Puck doesn't seem to like learning in the riding ring. He apparently has the same distaste as I do for ring work. So I've decided to spend his training time on the trail. He's not a "mudder" and balks when we get to mud. But unfortunately for him, it's mud season in Maine right now so I am giving him no choice but to walk through it. He's getting braver about it everyday. My older horse, Gulliver, has become my assisitant trainer. I usually have a friend ride him to keep us company. Puck's brave and wants the lead until he sees mud, then the brakes go on. Gully just reaches down and bites Puck on the rear end to get him going.
We've also had a few solo rides. I rode him alone to the end of our point where he saw a great blue heron fly right in front of him. He never saw "big bird" before and was very impressed. His head couldn't get much higher. But then the heron squawked. If you've ever heard that noise, you'll never forget it. It's loud and distinctive. Puck thought we better trot home after hearing that noise!
I trailered him away from home on his first official trail ride with a friend's calm mare. My friend took a couple of photos to record the event. He stood at the trailer to be tacked up and mounted like he'd been doing it all of his life. We've been practicing at home. He "self-loaded" into the trailer at her barn despite her chickens flying into the trailer. He was a brave boy. We have been working hard on trailer loading at home the past few months and it paid off. He trotted up to the river to see the waves. Most young horses trot
away from waves, so that was good.
He needs practice trotting. He's unbalanced so it's either too fast or too slow. That's our next goal, a consistant trotting gait on the trail....to be continued..........
