Goin' Solo part 2

Well, my last ride was ... when? Friday? No, it rained Friday. Thursday was my solo ride, wasn't it? Geez, how the days all run together.:) Worked yesterday and didn't have time to ride the boy, so I ATTEMPTED to do so today. Rain cut my ride super short, but at least I did get on. Let me tell y'all, the boy could have seriously used a spin on the longe line before going out today. It's been weirdly cool for a few days, but he HAS been out at night. Since I was racing the rain, I just trusted that our last outing was enough to keep him sane. Hopped on, and headed out the same way I did last time. He was FRESH. His walk was RIGHT on the edge of a jig. We went down the road, next to the pasture fence, and Kelly decided to RUN right next to us. Yeah, it freaked him out a little. VERY googly eyed, snorted a bit, and cranked his head towards her. Made it to the end of the fence, and he spooked at a big, ugly dead bush. Launched backwards and spun around. I growled "HEY, cut it out!" at him, and pushed him back forward. It is DANGEROUS to be spinning and backing up 10 feet from a busy road. Got him past the bush, and had a bit of a reprieve, as there's about a 5 minute walk through a field a safe distance from the road. He was blowing and whuffling the entire time. Offered up a few head shakes, but nothing too serious. Walked down the road to the entrance of the woods, and really had to keep contact and half halt down the hill. Walked nicely over a log and into the woods. Stopped dead at the water, but then walked through perfectly, with NO leap/run through at all this time. We hopped over our usual jump log, and he came right back to the walk, no problem. Came to a tree that was down, and had to dismount to move it. Got back on, and walked through a big water puddle that usually isn't there (did I mentioned it's rained cats and dogs the last few days?) with NO problem. Not even a pause, and he just walked through, no bolting through.

Went in to make the loop, and picked up a trot. He was VERY sucked up and looky. Swished the tail and shook his head a little. Again, not bad. It began to rain. Not only that, but as we got deeper into the forest, the sound of heavy equipment got louder and louder. He stopped dead again and stared into the woods. I didn't blame him; at this point, the heavy machinery was very loud. I waited patiently, rubbed his neck, and closed my leg to ask him to walk forward. He was reluctant, but he did it. I made him walk for about another 30 seconds, but then turned around. At this point it was raining heavier, and he wasn't happy about it. I trotted, but he REALLY wanted to do his snorty Thoroughbred canter. So, I made him walk. Jumped the log again, walked until we got to the hill going out, then let him do his snorting, jolty canter. Pulled him up before he got out of hand, and walked to the gate of the back pasture. I dismounted and unlocked the gate, then went in through the back pasture. We were both pretty wet by this time, so I took him in to untack and dry off.

Sadly, this was my last ride on him for 2 weeks.:( I hope he enjoys his vacation, because that's where I'll be! We leave Monday for a 9 day cruise to Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica. This weekend is my Zone Finals at Chateau Elan, so Friday-Sunday will be at the horse show. It's supposed to rain the rest of the week until Thursday night, which is why I'm sure today was my last riding day, unless I can squeeze in some time Sunday. So, don't leave my blog! I'll just have nothing to blog about until I get home, when I will update our activities!:) So, I'll try to post something Sunday, whether or not I ride, and then y'all will just have to hang out and wait and enjoy Spring Break!!:):)