Today I decided to do a solo ride on Cartman. I had hoped to be at the trailhead by 8am but was moving a little slowly. Last night I spent three hours hauling and stacking, and then re-stacking 40 bales of alfalfa and what was left of last years grass hay. Cleaning out the hay barn is one of my least favorite horse related activities, but I do really enjoy having the years supply of hay in the barn.
We did get in quite a bit of trotting and cantering down one particular stretch of trail, it is hilly so I usually let C trot or canter up the long grades and then we walk down the downhill portions. This particular trail is an old logging road, so there is packed gravel covered by forest debris a!nd grass in spots. The old H/J rider in me cringes to hear Cartman's shoes clippity clopping down the gravel sections, but this footing is solid, doesn't contain hidden holes, and I think after the last three years of slowly working him on it he should be somewhat adapted to it. I sometimes insist that he track in the center of the road (where the grass has grown up) if I can see well enough to avoid holes or large rocks. This seems to annoy him a little and he will move right back over to the tire tracks as soon as I let him. Go figure.
We spent about 45 minutes doing this first section of trail and getting in our "cardio". Then it was down the windy forest trails to a beautiful creek crossing and up some steep hills! About half way through our ride we spooked up two deer. They trotted away from us and then stood absolutely still and watched us as we walked by. We spent the next two hours climbing hills, crossing creeks, and climbing more hills!
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| Can you find them? There are two. |
C is such a funny guy, I tried to get him to stop and take a break and graze for a while and he would have none of it! He would grab a bite and then head off down trail, walking and eating at the same time.
Here are some pictures of our ride:
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| heading out |
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| this is new! |
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| going down |
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| crossing #2 |
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| C in purple flowers |
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| more wooded trail |
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| Someone else has been through here |
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| My favorite view |
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| This trail is getting over grown |
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| the sun finally makes an appearance |
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| back into the woods |
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| another crossing |
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| this crossing has some mud |
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| C puts his nose down and checks out how deep this mud is! |
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| we went over a bunch of logs today, some were big! |
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Happy, happy, happy!
When we got home I gave C a bit beet pulp mash. He stuffed his head in it and didn't move for about 10 minutes! When he was finally done I had to hose him off.
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Then it was back to the pasture!
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| C scratches on his brother. Taj has the white hind sock. |
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| C feels TOO CLEAN! |
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| Bonus points for making mud in July |
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| So very itchy |
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| I luv ya man! |
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| Cartman thinks I got Buddy just for him, he is fascinated with dogs. |
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| Girlie |
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| Back to business. |
3 comments:
Love his expression while looking at everything on the trail.
The pictures are almost as good as riding w/you. We horse people sure think alike - I hate barn cleaning too! Still have hay to get in - hopefully soon. I can tell how tall C is just from the angle! :-)
Are you planning on BB?
ooooh it looks like my home!! amazing pictures - scenes i always tried not to take for granted but now know i truly appreciate them.
i'm trying to figure out exactly where you are from what i've seen so far. i'm gonna guess...morton. wait, too far out. kelso? castle rock? is this totally creepy? not if i'm way off, huh? i'm pretty open about giving clues about exactly where i am in my blog cuz really, who's gonna hunt me down in europe?
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