Come along on a ride with us

I brought my new tinycam along on a ride today (but it’s still hanging from my neck until I find a better way to mount it so sorry for the chaos!) and my Clipchamp AI video editor helper deleted all the pauses in chitchat so what’s actually a peaceful walk and occasional conversation sounds a little crazy-hyperactive, haha!

But, here’s a bit of what its like riding around the 4J today, an unusually warm day in December. Ronnie rides Six either the night before we ride Parker and Ranger or he will lunge him before bringing him down to the arena with us.

Lunging refers to either sending a horse around you on a leadline or “free lunging” – sending the horse around you in the round pen – what we typically do. It is used as a tool in horsemanship for numerous reasons…
– it’s a basic in “groundwork,” taught to them before even saddling them for the first time
– a lot of times, we do it to get out excess energy and/or kind of “evaluate his mindset” based on his responses to your “asks,”
– can be used as a tool for checking out a horse’s gait (at a walk and trot) in case the horse is experiencing some lameness…more about lunging in another post…

Six would rather hang out at the trailer if we’re close, than be by himself in the pasture or even in his stall in the barn. He’s not there longer than maybe 1/2 an hour or so, and we always stay within ear or eye-shot of him, as we know bonded horses start to feel unsafe sometimes when they are hanging out alone (and tied) without their buddies nearby. Six does pretty well with this, as we practice this regularly. So, he got an opportunity to stretch his legs, which makes standing and hanging out afterward that much more enjoyable.