More Group Rides

 More Group Rides

Our next opportunity to take Trifecta with another horse came about a week later.  This time, we chose to take him with Cole.  Ellen loves spending time with Cole, so she was all for the idea.

Cole hasn't spent much time with Trifecta, so Tri was very curious about him.  Once again, I had to continually remind Trifecta to not crowd Cole.  It wasn't so bad at a walk, but when we tried to trot together, Trifecta kept trying to rush up behind Cole.  We practiced it in short spurts, and he did start to improve.  Finally, we tried trotting with Trifecta in the lead.  That worked so much better.  We did see some people we knew but only stopped for a minute to say, "Hello," and then headed on our way.  Ellen stopped and talked to them for a few minutes and left us to go on our own.  Trifecta didn't mind leaving Cole at all.  All was going well when we suddenly heard hoof beats rapidly approaching--Cole was catching up; and he was catching up fast.  I stopped and turned Tri to watch, and Ellen stopped Cole at a safe distance.  I was glad Trifecta handled it with such maturity.

We walked all the way home with no incident except for Trifecta trying to rush up the river bank to catch up with Cole, again.  This time wasn't as bad, but it did show us that Trifecta was bothered when the fellow horses went out of sight.

The next week, we tried a ride with Dante.  Dante added a complication--he walks too slow for Trifecta.  Tri was also more determined to crowd him than he was with Cole--since they are best buddies.  Trotting was trickier for the same reason.  Don't get me wrong--there were some wonderful moments, but we had to work for them.  

The most difficult thing he did on that ride was when we crossed the river to go home.  Because of his rushing, we had him go first.  He didn't want to go down the bank.  Once we did, he went right into the water and started crossing fine.  About halfway across, he changed his trajectory to go downstream.  I had a tough time straightening him out, and when I finally got him to the other side, he tried to circle and go back into the water.  I made him stand while Ellen crossed, and we followed them up the bank.

I was totally confused by the behavior, and then it dawned on my in a frightening way--I think he wanted to explore the large hornet's nest that is hanging off a tree branch in the center of the river--about horse height!  Not a good idea!

On the next ride, we went back to Cole.  Trifecta was better with Cole this time than he was the first time, but we still had our frustrations.  When we crossed the river on the way out, Trifecta wanted to go to the left on the trail, and we wanted to go to the right.  That involved a lot of small circles and frustration.  He was also worse about going around the corner at Willow Bend.  That has been an issue all along, but instead of getting better, it has been getting worse.  I have a plan for that for the next ride.

Once again, he didn't want to go down the river bank to go home.  Instead, he wanted to go down the trail in the direction we didn't want him to go when we crossed the river on the way out--more small circles and more frustration.  There were a couple friends on their horses on the other side of the river waiting for us to cross.  Once I got him in the water, he did fine until we were halfway across again.  I wouldn't let him drift downstream to visit the hornet's nest, so he decided he was just going to stop in the water and wait for me to change my mind.  Nothing would get him going.  Ellen then yelled over to our friends to say something.  When he heard their voices, he got curious and decided to go over to see them.  

The problems I have with him are so odd.  He barely spooks and when he does, the spooks are small.  I certainly understand his fascination with other horses--no is a very friendly fellow.  I know those things will work out in time.  Our biggest disagreements are about which direction we should go, and he is very adamant about it.  Even being able to follow another horse doesn't seem to help.  My gut feeling is that he is curious and wants to explore new areas.  At Willow Bend, there is a short trail that leads out to the street--which he really, really wants to go down instead of the bridle path.  I know that one day I will laugh at all this, but right now, it frustrates me.

We have continued to work in the arena, and he is doing better and better all the time--except when he wants to go one way, and I want to go in another...I am sure it is all connected...