Second River and Beyond

 

Second River and Beyond

Since our first attempt on the second river crossing with Trifecta went so well, it was time to tackle the trails on the other side.  Ellen had some vacation time, so we decided to take advantage of the extra time and do it on a weekday when the park is quieter.

We walked the whole way to the second river crossing so Ellen could keep up with us and join us when we got to the other side.  This time, I decided to try crossing the deep way in hopes that it would slow Trifecta down.  Ellen suggested doing some walk/whoa transitions before we got to the river to charge up the clicker and hopefully that would encourage him to stop in the river when I asked him.  That is a great way to keep a horse from rushing on a river crossing, but Trifecta completely ignored my requests the first time we did it.

I knew that getting him to cross wouldn't be the problem--getting him to cross in a civilized manner would be.

Ellen left us to cross on the pedestrian bridge and to meet us on the other side.  I asked Trifecta to step in, and he did it immediately.  After a few steps I asked for whoa, and I got it!  I clicked and treated him.  After that, I stopped him about every 5 steps or so.  He never got momentum.  I had some really good treats, and that helped a lot.

The river bank is very steep on the other side, but he went up it like a gentleman.  Once we started down the trail, though, he lost all his composure, and excitement level went through the roof.  Ellen hooked up the lead rope to his bridle, and it worked like magic.  He settled right down, and we headed down the new trail.  There is a very short and very steep hill we had to go up--success!  On top of the hill is a small rock wall around a culvert that he looked at sideways, but once he got close enough to see it well, he was fine.  I stopped him there so Ellen could catch her breath.  Then we proceeded down the trail.

After a few minutes, he was doing so well that Ellen unhooked him and the rest of the way went smoothly.  When we got to the street, we turned around to head back home.

The way back was just as uneventful.  Going down the hill was a challenge, but he met it well.  Crossing back over the river was a piece of cake.  In fact, the rest of the ride was a piece of cake.  Ellen had driven down to the park, so we left her when we crossed the final river and went home on our own.

It all went so well, we decided to do it again the next day.

We repeated everything we did the first time.  The only problem was that Ellen was getting some tummy cramps and was having trouble keeping up with us.  The second river crossing went well.  This time, I only stopped him 3 times on the way across.  Ellen and I didn't think he needed to be hooked up to the lead rope, and Trifecta proved us right.  

When we got up the short, steep hill, I told Ellen to take her time and not bother to keep up with us-hoping her tummy cramps would feel better.  We would meet her on the way back.  That went fine.  Trifecta was looking to the left and right with such interest that he forgot Ellen wasn't there--until he remembered and spun around to go back to her.  I kept turning him until he was facing the proper direction, and we continued on our way.  Ten steps later, he tried to do it again with the same results.  I decided I would do some walk/whoa transitions (no clicks) to get his mind back on his job, and it worked beautifully.  We got to the intersection and turned back.  He walked nicely until he saw Ellen and halfheartedly tried to trot several times to catch up to her.  He was very easy to correct.  Once we got to her, he was very happy. and we went home without any troubles at all.

He was so good, that the next time we try it, Ellen will probably ride Cole with us.