When I was a younger, more fearless rider, I loved loping in almost any circumstances. I didn’t care if the horse was borderline out of control. I didn’t mind if I knew I couldn’t do more than contribute nominally to where exactly we ended up running. Since getting Steen, my relationship with the lope has… Read more »
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More Leg Yields
Since last fall I’ve been working a lot on teaching Steen to break at the poll and give me the soft feel at all gaits, and I’ve also been holding pressure on the bit to keep him collected for a few strides at a time. But where I’m really starting to feel him move in… Read more »
Finding the Haunch
I’ve ridden three times since my last post, and each ride has been a bit better than the one before. I’ve been thinking a lot about precision, and keeping Steen in that delicate place where he is relaxed but still energetic. I’ve also continued to try to emphasize exercises that force Steen to engage his… Read more »
Half Thawed
The pasture is in a bit of a state right now: So I always feel like it is a good thing to get the horses inside, get their hooves dried out and get them moving a little. Steen has lost some fitness in his three weeks of convalescence. Today my plan was to trot a lot.… Read more »
Mostly Healed
Well, January has not been a great month for riding. Work has been busy, Steen has been healing, and the weather has been uninviting. So the horses have been getting some time off. Beyond making sure Steen’s leg wasn’t getting any worse (mostly thanks to Brian looking in on it for me), I’ve not had… Read more »
Focused on Soft
Today was the last Duke Day of the year, which means we have a little potluck and hang out while the horses get their feet trimmed. Brian and I like to ride before trims when at all possible, and it was a beautiful day– warmer than I’ve ever seen December in Iowa. We rode on… Read more »
Chilly Ride
It seems to have been our year for buying saddles. Although Brian has been largely happy with the bear trap, it seems lately to be causing some problems for Bear. Being that Bear is now 16 1/2 years old and we want to keep him healthy and fit as long as possible, we decided to… Read more »
Stopping from the Lope
We’ve had mucky weather and Saturday was so wet and chilly it just wasn’t worth a barn trip. I stayed home and wasted a ridiculous amount of time creating, raising and training a digital version of Steen instead of hanging out with my real horse. I guess turning 30 didn’t entirely break me of my compulsion… Read more »
Winter Attitude Adjustment
We had a dusting of snow last night, and temps were in the low 30’s when we trudged out to the pasture and saw Steen had made excellent progress in making his new blanket just as dirty as his old one. We went indoors to tack up. I wore a pair of boots I bought… Read more »
Happy to be Back
This Thanksgiving I experienced one of the greatest holidays injustices imaginable. I came down with the stomach flu 20 minutes before Thanksgiving dinner. I managed roughly four bites of turkey, a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and peas, and two forkfuls of apple pie. Then I had to lie down and suffer for several hours. I went to… Read more »