Borrowing My Husband’s Horse

January 16, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

We went again to the barn on Saturday. Steen's cut looked good, but the swelling above the ankle was back just a tad. Not enough to be alarming, but enough to convince me not to ride him. I brought him in and groomed him and gave him a snack, then put him back outside. While I was doing this, Brian was riding Bear. When I got back from letting Steen loose, he offered me a ride. I really haven't ridden Bear very much, and when I have it has usually been because we're trying to determine if some odd behavior is due to discomfort or just butt-headedness. In the last few months, though, Bear's butt-head moments are down considerably. He's behaved like a gentleman for a couple of unfamiliar riders, and I can't actually remember the last time Brian needed help handling him. Brian's also been doing a lot of work on getting him softer and more responsive to light cues, and while I can s...

Stall Time

Robin

January 14, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We swung by the barn on our way out of town on Sunday to take Jesse and Susie back to Chicago. I checked on Steen's leg. The cut looked about the same. The swelling was no worse. So I put more neosporin and wound powder on and felt pretty unconcerned about it. But then we went out again on Tuesday and it still looked no better. The leg also felt hot to the touch, which didn't make me happy at all.

I took Steen to the wash rack and although he gave me a definite "you've got to be kidding me" look, he did not move when I started to spray cold water on his leg. Luckily it was in the 50's, and he was probably overheated in his blanket anyway.

I hosed off the leg and probed around at it a bit more. In digging I discovered the wound actually went a lot deeper than I'd thought. There is a puncture that basically goes straight up his leg under the skin, but the ...

Family Fun

Robin

January 10, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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The new year has started off pretty busy and trips to the barn have been a bit scarce. Last week we had some visitors:

My brother Jesse and his wife Susie came to Iowa via England from Hawaii, on their way back to Arizona (don't ask.) And remarkably all my dire warnings to them to be prepared for horrible weather proved to be unnecessary. We had sunny days in the 50's and 60's. Last Friday we took them to the barn with us. Jesse rode Steen a bit in the outdoor arena, but Steen was playing his "pick up the trot constantly" game. Jesse stuck with it for quite a while, and Steen did improve to some degree, but it still wasn't the easiest ride for either of them.

And the Winner Is

Robin

January 1, 2012

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It was a great year for us and horses. In February I was giving Brian lessons and trying to help him get comfortable on Bear. In December I got to see him climb on a strange horse and get nothing but compliments riding in a totally new environment. In between, I kept track of my hours in the saddle, which is something I'd never done before and actually is all thanks to Brian. It never occurred to me to keep a log before he got the idea.

Today we rode indoors to avoid crazy winds. It was again warm and Steen was again sluggish. It's so hard for me to pinpoint what exactly is different about him when he's too hot. He does everything I ask. He doesn't refuse to accelerate or try to drop the trot or the lope. He doesn't get stiff or ignore me. He just doesn't feel lively, and it kind of drives me crazy. So I loped ...

Mecate Transformation

Robin

December 28, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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After our foray into English riding we were keen to get back on our own horses again. We stopped at the barn on our way back into town and found our guys a bit on the grimy side but otherwise seemingly unaffected by our absence. It was nice to ride in my own saddle again, but the really exciting thing was to ride with my mecate. We took it to Chicago with us, and while we were there we soaked it in water and a teeny bit of shampoo, rinsed it out, and swirled it around outside to get the water out. We then hung it up in the basement to dry. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but as the mecate is basically just a long rope of knotted horsehair, getting it wet means waiting for it to dry. I didn't want to take the time off using it. Immediately after soaking it, we were surprised that it didn't feel...

A Lesson on a Thoroughbred

Robin

December 24, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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This year we are spending the holidays in the Chicago area with Brian's parents, and Brian's mom scheduled a treat for us. She's been taking lessons at a hunter/jumper barn since shortly after I got Steen. She's visited us in Iowa and ridden our horses, but we only have access to our two guys, so there has never been an opportunity for all three of us to ride together. She normally takes a lesson on Thursdays, so she just signed Brian and I up to ride with her. The barn where she rides is huge, with over 100 stalls and more horses kept in pastures. When we arrived things were a bit chaotic. There was a Christmas camp for kids going on, and quite a few people using the indoor arena. We went through the usual adjusting of stirrups and getting acclimated to a different horse and tack, but before long we were all mounted and walking along on the rail. I rode a tall, red thoroughbred...

Balmy Weather

Robin

December 22, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We stopped at the barn for a ride on our way out of town for Christmas. I rode in the hackamore again, and Steen was great. He was giving me the soft feel at the walk and the trot and we moved in and out of the lope a few times.

It was a warm day, and I think he was fairly hot. He was very quiet, but not sluggish. I think we are both getting more comfortable in the hackamore and he's also getting better with both his upward and downward transitions. He was willing to go, willing to stop, willing to stand. He got just a tad grouchy towards the end when he wanted to stop and I wanted to keep going, but a few short-serpentines straightened him out again. Now we've got a f...

Loping in the Hackamore

Robin

December 21, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It was an interesting day at the barn. It was mucky out in the pasture, and Bear wasn't about to spare Brian a trek through the mud. Steen wasn't in the super sticky area, though, and came to me pretty easily, so we beat Brian and Bear inside by a good deal. I was mounted before Brian even started grooming, so I was thinking I might make up a bit of time on him. Steen was in a mellow, friendly mood. I climbed on and he just felt good. He was mostly soft to the hackamore and quite relaxed and we started out the ride with all our usual stuff. I was getting the soft feel nicely at the walk, but not so much at the trot. I was enjoying the new suppleness in my mecate, and he seemed pretty relaxed about the bosal, so perhaps my work on them did some good.

Shaping the Bosal

Robin

December 20, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I feel like the last few months I've been on some sort of bizarre accelerated learning curve. I have so many new tools to manage and understand, it's easy to get a bit overwhelmed. Learning to use all this new equipment also means learning to prepare it for us. A bosal doesn't come in the right shape for a horse to wear, and a mecate doesn't come soft and supple. So I've been working on these two objects to make them a bit more comfortable for both me and Steen. The bosal I've been rubbing with vaquero rawhide cream and shaping with a bosal shaper. I slather the cream over the rawhide, thoroughly coating all surfaces, then we wedge the block down into the bottom of th...

Focused on Soft

Robin

December 19, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today was the last Duke Day of the year, which means we have a little potluck and hang out while the horses get their feet trimmed. Brian and I like to ride before trims when at all possible, and it was a beautiful day-- warmer than I've ever seen December in Iowa. We rode on the strip and I, buoyed by watching the Buck DVD, put the hackamore back on Steen for another go. I've also been making my way through Hackamore Reinsman, by Ed Connell. It's an old manual, and some of the stuff in the book does not really apply to my life and situation, but a lot of it is useful. I came across a sentence in bold that said: "It should be remembered that the harder the hackamore is pulled on, the harder the horse gets to the hackamore." Buck talked about how difficult it is for the horse to understand the hackamore at first, since all pressure comes from below the chin. It...