The Definition of Dante

The Definition of Dante


Ellen looked up the definition of Dante. Of course, Dante was a famous Italian poet, but what does his name mean? It means enduring, steadfast, long-lasting. Wonderful for a horse, but I will tell you what it really means—boring.



Dante is not going to give me much to write about. I got so many good stories to write about with Cole. Even Cole’s most boring and mundane experiences were more exciting than Dante. Dante is boring.



Well, I will give it a try.



On Friday, Ellen was alone. She rode Dante in the arena, and he did well. She then led him down the hill to the river. Dante pulled Ellen down the river bank to the water’s edge. He wanted to go on a trail ride, and he told her the only way he knew how.



She put her foot in the stirrup—and lost her nerve. Dante may be boring, but Ellen has always had some confidence issues, and she hasn’t been able to grasp the fact that Dante is boring.



She felt bad, and she promised him she would ride him on Saturday.



Saturday morning, we met at the barn—in the rain. Fortunately, Ellen wouldn’t let a light rain shower break her promise. She had checked the radar and knew it would be worse if we waited. We decided to go out right away. I saddled Ranger as she saddled Dante. The rain continued.



We led them down the hill, mounted and crossed the river. At first Dante was a little excited, but I put Ranger take the lead. We walked to the next river crossing, turned around and came home. That is the end of the story. Dante was flawless.



See what I mean about boring? Back in Cole Train’s early days, he would have pranced around, tried to trot, maybe jumped for joy. He would have tried to dash away when Ranger swished his tail, tried to bite Ranger and gotten Ranger angry or threw his head up in the air and waved his long mane all over the place. Oh, he would have also had a fit about the rain, too. Cole hated rain, even though he lived outside before I bought him. He would toss his head and try to run home. Not Dante. He just followed Ranger quietly.



Though it rained all morning and half the afternoon, it iddn’t rain so much that the river got bad. The next day, we got to try it again, but happily, the sun was shining.



This time, we thought we would up the ante. We were going to do some trotting. At this point, Ellen has trotted plenty in the arena and just a little at the bottom of the hill on the days she couldn’t cross the river.



We arrived a great section of the trail for trotting. We planned that Ranger would take the lead to set the pace—besides, Ranger prefers the lead at all times. We spend much of our trail riding time trying to keep Ranger happy.



Ranger trotted slowly, and Dante followed.



That is the end of the story. See? Dante is truly a boring horse. We would have had a more difficult time trying to trot Cruiser and Ranger together after a long break. Cruiser would try to fly past Ranger—and make him angry. Ranger would try to do his snake neck and make ugly faces at Cruiser.



The first time I trotted Cole Train on the trail—we launched forward at 100mph. For the first few months, Ellen usually joined me on foot, and she would see us go off in a flash and hope we would be able to stop before the next river crossing.



Dante just trotted along. Boring—but wonderful.



So, how did we get here?



First off, he did have trail experience from his years in West Virginia.



Second, he is a good natured, quiet horse who truly seems to enjoy going out and about. The only problems we ever had on his previous trail rides had to do with his over enthusiasm.



Third, we think the weather helped. Ellen was forced to spend a lot of time with him in the indoor arena in the last few months getting to know him. It was time well spent. He learned to trust her. How does a horse learn to trust his rider? By clear and consistent riding. It’s not magic, but it isn’t necessarily easy. We have to ride with awareness. You can’t ask a horse to do something one way, one day and a different way the next. You also need to respond in the same way to your horse’s actions each time. You just can’t get sloppy and careless, because then horses get confused and worried. Dante learned he could trust Ellen.



When Dante was ready to seriously start his trail riding career on Ohio, he told Ellen. He had had enough of arena riding. He was born to be a trail horse.



This is just the beginning. I expect more boring articles in the future.



Sorry, but the definition of Dante is boring.



Ellen is a very lucky person…



(She is also particularly pleased when Dante doesn’t give me anything to write about.)

Perfect Night for a Ride

Perfect Night for a Ride


I had a really nice ride with my older niece last night. the weather was cooler and there were hardly any bugs for a change. Ranger was feeling his oats—all bouncy and Rangerish. Still, he didn’t intimidate my niece—she just quietly dealt with his silliness. Once we got down the hill and across the river, we did a lot of trotting. Since he was feeling so good, he went a little faster for her, and she was able to work on perfecting her posting.

Cole Train was nearly perfect—even when the bikes came barreling down the trail. He didn’t’ like a particular group of joggers, and they upset him long before they caught up with us and well past us. I’m not sure what that was about. He wasn’t afraid—more like he wanted to race them. (If my niece wasn’t there, we may have been tempted to trot after them.)

When we got back, I let Cole out to roll and play. He went crazy, as usual—much airs above the ground and some serious speed. We brought him in to settle down and then put Dante out. It was like going to see a professional fireworks display, watching the grand finale, and then on the way back to the car, you see some backyard fireworks shooting off. Well, Dante is the backyard fireworks. He did a little buck and trotted off to eat some grass. He is such a mellow horse—just perfect for my sister.

She rode him this morning in the arena, and then led him down the hill to the river and back. He did so well, she turned him around to do it again. He had a little tantrum—since he thought he was going home, but then he was all right. Since he was so good, I’m thinking she will ride him across the river, tomorrow. We definitely will on Saturday, but it is supposed to rain pretty hard—we aren’t getting our hopes up for Sunday, sigh…

Another Rainy Weekend

Another Rainy Weekend


Friday, Cole I went on a chaotic ride with Kevin on Starry. With the bugs so bad in the evenings, Starry is frantic—and Kevin has been letting him just take off to get away from them. He knows I don’t like when he does that—and I struggle to keep Cole at the speed I desire, but even good horses have trouble when their friends take off. Finally, I had enough of it and told Kevin that I was going to lead and Starry had to stay behind us. It worked. Our speed was moderated and Starry was less frantic.

Saturday found us with a very high river, again. My younger niece came out, so she got to suffer with us. We started out our morning by riding Dante in the arena. Ellen rode him a little while and then my niece got to ride him for the first time. She mostly walked and did a little trotting. Dante didn’t see why he should trot for her, so most of the time, he just didn’t. It is funny how horses instantly know a beginner is on them and listening is optional.

We then did the hill with me on Cole and my niece on Ranger. To make it fun for her, we trotted a lot on the level part on the bottom. We just go back and forth. Ranger likes the game and gets very enthusiastic, so my niece got good posting practice. We did the hill 3 times.

Sunday, the river was lower, but not low enough for Dante to cross. Well, we know he could cross it, but we just don’t want to have any problems. Ellen skipped arena riding and we went right to the hill. She did it 2 times with a lot of trotting at the bottom. They practiced stopping, and he is doing so much better than he did just a few rides ago.

We then took Ranger and Cole up to the trails by the show ring. It is one of our favorite rides, but it has been about a month since we’ve been there. It was a leisurely ride and we all enjoyed it.

Yesterday, I took a solo ride on Cole in the evening. We did a lot of trotting and cantering—and it was fast cantering. I got the elusive right lead on our favorite sharp right corner. This time, there was only a small buck—and since I was ready for it, it didn’t matter. We trotted a lot on the way home—mostly to avoid the swarms of mosquitoes. It was the best he ever did trotting homeward—and we got pretty close before I decided he needed time to cool off. It was a fun ride.

He has sure turned into a great horse to ride. I can ride him on slow rides with geriatric horses, and anyone else can ride him. Yet, on the days I want to blast down the trail all by myself—we do. He’s getting pretty close to perfect. If only that right lead wasn’t so elusive…

Dante on trail

Ellen took Dante out on a trail ride this morning--without me.  Without anyone.  I am no longer needed.  Dante was very excited in the beginning, but calmed down, and did terrific at the end.  He only spooked once--when he saw a sheepdog.

The weather this weekend looks questionable.  Rain is on it's way.  If the weather gods are kind to us, we will get him out on the trail both days.  If not, we will make the best of it.

My niece and I are getting cukes, peppers and tomatoes from the garden.  The rabbit ate the beans, but I don't think I will miss them much.  He left the limas alone, so maybe they will make it.  The electric fence is as low as it can go, and I can't believe it is getting in, but it is--I've seen it.

Still no sign of squash borers.  The stuff I am putting on them seems to be working.  Maybe I will get some zukes this year.

The weather has been so hot!!!  I don't have air conditioning, so Thunder and Maggie have been very quiet.  Thunder doesn't want to cuddle, but Maggie still does.  It's way too hot for cuddly dogs!

More Cole Pics

Starry was Bad

Starry was Bad




Starry, my boyfriend Kevin’s horse, hates bugs. He is typically a quiet, docile horse that has a wonderful trot and canter, but wants to walk at the speed of a snail—as long as there isn’t any bugs around. Let there be one single bug, and he is in a big hurry, kicking his belly and misbehaving. If there is a lot of bugs, look out.

It has been really hot in Ohio, and with all the rain we have had, there are a lot of bugs out there. Kevin and I decided to go in the “not as pretty but less buggy direction.” I’m glad we went that way instead of the worse way, because Starry was horrible.

He trotted down much of the hill leading to the river. Cole Train listened to me and walked. We caught up when we got to the flat areas. Starry trotted over the very stony section of trail. Once again, Cole listened to me. He doesn’t like stones, so it wasn’t too hard to keep him at a walk. we went up a hill and then Starry trotted down the other side. Now, Cole was losing his patience and tried trotting down to catch up. That was a touch situation. We trotted over a flat section to the river.

Starry crossed pretty fast, but Cole wanted to play in the water and got left behind. Once we made it to the other side, we realize that Starry was no where in sight. We managed to catch up at the street. At that point, most of the trail is in good shape, and we did some good, fast trotting. It was fun. When we got to our turnaround spot, Starry was much settled down, and he was happy to follow Cole home at a relaxed walk.

The horses were cool when we got home, but they appreciated us sponging the dried sweat off.

I hope Starry is better next time.

Dante Pics

Weekend Update

I know that everyone ahs been sitting on the edge of their seats—waiting to here about our exciting adventures over the weekend. Sorry, there weren’t any. Dante is a boring horse.


Friday found me still riding on the hill to the river, over and over, because the river was too high. Cole was good, and we trotted up 3 times without a problem at all. I think the hill is conquered at the trot. Time to start working on the canter.



Saturday, we determined that we could cross with Ranger and Cole. Dante was to remain on the hill. First, Ellen worked him in the arena for a half hour. I led Cruiser around while she was working. It was a good way to introduce sharing the arena with another horse. Cruiser likes the company. Dante had his best arena ride, yet. He trotted with more energy than I’ve ever seen—until I took Cruiser out—then he didn’t want to work anymore.



We then headed down the hill. I walked with Ellen. They practiced their halts, and he was doing well. It was his best day on the hill, too. I think my training session with him must have helped.



We then took Cole and Ranger out on an easy ride. It appears he has recovered from his stone bruise. What a relief. We were worried it was really something worse.



Sunday, I got to ride Ranger and Ellen rode Dante on the trail. Dante was only really bad shortly after we crossed the river where the bridle trail is close to the bike trail. There were a bunch of bikes, and he took off at a trot. Ellen couldn’t get him to walk at all. Then she remembered the “Whoa” training. It worked. He came down to a halt. Why is it, whenever one of my horses bolt—they gallop? He didn’t even trot fast!


After that, it was a very boring ride.



That changed on my second ride. Kevin and Starry joined me on Cole. They were both feeling good, and we did a lot of trotting and some cantering. At one point, we were going to canter, and Starry did, but before I could ask Cole, he went into his awesome extended trot. I wish I could see it. The beat slows down and the strides increase. It is very easy to post to—and we were flying—until we came around the corner and saw 3 horses. We know them well, and they don’t even trot, let alone canter. You should have seen the look on their faces as we rounded the corner. We quickly brought our horses down to a walk.


I said, “You didn’t think we’d could stop, did you?” No answer.


I then said, “When you ride like that, you have to be able to stop.” That got a half smile from them.



We rode about a half hour, turned around and walked home to cool them off. We met Ellen on foot, and she walked with us. It was a fun ride.



This week is supposed to be very, very uncomfortable hot. We will have to moderate our rides because of it.

Cole Pics

My nephew, Stormy