After our foray into English riding we were keen to get back on our own horses again. We stopped at the barn on our way back into town and found our guys a bit on the grimy side but otherwise seemingly unaffected by our absence. It was nice to ride in my own saddle again,… Read more »
mecate
Balmy Weather
We stopped at the barn for a ride on our way out of town for Christmas. I rode in the hackamore again, and Steen was great. He was giving me the soft feel at the walk and the trot and we moved in and out of the lope a few times. It was a… Read more »
Loping in the Hackamore
It was an interesting day at the barn. It was mucky out in the pasture, and Bear wasn’t about to spare Brian a trek through the mud. Steen wasn’t in the super sticky area, though, and came to me pretty easily, so we beat Brian and Bear inside by a good deal. I was mounted… Read more »
Shaping the Bosal
I feel like the last few months I’ve been on some sort of bizarre accelerated learning curve. I have so many new tools to manage and understand, it’s easy to get a bit overwhelmed. Learning to use all this new equipment also means learning to prepare it for us. A bosal doesn’t come in the… Read more »
Birthday Hackamore
Today I turned 30, and just about the first thing I did was open a box from my husband containing this: For the curious, it’s a 16 plait rawhide bosal with 22′ mane hair mecate on a simple leather bosal hanger. This is what followers of the vaquero horesmanship tradition move their horses into after… Read more »
A Rough Ride for Everyone
Today, things started out promising. The weather continues to be beyond perfect. We started out with some groundwork and working on detail stuff. I had excellent success with yielding Steen’s forequarters and hindquarters separately and softly under saddle. We headed out to the big pasture and meandered out way up to the hilltop. We worked… 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 »
Steen vs. The Floaty Thingies
It was pretty hot by the time we managed to get to the barn today, so we decided to tack up indoors to stay in the shade for a while. We also decided to park the boys right next to our tack locker because the barn was quiet and there is a spot to tie… Read more »
Vacation Rides
We’ve had some hot, hot days here this past week. It has made getting to the barn after work a little difficult. And the guys would have hated us if we made them work hard in that weather. So Thursday morning I took an impromptu mini-vacation from work, and Robin and I went to the… Read more »
Slick Grass
I had a bit of trouble motivating to go to the barn this afternoon, but Brian wanted to go with or without me, and when it came down to it I couldn’t resist heading out with him. I was glad I went. The weather was perfect and Steen was happy to see me. He almost… Read more »