After a cold and rainy Christmas Day, I was ready to get back on the trail and today was almost perfect: sunny with a few white puffy clouds. The only downside was that it was a bit windy and this intensified the cold. Unfortunately, it also made the horses a bit more lively than usual...:-)
I started out early- about 8:30 am and after spending close to 30 minutes combing all the mud off of Max, I was ready to hit the trail. I decided to ride down to the arena at Gabriellano Park and do some flatwork. It took a little doing to get Max to wake up (probably the Chirstmas horsey eggnogg :-)) but after about 30 minutes, he was working just fine. After about an hour or so, I called a friend of mine to see if he was interested in hitting the trail, to which he said yes.
By the time all was said and done, we had assembled a small riding party and so we decided to take a long ride around the lake and behind Hansen Dam. The wind definately had all the horses buzzed up and at several moments, Max tried to buck. Some of the other horses were doing the same thing so I attributed it to the weather- the horses were definately feeling fresh! Fortunately, no accidents occurred and we were soon moving out down the trail.
At several points we trotted the horses out (more like the Arab horses belonging to my companions were walking fast and Max was trotting to keep up. Things actually worked out better than I would have thought- the trail behind the dam can sometimes be a little dicey for Max- don't know why but he tends to get a bit nervious there (or maybe it was just me). My friend and I brought up the rear and we both trotted along- it was probably two miles or so. When I finally returned to the stables, I made Max canter a few laps around the track- he was so eager to get home so it's best to work off the energy.
Overall, it was a beautiful day to ride although the wind did present it's challenges. Still, it was great to get out and so that's how I celebrated Boxing Day.
I started out early- about 8:30 am and after spending close to 30 minutes combing all the mud off of Max, I was ready to hit the trail. I decided to ride down to the arena at Gabriellano Park and do some flatwork. It took a little doing to get Max to wake up (probably the Chirstmas horsey eggnogg :-)) but after about 30 minutes, he was working just fine. After about an hour or so, I called a friend of mine to see if he was interested in hitting the trail, to which he said yes.
By the time all was said and done, we had assembled a small riding party and so we decided to take a long ride around the lake and behind Hansen Dam. The wind definately had all the horses buzzed up and at several moments, Max tried to buck. Some of the other horses were doing the same thing so I attributed it to the weather- the horses were definately feeling fresh! Fortunately, no accidents occurred and we were soon moving out down the trail.
At several points we trotted the horses out (more like the Arab horses belonging to my companions were walking fast and Max was trotting to keep up. Things actually worked out better than I would have thought- the trail behind the dam can sometimes be a little dicey for Max- don't know why but he tends to get a bit nervious there (or maybe it was just me). My friend and I brought up the rear and we both trotted along- it was probably two miles or so. When I finally returned to the stables, I made Max canter a few laps around the track- he was so eager to get home so it's best to work off the energy.
Overall, it was a beautiful day to ride although the wind did present it's challenges. Still, it was great to get out and so that's how I celebrated Boxing Day.
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