The trail for day 2 is pretty straightforward. We rode out to the vet check, past it into Goler Canyon, turned around at the top, and headed back down. Vet check, then back to camp. Simple enough.
The drawback to this particular setup is, once the horses ahead of us get to the top, they turn around and head back down, passing us on their way back. This results in Hoss thinking I must be stupid, and we should turn around because clearly, we are going the wrong way.
I knew this going in. We got out of camp, and I realized early on it was not going to be one of Hoss's better days. There was a lot of what I call "trotting with the brakes on." It feels a lot like driving a car with the emergency brake set. This gets Hoss in trouble. He knows better. Usually all I need to do is reach for the whip and he'll shape up, but lately he's decided that doesn't have to be enough. I really had to get after him to get more than a few steps of going properly.
At the vet check, we paused long enough to get a drink and to give him his electrolytes before continuing on up into the canyon. Hoss was particularly obstinate and did not want to move out up the canyon. It was frustrating, but we got through it.
And then other horses started coming back down the canyon. As mentioned, Hoss thinks this means we are Going The Wrong Way. About the fifth horse to pass us, he was really sure I'm stupid. A rider commented "He looks tired." This annoys me, because what looks like "tired" on most horses is really just "I should get my way" on Hoss. His "tired" is a little different, and I suppose the subtleties could be lost on many, so perhaps I shouldn't let such comments bother me.
Once we (finally) reached the top, Hoss got a drink and we started heading back down. Hoss typically does pretty well trotting downhill, so I was hopeful he'd do well heading back. Well, not so much. We were with a couple of other horses for a few minutes, but I needed to stop for a "potty break," letting them get away from us. Usually Hoss will pick up after such stops, but not today. He was just barely keeping any sort of trot going.
I worked pretty hard to keep him going, giving him breaks from time to time so he wouldn't get discouraged. I think the most annoying thing was, other horses passed going up the canyon, and he gave me, "Wait, I think we're going the wrong way!" again. Ugh!
On our way downhill, we caught up with several other horses, including a mare we rode with a couple of years ago at the Death Valley Warmup ride. Hoss just loves her. He would very much like to take her home and keep her in his pasture forever. This creates a problem. He wanted to get real close to her and make all the other horses stay away. I finally had to pull him up and make him let her get away before he'd stop being a jerk.
Back at the vet check, we hung out and ate during our hold, and I made sure that little mare was going to be well gone before we hit the trail again.
Once our hold was over, we hit the trail again, doing the typical thing. It didn't take quite as long for him to pick it up as it had on day one, which after the way he'd been behaving all day was a relief. The rest of the way back to camp was uneventful and he behaved pretty well. I think he'd figured out where he was and we were on our way back. He finished pretty well, better than he started. I got him vetted through and back to the trailer for another night.
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