New trails

This morning Lara met me out at the barn about 9 am and we loaded Sinwaan up and trailered him to Darold's place where she boards Ima. I tied him to the trailer for a little while because Ima was eating her breakfast. He was very well behaved. I stood and talked with Lara while she groomed and Ima chewed. We got tacked up and headed down the driveway towards the new riding location she has found out there. It is a long gravel road with some turn-offs onto dirt roads that go along the edges of the fields. There is wheat, alfalfa and peas planted out there and the scenery is really pretty (gently rolling hills) with all the shades of green as you look across the horizon.

We got in a really good ride today with a ton of trotting. Definitely put the Abetta saddle through the paces. Sometimes it would feel uncomfortable, wide and hard, and other times it was comfortable. I think with a tush cushion I can make it work for me. Lara helped me better understand the difference between a canter and hand gallop, which I will need to be able to do if I ever show in an Arab costume class. It became pretty clear to me that Sinwaan doesn't know the difference and can't collect very well on his own. We had a lovely ride down a long dirt road and then rode back to the gravel road we came in on.

There was still some time left to ride so we went into an unplanted field. We rode along the edge and when we got to a part that looked safe Lara asked if I wanted to have a gallop. I said sure, so off we went. Imaginn is so fast, and loves to run that she quickly blew by us and it felt like a scene in a movie! We would really get going and the wind would make my eyes tear up. No trouble at all from Sinwaan so I knew the saddle was treating him well. We turned around and decided to have another 'race' although it was hardly a race at all, Imaginn again leaving us in the dust. Lara let her out this time and MAN that horse can FLY! I would tell Sinwaan "go go go!" and he would turn it up a notch but is not really a competitive horse, he was content as long as he felt she wasn't too far ahead. It was a wonderful feeling to let them out like that and no worries of them running 'away,' as there is really no where for them to go.

After our romp we continued around the perimeter of the field and went down another little dirt road and then turned around and headed back for the barn. In the last short stretch we swapped horses so Lara could better explain to me what it is to have a horse collect. She would instruct me on Imaginn and I would do it and Ima would respond and then I could understand what she was talking about. She tried to get Sinwaan to collect and lower his head but he didn't really 'get it' and also had the wrong sort of tack on for such requests. Lara told me to bring out his other bridle next time and we would do a little work in the arena with him before a trail ride. Ima, at the collected trot, was so smooth, I could have sat that trot all day without posting.

I feel like I really learned a lot on this ride and it was neat to get to ride Imaginn also. After our ride we untacked the horses and Lara showed me the difference between a decent-fitting saddle (Sinwaan) and a saddle that doesn't fit so well (Ima). Even though we had the same make and style of saddles today, Sinwaan is a much wider horse and as a result the saddle did fit him better. I will need a new saddle pad, billet, and tush cushion but then I think we will be set for the next Endurance ride.

We made good use of Darold's wash rack (it is so nice to have cross-ties and a non-slip floor so close to a hose with nozzle) and then I said good bye and headed home about 1 pm. Thank you so much to Lara for hauling Sinwaan for me today so I could get home to my family sooner!!