Today I woke up pretty stiff. I’ve been trying to piece together how exactly I hit the ground. Since I had no warning and didn’t actually leave the saddle before impact, it’s surprisingly difficult to piece together what happened and where my injuries are. I think I sprawled with one arm above my head. I… Read more »
jog
Defeating the Prance
Saturday I went to the barn with one goal in mind. I was going to address the prance issue. I was going to be effective but even-tempered. I was going to respond consistently and without emotion to every transgression. There was going to be no forgiveness, but no punishment either. Only logical consequences. Brian and… Read more »
Some Interesting Rides
It’s been quite a week at the barn. Saturday Our friend Jean came out to take some photos of us and the horses. She got some nice shots of us hanging around on the second strip. And our first ever “family photo.” Sunday The horses were in their winter lot with bales to munch on,… Read more »
Two Good Horses
Yesterday I made the comment that Brian and I never seem to both have good horses on the same day. Today our fellas proved me wrong. Of course, Brian went out with a plan, prepared to be firm with Bear and with a simple strategy to work on during the ride. After Bear’s mini-buck last… Read more »
June Showers
Today there was a small chance of storms in the afternoon, so we went to the barn in the morning. This decision back-fired a bit though. We’d just gotten out to the pasture and mounted when it started to rain. The sun was out, and the sky was by no means dark, so we decided… 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 »
Hacked
With my new saddle theoretically due any day now, Brian and I decided it might be nice to have a spare saddle that will fit Steen in case we have guests who are good riders but perhaps not comfortable in a treeless saddle. We’ve been watching ebay, and late last week we made our move.… Read more »
Early Summer Changes
We arrived at the barn on Friday afternoon eager to meet the new horse on the premises. Or more accurately, the new foal. “Whisper” arrived some time in the night. Cathi was in the pen with the baby and the momma when we arrived, so we even got to go in and pet the little guy.… Read more »
Working the Trot
I am definitely getting impatient for my new saddle. Granted, I can lope bareback and I have done so a whole lot over the course of my life, but Steen is still far from great at the lope and what he needs is to have a quiet, balanced rider while he gets used to it… Read more »
Sub-par Saddle
Today I decided to throw my saddle back on Steen. I did this for a few different reasons, one of them just being curiosity. I’ve always known the saddle was not an ideal fit for him, but I guess I wasn’t convinced it was a horrible fit either. Still, Steen has been so quiet lately… Read more »