Today, things started out promising. The weather continues to be beyond perfect. We started out with some groundwork and working on detail stuff. I had excellent success with yielding Steen’s forequarters and hindquarters separately and softly under saddle. We headed out to the big pasture and meandered out way up to the hilltop. We worked… Read more »
figure-eights
19 Tail Hairs
Today we headed to the second strip again, and my plan was to keep things quieter and less demanding. We rode through the hallway of terrors with Bear leading the way. Something about the large stack of hay bales got him a bit concerned and he scooted into a little half bolt, but Brian got… Read more »
Best Ever?
It is possible that today I had the best ride on Steen I’ve ever had. I took my own ThinLine pad to the barn today. It’s a western cut instead of english, so it fit a bit better with my tack from the start. We tacked up and I led Steen to the strip, where… Read more »
Productive but Annoying
Brian and I made an effort to get to the barn early this morning, since so often on the weekend we end up letting our morning slip away and then having to ride in the heat of the afternoon. We made it to the barn before 9:00, grabbed our boys from the pasture, and started… Read more »
Steen vs. The Floaty Thingies
It was pretty hot by the time we managed to get to the barn today, so we decided to tack up indoors to stay in the shade for a while. We also decided to park the boys right next to our tack locker because the barn was quiet and there is a spot to tie… Read more »
Good Sweat
Although groundwork used to be a regular part of what I did with Steen, in the last six months or so as he has mellowed significantly and his ground manners have become excellent, I have been pretty much skipping groundwork so I can ride more. I’ve also gotten pretty lazy with suppling exercises while mounted… Read more »
Steen the Irritating
On Monday we rode again on the strip. I went bareback and Steen started out being very good, but over the course of the ride his behavior sort of devolved. The main thing he was doing was wanting to jog. Constantly. Any time I tried to put him down into a walk he’d just keep… Read more »
The Hind End
We had to delay our barn outing this afternoon, as a storm rolled in right as Brian got off work. We consoled ourselves with the knowledge that it stays light late this time of year. It turns out it was worth the wait. By the time we reached the barn, temps had fallen and there… Read more »
Mostly Quiet
After our weekend off we were happy the thunderstorms that blew through earlier in the day had cleared up by the time Brian and I were both done with work. We headed out to the barn eager to see the boys. But first we had to hang out with Whisper a bit. Since we’re some… Read more »
Reunited (and it Feels So Good)
Friday is lesson day. As we headed for the barn Brian and I decided it was time to put him back on Bear. I was pretty confident things would go well. With my new understanding of Bear’s antics I felt I could coach Brian through any minor resistance Bear might put up. Still, if there… Read more »