Trail Ride

Today, Andy and I hit the trails again. Andy eats trails for breakfast, if you didn't know. We went with a nice lady from the barn, Deb, and her super cute Rocky Mountain Horse, Coke.

I was a little nervous at first. The very first part of the trail is steep downhill, and muddy, so Andy and I slid our way down. Then there had been a coyote or elk or something, because both ponies got nervous and didn't want to go forward. But we got over that pretty quickly. Pretty soon we made it to the creek and pond, and decided to see how Andy did crossing water. Much to my surprise, he launched into the pond like a champ. We're talking a couple feet deep too. Not only did he go right in, he started picking up his front hoof to splash around! I wasn't too sure if he was playing or getting ready to roll, so we moved forward briskly.

Next, we got to the part of the trail that's a good place to canter. It's nice and wide, and grassy, and uphill. I gave Andy a little squeeze, and up we went. There is nothing more exhilarating that bombing across country at a canter. I politely reminded Andy that he is old and out of shape, but he replied that he felt just peachy, so we cantered the whole way up.

We wandered through the woods awhile, and then got to another good cantering place. That's where it got interesting. Deb decided to let Coke pace up the hill. I figured I would just let Andy trot behind. Andy did not get the memo. In fact, he completely brain farted, got over-excited, and decided to break into a gallop, throwing his head up so I couldn't pull him up. I managed to yell to Deb that I had no breaks, and then we left her in the dust. Holy frick, I have never gone that fast on a horse before! I thought that I'd galloped in polo matches...but this was different. It was balls to the wall, no holds barred galloping. There was no way to pull him back, whatsoever. It was terrifying, yet completely exhilarating. I think we both felt like we were on the race track. All I could think was "Don't fall off, because that would hurt like a bitch!" Eventually, the trail widened up for me to do a one-rein stop, at the same time that my safety stirrup somehow engaged, flying loose from the saddle. I managed to completely stop Andy before I hopped off to re-attach the stirrup/kiss the ground.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Andy had tired himself out during his Man 'o War impression, so I could ride him on a loose rein the whole way back. What a spaz.