More Happy Trails

 

Another day, another trail ride. 

Tweed is coming along very well. He is new to it, so everything is a potential hobgoblin, but he worked past the scary things and never did anything BIG. The worst reaction was a halt and look (2x) and a fast descent down a hill (1x). 

I don’t like it when he does the fast, racy downhill, as it is a sign of not paying attention. I try to direct every foot on the downs hills and even stop him. He did great on all except one, and I think it was the only one where he was following down—which might explain it. He is definitely better leading than following.

It was interesting to see what he found scary because they weren’t things I would have predicted.  There was a stump he didn’t like, then a couple of large rocks. There was also an electric transfer station that all the horses find scary at first, and he did, too. We eventually rode through an equestrian campsite and he got excited about the new horses being unloaded. We passed another trailer on the road and Tweed talked to the horse being hauled. The horse talked back to him. 

It was a longer ride, so he got a lot thrown at him and he held it together. Bravo, Tweed!

Tumbleweed is going to be a great lead trail horse. In fact, he led out most of the ride. There were only a couple of times where he balked and the other horse had to lead us through. The majority of the time it was reversed and Tumbleweed was the one leading the way. The other horse stopped and refused to go a couple of times, which put them way behind us where they had to eventually trot to catch up, but Tweed didn’t seem to care. 

At this portion of the training, there is no substitute for just riding out. He needs constant, positive exposure, and lots of it. I’m going to do my best. 

On a side note, the thin halter was too small for him, so I did have to order a new one after all. Almost there. 

Happy Trails!