I have been wanting to take Charlie on trails, well, ever since I got him. Trail rides or short hacks after some work in the arena are always a nice way to relax, for both horse and rider. Charlie, though, being so young, just wasn't ready. He definitely wasn't ready at the beginning of last season - he would still sometimes act up just being ridden in the outdoor arena. By fall last year, I did take him on a few little walks just a couple minutes down the road from our barn in Edmonton - never longer than 5 minutes tops. But, in Edmonton, if I wanted to go for a longer trail ride, I'd just take Hal. Here, though, I don't have that option, and there are a lot of trails around here. Needless to say, since I moved to Quebec, I've had the trail ride itch pretty bad.
I got home from school yesterday and decided to do a little work with Charlie. I was fully expecting to just work on our "homework" from our lesson last weekend, but about what would have been half way into my ride, a friend showed up and asked if I wanted to go with her to do some gallop sets. I mentioned that I'd never taken Charlie off property much, at all, and not once here - and our decision was made. We would take Charlie for his first trail ride.
I am not afraid of Charlie, or of horses in general, but I am FAR from a brave rider. I can always manage to find reasons to talk myself out of doing something I'm not 100% sure of. Yesterday, it was windy, a neighbour was clearing some trees with a noisy chainsaw, there were puddles on the road and streams running in the ditches and under the road - not to mention cars on the road - and, well, it's spring (almost!), so the horses were fresh. I could go on and on. There were many reasons I thought about talking myself out of going yesterday, but I squashed them, and away I went. (I did wear my cross country vest, though, for my own peace of mind.)
For about the first 1/3 of our ride, I was so nervous. Charlie is still a baby in a lot of ways - not yet 5 years old - and he sometimes doesn't know how to handle himself when he is over stimulated. I was worried that all of the distractions yesterday would be too much for him and he would buck or bolt. But - not once did he do anything even slightly naughty! Not once did he say no! He was looky, and alert, and attentive, but he went forward. The road was very hilly, we were passed by many cars (at least one of which was far from polite), we were surrounded by trees and bushes blowing in the wind and flocks of birds taking off and landing. The only thing that made Charlie a little unsure was big yellow road sign right before the end of the road. In total, our ride was about 30-40 minutes, and by the end of it, Charlie and I were nice and relaxed.
All in all, our ride yesterday was a huge success, and I'm so glad his first trail ride was such a positive experience. I'm looking forward to many more!
Happy trails :)
Thanks to Marie and Jelly Bean for the company, and the picture!
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