We trail rode over to the fillies today. I rode Santana and Aleythia rode Ana. And I ponied Misstack on Santana. Aleythia put Ana in Misstacks bit and Ana was very good. We want to buy a couple more snaffle bits. Misstack did very well too. She followed really well.
We tied them up to some posts outside when we reached the fillies', untacked, and grabbed the two bays. We also took off the other two's halters. We had been thinking about doing this and so we worked on being able to catch them without touching their halters. We would rub their heads then throw the lead rope over their necks. I also gave them a little lesson in being led by the lead rope around their neck. One step to the left, one step to the right, back up a step, go forward a step... That sorta thing.
We walked/trotted with Dash and Coffie down to the dam. We noticed a path that led right down to the river. We are in a drought so there were patches of water, but it was mostly dirt and rocks. We got them to go through the water. Then we went back and across the bridge. They did it with just barely a hesitation. Then we took the deer trail on the left...
Those precious little horses followed us up the path that was on a slant most of the time and had a drop off right next too it some of the time. I was in the front with Coffie and I asked her to go between a tree that leaned over the trail and another little tree on the other side, with a drop off. Well she didn't want to do it, so I listened to her and didn't make her go. She had been following really well, so I trusted her judgment. Well, we couldn't turn around and we couldn't go down, so we went up!
We were on the side of a pretty steep hill and there were a bunch of trees and brush above us. Well I went up a little ways then asked Coffie to follow. She jumped up after me and I let go of the rope so that she could find her own way up, but her rope got caught so while she was trying to run up I pulled the rope loose and followed her with the rope in my hand. She didn't get very far when she stopped because she didn't think she could go any farther. So I broke a couple branches and led her up the hill. We got to a bunch of little trees and the only opening was across a group of logs and then Dash came running up the hill and Aleythia yells up, "I let the rope go because I trust her to find her way up more than me!" So I went over the logs with Coffie and tried to get Dash to follow. Then Aleythia caught up with Dash and she led her over the logs. From there we could see the bean field and followed the bean field back to the path that led directly do the dam bridge. We went across the bridge and walked home.
We put them back in the pasture with the other horses, took their halters off, made sure we could get the halters back on and walked away. We then caught the duns and put a halter on them, took it off and walked away. We did the same thing with the bays. They all did very well.
Saddled up Santana and Ana and walked home. Actually it was more like trot/canter home. Santana wanted to RUN! so I let him go but constricted it to a trot. And Misstack trotted beside him like a perfect little angel. When we got to the cement rode I got him to walk and we had a very nice walk the rest of the way home.
An old man with two little boys saw us running along the grass path and when he saw us he bent down to the little boys, pointed at us and waved. I waved back. I love making people happy with horses. I only wish that we had stopped and let them pet the horses. I love to walk down the street and look at the people in their cars. Some will ignore us, others will give a great big smile, some wave, and we have heard a little kid yell, "Horsies!"
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