After some pretty miserable hot days, things finally cooled off some so I decided to take a short trail ride last night. With the longer days, there's excellent oppotunities to explore trails that I would not be able to ride except on the weekends.
I managed to make it out to the stables pretty early (for a change!) and by 6:30 we were tacked up and heading out. I decided to do a varient on riding up towards the electric lines/cowpens (i.e. heading north up the wash), a ride that took roughly an hour and a half.
Basically, I followed north along the wash until I hit the picnic tables. Then, I started on the Doc Larsen Trail and headed to the east. About a half mile up, there's a fork in the trail so I took the left fork which heads towards the cowpens. Either fork of the trail will take you to a fire road, it's just a matter of where.
Following the trail, I eventually made it to the fire road. The trail crosses the fire road and if you follow it long enough, you'll get to the bathtub (mentioned in previous blog entries). However, because of time constraints (I really don't want to be out on the trail at night) I turned right and followed the fire road until I reached the other fork. I then followed this downhill until I reached the fork again and then retraced my steps home.
Overall, it was a nice not-too-demanding ride. Going out, I forced Max to do a mix of trotting and an occassional canter (when there was enough clear space to see if anything is coming). Max wasn't too wild about having to move fast but he eventually got over it. Naturally, his gait was much animated going home so I did a mix of walking and trotting. Occassionally, I'd stop him on the trail to take a small rest and to emphasize to Max that I make the decisions on when we go and at what speed. No barnsour horses here!
The weather was warm but not obnoxious and there was a nice breeze to keep things relatively cool. What was even better was the deer we spotted on the way up the Doc Larsen Trail (well, Max spotted the deer first and it took some careful viewing before I saw it). Pretty beautiful site and Max was completely laid back about the situation. Good boy!
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