Ellen planned to ride Dante with Bella for the first time of the year. Adding another horse to the mixture often makes things complicated, so Shari told us to leave 15 minutes before her. That way, Dante could get across the river without Bella getting in the way.
The time slipped away from us, and by the time we got to the river, Bella caught up with us. We decided to take advantage of it. We all know how our boys love Bella! We would have Dante follow her across the river.
I crossed first and waited on the other side. Bella went part way into the river. Dante was definitely more willing to cross. Once he got into the water, Bella crossed the rest of the way. Dante then carefully crossed on his own. It was his easiest river crossing for Ellen of the year!
Once across, we walked a bit and then headed off at a trot. We had Dante in the middle; following his girlfriend. When the airplanes came over, he didn't want to stop. He just happily trotted behind Bella; oblivious. As long as Bella was leading, he was following. (Shari later realized Bella was in season!)
We made it out to the next river crossing without one ounce of trouble. Rather than push our luck and try to go further, we turned around and walked home. When we were by the fence, Dante did a slow motion spook when a bike approached from the front on the bike trail that is on the other side of the fence. It wasn't much of a spook. Ellen felt that if she had kept walking, he wouldn't have spooked at all.
She still didn't feel comfortable crossing the river, so we swapped horses. She took Cole across. Bella stopped halfway through the river to lure Dante into the water, and it worked great, again. After that, he walked slow and careful.
I was so happy that I made a terrible mistake. I forgot that he has been rushing out of the water until too late. As always, my reins were too long. I scrambled to shorten them, but I ran out of time
Once on top, I was able to stop him and get him to turn around. I wanted to take him back down to do it again, but I just couldn't get him to budge. I called him, "A big dummy," and made him stand; facing the river as a punishment. I don't think it was much of a punishment, but at least I kept him from his buddies.
We walked up the bank, and the first thing Ellen said was, "He was so beautiful!" I guess he was, but I wasn't very happy. I know it was my fault he got away. Next time, Ellen can cross...
Overall, he was perfect for Ellen. For me, he was horrible. She can have him. Give me my good, little Cole back.
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