After driving back into town Sunday afternoon, we went out to the barn for a relaxing ride. Well, we were hoping it would be a relaxing ride, but I don’t think it was for any of us. Robin and I were just plain tired, and Bear was extremely bothered by the bugs. It was hot… Read more »
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Wednesday’s Ride
For one solid week Bear got a lot of rest with only a couple of super light rides. I continued to give him lots of back massages and hind end stretches during this time. I was hopeful he would be feeling at least somewhat better when we went out on Wednesday, but I was also… Read more »
Borrowing Lightfoot
When my sister and I lived in the same state, we rode together a lot. And even since I moved to Iowa and got Steen, she’s played a roll in my relationship with him. She visited shortly after I got Steen in 2008 and witnessed the one and only time Steen has ever thrown me. She then… Read more »
Time for Some Rest
Tuesday saw some of the nicest weather we’ve had in weeks. I definitely got a little spoiled with the early spring sunshine in March, but then we had quite a few days of colder, windier, and wetter weather. It felt like we hadn’t even tacked the horses up outside in a while. But Tuesday the… Read more »
Going Good
I wanted to do a hard, fast ride. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Steen is chubby. When he’s well-fed and warm is when he’s at his most mellow. It was a good opportunity to work on encouraging him to move out but retain the ability to think. I’ve been having issues with saddle… Read more »
Hackamore Heaven
I love it when the horses are out in the big pasture. I love that they get to live in such a great space. I love the view we get as we’re walking out to get them. I love tromping through the grass and seeing what the herd is up to. What I don’t love quite as… Read more »
K.I.S.S.
Yesterday the guys came to us in the pasture from pretty far away. Steen even trotted the last bit. Bear actually lost some momentum and had another bite of grass. But overall it was a good effort. This morning, however, he showed no inclination to come over to us. They were eating in another far… Read more »
Another Day in the Hackamore
I rode in the hackamore again. I wasn’t planning on it. I thought for sure we would ride in the snaffle again and that Robin would be using the hackamore. She has talked about getting back to it a little more regularly. But she also got some new boots for Steen, and she wanted to… Read more »
Good Booties
I had two things on my mind as I started my ride today. One, I wanted to lope enough to see how Steen’s new booties affect his ability to relax at that gait. Two, I wanted to keep my booty in the saddle — no bouncing at the lope. Not even a little. I’ve been… Read more »
And the Wind Blows
It was a pretty, sunny day, but we also had 30+ mile an hour winds out of the northwest. So it was a cold wind. Warm sun and cold wind always make a strange combination. Robin had a lot of work to do this afternoon, so I had a rare solo-outing to the barn. Bear… Read more »