Our First Trail Ride

Been meaning to get this blogspot going before this. Had plans on my birthday to start it, which is in February, and now it’s September. Where does the time go?

Since Sunday was Starlette’s first trail ride, I decided that it would be a good place to start this blog. It was the beginning of new things for us.

For those who don’t know, Starlette is a now 9-year-old Appendix Quarter horse that I got about 3 years ago, started but green broke. After a year, I was tired of riding her around the pasture, so I found a two-horse ramp load trailer in 2008. Having read about loading, I thought she would just hop on after just thinking about it for a while.

Ha!

She battled me all last summer trying to get her to load. I found out she previously had a loading problem with it from someone who knew of her past, and I had never been told. She reared, she kicked, and she refused. She ran around the sides of the trailer and pulled me with her. She broke a halter and ran away in the pasture. While I know there are worse out there, I was really concerned with her behavior.

I tried all the techniques I read online from trying to feed her in the trailer - did not work - to lunging her outside the trailer and trying to lead her in, which totally freaked her out. I realized later she had been hit with a whip by previous trainers trying to get her to load. I tried pulling her in and releasing the pressure when she moved forward. She reacted to the pulling by rearing in the trailer, hitting her head on the top, and flying out backwards. I tried forcing her in with a buggy whip. I growled. She reared and kicked. When I finally got her to go in, I tried the backing out/driving in over and over. She was difficult to get in, and rushed backing out. When she hurt herself by gashing her leg on the side of the trailer, I quit for the year. I had won – I could get her in and out - but it was not pleasant or safe, and not my idea of getting a horse to load.

While the trailer sat in my yard, and my husband reminded me of the money we spent on it, I ignored it to make other progress with Starlette. We worked on collection and started lead changes. We worked on cantering without bucking. I worked on centered riding, getting a better seat and balance. I met my goal of riding her bareback at a canter. We started small jumps. All this didn’t come easily, but we bonded and made great leaps forward. But something was missing. Both of us were bored.

So I started eyeing my trailer again. I wanted her to load, but needed better advice. Over the past year or so, I had discovered Mugwumpchronicles - a sensible, experienced trainer who has a talent of getting to the heart of a horse problem and helping people solve it, while not asking for anything in return. I believe she truly does it for the love of horses and their people.

Her advice was simple - get her on, take her somewhere, then get her off. No more hysterics. No more drama. Use a long cotton line, run it through the front, tap her on the pasterns with a lunge whip. Pressure and release. Don’t plan on going anywhere. Don’t give up. Have patience.

Just do it.

(I apologize, Janet, for shortening your wonderful advice for the sake of the blog!)

I knew that I could not trail ride Starlette by myself – I was unfamiliar with the trails around here, and I know how wired she gets, and didn’t want to risk getting hurt by myself. I got lucky and found Michigan Horse Chat one day. This is a nice group of people who simply go trail riding and are willing to have anyone come along.

Things were falling in place.

The ride was last Sunday. I needed to at least get Starlette on the trailer once before the ride. My plan – take several hours if needed, gently yet firmly get her on the trailer, drive around the block, get home, unload her, and be done.

Took me one and a half hours to get her loaded. I did lose my patience at one point, but I remembered Janet’s advice, and relaxed. Starlette got past her stubborn spot (which I am finding is in her nature to resist then give in), loaded, and off we went. She did get lots of apples in the trailer, but none after she unloaded. I was happy. It took a long time, but I would just plan that into my timing on Sunday.

Sunday morning. Got Starlette loaded, took 45 minutes. In hindsight, I should have let her graze for a while in the pasture before I tried to load. I should not have had coffee! She had a huge fit going from stall to trailer. Rearing. Kicking. I also am positive she picked up on my excitement – I was really eager to go on the ride. I got pissed. She got pissed. I took a deep breath, relaxed. I threatened her with staying in her stall all day if she didn’t get on. She sighed and with very little encouragement, walked on.

After a 45-minute drive, we pulled into the horse camping/trail area at Yankee Springs Recreation Center – 5,000 acres of preserved land. I opened the escape door of the trailer and Starlette nickered at me. Then she realized that there are horses all around. She got excited, started neighing. I unload her, tie her up with a hay bag, and she is good – grabs a mouthful of hay, looks around, dances around, grabs another mouthful of hay. But she behaves...doesn’t try to break away, settles down. I sigh in relief. That part was easy.

Saddling goes very well. Everyone else is getting ready at the same time, and we all mount up together. Then the fun starts! Starlette is so excited by all the other horses around that she cannot stand still. We ended up side passing across the parking area in all directions. She was all snorty and blowing, and dancing around. Quarter Horse brain gone, Thoroughbred brain in (with apologies to TB people, but that's how I think of it!) I think the others took pity on me, and we moved out very quickly.

She shied and stared at every rock and stick and poop pile for the first 30 minutes - but she when right past them when I asked her to. We were third horse in line – there were seven of us – and whenever the horses ahead of us went down a gully or around a bend, she panicked and I would have to hold her in at a walk, and we ended up jigging. She was quite a handful at first, even kicking sideways at the other riders who tried to pass her, but as the ride went on, she relaxed and started to settle down. And behave. My Prima Donna Diva was starting to have fun!

We crossed a road. We went down steep hills. We went up steep hills. We went over logs. We cantered around and through a sand dune. We worked on galloping along a sand road instead of just cantering (too much WP training!). We worked on tucking her hindquarters underneath her going downhill. I two-pointed going up hills so she could figure out how to travel. She started to learn how to pick her way on a trail.

After an hour, our group took a bypass to avoid a fallen tree on the trail and got lost. In the woods. Of a 5,000 acre preserve. Okay, only part of it, but a big part of it. For two hours. Yup. Starlette learned to bushwhack. Over large logs, and fallen trees on hillsides. Sharp turns with logs underneath. Cutting through forest understory. Up hills, down hills. Good footing, bad footing. Finally, our leader found the way out, and we all laughed about it, teasing her that from now on we stay on marked trails.

We were not home yet – we still had to ride out another hour. Poor Starlette was exhausted. We took the last position – all the other horses were conditioned trail horses, and I had not intended for Starlette to start her first ride this long. She was so tired her smooth-as-glass trot was choppy and hard to ride. Her back (as was mine!) was sore and tired – which she reminded me of when I sat back to far by pinning her ears. I had to ride with my weight a little forward and off her back. However, she lost her need to be with the other horses. I would let her slow down, and then she would trot to catch up to the others after they were out of sight, but that was more for me than her – I was tired and wanted to go home, too, and didn't want to get lost again! When we started we had planned on about two hours, and it was now four hours later.

Hmm...anyone hear the theme song for Gilligan's Island with a twist?

We finally made it back to the trailers, and Starlette saw there were more horses, and even being as exhausted as she was, she still got excited and danced around. I wonder if I have an endurance horse?

We unsaddled, the horses ate some hay, we all relaxed, peed (people and horses alike), and started to load up. I was anticipating a hard time with Starlette – she was eating hay and dancing around with excitement seeing the new horses going by. I went into the trailer to put hay in for her, and she saw me in there, and started pulling on the tie, neighing – obviously upset that I was inside and she wasn’t. I untied her, led her up to the trailer, and tried to send her in, and she just kept watching the other horses. So I ran the lunge line through the inside of the trailer, stepped inside, called her, and she looked at me and walked in.

I made sure she got a lot of apples for that one!

I am so proud of her – she was wonderful. I expected her to be excited, but she did everything I asked on the trail, and only hesitated at the beginning of the ride. The other riders – experienced trail riders – also said she did great.

I really love my horse!

Oh, and we are going back again Friday!