The First Trail Ride

Liz and I went on a ride with Marz and Arlo and hafl way through I thought it was a good day to take Wynter out. He has been on about 4 ride in our tree farm so I decided he should go out and do a real ride. So we went back to the barn and Liz grabbed Toccata who she was going to ride bareback and mom jumped on Arlo. I lunged Wynter around in the round pen to get out the jitters. We went around for a while and then did a little join up. He was really good about that and wasn’t that warm at all. I loaded him in the trailer and he had to nicker at Arlo who we put next t him. He did it a few times and then relaxed. When I unloaded him form the trailer at the parking lot he was seriously confused. Where was the arena? He has never been somewhere just for trees.

He whinnied once and was quiet the rest of the time. He also stood still at the trailer so I was pretty optimistic. Even though I did wear my helmet. Mom and Liz jinks when I got out of the truck saying something of the effect the he was a baby. So the helmet was on! He had a really hard time standing still while I got on him but he didn’t dance he was just tense really tense. I have also never gotten on him using the side of the horse trailer before so that was new to him. I took the whip today just for an extension of my hand. I ended up using it here and there.

When we first headed out he had to nicker and walk in a arch away from everyone. He was really nervous being that close to any other horse. He thought he was going to get in trouble. So the first little section he was really slow and he was walking in a funky arch but I did get him to stop nickering. We took up the rear as it is a natural position for a stallion to take. We had Arlo in front of him and Liz was in the lead on Tots.

The first real trail we went on was a pretty hard one, I choice it so I could make him think on is feet and not the fact they we were with a mare. It worked really well. We were laughing at him the whole time. He was a prissy show boy. He tiptoed and avoided everything he could, he is also determined to not walk through mud! He was not going there and I wasn’t either. I decided to pick my battles and the mud thing was not for today or the next few ride as a matter of fact. Just going along quietly and at a steady pace was golden in my book. So I let him scurry off to the side around the mud and in one case fly over it.

This guy could be jumper. I don’t like jumping and with Marquisse she launches herself over it and you are thrown from your seat and you hit hard. The fact that I don’t know what I’m doing doesn’t help. Well with Wynter I don’t leave my seat he is very very smooth. The particular trail we took first has a log or root every 6 feet it’s a real maze and he was hopping anything mid cannon bone. He had to do it with piazza, because he is a stallion after all. He was super good tense but I was real impressed with him, I did have to use my spurs to keep him from rubbing me off on a tree. He completely forgot that my legs were there. He also didn’t understand the ‘trail’ he really never picked that up after we were done. He would try to go around a log by following it all the way down instead of going over. It made me laugh a few times. He would also try a go straight if it was an s curve, he thought those were ridicules.

Almost at the end of the trail it went straight up. Now Wynter hasn’t really had to carry a human up an embankment before and I could feel him trying to figure out how to balance me. He was very quick about it. As we went up he picked up a very brisk walk almost trot to power himself up. Mom looked back and gave me this look and said ‘he looks really good’. He was like warrior horse going up the hill. All he needed was armor and maybe a knight on his back instead of me.

The next big thing for him to concur was the water. I have ridden around and on some real greenies and I’ll tell you that the stream is a real issue. This particular water crossing is about knee deep at the deepest and about 6 feet across. It Didn’t help that there was mud at the beginning. The best part is the other two horses don’t even hesitate they just go so he was the one to stop and look at the water. He sniffed it and I added a little leg not enough to push him or make him panic just enough to encourage the idea. He go the hit but wasn’t sure about going in he had to try and get around the mud. So we went one way and I said we are not going up over the edge so he went the over way and I added a little more leg and he stepped right in. He crossed without a hitch. He even went through the mud on the other side without hopping it like I thought he would.

The trail that follow the water crossing are a compilation of figure eights. If you don’t go right you can go left and you end up on the same trail. So to mess with his mind we took the trail that the others didn’t take he could see them the whole time he just wasn’t sure on the idea. During this whole time he had been walking really slow and tensed. He would prance to catch up. His prance is super smooth to sit to so at first I didn’t notice and then I started to try and making him move out instead of prance around.

Our next big challenge was a small bridge that is about 2 and a half horse length long and not wide enough for a Haflinger to turn around on. The side come up about rider elbow height. Again the other two don’t even flinch and Wynter decided do just go over it he had no hesitation. The only time he was a little unsure about was when he was all the way on it he tilted his head but didn’t scramble to get off or quicken his pace. That was awesome. The next section is the muddiest part of the whole tree farm its like a mud pit for a few yards. He had to walk through some of it but went he could he would dance around.

We went up and around to the left and up the sand hill which he had a really hard time not trotting up. The other two were pretty far ahead so he wanted to be closer but we made it. Sadly at the top there is a big silver covert sitting above ground. Again I have seen greenies freak out over this thing. His ears went forward and he side stepped very very little, I suppose say he gave it a wipe birth is a better way to put it. The next trail was a really tight one at had the green shrubs constantly rubbing his legs he hated this trail. Absolutely hated it. He got very very tense. He whinnied at Liz a few time because she kept getting to far away. I think that was the stallion in him. He could have cared less for Arlo. Or as I put it at one point ‘the bait’ he would have love to use Arlo as bait so he could get his mare away from danger. He was totally looking out for her.

I have been riding the pretty broke trail horse for a while now and haven’t ridden a real green horn in a long time. I forgot big ass scary stumps could be scary. He would tilt his head and walk around them, like try it I’ll kill you if you make a move.

That is the strangest thing while riding a stallion. As my first stallion he is so very very different than riding anything else. Instead of running from something he will go toward it or try and attack it. Like at the end of the next trail there is a big metal loader Its like a semi truck loading ramp that is half buried into the ground. Wynter went right up to it with out my aid and was like is it alive because if it is I’ll kick its ass. When he figured it wasn’t he just mosey on. There was also the cup incident. There was a plastic mocha cup in the middle of the trail Toccata kicked it making it spin and Arlo the chicken of the group had to give it the evil eye and tip toe around it. Wynter could have cared less he just glanced at it and kept going. I was really for him to kick it and jump in the air ten feet he didn’t.

When we hit the clearing he had to get a little excited because there were other horses coming through and we also got close to his mare. He had to whinny and prance but you know I was riding him with one hand. I had faith that he wasn’t going to charge or do anything but what he was doing.

This part of the ride was the most entertaining for all of us. Again it was a real stallion thing. We were riding the main road of a huge open area that had small section s Christmas trees planted in square patches. We walked side by side next to Toccata and he nickered twice and dropped that after the hand of god smacked him up side the head. And I was starting to question brining it. He spotted two horses coming in on the far side of the area reminding me of and Arab. His head came up and he tuck his butt under him and felt like he was walking on his tip toes in front. This was the craziest he got for the whole ride. He sped walked forward and whinnied at them. It was a stallion thing protecting his herd. Once they went away he was on high alert. If you have even seen up you will get the picture of this perfectly. You know when Dog is introducing himself and explaining his collar and he see a squirrel well, Wynter did that twice but he kept walking, he didn’t stop his feet. He would be walking along and then almost get whip lash looking over at something. He was totally going to tell everyone that he seen what ever it was if he had to. Like I said he was going to protect his herd.

Its really weird to know that if the crap hit the fan he was attack it not run. So help me if a bear would have came out of the woods and attacked up Wynter would have been on it. He would have showed that bear who Willard Whyte really is! The rest of the ride he really toned down he started to relax and just trail ride. We took on trail that was tight and again he got tense and tried to go around the point less turn but he was super super good.

On the way back to the trailer Liz kept saying he was dropping. So I kept telling him that was a no no well once we got to the horse trailer and I jump off him he peed. Poor boy and I was telling him he was bad. Now I know when he drops like that he just needs to pee.

Over all I was very very pleased with his first real trail ride. He was super!!! The best ride I have ever seen by a greenie! He was great and I love him to death. He is now going to go on more. He is also gong to be soar. Oh man he was like jello Stifles when we loaded into the trailer.

Tomorrow we will see if he is to soar to ride we may just lunge him around or do a very very easy ride. I’m not sure yet and my fingers are crossed that my stuff arrived soon!! I need my rowels.