Between Laredo’s fatigue and Bear’s tight back (and Steen’s ripped up leg), we thought it would be best to give everyone a couple days off. Monday I went out on my own to clean Steen’s leg. All three of our horses came to me as soon as they saw me at the gate, leaving the… Read more »
Laredo
Low on Energy
Normally when one of us rides Laredo for a while, the other one sees some huge improvement when they get to ride him again. With Steen healing from his leg wound, Robin has spent the last week getting some awesome rides on Laredo. Today we decided to switch, and I was really looking forward to… Read more »
The Kid is Pooped
We’ve had a warm fall, and of our three horses Laredo seems the most inclined to put on a long, thick winter coat the fastest. That means with the sun out and the days warm, he’s been a little hot. Even in the best of times, Laredo isn’t a horse with energy to spare. This… Read more »
Two Rides on Laredo
On Monday we went out thinking we might ride, but ended up mostly just hanging out with Steen. Cleaning his side and leg take a long time, and then he has to dry off a good deal before we can put the Thuja Zinc on again. Since he can’t be in the sun, that limits… Read more »
A Long Weekend Report
I took Friday off because my parents were in town. They have not visited for about a year, so it was fun for us to hang out and spend a lot of time at the barn. Friday was cold and windy. We woke up to a damp day and then it just got wetter. It… Read more »
Sunburns and Light Rides
I’ve never owned a Paint before, and when I was shopping for Steen I had no particular thought of getting a horse with color. In fact, when I went to look at Steen, I did so precisely because I didn’t think I would want him. I didn’t want a horse that was seven years old… Read more »
Taking Laredo Out
Just like our first lope, we probably could have gone exploring with Laredo a little earlier. But waiting a little bit longer certainly helped us get some things down, and I think it helped make the ride really great. Robin was the first one to ride him after we got him, and then she was… Read more »
Return to the Trees
One of the peculiarities about where we board is that (other than the indoor arena) there is nowhere that’s guaranteed to be available to ride in any given day. There are plenty of places you can usually ride, but between moving herds, changing seasons, farm equipment, and various other factors, if you want to ride outside… Read more »
Do More With Less
I’m not sure who said this first, probably Ray or Tom, but I know I’ve read it from a lot of people, most recently Martin Black. We found some great write ups of some colt starting clinics he put on a few years ago (click on the forward arrows to get through these if you’re… Read more »
And More Cows
Pretend cows, that is. Today some ride plans fell through, and Brian and I found ourselves trying to decide if we wanted to hit the trails alone. I was riding Steen and he was riding Bear, so we could have gone out and about. But we also wanted to have a day where we swapped… Read more »