Brian and I are just back from auditing our second Buck Brannaman clinic. This one was in Fort Collins. It was an 11 hour drive to get there, but it was well worth it. I was expecting to get a lot out of seeing everything from Horsemanship I again and thought the Foundation Horsemanship class… Read more »
Horse Thoughts
Softening Laredo
Today was the first time Laredo approached me in the pasture. I stopped to pet Nadir, and he walked right up to me. I even slipped the halter on, and probably could have gotten it tied if I hadn’t hurried a little. When my hand got up by his eye, he pulled back. I kept… Read more »
Still Some Soreness
It was really great to hang out with Bear again after my Laredo ride yesterday. It is amazing how comfortable the two of us are with one another. I just know what he’s going to do and how he is going to move. Maybe not in every single situation, but for the most part, we… Read more »
The Sloppy Lope
Today on the way to the barn I was making a conscious effort to think about Steen and what he needs right now. It’s easy to get a little Laredocentric, what with him being our brand new baby and all. I don’t want to lose momentum with Steen, though, so today I decided one of… Read more »
Short, Short Serpentines
This was my second ride on Laredo. Like Robin over the weekend, we rode in the outdoor arena. He felt a little keyed up in the beginning, but as we’ve come to get used to, he really comes right back to being settled so fast. This is really great, because often when we’re working on… Read more »
This is Why We Wanted a Third Horse
Today was sunny, in the low 70s, and there was a light breeze out of the north. We ran a few errands in the morning and had nothing to do in the afternoon but ride. I had another double day starting with Steen and then moving over to Bear. Robin also had a double, working… Read more »
Quick Study
Today it took about three minutes to catch Laredo. It’s getting to the point that it’s really not an issue. He walked away from me for a moment, then turned and stepped towards me and stopped. I walked up to him and started stroking his nose with the halter. He backed up for a little… Read more »
A Double Ride
It was again my turn to work with Laredo. We went to the barn extra early as it was both Duke Day and Vet Day, so we knew things would be a little hectic and crowded. Thankfully Laredo keeps getting more and more settled. Today it only took me 4 minutes to get the halter… Read more »
Trims and Vaccinations
We got the barn early today because both the farrier and the vet were scheduled to come out. We wanted to ride before the chaos started. Catching Laredo took four minutes today, so we are definitely on the right track with that. We groomed and tacked and he seemed a bit less touchy about his… Read more »
First Laredo Ride
We gave everyone the day off on Thursday but were keen to head back out today. It was my day to work with Laredo. Catching was even shorter than last time. It only took 11 minutes (half of which was just him running from the big pasture into the winter lot) and I probably could… Read more »