Tri on His Solo Rides

Tri on His Solo Rides

A good trail horse needs to safely be ridden with other horses as well as by himself.  With Trifecta, and all the horses I've ever trained, the easiest rides are with Ellen walking with us.  Some people prefer to start trail riding a new trail horse with other horses, but that is because they have never ridden with Ellen on foot.  She intuitively knows the right thing to do at the right time--plus she is good company.

Of course, Trifecta needs to be able to go with other horses, too, so we started up our Trifecta Tuesday rides with Dante.  That is when I realized we were actually going to work on solo rides.  Tri is a naturally fast horse, and Dante is a naturally slow horse.  We can start out at the mounting block together, but by the time I reach the river, they are no longer in sight.  Last year, I used to wait.  This year, I have been just leaving them behind.  I can mostly walk the trail to the next river crossing, turn around and meet them on the way back.  Ellen can do a lot of trotting and not catch up with us.  If I trot Tri, though he is not a super fast trotter, he still gets down the trail in good time--leaving Dante way back there.  When we turn around and walk home with Dante, Tri walks so fast that we leave Dante in the dust.  Ellen gets to do a lot of trotting towards home, too.  She is always careful to stop well behind Trifecta so we can continue our solo ride.  We wait for them at the river and go home together from there.  On the way up the hill, Trifecta practices his stop and wait for Dante routine.  

The only problem I have been having on our solo rides is random spinning on the way out.  I think it is happening for several reasons.  First, he is aware of the Dante being back there, somewhere, and he wants to go back to him.  The other reason I think may be affecting him is that most of the places he picks seem to be very lush with foliage--and he tries to spin off the trail and refuses to go forward once I get him corrected; often standing in the grass and weeds.  I don't think that is coincidental.  I do not allow him to snack on his rides, but he is named Tri for a reason.  He will always try.  

He is getting better, and I seem to be able to get him back on the straight and narrow easier.  He did things like this in the arena, too.  Somewhere along the way, I came up with a strategy that is effective with him.  If I can get him pointed in the correct direction, I stop and stand him.  Then, in a deep voice, I say, "Think about it."  Most times, he does and proceeds in the direction I want.  I have found this to be exceedingly useful on the trail, too.  It seems to get him focused and keeps things from escalating.

Dante seems totally content to be alone and away from his obnoxious friend.  They are good buddies when they are turned out together, but on the trail, Dante is all business.  

Trifecta on the Second Rivers

Trifecta on the Second Rivers

When we go on a trail ride, the trail starts by going down a hill.  At the bottom of the hill is the river, and we call that the "first river crossing."  Then we decide to go to the left or to the right.  Either way we go, we end up at a second river crossing.  Most rides, we go to the right because it is a nicer trail and prettier.  If we go to the left, it does get nice and pretty, but we have to ride a bit to get to the good sections.

It was time to tackle both "second river crossings."  We did the one to the left once last year, and it was uneventful.  It is a very easy river to cross because it isn't all that deep and is mostly smooth going.  We went over that way to give it a try this year.  Ellen joined us on foot and was willing to walk into the water to help him across, but it wasn't necessary.  Trifecta stepped right in and walked steadily to the other side.  Ellen cut over to the street and crossed on the nearby ford.  She met us on the other side, and we rode out to the next intersection, turned around and headed back towards home.  Once again, he crossed the river with ease.  

The real challenge was riding him down the short, steep hill with the road at the bottom.  He tends to rush down slopes, but recently, he has gotten so much better.  Well, he walked down it like a champ.  I was so proud of him.

Our next challenge was the second river in the other direction.  That one is tougher because it is deeper and you have to go over a bunch of rocks and around some other rocks if you go one route or through much deeper water than he has ever been in if we go the other way.  The rocky way is trickier, but I decided to go that way because I was hoping it would slow him down.  

Ellen was with us on foot, but I had done some trotting and left her far behind.  I figured that if he didn't want to cross, we could wait until she caught up.  I didn't need to worry about that in the least.  I rode down the river bank and asked him to step in.  After the first step, he never stopped--I couldn't have stopped him if  I tried because he was so excited!  I threaded him over the small rocks and around the big rocks--ducking under the tree branches and then up the steep bank on the other side.  He did go faster than I would have liked, so that is something we will need to work on.  

I rode on a short way to the bottom of a hill and turned him around.  Immediately, he spun around to face the hill.  I tried again with the same results.  The little guy didn't want to go home!  I was able to turn him around and get him going towards the river.  As we neared it, we saw Ellen on the other side.  

Now for the part I was really worried about.  Remember when I said he tends to rush down slopes?  I had ride him down a river bank that is twice as long and much steeper than he is accustomed to.  He has bolted down the one at the first river crossing in the past and then tried to trot across the water.  I stopped him at the top, took a deep breath and gave him his command for sensible hill descents, "control."  I guided him down the slope at an angle to decrease the steepness, and he walked carefully down into the river.  What a relief!  He did just what we have been training him for.  He happily marched across the river--faster than I wanted him to but he was sure footed and sensible.  

From there, Ellen and I just walked home together.  He is turning into a great trail horses!

Update on Henry

  

Update on Henry

He's really a great horse!  I have to pinch myself to prove I'm not dreaming.  At first, I thought there might be something wrong with him, but the vet said he was fine.  Then I figured it must be worms, after all, he was on the thin side, so I had the vet do a fecal check.  He has a low worm count.   Then I thought it might be that he wasn't getting enough nutrition, but after 2 months of Gro n' Win with lots of oats and hay, he is gaining weight and still a wonderful horse.  (I think he has grown a little taller, too.)

So I guess we just found a great horse.  I have continued doing short sessions of ground driving, and he and I are learning how to communicate.  He has had harness training, so a lot of it was about me getting coordinated again and him learning what I wanted.  After about 6 sessions, we are walking all around the arena.  Soon, we will add trotting.  He has been so much more cooperative than Trifecta was when I started ground driving him.  He really seems to want to do the right thing--and that reminds me so much of Cole.  The difference is that Cole always tried to give you too much.  (You want faster?  I'll give you a lot faster!)  Henry seems to find the right amount.

He continues to get along with the other horses--even Trifecta.  They have been playing more, and that's what Trifecta loves to do.  Henry just seems to be able to read the room and act accordingly.  I have to wonder if that is what he is doing with us, too.

He still hasn't really spooked a single time.  When we stand at the end of the driveway to practice traffic, he is really indifferent.  He has perfect stall manners and loves to be groomed.  Henry was even pretty good for his first visit with our farrier.  He is an easy horse to love.

The only thing that can really thwart Ellen's plan to steal Cole from me is if Henry continues to be such a good horse.  It's looking that way...

The man that sold him to us has a couple half sisters of the same age that are for sale if anyone in interested.

Tri on the Trail

Tri on the Trail

This is Tri's big year, and so far it is going well.  We are getting him out on the trail 2-3 times a week.  Sometimes he is just wonderful, and other times he can be so "trying."  It often happens on the same ride.  The best news is that he isn't doing anything dangerous, and I feel very safe on him.

The easiest rides are the ones that Ellen walks along with me.  She has such a calming effect on him.  He sometimes gets a little upset when we trot away from her, so we did take a few rides where we didn't go as far but spent our time trotting away from her, walking back and then trotting away again.  One day, she suggested cantering.  I thought it was a wonderful idea, and he did his best cantering--ever.  At the 25th stride, I felt him slowing down a little, so I stopped him on the 27th stride.  Since then, he has been getting very, very excited when I try to trot him on that section of trail, so we haven't cantered there since.  I have been encouraging him to trot there like a gentleman, and I have seen improvement.

We have ridden a few times with Dante, and that is more like riding by myself since Dante has a much slower walk and a somewhat slower trot.  By the second ride, Tri's manners improved considerably with Dante, so it surprised me when I tried to ride him with Cole and he regressed so much.  Then, Ellen reminded me that the only time I have ever ridden him with Cole is a few times last summer in the park.  I ride with Dante in the arena all the time.  We decided we will have to spend some time with Ellen riding Cole and with me on Trifecta up at the barn to work on manners.  (This is all part of Ellen's plan to steal Cole away from me and leave me with the babies.)

Cole is a faster horse, so he can keep up much better with Trifecta than Dante.  It isn't that Trifecta is that fast of a horse.  In the arena, he is moderately paced.  It is just that the excitement on the trail makes him go faster down there.  I expect that he will mellow out in time just like Cole did.  Cole was faster than Trifecta ever was...

The problems I have been having the most with him is when he drifts off the trail and refuses to go forward.  Sometimes he does it when I am too far ahead of Ellen or the other horse, but he will even do it if we are following them.  After much observation, Ellen and I both agree that most of it is about him wanting to eat the vegetation.  He has never been allowed to eat on the trail, but he has managed to trick me up at the barn and grab leaves while we are working.  It started back when I was ground driving him and I couldn't see the leaves on the ground ahead of us.  When he sees a small branch on the ground in our outdoor arena, he will actually stop and fight with me about it.  I believe that is what is happening with us on the trail--and there is just so much vegetation everywhere!

One day, we didn't have too much time, so Ellen walked with us on the hill to the river.  We did 2 trips up and down, and for the first time doing this, Tri was terrific.  The opens up a lot of opportunities to do more trail riding--either on days where we don't have much time or days when the river is too high to cross.  Honestly, I am starting to get restless when I ride him in the arena and really prefer to be in the park.  I have Henry now for arena training.

This is the kind of training I love and excel in, and it is great!  I see him getting better at some things--and then he will try something new for me to work out.  He's never been an easy horse--I think he just thinks too much--but he has always been a fun horse.  And we are going to have a really fun summer!

Trifecta Hits the Trails

Trifecta Hits the Trails

We have continued to bring Trifecta in the park.  Ellen has been walking along with us.  The main problems I have been having with him is rushing towards home--which makes it really tough for Ellen to keep up.  I really don't mind the fast walk, but he kept trying to trot.  

I don't know how many rides we went on like this, but finally it occurred to me what must be done.  I needed to get him tired.  The next time I took him out, once I got to the part of the trail that is good for trotting, I left Ellen behind and trotted all the way out to the second river crossing.  I did stop a few times to make sure I still had brakes, but we started right back up.  We turned at the second river and walked back to catch up with Ellen.  After all that, he was happy to just walk home.  The problem was solved.

This meant that it was time for Trifeca Tuesdays to begin again.  We were doing them last fall.  That is where he goes on the primary ride with one of the other horses.

For our first Tuesday, we chose Dante.  There are some complications when we ride these two together.  First of all, they are best friends--which means that Trifecta always wants to play with him.  The second problem is that Dante is much slower than Trifecta.

We started down the hill with Trifecta in the lead and practiced standing and waiting for Dante.  We got to the river first, so I had him start crossing.  When we were about 5 feet from the other side, he just stopped and refused to go any further.  He even took a few backward steps!  I think it might have been because he realized Dante was back there, and he was leaving him.  I convinced him to get out of the water and go up the bank.  While we waited for Dante to catch up, he decided, once again, that he wanted to go to the left instead of to the right.  We ended up circling...Sigh...

When Ellen made it across, I was able to get him to follow Dante in the right direction.  He still tried to turn around a few times even with Dante in the lead.  I confess I was getting a little frustrated.  Since he likes to walk so fast, I knew it would be better if Trifecta was in the lead, but whenever I tried to pass, I could feel his hindquarters swing towards Dante.  This scared both Dante and Ellen.  We have spent a lot of time practicing this in the arena, and he was getting so much better, but the excitement of being out on the trail caused the behavior to return.  Sigh...

When we got to a wider part of the trail, I was able to pass Dante peacefully.  (I have to use a lot of leg on the Dante side.)  That only worked for a few minutes when we came across a person who was on her phone and walking her dog at the same time.  Since she wasn't paying attention, the dog tried to come right up to us.  She pulled him in only to have him do it again.  I didn't think that Trifecta would kick the dog.  My worry was that he would lose his momentum and want to turn around again.  I was right.  We got stuck.  Ellen explained kindly to the woman that her dog's safety was at risk if he got too close to a horse and then came to help us.  Dante took the lead again and Trifecta was on the move.

And then things just got better.  I had Trifecta pass Dante, and this time my leg worked.  We did some trotting, stopped to talk to friends and did more trotting.  We got to the second river, waited for Ellen and Dante to catch up and started our walk home.  Trifecta walked fast but steady.  It didn't take long before I lost Dante.  They would drop back, trot for a while, drop back and trot again.  Ellen told me she actually ended up doing a lot of trotting.  We just kept walking.  The woman with the dog was coming our way, and this time she pulled him off the trail and held him still; which made me smile and give her a big "Thank you!"  When we saw our friends again, we stopped to chat.  That is when Ellen and Dante caught up with us for real.  They dropped back by the time I got to the river to cross to go home, so we just went right across and waited on the other side.  As we went up the hill, we practiced waiting for Dante again.  

Once we got past the first part of the ride where he was being sticky, it turned out to be a terrific ride.  Trifecta Tuesdays have begun!

Henry Starts Training

 Henry Starts Training

It was time.  Of course, I started training Henry on Day one, as we all do when we get a horse.  Everything we do is training.  We worked on leading.  I led him all around the property and out to the street.  I was glad to see that he was as good with traffic as his previous owner assured me he was. 

Recently, I introduced him to a bit less bridle.  I am not a bitless bridle purist, but our horses have done just as well bitless as with a bit, and I had a problem.  I didn't have any other bridles.  Cole has one.  Trifecta is using Ranger's old bitless bridle.  I started using it over the winter and he not only doing well in it, but he looks pretty in the red and green biothane.  I am still using Cruiser's old synthetic bridle on Trifecta when we go on the trail.  I know that Ellen doesn't have anything small enough to fit Henry, so I got Cole's old bitless and tried that on him and it fits really nice.  It is cob size because Cole is little.  (Don't tell him that.)  I certainly don't want to buy a new bridle for a growing horse.  Once I  know how large he will get, I will get him a new bridle all his own and a bit that fits him.

Since I was sure that this was a new piece of equipment for him, I started to use it to go on his walkabouts.  By putting one rein in each hand and holding the reins under his head, I could simulate steering the bitless.  He seemed a little puzzled at first, but then he caught on and we could walk in all sorts of figures.  

He got to meet all of our horses.  He is the first horse I ever found that Cole really likes.  That just makes me smile each time I think of it.  He learned that he should be respectful with Cole, play with Dante and cuddle with Starry.  It was a little tricky with Trifecta the first few times because Trifecta can be way over the top in his demands to play.  The first couple sessions had to be ended early, but after that, each session got a little better.

The morning that Henry's real training started, we had him out with Trifecta first as we cleaned the stalls.  I checked on them and saw Henry trotting by; followed by Trifecta.  They stopped at the gate for a few moments and Henry took off at a canter.  Trifecta was thrilled that he had someone to run with, and he immediately followed.  They kept going around and around.  Henry's canter got faster and faster as he started lengthening his strides.  Before we knew it, Trifecta had to work to keep up with him.  They switched directions a few times and kept going.  That is when I decided it would be a perfect day to start training.  Ellen agreed.

We brought him back in and let him take a break.  I put the surcingle and the bridle on him and brought him out.  After leading him around a little bit, I had Ellen hold him as I hooked up the long reins.  Ellen led him at first, and he was fine.  This was no surprise since he had some harness training in his old home.  I told her to unhook him, and she continued to walk with him as I ground drove him around the arena.  We went both ways, crossed the diagonal a few times and did some "whoas."  He did very well, so we called it quits after about 10 minutes.  

I was not surprised that he was so good, but it still made me very happy.  We won't be working him hard or often--just when we have some extra time to play around.  I am in no hurry because I won't be riding him until spring.  It was just nice to get started.

Trifecta's Second Trail Ride of the Year

Trifecta's Second Trail Ride of the Year

There was around a week between Trifecta's first and second trail ride of the year due to rain causing the river to be too high.  We did do a few rides on the hill, with mixed results.  

As soon as the river was low enough, Ellen and I headed for the trail with Trifecta.  She was on foot.  I usually lead him on the street, and he was doing so well, I just continued leading him down the hill to the river.  He was still a bit rushy, but overall, it went well.

At the bottom of the hill, I mounted up and headed to the river.  Remember last time when he slipped crossing the river on the way home?  Well, it seemed like he remembered it.  He has never walked so slow and carefully across the river before.  It wasn't scary at all.  On the other side, we saw a woman we know on her horse; waiting for us to come across first.  I thought he might rush up the bank when he saw the other horse, but he just walked fast and went right past them.  Whew, that went better than expected.

He walked along the fence like he did it every day of this life.  Once we got a little past the end of the fence, I asked for our first trail trot of the year.  He willingly left Ellen and went into a very fast trot.  After a few seconds, he decided he would prefer to canter.  It was such a nice canter, that I would have loved to keep cantering, but I don't believe in letting any young horse do anything that begins in "Let." as in I "let" him canter because it was so nice.  "Let" causes so many problems.  I asked him to trot with my voice and reins, and when he refused, I bent him to the right for a couple strides and then bent him to the left.  That convinced him, and he came back to a trot and then a walk.  We restarted, and he was still over excited, so I switched to doing walk-trot transitions.  That went better.  We walked for a bit, and then Ellen caught up.

She didn't have that much time because she had to go to work, so we weren't going to go that far on our ride.  We were coming up to a good section of trail for trotting--and last year we trotted there a lot.  I thought maybe it wasn't a really good idea to trot because of how he just was before, but Ellen suggested reviewing how we introduced him to trotting last year.  She would go up the trail a little bit, and I would ask him to trot to her.  The first time, we did a very short distance--about 5 or 6 strides.  He was perfect.  We did it 2 more times; increasing the distance each time, and he was awesome.  This is a good exercise because it teaches stand and wait, calm trotting and stopping.  

The last big test was going around the corner and down the slope at "Willow Bend."  Last year, I consistently had a tough time there.  He didn't want to go down it at all.  It might be because it is stony, or it might be because he really wants to follow the trail across the street to the picnic area.  I really don't know.

At first, I thought he was going to do it, but he swerved away at the last minute.  I spun him around and by then, Ellen caught up with us.

Now I will tell you a method that I discovered this winter that really works with Trifecta when he gets this way--the I don't want to go the way you want to go way.  I make him stop and in a very deep, monotone voice, I say, "Think about it."  We stand for a few seconds, and I ask again.  Most of the time, it works.  This is the first time I was going to use it in this spot.  Ellen started down the trail, I told Tri to "Think about it." and he stepped forward down the trail.  He did bulge out on the turn, but I used a strong outside leg to correct him.  When we got to the bottom of the little slope, I gave him the ultimate reward.  We turned around and headed for home.

He was walking really fast and fussing over the mosquitoes.  Ellen had to struggle to keep up.  A few times, I asked him to slow down and it worked, but it didn't last.  By the time we reached the fence, he realized that he tired himself out with the fast walking and moderated.  I clicked him a few times for that.

The last real test was crossing the river.  We first had to go down the steep bank--something he tends to rush down.  He walked fast, but he stayed at a walk.  I eased him into the water and once again, he walked slow and carefully.  I stopped him to let Ellen catch up.  She had her clippers, so she started to clip some low branches of a tree that leans over the river and blocks our path.  Trifecta was completely content to stand in the water and wait for her to finish.  We proceeded crossing the river, and he was a dream.  I hope this is his new way of crossing, because all last year. he rushed across and it was rather scary.  I have had horses fall in the river over there just a few too many times.  The careful crossing is just wonderful.

When we stepped out of the river, we waited for Ellen and then walked up the bank.  The rest of the ride was easy.  Overall, we gave him a B+.  I can't wait to try it again.

 

Trifecta's First Trail Ride of the Year

Trifecta's First Trail Ride of the Year

It was time to get Trifecta out on the trail.  We have gone up and down the hill to the river a number of times, but we weren't crossing because I didn't want to do our initial ride when it was higher or muddy, and there has been so much rain this spring...

It was a warm day, and the river was low.  Ellen was willing to walk across it with us.  Everyone needs someone like Ellen to help out--I don't know what I would do without her, and I will never take her for granted.  Not only is she a wonderful assistant on the ground, but she also reminds me of where I had problems before and how I might make things better.  Sometimes, when I am in the middle of a situation, my brain doesn't think as fast as it should.  Having Ellen is like having another brain.

Anyway, we headed down the hill to the river.  Trifecta was very excited, as always.  He tried rushing down the steeper slopes, and I had to remind him to control his feet by stopping and restarting.  Speaking of control, he remembered his command "control."  When he is doing "control," it actually feels like he is a car in low gear.

We made it to the bottom, and he wanted to go right down to the river.  Ellen reminded me that last year I would pass the ramp up and walk a little away past it so that he doesn't think we will always be crossing.  We used to have fights there when I just wanted to do the hill.  We passed it up, turned around and headed down to the river.  He was so excited!

He took one step in and decided he would rather look around and explore.  Ellen came up next to us, and we all started to cross together.  I did walk, whoa, click, treat a number of times to keep him paying attention to me, not rushing and to reinforce the stop--all problems I had last summer.  It worked, and we made it across easily.  It was one of Trifecta's best crossings ever.  We waited on the trail for Ellen to clip some rose bushes that were overhanging into the river and partially blocking our path.  He stood well at first, but then he glanced behind him and saw the trail going to opposite way I intended to go.  We had problems here, too, in the past because he wanted to go that way instead of our desired way.  He tried to turn around to go there, and Ellen finished her clipping just in time.  He chose to follow her instead.

We had no plan to go further than Cougar Rock.  We named a big boulder by the side of the trail Cougar Rock once we started doing the Virtual Tevis Ride, and the name stuck.  He was doing great--just walking along and looking at things.  As we neared Cougar Rock, 3 riders were coming towards us on their way home.  I pulled Tri to the side to let them pass, and at that moment decided that we would go a little further.  I didn't want them in sight up ahead of us because it might cause Trifecta to rush.

In the past, Trifecta has done better on the way home instead of the way out.  That wasn't the case, this time.  We don't know if it was because of the horses way up ahead, the hiker just a little ahead of us or because he wasn't tired.  (He is in way better shape after being worked steadily all winter and spring than he was last year.)  Anyway, he was walking really fast.  Ellen was struggling to keep up.  A few times he even tried to trot which is very unlike him.  He had one minor spook when a dog that we could barely see by the river started splashing around.  Once he was able to take a look at it, he dismissed it and continued his march down the trail.  

When we reached the fence--which is a fence that separates our trail from the paved bike trail which is right next to the street, I heard a loud motorcycle.  We decided to stop and watch.  It turned out to be 3 motorcycles coming from the front of us--just as a couple more passed us from behind.  That was a lot of motorcycles for a green trail horse to take in, and he handled it beautifully!  One of the riders gave us a thumbs up.

The last big challenge was the river crossing on the way home.  In the past, he has had trouble walking down the river bank--preferring to rush.  Not this time.  He walked right down--just like a gentleman.  I was so proud.  I asked him to step in, and he did.  Then I glanced across the river and saw 2 riders approaching.  Now we had a problem.  We asked them to wait, and they were happy to.  Trifecta saw them and decided he was going to rush across to see them.  The river bottom is very uneven, and I was so worried he would slip and fall.  Slip he did, but he didn't fall.  I asked him to stop, and he did!!!  I clicked, treated and continued.  Ellen was behind us; encouraging us.  I have to admit I was nervous enough to be shaking.  

I think he learned from the slip because he crossed slower and more carefully.  As we stepped out of the water, I asked him to stop, and he refused.  I spun him around to face the water, and asked him again.  This time, he stopped.  Cautiously, I turned him back to the steep river bank and asked him to walk.  My worry now was that he would blast up it towards the other horses.  He kept it to a very, very fast walk.  At the top, I felt him try to swerve to where the other horses were standing, but I was able to successfully block him with my leg and guide him around the bend.  We have been practicing passing up Dante in the arena because he likes to try and swerve his hindquarters at horses.  It was time well spent, that is for sure.

The rest of the trip up the hill was uneventful.  He was going fast, so we had to keep stopping so Ellen could catch her breath. Overall, it was a good ride--not perfect--very a fine starting point.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate so we can get him out a lot in the next month or so.  If so, we should have a fine summer together.

Big Day for Henry

Big Day for Henry

Henry spent his early days in "quarantine."  We didn't let him out to play with any of our other horses.  Young horses need playtime, so when we thought it was safe, we let him out to spend some time with Dante.  They chewed on each other, licked each other and did some nipping, but the didn't do any running and bucking.  I really wanted to see that, because Henry has done very little on his own.

I do remember it took a few weeks for Trifecta, at that age, too, so I wasn't alarmed so much as curious.  I wanted to see how he could move.  Plus, I thought by now he would want to move.

The second time we turned them out together, they started with some licking and chewing, but Dante, the 19-year-old colt, wanted to play.  It was the cutest thing.  He was running around Henry, bucking and doing his amazing Lambert Leaps--twisting, spinning and flying through the air--no response.  He kept trying and trying to get Henry to engage in some playing, but something was holding Henry back.

They were on the far end of the turnout area when we heard a loud bang--I have no idea what it was.  Dante jumped up in the air and started running for the gate, only because he felt like running.  Henry was startled by the noise and Dante's reaction and started to run, too.  Then he did a couple huge bucks.  After that, he was bursting with energy.  Dante was thrilled.  They ran this way and that; around and around.  Dante continued doing his Lambert Leaps and Henry showed us he had some speed, after all.  I was most thrilled when he did some extended trotting--it was gorgeous--and proof of his Morgan heritage.

Finally, they quieted down and started a friendly game of Halter Tug.

The whole thing was a most marvelous and beautiful experience.

Pictures of Henry

 Pictures of Henry