We woke up to a chill drizzle but were determined to get to the barn anyway. Walking into the pasture it was misting lightly, and the horses were all sodden but not uncomfortable. Steen, of course, is largely protected by his blanket. His head and legs were soaked but the rest of him was warm… Read more »
indoor ride
Frozen Pastures and Energetic Horses
After Thursday’s all day rain and yesterday’s cold temps, we found the guys safely tucked against the big bails. The area surrounding the bails was the only solid footing in the whole pasture. The rest was a mix of frozen lumps of ground and frozen puddles. It was a slow, careful walk getting them out… Read more »
Steen the Energized
My last few rides on Steen, he has an unbelievable amount of energy. The weather has been blech, and as a result the pasture is a combo swamp/ice rink. Whenever it gets really bad out there, we tend to turn the horses out in the indoor arena for a few minutes after we bring them… Read more »
Some Catching Up
Trips to the barn have become more consistent, though the weekly volume is still not high. We have been very consistent at trading off our Laredo rides. This has gone a long way to getting him back into work and feeling good moving around in the indoor arena. I have also been making sure I… Read more »
Finally, a Trim
Today the farrier was out, and our guys had enough toe to warrant a trim for the first time in over three months. We got to the barn early so we could ride first and get the guys settled… a plan which may have backfired in the long run. I started out on Laredo, and… Read more »
A Little Show
Well, 2013 is still a bit slim on the saddle hours. We’ve had rotten weather and my work-load continues to be rather heavier than is ideal. But, today we went by a show that some of our barn peeps were riding in to watch the competition. I am not very into the show world and… Read more »
Fun With Spurs
I’ve been riding consistently for over 20 years now, and while I do have quite a few experiences under my belt, the thing I love about working with horses is how the learning never stops. You never know when you’re going to have a new “first.” For instance, today I rode in spurs for the… Read more »
Indoors Is Not So Bad
We spend so much of the year trying to get outside. Last year the spring and fall were so mild we were hardly inside at all. On a few occasions we even rode inside just to do it. Now that the weather is truly wintery (albeit still mild), I’m not minding the indoor arena at… Read more »
Zoom
We probably could have ridden outside today as it was warmish and dry, but I was pretty tired and I also felt like another ride indoors on Laredo would be a good to build on the things we worked on last time. We started with a difficult bridling. There was some dried dirt and ickiness… Read more »
Things to Remember
We rode in the indoor arena again today. Steen wasn’t quite as energetic as he was last ride, and he was thinking a little more than I would have liked about going to the middle of the arena and standing still. This is habit that surfaces now when we ride indoors. Basically what it amounts… Read more »