Those are Bear’s two favorite gaits. It is funny as I tend to forget about the second one when we haven’t been practicing it. Like in the late fall after I had taken a tumble and we weren’t riding is spaces that were great for practicing the lope. And though I have not been riding… Read more »
transitions
Friday the Thirteenth
And it was wonderful. I finally feel back to my normal routine of working, exercising, and riding. This afternoon we drove out to the barn to hang out with the guys and check out Steen’s leg. He was hanging out in the indoor arena with another injured horse when we arrived. I left Robin to… Read more »
Mecate Transformation
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 »
My First Non-Robin Lesson
On Thursday afternoon my Mom took us to her huge hunter/jumper barn for a treat. The three of us were going to have an hour long, semi-private lesson. On Thoroughbreds. Going into this ride I was a little nervous. Things have been going really well for me lately, but I really only know Bear at… Read more »
Lope Transitions
On our way out of town we decided to hit the barn for a ride. We would be taking all our riding stuff with us to Chicago for a lesson at my Mom’s barn, so it really didn’t make any difference if we packed all that stuff or wore it. Lately our indoor rides have… Read more »
Double Work
Today was the first day of my vacation, so I went to the barn this morning with Robin (she still had some work to do, but she was game for some horse time). The days and nights have both been warm lately, and that means the winter lot is a mess. I should have gone… Read more »
Still Good
The first ride in the saddle was not some kind of one-time experience. If anything, Bear was moving and feeling even better today. And he was equally as stiff coming out of the pasture today as he was yesterday.. Robin and I got to the barn early so we could beat any other potential weekend… Read more »
Bareback in the Hackamore
Brian and I wanted to get to the barn early this morning in hopes of having the indoor arena to ourselves. The thermometer said 7° when we got up and 10° when we left the house. I pulled out all the stops as far as my wardrobe is concerned, digging out my sock liners, helmet… Read more »
Birthday Snow
Brian loves snow, and almost every year he seems to get at least a little on his birthday. Today we had a dusting, but not enough to clog up the roads. Lately we’ve been a bit concerned that Bear’s saddle might be causing the intermittent tightness he gets in his right side, so Brian and… Read more »
Stopping from the Lope
We’ve had mucky weather and Saturday was so wet and chilly it just wasn’t worth a barn trip. I stayed home and wasted a ridiculous amount of time creating, raising and training a digital version of Steen instead of hanging out with my real horse. I guess turning 30 didn’t entirely break me of my compulsion… Read more »