We had a storm last night, so things were mushy out a the barn. We decided to ride indoors today. I’ve been meaning to use my hackamore again, and thought the quieter indoor space would be a good opportunity to do that. Steen always seems a tad confused when I put it on him (once… Read more »
indoor ride
A Quiet Indoor Ride
Last night I was reading through a little bit of Cow-Horse Confidence by Martin Black. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but I might have found just what I needed to read. I ended up reading a section on balancing with the horse, and of course in that section Black was constantly talking about… Read more »
Riding a Wade
I’ve been wanting to try out Brian’s saddle for a while, and lately Steen’s saddle has been riding lower on his shoulders and leaving dry spots again. I’m increasingly convinced the fit is just not ideal. Brian’s saddle has a fairly narrow, high gullet that I have suspected would be a good fit for Steen.… Read more »
Shaping Up
As much as there is a part of me that likes to think I should be capable of riding all year without any lulls, I do sometimes think when the forced breaks come along, they yield benefits. Brian and I rode on Wednesday, and because it was super windy out we rode indoors. Steen started… Read more »
Spring Winds
Warm spring days mean strong winds out of the south. Cold spring days mean strong winds out of the north. So we basically have wind every day in spring. It was dry again (except for a few sprinkles right at the end), but not quite as nice as Tuesday, so we opted to ride inside.… Read more »
Back to Work
I was pretty happy with my start to the year, but then things kind of fell apart. A little loss of motivation, some crappy weather, and of course, we found Elsa. She ended up taking quite a bit of time. Not time I’m sorry about, we had some wonderful long walks and runs. I really… Read more »
The Spring Skinnies
Yesterday was so windy and damp, and we’re so out of the habit of riding, we somehow let the day go by without ever making it to the barn. So today we were determined to go right after breakfast so we couldn’t talk ourselves out of it. It was cold and we had a light… Read more »
What I got for Valentine’s Day
The flowers are from Brian. The dog is a bit of a mystery. She appears to be a Border Collie, probably about a year old. I saw her through my office window slinking around our yard. Then she proceeded to head out front into the street, where she was weaving among the parked cars and… Read more »
Simple Lead Changes
This has been a cold and tiring week. Also Robin has been swamped at work. When she is busy it makes me feel busier, too. But I did manage to get out for a ride this afternoon even though I was still tired. It was great, as no one else was there. Also, the arena… Read more »
To Hackamore, or Not To Hackamore?
A few days ago Robin and I were watching a training video by Mike Bridges. It was not the most exciting of videos, but it did offer a lot of insightful commentary on bits and the variety of heads and mouths on horses. At one point he talked about how horses with thicker lips might… Read more »