With all this talk of cougars, Matt decided to go out with me tonight to hit the trail and decided to bring his video camera. He brought Levi up to the barn and Levi started singing to Sinwaan.
We headed up Cache Hollow with Matt following in the truck. Sinwaan wasn't too sure about that and would try to stop and pull over for him to go by. So we played leapfrog a little so Matt could get some shots from all angles. Sinwaan did pretty well on the way up, we probably trotted 1/3 - 1/2 of it.
We got to the two mile spot and I waited there while Matt drove on up to the top to get some scenic panaramic shots of the valley below and the sun setting. While I waited for him a car drove up with the same older man and four dogs as last time. The black dog again bounded up to us, hackles raised but when we didn't move he stopped and went on his way. He looks like a border collie mix. The man got all the dogs in his car and talked to me a little while. He thought maybe my horse came from Day Road. I told him no, he was from Virginia. The man thought he was sure a pretty horse. He turned around then and went back down the road as Matt was on his way down.
After all this standing around Sinwaan was starting to get antsy. He was tossing his head and just acting ready to head on home. I told Matt I would wait a minute for the dust to settle from the car and then head on down, as Sinwaan likes to trot all the way home. Matt said ok and went on ahead of us also to get set up for a shot. Well we started trotting and before we even got to the spot where I let him canter he just TOOK OFF. He was doing a full out gallop in no time flat and man was he covering ground. I tried to slow him down but to no avail, he would have none of that. It was like I was invisible. He had a couple little hops here and there as things jumped out at him (in his mind) and I did my best to keep my seat. I finally got him under control as he saw the truck up ahead. What a bad horse. Matt told me to take him on back up and come down again and I figured that was a pretty good idea since he hadn't been listening to me anyway.
He did much better once I made him go back up the other direction and down again.
After this point (the one mile) I went ahead of Matt and he followed us down at a slight distance. He was not taping anymore. Although I kind of wish he had, since Sinwaan acted up and I would have liked to have seen it on camera. I don't know what happened, I know we were trotting along and he decided to canter, which was fine at that point, I try to give him his head to some degree as long as he listens when I ask him to slow down. I think he jumped left away from a rock or something and then for a fraction of a second I thought he was going to start bucking with me. I don't know if his little spook made my stirrup fly up and startle him further or what but it was quite the experience.
When we got about 1/3 mi from the house I don't know what happened, we were trotting along happily and what do you know I lose a stirrup, and then I lose the other one so he is still trotting along in his big trot and I am trying to stay on. HA! I was slipping all around and had the seat been real leather I would have slid off for sure. Thankfully I got him halted with not too much trouble and my feet found their way and going on home we had no more trouble.
Once we crossed the road and were back onto McKuster grass, Sinwaan had to stop and take a pee. It lasted all through my whistling "on top of spaghetti" and then some ....
Tomorrow early is our Bennington Lake ride. So I hope I wore him out enough tonight to behave for Olivia! :)
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