Exciting Evening Ride

Today my mom was in town so I had dinner with her and the family before heading out to the barn about 6 PM. I decided to put more miles on my Abetta saddle tonight, and hook up the breastcollar and crupper to see how they worked. I had a little trouble with the breastcollar, it did not go short enough when hooked to the saddle where I thought it should be attached. So I moved the clips up to the higher rings and then I was able to adjust it to where it felt about right. The crupper was easy to put on and Sinwaan didn't seem to have an opinion about it so we headed out for a nice evening ride.

The weather was perfect and I was in a t-shirt and black jeans. I know, I should have changed into jodhpurs. We took Braden Road a very short distance to where it ends in a T at Stateline Road and then a short jog to the left and then a right onto Elliot Road which is a gravel road with very limited traffic. Sinwaan was just raring to go. Very unlike him! He was fighting me to trot and tossing his head and really acting up.

Once we got onto Elliot I dismounted and removed the crupper, thinking either he was hot to go or the crupper was causing him to act up. If it was the crupper, that was an easy fix. Well it was not the crupper. Even with it removed he just wanted to GO. I have never experienced SO MUCH ENERGY astride this horse before. And, he was very keen on proving to me how STARVING he was by sidling up to the green wheat on the left side of the road to try and munch on it. I don't think so!

I have felt like I am losing my stirrups too often, (although I have not moved my EZ stirrups over to this saddle yet) and I am always losing my footing. So I steered him over to the edge and let him munch while I adjusted my stirrups (moved them up 2 holes) without dismounting.

Then we were off again! He was happy to trot the gentle hills on this road and when we got to the sharp left he took off and we had a very fast gallop up to the railroad tracks (1000 ft), where I slowed him down to a walk to cross them. When we were about 2/3 of the way down this stretch he snaked his head out and down and acted up like he wanted to buck. With a sharp AAATTTT!!! he remembered his manners and we continued. Then it was his big super-fast trot all the way down to the first homestead. We have always walked past this house when riding with Lara in the past because there is a lot of big farm machinery surrounding it and sometimes dogs barking or sprinklers going off, lots of stimulus for a horse. It is just a short jog from there to the turn off where we turn right and take the dirt farm road around the perimeter of another wheat field. Last time I rode this trail the wheat was just little blades and now it is fully headed with green wheat and about knee high - just the perfect height for Sinwaan to try and sneak bites. We trotted some on this path but footing was not great due to recent rains and he was really acting up badly trying to eat all the time. So we made it as far as the isolated junkyard of misc. farm vehicles and then we turned around.

Sinwaan always knows when we are headed for home and he wants to HURRY UP and get there! So he was dancing and tossing his head and swishing his tail and trying to show me how very mad he was that we had to WALK back on this dirt road. He has never been so misbehaved in all my hours of riding him. If the footing was better I would have turned him around and made him trot the other direction, but really I just wanted to get back on the gravel road. So on we went, with a AAATTTT! reminder every so often for him to knock it off. WOW. This was not my horse.

When we got back to Elliot Road I turned him right, instead of left towards home, and made him trot to the end of the road where it intersects with Birch Creek Road (County Road 550) and just ahead is a big grain elevator where the trains load up with grain. This is neat country, a lot of things to see. Well that was as far as we could go on that road so we turned around and headed back.

We started out with a flying trot which soon turned into a canter but I didn't mind, better to get out the bugs while it's safe. There was a sprinkler wetting down the road at one part so we slowed to a walk to time it just right to get through that section without getting wet, then we trotted on to the homestead, walked past it and then galloped the rest of the way back to the railroad tracks. Wow! When he started tiring and slowing down I encouraged him to keep going. If he was going to be bad and try to run all the way home, then by golly I would keep him running! I figure he galloped about 3000 ft (about 1/2 mi)

From the railroad tracks I would have been happy to let him walk and cool out but it wasn't long before he was ready to trot again. Trotting was easier than trying to keep him from ambling over into the wheat field so trotting on we went. We alternated between trotting and walking (but not much of it) and even had another little canter on the way home.

From looking at the map, I would guess we did about 5 miles tonight but I don't know how fast because I had no watch. Needless to say it turned out to be a very fast exhilarating ride!



When we got back to the barn I untacked him and turned him out into the pasture so he could nibble on weeds and grass while I busied myself with putting things away, sweeping out the barn, filling his water tub and mucking out his paddock. It was nice to be there doing this manual labor, and I realized I had missed it. I don't know why, but there is something rewarding about cleaning up after your horse. Sinwaan came back over to me when it was time to put him away and I gave him a little handful of grass hay for a reward which he took eagerly. He has lost his spring grass belly and is looking good.

I feel that due to his performance tonight, he really needs more turnout time, so Lara has agreed to turn him out for me while she is there grooming her mares every day. If that does not make a difference, I will cut back on his grain, although in talking with Lara she does not feel his grain (SafeChoice) is a hot grain and should not be causing the problem. So I guess we'll see. He could always use more riding time, so I will have to see what I am able to do.

Stateline road turns into gravel not far from Darold's so next time I may go up that road to explore and see how the footing is. I may be able to put in more miles going that direction.

I did notice that after tonights ride I am a little chafed and that surprised me with this saddle. Maybe it had more to do with the jeans but I don't know. I am starting to wish I had just bought a nice sheepskin saddle cover for my dressage saddle and that likely would have solved all my problems. Now I have too much invested into this Abetta, but figured I would need it at Renegade because of all the D-rings. We will need to do more rides with the crupper so I can be sure that is working, and I need to move over my EZ stirrups as well. Maybe this weekend I can get all that accomplished.