Today I was determined to ride since the weather has been so nice lately - the days are getting shorter and my horse is getting fatter! Although plans at the moment are really up in the air about the new Elbe ride, in order to have a prayer of going and completing, he has to be in shape, so there is only one way to do that - ride!
I saddled up and - wow - he is fat! Hard to get the billet through the buckle initially. I thought about riding our 8 mile loop. It was pretty windy out and usually the wind doesn't bother us too much but he has had a lot of time off lately so I was ready for anything.
Heading out from the property he was good, walking and attentive. We made it about a 1/2 mile down the road and he zoned in on a gas tank in someone's yard. Then the wind picked up and we were next to a half-dead cornfield so it was rustling. Sinwaan froze and did not want to move. Then far off in the distance - a gunshot? He jumped in place. He had barely recovered from that when bam bam bam bam, a cluster of gunshots. They sounded miles away but that was all it took. He spun around and bolted, faster than I ever knew possible. before I knew it we were galloping down the center of the road for home. Well, I was ready for it, even though it happened that fast, I still had a deep secure seat and was able to bring him back down quickly. He halted and then refused to go forward. I had thought after the bolt that we really didn't need to be out in the road if he was going to act this ridiculous. So I urged him onward, back towards home. He started backing up. He was acting so psychotic that I dismounted. I really don't know what was in his head. Normally he loves heading for home. He was out of sorts and I wasn't going to take a chance riding him in that state. So I got off and led him.
I decided to try and see if I could get him past his fears and continue on the direction we aimed to go in the first place. He was being very bad, not respecting my space and surging past me and then trying to circle around me. If nothing else, it was a good opportunity to remind him who the boss was - ME! I had to pop him in the nose a couple of times (I have a popper on my reins) but once we worked that out he walked calmly next to me and regained his brain. Once we got past Jenee's he was being really good so I mounted up and we rode on. We did more walking than usual - there were some weird howling sounds coming from a pipe next to the telephone pole, and he had to look twice at things he usually doesn't see, but it was progress.
We went down the usual way until we got to the T intersection at Frog Hollow. Usually I go left for the "lollipop" of our 8 mi ride. Instead I turned him right, for a shorter (distance) but tougher (elevation changes) ride in a large country block. Even though the road was headed uphill, he took off in a big trot and I let him go. With the wind in our face, it felt like we were going 40 mph. There was flapping plastic, and a running tractor at the roadside but he barely gave them a second look. He was on a mission. I wasn't sure where all that gas in his tank was coming from. I talked him down to a slower trot a couple times but he was really wanting to go, and I find that with a outlet for his energy he is easier to manage. Give and take, like any relationship.
The road is up and down and up and down, significant hills for a back country road. I was glad that there was minimal traffic today. The roadside is rougher than I like to ride on for part of this block, especially at speed.
As we turned back down the road leading towards home, he started pulling on me again and even went into a collected canter. It was comfortable so I let him go through the field headed for the barn. When we got close, however, I turned him without allowing him to break gait, and made him canter back the other direction, towards the road. He wasn't too happy about that and fell down to a trot. I kept him to the trot the length of the field and then asked for a walk on a loose rein to return to the barn.
All told, it was a good training ride. 5.8 miles.
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