Sunday was Duke Day, and Steen was very much in need of a trim. It was raining when we got the barn, and we beat the farrier. We brought the boys indoors and they were wet and jittery, but we took our time grooming and gave them a little chopped hay, then rode indoors for… Read more »
trot
Short Serpentines
Today was cloudy and somewhat cool. When we walked out to the pasture all the horses were out of sight except Bear, who was tucked into a corner of the windblock. When he heard our voices he turned around to look at us. After watching for a few moments he wandered over to me while… Read more »
Turning Towards Fall
We had a wet Friday so didn’t get our normal afternoon at the barn. Today it was cool and overcast when we pulled the boys from the pasture. They even got their first serving of chopped hay for the season, which they both seemed quite happy about. Steen was attentive from the start today. I… Read more »
19 Tail Hairs
Today we headed to the second strip again, and my plan was to keep things quieter and less demanding. We rode through the hallway of terrors with Bear leading the way. Something about the large stack of hay bales got him a bit concerned and he scooted into a little half bolt, but Brian got… Read more »
Three Bays on the Trail
Although last summer I rode Steen out around the acres of farmland around our barn all the time, this year between my extended period of not having a saddle and Brian still getting used to Bear, we’ve stuck closer to home. But finally I realized enough is enough, and it was time to get start… Read more »
Three Bay Geldings
This morning our friend Gay was out tacking up Doc at the same time we were getting our boys ready. It was already hot and extremely humid, so Brian and I had decided to ride in the stall horse pasture with all the big shade-creating trees. We invited Gay to ride with us. We led our three… Read more »
Stormy Ride
Brian and I have a real knack for utterly miscalculating the weather on the weekends and heading to the barn at precisely the wrong time. Today was no exception. We found ourselves with two mostly tacked up horses and a storm that rolled in and started dumping rain. We went inside and dawdled, hoping it… Read more »
A Step in the Right Direction
We got to the barn early again today, and although it didn’t cool off much in the night and it was pretty humid, there was a nice breeze that kept things from feeling too bad. I did some groundwork with Steen before mounting. I’ve been starting to teach him to side-pass from the ground, and… Read more »
Poor Bear
I went ahead and made him look like a fool in the hopes that he would be more comfortable. I’ve mentioned before that he hates flies (with a passion), and he is always stamping away with his feet. So much that his hind ankles have been swollen for weeks. It makes me feel bad. Thankfully… Read more »
End of the Week Rides
Lately I have been getting some long rides in, but this Tuesday Bear and I had a fun, short ride, and I kind of liked the idea of having a few of those just to mix things up. On Thursday we more or less repeated Tuesday’s ride, but we were back out on the strip,… Read more »