Last night I was reading through a little bit of Cow-Horse Confidence by Martin Black. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but I might have found just what I needed to read. I ended up reading a section on balancing with the horse, and of course in that section Black was constantly talking about… Read more »
trot
Two More Great Rides
On Tuesday we rode on the strip and on Wednesday we did a little turn around the second strip and the three hills. Both rides were fantastic. The weather has been phenomenal, and Steen has been relaxed and willing. On Tuesday I worked more on switching between the lope and the walk. After a few one-rein… Read more »
Frustrations in the Saddle
Bear and I are still working through our little trot issue. Both Tuesday and Wednesday we spent considerable time working in the gait, and while we made some progress each day, it wasn’t much. But I should be happy with where things are at. I was telling Robin how I don’t remember such issues last… Read more »
Out Enjoying the Weather
Looking out the window, you would never guess it’s only March. All last week our yard was carpeted in crocuses. The grass is up and growing like mad. This whole week was sunny and in the 60’s. Today we continued what we hope becomes our new Sunday tradition, which is to leave the barn behind.… Read more »
The Plan
As I mentioned in my last blog, I had a plan to work on our trotting for the next ride: warm up, move right into the lope for a while, cool down for a couple minutes, and then work on the trot. And I was quite surprised when the plan worked far better than I… Read more »
Sometimes I Just Want to Trot
I was out of town the last couple of days for work. It involved a long van ride to Minneapolis, a night program talking to lots of people, staying up way past my bedtime drinking beer with some of my fellow travelers, a restless night’s sleep, and another long van ride back to Iowa City.… Read more »
Too Much?
We were about 10 minutes into yesterday’s ride and I was wondering if I had been doing too much lately. It was only about a week and a half ago that I started riding quite consistently again. Those rides were on the easy and short side, and Bear seemed to respond well to them. Then… Read more »
I Guess I Was Wrong
A few posts ago I was claiming that it will always be windy in the spring, be it cold or warm. Today, though, was a perfect 70 degrees with sun and only the lightest breeze out of the southwest. It could not have gotten any better. And both our guys were good, too. Bear just… Read more »
Venturing Forth
We had some rain last night and this morning, so footing on the strip was going to be mushy. Also, our boys have had a couple hard rides recently and they aren’t in super good shape. We don’t want to over-do it. But it’s spring break and the weather is fantastic, so while Brian and… Read more »
The Spring Skinnies
Yesterday was so windy and damp, and we’re so out of the habit of riding, we somehow let the day go by without ever making it to the barn. So today we were determined to go right after breakfast so we couldn’t talk ourselves out of it. It was cold and we had a light… Read more »