Trotting the Bear

April 6, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

I intended to go to the barn alone earlier this week, but things have actually been busier than ever for me and my business and I've been working exceptionally long days. But this afternoon I reached a point where I simply had to take a break. Which meant Brian and I headed for the barn together, both sort of wanting to use the same saddle. Ha. In the end I decided to have another bareback ride on Bear. I figure it can't hurt to thoroughly explore how he moves without a saddle before we reintroduce one anyway.

Bear was cleaner, sheds less and I was using less tack, so I beat Brian to the arena by about 15 minutes. Things started out really well. Bear felt quiet and willing and was turning, stopping and standing nicely. We walked around the arena doing nothing in particular and I was thinking, well if this is how today goes we're not going to have to work on anything.
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Robin

April 3, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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We seem to be having our first truly warm day of the year. Brian and I woke up, saw that it was already in the 50's, and headed for the barn. The plan was for Brian to ride Steen again and me to ride Bear bareback.

Steen saw us arrive and made a b-line for the gate. Bear walked a few steps in our direction as well, but then petered out. I walked the rest of the way to meet him, brought him inside and turned him out in the indoor. He rolled and then I did a small amount of groundwork with him off the line. He trotted willingly in both directions, then came to me immediately when I asked him to. He then remained at my shoulder, walking, stopping and backing with only subtle cues until I led him out of the arena for grooming.

I ended up riding him in Steen's 'indoor' headstall, since without a saddle and in breeches I have nowhere to tie a mecate. The bit on that se...

Loping in the Bear Trap

Robin

April 2, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Friday was a busy day, so we postponed Brian's lesson. And since we've decided to leave Bear alone for a few days, this morning Brian had his lesson on Steen. Steen left the bale to meet us. He's been so good about coming lately. I'll be curious to see if it lasts once the herd is out on the grass. I left Brian alone as he tacked Steen up. Steen was so comfortable in the bear trap on Wednesday we decided to use it on him again. I watered the arena while Brian groomed and tacked, then watched from the sidelines as Brian rode. I noticed immediately that is a lot harder for me not to micromanage Brian when he's riding Steen. I know Steen so well by this point and I know exactly how to respond to all his little quirks, it is just a little hard for me to watch someone else ride him. But he was in a very mellow mood and he was great for Brian. His stopping remained a bit sub-par and h...

No Miracles

Robin

March 31, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Brian and I were both looking forward to seeing how Bear went in the new saddle again, so on Wednesday we went out for another ride. We brought both the boys in and I hopped on Steen bareback. Meanwhile Brian tacked up and did groundwork. Bear was great and we still had high hopes for a nice ride. Steen was quite good for me with the exception of stopping. He was again just super slow to stop, but once stopped would stand without protest. So we worked more on transitions but I didn't feel we made a ton of progress. Nevertheless we had a nice ride. Brian climbed on Bear and things didn't go as well. Bear seemed fine at first, but after a while he bolted straight towards the middle of the arena when a horse outside whinnied. Needless to say, this is not normal Bear behavior. Brian walked him around some more but he was just kind of horrible, not wanting to stay on the rail, not wa...

Weekend Report

Robin

March 27, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Yesterday morning found Brian and I sitting on the floor by the coffee table. His new saddle sat on top of an old sheet draped over an old comforter, upside down. Armed with saddle sponges, neatsfoot oil and baby powder, we set out to make his new ride a little more comfortable. It was a bit hard to dump white powder into the shiny new saddle's interior, but once we got started we warmed up to the task. We liberally applied powder to every area where two pieces of leather overlapped, then shook and banged the saddle to work it in deeper. Naturally when we turned the saddle over, a fair bit came streaming down out of the cracks.

Next we oiled all the untreated surfaces underneath the sa...

Best Lesson Yet

Robin

March 25, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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I was definitely curious to see Brian ride in the bear trap again and Friday is lesson day, so even though I was battling the yawns this afternoon, I rallied and we headed out. Bear was in a funny mood to start. They'd put out new bales yesterday and Bear had clearly been gorging himself silly for the last 12 hours or so. We brought him in and he was at first distracted and gassy. He pooped twice during groundwork alone (twice more under saddle). He also wasn't paying attention to Brian super well, but Brian preserved and Bear began to come around. When Brian got on, things improved considerably. I think Bear really likes his new saddle. He was about the best I've ever seen him. Walking, turning, stopping, standing, all looking just super relaxed. They even had a nice long trotting session, which Bear actually seemed to enjoy. There is no denying Bear is still prone to a tightish ...

Four Short Rides

Robin

March 23, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Ok, well, the title of this post might be a bit of an exaggeration. But only a bit. In the last two days I've been to the barn twice and I've ridden both of our horses both times. I'm not sure I've ever actually done that before. Yesterday my mission was to spend a while working on Bear's trot. Last fall we were just trying to let him settle in and between changing his bit and his stiff right side, we were mostly just doing walking rides. Then he had some time off in the winter and since Brian's been riding again regularly he's been feeling a bit uncomfortable in his saddle. Combine that with the fact that no one has trotted on Bear in months and he hasn't been super inclined to push the ticket. So I went out to the pasture yesterday carrying Bear's halter, but Steen saw me and came from all the way across the pasture and then Bear came from by the bale and pinned his ears at Steen...

Tail Envy

Robin

March 21, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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When Steen gets any compliment more specific than, "He's so pretty," it is more than likely to be, "Wow, what an amazing tail." It is true, Steen's tail is possibly the fullest, longest, most impressive tail I have ever encountered on a horse, and it is also true that it is more or less wasted on me. I don't show him. Every year I hack off a good twelve inches to keep it from dragging in the mud. I refuse to bag it because I feel horses have their tails for a reason, and plus I like looking at his tail too and I can't do that if it is in a bag. But I must admit sometimes I fall behind on caring for his long, thick, lustrous tail-locks. The last six months or so I have been particularly neglectful and the last handful of times I've been out there I tried to work through it a section at a time and didn't make much progress. Finally I broke down and bought some Cowboy Magic when Brian...

Steen the Stoic

Robin

March 19, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today the vet came out for spring vaccinations and teeth. Bear and Steen both had their teeth done in the fall, so only needed the shots. However, our barn is also switching the way we handle worming and now our horses are going to have their manure tested twice a year so they can be treated only for what they have, instead of being repeatedly dosed with wormer they might not need. I think this is a good change, the only downside being that the pasture horses can sometimes be coy with their poop. Bear is a big eater and the result is he tends to grace us with a pile of his manure at least once every time we bring him inside. Steen, on the other hand, seems to be of the mind that potty time should take place in the pasture. The only time this doesn't hold true is when he's nervous. While normally I appreciate this trait in him, today it meant we were at the barn a good deal longer t...

Drying Out

Robin

March 18, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Today the pasture was significantly less mucky when we went out to fetch the boys. I again brought Steen in for a quick bareback ride while Brian got Bear ready. We did more work at the walk and trot. His trot is just getting smoother and steadier each ride. In spite of the fact that it was cooler today and he spent the day without out his blanket, he was still super quiet, not even bothered by the sounds of moving equipment outside. I only rode for about twenty minutes, then hopped off to give Steen some chopped hay and water down the arena (dust control) while Brian did groundwork with Bear. Bear was also in super mellow mode today. He didn't mind me wandering around with the hose. In fact, he cared so little I continued to spray down the sand after I put Steen away and Brian climbed on for his ride. Bear and Brian are doing really well. Brian is getting more and more confiden...