At the end of 2012, when Brian and I talked about our riding goal for the next year, we picked something that would be difficult. We agreed 200 hours would be a stretch. Of course, we’re aware some people ride 200+ hours in a week, but considering we both have full time jobs that don’t… Read more »
lope
Laredo Weekend
With Zoey out of commission, we were down to three horses for the weekend. We decided to focus on getting Laredo out and covering some ground. His tight hocks seem better, and he’s actually getting a tad chunky. Yesterday Brian rode Laredo and I rode Steen and we were out for over two hours. It… Read more »
The One Where I Almost Get Bucked Off
There we were, loping up a beautiful grassy hill; Robin was on an energetic but attentive Steen, and I was riding a happy to be out but somewhat lethargic Laredo. The temps were in the 60’s and a strong wind was blowing out of the north. It felt like late September. And then Laredo threw… Read more »
Getting Out Alone
My introduction to horses started a little over five years ago with following Robin to the barn to watch her ride Steen. From there I slowly learned a few things about grooming, tacking, groundwork, and later, riding. My interest grew slowly for a few years, and eventually I ended up with my own horse. My… Read more »
Letting Go
Since we went to our first Buck clinic, I’ve been working hard to change the way I ride in any number of ways. The biggest is to do with my legs. Before Buck, I thought I used my legs, but really, I didn’t. I hadn’t been that great at using my legs before Steen, but… Read more »
A Long Day in the Arena
It’s a three day weekend and we’re supposed to have huge storms every day. Today we woke up to sprinkles and sat around the house for many hours as it continued to rain. The crops need it, but I’d rather it came on my non-ride days. Eventually we saw the storm ending and went out… Read more »
The One Where I Don’t Fall Off
Today was Steen’s birthday. He turned 13. My gift to him was a day off, which translated into some quality alone time with the bale. I rode Zoey today. We started off trying to saddle at the hitching post. In my efforts to be graceful with this, I tied my offside stirrup up with my… Read more »
Hard to Title with Two Very Different Rides
We got out to the barn early on Saturday knowing we would work with a lot of horses. We were each going to ride two, and on top of that Robin would be working with a 2 year old. It was my day to work with Zoey, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that… Read more »
A Young Whippersnapper. Also, Trees
The outdoor arena at our barn is kind of a joke. It’s not really an area at all, just a fenced off area that doubles as an isolation pen for sick/injured/special-needs horses. It’s rarely available. Today it was empty, and while the footing on one half is jagged dried mud too rough to ride on,… Read more »
End of a Long Week
We’ve barely had Zoey a week. It is kind of hard to imagine, as it seems like we’ve gotten to know her pretty well through the vet work and groundwork and riding. It does help that she is a fairly easy horse to work with. She has her anxieties and issues, but she is not… Read more »