After a very long four-hour trip, Max and I are back from Morro Bay and it was a major success!! Max trailered like a pro and there were no traumatic events or disasters (thank god!!!).
We left about 10 am on Thursday, after a morning of loading, and Max loaded with no problems. Max was joined by his stablemates Dumbles (short for Dumbledore, a five year old Arab) and Kisses (a 13 year old Standardbred). The trip was uneventful and Max was very patient, even when we stopped for an extended period of time to get lunch and refuel.
We arrived at the campsite at about 3 pm and quickly got camp set up and settled the horses into their new home in the corrals (thank god we didn't have to tie off of the trailer). Others in our group slowly filtered in until we had about 25 horses and 30 people.
I decided to take Max out for a short ride to settle him and get him used to the area. Max was definately energized by the cool sea air and the steady sea breeze and he was definately up for a ride.
The trails leading away from camp towards the beach are all sandy, even though there are trees and vegetation and Max found the footing to be somewhat tiring- with the exception of some of parts of the various trails in Hansen Dam and especially along the base of Hansen Dam, there is not a lot of deep sand so it was going to be a workout that week.
After some basic manuvers, I then took Max up to the ridge overlooking the ocean (to get to the ocean from the campsite, you have to ride up a ridge and then cross the main road. Max was definately buzzed up, looking at all the new sights, sounds, and smells. His ears were turning everywhere and he was taking it all in. The bad part was that he was getting buzzed up and it was clear that I was going to have my hands full for awhile.
After the initial foray, I joined some of our group who wanted to watch the sunset. Max was excited to go, especially as he was behind a very fast Thoroughbred and he felt that he had to do everything to keep up. We followed one trail towards the beach and we went most of the way, turning back just shy of the actual beach.
It was dark by this time and on our way back, Max was definately chomping at the bit and wanting to run home. It was everything to keep him in check and he plowed through the sand with no sign of of tiring and he definately didn't want to rest.
We left about 10 am on Thursday, after a morning of loading, and Max loaded with no problems. Max was joined by his stablemates Dumbles (short for Dumbledore, a five year old Arab) and Kisses (a 13 year old Standardbred). The trip was uneventful and Max was very patient, even when we stopped for an extended period of time to get lunch and refuel.
We arrived at the campsite at about 3 pm and quickly got camp set up and settled the horses into their new home in the corrals (thank god we didn't have to tie off of the trailer). Others in our group slowly filtered in until we had about 25 horses and 30 people.
I decided to take Max out for a short ride to settle him and get him used to the area. Max was definately energized by the cool sea air and the steady sea breeze and he was definately up for a ride.
The trails leading away from camp towards the beach are all sandy, even though there are trees and vegetation and Max found the footing to be somewhat tiring- with the exception of some of parts of the various trails in Hansen Dam and especially along the base of Hansen Dam, there is not a lot of deep sand so it was going to be a workout that week.
After some basic manuvers, I then took Max up to the ridge overlooking the ocean (to get to the ocean from the campsite, you have to ride up a ridge and then cross the main road. Max was definately buzzed up, looking at all the new sights, sounds, and smells. His ears were turning everywhere and he was taking it all in. The bad part was that he was getting buzzed up and it was clear that I was going to have my hands full for awhile.
After the initial foray, I joined some of our group who wanted to watch the sunset. Max was excited to go, especially as he was behind a very fast Thoroughbred and he felt that he had to do everything to keep up. We followed one trail towards the beach and we went most of the way, turning back just shy of the actual beach.
It was dark by this time and on our way back, Max was definately chomping at the bit and wanting to run home. It was everything to keep him in check and he plowed through the sand with no sign of of tiring and he definately didn't want to rest.
Max and I on the sand...we finally made it! Unfortunately, the pictures are not the best due to the jiggy horses and all.
Max after a long day at the beach...
Upon returning, I feed and watered Max and he settled in for a long slumber. Overall, it was all new stuff to throw at Max but he did allright for the most part. More to follow!
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