Fun in the Sun in Eastern Ontario

Wow, the sun, sun, sun!  After a long winter, we are having summer weather and it's hard to stay out of the saddle!  Although I'm one of those horse owners that rides all winter, I certainly don't go out for long rides in the cold.  Maybe 45 minutes.  But now --- Saturday was a 3 hour - 14km ride and Sunday was 3.5 - 16km ride!  Beautiful weather, good company and an amazing Curly horse to be my partner! 
We went on a trail that is an 'official' horse trail in our parts and it was really nice to start but wow, did it have some flooded spots.  At some points our horses were up to their bellies!  Our boots almost touching the water.  And it wasn't just once or twice, it was 10 - 15 times!  Some weren't as deep but there were about 5 deep-deep ones and horses just waded through them, steady and calm.  I think they liked the coolness on their bellies. 

Unfortunately I didn't get to photograph the deep ones because my phone died!!! 
Then, there was the 'floating wooden bridge'...  I suppose it doesn't float in the summer and fall but because the forest is so wet still, this bridge was surrounded by water so it was sort of floating.  My Curly partner Sunny was the first to cross on Saturday.  None of the horses were sure - and perhaps it was because we weren't either!!!  So I hopped off and lead Sunny across, perfect!  And because the other side of the bridge was swamped, I actually mounted my incredible, solid nerved Curly ON the floating bridge!  So I didn't have to wade through the swamp on the other side.  My friends weren't so lucky.  Their mounts were a little more skeptical than Sunny so they got over the bridge in a hurry and into the muddy swamp water for about 50 feet. 
On Sunday, we decided to ride across, Sunny first since he was the steadiest the day before and without a fear, waded through the water, stepped up on the floating bridge and across to the other side to munch on some well deserved green-green swamp grass! lol. 
What a guy!  Love that horse!  Of course the rest of the ride was wonderful to but the 'swimming' and floating bridge are the most memorable. 
This is Sunny's first spring being ridden and boy he can MOVE!  He covers ground like the purebred Arabs we ride with and he's a ball of muscle!  And boy, he LOVES to canter!  We start out in a trot and without and pressure from me, he just leaps into a canter, just for the fun of it!  He likes to play!

Cyndi & Sunny and The Portugese Water Dogs in Bourget  - close to Ottawa- Ontario