Fast and slow

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Annual Trail Rides: 26/200

After my sassy ride when the dragon decided to play, I planned out my next expedition more carefully. It started with 10 minutes in the indoor arena where I stood in the middle and watched my dragon blow big fast circles around me. He bucked, he charged, he rolled, he did lots of flying lead changes and spins. Its fun to watch!

After that, and while all my friends went off to ride in the woods, we stayed behind so he could have some lunch and I would slowly prepare his tack. I brushed him with my trusty “tigers tongue” and gave him time to have a drink, eat some hay and take a breather. By the time I got to the mounting block, the dragon was happy and relaxed.

Still very forward, but not silly forward with extra choppy gaits. And it was a good thing. We did lots of trotting and cantering as we were solo and untethered. But there was tons of traffic on trails to navigate. Single and double sleighs blocking the trail, snowshoers lost in the woods, skiers and skiskaters moving at speed, dog walkers, and of course lots of riders. It was great to see everyone enjoying a lovely mild weekend in the forest. So much smiling going on!











After this delightful fast ride, I prepared to go out for a longer ride with a buddy the next day but got surprised by a sudden drop in weather (-20C) and her horse was struggling with the pace. So we trotted out, did some cantering and then he quit. We ended up walking the rest of the way home (40 mins) which isn’t great in an arctic freeze but we were well dressed. My thermacell heated soles with the bluetooth remote control came in very handy, along with my multiple layers including long underwear.

So today its another solo ride with lots of cantaloping. 


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