Selena Ride 28; Wizard Ride 98: Chasing Daylight

Friday, 9/18/09

I slipped out of work a little early, changed into my riding clothes, and drove to the barn. Summer is fading fast and so is the summer light. I love the cooler weather, but with it comes short days. Within the next week, I won’t be able to ride in daylight after work anymore. At that point, I need to decide when I’m going to do my trail riding with Wizard and Selena. Should I wake at dawn and ride before work? Should I hit the trails on my days off from work? And how will hunting season affect local trail riding? Bow season is here and I need to make sure I keep the horses and hunters safe.

But for now, I’ll enjoy what daylight is left :^)

As soon as I arrived at the barn, I tacked up Wizard and we hit the trails with Mary the Morgan (pictured above) and her owner. I rode Wizard for about 1.3 miles. He was fantastic, even when we had two encounters with deer. Both times, the deer startled loudly and crashed through the woods. Both times, Wizard was sensitive but sensible. He looked, startled a bit, and responded to me. He did just a little jigging after the first deer but then he settled. Before we arrived at the road crossing, I dismounted and hiked the rest of the way with Wizard (about 3.5 miles). I did this because he was so good for the first leg of the ride. I wanted to keep everything positive and it worked beautifully. We walked past the pigs- Wizard snorted but bravely marched on. He did very well on the lead.

By the time we got back to the barn, it was dark. I scrubbed Wizard’s legs with Betadine to avoid bug/tick bites and put him back outside with his buddies. I tacked up Selena and had a nice quiet ride. It was fun to have a quiet, easy hack with her. After a 10-minute walk warmup, I mostly let her work on a large oval, stretching into the bit and playing with “long and low”. The ride lasted about 35 minutes. Some barn buddies watched us ride and they were happy to see the progress and fitness she has attained.