Short ride

Got in a short 6 mile ride with hills this morning, time 55 min. Had a bunny cross our path, and later on, a deer. That was neat to see. Was thinking I would work harder at making our time shorter, but riding the beast before breakfast is hard - when he sees food I think "ok, one bite, make it quick" and it turns into about five. So maybe our riding time is faster because he is spending more time eating? At any rate, it seems like every time we do 6 miles it takes us 50-55 minutes. Which is ok. Good but not great.  It reminds me of riding with Ernie Schrader one time, his horse could trot and grab food off the side of the trail without slowing down. I wonder how to teach him that?