It is September 7. So far, this month, I have spent 10.5 hours in the saddle. This is probably a new short-term record for me. I’m not sure I’ve ever started a month off with such a bang. Mostly, I blame the weather. It’s been absolutely gorgeous out. We’ve had perfect temps, just enough rain… Read more »
Horse Thoughts
A Few Weeks in the Two-Rein
We’re having a really lovely late summer. Really, the whole summer has been surprisingly nice, but the last few weeks have been particularly gorgeous. Accordingly, we are logging lots and lots of barn hours. With King gone and Nevada getting a little break, Brian and I have reverted to our previous breakdown of mounts. I’m… Read more »
Oliver, Aiden, and Playing Cow
A lot of the time I find it difficult to get out to the barn on Friday afternoon. After a long week, it seems easier to just stay home and read a book. When I succeed at motivating myself to get out there, I often do it by giving myself permission to just have a… Read more »
King Goes Home
It’s hard to believe the way the summer has flown by. Our two months with King ran out on Saturday, and his people came and picked him up. Working with King was a very interesting experience. In recent years, we’ve been working almost entirely with stock horses. In the past I spent quite a bit… Read more »
Sad Friday
Settling back into our routine after vacation is always a little bit of a challenge. This week I didn’t make it to the barn. But this afternoon we rallied (barely), and headed out for an easy ride. The horses were way out behind the distant hilltop. As Brian and I walked out, we noticed a… Read more »
After a Week Away
We spent last week in Arizona visiting family. It was a nice time. We got to hang out with my parents and my sister and the new Great Dane puppy. There was much sleeping in, drinking of tea and coffee, and lounging around. We also got to spend my mother’s birthday with her for the… Read more »
Nevada Time
Brian, of course, has been doing almost all the direct work with Nevada. But I’ve been around for most of it, sometimes supporting them from the back of another horse. This has been pretty fun for me, because it’s not something I’ve had the opportunity to do before. Since she arrived, I’ve done basic yielding… Read more »
The Polar Vortex in Summer
This winter, the crazy low temps we experienced here in Iowa were ostensibly caused by the polar vortex. And last week, it was here again. But instead of plunging temps from the single digits to the negative double digits, this time it gave us a beautiful week of days that were dry, sunny and in… Read more »
The First Few Rides
Nevada and I have spent the last couple of weeks really working on our groundwork. While parts of the early sessions were a little rough for both of us, things are now going extremely well. She is soft and happy and willing to work through problems that I present to her. I’ve never spent so… Read more »
Getting Started
Nevada has been at our place for about ten days now. We were out of town for some of that, so I’ve only had a chance to work with her on four occasions. She is proving to be a very sweet and willing little mare. And like the few other young horses I have worked… Read more »