Trail Ride

Today was a long day! Started out on the trails riding Marz and then half way through decided to go back to the barn and switch out horses. So around 2:00 I fetch Wynter from his pasture and lunged him in the round pen. Since Liz rode Arlo on our first ride we had to take Toccata with Wynter. I was a tad bit nervous with bringing a mare with him out to the tree farm with as many people as there was out there. After he was lunged (he got a few bucks out) we loaded the two. I made sure and put Wynter in the front (like always) and we put Tots in the very back.

At the trail head I left Wynter in the trailer for a second as Liz got Tots ready. After he stopped pawing for a few seconds I pulled him out and tied him on the opposite side. He was pretty excited, not being too stupid though. He was pawing here and there and he was yelling but he was much better than I thought he would be. I was pretty swift getting him tacked up. I think I was most impressed with him standing still as I mounted. With all the commotion I figured he'd dance but nope he stood and he even stood there as I adjusted so I was pretty proud.

We were quick to leave the parking lot just because I didn't want to hang around. We got a lot of compliments on his mane and there color. They are very very pale looking because I just body clipped both horses. I was also proud that he just went to work he wasn't overly thrilled to have a mare with him. So we left the parking lot with out a cheering squad. He was really good at the beginning a bit bouncy and tense and he wanted to talked to Toccata as she came up beside him. As the ride went one he relaxed more and more, he is such a 'pretty' boy though. Liz and I were comparing him to a Rualf Lauren underwear model. Eww I got Mud between my frogs! Ha ha ha. He hates the mud but went through every section with out fail. He'd just gave it this look and airplane ears.

The most eventful things that happened were close to the end of the ride. During the whole ride he never wanted to walk up any hill he always wanted to trot and when I pulled him back he would toss his head which he got a big smack for each time. By then Tots was in front of him and he was doing really well with that he was just nickering here and there form time to time. After we went up the big sand hill we started trotting and he was doing great. Then he spotted a cut up tree that a person had flipped on it's side so that they could use it as a mounting block. Wynter had to arc around that but kept going forward. Then we cantered the last long stretch and I was very happy with how he responded to me. He was very very good nice and straight I on the other hand need to get used to changing horses. Him and Marz have very different canters.

In the clearing he had to blow about the port O potty, that smelled funny. He wouldn't get close so after about 4 tries Liz took Toccata closer to it and he panicked for a second. He was like NOOOO it will eat you!!! Then when she nearly touched it he was like oh no I was just testing you. She was very very un-thrilled by his baby ness. Silly boy. Then as we were going back to the trailer he had to pull over to the side of the road. Yes he really did veer off of the main road to pee in the 'ditch' Liz and I busted up laughing. Then after about 20 steps he spooked. Like I have never seen him spook before. His whole body skidded sideways about a foot and then he just kept walking. It was very odd because there was nothing to spook over. Liz and I were making fun of him for it. Thus the reason I do not ride him with out stirrups. I do only ride with one hand most of the time, just hanging onto his reins with two fingers.

Other than that he was a rock star and I believe one of our longest rides we started out on the trails at 2:36 and came back at 5:00. I thought it was great for Wynter's brain it gets him out of the arena. Who else can take the baby stallion out on the trails with a mare?

Here are few blurry cell phone photos! Wynter's head and Liz on Toccata.