A Ride on the Hill

 A Ride on the Hill

Ellen and I met at the barn.  The day before, it rained all day--there was no way we were crossing the river.  I asked her what she wanted to do.  She was uneasy about going in the park.  She didn't know if the planes were taking off or landing.  Dante is fine if the planes are taking off, but he will sometimes spook when they are landing--though he hasn't had a really big spook in a few years.  She was also concerned that it was a garbage day and the trucks go down the street in the morning.

I was able to talk her into riding on the hill.  I was curious to see how high the river was and it was a great day to be out in the park considering it is still February.  

We were halfway down the hill, when the thought crossed my mind that Ellen was worried about the wrong things.  Dante is fine with the planes and a garbage truck is just a truck--and we get plenty of warning as it comes down the street.  The real thing to worry about was falling trees.  A lot of trees fall--not on stormy days--but the day after the storm.  All the rain weakens them.

I decided not to remind Ellen--she has enough things to worry about. 

I'm not exaggerating--not 30 seconds after this thought crossed my mind, we heard a loud crack and then the sound of a tree breaking and falling to the ground!  We were both looking in the direction of the noise but we didn't see anything.  When I first heard the crack, I took contact with the reins.  I am glad to say that Cole didn't even flinch. 

Dante did, but Ellen isn't sure if he was startled by the noise or if he detected her fear and reacted from her.  He calmed down very quickly, and we continued on our ride.  I mentioned to Ellen what I had just been thinking, and she said, "Now I have something else to worry about."  I did tell her that I doubted that a second tree would fall on the same ride.  I suppose it could have happened, but it just wasn't likely.  I was right.

We rode up and down the hill three times.  The river was very high, but with all the rain we had, I thought it would actually be higher.  We did see a large group of turkeys, and I heard my first Kildeer of the year flying overhead.  Dante spooked at a squirrel, too.  It was another great trail ride.

Group Ride

Group Ride

On a lovely February day, I was planning to go for a ride with Kevin and Shari when Cheri and Sharon showed up.  Kevin invited them the day before, but we didn't really think they would be there.  It was a little chilly for a ride so early in the morning.

Poor Ellen didn't know they were going to join us.  When she got out of her car, she looked a little pale, but she was still going to go on the ride.  She figured that at worst, she could just stay way in the back with Kevin on Starry.

We thought about it and realized that Cole, Dante and Bella had never gone for a ride in such a big group before.  We had ridden in a group of 5 but never in 6.  Would one additional horse make a difference?  We were about to find out.  

Cheri's horse, Warrior, is a short, wide Paint that looks like he came right out of a Thelwell book.  We've been out on a few rides with them in the past, and they have gone very well.

Sharon's horse, Karma, is a blue dun Quarter Horse.  In her old life, she was a horse that was rented out on trail rides.  We knew she had plenty of group experience--but she was never with our group.

Bella is happiest in the lead, so that is where she was.  Shari decided to take charge of the ride, and Bella liked that role, too.  Cole followed Bella and the slow horses were in the back.

We rode down the hill and crossed the river with no problem.  Once across, Shari wanted to try trotting right away.  I really didn't think the others would follow, so I trotted after Shari.  Much to my surprise, Karma and Warrior were trotting right behind me.  Cole didn't feel comfortable with this, and he told me my tossing his head and trying to accelerate.  I kept him under control, but I have to confess, I was relieved when Shari stopped so we could let Ellen and Kevin catch up.   

We did this a few times and all went well.  Shari suggested trying to go a little faster.  I knew that would help Cole.  The first time we tried it, I heard Sharon's voice behind me, and it didn't sound very good, so I immediately stopped.  She said that Karma tried to buck.  Cheri said that she saw what happened--and in her opinion, Karma did buck.  We let everyone decompress a little as we let Kevin and Ellen get closer.  They were doing little stretches of trotting, and it seemed like they were doing well.  

We tried another section of trotting, and this time, Cole jumped in the air and tried to canter.  I got him to stop after just one stride, and looked back.  Karma was behind me, and Sharon said that she bucked 4 times.  Well, that is when I thought we pushed it too far.  I turned Cole around and went back with Ellen and Kevin.  We just moseyed along and left the others to go on their ride.

I was surprised to see them start trotting right away, but I could see they were doing fine.  Soon, they were out of sight. 

At first, all we did was walk.  Ellen was very nervous.  This was all just a little too much for her.  She said that if it had been summer and we were riding in the park 5 days a week, it wouldn't have been much of a problem.  Here it was February!  We were lucky to have her at all, let alone with 5 other horses.  After a bit, Kevin was able to talk her into trying some trotting, and it went well.  We found everyone else waiting for us at the second river crossing.  It turns out that they trotted the whole way and it went great!  I am thinking that it was Cole being ahead of Karma that made her so reactive.  Once he was gone, all went well.

We rode back with them.  They did more trotting than we did, but they kept waiting for us.  Warrior, was a champ with everything that Cherie asked him, but he did not like standing around, waiting.  Cheri found something she needs to work on, and she plans to do it when she is out riding with just Sharon.

Starry was perfect the whole ride.  What a wonderful horse he is.  Dante was a bit keyed up, but Ellen thinks it might be because she was nervous.  He did spook once--and took off at a trot. That is very unusual for him.  He seldom spooks at all.

Everybody arrived home safely and had smiles on their faces.  It was a successful though sometimes challenging ride!

February--What a Month

February--What a Month

The weather has been terrific for February.  We have been able to get out on the trail and across the river quite a bit.  So many times, we are completely snowed in, iced in or can only ride the hill in February.  This year is much more like March.  

But here is the big news--Ellen has been going on the trail rides with us!  This is unprecedented.  Only once, years ago, did she take Dante across the river in February.  Since then, it has all been just too intimidating for her.

The first time she crossed the river, it had been a few weeks since her last crossing.  She was nervous, but Dante wanted to cross and he didn't give her much time to lose her nerve.  It was about a week before we were able to cross again.  This time, Dante was a little slow about it and Ellen began to get anxious.  Once Dante sensed that, he decided crossing wasn't in their best interest.  When he gets this way, we don't know if he is using Ellen as an excuse to not cross, if he is worried about crossing because she is or if he is trying to protect her.  Nevertheless, he decided he wasn't crossing.  The more resistant he became, the more worried Ellen became and then he became more resistant.

I was already on the other side of the river, and I asked Ellen if I came back, could she ride Cole across.  She said she could, so I rode back and we switched horses.  Dante went right across for me without hesitation.  I kept him for the rest of the ride, and we all had fun.

Since then, Ellen has been crossing the river without any difficulties.  I think she has already ridden 6 or 7 times on the other side--and there were quite a few rides on the hill when the river was too high to cross.  We have ridden a bit in the indoor arena on the really cold days, and there have been a few rides in the outdoor arena, too.  It is so nice to have all that variety.

In previous winters, Ellen would just ride in the indoor arena while Kevin, Shari and I would go in the park.  I'm so happy to have her with us.  Hopefully, the weather will continue to be good enough so she can get in the park on a regular basis--and never quit this year.  One of the hardest things she has to overcome each spring is getting out on that first spring ride.  It would be nice if that doesn't happen this year because she never quit riding on the trail.  It all depends on the weather...

In the meantime, we will ride in the park as much as we can.