Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Solo ride on the road
Today was a good solo ride for Sinwaan and I. We rode out from the barn and headed east this time up Stovall. The first mile Sinwaan gave me a little snort, prance and head tossing - but overall I have seen worse, so I think we made a little progress today.
Going past Jenee's is always interesting, Sinwaan finds plenty of things to look at that he thinks are going to jump up and get him - the creek, and agility equipment in particular, so we walk past.
Then it was back to trotting, around the bend and then thankfully we had slowed to a walk again because I saw a plastic bag in the bush...thought Sinwaan must have seen it, but no! At the last minute he notices, jumps and whirls around. I lost a stirrup on that little antic. Nerves slightly rattled we continued on. More trotting and then he even wanted to canter, so onward we went for a short stint to the stop sign.
Decisions, which way to go today? Heading south would have put me on our usual loop, only going in the opposite direction. I decided to turn left, and an immediate challenge was the bridge. Sinwaan balked away from it twice so I dismounted and led him over. I did not want traffic to come upon us at 40-50 mph when he is acting senseless.
Mounting up once over we headed on our way, down to Mission road and here we headed west. I heard a chain-saw in the distance and noticed a man trimming his tree. He was not running it as we went by, thankfully. Back into a trot, and Sinwaan was really extending himself today, it felt like he was moving out much better than usual with a nice long stride. Then I glanced down and saw a piece of carpet in the grass on the shoulder. Sinwaan saw it too. Another leap sideways and again I lost a stirrup. That will get your heart rate going! We walked then, for a short section, as there was a horse in a pasture across the street trying very hard to get our attention.
More trotting.
Down at the bend we were approached by three noisy dogs. Hmm. I am never sure what to do. Sinwaan stopped to check them out and the two larger ones stopped coming towards us although they kept barking. I talked to Sinwaan a little and we walked onward to the intersection.
Turning right now onto Majonnier we had about 1/4 mile until we came to another bridge. This one we crossed without a problem. Just after that we had a motorcycle come at us, but Sinwaan wasn't bothered. This road turned into Frog Hollow and just before the historical cemetery we had a large blue heron rise up on our left. It was really neat. I love encountering wildlife on my rides.
Half way down Frog Hollow to our turn, I heard something coming up behind us, so I pulled Sinwaan over to the next driveway so he could turn around and have a look. It was two men, one on a 4-wheeler and one on a 3-wheeler, driving side by side (taking up more than one lane) and each of them with a beer in hand. This must be a country road. They were not going very fast so I gave them a couple minutes to get ahead of us since we were going the same direction.
We also passed an orchard, and heard lots of voices from within and saw a lot of cars but did not see any of the people.
Heading back down Last Chance and then back onto Stovall completed the lollipop portion of our ride. Sinwaan was doing great, he was still moving out with a big trot and we even interspersed some cantering. No acting up, we just had a really nice ride at our own pace. All told we covered 7.8 miles in about an hour and a half.
Next weekend I am planning to put the saddle bags back on and use the HR monitor so I can get a better idea of where we're at, and how much I need to step it up to have him ready for the Home On The Range ride, our first of the season, March 27th.
Going past Jenee's is always interesting, Sinwaan finds plenty of things to look at that he thinks are going to jump up and get him - the creek, and agility equipment in particular, so we walk past.
Then it was back to trotting, around the bend and then thankfully we had slowed to a walk again because I saw a plastic bag in the bush...thought Sinwaan must have seen it, but no! At the last minute he notices, jumps and whirls around. I lost a stirrup on that little antic. Nerves slightly rattled we continued on. More trotting and then he even wanted to canter, so onward we went for a short stint to the stop sign.
Decisions, which way to go today? Heading south would have put me on our usual loop, only going in the opposite direction. I decided to turn left, and an immediate challenge was the bridge. Sinwaan balked away from it twice so I dismounted and led him over. I did not want traffic to come upon us at 40-50 mph when he is acting senseless.
Mounting up once over we headed on our way, down to Mission road and here we headed west. I heard a chain-saw in the distance and noticed a man trimming his tree. He was not running it as we went by, thankfully. Back into a trot, and Sinwaan was really extending himself today, it felt like he was moving out much better than usual with a nice long stride. Then I glanced down and saw a piece of carpet in the grass on the shoulder. Sinwaan saw it too. Another leap sideways and again I lost a stirrup. That will get your heart rate going! We walked then, for a short section, as there was a horse in a pasture across the street trying very hard to get our attention.
More trotting.
Down at the bend we were approached by three noisy dogs. Hmm. I am never sure what to do. Sinwaan stopped to check them out and the two larger ones stopped coming towards us although they kept barking. I talked to Sinwaan a little and we walked onward to the intersection.
Turning right now onto Majonnier we had about 1/4 mile until we came to another bridge. This one we crossed without a problem. Just after that we had a motorcycle come at us, but Sinwaan wasn't bothered. This road turned into Frog Hollow and just before the historical cemetery we had a large blue heron rise up on our left. It was really neat. I love encountering wildlife on my rides.
Half way down Frog Hollow to our turn, I heard something coming up behind us, so I pulled Sinwaan over to the next driveway so he could turn around and have a look. It was two men, one on a 4-wheeler and one on a 3-wheeler, driving side by side (taking up more than one lane) and each of them with a beer in hand. This must be a country road. They were not going very fast so I gave them a couple minutes to get ahead of us since we were going the same direction.
We also passed an orchard, and heard lots of voices from within and saw a lot of cars but did not see any of the people.
Heading back down Last Chance and then back onto Stovall completed the lollipop portion of our ride. Sinwaan was doing great, he was still moving out with a big trot and we even interspersed some cantering. No acting up, we just had a really nice ride at our own pace. All told we covered 7.8 miles in about an hour and a half.
Next weekend I am planning to put the saddle bags back on and use the HR monitor so I can get a better idea of where we're at, and how much I need to step it up to have him ready for the Home On The Range ride, our first of the season, March 27th.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Ride daze
Today DeeDee picked me up at 8 am and we went out to Madam Dorian for a ride. Linda met us there. We had a very nice ride in the dunes and even saw an Eagle up in a tree! There was less gunfire today, although it is the last weekend of duck-hunting season.
At one hill DeeDee pulled over so I could go up it first. She wanted to walk up and I figured I would let Sinwaan trot up it. Well he really wanted to bolt on up and I let him until about 1/2 way it felt like he was bucking, so I verbally scolded him and slowed him to a trot and we made it the rest of the way up without incidence. As Linda came up I said "Rodeo!" and she replied 'No, I think he was slipping, I don't think he was being bad intentionally.' That section is more dirt than sand and it has been wet lately. She commented that she could see his skid marks as she came up behind us.
We did some trotting and some cantering, which is really fun, I hadn't realized how much I had missed that. I don't canter on the road rides and haven't lately with Ruth either since her horse is a youngster. Sinwaan was full of it, he was second in line and wanted to GO. Once in front however he was not very consistent in his gait. Trot, spook, stop to poop, trot, canter, spook. Oh brother. So we didn't lead much. He does best in the middle, where he doesn't have to worry about being on the look-out.
Almost to the end (going out) we encountered a man setting up fake people and contraptions for training hunting dogs. We rode on out to our end point, took a break to feed the horse treats and give them a breather and then headed back the other way. We stopped to talk to the man and ask more about his equipment. The contraption was remote-controlled dummy launcher to throw out a 'dead duck' in the training process. We took the horses over to have a look and it wasn't really a duck it was just a dummy. Sinwaan walked right up to the fake person, it didn't phase him at all.
Had a nice ride back and all told we were in the saddle about 2.5 hours today. Weather was a little gray and overcast but clear on our level, saw the sun trying to peek through in spots. Rain is predicted the rest of the weekend so I was very thankful to get in a ride now.
* * * *
Forgot to blog about last weekend. Sunday five of us went out to Madame Dorian - Ruth, Heather, Hope, Cheryl and myself. We also had a nice ride, with Otto leading a lot of the way. A couple of the gals had never ridden out there and were glad to discover it. It was a gorgeous day for a ride. We did not make it all the way out to the end because we ran out of time, Ruth had to be back so we turned around early. Sinwaan did some leading on the way back to the trailer and we did some trotting and then he broke into a canter for a short spell and I was just pulling him back down to a trot when I heard someone yell and I turned around and Ruth was on the ground. Unseated, but landed on her feet. Naughty Otto. Needless to say he is now at the trainers.
At one hill DeeDee pulled over so I could go up it first. She wanted to walk up and I figured I would let Sinwaan trot up it. Well he really wanted to bolt on up and I let him until about 1/2 way it felt like he was bucking, so I verbally scolded him and slowed him to a trot and we made it the rest of the way up without incidence. As Linda came up I said "Rodeo!" and she replied 'No, I think he was slipping, I don't think he was being bad intentionally.' That section is more dirt than sand and it has been wet lately. She commented that she could see his skid marks as she came up behind us.
We did some trotting and some cantering, which is really fun, I hadn't realized how much I had missed that. I don't canter on the road rides and haven't lately with Ruth either since her horse is a youngster. Sinwaan was full of it, he was second in line and wanted to GO. Once in front however he was not very consistent in his gait. Trot, spook, stop to poop, trot, canter, spook. Oh brother. So we didn't lead much. He does best in the middle, where he doesn't have to worry about being on the look-out.
Almost to the end (going out) we encountered a man setting up fake people and contraptions for training hunting dogs. We rode on out to our end point, took a break to feed the horse treats and give them a breather and then headed back the other way. We stopped to talk to the man and ask more about his equipment. The contraption was remote-controlled dummy launcher to throw out a 'dead duck' in the training process. We took the horses over to have a look and it wasn't really a duck it was just a dummy. Sinwaan walked right up to the fake person, it didn't phase him at all.
Had a nice ride back and all told we were in the saddle about 2.5 hours today. Weather was a little gray and overcast but clear on our level, saw the sun trying to peek through in spots. Rain is predicted the rest of the weekend so I was very thankful to get in a ride now.
* * * *
Forgot to blog about last weekend. Sunday five of us went out to Madame Dorian - Ruth, Heather, Hope, Cheryl and myself. We also had a nice ride, with Otto leading a lot of the way. A couple of the gals had never ridden out there and were glad to discover it. It was a gorgeous day for a ride. We did not make it all the way out to the end because we ran out of time, Ruth had to be back so we turned around early. Sinwaan did some leading on the way back to the trailer and we did some trotting and then he broke into a canter for a short spell and I was just pulling him back down to a trot when I heard someone yell and I turned around and Ruth was on the ground. Unseated, but landed on her feet. Naughty Otto. Needless to say he is now at the trainers.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
This old horse
Today I logged into the AHA site to record our past rides for the Frequent Rider Program. I saw Sinwaan's birthdate - March 10 1997 so I pulled up the calculator (that's right, I am not that great with math in my head). Apparently my horse will be 13 this year, not 12!! I guess I lost a year somehow, all this time I thought he was still 11. Oh well.
Yay! Two days of riding!!
How have I not blogged yet about last weekend? It could be that I was too busy riding! :)
Saturday DeeDee picked me up from the house at 10 am and we went out to get Sinwaan. We then trailered out to Madame Dorian at the Wallula junction. This is a fantastic place to ride in the winter because the footing is usually always great (sand) and the trail takes you out about 5 miles from the parking lot. DeeDee parked in a different spot, so I would guess we did about 7-8 miles. We really had a great ride, most of it I even got to shed my coat and was in just a t-shirt - in January!! It was phenomenal.
Sinwaan did great. He had one little spook at a white bush and was slightly edgy when we got close to the hunters and the gun shots were going off at the ducks but I have no complaints. He worked hard for me. We did a variety of walking, trotting and even some cantering. At the end (half-way) we stopped to let the horses take a rest before turning back around. DeeDee busted out the goodies. She fed the horses all kinds of treats, including Good & Plenty. I never would have thought to give a horse that, but Sinwaan loved them. So did the dog!
DeeDee's dog, Shiloh was a great little tour guide. She ran ahead of the horses and knew all the trails. DeeDee could tell her "right" or "uphill" and she knew just which way to go. The only drawback was that she ran herself into some sticker bushes and we had to stop so DeeDee could pull them out.
Coming back Sinwaan was feeling lively, leading at the trot, and there was a tumbleweed in the trail. He JUMPED over it. I was not expecting that! Kind of fun! A short time later he jumped another one. Silly horse.
I had a wonderful time. The horses seemed to get along great. I am thankful to DeeDee for the transportation and good company! Weather report said 60% chance of rain, but we never saw it on the trail.
* * * *
Sunday I met Leila and we went out to Sinwaan's pad for take-off. When we got to the barn the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day, Very promising! I was expecting Sinwaan's usual shenanigans riding out from his home, but saw none. Must be tired from the ride yesterday! Leila and I got out about 2 miles and it got overcast. The sky started spitting a little. It wasn't horrible so we kept going. At about the 1/2 way point it started raining. Too late to turn back now. We did a fair amount of trotting. As we walked by Jenee's place she came out to wave hello. I hollered "Isn't this wonderful? Don't you wish you were riding with us?" Jenee' shook her head Nooooo way! :) We were pretty well soaked by the time we got back to the barn, but I didn't mind. It was a good ride, very refreshing. Hee hee. Another 5.8 miles!
Saturday DeeDee picked me up from the house at 10 am and we went out to get Sinwaan. We then trailered out to Madame Dorian at the Wallula junction. This is a fantastic place to ride in the winter because the footing is usually always great (sand) and the trail takes you out about 5 miles from the parking lot. DeeDee parked in a different spot, so I would guess we did about 7-8 miles. We really had a great ride, most of it I even got to shed my coat and was in just a t-shirt - in January!! It was phenomenal.
Sinwaan did great. He had one little spook at a white bush and was slightly edgy when we got close to the hunters and the gun shots were going off at the ducks but I have no complaints. He worked hard for me. We did a variety of walking, trotting and even some cantering. At the end (half-way) we stopped to let the horses take a rest before turning back around. DeeDee busted out the goodies. She fed the horses all kinds of treats, including Good & Plenty. I never would have thought to give a horse that, but Sinwaan loved them. So did the dog!
DeeDee's dog, Shiloh was a great little tour guide. She ran ahead of the horses and knew all the trails. DeeDee could tell her "right" or "uphill" and she knew just which way to go. The only drawback was that she ran herself into some sticker bushes and we had to stop so DeeDee could pull them out.
Coming back Sinwaan was feeling lively, leading at the trot, and there was a tumbleweed in the trail. He JUMPED over it. I was not expecting that! Kind of fun! A short time later he jumped another one. Silly horse.
I had a wonderful time. The horses seemed to get along great. I am thankful to DeeDee for the transportation and good company! Weather report said 60% chance of rain, but we never saw it on the trail.
* * * *
Sunday I met Leila and we went out to Sinwaan's pad for take-off. When we got to the barn the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day, Very promising! I was expecting Sinwaan's usual shenanigans riding out from his home, but saw none. Must be tired from the ride yesterday! Leila and I got out about 2 miles and it got overcast. The sky started spitting a little. It wasn't horrible so we kept going. At about the 1/2 way point it started raining. Too late to turn back now. We did a fair amount of trotting. As we walked by Jenee's place she came out to wave hello. I hollered "Isn't this wonderful? Don't you wish you were riding with us?" Jenee' shook her head Nooooo way! :) We were pretty well soaked by the time we got back to the barn, but I didn't mind. It was a good ride, very refreshing. Hee hee. Another 5.8 miles!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Goals, and weather
I recently had 10 days off work for Christmas vacation. So I set a goal of riding four times during this extended break.
I did my first solo ride on Monday, Dec. 28th. This means that I rode Sinwaan from his barn, out on the shoulder of the road, around a large country block of 5.8 miles. He did well. Better than I expected. Oh, he had his moments, but overall I can't complain.
Since I was also doing the feeding and general care of the animals during break, I learned a little something about Sinwaan. His issue is not that he is barn-sour. No, he is herd-bound. Armed with this new knowledge, it is easier to deal with his antics when riding out from the barn. It is so basic and simple I don't know why I didn't figure it out before. Leaving 'his herd' he has anxiety (even when riding with other horses), and once we make the turn back towards home he tries to pull my arms out of their sockets, wanting to go faster faster back to his fellow equines. So we have some new things to work on.
I planned to ride on Wednesday with a friend at Madam Dorian, however Tuesday night the snow started falling and made it too dangerous to trailer out on Wednesday, so we cancelled. I could have done another solo ride that day but with all the stress I was dealing with I decided I better not. (I had gotten dressed for riding and then had a small breakdown and stayed home).
I attempted to ride on Friday, even had the saddle on and was cinching up (in the rain) when suddenly big gusts of wind started blowing hard and whipping all about, and a big black cloud covered the sky and I decided, nope, not today. I am crazy enough to ride in cold temps, or light rain, but not that crazy. (I am a mother, after all) I feel fortunate that it all happened as I was tacking up, and not after I was a mile into a ride out on the road.
Sunday, Jan 3rd, I finally got in another ride, my second of vacation. Not nearly enough, but I'll take what I can get. Another solo ride, this one another success, a little bit of acting up from Sinwaan but overall nothing to worry over. I would never put a beginner on him, but it's nothing I have not been able to handle. He seems to be doing better with each time out, esp. now that I am understanding his issue.
Hopefully my friends will once again be able to join me this coming weekend and perhaps we can make the ride a little bit longer than the usual 5.8 mi.
I did my first solo ride on Monday, Dec. 28th. This means that I rode Sinwaan from his barn, out on the shoulder of the road, around a large country block of 5.8 miles. He did well. Better than I expected. Oh, he had his moments, but overall I can't complain.
Since I was also doing the feeding and general care of the animals during break, I learned a little something about Sinwaan. His issue is not that he is barn-sour. No, he is herd-bound. Armed with this new knowledge, it is easier to deal with his antics when riding out from the barn. It is so basic and simple I don't know why I didn't figure it out before. Leaving 'his herd' he has anxiety (even when riding with other horses), and once we make the turn back towards home he tries to pull my arms out of their sockets, wanting to go faster faster back to his fellow equines. So we have some new things to work on.
I planned to ride on Wednesday with a friend at Madam Dorian, however Tuesday night the snow started falling and made it too dangerous to trailer out on Wednesday, so we cancelled. I could have done another solo ride that day but with all the stress I was dealing with I decided I better not. (I had gotten dressed for riding and then had a small breakdown and stayed home).
I attempted to ride on Friday, even had the saddle on and was cinching up (in the rain) when suddenly big gusts of wind started blowing hard and whipping all about, and a big black cloud covered the sky and I decided, nope, not today. I am crazy enough to ride in cold temps, or light rain, but not that crazy. (I am a mother, after all) I feel fortunate that it all happened as I was tacking up, and not after I was a mile into a ride out on the road.
Sunday, Jan 3rd, I finally got in another ride, my second of vacation. Not nearly enough, but I'll take what I can get. Another solo ride, this one another success, a little bit of acting up from Sinwaan but overall nothing to worry over. I would never put a beginner on him, but it's nothing I have not been able to handle. He seems to be doing better with each time out, esp. now that I am understanding his issue.
Hopefully my friends will once again be able to join me this coming weekend and perhaps we can make the ride a little bit longer than the usual 5.8 mi.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Dreary -yet challenging- ride
Today Heather rode down to Sinwaan's to meet me for a ride. I do not feel comfortable riding on the road alone, so I was very glad for the company! It also meant that Heather put in an extra 10 miles (5 miles each way) of riding to accompany me. WOW! I joked that her horse would be in twice as good of shape and she commented that since he was older, he would need the added fitness for the upcoming ride season. Heather rides a Mustang that she acquired as a youngster and he is 19. They have done dressage in the past, and last season Ruth got Heather hooked on limited distance rides.
Sinwaan was a muddy mess when I got to the barn. In all honesty, I thought I may be riding in the rain today. It had been drizzling all morning and it was foggy and gray. I had been stalking the weather report all week and the prediction was 10% chance of rain Saturday, 50% chance of rain Sunday. Well I was not risking Sunday's weather. I told Heather and Cheryl that I was riding Saturday, even if I did get rained on a little bit. A little would be better than a lot. I only have the opportunity to ride once a week and I can't afford to throw it out because of a little rain. Heather and Cheryl were both in, until Cheryl discovered a flat tire on her trailer.
I took my time grooming because on the drive over I had not passed Heather on the road like I thought I would have. So I was trying to figure out if she was running a little behind, took a different route, or what. I didn't want to ride alone on the road, and wasn't jumping up and down about riding by myself in the field. I had gotten most of the mud curried off of Sinwaan's back and toweled him off a bit when he suddenly perked up. He had caught site of Quincy coming down the road. I hurried then to tack up, but still took care to be sure nothing was twisted or ill-fitting.
Off we went.
Now I don't know what has gotten into Sinwaan. Usually, riding in a group of horses he is content to take up the tail end and follow at whatever speed the leader sets. He falls into line and you could put a beginner on him. Today, and last weekend, riding out from his barn, he has been full of nonsense. Jigging and tossing his head and almost crow-hopping and threatening to rear. I can feel him under me, just a bundle of nerves and energy all tangled up and he wants to explode but can't decide which direction. I try to channel it and keep him moving forward, as this is the only thing that seems to help but lately this means he is in the lead, which doesn't help matters because the lead horse is also the lookout horse. So not only is he bouncing around like an idiot, he is also half-spooking at puddles and mailboxes and stumps and all kinds of scary things that he normally (following) would not even see.
I have, at this point, come to the conclusion that this is how he acts riding away from HIS BARN. We'll see if my theory proves correct the next time I trailer him out, if he is the same challenge. He has been challenging. I had been thinking what an easy horse he had become and how it was almost too easy, how fun a challenge would be. Well, now I have my challenge.
The jig is not so awful I can't sit it and pretend I am riding a fancy show horse in a park class. What gets to me is the antics out on the road. The last thing I want is to come off a horse and land on asphalt!
Heather and Quincy are as steady as they come, so I was glad to have them along, and Heather offered to take the lead for awhile to help settle Sinwaan down. Our first encounter was a donkey in a field who started braying and trotting over as soon as he saw us. Then the Appaloosa came galloping over. They were quite a bit below us and Sinwaan just did not know if he could handle all that noise and excitement. But I talked and eased him through it and we continued on up the hill. Quincy was a bit slow, after all, he had already done 5 miles, so Sinwaan quickly took the lead. After about a mile he settled down into more of a working mindset. He doesn't do a very good job at maintaining a steady gait however, something we need to work on.
We had a nice ride, all-told, with the horses playing leap-frog on occasion. We chatted the whole way and did not get rained on at all! Sinwaan got the lead back when he sensed we were heading for home and went into a power trot. Until he saw cows. Oh my stars, what are those??!? What a moron, he shared a pasture with cows for a couple of years at least before he came to me. What is wrong with this horse? He stops and stares and then wants to leap off the road into the field if they dare look at him. More power trotting until we get to Jenee's place. What is THAT? It's just a dog agility course. Ok, but what is THAT? Just a stump. Once we got past more scary stuff we went back into the power trot. He can really move out when he wants to.
I feel like I am really dogging on him in this post. I don't really mean to. I am so thankful to have him, and I am glad to see he is acting more fit every time I ride. He was just as strong at the end of our ride today as he was at the start (in fact I was having to hold him back quite a bit the last 2 miles), I wish I could have done the loop twice! Just didn't really have the daylight for that, with Heather needing to ride on back home at the end.
He definitely does need more miles and more consistency to get him back into the steady easy horse to ride that I remember. He is too old to be acting this green. It makes me second-guess everything. Is the tack not fitting right? (I always use the same tack every time) Is something hurting him? Is he running too hot from the tiny bit of alfalfa and grain he gets every day? Is he just testing me to see what he can get away with? Is this simply a new trick based off his barn-sour attitude I have always seen? Time will tell. I think once we get out away from HOME he enjoys himself, so that tells me I can probably rule out any pain or tack problems.
Ruth loaned me a Wintec endurance saddle that I am dying to try out but I don't have a girth that will work with it. I am hoping to find one soon. I am also planning on riding 4 times over my Christmas break. I hope it doesn't rain. :)
Sinwaan was a muddy mess when I got to the barn. In all honesty, I thought I may be riding in the rain today. It had been drizzling all morning and it was foggy and gray. I had been stalking the weather report all week and the prediction was 10% chance of rain Saturday, 50% chance of rain Sunday. Well I was not risking Sunday's weather. I told Heather and Cheryl that I was riding Saturday, even if I did get rained on a little bit. A little would be better than a lot. I only have the opportunity to ride once a week and I can't afford to throw it out because of a little rain. Heather and Cheryl were both in, until Cheryl discovered a flat tire on her trailer.
I took my time grooming because on the drive over I had not passed Heather on the road like I thought I would have. So I was trying to figure out if she was running a little behind, took a different route, or what. I didn't want to ride alone on the road, and wasn't jumping up and down about riding by myself in the field. I had gotten most of the mud curried off of Sinwaan's back and toweled him off a bit when he suddenly perked up. He had caught site of Quincy coming down the road. I hurried then to tack up, but still took care to be sure nothing was twisted or ill-fitting.
Off we went.
Now I don't know what has gotten into Sinwaan. Usually, riding in a group of horses he is content to take up the tail end and follow at whatever speed the leader sets. He falls into line and you could put a beginner on him. Today, and last weekend, riding out from his barn, he has been full of nonsense. Jigging and tossing his head and almost crow-hopping and threatening to rear. I can feel him under me, just a bundle of nerves and energy all tangled up and he wants to explode but can't decide which direction. I try to channel it and keep him moving forward, as this is the only thing that seems to help but lately this means he is in the lead, which doesn't help matters because the lead horse is also the lookout horse. So not only is he bouncing around like an idiot, he is also half-spooking at puddles and mailboxes and stumps and all kinds of scary things that he normally (following) would not even see.
I have, at this point, come to the conclusion that this is how he acts riding away from HIS BARN. We'll see if my theory proves correct the next time I trailer him out, if he is the same challenge. He has been challenging. I had been thinking what an easy horse he had become and how it was almost too easy, how fun a challenge would be. Well, now I have my challenge.
The jig is not so awful I can't sit it and pretend I am riding a fancy show horse in a park class. What gets to me is the antics out on the road. The last thing I want is to come off a horse and land on asphalt!
Heather and Quincy are as steady as they come, so I was glad to have them along, and Heather offered to take the lead for awhile to help settle Sinwaan down. Our first encounter was a donkey in a field who started braying and trotting over as soon as he saw us. Then the Appaloosa came galloping over. They were quite a bit below us and Sinwaan just did not know if he could handle all that noise and excitement. But I talked and eased him through it and we continued on up the hill. Quincy was a bit slow, after all, he had already done 5 miles, so Sinwaan quickly took the lead. After about a mile he settled down into more of a working mindset. He doesn't do a very good job at maintaining a steady gait however, something we need to work on.
We had a nice ride, all-told, with the horses playing leap-frog on occasion. We chatted the whole way and did not get rained on at all! Sinwaan got the lead back when he sensed we were heading for home and went into a power trot. Until he saw cows. Oh my stars, what are those??!? What a moron, he shared a pasture with cows for a couple of years at least before he came to me. What is wrong with this horse? He stops and stares and then wants to leap off the road into the field if they dare look at him. More power trotting until we get to Jenee's place. What is THAT? It's just a dog agility course. Ok, but what is THAT? Just a stump. Once we got past more scary stuff we went back into the power trot. He can really move out when he wants to.
I feel like I am really dogging on him in this post. I don't really mean to. I am so thankful to have him, and I am glad to see he is acting more fit every time I ride. He was just as strong at the end of our ride today as he was at the start (in fact I was having to hold him back quite a bit the last 2 miles), I wish I could have done the loop twice! Just didn't really have the daylight for that, with Heather needing to ride on back home at the end.
He definitely does need more miles and more consistency to get him back into the steady easy horse to ride that I remember. He is too old to be acting this green. It makes me second-guess everything. Is the tack not fitting right? (I always use the same tack every time) Is something hurting him? Is he running too hot from the tiny bit of alfalfa and grain he gets every day? Is he just testing me to see what he can get away with? Is this simply a new trick based off his barn-sour attitude I have always seen? Time will tell. I think once we get out away from HOME he enjoys himself, so that tells me I can probably rule out any pain or tack problems.
Ruth loaned me a Wintec endurance saddle that I am dying to try out but I don't have a girth that will work with it. I am hoping to find one soon. I am also planning on riding 4 times over my Christmas break. I hope it doesn't rain. :)
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