Out on the Trails

I rode trails for the first time on Friday!

At first, I was a little bit worried about it. DeDe texted me before the ride, letting me know that there was construction going on in the riverbed where we would be riding. She told me that she wasn't sure I could handle the horses if they got nervous. I was feeling a little anxious when I got there, and also a little sad. I knew that if it was too hard for me, I wouldn't get to ride.

I haltered Porsche and took her out by myself, while DeDe tacked up Luca. I led her to the wash rack, tied her, groomed her, and picked her feet. I was a little surprised that I got her to pick up her feet for me, actually. In the past, I have had issues with that, as I can't seem to figure out where I'm supposed to squeeze to get her to do it. I had to think really hard about it. You stand at the horse's shoulder, facing its hindquarters. Then, run your hand down its leg to the bubbly joint at the bottom, called the fetlock. Squeeze the fetlock to get the horse to pick up its foot. Hold the foot in your non-dominant hand, and hold the hoof pick in the other. Pick away from yourself, removing any dirt or rocks or anything from around the frog and the horse's shoes, if they wear them. Now you know.

I also tacked her up on my own, mostly. I would like to point out that saddles are really heavy! Up until now, I've always had help lifting it and placing it, but this time I did it alone. I had a bit of trouble remembering to do silly things that would have made my life easier, like hooking the stirrups over the saddle horn to get them out of the way. My shoulder hurt the next day because I spent so long fiddling with it. Once I finally got it on, I tightened the girth (I actually tightened it enough this time! Crazy!) and led Porsche to DeDe's tack room on the other side of the barn. DeDe put the bridle on her for me.

Porsche gave me a little bit of a hard time getting on. She kept trying to walk away from the mounting block. I had to lead her in circles around it three times. It frustrates me a little bit that it's so hard to gain her respect. Eventually though, I did get on, and we were able to take off.

We rode a little way down the railroad tracks, under the freeway, and into the riverbed. I was surprised that the horses weren't phased at all by the horrible groaning noises coming from above us as we rode under the freeway. There weren't and tractors in the riverbed, really. They were outside the riverbed, on the other side of a fence from us. We were above them, and they didn't move around much or get too close to us, so the horses didn't seem to be that interested in them. DeDe commented that most horses would have been losing their marbles at the noise, let alone the few times when they drove near us. More reasons I love Porsche :)

Trail riding is very different than riding in the arena. In the arena, DeDe wants me to collect the reins, while on the trail she wanted me to give Porsche her head most of the time. The horses were kind of on alert because of the noise and movement of the tractors, so I kept talking to Porsche to try and calm her. That was a bit reassuring for me too, actually. DeDe and I chatted as we rode as well. It was fun! Definitely a nice break from the arena.

I feel like this also really boosted my confidence. We did just a few minutes of trotting, and I felt pretty good about that. Of course, I was also really happy that I held it together and didn't really feel nervous while we were riding. I feel like I'm finally starting to get somewhere!