Solo Trip to the Wildlands

After my last ride with Meg in the Wildlands I was itching to ride some more!!  I had made plans to ride with a friend on 10/25/09 but at the last minute some stuff came up and I wasn’t able to make the trip to her house which is about an hour away.  I tried to find someone to ride with me but no one was available!  I was pretty bummed, but then decided to put my big girl boots on and take Louie to the Wildlands myself!  My dad telling me over and over to be careful did nothing for my jitters and when he asked when I’d be back “so we know when to start lookin’ for ya in the ditch” almost made me change my mind!  I love my dad and know he worries about me a lot since my fall but sometimes he lacks tact! 

Louie is really getting good about just hopping right onto the trailer and is standing like a pro instead of the “in, get jittery, back out” routine we had going on last spring, so he hopped right on the trailer and away we went. 

I’ve been leary about tying him because somewhere along the way I got it in my head that he pulls back.  I don’t know if, like everything else, now that he’s got a job he’s just content to stand most anywhere or if I had made up this pulling issue but he will stand quietly tied to the side of the trailer with no issues.  So I unloaded him, tied him to the side of the trailer and quickly ran a brush over him and then saddled him up.  My jitters started in – is this really a wise idea?  To ride up here all by myself – am I crazy? 

I walked him to the gate, took a deep breath and swung my leg over.  He was a little more “up” then I would have liked but away we went!  He was forward but not naughty in any way.  We went at a nice, brisk walk and a little trotting.  We followed the Hothole Pond Trail and got in a nice canter.  We’d gotten a bit of rain the day before and there was a puddle that stretched across the road.  I was afraid he was going to be a jerk about it but to my surprise (and delight!) he not only got his toes wet, he drank from the puddle!!  We continued on down the trail until we got to the pond – where the new rock was put in, the water was rushing out of the pond over the rock and Louie

wasn’t impressed!  He wasn’t naughty, he just didn’t want to get anywhere near that noise!  I did finally get him up to the pond and he took a drink and then we headed back the way we came.  Save the big fights for another day!

We did more trotting and cantering until we reached the puddle again and then I decided to tackle the “noooo I don’t wanna get my toes wet” thing we had going on!  It only took a couple minutes and he was standing fetlock deep in water and not objecting.  When we got to the end of the road, he started to fuss about going to the right which would take us away from the trailer.  I don’t want him to get into the habit of picking our direction – before long we wouldn’t be leaving the barn/trailer!  So I decided to force the issue.  There wasn’t too much fighting about it honestly!  When I insisted we were going on instead of heading home he decided I meant it and on we went.  We didn’t go far, just around the corner but far enough that I felt ok about turning him back towards the trailer. 

The day after our solo ride, we went riding with another friend and her horse who has basically no trail miles on her.  Both horses were wonderful and I can’t wait to ride with them again!!

I’m feeling very good about the direction Louie and I are heading in and we’re even starting to set some goals for next year!