And it's a 1.2!

Checked out Sinwaan's Achievement Award progress on the AHA site tonight. Looks like he earned 1.2 points for our Klickitat placement. That is exciting. I don't know what I will do with .2 points but it's better than .0! :)

We still have a long way to go to get to 75. Not for sure we can do it in his lifetime, but it's a goal. Next year we are planning to be more competitive, aiming for Top Ten placements instead of just going along, so perhaps we can pick up more points that way.

Bennington Lake, Labor Day

This afternoon Ruth picked me up at home and we went out to where Otto lives. I helped her hook up the horse trailer and we had him loaded up in no time. Went and picked up Sinwaan and I was astonished by the tight turning radius of her truck + trailer. I loaded the tack and she fetched the horse and we were soon on our merry way.

We decided on the good ol' Lake today since it was nearby and would be a good workout for the horses with the occasional elevation changes. Safer than the road also.

It was gorgeous weather and I was surprised to see no other horse trailers there at that point in time. The boys were well behaved today and we had lots of good conversation and it was just really nice to have a friend to ride with again. I forgot how much I missed chatting it up on the trail!

We rode up from the bottom and around the lake, then at the parking lot turned down and came back on a dirt trail closer to the water. We probably rode close to 2 hours. It was a great ride.

Road ride, Saturday

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.

Bennington Lake, Aug 22

This afternoon we trailered out to Bennington Lake. Matt and the kids came along. While I saddled up, Matt got the double stroller ready and the kids buckled in. They went on a walk while we were out there. I rode out alongside the river and saw two Blue Herons.

I had to use the restroom so I dismounted when we reached it 1/2 mile in, and I looked around for someplace to tie Sinwaan. There was a post in some tall grass with a hold in the top so I went over there and was trying to poke the lead through the hole when I felt something crawing on my finger. Yikes! I shook it off and decided perhaps I should look in the hole since it didn't feel like it went all the way through. What did I see? A wasp nest complete with wasps! I hightailed it to the other side of the restroom.

Luckily there was a hole in the top of the supporting wall. I unclipped Sinwaan's reins and ran it around and back to his chin ring. He seemed content.

It was such nice weather that it was a very busy day at the Lake. I saw a lot of foot traffic and a couple of people I knew on bicycles. Sinwaan did awesome. I wasn't confident that he would behave since he's had so much time off and last time he was so bad. He had a couple of nervous moments, little spooks at this or that but nothing major and we had a great ride.

The trails had been maintained and some were even still green.

We came across DeeDee on her new gelding, he is a really pretty horse and I hear doing well on the trails despite being an arena horse all his life.

Matt called me about 40 minutes in and we decided to meet back at the truck in about 30 minutes. On the ride back I saw them picking (and eating) blackberries!

Summer ride

It's been a long time since I've ridden, perhaps only once since pulling his shoes after our last endurance ride. Today we had a break in the weather, a slight breeze, so I planned to ride a short bit before helping to move a ton of hay. He was eager to go and met me at the gate. His hooves were very hard packed and it took a bit for me to even find the frog. He has put on a little weight (as expected) and I found his english girth to be a hole larger than average.

We headed out to the field and I mounted up. He walked to the end willingly but as we turned east the acting up began. It was just as I'd expected and experience before. First I had him back a couple steps every time he acted up but that soon led to him balking and then spinning and all while his head was high up in the air. There was probably a couple of minutes when I was not sure if I would win the battle but I worked to get him moving, to give him an outlet to channel his energy and eventually we worked through it. He wanted to run for the barn, so I worked to keep him to a slow trot (or jig), then made him move out (faster trot) heading away from the barn. Back and forth a number of times. When I could finally ask for the walk heading back and get it, then we called it a day and ended on a good note.

Lazy summer

Weather has been in the 100s. No riding lately for us. Sinwaan is getting fat and I think misses the trails. I did spend some time with him last Saturday just grooming and getting tangles out of his mane. The farrier isn't scheduled to come out until Aug. and I still don't know if I can go to Elbe for sure. I can't ride on the roads barefoot with him, and have limited time/funds to trailer out to softer ground. Hopefully soon we will go out again.

Riding again

Went for a ride at the lake today. Not sure how long we were out there or how far we went but it was a great ride! Perfect weather. We saw three deer. The last one was right along the edge of the trail and we were right up on it before it realized we were there. Fun to watch it bounce away! I worked on some transitions with Sinwaan, from trot to canter, a couple of times he tried to act up a little so we tried again until he got it right. At the end of the ride I noticed he had a small spot on his rear right inner fetlock where he may have been interfering. He is still barefoot so I am not sure what is happening there. He looked pretty fat to me today, three weeks off and his waist goes up a size (so does mine) LOL I did not have the girth up as tight as usual and I wondered if the saddle was slipping a bit on all those hills.

All weekend we have had perfect weather, I should have ridden on Saturday when I had the opportunity but I just lacked the motivation. I decided to make chocolate cake instead. I think that is my depression about not having ride money kicking in. When I know a ride is coming up I have the motivation to get out there and get Sinwaan fit so we are both ready for it. When my bank account is empty and I am just pleasure riding it is not the same. At this point I don't know if I will have the money for the ride in Sept. I hope so. It would be nice to train for one more (new) ride before winter.