Going Good

April 25, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

I wanted to do a hard, fast ride. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Steen is chubby. When he's well-fed and warm is when he's at his most mellow. It was a good opportunity to work on encouraging him to move out but retain the ability to think. I've been having issues with saddle fit again. A few weeks ago when I started introducing a lot of loping and stopping from the lope, my pad started to work its way backwards and out from under my saddle over the course of my ride. This is not great for any number of reasons. My old pad was getting a bit beaten down anyway, so I thought I'd try a different style before I went to the extreme of saddle shopping again. This is the pad I ended up buying:

Right away I could tell the saddle sits better on Steen...

Circles and Lead Changes

Robin

April 23, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We got more rain in the night, and we headed for the barn in the cool temps of morning. The herd was frisky. Every now and then we head out into the pasture and they use our presence as an excuse to gallop off somewhere else. That happened today, but they always run to the winter lot, which is where we have to go back to anyway, so it doesn't particularly matter. It's always fun watching the stampede. Before they took off, Brian got this fun shot of Steen and Bear at the back of the pasture.

We rode indoors again. My main goal was to work on circles at all gaits. I never thought I'd say this, but Steen is on the chunky side lately, so I also wanted to lope a fair bit in hopes of help...

Hackamore Heaven

Robin

April 22, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I love it when the horses are out in the big pasture. I love that they get to live in such a great space. I love the view we get as we're walking out to get them. I love tromping through the grass and seeing what the herd is up to. What I don't love quite as much is walking back. For years I've thought about getting into the habit of taking Steen's bridle out with me, but somehow "Hi, how are you? Would you like to take this cold piece of metal in your mouth?" doesn't seem like the greatest note to start the day on. So I've never done it. But slipping a hackamore on doesn't seem so bad. So today I walked out carrying that instead of a halter. Luckily I also had my trusty husband along to give me a leg up and take pictures.

Warning: Horse Will Make You Ride

Robin

April 20, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I couldn't think of a title for this post, so I found an online generator to do the job. It was a little damp and chilly today and we were tired. It's so easy not to go to the barn after a long week at work. But we rallied and headed out. We tromped out to the big pasture. The herd saw us coming and a few of them drifted in our direction. Both Bear and Steen came towards us from a long way off. Then Steen decided walking was too slow, and trotted up to meet me. That made me glad we went right off.

We rode indoors. It was one of those where the time just flies. The first time I thought to wonder how long we'd been...

A Pasture Ride

Robin

April 17, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It is one of the strangest truths about horses that they need both consistency and variety to really flourish. While both people and horses are reassured by routine, falling into the habit of doing everything the same way for long periods can lead to dullness. Our barn doesn't have much of an outdoor arena, and the places we can ride are constantly in flux. Between moving farm equipment and herd rotation, growing grass, hay making, and weather, we sort of have to accept wherever we plan to ride any given day might not be available. Sometimes this is irritating, but I do think over time it has helped us stay more flexible in our riding habits. Today we rode in the second pasture. We hadn't ridden there since last fall, but now that the herd has access to the big pasture agai...

Hackamore Confidence

Robin

April 16, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We went to the barn on Sunday hoping for a quiet ride outdoors in the second pasture, but our plans were foiled. There were still some visitors from Saturday mini-show and they were riding when we arrived. It was a super windy, blustery day. We had hoped the rain was done for a while, but it started up again when we were about done tacking.

So there I was. Steen was saddled. Riding outside was no longer an option (because I'm wimpy about getting wet). There were four horses and riders in our small indoor arena, plus a bunch of barrels, cones and other obstacles. Two of the horses were "strangers." I almost reached for the snaffle. But then I realized if I fall back on the snaffle every time there is some not-quite-perfect variable to our rides, I'm not going to be using the hackamore much any time soon.

I slipped the bosal over Steen's nose. We've been bringing i...

Indoors in the Hackamore x2

Robin

April 15, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We've had some weather moving through Iowa, so things have been wet and we've been confined to riding indoors. On Friday we found the guys out in the summer pasture, happily grazing on 13 acres of new grass. The herd has seen a lot of turnover this winter, so half of its members had never been out in this large space before. You could tell they are still adjusting. As Brian and I walked out, Bear and Steen started in our direction and the whole herd came. For just a minute it looked like all eight horses would gallop out of the gully to meet us. But Bear (who was leading the charge at that point) petered out and so they all stopped. So much for our Hollywood moment. Brian has continued to work on teaching Bear to come to him in the pasture. Steen is usually on his way to me, and I'm usually waiting for him a little ways back. Often Steen encounters Brian and Brian has to encourage ...

Good Booties

Robin

April 12, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I had two things on my mind as I started my ride today. One, I wanted to lope enough to see how Steen's new booties affect his ability to relax at that gait. Two, I wanted to keep my booty in the saddle -- no bouncing at the lope. Not even a little. I've been riding for over 20 years at this point. I should be able to sit a horse. Brian rode without me yesterday, and borrowed my hackamore. He used it again today. So I also wanted to watch him and Bear and take some photos of them as well. We started off slow, starting on the ground with backing off the slobber strap and moving individual feet. Once mounted I worked more on the three steps forward, three steps back exercise I tried our last ride. That worked very well and Steen immediately started collecting and backing off my seat alone. Brian got a photo of the same thing a little later.

The Horse I Have Today

Robin

April 8, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It is easy to go into a ride with expectations. On the way out to the barn Brian and I were talking about some of the ideas he's reviewing while rereading True Horsemanship Through Feel by Bill Dorrance. He mentioned how Bill likes to talk about making things into games by setting up little challenges, like can I get my horse to move one foot over? What about shifting his weight onto that foot but not moving it? Mostly he stresses the importance of feel, and giving your horse the chance to be soft every time you ask for anything. One thing Bill says is, "Ride the horse you have today." This basically means to keep in mind that your horses's learning is fluid. If you don't give him the chance to be soft just because he's never been soft before and so you don't...

May I Have Your Attention, Please

Robin

April 7, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I watched a video on being productive as a creative in my field last week, and it had some interesting commentary on the brain and how it works. The major problem with how people talk about 'multi-tasking' is the entire concept is a myth. What we're really doing when we are on the phone with someone and we read the tweet that just popped up on the computer is switching our attention quickly from the conversation to the tweet and then back again. We are not physically wired to think about more than one thing at once. Neither are horses, and I'm coming to believe this simple truth is simultaneously the most useful training tool out there, and the most frustrating reality of working with our equine friends. Today there was this mini show for kids at ou...