We Went Down to the River
It seems that we have been rather cursed with rainy weather ever since we got Trifecta. I did take him down to the river a couple of times to visit the water, but it stayed high and muddy and it didn't seem sensible to walk down the slippery bank. Instead, we have been just walking down the hill without visiting the river.
Finally, we had a dry spell and the river became low and clear for the first time. Ellen and I decided that we would take him back down to the water. The mud on the bank wasn't even very slippery.
When we reached the edge of the river, he immediately put both of his front feet into the water. I decided to walk him along the shale island. We headed upstream to a spot where the water just barely covered the island--with a lot of the island above the water. He had no problem walking through that.
We turned around and walked on the shale island downstream. This time, he was between me and the water. I tried to guide him into the water, but Ellen said he only got one hoof in. As I walked down the island, I saw that at the end of it, it went into the water and continued along for about 20 feet. The water was about 3 inches deep. We just followed along the island and kept going. He didn't hesitate, and he didn't seem the least bit afraid. My biggest worry was that he would try to roll. We did that twice and decided to call it quits.
I didn't want to go directly into the river quite yet. It has a very slippery slate bottom--I worry more about me falling than him. I want to make sure he is going to be comfortable with the river before I lead him onto the slate. The last thing I need is for him to misbehave and for me to fall. Somehow, I don't think that I will have too much trouble when the time comes--but there certainly isn't any reason to rush him.
He seems to have such a good brain--he has been a delight to work with.
