Today it was Brian’s day to work with Laredo, but we headed out thinking it might take both of us to catch him again. However, the catching process was a lot shorter today and I didn’t really have to help at all, so that was great. We took Steen and Laredo to the hitching post… Read more »
hackamore
The Change Up
With three horses under our care now, there is a good chance we will be changing things up a lot. Today was the first real day with Laredo, and we decided Robin would spend most of it working with him. So in order to give Bear a little more rest, I opted to ride Steen.… Read more »
Laredo Arrives
Since we were out of town all weekend, we had to wait until Monday for our horse delivery. We’ve decided to call him Laredo. We headed out to the barn right after work, mostly to distract ourselves from the excitement. We rode on the strip. Brian read an article about using a cut-out pad backwards… Read more »
Catch Up
My sister flew back to Arizona on Saturday and now I’m trying to catch up with my normal life. We had a good visit. Last Monday, she and I went out and I gave her a pretty long lesson on Steen while sitting on Bear so I could demonstrate things. She was interested in a… Read more »
Borrowing Lightfoot
When my sister and I lived in the same state, we rode together a lot. And even since I moved to Iowa and got Steen, she’s played a roll in my relationship with him. She visited shortly after I got Steen in 2008 and witnessed the one and only time Steen has ever thrown me. She then… Read more »
Going Good
I wanted to do a hard, fast ride. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Steen is chubby. When he’s well-fed and warm is when he’s at his most mellow. It was a good opportunity to work on encouraging him to move out but retain the ability to think. I’ve been having issues with saddle… Read more »
Circles and Lead Changes
We got more rain in the night, and we headed for the barn in the cool temps of morning. The herd was frisky. Every now and then we head out into the pasture and they use our presence as an excuse to gallop off somewhere else. That happened today, but they always run to the… Read more »
Hackamore Heaven
I love it when the horses are out in the big pasture. I love that they get to live in such a great space. I love the view we get as we’re walking out to get them. I love tromping through the grass and seeing what the herd is up to. What I don’t love quite as… Read more »
Warning: Horse Will Make You Ride
I couldn’t think of a title for this post, so I found an online generator to do the job. It was a little damp and chilly today and we were tired. It’s so easy not to go to the barn after a long week at work. But we rallied and headed out. We tromped out… Read more »
A Pasture Ride
It is one of the strangest truths about horses that they need both consistency and variety to really flourish. While both people and horses are reassured by routine, falling into the habit of doing everything the same way for long periods can lead to dullness. Our barn doesn’t have much of an outdoor arena, and… Read more »






