Packing for MnDRA!

The first ride of the year is here!  Yippee!  I *think* I have all the essential horse & human items packed, and I know someone in camp is bound to have an extra of whatever it is I forget.... so it's time to finish up food prep & get Kelso's stuff ready to go and the rest of the dogs' stuff organized for the doggie care crew (thank you Kristi & Christine for watching the fur balls while I'm gone!).

Rhio and I are going with Gesa and Paco to this ride, planning to ride a 25 mile Limited Distance on Sunday.  It will be Gesa & Paco's third LD ever, and I am vetting the ride as well (Friday night & Saturday), so we will ride together Sunday.  The weather forecast is amazingly good (all appendages duly crossed), but I've got tons of layers and lots of outerwear packed for all of us.  And sunscreen.

Rhio & I have been riding mostly 50s last season, and I intend to do the same this season.  However, this ride is the first of the year, and I never know what kind of spring we'll have for training.  Since I have to commit early to which day I want to ride (because of the vetting), and we only have 50s on Saturday, I usually think of MnDRA 1 as a conditioning ride exclusively, and plan to do 25 conditioning miles.  This year, according to Rhio's log, he's had 95 miles of trail/road work plus arena work.  He's looking and feeling fantastic.  He could probably do a 50.  But, we are having saddle issues, so that alone is enough to make me want to keep our effort to a 25 this ride.  Plus, this way Gesa & I get to ride together, and that will be so much fun!  And that's the point of this sport for me - to have fun and enjoy the day & the trail with my horse.

We had another lesson with Abby last week, and I have to say that Rhio is already improved.  He is using his body better, and we even worked in a snaffle bit, and it went GREAT!  I was happy.  I used Red's bit, at Abby's suggestion, which is a Myler comfort snaffle.  Rhio has worn it before, and as with any bit, he was always tense & unhappy with it.  Abby suggested I adjust it more loosely than I typically adjust a snaffle (no wrinkles), so that it provides zero "contact" when he is just carrying it.  A normal adjustment, with a wrinkle at the corner of the mouth, is in effect a mild contact all the time, regardless of what you are doing with the reins.  Rhio does not like that at all, and it was very interesting to note that when I first mounted, he was tense, worried, "hunchy," etc - basically telling me in no uncertain terms that he was *not happy*.  After a few minutes of just letting him walk around, he settled and relaxed, and was never tense or worried again for the whole session.  We did a whole bunch of different things, keeping his busy Arab mind engaged, all of which were designed to get him to move his body.  Rhio goes straight really, really well.  Rhio doesn't bend very well at all.  He doesn't get his hind legs underneath himself to drive, and he doesn't move his shoulders laterally.  He's never been asked to, and frankly, it's easier to just go in a straight line.  It's been such a learning experience for us both - me to learn to ask for these things, and what it feels like when he does it, and him to gain confidence that he *can* do it.

My childhood riding instructor would have been appalled, but I spent an hour looking at my horse, not keeping my eyes up and looking where we were going.  GASP.  Thanks, Abby - we had fun & learned a lot.  And what's more, we were even able to repeat some of it on our own!

I know we'll both enjoy the trail on Sunday, and I'm looking forward to working on our "yoga," too.
Next post will be a ride report!

Learning

Today Rhio & I were gifted a training session with Abby.  Other than the despooking clinic we attended in April 2010, we have never had any formal instruction as a team.  And it probably shows!  I know I have acquired some bad habits as a rider, but I think mostly the way I ride works for my horses, and they do their jobs well.  It's when I attempt to do something other than move down the trail in a (relatively) straight line that we begin to run into issues.  Rhio and I have been working in the arena this winter, and it's become clear to me that he has problems disengaging or moving his front end freely, especially on the right.  Even from the ground, I can't get him to yield his forequarters to me and move away from pressure. (A digression for my non-horsey readers: by pressure, I mean asking him to give ground to me when I use either body language, or a visual cue like shaking a rope or whip at him.  He should step away from me when I ask him to.  It is not a physical pressure, like pressing on him with my hand would be.)  He also doesn't bend to the right, and can't hold himself on a circle to the right, but drops his right shoulder and "falls" into the circle. And, he has never picked up the right lead in the canter; even on the trail we always canter on the left lead.   So, I know what our problem areas are, but I haven't been able to figure out how to improve them.  We've essentially gone nowhere with the things I've tried.  And just let me say, I am NOT a trainer and have zero experience in this department of improving my horse's use of his body.

So, Abby began by doing some ground work with Rhio.  She immediately saw all the issues I'd described (whew! it's a relief to have someone else see the things I'm trying to describe as problems, and be able to pinpoint and refine them more than I am able to) and started asking Rhio to move his front end away from her.  He didn't get it at first, but eventually Abby had him moving more freely and correctly.  He also demonstrated his dislike of having people on his right side.  He uses his head & neck to block you from being on his right, and will move to place you on his left where he is more comfortable.  We speculated a lot about his early training (all I know is he had "90 days" on him at some point, and that the trainer was a man, and rode Western), and we are pretty sure he was never taught to be comfortable with people on his right side.  (Another digression: by convention, we do most horse handling from the left side.  One explanation I've heard for this is that when sword-carrying military types would use horses and had their swords on their left hip, they had to mount on the left to avoid poking their horse with the sword.  At any rate, horses' brains are set up such that they need to learn everything twice - once on the left and once on the right.  They do not extrapolate lessons learned on one side to the other side.  So, it is very important to do everything from both sides of your horse, including leading, saddling, mounting, dismounting, and all the movements we ask our horses to do while being ridden.)

Rhio is a very smart and sensitive horse, and he learned well how to give a desired reaction to a certain stimulus but it seems he wasn't given the opportunity to learn to do the right thing with correct body movement.  He's sort of in self-preservation mode.  He really doesn't like pressure of any kind, and needs to be given the chance to understand what you're asking of him.  If you let him think about it and understand, he really does want to comply.  If you just keep putting pressure on him, he mentally shuts down and "freezes." If you continue with the pressure, he brings out his avoidance behaviors, which include bucking (under saddle) and rearing (if I'm working him in-hand).  He wants to please, he just doesn't always know how and then he gets scared (though, as Abby pointed out, he pretends that he's not scared and acts all tough & confident, when really he's neither of those things!).

Abby observed that he is not using the right side of his body much at all, is very "locked up" on the right, and out of balance.  He doesn't canter correctly to the right even when he's doing it on his own.  As she says, he's afraid to use the right side of his body and he thinks he can't.  I need to teach him that he can, and put him into situations where he has to move correctly and balance himself.

After the ground work, I mounted up to continue his lessons under saddle.  This was great because now I am beginning to know what it feels like when he does it correctly (lifts his ribcage so that he can step under himself with his hind leg and lift the shoulder at the same time) and I have a few new tools to get him to do these things.  He and I were both thinking a lot and I think he was a bit ahead of me at times!  I was trying to coordinate all my aids plus pay attention to him so I could release pressure at the right moment to reward him for doing it right - whew! We definitely need to practice.  But we did make some significant improvements, I think, and the most important of these was having Abby show us exactly what the problem was and teach us a few tools to correct it.

Stay tuned for further progress reports!  I hope to have Abby back to help us again in the future.

Thanks, Abby, for a great session today - we both learned a lot.  And a big thank you to Gesa for giving me this session with Abby - what a generous, thoughtful, and completely unexpected gift!

Sefi's First Adventure

On Wednesday Gesa brought Paco & her 2 1/2 year old homebred filly Sefi up to the farm.  It was Sefi's second trailer ride (the first being just "around the block") and first time to go somewhere away from home.   Upon arrival, she was perfectly calm standing in the trailer, unloaded unconcernedly, and looked around with interest.  She walked right into the barn, went into a stall, and started munching on hay like she did this every day.  We put Cricket in the stall next to her for comfort, and they sniffed noses through the bars.

After creating a carpet of shedding horse hair around Paco & Rhio, we tacked up & headed into the indoor with the boys for a little schooling work.  Sefi was whinnying for Paco intermittently, but Paco was losing his marbles over being separated from Sefi.  I guess it kind of backfired to bring the older, more experienced horse to be a good influence on the young one!

We rode for about half hour (Rhio did well and ignored the commotion that Paco was stirring up, though we are still really struggling with the right lead canter) and then I put Rhio in the barn and brought Sefi into the indoor for some free play with Paco.  It was also the first time Sefi has ever been in an indoor arena!  I don't think she knew she could run around at first, and she was very interested in the mirrors.  Once we got them free lunging a little, Sefi started bucking, playing, and kicking up her heels.  She was interested in everything and seemed to be thinking about & absorbing all her new experiences like an old pro.

Finally it was time to go, and Sefi walked right onto the trailer and stood calmly while we said our goodbyes and Gesa headed home with the horses.  What a successful first adventure for "baby" Sefi, who is not acting much like a baby at all!  What a great horse she is going to be.

Sefi saying hello to Cricket next door

Rhio & I taking a break while Paco continues to worry about Sefi

Paco finally paying attention & working

Paco & Sefi

"Zhhh-shoop!"

Red in his home pasture

"Zhhh-shoop" is the phonetic spelling for the terrifying noise made by snow sliding down the fabric roof of the indoor arena.  Here we were enjoying the sunshine with a nice little mosey down the road, and I had to ruin a perfectly good thing by locking poor Red inside the belly of a huge beast intermittently & unpredictably roaring out in anger.

The darker areas are snow on the roof, poised to slide down at any second

This is the time when my original plans for the ride go flying out the window, and I improvise.  I employed multiple tactics today to attempt to salvage a worthwhile ride out of the horrifically scary (to Red) situation we were in:

1. turning on classical MPR and BLASTING it,

Kelso supervising

2. covering the arena in a plethora of poles, cavalettis, and other devices to hold his attention,

Red hides in the corner furthest from the sliding snow while I get all our stuff set up

3. lunging him over, around, and through said devices to get him to focus on something other than the scary monster
4. riding him over, around, and through said devices to get him to focus on me
5. giving up and retreating back outside, and taking a leisurely walk back to his barn to cool him out

Back home post ride, ready for a few treats and a great big hug

Really, though, it was a good ride because he didn't come completely unglued and he was able to work & think for short periods of time despite the distractions.  When I think back to the rides we had together when I first bought him, I realize how far we've come and how much we trust each other.  I knew he wasn't going to explode and do something stupid, like run us into the wall or take off bucking.  And he knew that whatever that scary noise was, it wasn't really going to eat us because I obviously wasn't concerned about it.  I didn't find myself getting worked up or frustrated with him, but enjoying the challenge of working with him in this less-than-ideal situation.  Did I accomplish what I'd set out to do on today's ride?  No.  Did I enjoy my horse and did we both get a little sweaty in body and mind? Yes.

Cookies and Cream

The horses are bundled in their blankets enjoying their hay despite the weather

Winter storm "Buck" (yep, that's right! One of our local TV stations is naming our snowstorms now, apparently) was petering out Sunday afternoon, and we just had to get outside and enjoy that expanse of fresh, clean snow.  The kids wanted a snowball fight and to build a snowman; we wanted to ride!  It's STILL deer season (the longest two weeks of the entire year if you ask me), so we were stuck with making patterns in the pristine snow of the outdoor arena.

His wind-knots always appear in this exact location and pattern - every time.  

Rhio was sporting his favorite dreadlock look, so had to unwillingly submit to having his mane detangled.  Rhio takes great pride in his appearance, keeping his dirt patterns fresh and new with frequent reapplication.  He resents being fussed over, primped, polished, washed, or generally gussied up.  So of course it is his long tresses that get routinely tangled, not Red's or Cricket's, both of whom enjoy a grooming session.

Ah - beautiful! 

Once we had the hair situation under control, we headed outside to meet the new lord of the outdoor arena - a very large, very squat snowman with tantalizing horse treats as eyes & nose.  The horses were mildly curious about him (or her - I'd say its rather gender-indeterminate), mostly in trying to assess the best angle at which to nab those tasty bits.

Giant snowman

Kaos & Rhio trying to figure out how to snatch the apple-eyes and/or carrot-nose

The three of us talked and laughed and joked while asking our horses to carry us around the outdoor arena, churning up the unbroken snow with hoof-sized chunks coated in the sandy dirt footing of the arena.  After a couple passes around, the snow-and-chunk mixture took on the exact appearance of cookies-n-cream ice cream!

Becca & Kaos and Christine & Tomas just enjoying the day

The footing was wonderful, and we all enjoyed cantering our horses through it; I really noticed how soft Rhio's footfalls were in the snow.  We played follow-the-leader a little bit, and just generally goofed off.  It's nice to know that we are all still kids at heart - enjoying a good romp in the fresh snow. Though now our hot cocoa is dressed with flavored liquor instead of marshmallows - yum!

Jump!

The ladies in pink enjoying our day with our boys

Yet another lovely warm October day, so Cody & Kristi and Rhio & I decided to play around a little in the arena.  Amid the many distractions of the day (the driveway is being dug up to lay new electrical wiring to the indoor arena), we worked on some trot poles, then decided to try our hand at a little jumping.  I did some jumping in lessons as a kid, but it's been many years and it was always with a horse that already knew what it was doing.  As far as I know, Rhio has never been pointed at a jump in his life!

We started with a very low cross rail and he was able to pretty much just trot right over it.

Our first attempt - just taking it in stride. 

We raised it a few notches total, in increments, and he had to actually jump it by the end.  He seemed willing enough and I thought it was fun, so I'm excited to try it again next week.  I'm sure my jumping form was awful, and I didn't shorten my stirrups so couldn't really do a true 2-point, but we got our feet wet, so to speak, and hopefully will add some small jumps to our repertoire for cross-training.  

I love how balanced he is in this picture.

Ok, yes, he knocked the rails and they're falling down here, but, look - we're jumping! 

Canter!

He is so stinkin' cute in Cricket's western bridle!!! 

Thursdays are supposed to be our day for doing in-hand work, but Kristi & I decided we really wanted to ride today.  So, we picked a few exercises from the Equine Fitness book and I decided to ride with a bit instead of the hackamore.  Rhio has been unhappy in snaffle bits in the past, so I tried Cricket's bit, which is a low-port solid curb with short shanks.  I couldn't believe how great he looked in Cricket's bridle!  And he was quiet & content with the bit immediately, so I hoped for success under saddle.  

My little western pony! 

We warmed up walking over some poles to loosen their backs, then trotted around the arena both directions, doing large circles at either end.  Rhio & I definitely need to work on our bending!  He was quite distracted and didn't enjoy being required to stay within the confines of the outdoor arena.  Kristi & Cody then did the warm-up at a canter, and I attempted to get Rhio to canter in the arena.  We have never succeeded before, and I initially got a really fast trot but eventually he did start to canter for me.  Kristi tells me that we did a very nice circuit of the arena in a counter-canter - who knew we could do that?!  Too bad it wasn't intentional, or organized, or controlled in any fashion...  We cantered a few more times, and only zoomed out of the arena once. 

The second exercise we did was a series of serpentines down the center of the arena, using poles to guide our figures.  Kristi & Cody were pros!  Rhio and I had a pretty dismal performance, but he was relaxed with the bit and never got tense or frustrated as he has in the past with a snaffle bit.

The outdoor arena with the poles laid out for our serpentine work.

We wouldn't have scored very high on execution marks today, but I was thrilled to have achieved two things: cantering in the arena and a happy, relaxed horse working with a bit not just a hackamore.  Go Rhio! 

Trust Your Partner

We attended Mary Hamilton's Riders Elite Despooking Clinic at Featherbrook Farm in Corcoran, MN yesterday.  Gesa & I trailered Paco & Rhio down Friday afternoon, stopping at Sand Dunes State Forest, where our first endurance ride of the season will be held next weekend, to meet up with Lynne & Donna from Fargo, ND with their horses Niso & CrackerJack to do a quick training ride.  It was great to ride with Lynne & Donna again, as I haven't seen them since I went to Fargo to participate in a Judged Trail Ride last October.  Lynne & I are planning to ride the 25 mile Limited Distance ride next weekend together - I am working to move Rhio up to 50 mile Endurance rides this season, but we aren't ready quite yet for various reasons, mostly hoof boot & tack related!  Also, this spring has been so incredibly dry that the fine "beach" sand of the trails at the park is very loose and very deep.  We have nothing like that here at home to train in, so I worry a lot about the extra stress on the soft tissues of the legs to go compete in that footing. So, Lynne & I are planning to go very slow and treat it as 25 miles of conditioning.  Donna's horse is young (3) and doesn't have a lot of experience riding in groups, so it was great to see him gaiting along with us calmly and really handling himself very well in a group of 4 strange horses.  Go CrackerJack!

Donna & CrackerJack (rocky mtn horse)

Lynne & Niso (quarab)

Gesa & Paco (arab)

It was pretty late in the afternoon by the time we all arrived & tacked up to ride, and we still had about an hour's drive to Featherbrook Farm where the horses had stalls for the night, so we did a short ride of about 6 miles.  The horses were working pretty hard in that deep sand and all came home sweaty.  I sponged Rhio thoroughly to try to make my white horse somewhat presentable for a public appearance at the clinic the next day!  

Niso hanging out post-ride

CrackerJack waiting patiently after the ride (& drying off under his polarfleece)

Rhio in his natural state post-ride - couldn't show up at a dressage barn for a clinic looking like this! 

The day's boot testing turned out exactly as expected - the boots were completely full of sand.  It was a short ride so he didn't develop any rubs from the sand under the gaiters, but it did prove that I won't be able to use boots at the ride next weekend.  There is a section of road riding on the first loop, so hopefully it isn't too gravelly and he will tolerate that ok.  

After our ride, we loaded up (Rhio has gotten extremely resistant to trailer loading since last year - I can't figure out why) and headed down to Featherbrook.  We missed a couple of turns in the oncoming darkness, but eventually found it and got the horses unloaded into stalls before the rain started.  Rhio was not very happy to be there, and in fact by the next morning when we arrived to feed, he had only drunk about 1 1/2 gallons of water and eaten about 1/2 his hay.  He also had some very loose manure.  He was happy to go outside & hand graze the plentiful grass, however!  

Wow!  It's really spring down here - about 180 miles south of us.  Crab apple & dogwood trees in full bloom, tulips & daffodils abound, and the grass is lush.  

Rhio's stall at Featherbrook - he did lay down to sleep because there were shavings in his tail, but he looked sort of "pinched" in the face & eyes and was clearly stressed.  

We rode for about 2 hours in the morning, working on "obedience" in our horses.  Mary Hamilton, the instructor, is a mounted police officer and does a lot of police & mounted posse training.  She had us ride 2 X 2 in "calvary" formation, and do patterns & serpentines, as well as other group exercises to get our horses listening to us, their riders, and not to the "herd."  Rhio had no trouble with this work, which I found somewhat surprising as he has a tendency to get bored quickly in the arena and also to be somewhat nervous in close quarters with other horses.  

In the afternoon, Mary had set up obstacles and we worked on conquering many scary things.  Rhio had a lot of trouble crossing the wooden bridge and also the water hazard, but we accomplished it and by the end he would willingly cross both hazards.  We also crossed a tarp, walked over foam pool noodles that were stuck in a frame vertically so they brushed the horses' legs, pushed through pool noodles that were on jump standards to form a "car wash," and followed a HUGE ball around - it was so big that Rhio had to lift his head to see over it.  There were other things set up as well, but we didn't have time to do them all.  It was interesting to watch other horses & riders working through their issues at various obstacles, and to see the trust building between the pairs.  I think the most impressive pair were Donna & CrackerJack.  He is a young & inexperienced horse, but he didn't refuse a single obstacle on the first try. He was scared of some of them, quivering from head to toe, but he trusted Donna enough that he went forward and crossed them despite his fear.  What a team those two are going to make on the endurance trail in a few years!  

I really enjoyed the clinic and Mary's "vibe" in the arena was very positive.  It gave me some great ideas of stuff to do at home, and also was great for Rhio & I to get out of our regular routine and try some new things.  

A look at the arena full of obstacles

We are approaching the water hazard (dry) for the first time.

Investigating the obstacle

Crossing it the first time - see Rhio's posture - he's not so sure this is a good idea but he's doing it!

Crossing it later, this time with water, you can see he's more relaxed & willing.

Lounging Around

Warm February sunshine is perfect for lounging - especially on a bed of hay (Rhio's favorite)

Rhio's buddies Cody (in purple blanket) and Winston also lounging around - notice they didn't choose the cushy hay bed that comfort-seeking Rhio did.

A close-up to show how naked his right front foot is - the bell boot did not survive the night!

Although the bell boot was no longer protecting the coronary band wound, the zinc oxide ointment is still there somewhat and he is totally sound.  In fact, we did about 15 minutes of lunging in the arena to get the heart rate up & the blood flowing - and mostly to settle Rhio's mind.  He doesn't like to sit around doing nothing, and 3+ weeks of it now is making him squirrelly.  In fact, I think it's why he's begun tearing his boots off - I think he's doing it with his teeth, just to amuse himself.  

Sound and happy to trot!

Head flipping right out of the photo!

I also climbed aboard my portly old man Cricket for a little ride.  We are stuck inside due to the treacherous ice conditions - just getting horses in from the pasture is dangerous.  But we had a nice little ride, getting back to the feel of it after so much time off on my trip.  

Showing off Cricket's nice round bum!  He was very underweight this time last year, so this sight makes me unbelievably happy.  In fact, he just got his senior feed reduced by 1/3 he's so tubby!

A Little Bit O' This, A Little Bit O' That

My friend Gesa & I planned to meet & ride today.  Since it's February, that means using the indoor arena & her coming to my barn to ride my horses.  In the summer, we tend to trade off riding each other's horses when we can't organize a trailer to borrow to go somewhere (she has a truck but no trailer - I have neither.)

Since Rhio is on the injured reserve list, that meant I had to get Red over to the barn where Rhio & Cricket live, so I would have horse for her to borrow.  Luckily, Red's barn is just a mile through the woods and the properties abut each other.  Since both property owners have had some logging work done recently, the trails are fairly passable as long as you stay in the equipment tracks.

I saddled up Red with the bareback pad & bridle (this was a handy choice - see later!) and we set off through the woods with Kelso on our heels.  It was still quite chilly, around zero, so I was happy to have my Carhartts on - my bend-ability, however, was negligible & much ducking was required to negotiate the trails while avoiding as much of the inevitable snow-down-the-back-of-the-neck as possible. Also, I wore a backpack with a few things I intended to give/show to Gesa or needed for the morning (no saddle bags on the bareback pad.)  This turned out to be a more challenging prospect than I had imagined.  Even a light backpack really changes your balance!  Also, it was quite bouncy at anything more than a walk!  I don't think I'll make a habit of riding with a backpack.

We made it to the other barn with no major mishaps, although Red was snorting & blowing like we were on Mars.  I admit, with the logging, it did look different back there - but, really, come on silly pony!  I think he was just pissed that I'd taken him away from the morning hay.

Gesa saddled up Cricket with the Barefoot treeless saddle I'm borrowing, and I put Red's Synergist on him (so we could trade horses & trade saddles throughout the morning - trying each saddle on each horse.)

We mounted up in the indoor, and Gesa immediately got the "riding Cricket" grin!  He is a fabulous ride and absolutely everyone who climbs aboard can't help but grin ear-to-ear.  She really liked the Barefoot saddle, but had never ridden Cricket before, so didn't know how much was loving the horse (he has amazing soft gaits) and how much was the saddle.  We switched saddles, trying the Barefoot on Red and putting the Synergist on Cricket.  Then, we switched horses.  Gesa has ridden Red before and is pretty familiar with him.  She put him through his paces in the Barefoot & still loved the saddle.  Cricket & I puttered around and I became convinced that I didn't particularly care for the Barefoot.  It was quite interesting to switch back & forth between the 2 saddles, and on both horses - I think it gave us a good feel for each saddle independent of the horse effects.  

Red wearing the Barefoot saddle

Christine & Tomas joined us & the three of us played leapfrog (teaching the horses to pass & be passed while maintaining a steady pace - theoretically, anyway!) for several laps around the arena both directions, and Cricket gave me a marvelous little lope.  

Christine & Tomas, and Gesa & Red - illustrating what we were REALLY doing all morning - gabbing!

Kelso - reluctantly supervising while wishing the car was here so he could go sit in it

We decided to introduce Red to the soccer ball after we were done riding.  He took to it immediately, showing the most interest of any of the horses!  

Red nuzzles the ball while I adjust stirrups preparing to mount up & play - this was less than 3 minutes after he first saw the ball.

Yes, we're in the midst of kicking the ball!

Get that ball!

Once Red had demonstrated his soccer prowess (he was elected team captain, and so far sole member, of Team Edward) he was allowed to munch some hay in a stall while Rhio got his bandage changed. Today he was a perfect pony, walked right into the tack room, and his wound is looking slightly better. So far no trouble keeping the boot & bandage on even out in the pasture!


Finally, Red & I got ready to head home, leaving the backpack & Carhartt's behind. Rhio, Cody, & Winston took our walk through the alleyway by their pasture as an invitation to run through the deep snow behind us, revving Red up & setting the tone for the entire ride home. Red transformed into a fire-breathing dragon and about dragged my arms out of their sockets! I was thrilled to have chosen bit & bridle over riding in the rope halter today! Also I was glad to have ditched the Carhartt's because I was very sweaty by the time we got back to his barn. I think I did a lot of yelling, too - but I don't think it made much of an impression on him. Needless to say, there are no photos of our return ride because I couldn't let go of the reins to grab the camera nor would they have been worth looking at if I had - too much motion for still photography! I stuck like a burr to that bareback pad & managed not to get an eye poked out - so I guess we count that as a success :) It sure felt an awful lot like the start of an endurance ride - only we're not typically plunging through several feet of snow while attempting to beat recent Kentucky Derby winners and dodge overhanging, snow-laden pine trees.