I’ve been tired lately. Some of it is the new pup. Some of it is work. And some of it is probably just picking up on Robin’s tiredness from those same two things. We kind of had to force ourselves out to the barn this afternoon. But we were glad we did. For the past… Read more »
Horse Thoughts
This counts as work, right?
I saw a bunch of these on Facebook and couldn’t resist making my own: On a side note, the “mom” here is meant as the royal mom. (Like the royal we.) My real mom and mother-in-law both pretty much knows what horses are all about.
What I got for Valentine’s Day
The flowers are from Brian. The dog is a bit of a mystery. She appears to be a Border Collie, probably about a year old. I saw her through my office window slinking around our yard. Then she proceeded to head out front into the street, where she was weaving among the parked cars and… Read more »
Exhausted
Life has been busy lately, and as a result I have not seen much of my horse. I haven’t ridden since my last post. We were out of town Friday afternoon and Saturday. On Sunday we drove straight from Chicago to the barn to hold our horses for the farrier. We could have ridden after… Read more »
Simple Lead Changes
This has been a cold and tiring week. Also Robin has been swamped at work. When she is busy it makes me feel busier, too. But I did manage to get out for a ride this afternoon even though I was still tired. It was great, as no one else was there. Also, the arena… Read more »
To Hackamore, or Not To Hackamore?
A few days ago Robin and I were watching a training video by Mike Bridges. It was not the most exciting of videos, but it did offer a lot of insightful commentary on bits and the variety of heads and mouths on horses. At one point he talked about how horses with thicker lips might… Read more »
Outside!
There was a new chiropractor at the barn today, and her treatment involves working with the horse and rider under saddle. We did not feel we needed to get any horses adjusted, but we hung around and watched for a while, then rode. Since the indoor arena was in use, we went outside. The footing… Read more »
More Leg Yields
Since last fall I’ve been working a lot on teaching Steen to break at the poll and give me the soft feel at all gaits, and I’ve also been holding pressure on the bit to keep him collected for a few strides at a time. But where I’m really starting to feel him move in… Read more »
Finding the Haunch
I’ve ridden three times since my last post, and each ride has been a bit better than the one before. I’ve been thinking a lot about precision, and keeping Steen in that delicate place where he is relaxed but still energetic. I’ve also continued to try to emphasize exercises that force Steen to engage his… Read more »
When Things Go Wrong, Simplify
These little words of wisdom come from Dan John. Dan is one of my favorite people to read for advice on working out and getting fitter. The reason I love his stuff is because he breaks it down into very digestible chunks and also his advice applies just as directly to life, relationships, and work… Read more »