Trail Riding is Now Our Thing

If I had to write a sale ad for Izzy this week, I might start off with Awesome trail horse, goes where you point him. No, I am not kidding.

As before, I met up on Saturday with my friend Marci at her house along with her Arab gelding Gem. As we first walked out, Izzy wanted to be a giraffe, but that really only lasted a few minutes. Once we were actually out on the trail, he was relaxed and happy no matter which direction we went.

Look how light his coat has gotten! I am saying that like it's a good thing.

For this outing, we decided to ride the trails that lie north of the river. Since Gem is now working at more of an endurance pace, which means a lot more trotting, I told Marci that we were good trotting the wider, level trails. I didn't want Gem to get too frustrated at having to wait for his much slower friend. 

Gem already has a really efficient, ground-covering trot. Izzy doesn't. He had to work really hard to stay balanced without running on his forehand. When Gem would start to put some distance between us, Izzy would try to quicken his pace but hollow his back. Instead of doing that, I half halted to remind him to sit on his hind end, and then I asked him to push forward. We did some fairly long trot sets so Izzy got some excellent practice at lengthening his stride and using his back more effectively.

Marci on Gem

Izzy was foot perfect on the trails. Hard packed or sandy, he picked up his feet and was careful where he put them. We took a trail that was quite overgrown with low hanging branches, not a problem for shorter Gem, but definitely a problem for my big brown horse. I slid off the side and led Izzy under the limbs. Even though he had to duck, he never batted an eye. And when I finally found a small berm tall enough to use as a mounting block, Izzy stood patiently while I hopped back up in the saddle.

Izzy is also just as happy to lead.

There was only one area where Izzy tried to exit stage right. As we passed through Rancho Rio, a neighboring stable, he gave an emphatic heck no! at the hissing, grinding pump that resides in the middle of the road. Having ridden other horses past, I should have remembered that it's a bit of a bug -a-boo for most horses the first few times they pass by, especially since it starts and stops intermittently.

I don't mind if my horses want to stop and do a safety check. I get it, stuff is scary. Whirling and slamming on the breaks exceeds what I call a safety check though. It also says that my horse has no confidence in my decision-making skills. I started carrying a long thin rope as a "whacker" for moments just like these. I grabbed the line and popped Izzy behind my leg until he shot past the offensive pump.

Stopping and checking in with me is allowed. Taking matters into your hands is not. When we passed by it later, I was quite pleased that he didn't even look at it. It might have helped that it was being quiet, but whatever, I'll take the win.

Everyone we meet on the trail comments on his size. He's averaged-size for a dressage horse, but he stands out a bit on the trail.

Other than that one moment, Izzy was quite the confident trail pony. we crossed the weir again, this time with him in the lead. He was tense, but he did it without too much urging. The bicycle bridges have also been a bit scary, but he crossed those again as well without issue. The second time, he even led.

My friend Marci has been an amazing resource. Even though she and Gem are now working at a beginning endurance pace, she's been willing to slow it down so that Izzy and I can join her. At least occasionally.

He's pretty handsome when he's behaving.

If we never get to show, at least I know Izzy can always be a trail horse. And we all know that doing different things with our horses gives them broader experience and challenges their minds and bodies in new and often refreshing ways.

And besides that, I think he actually enjoys going out on the trail!