Usually July in Iowa is not all that great. It tends to be hot, humid, and buggy. Not my favorite combo. This July has been much better than usual. We’ve had a lot of mild days. We’ve been getting out on the horses a lot. And as far as the blogging in concerned, that’s part… Read more »
Zoey
Photo Dump!
So having four horses has been interesting. We’re learning tons and getting a lot of ride time in. The only thing that is suffering is my blogging. When you are almost always having two rides each day, it makes it hard to come home and formulate your thoughts. So here are some highlights. Bear… Read more »
June Recap
Well, so June happened. So far this summer, we’ve been riding a lot. In May my total was over 28 hours. I’ve never ridden that much in a month before. At least, not since I’ve been keeping track. And honestly probably not since before I was keeping track, either. June has been not quite as… Read more »
Close Quarters
We arrived at the barn today to find a truck and trailer parked in the center of the indoor arena, a lesson taking place around it, and the ground too soggy for riding outdoors. Not ideal conditions, to say the least… But there was nothing to do but make the best of it. We brought… Read more »
A Long Day in the Arena
It’s a three day weekend and we’re supposed to have huge storms every day. Today we woke up to sprinkles and sat around the house for many hours as it continued to rain. The crops need it, but I’d rather it came on my non-ride days. Eventually we saw the storm ending and went out… Read more »
Zoey Gets a Trim
Zoey has been in need of a trim since we got her, but it took us until today to coordinate with the farrier. I had a meeting in Cedar Rapids in the afternoon, but my morning was quiet so I went out early to sneak in a ride before he arrived at 11:00. I rode… Read more »
The One Where I Don’t Fall Off
Today was Steen’s birthday. He turned 13. My gift to him was a day off, which translated into some quality alone time with the bale. I rode Zoey today. We started off trying to saddle at the hitching post. In my efforts to be graceful with this, I tied my offside stirrup up with my… Read more »
Body Position Really Matters
A few nights ago we watched Richard Caldwell’s Jaquima a Freno (part II). It was a really great video. So many of the exercises we have seen before, but it is always nice to hear how another great horseman lays everything out there. And like so many others, Caldwell rides like he grew right out… Read more »
Just One
It stormed in the night. The area around the barn was soaked and soggy, and there were more patchy storms that had the potential to hit us. With Zoey, we were again confined to the indoor. On the bright side, Zoey came to meet us in the pasture today, was scared off by Laredo pinning… Read more »
Hard to Title with Two Very Different Rides
We got out to the barn early on Saturday knowing we would work with a lot of horses. We were each going to ride two, and on top of that Robin would be working with a 2 year old. It was my day to work with Zoey, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that… Read more »