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 »
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Big Hills and Soft Feels
We received a couple of the photos from our friend Jean. They are definitely nice, but I somehow didn’t think they would look so much like horse glamour shots. Maybe it is just that I haven’t had a professional style shoot in many, many years. We do look pretty sharp in them. It is extra… Read more »
Soft to the Touch
Yesterday was another great ride. Steen’s starting to put on his winter coat, so he’s turned nice and dark dappled brown and is way softer than usual. Yesterday he was also soft to the bit. We had more great groundwork before the ride. He was yielding to backwards pressure on the slobber strap before I… Read more »
The Inconsistent Path Forward
Sunday was Duke Day, and Steen was very much in need of a trim. It was raining when we got the barn, and we beat the farrier. We brought the boys indoors and they were wet and jittery, but we took our time grooming and gave them a little chopped hay, then rode indoors for… Read more »
Short Serpentines
Today was cloudy and somewhat cool. When we walked out to the pasture all the horses were out of sight except Bear, who was tucked into a corner of the windblock. When he heard our voices he turned around to look at us. After watching for a few moments he wandered over to me while… Read more »
Turning Towards Fall
We had a wet Friday so didn’t get our normal afternoon at the barn. Today it was cool and overcast when we pulled the boys from the pasture. They even got their first serving of chopped hay for the season, which they both seemed quite happy about. Steen was attentive from the start today. I… Read more »
A Big Difference
We had another very productive ride today. Steen’s willingness to give me a “soft feel” was increased from the beginning, and after I mounted and practiced a few times, he walked off quietly. He’s been obsessed with hopping into the trot our last few rides, so that was a nice change. We walked around for… Read more »
An Attempt at a Quiet Ride
Today we were going to have a quiet ride. Steen and Bear are both a little worn out because we’ve been riding sooo much. They were down in the bottom of the pasture when we arrived at the barn. Lately we’ve been making them hop over the drainage ditch when they’re down there. It’s not… Read more »
A Hard Ride
In the interest of furthering our new goal to broaden our horizons, on Wednesday afternoon Brian and I headed for the second strip. We have high hopes of getting some excellent riding in over there in the next weeks. It is huge, much wider than the strip we normally ride on and has the benefit… Read more »
Oops
I kind of let the blog go by the wayside in July and most of August. I did ride some, but not a whole lot. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will sumarize. Bear cut his leg, then we purchased some powder stuff that healed it up tremendously. It now appears as… Read more »