Both Guinny's mommas have been improving with each ride, and Big G. himself has been learning, building muscle and expanding his trust of and love for us. We generally keep our arena rides and lessons short and to the point, and we always end on a good note.
When we pull up to the farm he's always outside in his private paddock, sometimes snoozing, sometimes deep in thought. And without fail he comes to the fence, greeting us with a friendly sniff and once in awhile a horse hug!
Life at Rachel's barn has settled into a nice routine and all 6 horses seem very content with their new situation. Other than the two of us, the rest of the boarders are preteen girls who shower all the equines with carrots, cookies and pink & purple equipment. Since they're in school all day we are guaranteed quiet time almost every day before 3pm, which helps all of us concentrate in our lessons. But when the girls arrive the horses clearly soak up all the affection and chatter!
One of the best things about the barn is the long logging road that starts on the property and goes high atop the hill. It's a steep incline and about 15 minutes later it empties out of the forest into a beautiful sweeping boggy meadow. We're hopeful to find more trails and roads that branch off of that one, but for now it's been fun to take Guinny on these "trail rides" -- his enthusiasm evident and his glee is palpable! His first ride was with Shanna and while he was a bit nervous he was willing to go forward with only slight prompting. Eyes wide, Big G's head was on a swivel, much like a child at his first carnival. Since he doesn't have much experience with terrain and elevation gains, his down-hill steps were tentative and mini. He would almost shuffle down the hill, not quite sure what to do with his legs. Each successive ride up and back down the hill has brought even more enthusiasm and confidence, and today's included a brisk trot and even some keen cantering. It's amazing to us that by the time we get to the top Guinness is hardly winded -- he must have extraordinary lungs!
It's hard to say who has more fun on those logging road rides, but everyone's joy is evident. We are increasingly more in love with our handsome boy, and very excited about our futures together.
We have been planning to ride in tomorrow's local dressage schooling show, but this past week when we hadn't received our ride times (or any information for that matter) we called the show secretary. It turns out that our entry form was never received, and unfortunately there is no more room and there have been no scratches. So, our debut won't be happening this weekend.
But it'll take place soon, and with the progress we're making we're expecting our experience will be even better and more fun. And we promise to get video and great stills!
Despite the fact that we won't be competing this weekend we did take the warmish sunshine to bathe the dirty beast. And as is his custom, he insisted on helping!
And after he dried we decided to try this activity called "planking" -- it's all the rage these days: http://www.planking.me
With muzzle in the grass, indulging in his favorite pastime, Guinness didn't seem to even notice the lack of tack (or helmet) for the situation, thankfully. He can be such a spaz sometimes, but when he's comfortable and pleasantly tired, he's almost bomb-proof. Or at least plank-proof!
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