We got lucky last weekend and fit in some horse time at the arena around our busy schedule of picking up 9 ton of hay… do you think our horses are grateful? Sometimes I’m not so sure!
Anyway, we have a four horse trailer and there are plenty of times I wish we had a huge stock trailer so we could bring 6 or 7 at a time. Typing that makes me feel crazy.
We started the evening on our trusted mounts, Spur and Fawkes and I’m sorry to say I didn’t get any photos of Kelly and Fawkes. Spur and I started the evening by him humping up and bucking a bit at the trailer because Fawkes looked at him funny. No joke. This is the Spur I deal with on a regular basis.
But then we got into the arena and I lunged him for a few minutes before getting on. We walked a couple of laps each direction, then trotted a few laps, then we actually managed to lope an entire lap each direction… which is a big thing for us because lazy bones doesn’t want to lope (you have to read that last part in the whiny voice I associate with Spur in this situation). The arena had the barrels set up so we then pretended to be barrel racers… very, very slow barrel racers. It was fun, if nothing else.
(Side note: Spur comes from a ranch that is well-known in this area for producing quality barrel horses. While his bloodlines aren’t of the barrel variety, I get asked quite frequently if he’s a barrel horse once people see his brand because they know or have heard of his breeder.)
Next, Kelly worked our stud horse, Steele on the ground and I swapped my saddle from Spur to Skipper (Kelly’s 3 year old gelding) and started his groundwork. When we’re in a new place, like the arena was for Skipper, I like to work the horse in small circles on the ground, moving him around the entire perimeter of the arena. This way he gets to see everything but he has to concentrate on what I’m asking him to do instead of focusing all of his energy on possible perceived threats. After working on the ground for a while, I exchanged his halter for a snaffle and climbed aboard. He didn’t much want to leave his buddies but he put forth a good effort and we walked around the arena before calling it quits (by then we were also pretty much out of daylight).
All photos edited with Piper’s Zoo Lightroom Presets! Use code horsetime for 20% off.
(None of the following links are affiliate links.)
All halter, leads, snaffle setups: Andrea Equine
Bosal: Steve Guitron
Custom Mohair Cinch: The Blue Dog Design by Brianna Albright
Briana Shirt: Lariats & Lace Boutique
Briana Jeans: Cruel Girl
Briana Chinks: Justin Hawks
Briana Boots: Tony Lama
Kelly Shirt: Cinch
Kelly Jeans: Cinch
Kelly Boots: Twisted X
Steele Saddle Pad: Weaver Leather
