Laredo took four minutes today, so we are definitely on the right track with that. We groomed and tacked and he seemed a bit less touchy about his ears/head as well. We went to the indoor arena. Brian hopped on and had a good first ride in spite of the escalating commotion.

I rode Steen in the hackamore, and he was quite good. After riding Laredo yesterday, Steen felt so soft and familiar and educated. He was great with everything. There were a bunch of barrels and the big soccer ball and several cones scattered...

First Laredo Ride

Robin

May 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We gave everyone the day off on Thursday but were keen to head back out today. It was my day to work with Laredo. Catching was even shorter than last time. It only took 11 minutes (half of which was just him running from the big pasture into the winter lot) and I probably could have slipped the halter on faster if I'd been inclined to push it.

We went out with a plan for getting a bridle on Laredo. I took the brow-band and throat-latch off of Steen's snaffle setup and unbuckled it to allow for less ear contact while putting it on. Brian also assisted by holding the reins up and reaching over Laredo's neck from way back while I supported the bit in his mouth. The plan worked quite well and...

Back with Steen

Robin

May 10, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today it was Brian's day to work with Laredo, but we headed out thinking it might take both of us to catch him again. However, the catching process was a lot shorter today and I didn't really have to help at all, so that was great. We took Steen and Laredo to the hitching post and got them groomed. Laredo was relaxed today. He's so good about standing tied. That is a huge plus as far as I'm concerned.

We tacked up and headed to the indoor. I climbed on Steen and proceeded to have a massively laid back ride. Steen was quiet and a little sluggish. Even his lope was slow. We worked a lot on circles, lateral flexion, backing circles and moving one foot at a time. Overall he was goo...

The First Day

Robin

May 9, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We found Laredo seeming pretty settled in this afternoon, but not keen on letting us close to him. We were expecting this and had a plan. He was out in the big lot, so we pushed him into the winter lot and closed the gate. Brian then used himself and the windblock to break the lot in half. This gave me an area to work Laredo that was small enough to ensure running away wasn't going to get him any release. It also helps that we've had ample experience catching horses that don't want to be caught, and also recently teaching our guys to come to us. My new baby running away from me is the type of thing I might have taken personally a few years ago, but now it's just another opportunity to practice some basic concepts. I could really see Laredo's youth while I worked him. Steen and Mo were both in the winter lot as well, and they both appear to have decided they are not Laredo fans. The...

Laredo Arrives

Robin

May 8, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Since we were out of town all weekend, we had to wait until Monday for our horse delivery. We've decided to call him Laredo.

We headed out to the barn right after work, mostly to distract ourselves from the excitement. We rode on the strip. Brian read an article about using a cut-out pad backwards to relieve pressure on the lower back, so he borrowed my new pad to give this a try on Bear. I used his pad. I didn't honestly think this would make any difference until I got mounted and asked Steen for a whirlygig to the left. He did not want to step under behind, he just kept pivoting on his back feet. This hasn't happened with me and Steen in months and months. Even last ride, when ...

Catch Up

Robin

May 7, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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My sister flew back to Arizona on Saturday and now I'm trying to catch up with my normal life. We had a good visit. Last Monday, she and I went out and I gave her a pretty long lesson on Steen while sitting on Bear so I could demonstrate things. She was interested in a lot of the new concepts we've been applying lately, so wanted to learn as much as possible.

She started out on Steen in the hackamore, and after a few minutes he was getting a bit stiff on her. I climbed on to gauge where he was at, and he was stiff for me too. I switched him to the snaffle and things went better after that. She rode for quite a long time, moved through all three gaits and had fun.

Unfortunately Bear's back is still a tad ouchy, so I did very little on him. One of these days I need to ride him when he's feeling good.

We spent a large portion of the weekend in Chicago, bu...

The New Guy

Robin

May 3, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It's been a busy week. Between catching up with my sister, riding, and horse-shopping, the time has been flying. On May 1st we drove south of town to check out a breeder with several young Quarter Horses for sale. We walked out into the pasture and soon we had seven or eight friendly horses a standing in a row trying to say hi. It was an interesting experience, getting to spend time with a herd and watch them all interact with the intention of picking one. It felt more like choosing a puppy than a horse. All the horses were extremely well put together and very friendly, but after hanging out with them for a long time, one started to seem the most like what we are looking for. Conveniently, it was also one of the two that is already started under saddle.

Borrowing Lightfoot

Robin

April 29, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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When my sister and I lived in the same state, we rode together a lot. And even since I moved to Iowa and got Steen, she's played a roll in my relationship with him. She visited shortly after I got Steen in 2008 and witnessed the one and only time Steen has ever thrown me. She then helped me teach him that bucking is not an acceptable behavior by riding him the next day, and shutting him down when he tried his new trick on her. Since then, her encounters with Steen have been more sedate. She's visited once a year, and each time Steen has been better behaved for her. This year I've been looking forward to her visit for a number of reasons. First, I'm quite excited to show her what I've changed about the way I ride since we went to the Buck clinic last summer. Second, I talked to my barn owner and she loaned us her "spare" horse, a (solid) Paint named Lightfoot. Brian, Meryl and I ...

R & R

Robin

April 28, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We've had a few days off riding. The end of the week was busy as I was trying to get as much work done as humanly possible to prepare for hopefully working hardly at all next week (my sister is visiting). Also, Bear's back has been sore. He has one spot that has gotten flared up a few times before. It seems to come on when we end up riding three of four days in a row for well over an hour each ride. We were very careful with getting him into shape this spring and we hoped the problem would not resurface.

But last week Bear was starting to seem unhappy and anxious under saddle, which isn't normal for him. The one spot on his back seems to have progressed from being a little tight to tender enough that he's flinching out from under our fingers. We've been massaging and stretching, but with limited results.

So we hoped if we gave him some days off he'd be able to wo...