Trail Ride with Great Company!!!

Earlier this week, my friend Bernadette and her big boy Lucas asked if we'd like to go out for a ride again this weekend. Of course we did!! She also wanted to ask other friends of ours which would have made a gang of 5 of us. So all week we bantered back and forth because the others had to truck cattle and we didn't know if we were going to ride nearby or trailer out to the Larose Forest where the Pink Ribbon Ride was. The decision wasn't made until about 10 this morning! Bernie picked Linus and I up and we trailered to our friends' parents' farm where her horse was. He is usually at her dairy farm near the Larose Forest!

The day started out quite blustery. I snapped a pic of the flag blowing in the wind to show how windy! I was not at all impressed when I loaded Linus. He pulled back, not even that hard and the brand new cotton lead rope I just bought broke in two!! Bernie grabbed Linus who was just standing there and she said the snap was stuck inside the end so if the rope had not have broke the snap would have. Linus will self load in our trailer but needs a bit more encouragement in Bernie's trailer. Luckily I have spares so we got a new rope and off we went! Linus was a bit antsy when we got to the Miller's farm. Lots of new sights and they are rebels and have white cows which Linus can't seem to wrap his head around!! He settled in pretty quickly though and wasn't a problem to tack up. 

Linus had a bit of a reunion too! Becky's gelding is RR Samurai and he is a Curly! He was owned by Lynn Ibrus who bred Linus so they used to live together!! So neat because Becky and I have known each other since elementary school and Linus and Sam came from almost 3 hours away from where we live. Unfortunately Sam was  a bit sore on a front leg. Becky's brother Matthew got on him to see how serious it was and Sam really didn't want to take the weight of a rider so we untacked him and Becky rode her sister-in-law's horse. A little QH mare who was stellar to head out with two geldings she had never met and leave her buddies behind!

Below are the pictures of Linus and Sam reuniting!

Linus looks all puffy and proud of himself for being all grown up!

We left the farm, crossed the road and went down through some fields and trails. The sun was gorgeous and the wind had died down.

The first part of the trail was narrow and the blackbirds were making quite a ruckus!

We crossed the Avonmore Road which is a busy enough road to continue on the other side with the trail. Or so we thought!! Linus and I have homework to do because he would not cross this flooded part of trail!! He was SOO close and I didn't want to give up on it but I didn't want to hold up the others either. Becky had a lead rope so we clipped it to Linus and Bernie started leading him from her horse. It was working until his hackamore pulled right off of his head!!! Yikes!! I had loosed the throat strap because it was too tight right before we left. Guess I should have left it alone. But, it is a new headstall and I think it stretched because afterwards I had to tighten it up!! Anyway, I wrapped the reins around his neck and he stopped dead. Then a transport loaded with rolls of wire came up the road and here I am on a horse with no headgear on!! I was just putting his hackamore back on as the transport went by us. My dear man did not bat an eye!! Boy that could have been a disastrous situation!! I see now why it's a good idea to keep a halter on but I do find it interferes with the hackamore : / No harm done so we decided to turn and take the trail back the other way.

The water Linus would not cross! It would have been a couple inches over his ankles. I will be working on this with him for sure

Love the leaf carpets we had!

We all wore a bit of orange for hunting season! Last time my Curly gear was covered in pink, this time my Curly gear was covered by an orange vest!

This tree looked ready to crumble at any moment but the horses didn't mind

We came to the end of the trail we were on. Well it continues across the Raisin River which I totally forgot about. Bernie wanted to cross it for the heck of it and Lucas was game. There is not a thing he won't do for her! They've been partners for over 4 years and have an amazing bond.

He is 1/4 Arab, 1/4 Percheron and 1/2 Friesian

So we turned around again and took the trails back to County Rd 18 which goes through a small 4 way stop town called Harrison's Corners.

At one point Bernie said "hey look a deer" and three sprang up from their hiding spot and jetted off through the cornfield. They made a lot of noise and all of our horses spun around but nobody spooked so was great!

I took the above picture to show the size difference between Red and Lucas.

Here we come, into Harrison's Corners! I had to take pictures, I have never ridden anywhere this built up!

We came to a Stop and 2 cars waited for us to cross.

We picked up the trail again and headed North..

We wove through some places and were going to follow the power line back to the main roads but it got too swampy so we turned back and took the trail all the way to Eamer Rd and then back to the Avonmore Rd

We met two horses who followed us but no horses called out or anything

And they had beautiful fall decorations out too!!

So did the neighbour!

Back onto the Avonmore Road. We are now North of Harrison's Corners.

Back into Harrison's Corners. This is only a few minutes East of where Bernie and I live and about 1km West of where we started out.

Bernie was telling me about trying a "selfie" pic, so naturally I had to try it!!

We cut into some fields and headed back to the starting point!

We let our hard working boys enjoy some grass before loading up and heading home! Here's where we had more fun. Linus pulled back when loading, again not really that hard I thought. He didn't drag me or anything and the ring on his halter broke! So again he was standing at the trailer door loose! I made do and we loaded and off we went! So I now have a halter and a lead to return!! Ugh!! I don't like him knowing these things break. I should have followed Bernie's lead and put his rope halter on him! Or his leather one. 

All malfunctions aside we had a fantastic day. Beautiful weather, great company and kickass horses!! What better way to spend a late fall day. We were out for 4 hours on the horses. That's a new record for Linus!

Next weekend is the Halloween ride!! Cannot wait!!

Donna & Linus

Lunenburg, ON

Northwoods Christian Camp Trail!

Denise and I and a couple other people from the area were supposed to go to a team penning function a couple hours south, but to our dismay it was cancelled due to the weather forecast, so we punted and hit the woods and a new trail.....or at least a new trail for me!  Denise had rode here years and years ago.   I've heard of the Northwoods Christian Camp, but I've never experienced it.  It's at the end of a dead end road and has many activities go on year around including hay rides this time of year and sleigh rides in the winter.  As you can see we all donned our orange and set out, Karen and Denise with maps in hand.  We started out on the Rainbow Trail, which led to the High Trail and Glory Trail and Joy Trail and I can't remember the other names.

High Trail led us to our first bridge which Cork headed straight to until Denise said, "Good boy, Cork," and then he started thinking.  Darn horse!  We tried about 5 times and then Denise had Bear go, which then Corky followed right on Bear's heels, just in case the trolls under the bridge came up to get him, Bear would save him!  It was really kind of cute.

This picture doesn't show exactly what I was trying to get, but there is a gentle downward slope here.  Because of all the recent rain, once we went down it did become wet in alot of areas and we couldn't even go down one trail.  Corky tried, but it reminded him too much of winter riding in deep snow and took a break, so we decided it was better to turn around.

This is Karen, our trail boss for the day, on her horse Paco!  She's also our DeTour trail guide that I spoke about, if you should ever get lost in that area!

The next bridge we came to, Cork stopped right here and said, "Not going.  No way, no how!"  While I probably should have made him go, I just sat back and took pictures.

This bridge is called "Wilson's Bridge."  We were wondering who Wilson was.

More sights included the mini Mackinac Bridge!

I also took pictures of Karen and Denise in front of the bridge, which overlooks Lake Glory.

 Both ladies have awesome smiles, don't you think?

As we headed back around almost to the parking lot, we decided to take Glory Trail to the right and see where it led, but we were sure it would dead end, which it did.  Then we came back over the causeway and that's where I took alot more pretty pictures!

Can you see the house at the top of hill?

The weather today was a tad chilly, letting us know that fall is here, so this was the perfect length of ride, about 2 hours!

Janeen and Corky, UP of Michigan!

Mission Hill Ride, Another View =]

I don't think any of us tire of seeing the trail on horseback in the fall. So I'll go ahead and post the pics I took of the Mission Hill ride Janeen was also on last saturday. We all packed a snack, loaded our ponies and off we went. It couldn't have been a nicer day and such a great turnout!

Bitless Bridle made by Jubilee Bridles.

I got a new bridle to try on Bear just days before so I was really excited to give it a try. I've been experimenting with  not using a bit on him. He was a beginner lesson horse for kids for about 12 years, so his mouth has gotten pretty tough. But his training by Marla at Running Horse Farm was impeccable! He is very light to aids except for his mouth.  I have been riding him on the trail with just a halter and found it amazing how light and responsive he is with it. And it's pretty too! It was made by a company called Jubilee Bridles.Check out their fb page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jubilee-Bridles/161877847161549
The quality of the bridle is absolutely amazing. It works like a Dr. Cook with the cross under the chin. Soft leather, and quality buckles etc. She customizes whatever you want on them too. I just wanted studs but she will do turquoise, bling..whatever. She also sells the tiny charms you see on the bridle. It's just so cute...lol

Part of the gang of horses....heading down the trail

Laura Kibler took this one of Bear and I....I like it. =]

Another friend took this one of Bear and I...I love the yellow!

More horses....

Which way do we go, Janeen???lol

Leaving the Lookout.

There's Laura Kibler and Billy. I didn't get any of Janeen!! What's up with that. Sorry Janeen!!

It was such a memorable ride...thank you for hosting it Janeen. We have lots of great pics to look over
this winter when we are snow bound!!

Lessons, Linda and Legacy

Legacy and I are continuing lessons with our dressage coach. The stunning fall weather prompted me to try a few of these interesting shadow photos....I noticed our shadows as I led Legacy to our arena to work. 

 

This shot shows the bond between us...as we stood for a moment, Legacy rested her head on my shoulder...with my permission of course!

        

Done with the photos we get down to work. Legacy is learning to stretch down and accept contact with the bit, AND remain supple, elastic and forward. We are both improving our skills, me, working on body language, Legacy stretching and moving forward and up under herself.  This week's lesson is to learn the leg yield at the walk.  We have practiced the leg yield at the halt, now we must gather ourselves and learn it at the walk. This is one instance of training from the saddle would be much easier...but we need to learn it from the ground so we can transfer it by voice and a touch of the whip in harness, instead of from the saddle. Getting proper bend is a complex job in harness.

 Curls are coming, the curls are coming!  fall is always the moment when curls start their appearance.

We work on!  I hope to be driving soon. Legacy is getting physically stronger and more precise to my verbal cues. We also are fine tuning some of her ground manners, esp lifting her feet on verbal command....that has no real value in driving (that I can think of) ,  but is sure alot of fun to push ourselves to see how precise and responsive we can get!