Although in general I’m finding myself feeling an increasing preference for the hackamore, I decided to start Piper in the snaffle. My main reason for this is I don’t know how long we’ll keep her. From a versatility perspective, the snaffle is more practical. Also, since we’re not thinking of her as a horse we… Read more »
snaffle
Frigid
Like so much of the country, we are experiencing some pretty crazy temps. I’ve made it out to the barn the past three days, though, and I’m happy to say our four are doing quite well. The big cold was rolling in Sunday evening, so I went out to check everything late that afternoon. It… Read more »
Photo Dump!
So having four horses has been interesting. We’re learning tons and getting a lot of ride time in. The only thing that is suffering is my blogging. When you are almost always having two rides each day, it makes it hard to come home and formulate your thoughts. So here are some highlights. Bear… Read more »
A Snaffle and a Rope
One of my long-term horsemanship goals is to get handy with a rope. This is partly because I think it would be neat to work with cattle in the future, but also because using a rope adds a whole extra level of sophistication to your riding. When I watch riders who not only have perfect… Read more »
Body Position Really Matters
A few nights ago we watched Richard Caldwell’s Jaquima a Freno (part II). It was a really great video. So many of the exercises we have seen before, but it is always nice to hear how another great horseman lays everything out there. And like so many others, Caldwell rides like he grew right out… Read more »
The New Norm?
I checked Bear’s temp first thing and it was below 100. Very nice, considering he was just dozing in the sun on another warm afternoon. And then I proceeded to catch Zoey. She is not a fan of me, or possibly not a big fan of men. It can be hard to tell as Robin… Read more »
Effort
Robin had a great ride on Laredo Sunday. After her energetic and surprisingly good ride on Zoey, she found Laredo decidedly lacking in the try department. She had already decided to try him in the snaffle again, and she was happy she did. It allowed her to correct and encourage him in a way that… Read more »
Long Weekend
Robin has some better summaries here and here. I don’t really feel up to writing about all of it. We are pretty excited to have our new horse, but that first day was really packed. I was excited Robin had a great ride on her. Unfortunately, Bear was not doing so great for our ride. … Read more »
A Good Start to a Long, Long Day
We had quite the barn Sunday. It panned out in three segments: Ride One, Ride Two, and Unplanned Vet Call. And I’m afraid this post is going to end up rather long. Ride One We were excited to get out to the barn today and see how our new girl is taking to her new environment.… Read more »
Finally, a Trim
Today the farrier was out, and our guys had enough toe to warrant a trim for the first time in over three months. We got to the barn early so we could ride first and get the guys settled… a plan which may have backfired in the long run. I started out on Laredo, and… Read more »