Now that I’ve gotten nicely settled into my winter riding routing (going so far as to change my work schedule so I can ride 3 weekday mornings each week), we are leaving for our winter trip to AZ. I went to the barn on Wednesday, but Steen had availed himself of the thaw on Sunday… Read more »
bareback
Winter at the Barn
It has definitely taken me a little while to adjust to riding in the winter here. I got very used to my long, leisurely trips out the barn, taking my time with grooming, groundwork, riding and then lounging outside in the green and the sun while Steen grazed. Lately, the temperatures have not been at… Read more »
Slow Day
Since Brian and I have been riding so much lately, my last extended bareback loping session left my legs pretty sore, and I had to cram a trip to the barn in between many other things yesterday, Steen and I had an easy ride. The weather was more pleasant than it has been the last… Read more »
Progress
In the past eight days I have gone out to the stable to ride on 5 of them. That is a personal record for me. In those five rides I struggled in the outdoor arena through my first lope, had my first solo loping session on Tuesday, refined my lope a little more with the… Read more »
Time Off
I was out of town for a few days, so after a brief bareback ride on muddy, wet Thursday during which Steen was so relaxed it was almost comical, he got a number of days off. Tuesday found me back at the barn with my visiting brother in tow. We went down to the pasture… Read more »
Fall Rides
I’ve gotten in a few good rides this last week or so. Last Friday, Brian and I went to the barn in the evening. Brian is becoming more and more confident around the horses, and I think will soon start going out to ride on his own on Tuesdays and other days I don’t have… Read more »
More Bareback
Since the ground was still rather damp today, I went bareback and indoors again. This time I was not alone in the arena, but shared it with another horse and rider. It is always nice when this happens because it is good practice for Steen in the art of paying attention to me when there… Read more »
Soggy Ground
We’ve been getting more rain here. Unfortunately, rain means a soggy outdoor arena, and to preserve the grass out there, barn rules tell us to ride indoors when it is wet. I left work on Wednesday feeling a little bummed about this. The indoor arena is not bad – it is just smaller, dustier, less… Read more »
Bareback
I have been having some trouble with Steen’s saddle – mainly as his shape changed with his new lifestyle of working out a lot and unlimited access to fresh grass, it stopped fitting him correctly. I have been reading and researching and think I’ve found a way to fix the problem, which required the purchase… Read more »