Today I woke up pretty stiff. I’ve been trying to piece together how exactly I hit the ground. Since I had no warning and didn’t actually leave the saddle before impact, it’s surprisingly difficult to piece together what happened and where my injuries are. I think I sprawled with one arm above my head. I… Read more »
Horse Thoughts
The One Where I Fall Without Falling
I’m by no means to the point that I’m anywhere near running out of new experiences to have with horses. Nevertheless, it’s not that often now that I encounter a scenario entirely beyond my experience. But today I had one, and I hope it’s the only one of its kind I’ll have for a good… Read more »
Laredo and the Five Horse Arena
As I’ve mentioned before, the indoor arena at our barn is on the small side. I am not complaining about its size. I am grateful to have a place to ride in the winter, even if it’s not ideal. Still, the fact that it is small comes into play to influence our rides sometimes. Today… Read more »
Thanksgiving Ride
For the first time ever, Brian and I stayed in Iowa City for Thanksgiving. The reasons we stayed home were numerous and not worth going into, but the upshot was we had nothing to do other than whatever we wanted. No family of the non-equine variety to hang out with, no obligatory traditions. So, of… Read more »
Muffled
Winter has arrived in earnest, and a good deal earlier than usual, too. The good news is I don’t find cold nearly as off-putting as I used to. My windproof insulated breeches plus my leather chinks provide a pretty impenetrable suit of armor for my lower body, and I have insulated boots and insulated gloves… Read more »
The Birthday Rides (2013 edition)
Somehow it never occurred to me until my birthday last year that I could give myself the day off to celebrate. In theory, a perk of running your own business is you can occasionally decide to do things like this for purely self-indulgent reasons. Of course, I almost never do. But today, I did. I… Read more »
Time with the Kid
Since Brian has mostly taken over riding Zoey lately, I’ve been spending lots of time with Laredo. And it’s been neat in a number of ways. Since we got him a year and a half ago, Brian and I have switched back and forth working with Laredo consistently, usually alternating rides. While this is great… Read more »
First Ride in the Two-Rein
Today (after an excellent ride on Laredo) I rode Steen in the two-rein for the first time. It was definitely interesting. Steen took the spade willingly enough, but once he had it in his mouth he spit it out. I gave him a moment and put it in again, holding it in place gently with… Read more »
Getting to 200
At the end of 2012, when Brian and I talked about our riding goal for the next year, we picked something that would be difficult. We agreed 200 hours would be a stretch. Of course, we’re aware some people ride 200+ hours in a week, but considering we both have full time jobs that don’t… Read more »
Slimming Down
The title is not actually referencing me, or any of our horses. (Most of them are putting their winter ‘padding’ on, so are doing rather the opposite.) No, I’m actually talking about a bosal. Brian and I got our first hackamore two years ago. Brian gave it to me for my birthday, and neither of… Read more »