I wish I came here more often. It has so many beautiful sections. It is plagued by some boggy trails with mosquitoes and we have to cross a busy road to get here. But once here, Im always happy!
We found some wooden trails with occasional muddy spots to go trotting in. I took this video with my trail buddy J and her big percheron mare.
Buffet! I struggled to keep Q on the path and focused.
Much galloping happens on this path!
This section has a few streets that we have to cross. But there is practically no cars here.
Q enjoying the view!
The hunt field is one of my favorite spots. And the sun was out in full force with a cooling breeze.
It was a gorgeous day, and the sights were beautiful. With the tardy summer, the trails were a bit muddier than usual. My friend with her big percheron mare struggles with her soundness, and did not like the muddy trails one bit. She would have much rather stayed on the tried and true section 2.
But I am glad I went, and I am looking forward to going back. Perhaps solo. Q is getting to be quite solid going solo and I think we can do this.
There is a wonderful veterinarian-turned-acupuncturist that works in our area, and Q gets an exam and sometimes a treatment once every six months. With our latest saddle restuffing, I thought it was good timing to take a look. This lovely older gentleman has over 30 years of equine acupuncture practice (in addition to 20 years as an equine vet) and many a story to tell but the biggest stories come from his patients and his magic hands. While I have never tried acupuncture on myself, I have been successfully treated for many ailments with osteopathy and I believe in the body as a system that can often heal itself. So today was the day, and I watched him do several treatments before it was our turn. Q had no back pain or soreness, but his weakness in the left hind was flaring up and probably connected with the increased work on collection over the last few weeks. So, he got some needles and then I watched him slowly drift to sleep as he licked my arm slower and slower. After these
I feel like I am in good company when I say that life and work has taken me away from riding these last few weeks. I finally made it back to the barn during an epic windstorm with over 1,000,000 homes without power. No surprise that I didnt ride that day. I did make it out to the woods yesterday for my first time in two weeks and boy has the scenery changed. From golden colors to barren trees, from sandy trails to muddy bogs, from blue skies to hail storms. It’s time to be well dressed, with jackets, gloves, and good socks. I have been dutifully practicing the long reins every day for 15 minutes, and Q is a quick study. We now do nice transitions between collected walk to collected trot, and during one of our teardrop turns Q offered me a leg yield to my squeal and delight. He stopped and raised his head to me, saying that if I was going to squeal that much he deserved a mint. I obliged. He also taught me a lesson today. Yesterday, I was doing our standard trick at the fri
I may come to regret this, but Im not as prepared for this trip as I was for Alberta’s epic trek last spring. In part because I havent ridden in 3 weeks. 😃 The days will probably be shorter (4-6 hours of riding) and its pretty slow riding because its over glacier rocks …. so maybe Ill be fine? Also looks like its just gonna be me and the gauchos as the other riders had flights cancelled last minute. So this trip will be Spanish (actually Castellano) immersion too. The last few weeks in BA has been momentous, from the run to the final of the World Cup, to the dozens of people who ran in the streets in defense of a small dog in a hit and run, to the amazing fresh fruit and vegetables, to the delicious food and mountains of gelato. BA is big, at times wild, messy and very passionate. I havent found much indifference here. But now, I have to figure out how to get my backpack to weigh less than 8 kg to fit all the clothes I need for weather ranging from polar sun to blizzard. Yes, I have l
Its that funny time of year where the ground is frozen hard, ice has formed on the trail, and we don’t have enough snow cover to keep our barefoot partners safe. But I was itching to enjoy the fresh air and took my surefooted Q out on trail albeit tentatively. It was lovely. I was happier walking cautiously for half an hour on the trails than any canter circles I could do in the arena. Sometimes you just need a little sunshine, even if its cold. This week concluded the fall term. I still have to grade final exams, and tie up loose ends with my consulting projects ... but it’s the beginning of the end of the year. As many bloggers do, I will also work on my end-of-year recap as it has been pretty epic. Much travels, first full year running my own business, bareback riding, and lots of solo adventures with my buddy Q. Right now Im looking forward to two weeks in a hammock on the beach in Costa Rica, and hopefully getting lost in a new romance novel every day. Until the
I do lots of different kinds of rides, with lots of different kinds of riders. But cantering always has me stumped. I have an established checklist of rules, but not everybody shares my view on this. Here is the short version I do not ride on trail with anybody who is not comfortable cantering their horse (at least in an arena). I don't want their first canter experience to be the spook and bolt when their horse sees a deer. I will occasionally make an exception to this rule for very short and controlled trail rides within proximity to the barn. I do not race. The order we start in, must be maintained until the end. No passing. With some of my trail buddies we will canter side by side, and it is glorious! I do not gallop. I have made a few exceptions to this rule with individuals that I trust, and on a trail I know well. The gallop stretch never lasts very long. I do not canter up ravines or anywhere I do not have a long line of sight. Again, I sometimes make exceptions to this on
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