Cold Weekend for Riding

Cold Weekend for Riding


But that didn’t stop us! I just can’t bear the thought of riding in the indoor arena, anymore. Friday, I went on an evening ride with my boyfriend on Starry. Cole was a little hyper. Of course, Starry wasn’t. Once we crossed the river, we thought we’d try a trot. We put Starry in the lead, because is Cole is in the lead he goes to fast. Kevin tapped Starry with the whip, Starry spun his tail and Cole got scared. He threw his head up, danced a little and then leapt into a very excited trot. We didn’t make it too far and I suggested stopping and trying it again.



We repeated it and everything turned out the same. We repeated it and it was the same again. A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting something different to happen. I suggested Kevin not use the whip to ask Starry to trot. Kevin simply got into a lazy habit. He used his legs. Starry only did a little swish and Cole was fine. He trotted happily behind Starry. For some reason, Cole is very frightened of other horses—even ones he knows well. A swishing tail scares him; as well as any form of aggression.



We went to the next river crossing, turned around and walked them home. This time Cole walked home much quieter than a few days before. I was very happy about that.



Saturday morning was cold but sunny. My sister and I went on a ride. She rode Ranger. The trails were frozen and not suited for trotting. Both horses were great. The sun kept us warm enough so we weren’t uncomfortable until the very end.


Sunday was a different story. There was no sun. This time, when we turned around, we both dismounted and led the horses until we had to cross the river to get home. We climbed on, crossed, dismounted and led the rest of the way. Both horses behaved, once again.



The weather is still going to be very cold this week—just a few degrees above freezing for the highs. I am really looking forward to the day when spring really arrives.