My new saddle arrived late on Wednesday. We unpacked it and I have to say it looks even better in person than it did in the photos. Today I headed out to the barn alone to meet the farrier. Brian had to work but planned to come out and meet me later. I took my… Read more »
Laredo
Back Home
We had a nice, short trip to visit my parents for Thanksgiving. We always have fun there, but it always feels really nice to get back home. And home includes riding Bear. I love how familiar he is to me. I was tired and just wanted to ride around. I didn’t do any groundwork, I… Read more »
Our First Haul
Today we were invited to trailer with Cathi and her daughters and some other friends over to some local trails. This is the sort of thing we daydream about doing all the time but never have, lacking our own truck and trailer and also not knowing where to go around here. When I lived in… Read more »
Return of the Double Ride Day
Today I got to use my new mecate. And I have to say, it looks pretty darn good on Laredo. It felt good too. The mane hair just has so much more life than the nylon I’ve been using on my snaffle. I particularly noticed it during groundwork. There was a lot more energy to… Read more »
And Then There Were Three
Steen is very much on the mend, so today was the first day Robin and I did a double ride since sometime in September. It was a beautiful, sunny, fall day and just perfect to be out at the barn. I rode Bear first. He was good from the get go. I’m not sure what… Read more »
Early Winter Riding
After the cold storm, we got a hard freeze, but the last few days have been nice: sunny and in the 50s. Laredo has put on a bit of a hay gut with his winter coat, which isn’t helping with his energy level. Yesterday I worked on trotting. We would trot for a few minutes… Read more »
Rest
I was excited to get on Laredo again after everything we saw and learned at the Martin Black clinic. There was one young, green horse in the group of riders that often bucked when asked to lope, and a couple of other horses that were kicking up for various reasons. It was great that Laredo… Read more »
Looking for Life
Laredo’s shoulder appears to be healed, so I’ve had two long rides on him. Although at first it seemed like the weeks off didn’t have much of an impact on his training, after a few rides we’ve seen some backsliding. Our biggest challenge with Laredo is lack of energy. I don’t think it’s physical energy. It’s… Read more »
Catch-up: Laredo
One of the downsides of the whole Steen saga is my little sprint to and from the pasture appears to have gotten my old foot injury reaggravated, so I’ve been a bit laid up just like my horse has. Yesterday Brian very kindly went out in the rain to catch Laredo for me, to save me… Read more »
Getting Back in the Swing of Things
It has been a tough few weeks with the horses. Steen’s leg is slow to heal, Laredo has been troubled by a sore shoulder, and we’ve had some less than ideal weather. But today we finally had a day that felt like normal. Laredo is getting better, so Robin was able to ride him. We… Read more »