Down the Road and Back

TC has gotten better and better at the ranch and it's actually so fun to have a riding horse there again. Rico and I made so many memories in that arena and in the surrounding areas when I was riding him there while I was in school from 2011 to 2014 and now I get to enjoy remembering those things from behind grey ears instead of bay! 

Same road, different ears

One of my favorite things to do at the ranch is to walk down the road and back. The ranch is at the end of a very quiet road and so you can walk all the way out to the busy streets and back to the barn, it takes about 30-40 minutes to do the whole thing, longer if you also walk down the access road which takes you to a busy road that you can cross and then walk up the driveway to the winery nearby. 

TC is very good about really everything that the road may bring, so I started warming him up and cooling him down by walking him down the road and back. He loves trail rides and exploring, so that's great, and the road is paved so it's good for his legs to walk so much on hard ground. I honestly think that's what kept Rico sound for so much longer than expected: walking on hard ground. I feel like a conspiracy theorist but that's what worked for us. 

He's wondering why he can't live with
the cows in that green pasture I'm sure!

So far, TC has had to deal with the neighbor longhorns wandering around their pasture, the other neighbor cows, the cows further down the road, several barking dogs at various houses, the neighbor bringing out his garbage cans, a horse getting excited to see TC and so trotting up and down the fence line as we walked by, a pig in the pasture nearby, goats as well, lots of cars, a plastic bag stuck in a bush, a few bikes, and some pedestrians. He's handled it all so well that it's hard to remind myself that he hasn't been here before and that maybe I shouldn't distract myself on the phone with my reins on his neck. 

We have yet to get all the way to the end of the road. Mostly because there are fewer horses down there and he's skeptical of leaving the sight of another horse. He'll eventually get over it, I know this because there were times when the weather was so bad (very windy and cold) that we were the only ones out at our regular trail facility. He sometimes whinnies when he's out there but doesn't panic if he's the only horse at that facility. As he gains confidence, he'll definitely want to get down to the end of the road. 

His buddy lives in that pasture on the right

I was hesitant to let him down the access road because cars can sometimes drive up that and it's a tight squeeze. His friend who trots alongside us is also near that road and I was worried that she would set him off. But he insisted and he was honestly fine. No cars came and he even made a bid to cross the very busy road at the end of the access road to get to the winery and continue his exploration. I said no and tried to rein him back away from the road so he didn't get goosed by a car, but right at that moment, a car zipped by us. It's a 50mph road so I startled and got a rush of adrenaline. But there sat TC, still eager to cross it, not having reacted at all to a car going so fast right by him out of the blue. 

We'll cross the road eventually and I'll take him into the hills behind the golf course that's behind the winery, but I want him to get used to not crossing it for a bit so that he understands he can't just walk into traffic. All the other horses know to treat the end of that access road like a stop sign and then there's TC who is so confident he'd walk right into traffic if you'd let him. From being such a nervous nellie of a baby horse, I'm... proud? I guess? of his confidence, but I think I'd like him to not get hit by a car. So that's our project.

Too confident, most of the horses hate the pig that
lives in this pasture, TC doesn't care

I'm excited to be able to get him out of the arena every day! Once we are confident on the roads, then my project turns to the trails that are carved into hills above the ranch. They're rather steep and mostly serve as hiking and ATVing trails, but I have ridden horses up there and while it's a little unnerving, it's a great climb for the horses and provide some beautiful views. 

Hopefully we can start adding in a trail ride day at the ranch where we can choose between heading out to the winery if we have lots of time or just heading into the hills if we don't! It's a great place to be locked down at while we wait for the EHV-1 case in our area to be resolved (hopefully this weekend!).