I recently returned from a vacation in Arizona, where I spent some time teaching my brother’s brother-in-law, Simon, to ride my sister’s horse, Jak. It was a nice break from work, and the sun felt really good, but we got back later than expected and so on Tuesday afternoon I had only been back in… Read more »
Brian
Indian Summer
I guess this is what they call Indian Summer. We’ve had sunny days in the 80’s and no rain. It’s October. On Friday Brian and I headed out to the barn in the afternoon. We kept the ride pretty simple but after a little warm-up ventured past the strip into the soybean field, where we… Read more »
The Jog
I am happy to report that I believe Steen has finally (2.5 years after he came into my life) mastered the art of the jog. It’s a funny thing, because while the jog isn’t necessarily something I strive to teach my horse, and I certainly would never go to great lengths to force a non-jog-inclined… Read more »
Another Great Ride
Today Brian and I headed for the barn in the afternoon. Lately Brian’s foot has been having issues, so he wanted to try some outdoor bareback work to avoid the stirrup. We set him up with his normal saddle pad underneath the bareback pad we bought a couple years ago and that set-up seemed to… Read more »
Five Days, Four Rides, No Photos
It’s been an interesting week and I’m well behind on the blogging so I’m going go try to catch up in one post. I also have been horrible neglectful with the camera lately, so have no images to go with these reports. Wednesday: Ride OneSteen and I rode with Bear and Brian on the strip.… Read more »
New Pad
We had a couple of chilly, stormy days so Brian and I found the boys a bit hungry and dirty in the pasture. We decided to let them graze in the airlock while we groomed them. Steen apparently prefers the grass at the very edge of the fence line. After we got the worst of… Read more »
Oh the Wind Blows
We had a super windy day out here (and Brian and I were both pretty tired anyway), so we opted for a quick indoor bareback ride after work. We fetched our boys and brought them inside. Brian managed to mount from the ground. I had to employ the stepping stool (it’s possible I could haul… Read more »
More Strip Time
This afternoon I should have been working. My “to do” list is so long I can’t see the end of it. But when Brian called and told me he was going to stop off to see Bear on his way home from work, I couldn’t resist. I met him out there. For once Steen was… Read more »
Bear Day
It’s a day of haze and fog in Iowa, but luckily Brian and I already had a plan for our barn activities today. We thought another day with both of us focused Bear would be the best, so we decided to leave Steen in the pasture. Amusingly, the fact that I did not halter him… Read more »
Slowing Down
The season is just starting to turn definitively towards fall and today we woke up to a storm. The rain passed, however, so we decided to fill the late morning with a barn trip. Our goal for the day was for me to pay close attention to Bear and Brian and try to help facilitate… Read more »