Now THIS is how to see the world, through the ears of my faithful gelding Mago and along with my dear friend Elaine. We are riding twice a week and I generally get in one additional ride to make it three. Bob has been very helpful in clearing new sections of trail that we discover, although Elaine points out that there is still irregular footing and some maneuvering required (which is good for keeping a trail horse thinking). Mago continues to improve, he is very willing to move forward and explore new place,but steady. Despite being inexperienced and still not "using himself" fully, he has such a LOOOOONG striding walk you'd swear he was a gaited horse.
Angie often has to trot to catch up, which has the benefit of giving her some nice muscle toning. Angie has lots of trail experience but even Mago can handle the more difficult rocky and slash filled trails, however he still needs more practice on steep downhills. He is getting "softer" (this is a good thing) with responding to his hackamore (rope halter type bridle) and learning about neck reining. As Angie gets more miles of trails, she is getting quite zesty and bubbly. I often hear Elaine behind me saying things like, "hey pretty girl", only to look back and see her smiling with Angie marching along with tail high and ears pricked. This happens more often when we ride in the crisp morning air instead of the warm sunny afternoons.
