The Third Ride of Christmas

And it was a big one!

I got to take Sophie on a trail ride! My husband very kindly led Bridget along with us, so I felt fairly comfortable hopping on Sophie knowing we had a good safety net in place. Still, you just never know with baby horses and I was a little nervous, I won't lie.

Spoiler alert, I was so happy and proud, because she was a very good girl!

Sweaty post ride pony. I've got no riding pictures today because I really just wanted to only worry about making sure she had the best possible outing.

I tried to set us up for success by taking a loop trail we've hand walked her on a few times before. I also waited for a weekday when its usually pretty quiet. The loop itself takes about 90 minutes and is almost all decommissioned forestry roads (Don't worry, I only hopped on for about 30 minutes of it). I felt like the route is a nice combination of technical to keep her mind busy, while still having enough room to maneuver should anything get weird. Also, there's a nice long gradual uphill section which used to serve me well with the very spicy baby Ginger pony - a tired pony was a good pony in her case!

Roadside eating breaks  encouraged. I really want these first rides  = fun adventures for her.

Sophie again felt a little unsettled by the fact I was in the saddle rather than beside her. It felt a little bit like there was a fire under her tail and we might go rocketing up the trail, lol.  I tucked her in behind Bridget, just in case! As is my luck, some random dude popped up in the bushes alongside the trail almost immediately. Sophie was on full alert. I said hi to the guy but he didn't respond and kept on lurking. Maybe picking mushrooms? I don't know. Whatever the case, G and Bridget had to come back and get us because Sophie was too worried to move past the spot on her own.

Next up, we navigated a whole series of big puddles and ditches. When they decommission the roads, they pull out any infrastructure like bridges or culverts, which leaves lots of big ditches and creek crossings to navigate.  Sophie was excellent and got the hang of figuring out where to put her feet and how to go up and down the big dips with a rider. She's so good with water, which I really appreciate!

We saw another nice person out walking their dog, but otherwise it was quiet, just as I'd hoped. (S is great for almost everything but I need to work on cyclists coming up behind us and she's not 100% with ATVs/dirtbikes if they don't slow down enough)

It's been a while since I've ridden a wobbly baby pony on the trails...I forgot how weird it is to ride a horse that doesn't really know how to go where you point and who makes more than a few interesting choices regarding where they put their feet. As the rider, you really are just along for the ride!

By the time I hopped off, we were confidently leading the way on a loose rein, and I even felt like I had some rudimentary brakes and steering. So pleased we were able to give her such a positive and confidence boosting outing:)

Happy, happy

Such a good girl! I'm going to try to fit in more trail rides in the next few weeks - I feel like it's so much easier and fun for the horses  to install the basics out there because there's a visible purpose to everything I ask (stop for this gate, go around that tree, slow down for this downhill section, etc).

I have to mention that Bridget was feeling great again too. G was like "what are you feeding her? She's towing me everywhere!" Her little ears were forward the whole time and she seemed so happy to be out. Fingers crossed I have time for another Bridget ride soon. I'm just so happy she's feeling so good.

It sounds like we're going to get rained out today (100mm+ forecasted!), so the ponies may get a day off, especially as the indoor arena is already booked. Hopefully see you again soon!

12 Rides Of Christmas

The title makes no literal sense, it just sounded fun and now its stuck in my head and I can't come up with anything else. Anyway, I am off on a break til New Year and have nothing on the schedule but horse time. Let's hope I log more than 12 rides!

Fingers crossed, I should have plenty of time to get a few more rides in on Sophie and maybe even build up a little routine and make some progress before I give her one last mini break in January. I don't have any quantitative goals defined. As we all know with baby horses pretty much every day brings a "first". One more new and exciting thing checked off the million and one things they should know on their way to being a grown up riding horse. Anyway, I'm committing to putting the time in, and we'll just have to wait and see where we get.

Growing up so quickly! She'll be 4 in April, I think.

Sophie's been on a pretty light schedule since the end of September. I was going to give her a bit more time to grow (and me to lose more weight!), but of course Sophie can't be expected to understand that and has made it obvious she's bored in her field and would like more to do. A lot more to do, preferably :) I've been completely overwhelmed with work and had some bad luck as far as being sick off and on the last couple of months, so the best I've been able to do is get her out for a walk or longe 2 or 3 times a week. It's barely enough and I've made little progress because she's just go so much energy and really needs more consistency and time than I had.

So, for Day 1 of horsey christmas, we were just getting back at it. I  tacked her up, walked her down the road to the arena, and longed her a bit, really focusing on getting her to bend her body around me amd focus rather than the counterbend and look for spooky things outside thing she's been favoring lately. I get it, she's bored, she thinks she knows it all, but yeah, I'm not just moving forward and hopping on after however many weeks and only a few rides in her life. A little check in isn't too much to ask :)

Adding extra flair to a roll back I asked for quietly from walk...because, reasons? She's so silly some days.

Day 2 was a little bit more of the same, but I did hop on (in the safety of the round pen) Sophie acted a bit like this was a new developmemt, which is fine, but also made me glad I was careful and didn't assume we'd be fine to pick up where we left off earlier in the fall. 

When you get on and realize pony has a bit of a hump in her back and your stirrups are WAY too long to be useful. Smile like it's fine, but keep your body super bracey. Because that's helpful. Seriously, I never learn. Thank god she's a good girl. 

Phew, I remembered to chill for real. Sophie's expression is letting us all know she still thinks I'm nuts.

We walked around a little, did some drunken sailor steering, got stuck and unstuck a few times, and in general just kept it very low key. The whoa/go cues improve every time and are pretty solid. Steering is kind of funny, I guess I was so focused on making sure I had access to all four corners that I'm not sure she consistently understands we can turn and go forward all at the same time. But hey, turn on the forehand or haunches is happily offered any time she's unsure, so there's that. We can just do squares, I guess  :)

Oops, here we are stuck momentarily.

Back on track. Basically at this point forward any which way is good, the steering will come.

We'll see what Day 3 and 4 bring. I'm not sure I have a helper today so we might be back to longeing or groundwork, but tomorrow G has promised to take us for a short trail walk. I think Sophie will really enjoy getting out of the arena - I know I'm looking forward to it!

More (Unexpected) Firsts

Baby horses are just so fun. Some days it feels like everything we do is some big first or big goal accomplished.

My husband was free to act as spotter today, so Sophie got tacked up once again and I thought we'd take ourselves down the road to the club grounds and do some longeing and groundwork. The stretch goal there was to maybe hop on in the round pen and walk around solo for a lap or two. Steering and whoa/go from the saddle are very sluggish and murky and there a few more distractions there so that seemed a reasonable stretch. 

Sadly, we got there and there were a number of trucks and trailers and activity and the round pen was in use. To be quite honest, I had every faith in Sophie being fine but I wasn't all that keen on an audience or distraction for myself and opted out of going. I was pretty disappointed.

G, being awesome, was like "Dont worry about it. Let's just go for a hike on the trail. You can get on if you want to, or not. It'll be more fun for all of us to get out for a walk, and trail miles for Sophie are always a win." 

Walking trails in a XC vest and tall boots isn't something I'd recommend, tho

This guy, he maybe missed a calling as a riding coach/horse trainer, lol. Or he's just pro level at talking me off the ledge ;)

Long story shorter, we walked up towards the gravel pit, about a 45 minute loop back to the barn. And...apparently the trucks were working late. Guess whose horse is fine with dump trucks and engine brakes? Mine :) What a good girl! 

Since she was so happy and chill, I hopped on while G continued to walk beside us (with a lead rope attached just in case!) Sophie was a star. She didn't even blink at carrying me along and the lead ended up just being a security blanket - my steering and whoa/go were adequate enough. G set us free for a little bit before I hopped off and gave her all the hugs and treats.

Pics again to prove it happened and everyone was happy ;)

Honestly, I probably only sat on her for 10 or 15 minutes total, before getting off and walking the rest of the way home. I'm a big believer in keeping it easy and fun (and ending while it still seems too good to be true!) I kind of feel like in some ways this was a pretty huge step from sitting on her earlier in the week in a stall and taking a few steps in the round pen a couple of days ago - she's a VERY good girl.

In other ways, well, I have been quite diligent about getting her out on the trail. She's confident and comfortable there, so I guess why not hop on? 

Anyway, first kind of sort of trail ride is in the books and was perfectly uneventful. First dump trucks drove past us. First awkward mountings from sketchy stumps and rocks - (probably the most important win and skill for a pony with a very short owner, lol) And she was absolutely fantastic for it all. I think she just loves getting out and doing stuff with us.

We'll keep playing for a couple more weeks, then Sophie is going to get time off to grow up a bit more.

Pics Or It Didn't Happen!

We had "ride" 3 (or 4?) today.

We graduated to being led for a few steps of drunken sailor walk today since Sophie seemed a little more chill with the idea of me being up there. (It's not that she's done anything scary previously, but I wasn't getting the feeling she was ready to head out for a walk, either!)

Honestly, of all the horses I've had this was the one I was pretty sure I'd send away to be backed. She's very sensitive and very smart, not to mention quick and athletic and more than a little spicy.

But, bit by bit, we're getting things done and I'm still having fun and am inside my comfort zone. I'm not feeling like I need to send her away just yet, but of course the option is always there.

If I'm being completely open and real here part of the reason this has been quite a slow process is that I'm very conscious of my weight right now and have been waiting until I was making decent progress with that and pony was looking more mature (because despite me crossing my fingers and remeasuring her every few weeks, she seems determined to stay at a smidge over 14hh, quite a bit smaller than expected!)

After thoroughly reviewing all the most unflattering pictures (poor G was asked to please take pictures for this blog but also please not let go of the lead, plus he's 6'4" and towers over us both. The photo angles are...challenging, lol) Anyway,  I'm SO relieved that I don't look too big on her! I know the 20% rule says I'm fine, but I'm not cool with pushing that number on a youngster. Height wise, I think we look decent, so fingers crossed I can make further progress with my weight this winter.