July 18 2007

I made it out to the barn about 6:30 tonight. The sky was overcast and there was talk of thunderstorms (but not until later, Kittee assured me). Sinwaan was the dirtiest horse in the pasture, apparently there had been a rain last night and he had taken the opportunity to roll and was just caked in dirt. I got a workout just grooming him! As I started tacking up I felt a few sprinkles of rain and for a fleeting moment I wished I had remembered a jacket. Sinwaan was a little on edge due to gunshots we could hear echoing through the canyon. As I walked him down the lane he blew his nose and jumped away from some straw bales that had not been there before. Silly horse. He stood nice as always for me to mount up with the mounting block and off we went! When I talked with Dale on Sunday he thought he would ride with me this evening, but he was out doing chores when I showed up and was not up to a ride and that was ok.

Sinwaan tested me quite a bit the first 1/2 mi and then I found an opportune weed which I was able to unroot and carry with me as a dressage crop. That worked wonders in keeping his mind forward. I tried to push a little harder tonight going uphill the two miles, we did more trotting and even some cantering for a smooth stretch. After the run he was breathing harder than usual and I wished I had remembered the HR monitor. We made it almost the 2 mi and decided to take a break. I had a swig of water and he had a mouthful of dried trail grasses and then we decided to turn around. Well at that point I saw a different horse. He wanted to trot all the way home. Periodically I would pull him down to a walk and he would go about three paces, as if to prove to me he could listen and slow down, and then he would sneak back into a trot. It was an exhilerating ride. The temperatures were fantastic, breezy and cool for a July evening. A few times I could feel his hindquarters slip and that worried me a bit. Once he stumbled on the forehand and that worried me a little since he tripped on a rock and I worried about him losing a shoe. We only had one spook tonight, at the canter, and it resulted in changing lanes but nothing serious. We encountered one vehicle and thankfully I heard it coming and had time to get off the road. They were going a little faster than most, but slowed as they went by us.

Needless to say, we made it back in record time. The (almost) 4 miles was completed in 1 hour, including the last 1/4 mi we also walked to cool out. Kim was right, as the weather cools down I will see a different horse; one who is eager to go! Although part of this I have to attribute to him knowing the trail well now and wanting to be home. Whatever it takes, he still is very responsive and slows when I ask, and the trotting is good for him to condition and good for me (although my back was starting to hurt a little by the end).

We had a good ride. I plan to go back out again sometime Friday. Then Sunday is another 12.5 mi ride up to Tollgate Chalet.