A New Student

January 14, 2015

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

Last week, we had a cold snap. Like, highs-in-the-single-digits style cold. While I'm way hardier than I used to be, I find temps that low hard to be comfortable in.

Nevada says, "There's ice in my forelock? Really?"

Still, I had to go to the barn on Friday because I had a lesson to give. Last weekend, a woman who boards at our barn, M, asked me if I'd be willing to teach her how to do some groundwork with her mare. So I put on approximately every warm garment I own, and tried to pretend the thermometer didn't say 5°F. M's mare is a 15 year old rescue horse. She's an Arabian, and sweet but a tad standoffish about people at times. She lives in the pasture ...

Looking Ahead

Robin

January 4, 2015

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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Brian and I just returned from spending two weeks in Arizona, visiting my family. While it was a lovely vacation, I must admit I was missing Steen like crazy the whole time. Part of it is the setting. My parents live in a beautiful valley at the base of the Catalina Mountains, surrounded by the land and trails I grew up riding with my first horse. One of my fond hopes is to someday be able to take Steen there. Right now this isn't possible for a variety of reasons. Brian and I went for a lot of walks, and I couldn't help thinking about how great it would be to be riding instead of walking. Now we're home, and saying hello to Steen was a kind of relief. Climbing into my saddle and riding off felt like getting back some part of my body that hadn't been functioning. I've had Steen for almost seven years now. I don't know exactly how much time I've spent on his back because I didn't...

2014 in Review

Robin

January 1, 2015

Novels for Horse-Lovers

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

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It's a bit hard to believe that 2014 has already come and gone. It was a really fabulous year with the horses. Looking back, I'm a tad astonished at how much we did. We worked with far more horses this year than any year previously. We found new homes for Zoey and Bear, got Aiden and Oliver, worked with King for two months, started Nevada, and got Oliver back in shape and re-homed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I rode more this year than ever before:

Total saddle time in 2014

227 hours, 45 minutes

That means I have managed to increase my horse hours every year (since I started keeping track) by a good chunk: