And Then a Zippy One!

RHR: 36



HR on Return: 56



Distance: 7.3 miles


Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes


Average Speed: 5 mph



Hoss and I and the dogs went to Hollenbeck Canyon for our next ride. After a walking day, Hoss was raring to go. He wanted to run! It was all I could do to get him to stand quietly for me to mount up before he took off for the cowboy gate and the trails.



Because of the recent rains, the area was damp but not sloppy. It really made the footing quite nice. Once we'd done a half mile to warm up, I let Hoss go. He trotted quite nicely, if quickly, for a little while, then wanted to canter. I let him. What the heck? It's supposed to be a fast ride anyway! He's really quite smart and knows when to slow down for technical stuff.



We made our way around for a rather uneventful ride. I was happier with how he was negotiating down hills. Less of the jarring, floppy front end stuff than he'd given me the previous ride.



When we reached the flatter, straighter part, I let him fly. For a little ways, he wanted to canter, but he mostly wanted to trot. I kept this ride pretty slow. I was feeling no pressure! So, he did more walking than we'd usually been inclined to. Instead, when he felt like he wanted to go faster, I'd cue him to pick up the trot. The flat part is fun, because he can canter or gallop with little concern. There's hardly any turn to the area.

Again, an uneventful ride. Really not much to say about it. It was fun and relaxing, and the dogs had a great time.


Upon returning to the trailer, I checked Hoss's heart rate, and was delighted to find him at 56, despite coming in fairly hot.  While it's unlikely to get such an immediate return on changing strategies, it sure felt like a win.  It's rather reinforcing to see something like this happen.