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.
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 ...
The sun was out, the weather mild, and I decided to chance the trails. Well, lo and behold, it was awesome. Q continues to make me smile every time he stops and waits patiently as I try and get the best picture of our beautiful surroundings. Every once in a while he takes advantage of my distraction to grab a branch or a leaf ... or a big branch of leaves. He walked tentatively on the snow covered ice, but conditions were such that he never slipped. We even got a chance for a short trot! After that it was a yoga class, and now Im plunked on the sofa watching a cute movie called L’auberge Espagnole ... a nice reminder of our beautiful trip to Barcelona many years ago. A lovely day, blessed with a great horse and a lovely trail. Namaste.
Its been a rough go these last few weeks between a significant increase in work, brutal cold snaps, icy trails and skating rink parking lots. Ive only ridden a handful of times on those rare occasions where the universe converged. This has made for a spicy pony and while it makes me more prudent on how I engage in speed when the brakes are fairly absent, it also makes me super appreciative that this spicy horse does keep his excitement under wraps most of the time. Clearly Q is fit and feeling good, and his daily turnout with bestie Chester is absolutely insufficient in expending energy. Especially since these two lazybouts just stand in a corner watching the world go by. We went out today after a little snow fell to cover our thick ice. Footing was good, and it was our first outing in over 10 days. The strategy is always the same: long steady trots for 5-10 mins until Q starts relaxing and blowing through his nose in loud bursts. During the first stretch we kept on trotting throu...
Annual Trail Rides: 192/200 (Bareback 26/40) While the colours are not as vibrant this year, we are in that magic spot between summer and winter where we get many pretty views. As I rewind my blog posts of 2021, I realize there is another view I have created ... that of my many horseback experiences with Q on the trails. There is no doubt that mileage (or "wet saddle blankets") have made a tremendous difference in our combined confidence and comfort on the trail. The lope on the buckle is almost perfect, and I can almost guarantee he will pick up the right one 90% of the time. It was quite surprising for me to read some of my posts in the spring and early summer and recall what happened. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it was only 4-6 months. Wow, how we have improved. We have also gone on lots of solo explorations ... and often that is when I have my best rides. This horse has me giggling on every single ride. Those who ride with us often chuckle at my expression "don...
Annual Trail Rides: 34/200 A century ago, local farmers in our town west of Montreal were tired of the sand left in the spring thaw that clogged the streets and ditches and created floods and ice dams to prevent passing. So the farmers got together with the town and the province to fund a reforestation project which we would later call the "Nursery". The reforestation would cover most of the old sand dunes that had been left behind many millennia ago by a retreating glacier. The old sand dunes were a popular place for local families to go for a picnic, or some fishing in some of the creeks and lakes that popped up from underground springs. Our history books show groups of families with their farmhorses pulling big sleighs or wagons filled with children. But it was time to stop the constant erosion the sand dunes were having on the local farms. So in the 1930s began the massive reforestation project. At the time, the population of this town was under a thousand, as there was o...
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