Horses – Page 414 – Virtual Brush Box

Ropework

Horse Work: AM heat therapy, walk. PM nothing. Sufficient daylight but activities of daily living left me with insufficient patience to deal with him a second time today. Evaluation: Relaxed but still seeking reassurance. Rider Work: mare walk, bike. We are experimenting with using a neck rope instead of a halter. I keep the ropeContinue reading “Ropework”

The Fish/Pond Equation

Horse Work: PM heat therapy. An unrelated house crisis* threw my schedule out of whack. Evaluation: still on the alert. From time off? Rider Work: mare walk, swim. It is better to be a small fish in a big pond. Play tennis against opponents better than you. Apparently, some folks rise to a challenging environment.Continue reading “The Fish/Pond Equation”

Back in the [figurative] Saddle

Work: AM heat therapy, easy walk/PM groom, ran out of daylight for exercises. Evaluation*: During the walk, he stayed relaxed despite being annoyed at the dog. Almost like a horse that one might someday want to ride. Almost. Someday. By the end of the grooming, he began to remember that he enjoys being fussed over.Continue reading “Back in the [figurative] Saddle”

Cowboy Inspiration

Work: day off. Again. I spent the day at my state’s Horse Fair, a winter festival of lectures, demonstrations, and association booths. I learned: 1) There is a whole parallel western world of which I know nothing. 2) Western riding is looking more and more like dressage: balanced seat, legs underneath the body, legs inContinue reading “Cowboy Inspiration”

Truck Shopping

Work: unclear. Rain. Gloomy weather to match my gloomy mood. I’m feeling old, unproductive, purposeless, and all those other doom clouds that travel in packs. One obvious reason is that this is the longest I’ve gone without riding since I was 14. One obvious answer is to be grateful for all that I have, bloomContinue reading “Truck Shopping”

Caution Feral Horse

Work: none. Heat therapy already. Will groom later. Rodney has had 7 out of last 8 days off, with little more than meals & a pat on the nose. My first horse developed complicated stable management diseases if I gave him even one day off. I hired a barn rat to love on him forContinue reading “Caution Feral Horse”

Guest Blogger: Keeping Secrets

Work: day off. Book Review of Keeping Secrets by Maggie Dana [rerelease Kindle 2011] by Ellen Broadhurst, The Blithe Traveler I know Maggie Dana through my mother. So I asked Ellen Broadhurst to do the honors as she has no dog in the hunt. Plus, she has experience with horses and books as the authorContinue reading “Guest Blogger: Keeping Secrets”