Back on the Trails

It has been quite some time since I took TC out on the trails at our local trail facility. Honestly I can't remember the last time I took him off the property for a trail ride. 

Happy ears!

I'm super lucky that we have a very convenient hillside to ride on at the ranch. I can do one loop in 25 minutes and two loops in 45 minutes and it's quite a bit of climbing. Because of that, I stopped needing to haul him out weekly for hill work to keep his stifle functional, but I still would take him out for longer rides and for fun. 

That is, until we went through everything we went through. I've tried to bring him back a few times, but the one facility that is my default trail facility has a lot of hills, and I've not been able to get him fit enough to feel like I can take him there and do the full loop that we do. Honestly, I've also not wanted to take the time to do it either, I really lost a lot of motivation to do much riding with all the issues we were having.

So much fun

On Sunday though, I decided it was time to start getting him used to hauling out and trail riding again. And it was so much fun! 

We got to the facility and there was some kind of fancy photoshoot happening with a girl in a beautiful dress and a friesian all dressed up with matching ribbons in his mane. TC unloaded and was surprisingly quiet, I thought he might think that we were there for a photoshoot with the way he was watching them. 

The mustard is kind of crazy

The bay area really can be beautiful

A little boy came over and seemed very interesting in petting TC. His grandmother asked if they could and I said yes, TC loves kids. And then the closer the kid was brought to TC, the more TC eyed him and the more the boy cried. Poor TC, denied a photoshoot and friendship. 

I tacked him up and hopped on and he was so so good immediately. Again, this is our normal trail facility and he's been ridden there since he was a baby. But it was a bit cold and windy and outside of the fancy friesian, we were the only horse there. We marched out to the gate on a loose rein and I very stupidly put on my instagram how chill he was. 

Love these trails

Because after that he started screaming and showing me all the stuff that was different since he'd gone there two years ago. Like yeah, they added a sign there, I'm sorry, I should have let them know not to change the place at ALL in the years since you have been here. 

But it was still a super pleasant ride, just like when he was a baby, if he was getting a bit unruly (and these days that's just whinnying and like, walking with a lot of huffiness), he gets pointed up a hill. 

I thought this was so funny

Happy boy (mostly)

I wasn't sure how much of the trail I actually wanted to do, I figured I'd see how he felt. He was going to have Monday off regardless and he's been doing both loops at home, plus some extra work on the tracks, adding up to about 75 minutes of light to moderate hill work. This was about 30 minutes more than that and a bit more climbing. 

He got a little over halfway still with enough lung capacity to scream and stare aggressively through the mustard at people, so I decided to do the whole loop. 

It's so gorgeous there

 

We got to the end of the ride with him feeling a bit tired, but still not so tired he didn't try to take me on a second loop. He got to meet two women who wanted to pet him and so I said yes and he got some attention. And he only had one minor spook at the end when two cyclists came bombing down the hill behind him and slammed on their brakes, skidding directly behind TC. 

He zipped forward about two strides before I turned around. The cyclists took that to mean they should race by us and he handled that just fine, but I called after them that like hey, you should probably ask the rider before doing that. Luckily he is the best boy and even without seeing a bike for actual years, he didn't care. 

Unsure of going back home

Tired boy after a trail ride

Finally I got him back to the trailer with a lot of protesting from him, he really didn't want to leave. When he got home, Rico was very happy to see him, and TC rolled, grazed a bit, and took a nap standing in his porch next to Rico. 

I was super pleased with the whole ordeal! He was stellar and best of all, we made it all the way around for the first time in YEARS. I'm so grateful to have this horse back. 

On the Trails

For the last few years, a lot of my riding on TC has been on the trails at the ranch. It was the one place where we enjoyed each others' company pretty consistently. When he was last in work, I had him trail riding 2x per week, riding in the arena 2x per week, and doing groundwork/turnout 1x per week, plus his normal 2x days off each week. 

Trail ride!

This summer, I stopped trail riding him because he seemed to not enjoy it as much. It's a pretty steep hill to get up to our small trail system, and there is not a lot of flat ground up there. You basically climb a steep hill, then it's rolling hills around a loop, then you climb down the steep hill. When we climbed up the hill, he'd stop a lot and it was a lot of work to just get him to the point where the trails started to roll a bit more. Then climbing down the hill, he's always walked very slowly. 

In addition, this fall, we had a tree fall across one of the trails, and there were a few more trees that were deemed at risk of falling. So I had to avoid the trails anyway! The tracks have some good hills (not nearly as steep, but not nothing), so I switched to those with both horses (I'm also riding the pony a few days a week). But that was resolved last week, so the trails are now available again. 

Where the tree came down, it sucks
because it was one of my favorite
parts of the trail

Looking down at the fallen tree

On Monday, the day after we went back to his long lining, it was like 85 degrees at the ranch. That's normally not too bad (it's a dry heat), but TC has a full winter coat. The idea of working him in the arena just seemed rude. But it was a little windy, and the trails are mostly shaded, so I decided to see what he'd think about going up there. 

We started down on the tracks to get a good warm up going, and he was pleasantly forward. Not marching along, but I didn't have to keep pushing him (which is really what annoys me, I don't mind moseying along on the tracks/trails). Then heading up the hill, he only stopped twice, which wasn't nearly as much as he used to. I'll take that as a win! 

Happy boy, watching our first set
of deer

Once in the hills, I was reminded of why I love it so much up there. The trails have brought me a lot of unexpected joy now that I've boarded at the ranch for so long. Every other facility I've boarded at, I've had to haul out to go on the trails, so it was a whole ordeal. Now I can just hop on bareback in the rope halter and head out! 

The rope halter wasn't such a great idea. We have a lot of deer who live in the hills. Each trail ride, we see at least one little family, but usually two or three, sometimes more. When TC goes up there all the time, he can handle it just fine, but when it's been a while, TC has a very strict deer quota. 

Seeing deer on the hill

Left ear is focused on another set of deer

The thing about deer is that they are a little afraid of us, especially when they haven't seen us for a long time. And so they trot away from us. At first, TC watches them like oh hey my friends, wonder why they are nervous. 

But the more deer that trot away from us, the more that TC considers that maybe the reason why they are doing this is that there is a terrible invisible and completely silent monster who is just behind him that they are afraid of. Because it doesn't make sense that they are just afraid of HIM. And why would he turn around to check that there is no monster there when he could just try to join them. 

Anyway, I was reminded of the deer quota when we saw our fourth pair of deer. They darted away from us and I could feel inside TC the desire to leave, and I was very aware that I had extremely limited brakes. 

Heading back on the tracks to the barn!

But he handled it very well and stayed with me. Honestly, probably just because it was so hot! Definitely going to break out the hackamore for trail rides if I insist on doing them bitless. 

We headed down the hill and he definitely took very careful steps heading down. I feel like it's schrodinger's neck over here - was he walking slowly/carefully down the hill because he's nervy? or because he is just large, or out of shape, or just a careful horse who doesn't want to barrel his 1400lb body down a steep hill? 

I do think I'd like to start trail riding him more. I think he appreciated not doing his rehab stuff, and the hill work is good for him too. I might add a trail ride day to our rehab plan, although I may have him do it on a day where we still do some arena work. He's doing so much better food-wise on this fitness plan, I've been able to increase his hay quite a lot! So I don't want to lose out on all that cardio (the trails don't really allow us to do a long trail ride, it's a pretty short loop). 

Trying Out the Side Pull

TC and I took it easy on Sunday and I just brushed him and did some light stretching/bodywork for him out in his pasture. Then on Monday, I decided to take him on an easy trail ride to just get a leg stretcher in. 

He handled the hauling well, but he was definitely worn out and a little body sore in weird places. Poor guy! It was 6.5 hours of hauling total that day with not a huge amount of time between the drive up (3 hours) and the drive back (3.5 hours). I decided that less time in between was better than hauling in 100 degree heat, and I'm glad I did it, even if it was a lot of hauling! 

Heading up to the trails!

On Monday I opted to put him in the side pull for the first time. I've had it since the winter, but haven't trusted him enough in it to willingly ride in it yet. But now I have my sweet summer horse back! So it was time to try the side pull. 

He was honestly SO GOOD in it! We were mostly on a loose rein out on the trails but I felt like I had plenty of control out there. 

Looking down at the ranch afterwards

I think next, we'll try riding in it in the arena and see what happens. I really want the horse to be able to do his job bitless and with a bit (and bridleless), not for any reason in particular, just because I feel like it opens up doors if he ever needs to go without a bit for a while! I guess he's been ridden in my weird flower hackamore, but the side pull definitely feels like more his style. 

WW: Got My Trail Horse Back

TC takes a few trail rides at home in the first part of the year to remember that trail riding is about relaxing and taking in nature, not snatching at grass and spooking at nature. And finally we have hit our stride where I can go out on the trails bareback and be on a loose rein the entire time. 

Already, the hills are turning brown from the lack of rain this spring. Oh well, it's still beautiful! 

Looking down on the ranch

We call this the "bowl" 

TC says "I can see my house from here"

We finally got the trails mowed so that
TC can't snatch at grass so much

Back on the Trails

TC's stifle acted up a few weeks ago as if I needed a reminder that we hadn't been able to get out on the trails in exactly two months. I gave him some time off and bute and he was fine once we got back to work and started climbing hills again. 

There is SO MUCH GRASS up there

He takes about 5 trail rides to stop being so impressed by everything up there. And this might take longer because the trails are so overgrown that both times we've been up there, he's been VERY offended that he isn't allowed to graze the whole time. Rude of me, honestly. 

He's still the best trail horse, even though I had to get off last time because seeing a family of deer and then the neighbors making noise was too much for him and he insisted that grazing was the only way he wouldn't have a meltdown. But other than that he's been amazing. I mean even then I was bareback and just annoyed at him, not afraid that anything would actually happen. 

Love this view, especially when it's green

Family of deer

I'm glad to have the trails. Honestly it's so nice to be able to give him a solid ride in like... 30 minutes. It's got a nice slow climb to the gate, then a few steep places to get him a good workout in, then a nice slow descent back down to the barn. I can do one loop in 25 minutes or two loops in like 40 minutes. Because I go out bareback, it's super quick! I think this is probably one of the major selling points of staying at the ranch for me, previously I had to haul out and even if I'm just going on a quick ride, that still adds so much time. 

Hello paradise 

Very happy to be out and about again

Hopefully it stays clear from now on so that we can keep trail riding!

WW: Morning Trail Ride

On Monday I went on a trail ride before work and for some reason it was freakishly beautiful out!

I love this view

It just felt very Halloween-y to me

Definitely need to ride in the mornings more often

Or even earlier than this to catch a
bit more of the sunrise

So pretty

Schedule Changes

As is apparent, I think, one thing I've been really considering for the last few years is what riding means to me. Like, what I love to do vs what I do because I feel like I should be doing it because I'm a Dressage Rider (TM). Honestly at this point, this is an ever evolving discussion I have with myself. I want to make sure that I'm doing what I want to do with my very time consuming and expensive hobby, not what I think I should be doing based on arbitrary rules I've given myself. I started jumping over a year ago as a way to break this cycle of me feeling stuck in dressage telling myself "this is what you're good at and who everyone sees you as, so it is what you should do." 

Now that work is picking up in the best possible (but still stressful and time consuming) way, I found myself feeling a little stretched thin riding both horses. 

But it's important to me to ride both because I really want to have my cake and eat it too, eventually. Meaning that I want to have TC as my dressage horse but I don't want to wait to retire him for me to get my jumping horse. There are a lot of reasons why: wanting to have a backup horse for clinics, wanting to jump but not wanting to give TC up, the ever looming dreaded middle age (is it weird to be planning my mid life crisis this early?) that might prevent me from wanting to jump the medium size sticks, and so on. 

But having two horses means fitting two horses into my schedule. That's tough when work is relentless and when I like riding in the middle of the day (over lunch and then right as people stop asking me questions) instead of before or after work like a normal person. I love that my company and my management chain trusts me to create a schedule that works best for me, but sometimes flexibility is so rigid! 

Accurate

I decided that I might want to do a schedule change to figure out how to get both done every day. My schedule was as such: 

Monday - off, work from the office

Tuesday - ride both horses in the arena

Wednesday - ride both horses in the arena

Thursday - off, work from the office

Friday - TC in the arena, Sunny with the kiddo

Saturday - TC on the trail, Sunny in the arena

Sunday - TC in the arena, Sunny on the trail

But what was happening is that I'd ride TC over lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday and then I'd be pressed for time with Sunny because it'd have to be after working hours or in between meetings. It was just too much and sometimes I'd just want to go home. 

The thing is, trail riding takes me half the time arena work does. I get on bareback in my tennis shoes, I go up the hills for 30-45 minutes, then I come back down, toss the bareback pad into the barn, hose the horse down real quick, and throw back in the stall. 

I love these trees!

With the arena work, I have to put on boots, put on a saddle, walk down the road to do a full warm up, ride for 30-45 minutes in the arena, cool down, untack, take my boots off, hose down, and then put back in stall. It takes way longer, an hour and a half for TC at least and an hour and fifteen for the pony (who I can ride bareback if I'm pressed for time vs TC absolutely not).

In addition, I found that I looked forward to trail riding so much on the weekends. All week I'd be glancing up into the hills waiting to go up there. I realized that I should change the schedule to allow me to trail ride during the week at the very least, but then I also decided to double my trail riding and see what happened.

So, this is what I changed to: 

Monday - off, work from the office

Tuesday - TC on the trail, Sunny in the arena

Wednesday - TC in the arena, Sunny on the trail

Thursday - off, work from the office

Friday - TC in the arena, Sunny with the kiddo

Saturday - TC on the trail, Sunny in the arena

Sunday - TC in the arena, Sunny on the trail

I love this view!

It feels kind of weird to only be doing dressage 3x per week with TC, but he's honestly thriving physically right now with less dressage and more hill climbing. I mean, I do put him in his good posture on the trails, I don't think he'd be as happy physically if I let him climb up and down the hills with his underneck rock hard and his back tight. I'm also having a GREAT time and feeling way less stressed with this schedule. 

First, it is SO FUN to be able to trail ride 4x per week. I adore the hills above the ranch so much. Trail riding up there gives me so many like... magical childhood feelings. Sometimes I bring a popsicle from the fridge! I listen to podcasts or music or a book and I just spend some time appreciating how amazing the ranch is and how lucky I feel to be able to have my horse there. It's the perfect way to destress in the middle of the day. 

Second, it's been way easier to get both horses out! Or on days like Tuesday of this week, where Sunny had to be booted out of my schedule, it allowed me to still get TC out despite the entire trail ride me having to be on my phone answering questions from stakeholders and writing code into Teams for my coworkers who needed help. Normally a day like Tuesday would have been stressful trying to fit an arena ride into, but now that I'm giving myself permission to trail ride more, I was able to appreciate the break from work, rather than feeling like I was pressed for time and "wasting" a ride by not getting enough done in the arena because we would have been starting and stopping so much.  

Best trail horse (Sunny is also great)

Hopefully this project is going to smooth out a bit so I can prioritize riding a bit more. The crazy part of it is now over, but I now have to catch up on all of my other work, so I'm expecting the rest of this week to be nuts! But luckily I am going to trail ride Sunny today, then I'll do as much as I can at the office tomorrow so that I can *actually* take our half day Friday half off and get both out. 

In the Hills

The trails are BEAUTIFUL this time of year and so I'm trying to take both horses on the trail at least once a week, if not twice a week, while the weather is still good. As I navigate this job change, it's just so nice to be able to hop on a horse bareback and ride up into private trails where I don't have to worry about anything. 

I love this view

Pony!

So far I've taken TC by himself, TC with Riot (and my good friend who is getting back into riding!), Sunny alone, and Sunny with Riot (and my dad). I would say that Sunny is best alone and TC is best with a friend.  

Sunny was totally fine when he was in front but he struggles to keep up with Riot's big walk so kept trying to trot to catch up and seemed to get a little worried when Riot got too far ahead. So we put him in front and he was a happy camper and Riot was a bit confused as to why he was having to go so slowly behind the pony.  

On his own though, he's so happy out there. He's totally relaxed, walks quietly along the trails, and seems pleasantly interested in looking at things. I'm definitely going to be taking him out on his own every week. 

TC, on the other hand, loved going out with Riot. He thought it was nice of me to bring a fun toy friend out with him and spent the entire time trying to bite him. When will he grow up? Never. And yes, he did finally bite Riot right at the end and TC seemed to be cackling while Riot didn't even flinch, clearly he knew it was coming. 

TC isn't bad on his own, but he definitely wants to stop and smell the roses more, which can be really annoying. He wants to stare at birds and trees and the neighbors' boarding facility and me and everything around us. It's fine but it's also like... please keep going. 

Hanging out with my friend! We used
to work together twelve years ago at
the event barn I worked at, love that
we are still riding together!

Such a good boy out there alone

With work starting soon and the rain staying away, I'm excited to add trail riding in as a regular thing on both horses' calendars. I'm going to theoretically have twice a week where I ride in the morning and then drive up to work, meaning that I need to get both done quickly. I could either only ride one and give the other the day off... or I can ride one in the ring and take the other on the trail. An arena ride with a saddle takes longer than jumping on bareback and going on a trail ride. So that's my tentative plan depending on what my timing is for getting into work each day. 

I'm always so unbelievably grateful to have trails right out the back of the barn. It's made such a huge difference in so many ways. Being able to just go out there and relax has been great for my mental health. Being able to get TC on the hills every week is so important for his stifle. 

Pony Camp

With L up in the bay for a month and Nicole's new pony still nearby, we opted to try to have an ACTUAL PONY SLEEPOVER WITH PONIES and it actually worked out. It was hit or miss for a while because of the necessity for it to not be raining. But last weekend, we (L, Nicole, Kate, Peony, and I) rented an Airbnb together near Kate's barn and we hung out for the weekend!

The sunset on the first night was beautiful

On Friday, Nicole left her MIL's place a few hours east of us and headed to L's barn to pick up Dante. Meanwhile, Peony drove down from her house a few hours north of us. And Kate and I drove our normal 40ish minute commute. We all converged at Kate's barn in the mid afternoon. After some excited greetings, we tacked up to ride! Peony rode one of Kate's client's super sweet horses, I rode Flounder, L rode Dante, and Nicole rode Speedy. And Kate was teaching in the ring we were riding in. 

It was super fun to just ride around a bit together! I played with Flounder's dressage moves, Peony got to ride a horse who was not Spot, L got to school Dante over some strange jumps, and we all got to see Speedy go for the first time. After some riding, we swapped horses! L hunterfied the horse Peony was riding, Peony got to experience the wiggliness that is Flounder, I got to play with Speedy, and Nicole got to jump Dante, among many other switches. 

We then went for a wander around the polo field, leading me to get the most amazing video I've ever taken: L trotted and cantered Dante around on the field in the sunset and it was beautiful. It's on her IG if you want to see it! You can probably imagine what it looks like given what the sunset looks like. 

But then Dante decided to become a hill horse and lost a shoe so he just hung out the rest of the weekend. 

That night, Kate's SO brought us Thai food (and picked up Kate's dogs who we got to hang out with until then) and then we sat on the couches at the AirBnb and talked about horses until I think about 1am. It was a super fun day and I always love our conversations when we are all together. 

Kate's barn has a bunch of ducks! 

Saturday morning we got up, got coffee, and headed to the barn. Our plan was to hang out in the morning while Kate taught some lessons and then go on a trail ride! I had to go get my pony from the ranch, so Peony and I headed over there to do that. 

I hitched in record time and then we were on the road! Sunny was good to haul and seemed excited to be somewhere different (he's been on this trail once before). The trail ride was super fun, although the pony did get over threshold and so I had to dismount and help him on the ground. When I got back on, he was much happier. 

Definitely something to keep in mind moving forward with him. I think with all the work we're doing, he's feeling less shut down, but now underneath it all, there's some anxiety, specifically about other horses. I'll be exploring this with Kate a bit this year. I want him to feel relaxed on a group trail ride, he deserves to work through his anxiety and be a happier, healthier pony. 

Trail ride!

L came back with me to the ranch to unload and my brother, SIL, and niece were there to drop some things off! My niece helped me put away the pony. Then my brother and SIL pulled me aside to let me know that they were having another girl (due in July). My niece has no idea what's in store for her: sharing her pony (who she just started referring to as MAH, which is how she lets us know what is hers). 

We headed out to an Indian pizza place and picked up dinner, then went to the barn to help Kate, Nicole, and Peony finish up. We got back to the AirBnb relatively early (for horse people at least lol) and hung out. 

L made the mistake of showing us her journal that night. She has a lot of lists in there and one of the exercises was to list everything she was good at (horse edition). She only had NINE things written down and most of them were duplicates of each other. So we all dished out some good, old fashioned mild to moderate bullying and got her to finish the list with 37 things she was good at. 

I will sit over you and yell at you
to write nice things about yourself
in your own journal, be warned.

Sunday morning, Peony headed home (although promised to come down to ride with Kate and I more often) and the rest of us went to the barn for one last fun day! Kate and L worked with Dante in hand and then Kate rode Speedy and taught Nicole. Kate then taught some lessons. I played with a barn cat and talked to some of Kate's clients, I love not being a trainer anymore (except for some clinics and remote lessons). 

Soon, we all had to get going. Nicole and L hit the road with the ponies and I headed out to get TC out and take the pony down the road and back. 

Such a fun weekend!

It was SUCH a fun weekend. I feel so unbelievably lucky to have such amazing friends and for this weekend to work out so perfectly (schedule and weather wise). We definitely need to do more things like this as a group and we talked about making this (minus ponies since it was just a fun coincidence that L and Nicole's horses were nearby) an annual thing. 

Can't wait for more adventures with my favorite people!

Misty Trail Rides

It has started raining out here in fire land, which is honestly so fabulous. And I say that as someone who does not have access to a covered arena! 

Most of our "rain" though has just been aggressive misting. I rode both TC and Sunny up into the hills and by the time I was done with both horses, I'd been covered in a thin layer of water that pretty much evaporated when I got back to the barn. 

But I got to break out my winter riding gear, which was nice (it was a frigid 58 degrees after all). I swapped out my trail running shoes for my mud boots and my sun shirts for a regular long sleeve shirt. On the trails, I wore my big down jacket mostly because I love wearing it and will wear it even if it's inappropriately warm out. The moment I won't pass out due to heat stroke, that jacket is in my car. 

I love this little look out and TC is so good about
putting his ears forward here!

I've never been a lover of winter but these last few winters, aside from dealing with giant storms and crowded covered arenas, have not been so bad for me. I think I'm growing to appreciate the winter instead of dreading it as I always did as a kid. Plus, it helps that TC is now pretty amazing year round.

Winter starting this early in the year though means that I might not be thinking the same thing in mid January when it actually *is* storming and I'm stuck outside with no covered arena and it's been winter for three months with another few months to go... but we'll see!  

I love these trails! I'll be sad to not climb them for
a while this winter

Anyway, knowing that we may end up being rained out of the hills for the rest of winter, I got both horses up onto the trails on Wednesday. 

TC was foot perfect as usual and so was Sunny. I rode both bareback and we did the long loops I usually do. I've managed to create a trail ride where you don't go on the same trail in the same direction more than once. It involves a lot of climbing up and down, but there are some flat portions as well. 

He gets this smug look on his face when I reach
into my pockets because he thinks he's earned a
cookie lol sorry buddy, just grabbing my phone

View of the ranch from the hills!

Sunny and I just wander while I listen to something or read something on my phone. But TC I'm more picky with. His body is feeling better and better and better with this work. I've worked a lot on his posture in the last year, but this most recent find seems to be working out really well for him. He felt super strong climbing the hills, which I ask him to do with his neck down so he doesn't engage his brachiocephalicus. The first time I trail rode him, it was apparent that he'd learned to climb hills with his neck up, which I thought was just a weird friesian thing. I wish I'd insisted from early on that he not climb hills that way, but I felt rude asking him for anything special on the trails. 

He still feels pretty weak going down the hills. There's definitely some weakness in his pectorals still, which is understandable. He's basically working 25 minutes, mostly in walk and trot right now as we build back. I think that causes him to want to rely on the brachiocephalicus, which is bad for his psoas, so I've been asking him to walk downhill with his neck not up in my face. That is REALLY hard for him, so he's been a little less stable going downhill. But he's perfectly happy to do that, I don't think it bothers him too much. If there's something I both deeply appreciate and despise about this horse, it's that he's very happy to just put his body in weird places without asking too many questions. So I can change his posture for the good really easily but I can also change his posture for the bad really easily. 

He's a wet rat of a pony lol

Sunny on the other hand feels insanely strong right now. Being in work just agrees with him and like I said in my last post, I'm really excited to get my mom back on him and keep him in full work no matter how much time either of us have. Right now with TC not in full work and me not having a new job (omg this week I've gotten so. many. rejections. it's really unpleasant to switch fields! I do not recommend), I have plenty of time to keep him going. 

He's a super trail pony and if I ever win the lottery I don't play, I would totally buy a pony just like him to just ride on the trail bareback and jump tiny fences on. He is sure footed and when the trail gets steep, he picks up a super smooth canter for four steps and then goes back to walk. It's really fun!

Creeping on the barn and house below!

He stood out in the rain while I rode TC so he did
start out extra wet

Despite both horses being fairly wet and also packing their feet with sticky mud, it was a great day to trail ride. Hopefully this wasn't our last trail ride of the year, it shouldn't be. But we'll see! 

This weekend has even more rain, so I'm riding as much as I can between now and Sunday where it's supposed to rain all day. After that, we see how the arena deals with rain. It looked pretty amazing as I left the barn last night so hopefully today and tomorrow we can get quality rides in and then maybe we'll have to do some road walking next week to let the arena dry. 

I did look into tarps by the way and they are like $6k at least. That's more than it'd cost me to put him at a boarding facility (even the fanciest one in the area lol) so I passed on that. If I knew I'd be boarding there forever, maybe that'd be worth it, but I'm still thinking that the ranch may be just a year or two stopover for TC and I. Who knows though! Even with the rain, I'm not missing being at a boarding facility juuuuust yet (especially because his stall is connected to the barn and I can park right near it, so no dealing with rain until I get on him!).