I have been focusing for months on trying to use my hands less and my legs more. However when I try to steer just with my legs, we pretty much instantly run into problems. It is so strange to me that Steen can walk a perfect figure-eight with almost no input from the reins, but if… Read more »
buck
Backsliding
It is inevitable. We’ve had some great weeks with Laredo. He’s trying harder, he’s less bothered by us touching his head and ears, and he has a new energy about him when we’re working. But today we had none of that. He was distracted from the get go, and about 10 minutes into the ride… Read more »
Oops
I kind of let the blog go by the wayside in July and most of August. I did ride some, but not a whole lot. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will sumarize. Bear cut his leg, then we purchased some powder stuff that healed it up tremendously. It now appears as… Read more »
Playing Catch-Up
I’ve fallen rather behind on my blogging. I don’t even have a good excuse. Steen’s actually been extremely well-behaved lately, and I guess that makes my rides a bit less bloggable. 🙂 But, to sum up: 8/6: We rode in the tree pasture again for the shade. Steen was great. We played follow-the-leader, changing positions… Read more »
No Falls, No Bucks
That’s right, no bucks. On Thursday there was a buck, and I was able to stay on. So now I can say I’ve ridden a bucking horse. It happened in the indoor arena. It was just Bear and I. We had done our usual warmup of lots of walking and easy circles, stops, and flexes… Read more »
Forward Motion
Well, it has been quite the week for Steen. For one thing, he officially turned eight yesterday. For another, it appears his bucking days are over. It has been very handy having Meryl here at this juncture. She’s had something I’ve lacked for the last six years – her own horse. And not just any… Read more »
Ups and Downs
Unfortunately, the post title is not figurative. The ups refer to various parts of Steen’s body and the downs refer to me. The end of the ups and downs found me, literally, at the lowest possible point of horse ownership. It started with a Sunday afternoon. Working with Steen is always more of a task… Read more »