Friday, August 1, 2008

Hitting the Trail!

Hello everyone! Another hot muggy day in Paradise! :-)
Tomorrow is the Mustang Makeover Preworks that fellow EMM competitor Dennis Cappel is putting on. This will be our first outing with lots of action around, and I am hoping that Tripp handles it like he has almost everything else. I really wanted to get in as much saddle time as possible before tomorrow morning. In order for Tripp to be confident, I need to be confident.

We headed back to the Conservation Area - we warmed up in the parking lot/camping area, then got on the trail for a while. It was soooo much fun! We went the opposite direction as last time and I am glad I did. There was a rock lined area that simulated a bridge, hills, lots of wild life, and it was so peaceful. I can't wait to go back and spend more time....

Here we are heading down the trail...



Coming back from the trail....




Video of us coming back from the trail...



We did not work near enough because he did not want to stand still. Wish we had more time, but we had to make a quick trip to Orscheln's to get a couple of things. That is okay, Tripp will get his wish soon! :-)

I have been very proud of him...we have headed out to this place in the middle of nowhere and in spite of him being ancey, he has been fantastic! Riding down the trail has not been an issue. I will admit that at first I wish I had a seasoned horse to take along to help him, but he has not needed it. He is very curious about things and seems very confident in what he is doing.

Now this could backfire when we get around a bunch of horses...will know tomorrow. He is not used to being around activity on all sides. I am very excited to find out how he handles it. He is pretty level headed and I honestly think he will be fine.
And if he isn't...well, we will deal with it.

The parking lot/camping area has small rock all over it, and every once in a while he would stumble when he hit a rock wrong. A horse with shoes will do the same thing. He has great feet and we will toughen them up even more than they are. No different than we are....we have to take our time running around barefoot before our feet toughen up. They are the same way.
The trail itself has smaller gravel which is wonderful! He did not mis-step one time! We have no rock here at the place, so I will enjoy watching the transformation of his feet from riding out there. A horses feet are amazing - I am still learning so much about the mechanics of how they work.

We are due to have a few dry days so I will be setting up some more obstacles to play with. The more he is exposed to the better.

Will let you all know how tomorrow goes....

Night night....Karen and Tripp

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