Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Cole and Bella

Cole and Bella

Monday evening, we had a super fun ride right before dark.  Bella and Cole were awesome--except for the Cole Burst that Cole experienced crossing the river when he saw another horse on the other side.  He ended up spooking Bella and scaring me as he trotted across the very slippery river.  He likes to make sure I never get too complacent.

Shari and I have had so much fun riding Cole and Bella together this summer.  Not only do we ride with Ellen on the weekends, but we have been riding once or twice a week in the evenings, too.  Sadly, those days are soon to end.  Once Daylight Savings goes away, we won't have enough daylight after Shari gets out of work to get a ride in.  Since I am retired, I will just ride earlier in the day, but I sure will miss our evening rides together.

Cole gets along beautifully with Bella.  She likes to lead, and Cole likes to follow.  She goes fast enough that Cole has no trouble with her in the lead.  If she dances around or spooks, Cole takes it all in stride, and that may help Bella settle back down.

Bella does not like other horses leading, and that will be something we will definitely have to work on next summer--regardless what Cole thinks.  We want Bella to be an all-around excellent trail horse, and being able to follow is an important aspect.  Some day, she may find herself with a like-minded companion, and that can cause trouble.  I am speaking from experience because Cruiser and Ranger both like to be the leader.  Usually, it worked best if Cruiser would follow, but he could only handle it so long.  Suddenly, he would burst past Ranger; who would get so angry!  What fun Ellen and I used to have...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

We did have an enjoyable Summer. Bella and I are going to miss our evening rides with you and Cole. But, we still have Saturdays' and Sundays' mornings! Hopefully the weather will cooperate at least until December. Wishful thinking. We'll see you Saturday!