After many months, my friend, Sandra Fisher, and I were able to get together for a ride. She and her horse, Max, haven't been getting out much lately. Her work keeps her busy much of the time, and it seems like the weather has been conspiring against her. Anytime she has had time to ride, it's been raining! I suffer from that this time of year, too. I'm not going to be out shoeing horses in the rain, so if it's not raining, I'm working. Fortunately it seems like Mother Nature is going to give us a little break.
Hoss just loves his cousin Max! Sandra and Max had arrived at Hollenbeck before we got there, and she was still grooming when I parked. When I opened the trailer to let him out, he hopped out and walked over to say hello to Max. These two guys just really seem to appreciate each other.
I have no data for this ride. Since it was planned to be a slow ride, and I was riding with Sandra and Max, I chose not to bother with it.
Max was his typical self on this ride, kind of a nut. He's one of those horses you really wish you could lunge the stupid off of, but it doesn't seem to work for him. He tends to sound like a freight train when he gets going. His flat walk is fast enough Hoss has to jog to keep up. Which just feeds Max's anxiety! He hears Hoss's trotting feet and wants to speed up.
In an effort to get Max wore down a bit, we went up the hills first. Hoss hadn't been out in a week, either, so he was a little silly, too. I still hadn't fixed his hackamore, so I was riding with the reins on the halter, fully expecting that this might be the first time in a long time he's succeeded in running away with me. Both horses were like overwound springs during this ride!
When we hit the single track, I spotted some hunters. Now, I'm pretty sure the hunters aren't allowed to be in that particular part of the recreation area. It was more than a little alarming. I had all three dogs with us, too. Mac, one of my boys, likes to run far and wide. I was very worried they'd accidentally shoot him! Fortunately he seemed to get the message that those people weren't to be trusted and stayed close to me and Sandra while we passed them.
Sandra is still recovering from an accident with her other horse, Lily. As a result, she doesn't quite have her horse trust back, even with Max. So she asked that we not canter on this ride. I could feel Hoss bunching up underneath me. He really wanted to run! But, I knew that he could deal, and I didn't want Sandra to be uncomfortable.
On the way up the first section of the long hill, Hoss was quite willing to trot, and even asked to slow down. I let him slow to a walk, since this was supposed to be a slow ride. Once we turned the corner, however, he wanted to take off! You can always tell the areas where we usually run. The dogs get completely wacko, fighting as they run along. I managed to communicate to Hoss that we needed to just trot, and he settled in and trotted up the hill just fine.
Once we turned about and were headed back down on the way "home," Max started getting even sillier. He's one of those somewhat barn sour types, although he's really not what I'd consider truly barn sour. I suspect he just needs more slow work. Max ended up leading down much of the hill back toward the trailers.
When we got near the flat, I heard Mac doing his excited high pitched bark, and spotted him pelting off after something. We stopped and I kept calling the rotten dog in the hopes he'd return! He finally did. Sometimes he really worries me, taking off like that. I couldn't tell what he was after.
Once Mac was back with the pack, we continued on our way. We didn't get much farther when we heard gunfire! I guess those hunters found something to shoot at. It was the only time we heard anything, but it was spooky enough by itself.
Once out on the flat, the horses really wanted to move out. I let Hoss start trotting. He's decided that this area is really for running, so I had to keep reminding him, no, today, I want you to just trot. I realized today Hoss has decided he can lead! Usually he's more than happy to let Max lead. This time, though, he wanted to do the leading. This is the first time he's ever put himself in the lead.
We ended up with a really nice ride, but a little faster than we were after! Our moving average was 6mph. That's okay. It was a short ride, and short rides can be a little fast!
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