Although groundwork used to be a regular part of what I did with Steen, in the last six months or so as he has mellowed significantly and his ground manners have become excellent, I have been pretty much skipping groundwork so I can ride more. I’ve also gotten pretty lazy with suppling exercises while mounted… Read more »
Horse Thoughts
Slick Grass
I had a bit of trouble motivating to go to the barn this afternoon, but Brian wanted to go with or without me, and when it came down to it I couldn’t resist heading out with him. I was glad I went. The weather was perfect and Steen was happy to see me. He almost… Read more »
End of the Week Rides
Lately I have been getting some long rides in, but this Tuesday Bear and I had a fun, short ride, and I kind of liked the idea of having a few of those just to mix things up. On Thursday we more or less repeated Tuesday’s ride, but we were back out on the strip,… Read more »
Mixing it Up
I hadn’t been out to the barn in almost a week. There were a few factors involved in my absence. First, we were out of town all weekend and half of Monday. Second, I’m just really bummed about the whole saddle situation. Third, work came out of its early summer slump and I’ve got all… Read more »
Just the Two of Us
It seems like it has been a while, but I did go out with Robin on Friday. I just got lazy and didn’t blog about it. I was worried about Bear’s swollen ankles and decided to have a relatively easy day of groundwork. I thought it would also help with his somewhat increasingly bad behavior… Read more »
Borrowing the Bear Trap
The whole saddle debacle has taken the wind out of my sails a bit, but yesterday Brian came home from work and coaxed me out to the barn. He wanted to spend a day working on groundwork anyway, due to Bear’s swollen ankles, so he offered me a the use of his saddle. I’ve only… Read more »
Massive Disappointment
I have rarely been so impatient for something to come in the mail as I was on Tuesday. UPS didn’t show up until after 6:00, but when they did they delivered a large box containing my new Bob Marshal Endurance saddle. It was too late to go out to the barn for a ride, but… Read more »
Swollen Ankles
While I was grooming Bear at the hitching post he was very fidgety. It was a warm day and I have no doubt the bugs were the culprit. But there could have been more. While going over his legs I noticed that the area just above his hind ankles was rather swollen. They did not… Read more »
Transitions
The morning was wet and we also had some things to do in the early afternoon, so we didn’t get out until after 2. But it was one of those gorgeous June days: sunny, slightly breezy, temps in the low 80s. The horses were a little lethargic from standing in the warm sun all day,… Read more »
Steen the Sluggish
It’s been hot. It’s definitely been having an effect on every body’s energy level. We went out today to find the pasture herd just hanging out by the water, We tacked up in the barn aisle to get out of the sun for a bit, then headed out to the pasture. Things started off poorly… Read more »