Dante’s Debut

Dante’s Debut

All the stars were in alignment--the river was low, the weather was warm and Ellen and I were both able to ride on the same day.  Dante was going out on the trail for the first time since February.

Shari and Bella were joining us.

Shari rode over to our barn to meet us.  As Ellen led Dante down the driveway, we could see he was very, very excited.  Usually, he just plods down, quietly as Bella prances and Cole tries to do his silly walk.  Not this time.  Dante was very tall with a lot of spring in his step.  Ellen asked me if I could lead him on the street.  Of course, I did.  Dante was just fine.  When I got to the trail, I gave Ellen the reins, we mounted up and headed down the hill.

Bella went in front because that is where she is happiest.  Dante was still excited, so he followed Bella and I brought up the rear with Cole.  About halfway down the hill, The spring in Dante’s step came back, and I watched as his tail slowly started to rise into “Arab” position.  The first thought that came into my mind was, “Uh oh.  We are in trouble.”  It is rare for Dante, unless he is out playing, to do that.

At that moment, Ellen asked to switch horses.  She didn’t see his tail, but she could feel the electricity flowing through his body.  She was getting too nervous to handle him.

I gave her Cole and then led Dante down the hill.  He was very hyper, and I preferred that he settled down a little before I got on him.  By the time we got to the river, he seemed a little better, so I mounted.

Ellen brought Cole to the mounting block and told us to go right ahead and cross while she mounted.  Bella willingly walked down the bank and into the water.  Dante trotted down the bank, (without permission) until he reached the deep mud and then he got serious and walked carefully.  This was very unlike Dante--he is usually slow in approaching the river.  I think Bella was already across by the time Dante got all the way in the water.

Shari called out, “There’s a goose coming!”  Sure enough, a Canadian goose was in the middle of the river floating quickly in the current straight toward us.  I didn’t want to rush Dante across because he has been taught to walk carefully through the river for Ellen's sake--yet I did want him to rush across because we were on a collision course with a goose.  Shari kept warning us about the goose as he got closer and closer.  Dante decided to rush across, all on his own.  

The river bank on the opposite side is currently very muddy.  When Dante reached the bank, he leapt up it at a gallop and kept going.  He actually made it about 5 strides down the trail before I could stop him.  I tried to spin him at the top of the bank, but he used his Morgan “iron neck” against my efforts.

When I got him to a standstill, I could see Ellen still on the other side of the river with Cole at the mounting block.  She saw the whole thing.  Now, I would have to ride Dante for the next 2 weeks to prove to her he was safe.  Sigh…

We headed down the trail.  Dante was still an excited bundle of nerves.  I never rode him before when he felt this way.  We tried a little trotting to settle him down, but that had the opposite results.  It was going to be a walking ride.  

After about 10 minutes, his head started to lower and his rhythm started to get regular.  I felt like he was coming back to me.  We did try trotting a second time, but that got him all wound up, again.  We rode out to the next river crossing, turned around and headed home.

He was very good on the way home--much like his normal self.  We crossed the river, and I led  him up the hill.  He was feeling spunky on the hill, but he only showed it by walking faster than normal.

Throughout all this excitement, what was Bella, our problem child doing?  She was the perfect angel.  Not once did she misbehaved in the slightest.  We were so proud of her.

I asked Ellen if she was worried about riding Dante after seeing his unusual display of badness, and she said she thought he would be just fine because she saw how his behavior improved over a relatively short time.  She was sure he would be perfect the next time--I rode him.