Sweet Talk

May 11, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

Horses aren't super vocal creatures. For the most part the horses I've owned and handled tend to call out when they are feeling isolated and nicker when they are excited for their dinner. I have also heard the occasional nicker exchanged between horses who have been separated and are happy to be together again, or horses who haven't met but are in the same general proximity. I know some horses are a lot more verbal than others. Steen has never been much inclined to make noise. Back when I first got him, he would call for his herd when I was riding him, but he hasn't done that in years. The first winter I had him and I kept him in a stall to get some meat on his bones, he would nicker at me when I arrived at the barn. Mostly because he hated being in the stall and knew my presence meant escape. For the last couple of years Steen will also sometimes nicker at me when I dismount. I...

Mostly Quiet

Robin

May 9, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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After our weekend off we were happy the thunderstorms that blew through earlier in the day had cleared up by the time Brian and I were both done with work. We headed out to the barn eager to see the boys. But first we had to hang out with Whisper a bit. Since we're some of the most senior boarders around the place now, and Cathi knows and trusts us, we've been given special baby privileges. Mainly we're allowed to help socialize Whisper by going into the pen and petting him etc.. So this afternoon we won his momma over with a treat and then she was content to let me hang out and mess with the baby. Honestly I think she was glad for the relief. She never once started to seem like she thought I was taking things to far. For Whisper's part, he was extremely curious and very mouthy, but that is to be expected of a 4-day-old, I suppose. He started off only letting me touch his nose, ...

Early Summer Changes

Robin

May 7, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We arrived at the barn on Friday afternoon eager to meet the new horse on the premises. Or more accurately, the new foal. "Whisper" arrived some time in the night. Cathi was in the pen with the baby and the momma when we arrived, so we even got to go in and pet the little guy. I have never seen a truly brand new foal before, and was surprised at how large and strong he was. And although he was perfectly capable of walking, trotting and even loping around, he was super clumsy while he did this stuff. It was pretty hilarious to watch.We took some photos but didn't catch any of the action.

Whisper's mother came to Cathi through sad circumstances, and so although she wasn't planni...

Working the Trot

Robin

May 5, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I am definitely getting impatient for my new saddle. Granted, I can lope bareback and I have done so a whole lot over the course of my life, but Steen is still far from great at the lope and what he needs is to have a quiet, balanced rider while he gets used to it again. When I'm bareback and he's loping I am not at my most graceful. When he turns in unexpected directions I inevitably do something sloppy.

For now I'm trying to just bide my time and be content at the walk and trot. The problem is, Steen's trot is pretty placid these days and I think we both get a little bored just jogging around familiar territory.

So, today I decided to try to be a bit more creative with what I'm asking Steen to do. I figured instead of making him walk in a straight line, I'd try to make him yield to me laterally, so that we moved in a diagonal from one side of the stri...

Back in the Wug

Robin

May 3, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I didn't have time for a ride today, but last night the low got into the 30's, the day never warmed considerably and tonight is supposed to get down to 28. The pasture horses are still out on the smaller pasture and Steen has more or less finished shedding. I knew he'd be uncomfortable, so I drove out just to give him a snack and put his blanket on. My suspicions that he was unhappy were confirmed the moment I reached the pasture and called his name. Steen's head popped up, he looked at me for half and second, then came running in my direction. His sudden departure brought Star and Cowboy along as well, who I then had to shoo off before I could get Steen's halter on. I gave him a quick snack of chopped hay and put his (very very dirty) wug back on.

Sub-par Saddle

Robin

May 2, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today I decided to throw my saddle back on Steen. I did this for a few different reasons, one of them just being curiosity. I've always known the saddle was not an ideal fit for him, but I guess I wasn't convinced it was a horrible fit either. Still, Steen has been so quiet lately I figured a light ride in his saddle couldn't hurt. Plus my sister is coming to visit soon and I really want to take her around the trails. Unfortunately she's going to beat my new saddle by a week or two, and I don't really want to go exploring on Steen bareback.

Steen was quiet during tacking and grooming, He didn't seem at all bothered when I put the saddle on and mounted. We walked around and he was much like yesterday - mellow but a little distracted. Then I asked for the jog and he started out ok, but gradually he began to resist my steering more and trot really fast on the uphills and unbel...

A Ride in the Sun

Robin

May 2, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We had crazy winds here all morning but by late afternoon things had settled enough that we headed out to see how the boys were doing. Steen was a bit jumpy during tacking, but Bear was back in awesome mode. I gave Steen some chopped hay and we took our time grooming them in the sun. Then we headed to the strip. One of our goals for the day was to get some photos, as we've been falling down on the photography lately. So, Brian gave me a leg up and I walked and jogged Steen around. At one point Cathi's husband drove by and Steen was totally fine with this.

Although Steen was quiet today, he was a bit distracted. He was just a tad opinionated about our trajectory a couple of times, an...

Steen the Solid

Robin

April 30, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We had threats of storms today but nothing materialized, so Brian and I headed out to the barn in the early afternoon. We found the horses a little more settled than yesterday, and were out riding on the strip before long.

I was bareback and after Brian gave me a leg up Steen did something amazing. He didn't try to move. He didn't so much as shift his weight. Standing has been my number one challenge with Steen and usually when I mount I make him hold still for a few seconds and then just let him walk because if I try to make him stand it upsets him so much it ruins the whole ride.

But lately Steen and I have been working on standing a lot and today when I slipped onto his back his feet didn't budge. He even stood still as Brian led Bear off to mount. Unbelievable!

When I started to walk Steen around the strip I noticed he felt very different than usua...

A Stirring in the Herd

Robin

April 29, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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While in general I am pleased that we are able to board our horses at a place that offers a large pasture and a small herd for the social and physical benefits this affords our horses, every now and then upheaval in the herd causes some issues. Today we found the boys in rather a state. A new (very cute buckskin Quarter Horse) gelding named Cowboy joined the pasture herd this morning, Daisy got moved to the stall lot, and the pregnant mare who's due to foal at any moment got moved to her own lot. Interestingly, Steen doesn't tend to be hugely bothered by this type of change. When I first got him he was really herd-bound and would get stressed and distracted any time he couldn't see the herd (and want to stay as close to his buddies as possible when he could see them) but over time this problem has all but disappeared. So today Steen was pretty much his usual self. Bear, on the o...

Looking Back

Robin

April 28, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Yesterday Brian and I realized Tuesday was the three-year-anniversary of the day Steen stepped off the trailer and into our lives. It's been a pretty amazing three years. Steen has definitely challenged me more than I ever expected, but he's also convinced two completely non-horse people to make horses a significant part of their lives, become a favorite around the barn and, of course, I adore him.

Still, training him has been an interesting hodge-podge of forward and backwards progress. When I bought Steen I thought he was basically trained and I just needed to smooth out the rough spots. Now I think of a training as more of a life-long project. Like fitness, training is not static. A horse's training is either improving or eroding every day. I also consider the overall relationship of the horse and rider to be much more important now than I used to, and believe many, many...