I love the days when I can get off work in the afternoon and Robin and I can head to the barn. There is usually no one else there, and it can make for an exceptionally relaxing ride. Fridays are almost always quiet, so I was excited when I got off work and the temps… Read more »
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A Friday Ride
This week I’m finally starting to feel caught up with work. We’ve been making a few adjustments to the way we are running my business, including that Brian is now going to handle all billing and invoicing, plus some of the correspondence with potential new clients. This only amounts to a few hours of work… Read more »
Another Wednesday Morning Ride
It is supposed to get over a hundred again today, so I am really happy we got out to the barn early. Earlier than we’ve ever gone, actually. And it felt really nice. It was getting sticky-hot when we left, but during the ride it was cool and breezy. I rode Bear out on the… Read more »
Mood Swings
Today Brian and headed out first thing. We took our coffee with us. We were at the barn by 7:00. I think I must be getting old or something. I used to wake up, roll out of bed, and hit the trails without food or drink or anything. Getting out there early felt a bit hard… Read more »
The Third Ride
Brian has spend several more hours in the saddle than me this year, and he’s on better track for our riding goal too, so I need to catch up a little. Plus, I rode Steen on Saturday and Sunday, and I wanted to ride him again today. It seems to me working a horse three days… Read more »
No Hands
I have been focusing for months on trying to use my hands less and my legs more. However when I try to steer just with my legs, we pretty much instantly run into problems. It is so strange to me that Steen can walk a perfect figure-eight with almost no input from the reins, but if… Read more »
Backsliding
It is inevitable. We’ve had some great weeks with Laredo. He’s trying harder, he’s less bothered by us touching his head and ears, and he has a new energy about him when we’re working. But today we had none of that. He was distracted from the get go, and about 10 minutes into the ride… Read more »
A Hackamore Horse?
We’ve had Martin Black’s “The Hackamore” DVD sitting around for weeks, but fresh on the heels of the Buck clinic, we felt we had enough new ideas about riding in the snaffle to keep us busy for a while. I feel like when I have these intense periods of learning, I need some time to… Read more »
The Heat of Summer
This has been the hottest summer I’ve ever experienced in Iowa, and it is only the beginning of July. Since I work early in the morning and get off early in the afternoons , we haven’t been going out much. It isn’t great for the horses to stand around in the heat all day and… Read more »
Halfway There
The year is half over, which is hard to believe for all sorts of reasons. So far we’re on track for our 150 hours in the saddle goal. As of the end of the day today, I’m at exactly 75 hours. A couple years ago I started keeping track of my time spent riding. I… Read more »