Treat Delivery

 Treat Delivery

Somewhere along the line, Cole decided that if I am giving him a treat from the saddle, that he will not bend his neck.  Instead, I have to lean way over and bring my hand to his mouth.  I'm not all that crazy about doing it this way.  Early in the summer, I decided to try and teach him to turn his head towards me to get his treat on his own.

I tried and tried.  My verbal cue was, "Turn your head," and I would hold my hand out to the side.  I thought if I just waited, he would do it because he wanted his treat.  Sometimes it worked, but usually it didn't.  It was very frustrating.  If I refused to give him his treat, instead of asking for it by bending his head towards me, he simply wouldn't do anything.

We were at a stalemate.  This went on for months, and there was no signs of improvement.

Now, I know that when you hit a training problem, it is often best to go back to the beginning. Clicker training is also very effective if you break things down into baby steps.  It is just that all I really want to do in the summer is go trail riding.  I didn't really want to spend time back at the barn with this.  It really wasn't all that important.

Then Cole cut his leg, got stitches and needed to be on stall rest for 2 weeks.  I needed to find ways to entertain him while he convalesced.  I thought I would work on treat delivery.

After giving it some thought, I decided that I would teach him to target touch my hand.  That was pretty easy, since I taught him to touch targets long ago.  I just needed him to know that my hand was the target.  He learned that in about 20 seconds.

We practiced hand targeting.  I would move my hand up, down, to the side--whatever I felt like.  He got really good at that just on the first day.  Of course, this being Cole, he added in some bowing, too.

After a few days of doing this, I decided I needed to stand by his side in the spot I would be if I was riding and ask him to bend his head around to touch my hand.  It actually took him at least 5 minutes to really understand what I wanted.  I actually started to wonder if he had been dealing with some sort of neck stiffness.  He definitely did better on the left side than the right side.  I like to give treats from the right since I am right handed.  Of course, we practiced both sides, and we did it every day.  He got quite good.  If neck stiffness caused the problem, stretching his neck solved it.

His two weeks were up, the stitches were removed and I was allowed to hand walk him until he was healed up well enough to ride him.  That evening, I fell while hiking and broke my wrist.  With all that excitement, I completely forgot that I was teaching Cole to turn his head to me when I give him treats from the saddle.  

Ellen took over Cole.

I never told Ellen to practice it--in fact--I was back riding a couple weeks before I realized he was turning his head towards me when I was giving him treats.  I may have forgotten, but Cole figured out the next step of his training on his own.  I think he must have been practicing with Ellen, and she didn't even know it. 

Going back to the beginning and breaking it down into baby steps was the key, of course.  It always is.

Treat delivery has gotten much easier...

Cole's New Trick

 Cole's New Trick

Cole's New Trick

The other evening, Cole had the day off, so I turned him out to play.  He rolled and bucked and then he just stood and watched me.  I walked along the outside of the fence.  He walked alongside me on the inside doing his silly walk.  I clicked and treated him for it--giving him his treat through the fence.  That wasn't his new trick.  He does that all the time.

I decided that he must want me to come in and do tricks with him.  I was right.  He did silly walk, bow and follow the balls that I kicked.  He does a great at-liberty side pass, too.  Cole just loves doing tricks.

After a while, I left the ring.  Starry and Dante were in the neighboring ring, and I wanted to check on them.  I saw Cole was just watching me.  I walked over to Cole and tried to see if he would run along the fence with me.  Sometimes, if I could get him going, I can stop and he will just keep running on his own.

I was on the outside and he was on the inside.  I trotted.  He decided to trot along.  Good--I got him going.  I stopped--and he stopped.  I didn't ask him to, he just stopped and looked at me.  I couldn't resist.  I clicked and treated him.  He just invented a new trick.  Once is all it takes with Cole.  After that, all we did was practice.

Now, this being Cole, he isn't content to just trot.  No, he had to do his cute Morgan buggy horse trot--arched neck, high steps, flowing tail.  I am talking really cute.  As soon as I stopped, he stopped too.  No verbal cues necessary.  He got his cues from watching my legs.  He did it perfectly every single time.  Of course, I clicked and treated him.  We kept doing it and doing it.  I thought that once we got to the other side and he was facing the gate that he would take off running--nope.  He wanted to do his new trick.

I just had to show Kevin.  He was coming outside just as I was going to get him.  I showed him Cole's new trick, but he didn't seem all that impressed.  He said Starry would do it, too.  So, we tried.  Starry would walk a step or two, stop and look at us.  There was no trotting, no looking cute and no synchronized halts.  I thought I'd give it a try with Dante.  He just walked away.

Cole is such an amazing horse who just loves to perform.  I wonder what he will come up with next?

The Log

 The Log

Last week, we had a very windy day.  Ellen and I rode at the barn the following morning because it was raining.  Kevin came out to the barn later when the rain had stopped and took Starry on a trail ride by himself.  He didn't get very far before he had to turn around and go back home.  There was a large tree that had fallen across the trail.

Ellen and I rode the following morning.  It was very cold, so we decided to ride only up to the fallen tree so we could take a look at it.

It was a very large log, and it was too high for a short-legged pony like Cole to step over it--but we didn't have to.  There was enough space between the end of the log and the stump to walk right through--particularly with a short-legged pony like Cole.  Ellen agreed she could do it with Dante, too.  It didn't matter, though.  We were cold and wanted to head home.

We told Kevin that we could have gotten past the fallen tree, but he said that Starry was too big.  It is true, Starry is huge compared to our horses.

The following evening, I was supposed to ride with Kevin.  It had been sunny all day, and it promised to be a lovely evening ride.  While we were tacking up, a couple of our friends came back from a ride.  We asked if the log was still across the trail, and it was--but they were able to pass through the opening.  Kevin was aghast!  Their horses are large like Starry. 

Just as we started to ride down the driveway, the weather turned completely overcast.  Was it really the same day as it was when we walked into the barn?  

We suddenly had much less time for our ride.  We do have to walk along the street for a few minutes to get home, and we certainly didn't want to do that in the dark.  We decided to turn at the log again.  Kevin hadn't planned to go any further, anyway.  He said that no way would he ride his horse through such a narrow opening.

We rode up to the log.  I was in the lead, so I double checked--yes, I could get Cole through if we had time.  Kevin didn't think he could do it with Starry.  It didn't matter.  We were going home.

The following morning, Ellen rode with us.  I didn't know what I should do--should I ride on with Ellen or go back with Kevin?

Ellen was in the lead, followed by me and Kevin was behind us.  There was a lot of space between all of us.  I didn't know what Ellen was going to do, and I was a little surprised that she didn't even hesitate--she rode right through.  At that moment, I decided I would follow her--and maybe we would catch Kevin on the way home.  Starry is a very slow walker.

I had no trouble at all.

I looked back, and there was Starry and Kevin ambling down the paved all-purpose trail that runs parallel to the bridle trail.  There is a short path between the two paths right before the log, but I knew from memory that there was no good way to get back to the trail.  I told Kevin that, but he had to go look for himself.  We just decided to ride on.  He would figure it out on his own.  Sure enough, we saw him turn around and head back to where he came from.  He gave up and was heading back home.

A few minutes later, I turned back and there was Starry behind us.  Kevin was laughing.  He said he had no trouble going through the opening.  All along, he never rode close enough to take a look at it.  When he did, he found out that he could easily ride Starry right through--and he did.

So the moral of the story isn't "look before you leap." but rather, "look before you don't leap."  

We saw the guys from the park heading down the trail towards the tree before we even got back to the barn.  The log would no longer be a problem--not that it ever was.

My Next Big Goal

My Next Big Goal

As I have been recovering from wrist surgery, I keep setting little goals.  In the very beginning, the simplest things were very difficult such as, turning a faucet, cleaning Thunder's litter box, opening up a can and I can't tell you how hard it was to change clothes.

As time went on, I graduated to carrying a plate, preparing vegetables, bridling Cole and cleaning his hooves.

I have finally reached the point where all the day-to-day things I do are easy.  I have to keep reminding myself how far I have come when I get disappointed that I am still trying to meet certain measurements when I visit the physical therapist.  As my range of motion improves, I realize my grip still has a way to go.

I only have one big goal left, and right now I can't work on it.  It is mounting Cole from the ground.  I am currently using a mounting block.  I have a 10 pound limit on my wrist, and my hop isn't good enough to propel myself up without a little help from my hand on Cole's withers.

Why is it so important to me?  Because I am the only one in our group who can still do it. Whenever any of us drops something, I hop off and get it for them.  That includes me.  Also, if Ellen needs to dismount to lead Dante across the ford--or any reason at all, I dismount and hold her stirrup so she doesn't have to look for a log to help her back up.  With colder weather approaching, I can't just hop off and lead a while to get warm, either.

I love being able to mount from the ground!

Once I get approval to start mounting from the ground, I will be working really hard on it.  My arm isn't as strong as it was, and I'm not even sure if I have a strong enough grip with my hand.  That is why I have been working so hard to improve my grip.  

In the beginning, I plan to have Ellen hold the stirrup for me.  It really helps if you aren't worried about the saddle slipping if things go awry.  Also, I will probably start from the bottom step of the mounting block to help me out.

Ellen wants me to be able to mount from the ground, too.  She tells me she lives in fear of dropping things when we are out on the trail!

Back in the Saddle

 Back in the Saddle

Early in November, I went back to the surgeon for a follow up on my wrist surgery.  The x-rays looked good.  It is healing fine, and my new weight limit is now 10 pounds.  She was very happy to see how my range of motion was improving.  I have been diligent about doing my physical therapy exercises 5 times a day, and it is finally paying off.  

I decided it was time to start riding across the river and going on “real rides.”  Up to this point, the most I was doing was having Ellen lead me down the hill, and then I would trot back and forth on the bottom.  Most of the time, it was with one hand, since my other hurt to hold the reins–let alone ride with contact.  Also, I only had a 5 pound limit, and I worried about what would happen if I really had to take a hold of the reins in an emergency.

My first big day across the river was that evening after seeing the surgeon. I was wasting no time getting back in the saddle. The ride was with Kevin. I would be lying to say that I wasn't nervous--but at the same time, I was excited. It was 2 and a half months since I was on the other side of the river--riding independently. Kevin was nervous, too.

The plan was to keep Starry in the lead, because Cole always behaves better if he is following instead of leading. When Cole is in the lead, he likes to go fast, but if he follows another horse, he will match that horse's speed.

The problem was Starry was so slow...Starry hates leading...

We mostly walked. I trotted briefly just once. It went well. Cole stopped when I wanted him to. There were a few times that Starry was just walking so slow that I took the lead.

I was smiling a lot after that ride.

The next day, I went out with Kevin again. This time, I trotted a longer stretch of trail, and Cole was perfect. I also led a little more in the sections of the trail where I felt more confident. Cole was doing great with one-handed riding. (He is an English-trained horse, and I ride in a snaffle.)

The following day, I had Kevin and Ellen. With my whole support team with me, I felt much more confident. This time, I followed Ellen with Dante. Dante has a slow trot, most of the time. I would either trot slow behind them, or I would let them get ahead a bit and trot to catch up with them. When they did go faster, Cole just followed along.

After that, my rides kept getting better and better. I was doing a lot more trotting in the lead to help speed the other two up. The riding must be helping my hand, because each day, it felt a little better. Now I can ride with both reins comfortably. On the weekend, we increased the length of our rides to be just what we would have done if my wrist wasn't broken. We are pretty much back to normal.

I am still riding with my splint, and they recommend continuing to do so for the next couple of months--just in case I fall off. I'm not planning to, of course. Who ever does? I am also wearing it when I go hiking.

I can't lift Cole's saddle, so Ellen and Kevin are doing that for me. I also have to use a mounting block to mount with one hand--and I can't hold the reins while I do, so they are holding Cole for me. He is great for standing while I mount, but why take any chances?

It is so nice to be back riding on the trail again. I was afraid that Ellen wouldn't give Cole back to me--they were doing so well together at the end. I really appreciate her taking such good care of him. They are a good team, and Cole probably wishes she was still riding him...She gives him lots more treats.

Beautiful Morning for Riding

  Beautiful Morning for Riding

There is Always Hope

There is Always Hope

Since I broke my wrist, Ellen has been forced to do things that she might not have otherwise done.  The other day, she had an extraordinary ride--and the most extraordinary thing about it was its complete ordinariness.

She took Dante in the park by herself.  Kevin couldn't make it out to ride with her.  If she wanted to go on the trail, she had to do it by herself, and she did.

I walked with her to the river's edge and sent her on her way while I waited for her; reading a book.

She rode out to the second river, turned around and came back.  The ride consisted of a lot of trotting and very little anxiety.  At the end of it, she confessed that she has more anxiety taking Cole out by herself, (something she has done quite a few times in the last few weeks,) than she did on her solo ride with Dante.

That doesn't give me much to write about.

And it doesn't surprise me.

Dante is a great horse.  He is very quiet, spooks at very little and isn't likely to go dashing off.  He takes care of his rider.

Ellen's anxieties got in the way of truly believing it.

Ellen is also a very skilled rider who rode a far more challenging horse on the trail for many years before she got Dante.  Ranger was a lot of fun, but he wasn't always an easy horse to ride.  He was spirited, spooked at many things and really liked to go fast.  He trained Ellen into the talented rider she is today.

Ellen's anxieties got in the way of believing that, too.

She rode Dante a few times by herself the first summer she had him, but her anxieties got the better of her.  The following spring, she could no longer do it.  It didn't matter at the time.  She still had Ranger to ride in the park by herself.

Each year, she seemed to get a little worse.  Eventually, it was hard for her to stand outside with Dante all by herself--let alone ride him alone.  Just riding him on the driveway was really tough--but she kept pushing herself to do what she could.

She never gave up.  A lot of people would have, but Ellen loves riding and loves riding Dante.  In the last few years, she has gotten better, little by little.  Moving to our new barn seemed to help her a lot because it gave her a new start.  It wasn't long before she was able to ride Dante outside at the barn with no one--not even on foot--to help her.

She became braver on the trail rides--even to the point where she could ride Dante without other horses on the hill if I was walking with her.  This may not seem like much, but it was a really big deal for her.

When Cole cut his foot at the same time that Starry was dealing with a lameness issue, I was able to walk with her on the trail rides.  (It was warm enough for me to walk across the river.)  Once Starry got better, she went out riding with Kevin all the time.  It had been years since she had ridden without me, her security sister.

Then, when I broke my wrist, she was the one who had to ease Cole back into riding.  That was not an easy thing to do!  He had a lot of pent up energy, and it literally took weeks for him to settle down.  She rode him with Kevin and Starry a lot, but quite a few times she had to ride him by herself.  I don't know many people who could have done a better job getting Cole back into work--and I don't know many people who would have been brave enough to do it.  He is a lot of horse.

It only seemed natural for her to eventually get up the nerve to ride Dante alone.  Surely he would be easier than Cole--and he was.  He was a dream horse.

There is always hope if you lose your riding confidence.  It may take a long time, but never give up.  Keep doing what you are able to do, and don't beat yourself up about it.  It happens to people all the time.  Keep moving forward--there is always hope.

Just ask Ellen.

The Lagoon, Rocky River Reservation

 

Back in the Saddle

Back in the Saddle

Four days after I broke my wrist, I was scheduled for surgery.  They tried to set it when I went to the emergency room, but they couldn't get it close enough so it would heal well.

When I met the surgeon, I asked her how long it would be before I could ride, and she told me 3 months.  It would take that long to get my strength and flexibility back.

Tears just started falling when I heard that.  When the surgeon left the room, Kevin told me not to worry.  He would get me in the saddle sooner than that.

The surgery went excellently.  At that point, I had a smaller, more comfortable splint.  I was soon back to the barn, walking with Ellen while she rode on the trail and telling her what to do with Cole.  I counted the days until the stitches would be removed.

The day the stitches were removed, they sent me right to physical therapy.  I asked her about riding, and she said that the big fear was that I would fall.  Of course, that is the big fear we all have whenever we ride our horses.  That is nothing new.  Still, I sure didn't want to mess my wrist up--and I had very little mobility at all in that hand.  My fingers were only able to hold the smallest things--and not very tightly.  I saw the logic of avoiding riding.

A few days later, I decided to ride.  Well, not real riding.  Due to the risks involved, we decided I could sit in the saddle and someone could lead Cole from the ground.  I would ride one handed--with the reins in my good hand.

Kevin had the privilege of doing the first ride.

My left wrist is broken, which is good for a right-handed person--except for mounting.  We really need to left hand to mount.  Of course, I wouldn't even consider trying from the ground, as it would have been impossible.  We led Cole to the mounting block.  I had to figure out how to do it without putting any weight on my left wrist.  

I figured out I could put my right hand on the far side and grasp the flap.  That way, it would help keep the saddle in place and also be out of the way when I swing my leg over.  I have to confess, I was a little intimidated, looking down at the saddle, getting ready to put my foot in the stirrup.

But, I was determined, and I did it.  It went smoother than I expected.  I settled into place and told Kevin I was ready to walk.

It felt like I never ridden a horse before.  Ellen said it was because I was nervous, and that heightens the senses.  Cole swayed back and forth, and I felt very disoriented.  He was a little hyper, and after 8 minutes, I decided it was time to call it a day--and then I realized that I never even thought about how to dismount.  Ooops.

Well, I knew I had to do it one-handed, so I threw my bad hand in the air and swung off.  It worked.  Since then, I modified it so I slide down and hook my elbow on the other side of his withers to stabilize my landing.

I was so happy that I rode!!!

Ellen helped me with many of the future rides.  She would get back from riding Cole, and let me ride immediately after.  That helped because he wasn't so fresh.  Cole seems to like the routine--because he has 2 of his people with him.  He likes having his people.  One day, I even rode Dante after his ride.  Dante was actually better than Cole.  Ellen let me trot him, and since he is pretty slow, she could trot right next to him.

We then decided to try that with Cole.  He was amazing.  Ellen couldn't go very fast, and Cole matched her stride for stride,  (I taught him to do that at a walk--and that morphed into his silly walk.)  We would just go short stretches, since I didn't want to tire Ellen out.

The next time we tried that, she hadn't ridden him first--and he was in too spunky of a mood for it.

Between Ellen and Kevin, I am doing a little riding, and I really enjoy it.  In the meantime, I am very serious about doing my physical therapy in hopes of being able to ride like a regular person.

A Broken Wrist

A Broken Wrist

In early September, I slipped while hiking with Kevin and broke both bones in my wrist. They tried to reset it, but they couldn't get it quite where they wanted it, so I had to have surgery.  I now have 2 plates and 0 screws holding me together.

I'm doing well.  It is healing.  I am doing physical therapy to get my range of motion back.  Each day, I can use it a little more.  Best of all, I now have a removable splint.

The worst part of it, because this is me, is that it interferes in my riding.  Not just any riding, but the best time of the year riding.  Ellen has been very busy.

Cole can be an intimidating horse--particularly if he had 3 weeks off to recover from his hoof injury.  He is a lot of horse in a small package.  Was Ellen up to the challenge?

Ellen's first attempt was in the arena, where she learned that his "show trot" was not for her.  After a few attempts, she decided she would just walk.  He was a bundle of energy, and a walk-only ride didn't do much to change that.  A few days later, she tried it again.  Cole was a little better, but he wasn't getting much exercise.

I think the next ride was up and down the hill, and there Ellen was able to trot him.  That helped.  There is a flat part at the bottom, and they just went back and forth.  We were in a rainy spell, and he was refusing to do any self exercise when we turned him out.  He hates mud.  He really needed to trot, and the hill was a much better way to do it than the arena.

Ellen's next attempt was to take him across the river and go for a ride.  I met her on the other side and walked along.  When she got to the good part of the trail to trot--she was off.  Since I could only walk, I didn't get to see how it went.  She said he just kept trotting faster and faster and faster.  She said she just had to trust him.  When she got to the next river crossing, she turned him towards home and started walking back to me.  She didn't dare trot him towards home when he was in that kind of mood.

When I saw her, she did look a little pale.

Cole calmed down when he found me.  He loves walking with his people.

I asked her if she had fun, she paused and finally said, "I think I did."

Since then, Ellen has been riding Cole regularly on her days off.  She has been taking some vacation time each week to help.  If he gets too much time off, he goes really fast.  It helps when she can ride him with Starry.  (Kevin has been so wonderful, that sometimes, he rides Starry with Dante and Cole on the same day to help Ellen out.)  He seldom wants to pass another horse, so she can just follow Starry.  This weekend, he gave her a couple of marvelous rides.  They are getting used to each other, and I think that now she is having as much fun with him as he is having with her.

Of course, Dante isn't getting neglected.  She is riding him quite a bit, too.  They had a terrific ride in the arena the other day.  Everything is starting to fall into place with them in there.  Riding Cole has exposed a few weak spots in Ellen's riding.  In order to stay with him, she has to adjust her seat.  When she tried the same things on Dante--magic happened.  I might not be benefiting much from having a broken wrist, but Ellen sure is.

Of course, Dante is always good with Ellen on the trail.

Ellen and Cole

  

Ellen and Cole

Update

 Update

Well, Ellen had 2 more solo rides in the park, and one solo trip on the hill.  It all went terrific, too.  Then, much to her happiness, Starry recovered and they have been riding together ever since,

Cole had his stitches removed, and his foot is nearly healed.  The same day, I was hiking, slipped and broke my wrist.

Stall rest for Cole is over, and Ellen and Kevin have been leading him around.  I have been walking with him, and it's just nice spending time with him outside.  He has been an angel for them, and I am so proud of him.

Next weekend, when she doesn’t have to work, he will be rideable.

By then, I will know if I will need surgery on my wrist.  I am glad to say that the pain has greatly subsided, and I am working on how to do things one handed.

I have yet to figure out how to brush my cat, Thunder’s teeth.

Ellen and Dante--Solo

Ellen and Dante--Solo

Could it be true?  Did I really just type those words?

Ellen hasn't ridden Dante alone in the park beyond the first river crossing since the year she bought him.  That fall, she was leading him on the street, he spooked, knocked her down and she broke her ankle.  Ever since then, her riding anxieties took over.

Of course, if you have been following her adventures, you would know that she is getting braver all the time, and this summer, in particular, she has been outstanding.

Still, there really wasn't any reason for her to go riding on the trail by herself.  Since I retired, if I know she is planning to ride, I want to be there with her.  We have too much fun together to miss out on a ride.

So what happened? Bad luck.

First, Starry came up lame.  We were hoping it was an abscess, but instead of getting worse, it started getting better.  Abscesses don't do that.  Kevin called the vet out, and she diagnosed a sprain and/or arthritis.  She gave Kevin some anti-inflammatory pills and told him that if he improved, start light riding after the farrier came out.  It was on his club foot, of course.

The following week, Cole got cut crossing the river by some fishing line.  Though it wasn't a deep or long cut, it was in a terrible spot--the back of his leg--just above his hoof.  There was a flap, and as he stepped, the wound would gape.  I called the vet, and she gave him 4 stitches, wrapped his leg and told me that he needed stall rest for 2 weeks until the stitches came out.  Even with our precautions, she still couldn't guarantee that the stitches would hold.

That left Ellen without her riding buddies.  Shari has a different schedule than she used to, so we only get to ride with Bella on Sundays.

If Ellen wanted to ride on the trail, she had to go solo.

Well, not exactly.  Since I didn't have a horse to ride, I could go with her on foot.  The river isn't too high, and it doesn't bother me to get my feet wet.  This would be the first time that Dante would be crossing the river and riding on the other side without another horse in 8 years!  Plus, I certainly couldn't keep up with them when they trot and canter.

The day after Cole got his stitches was the first day of Dante's independent rides.  Cole was not happy with the situation, and the people at the barn had to give him extra hay to quiet him down.  Starry gave us a little neigh, too, when he saw us walking down the driveway without him.

The ride was such a non-event, that there really isn't much to write about.  Most of the time, Ellen wasn't even nervous.  She trotted off to the second river where she was going to turn around.  It was there when the only scary thing happened on the whole ride.

We always see a lot of high school boys that are on the track team running down the trail in late summer and early fall.  Our horses are very accustomed to them.  They must have been told by their teachers to always stop for horses, because they do--every time.  That is, if they actually see us.

When Ellen stopped at the river to turn around, a large group of them decided to run through the river!  They made a big ruckus, and they must have looked scary to a horse, but Dante didn't care!  I'm not sure how Cole would have been.  Even Starry might have been startled.  I'm sure Bella would have been halfway home before they even got across.  Dante is a superstar.

Ellen caught up with me, and we went home.

Day one was great!

Ellen and Dante

  Ellen and Dante

Awesome Horse, Dante

 Awesome Horse, Dante

Ellen, Kevin, Shari and I went out for a ride in the park.  Since it was so hot, it was hard to motivate Dante to go much faster than a slow trot.  Bella can go slow, but not that slow.  On days like this, we split up with either Kevin riding with Shari and me staying back with Ellen or I will ride with Shari.  Starry and Bella absolutely adore each other.  It seems cruel to keep them apart, so on this morning, Ellen and I let them go on off without us.

They will stop and wait for us periodically, and generally, we are much closer together on the way home since they will go slower and Dante goes a little faster when we are heading to the barn.

As usual, they waited for us at the second river.  When we caught up, they crossed and walked slowly down the trail.  Ever since the day that Cole fell in the river which startled Starry--causing him to fall, too, we avoid crossing the river all at one time unless at least one horse is on sure footing.  It makes our river crossings slower, but we are a little safer this way.

Ellen started Dante across as I waited at the river's edge.  She has been working on keeping him moving when he crosses the water, and he has improved so much, but she has to keep up with it.  Dante is always looking for an opening to slip back into his wicked ways.

They were about two thirds across when I saw Dante take an odd step.  Ellen stopped and in a slightly panicked voice, said just two words, "Fishing line."

She backed up a little bit and slowly maneuvered Dante around like a coal barge.  She told me that the wire, which must have been tangled somehow in the low branches above the river was stretched across his chest.  He felt it, and communicated to Ellen that there was a problem.  She looked down, and first thought it was just a spider web.  Suddenly, it dawned on her that it was a fishing line, and she knew she had to retreat before Dante somehow got tangled in it.

Now, she had a new problem.  There are two ways that we cross the river over there.  There is Ellen's way, which goes under the tree branches.  It isn't as deep, but you have to go around some rocks.  There aren't many rocks there this year, since Kevin was able to clear them out, so I have been riding that way, too.

The other way is Kevin's way--which is the way the Shari and Kevin went.  You don't have to worry about rocks, but it is measurably deeper and for a longer distance than Ellen's way.  The thought of going through the deeper water makes Ellen very anxious.  Dante has done it before with me and a few times with Ellen last year, but she still doesn't like it.  She had no choice, now.  The only other option was to cross the ford, but since she was already in the water, that didn't make much sense.

She brought Dante back towards me and slowly positioned herself to head for the deep section.  Dante was not moving very willingly, and I could see Ellen get nervous.  It looked like Dante was done with river crossing.

Then I saw it--Dante's tail slowly rising!  He had to do his business.  When Dante first started doing his business in the river a few years ago, he scared himself with the splashing.  So what did he do?  He continued doing it in the river--scaring Ellen, too.  Over time, he has improved, but he still gets very tense and sometimes he will rush across.  Ellen tries to keep him standing, and when he does, he gets a treat.  This year, it has barely been a problem, but Ellen was already nervous.

She held him still, he did what he needed to do and then Ellen knew he would cross.  That was the reason he was so reluctant to move.

She carefully guided Dante across.  Since the river was very low, the water was only a couple inches above his knees.  Step my step, they got to the other side.  

After all this time, Bella and Starry were nowhere to be seen.  Dante was in the lead.  We trotted up to the next  hill, walked up it and proceeded to trot down the trail.  Dante was in the lead and going at a good speed, but with all the standing around, Cole was feeling like going faster.  I couldn't get him to match Dante's speed.  We would catch up, stop, walk a bit and start trotting.  

We were walking when I heard a very loud motorcycle.  I figured I might as well just stop him until it passed--since I was having no trouble keeping up with Dante.  As it passed, Cole jumped and tried to take off.  At that moment, there was also a man riding a bike up the hill on the parallel paved bike path.  He had a radio on his bike that was blasting one of those bad 70's songs.  

I was able to contain Cole by bending him.  He hopped twice, but didn't get anywhere.  Dante noticed Cole and took off running.  Due to a bend in the trail, Dante was going straight for the paved bike path.  Ellen swerved him away--and then he stopped.

We both decided it wasn't the motorcycle that caused the problem--but the bad 70's song.

After we caught our breath, we continued trotting.  Eventually, we saw Shari and Kevin--totally oblivious of all that was going on.  When they saw us trotting, they trotted, too.  We caught them at the end of the trail. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful and easy.  Ellen had to cross the river through the deeper water, but other than being unsure on the best route, she did well.  We took it easy on the way home because it was so warm, and enjoyed being with our friends.

Ellen was so thrilled that Dante told her there was a problem in the river instead of pushing through the wire or getting scared of it.  Dante is such an awesome horse!

Extreme Trail Challenge

Extreme Trail Challenge

Ellen and I planned, for the last 2 weeks, to go up to the show ring trails for the first time this year on a day that she was scheduled to go into work late.  We were both really excited about it.  We wanted to do it for the first time on a weekday because the park is so much more quiet than on the weekends when Ellen doesn't have to go to work.

She felt fine about crossing the different river crossing, and she didn't seem too nervous at all about riding through the Lagoon.  What got her worried was going on the hill right before the river crossing when the\landing.  She is fine when the planes are taking off, but when they land, they are so low that it looks like they could hit the trees.  (We ride very close to the airport.)  Dante has been known to spook at the planes, and Ellen can't seem to get over it.

If the planes were taking off--no big deal.  If they were landing, we weren't going to go that way--and they were.  We really, really wanted to go.  Ellen was extremely nervous, but she said she would try it.

The hill is not very far down the trail.  We marched up it, walked across the top and started down the other side.  About halfway down, we heard a loud plane approaching us.  Ellen stopped Dante, shortened one rein and waited.

The waiting is the hardest part...

The reason she shortens the rein is so that instead of shooting forward, if he does anything, she can control him by spinning.  He isn't a fast spinner, so it works well for him.

The problem with the low planes isn't the sound so much as he can see them just above the trees.  Even if the plane isn't in his line of vision, often he can see the large shadow on the ground.  The real question is, why don't more horses spook at the planes?

This time, it was the shadow.  It was about 3 feet wide, and it darted across the bushes and ground.  I saw Dante lift his head, get very tense--and then he couldn't take it anymore.  He took 2 steps to the left--only to see Cole standing there; taking a little nap.  Dante settled right down.  Poor Ellen's heart was pounding so loud that I thought I could hear it.

We proceeded down the hill, crossed the river and another plane came over us.  Since we were lower and the plane was behind us, it wasn't a problem.  Dante stood beautifully for it.  After that, we were beyond the flight path of the low-flying planes.

We had the fun part of the ride ahead of us, but Ellen couldn't get the thought of the ride back over the hill out of her head.  She just tried the best to stay in the moment.

We trotted through the Lagoon, crossed the street and headed for the big hill.  This is the longest, steepest hill in our park.  Cole got excited and passed up Dante to go up the hill.  Dante came behind; slower but very steady.  We were at the top for the first time of the year!

The park has recently renovated the trails up there.  They widened them, added drainage ditches, fixed the muddy sections and did a really odd thing.  They made 2 cement canals that cross the trail for the water to drain.  This is the first time we have run into anything like it on our bridle trails.  The first one is about 4 feet wide, so you have to step down a curb, walk a couple steps and step up a curb on the other side.  The second one is only about 2 feet wide.  It is possible to completely step across it or step down into it.

We intentionally wanted to try crossing them on a day when there wouldn't be any water running in them.  Honestly, we felt our horses would navigate them just fine, though we knew that other horses were having trouble with them.

Dante was in the lead.  He put his head down, sniffed the curb and stepped right in.  Ellen praised him and clicked and treated on the other side.  Cole did exactly the same thing.  The wide crossing was easy.  How would they do the narrow crossing was the question.  Some horses will try to jump a narrow, scary obstacle--not our guys.  They sniffed the curb and stepped right in.  What awesome ponies!

The rest of the trail is easy.  We were soon at the end.  We turned around and headed towards home.

When we got back to the cement crossings, there was a horse coming towards us on the other side of them.  They were going home.  She said her horse was fine going home, but he didn't like walking over them on the way out.  We told her it was our first try today, and we said how good they were.  Yes, we gloated a little bit.  They both demonstrated to her how they could cross them as if they did it every day.  

Ellen is always surprising me, and she did it again.  She decided to ride Dante down the big hill.  She has done it before in previous years, but not until she has led him down it a number of times.  It is a very steep hill, but once you get past the top part, it isn't that bad.  I opted to lead Cole, because sometimes he gets a little rushy.  This time, they were both perfect.  Next time, I'll ride, too.

We rode through the Lagoon and up to the river crossing before the hill with the planes.  Cole was almost across when we heard a familiar neigh--it was Starry!  Of course, Kevin was with him.  He arrived just in time to give Ellen moral support to handle the airplanes.

So, you may be wondering where Kevin was all this time?  He has a tendency to not wait for us when we are tacking up.  He left without talking to us about our destination.  When he saw the planes were landing, he assumed we weren't going forward with our plan and went the other way.

We planned to keep Dante close to Cole when the planes came since it helped him originally.  Kevin was to take up the rear.  We were all set for the planes.  There weren't any.  All Ellen's worrying was for naught.  The rest of the ride was uneventful.

We had a terrific 2-hour ride.  I'm so glad that Ellen gathered the courage to be able to do it.  She really is the bravest person I know.

Sweet William

 

The Fading Trot

The Fading Trot

Typically, when I go out trail riding with Kevin and Ellen and I ride in the lead, I will get far ahead of them.  When I pass people up, I warn them that two more horses are coming--and I often say, "I have the fast horse."

Starry can go just as fast as Cole, but if Kevin decides to stay with Ellen, it is because he wants to take it easy.  Starry isn't the slow horse--Dante is.

There is nothing wrong with slow horses.  I had one myself.  Mingo was one of the slowest.  At least Dante will walk sort of fast--and he has a great ground-covering canter.  It is only his trot that tends to be too slow.

The way I made up for lost ground with Mingo is by trotting wherever possible.  The other horses might walk--for whatever reason--but we kept trotting.  When they trotted, I often cantered Mingo to keep up.  

The last few years, Dante has become a big dawdler.  If Ellen wanted to trot a section of the trail, he often stopped long before she got to the end.  Then, she has to struggle to get him trotting again.  In the meantime, she lost a lot of ground.  We spend a lot of time waiting for her, and she spends a lot of time riding alone.  She gets frustrated, and Dante just keeps getting worse.  She calls it her "fading trot."  He just goes slower and slower, and then he is walking.

Another thing that Dante does if we are trotting, and Cole is in the lead, is as soon as Cole stops, Dante wants to stop, too.  The problem is that Cole could be 100 feet ahead when this happens.

Ellen admits that she probably caused much of the problem.  With all her anxieties, she often felt relieved when he stopped, so she just let him.  Another possibility is sitting-trot fatigue.  She is still trying to master a sitting trot.  The problem with Dante is that he is so slow and incredibly smooth, that it can be very hard to post.  She tends to get tired after a while, and when her body quits working, Dante may be sensing her fatigue.  He is a very sensitive horse.

Remember, I ride the fast horse.  I don't see most of what is going on, and I always assumed that Dante was stopping when Ellen asked him to.  I didn't realize that Dante was running the show.

The other day, she was lamenting about her difficulties.  I then told her what I would do if I was her.

We try to train with positive reinforcement as much as we can.  Clicker training has been a marvelous success for us, but sometimes it isn't the best tool in the toolbox.  When Cole tries to eat branches on the side of the trail as we pass them by, I can't see how clicking him will stop him from it.  I tap him on the neck with the whip.  After a few times, he no longer tries very hard.  If I branch happens to be right by his mouth, he can't resist, but the rest of them he only looks at. 

Ellen said that when she would gently try to keep Dante going with her seat and legs, he just ignored it.

I told her that when she feels him slowing down, to tap him with the whip.  It doesn't have to be very hard--just hard enough for him to know it.  If he still stops, at that point she should use the whip again, but harder than the first time.

Really, this isn't rocket science at all.  Ellen could have figured it out for herself, but she is one of the gentlest people I know.  Using a whip on Dante is a hard thing for her to do.  I basically gave her permission.

To be effective with something like this, it is important to be consistent.  Horses love consistency.  They want to be able to predict the future, and uncertainty is stressful for them.  If Ellen was not going to allow him to do a fading trot, she can't let him do it sometimes and surprise him with a whip tap other times.  Consistency is very important in all horse training.

The next day, we went out for a ride.  Remember, I am in the front, so I didn't observe much of this.  Here is what Ellen told me happened.

The first couple times Dante tried to fade, he ended up stopping even though Ellen tried her new system.  That was it for the rest of the ride.  He still tried to slow down, but a light tap of the whip got him going before he stopped.  He tried to fade in all the usual places where he is in the habit of stopping.  He tried when Cole stopped trotting.  He tried randomly, too, but he never stopped again.

Since we are clicker trainers, Ellen also spent some time clicking him when he kept going.  Of course, that meant he stopped to get his treat, but it did show him that he was doing the correct thing.

After a while, he didn't just keep going, but he offered his "arena trot."  

It was weird.  Every time I looked back, Dante was trotting.

Dante learned the lesson on the very first day.  We were awestruck.  It is hard to break bad habits.  It got me wondering, maybe Dante didn't want to stop but did it out of habit, or like Ellen said, he stopped because he felt her getting tired--or maybe both?  Could it be that he always wanted to keep going because he wanted to get back to us?  Did he stop because he thought Ellen wanted him to?

The next ride was even better.  He never stopped on his own at all.  When he tried to fade, Ellen was able to keep him going with her legs.  The whip was no longer necessary.  She continued to click him when he kept going, but only now and then.  He continued to give her his lovely show trot.  She said he seemed more responsive to her legs in general.  I think he is now paying more attention to her to see what she wants.

My old horse, Cruiser, was our energizer bunny.  He kept going and going.  He was never tired.  We now have a new one, and his name is Dante.  He is just a slower bunny, but he keeps going and going.

The Lagoon

The Lagoon

I think I write about Ellen's first trip through the Lagoon every year.  It is a boring section of trail--out in the open, along a busy park street with a wall on the other side that goes down to the river.  Traffic can make Ellen nervous, and so does being out in the open.  There are great trails on the other side of the Lagoon, but we got to go through it to get to them.

Oh, I forgot to mention the small parking lots right by the trail and the picnic area with a ball diamond on the other side of the street.  Yes, it can get chaotic.

Once she mastered the other second river crossing, she was all set to try the Lagoon.  We were out early in the morning on a weekday, so it was fairly quiet.  Kevin came along on Starry to give Ellen support.  

We crossed the second river and rode out to the street that we have to cross.  Traffic was a little busy, and Ellen didn't want to get too close to the road until it dissipated.  I brought Cole up to it so I could see and give the "all clear" to cross.  It was very uneventful.

The very first part of the trail goes into some sheltering trees.  It is very close to the road, but we don't feel as vulnerable.  We were able to do some trotting through there.  Trotting is good because it helps Ellen's nerves.

We got out into the open, walked to the other end, turned around and came back.  It really was that easy. There was some traffic that Dante ignored. He was looking all around--like he always does if he is somewhere that he hasn't been to in a while.  Dante wasn't worried about anything at all.

Soon, we were back at the second river crossing.  I went first and waited on the other side.  Dante followed.  I honestly wasn't paying that much attention when I heard loud splashing in the river.  Dante was nearly across, and he had to do his business.  The loud plopping scared him, and he rushed out of the water.

During the whole ride, Dante didn't get scared of a single thing.  The only time he spooked was when he spooked himself.

It was a very successful ride.

Cole

 Cole

Moth Mullein

 

Gloriosa

 

Iris

 

Yellow Iris

 

Thunder Thursday!

 Thunder Thursday!

Yellow Iris

 

Maggie going for a swim in the creek

 

Trail Challenges

Trail Challenges

Ellen had a day off from work, and that usually means one of two things--bad weather or trail maintenance.  We had a bit of both.  The weather was extremely hot--and they were repairing the trail.

Though she saw that they were repairing the banks on the second river crossing, she still wanted to go on a trail ride.  Due to the heat, we would take it slow.  The river banks at our first crossing needed some repair, too.  If they were working on that when we got there, we couldn't cross the river.  If they started on it while we were out, we might have some problems getting home.  

When we got to the river, they were nowhere in sight, so we headed down the trail.  After about ten minutes, we heard some very loud machinery approaching.  We didn't know if it was on the trail or on the street.  The park workers will always stop when they see horses, but they have to see us first.

Ellen started to get that panicked sound to her voice.  She was in the lead, so she asked me to put Cole in front.  We still couldn't tell where the noise was coming from, so she told me to trot on ahead to find them and tell them to stop.  

We went trotting down the trail.  As I went around the corner, I saw a large front end loader coming right down the trail.  I asked Cole to stop and signaled to the driver to stop, too.  He did, and then I waved Ellen on.  Cole walked up to the machine to give it a sniff, and I thanked the driver and chatted as Ellen caught up.  I asked him if they were planning to fix our river bank, and he said he would try.  He didn't say when, though.  We were a little concerned that we might have trouble on the way home, but we proceeded, anyway.

We checked the work that they did on the second river crossing, and it looked great, but Ellen decided the river was a little too high for her to cross.  We crossed on the ford, instead, and continued down the trail.  At the next intersection, the park workers had backed up their flatbed trailer that they used to haul the front end loader.  It wasn't quite blocking the trail.  We could have squeezed by, but it would have been tight.  Since it was such a hot day, we didn't have the energy to try, so we headed back towards home.

First, Cole wanted to take a look at it.  The ramp was down, and it felt like he would have ridden right up it, had I asked.  When I turned him away from it, he did put one foot on the ramp as we passed.  He didn't seem startled, so I think he did it on purpose.  Dante also rode up to it, but he didn't get any silly ideas like Cole.

When we got to the hill we have to ride down, we could see a dump truck on the trail below--heading our way.  I could hear the trepidation in Ellen's voice--and then the relief when it turned and cut over to the road.  It was empty, so we figured they were heading to get more dirt.

As we moseyed on home, we kept our eyes and ears open to potential problems.  Ellen was telling me how she has been trying not to worry about things until they happen.  She saved herself a lot of worrying because when we did find the front end loader, he was parked by the side of the trail.  They were fixing a very stony section that always gets washed out every year because it is so low and very close to the river, and he was waiting for more dirt for the trail.  We stopped and talked a little to him--he said they may not get to our river bank for a few more days.  We told him how much we appreciate how well they take care of our trails.

Then we saw the dump truck coming down the trail behind us.  It was time to high tail it out of there.  Well, we actually just trotted.  We were pretty far down the trail when we heard the dump truck dump its dirt.

Not long after, we ran into Kevin on Starry coming our way.  We told him what was going on, and he decided to turn around and ride the other direction.  Poor Starry wasn't too happy when we crossed the river to go home, and he had to keep going the other way.

Both our horses handled everything so well!  We were very proud of them.

Ellen and Dante finished the Virtual Tevis Cup on this ride--100 miles in 100 days--so I am glad it had an extra challenge to it--and they rose to the challenge!

Blue Heron

 

 False Solomon's Seal

Cole doing his "silly walk" free style.

 Cole doing his "silly walk" free style.

Jack in the Pulpit

 

Dames Rocket

 

Dante Takes Kevin for a Ride

Dante Takes Kevin for a Ride

Kevin had our friend, Grace, out to ride Starry.  Ellen had to work, so she offered to let Kevin ride Dante.

Kevin rides Dante every year or two--not often enough for him to really know what he's like. Of course, he is a very good, safe horse, and anyone could ride him, but there are little things about him that could surprise a new rider.

I arrived at the river long before Starry and Dante, which is normal, and Cole was having a drink.  When Dante reached the bottom of the hill, he took off trotting.  He never does that.  I thought that maybe Starry got too close to him.  Kevin doubted that was the problem, but he admits he wasn't paying attention to where Starry was--and Grace didn't know she had to be careful not to get too close to Dante.

Dante is very sensitive to horses in his personal space.  Ellen is very careful to keep Dante clear of other horses or at least have him standing when they pass.  Starry is notorious for startling Dante, though Kevin seldom realizes it.  (He is like Mr. Magoo in that sense.)  He is usually not looking.  Often, all it takes is for Starry to swish his tail or kick at a bug, and Dante reacts.  Ellen is constantly warning Kevin not to ride too close, and Kevin typically replies, "Don't worry, Dante isn't afraid of Starry."

This has gone on for years.

When I told Kevin why Dante probably trotted away, he was very skeptical.  He still is.

By now, all three of us were down by the river's edge with Starry in the middle.  For whatever reason, Starry swung his hindquarters toward Dante.  He only took one step, but that was enough for Dante to jump and spin.  This time, it was obvious what happened--and Kevin was very surprised.

The nice thing about Dante is that he always calms right down, and he did this time, too.  We crossed the river with no other problem.  On the other side, we decided to put Starry first, followed by Dante and I would stay in back to keep an eye on things.  Grace asked Starry to move into the lead, and just as he started to pass Dante, he began trotting.  I watched Dante take a single side step into the woods.  Kevin didn't notice, so I didn't tell him.  Dante then trotted off behind Starry.

Kevin was enjoying Dante's smoothness--the exact opposite of Starry's bone-jarring trot.  Dante was much slower, and Grace had to keep stopping Starry to let us catch up to them.  Kevin didn't seem to care.  He loved just sitting the trot for a change.  Cole practiced his transitions.  He would trot up to Dante, walk for a while and trot back up.  Some days, he is willing to slow down to Dante's speed, but not this time.

Ellen only gave us permission to ride to the second river crossing.  She didn't say we couldn't do some back and forth, though.  We turned around, trotted towards home for a half mile and planned to trot back to the second river crossing.  Grace and I had to wait for Dante.  When he caught up with us, we decided to put him behind us before we started trotting to the second river.  That meant he had to pass us.

I went behind Starry by about ten feet to a wider part of the trail.  Grace was on the corner where the trail is a bit narrow.  There was plenty of room for Dante to pass.  Any other horse would have been just fine.

As Dante went around the corner, he turned his head to grab some branches to munch on.  Kevin pulled his head back--and Dante saw Starry just a few feet from his side.  He leapt up into the air and took off running!  Cole just watched him canter past--he has been ridden with Starry for so many miles that he is used to horses getting into his personal space.

Like I said, Dante calms down very quickly, and as soon as he thought he was safe from Starry, he stopped.  Well, at least he was now behind us where we wanted him.  We all trotted off to the second river crossing, and it was completely uneventful.

Kevin was now convinced that maybe Dante does act out when other horses are too close to him.  After that, both he and Grace were more careful.  I was chuckling inside.

When we crossed the river on the way home, we could see a group of three horses coming down the hill.  Kevin immediately took Dante off the trail into a large clearing alongside it, and let him watch the horses travel down the hill.  We joined him, but he warned us not to get too close.  I was chuckling inside even more.

Kevin wisely let Dante watch the whole thing.  When the horses passed us up, he quietly watched that, too.  Kevin now understands Ellen's caution.  I told Ellen that I didn't think Kevin will ever again say, "Don't worry, Dante isn't afraid of Starry," again.

In spite of all that, Kevin had a wonderful time, and he hopes that Ellen will let him ride Dante again.

False Solomon's Seal

 

Jacob's Ladder

 

Working on My Posting

 Working on My Posting

Last winter, I sprained my ankle really bad.  It was so bad that months later, it still hurts when I ride, though it is gradually getting better, week by week.  It feels the worst when I post.

I don't complain because back in January--it really, really hurt when I posted.  Now it just hurts some.

I never missed a ride, I just did what I could.  I could feel myself going crooked, so I fought that.  Sometimes I had some trouble with my rhythm, too, because the ankle would get tired.

I got through all of that, but by the time I was trotting long distances on the trail, I found myself missing a beat, now and then.  It got me to examine my posting, and I realized that a winter in pain created a few bad habits that needed correcting.

I figured out the adjustments that needed to be made--that was the easy part.  What I am doing now is practicing and trying to form new habits.  It is so easy to get distracted when I am trail riding.  There is always something to see, and then I find myself slipping back...

As always, when it comes to posting, I need to practice it on both diagonals.

There is one good thing about practicing your riding when you are on trail--with a good horse like Cole, I can just tell him how fast I want to go, and then all I need to do is focus on what I am trying to do.  Good habits are created by repetition, and we can work on lots of repetition on the trail.

I'm glad to say that after a month of working on my posting, there are times I find that I am doing it better without trying.  The new habit is forming.

We never stop learning to ride.  There are always improvements that can be made and bad habits that can be fixed.  I don't find it to be frustrating that I can never ride as well as I want to.  Instead, I find it motivating.  Learning and improving can be so much fun--and so rewarding.  I have to confess that I find myself smiling when I check my posting, and I am doing it correctly.

Ellen and the Second River Crossing

Ellen and the Second River Crossing

To be able to ride over an hour means we have to cross the river a second time--regardless of the direction we go.  Ellen is really good crossing the first river, but the second rivers have always been a problem for her.

Dante isn't afraid to cross, but he likes to stop, look around, play in the water, take a step, stop, look around, play in the water...  The longer Ellen is in the water, the more nervous she gets.  When Dante senses her nervousness, he stops, looks around, plays in the water...

Ellen doesn't always get nervous, but the whole process can be so dragged out, that it is just easier to cross on the ford.  Everyone, including Ellen, agrees that if the river is low enough to cross, it is safer than riding on the ford with the traffic, so that is really where we want to be.

The second river crossing is much deeper than the first one, and we don't like to cross it unless we can see the bottom--at least a little bit.  Consequently, there are less chances to cross it in the spring if it is rainy.  There are also days that Kevin and I can cross, but it is still too high for Ellen.

Early in May, she spent many rides just going up to the edge of it or walking in a few feet, but she just couldn't bring herself to try crossing.  Dante liked the game because he could stand, look around, play in the water...

Ellen was starting to think that I should cross him the first few times.  I've done that before for her; including last year.  She can then practice on Cole.  There is one risk, though.  There was a day this month when the first river crossing seemed intimidating to her.  I rode Dante across for her--and then I didn't let her have him back until we turned around to go home.  She did ride Dante back across to get home.

One morning, the second river was very crossable, but she hadn't planned to cross.  The weather forecast was grim--rain, rain and more rain.  If she didn't cross, she wouldn't be able to try again for a while.  When we got to the river, she rode over to it to take a look.  Kevin asked me if she was going to cross, and I told him that I didn't think so.

I was wrong.  She marched right into the water.  When Dante stopped and tried to play his games, she just told him to keep going.  He kept trying, but she just insisted he cross--and he did.  Ellen triumphantly emerged from the water on the other side.  We followed on our horses and had a lovely ride on the other side.

She wanted to go first when we got back to the river on the way home.  Going home is always easier.  When she got to the other side, I could faintly hear her say, "Yee haw!"

Now we need to work on crossing the second river in the other direction.