Ride 77 - First off property canter!! Video!

A note before we begin:  I am wearing ugly light colored breeches that a friend gave to me that look hideous on me (especially with sneakers), but they are much warmer than my black ones.  I really need to save up for paddock boots that fit and I need to either find my half chaps or get some new ones, because the whole socks showing above my sneakers look is soooo tacky!!  So please ignore me (and my awful eq) and just admire the pretty horse and our success!  Thanks!

Before I even got on I knew today would be an interesting ride!  I hadn't ridden Chrome in a week (well last Sunday), it was really cold (forty degrees) and when I went out to get him, he and the donkey were play fighting like they were trying to kill each other!  Chrome actually reared up on top of Zep and landed on his back and they were kind of tangled up for a minute before they finally got away from each other.  It was battle Royale!!  So needless to say he was feeling his oats!

Crazy half Arabian!

Also I'm not sure if I mentioned this but the owner of the land across the street (where my riding buddy is keeping her horses) brought his horses down and put them with hers.  So there are around seven horses now (I haven't actually counted lol).  As soon as we appeared on the road they all came galloping up (two of them in bright colored blankets) and that's where we get the above picture and this one below.

True to form, the turd started balking as soon as we left the horses behind.  Dork.  He listened really well though and kept walking when I asked (it helped that he remembered there were more horses up ahead).  :)  I swear there are more horses on our block than there were in my entire town where we moved from lol.

The ride took an hour and seventeen minutes to cover a total of 3.96 miles.  I walked the last .35 of a mile to warm up.

We saw the alpacas again.  Much closer this time!  These are screenshots from the video below.  Aren't they cute??  I could feel him suck back like he wanted to spook when they first walked up, but he held his ground.  Good boy!

Here is the video showing us riding by the alpacas and also showing our first ever off property canter!!!!  So exciting!!!


The canter was totally an accident.  I was trotting him down the field we always trot in, but I got up in two point (because it's fun lol).  He decided to canter and I let him.  It was so cool!  Then I had to get out of the field onto the road because they are building a house and there was digging in the area.  I didn't want him to sink in a hole I couldn't see.  Once we were past that part I got back in the field and hubby got the camera out to capture this canter on video for you!  Thanks hubby!  You're awesome!

A screenshot in case you can't see video.

I feel horrible because I corrected him again for putting his head down!! ARGH I have to stop doing that!  It seriously feels like he's trying to put his head down to crow hop, but when watching the video back I can see he was actually using his body like he needs to... after I corrected him he was an inverted mess.  :(  I really need lessons so someone on the ground can tell me what's going on so I'll stop doing that.  I've managed to stop correcting him at home, but away from home in an open field my nerves got the best of me.  Hopefully next time, now that I'm reassured he won't do anything, I'll be able to let go and give him a good ride instead of being so tense.  It was a blast though!!!

Right before I corrected him... look at him using his butt and back!  I wish I hadn't messed that up!!!  Oh well, I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  It is what it is.  We will get there with more practice.  I'm just excited we finally did it!  As usual it was his idea and he was right.  We are ready!  Love that horse!

We also had our biggest spook yet.  Unfortunately it wasn't caught on video.  We were walking along on the buckle.  I had one hand in my pocket trying to warm it up.  A deer was bedded down right by the road, jumped up and ran off into the brush.  Chrome startled in place, then jumped sideways and then tried to take off (at a trot lol).  It was a scramble to get my hand out of my pocket and get my reins short, but he only went about two strides before he stopped (and wanted to turn and face it lol).  He's such a good boy.  I'm so glad he's sensible about his spooks.

I think that's all.. oh I did ride him down that big hill that I got off and walked down last time when I rode with the other girls.  He was totally fine.  Yep that's all.  Great ride!  I didn't even mind the cold since I was bundled up this time (I was not appropriately dressed on the Halloween ride!).  The headband around my ears made the biggest difference.  It fit pretty well under my helmet although it did make my chin strap feel tighter than normal.  I also had silk long johns on under my breeches.  I'll need warmer gloves (had on jerseys) if it gets colder.  Now I just need riding boots and half chaps and I'll be good to go.  :D