Thursday, September 17, 2009

Blackfoot Trail ride

The trip to Blackfoot was great! I am a little sore, but it was great! Not sure why I can ride 3-5 horses a day and be fine, but walking on a trail for 2 and a half hours and my thighs and butt are complaining!

We took Tonka, Whisper and YJ. It was YJ's first real trail ride, so I wanted to see how he would do when I had 2 trail experienced horses and a nurse with me. The three horses were pretty well matched speed wise, with YJ being the slowest walker of the three, but I found it better to be on the slower horse, rather than on Mr Speedy (Dexter) like usual...easier to jog to catch up than to have to slow and stop to let others catch up. I am going to miss having a trail safe horse (Tonka) to help me get my green and/or arena bound horses out in the wilderness! YJ was pretty good though, and I feel pretty confident taking him out again. I wish he and Dexter were better matched speed wise though, for a more pleasant ride.

I am thankful to Carole, for encouraging me to get out of the arena and go with her and Tonka exploring the neighbourhood and the Blackfoot.

I wish I had taken my camera along on the ride as the fall colours were very pretty. We saw one large wild beast...we aren't sure what it was as it was sleeping in the tall swamp grass...but it was either a Buffalo or maybe a moose...or maybe a pile of brown fuzzy stuff. We also saw a Peruvian Paso...but other than that it was VERY quiet. Maybe other people didn't want to ride in a windstorm? At least it wasn't hot, and the wind kept the bugs away, but it did make conversation difficult!

It was weird tonight to be teaching indoors again. In someways easier to be in the smaller ring, but I missed the fresh air, the fact I don't scoop poop outside, and the larger space for jumping.

Karen

3 comments:

Michelle said...

Can I bring you Beamer next week? For 5 weeks? I'm carting Wolfgang south for annual vetting, and I need to have him boarded over the 24th anyway (that's our wedding), so if the timing works for you, that would be great!

Hillside Stable said...

Sure, bring him on down, just let me know the day before so I can have the isolation pen ready for his arrival! I think Ri is going to be thrilled to have another arab on the property...

And you are getting married? Is it contagious? It seems a lot of people I know are getting married in the next while...

Michelle said...

Marriage maaaaay be contagious, but I hope not too much. I'd be sure to pass it on to my sister, and I don't want her to marry the guy she's with right now...LOL

Beamer is so...Araby. Ri will be overjoyed. You can tell Beamer is an Arab while he sleeps...

We'll be coming to your place on the 24th, late afternoonish. I'm going to take him to Lana's first for some maintenance, then he should be good to go. I'll bring you his saddle and tack too, he's not really a funny size, but he needs a really short girth.