Our First Trail Ride of the Year

Our First Trail Ride of the Year

The weather in March can be really, really awful in Northeast Ohio--or it can just be spectacular.  We had one of those spectacular days.  It started out chilly--in the 30's but it was in the 60's by afternoon.  It was even sunny without a bit of rain.

If that wasn't good enough, the river was low enough to cross for the first time since mid January.  I was determined that I was going to cross it.

My alarm went off, and the first thing that popped into my head was that I was going to cross the river and go on a real trail ride.  I had no trouble getting out of bed.

Kevin had other plans and Shari couldn't make it, so I was on my own.  Well, not quite.  Ellen was going to join me on foot.  It will be a few more weeks before she is mentally ready to go on the trail with Dante, but she was glad to join us.  She drive down to the park and meet us on the other side of the river.

It was early, so the weather was still rather cold and the sun had yet to break out of the clouds.  

As I rode down the driveway, Cole started to neigh for his friends.  We haven't been on a ride by ourselves in a very long time.  All winter, Kevin and I have been riding up and down the hill together.  Cole wanted Starry or Dante or Bella, and all he had was me.  He cried several times on the street and all the way down the hill, but he was still going forward, and that is the most important thing.

When we got to the river, I thought he would drink, but he took one look at Ellen on the other side, and he marched right in.  He just loves her.  I did click him for going into the water, but other than stopping for a treat, he went right across.  Ellen was nervously giving us directions from the other side, and Cole listened to her, of course.  She said that the highest the river got on Cole was just to about the center of his knees.  We could vaguely see the bottom, and I was happy to see no big rocks to circumnavigate.  

Ellen greeted Cole on the other side with a treat.  (Could this be why he likes her so much?)  We then walked down the trail with her.  That sure was easy.  After a while, we got to a good section of trail to trot on.  At first, Cole refused to leave Ellen, but she backed away from us and I convinced him to go forward.

He started trotting slow, but then he went a little faster and faster.  Cole was excited.  We stopped, and Cole let out a big snort.  We turned around and walked back to Ellen, and then we continued down the trail together again.  Cole just loves walking with her.

After a bit, I decided to trot again.  Cole was more willing to leave Ellen this time.  This time, she started out fairly fast and went faster and faster.  Up ahead, I saw a woman with a huge black dog on the trail looking at us.  As I got closer, I was delighted to see that it was our friend, Julie, with her dog, Davy.   I first met Julie decades ago when I was riding a very young Cruiser.  Years later, Kevin let her ride Starry in the park.  She never did master his incredibly difficult trot.  She then leased a gaited horse at our barn--I guess she needed smoother ride.  After a while, she bought herself a wonderful Haflinger.  The only problem--she didn't keep her by the park. so we aren't able to ride with her.

Julie bought a trailer, and now she can ride her horse on the trail, but since her horse doesn't have much trail experience, she needs training.  Ellen had a brilliant idea.  She suggested that Julie bring her to a barn on our street for a few days or a week, and then we could ride with her and help her horse get used to the trail.  All of our horses are great with new horses--and we would so much love to help her.  Julie's face lit up as she imagined the possibilities.  Hopefully, she will be able to do it--and I am sure to write all about it.

I trotted out to the second river crossing.  This time, Cole ended up going very fast, and it was really fun.  I'm glad to say I had no trouble stopping him at the end.  Wow, that was fun.

We turned around and walked back to Ellen and Julie.  At this point, Julie continued down the trail in her direction, and we headed back home.  We stayed at a walk and all was going well until Cole jumped and started a power trot.  It wasn't a big deal--except for our close proximity to Ellen.  I yelled a warning and Ellen quickly scurried out of the way.  She saw the ducks landing in the river--I'm sure that is what startled Cole.  

The rest of the ride was typical.  Overall, Cole was as well behaved as he was the last time I rode him in January.  It was like we never had all that time off.  

Trail riding season has begun.