Yesterday morning I headed to the barn. My first barn-task was to hold Doc, my friend Gay’s horse, for the farrier because Gay took a tumble while dismounting on Sunday and broke her collarbone. Big time bummer. We got Doc’s feet done without incident and I brought Steen indoors. I thought he might need a… Read more »
Horse Thoughts
Thank Goodness for Small Victories
Today Brian and I returned to the barn after our spring break hiatus. It was sunny but windy, and we found things at least partially dried out after a week of relatively warm temps and low moisture. Our primary objective today was simple. Halter Sham. We had a strategy and a whole lot of time… Read more »
The Game
On a sunny, windy day, I trudged out to the pasture in muck boots, rope halter in hand. Robin graciously hung out in the airlock and watched as I picked my way to Sham in the far corner of the pasture. He was nibbling at the first real grass blades coming up. As I hoped,… Read more »
Vacation Homework
Sham has been a little tough lately. He is certain that he is the boss, and as a result, I can’t catch him. So in my frustration (which nicely coincided with some vacation time in sunny Arizona) I went back to some of the training books we have around the house to see what I… Read more »
Grand Behavior
On Saturday, Dutch and Cathy (Brian’s parents) came to town. The primary reason for their trip was to meet Sham and reacquaint themselves with Steen. Brian and I headed to the barn, confident that after our wonderful Thursday everything would go smoothly. Unfortunately, such was not the case. A few things worked against us. First,… Read more »
A Shock to the System
Thursday’s spook near the gate turned out to be worse than we thought. What actually happened is the charge in the electric wire arced through the puddle, zapping Sham through all four feet. I was fine in my rubber boots. I was lucky in that all the work I did with Sham after that was… Read more »
Double Barn Day
I got back from the barn today and hung around the house for a bit. Then Brian got home, we piled back in the car and returned to the barn. The focus of trip two was Sham. Our plan was to at least put the bridle on and see how he responded. Our hope was… Read more »
Back to Riding
Exactly one week after Sham got his teeth done I decided to see how he liked the bit, and if things went well I hoped for a nice ride, too. He continues to be great coming out of the pasture. He is already in the habit of pooping and then coming up to me. He… Read more »
Outside!
Today I took Steen outside. It wasn’t perhaps the brightest move. There is still deep snow in some places, ice in others, and mud in still others. Nevertheless, I am bored stiff with riding indoors and today it was sunny and in the 40’s. Wasting the opportunity to get some sun seemed ridiculous. So, I… Read more »
Perfect Can Get Boring
Another great indoor bareback ride on Steen. I think we’ve definitely mastered walk and trot in the indoor arena. It would be nice if we could include loping, but with him out of shape and the footing the way it is (with little puddles and ice here and there) it’s just not worth the risk.… Read more »