Our trail to happiness !

Our trail to happiness !

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Nov. 20th .... a year ago today

It's exactly a year ago today, Kizz and I do our very first Trail ride.. a tiny short ride, but the first one and we got it done.. and it turned out to be a GREAT year for Kizz and I .. so amazing!!

What a bumpy ride it has been! But truth be told, it has been a treasure!! When I think back on how far we have come it is amazing to me!! My goal for this year was to just ride Kizz out on trails with another horse and survive!!  Not only did we do that , but we became confident enough to do trails alone!! We even got 53 ACTRA (Competitive ride miles )miles in the Club this year!! HOW exciting is that! I'm so super proud! : D

I can only imagine what we will accomplish next year!!! So here is to another year of the roller coaster ride of  our "Trail to Happiness " !!!!

Kizz and I Dec 2012 (our second ride out)



Nov 2, 2013 (happily riding bareback out in a field -Just riding him-walking through a field was a fear of mine!)



Nov 17, back to tough with Kizz lol

I finally get some warm winter riding boots, so excited to try them out.. Its busy around here getting prepared for winter and It's hard to get time to ride.. I'm sick on Saturday, but I plan to ride out as soon as my husband gets home on Sunday as I'm feeling better.. I wear my new boots around the house to break them in, they're awesome!!



I'm also super excited later, when I see these pics of me.. I can really tell I'm getting down in weight!! yahoooo!!! 



Robyn comes early and heads out, I tack up Kizz while waiting for my husband to get home... He waits in the wash rack all tacked up while Robyn & Bambi ride out, He IS NOT happy!! He whinnies and  yells for them. A bit later Chris arrives so I go mount up and head out. He is pretty hyper to go and we catch up to Robyn & Bambi fairly quick. We ride along together a bit, but it's apparent that both horses need to ride alone!! Kizz keeps bucking on me when I hold him back from rushing to catch up to Bambi if they get ahead of us any little bit!! Her mare keeps whinnying for Kizz too :(

We  decide to split up.. I head down to the mowed trail while she rides up on the ant hill road a bit. Both horses whinny back and forth and Kizz is at his worst!! The same as he was back on my "worst" ride where I walked home along the pave :(  He has himself in such a tizzy he is foamy with sweat :(

He whinnies and spins on me (luckily no bucking though) but we push on and get down to the logging road.. We trot all the way down the logging road to the clone road. Then we walk all along that to cool down a bit. We turn after a while (he is being good) and he picks up the pace coming back towards home. But I make him walk until we get to the logging road where we pick up a nice canter. I don't have to hold him back as he isn't rushing to bad and is a good boy. We slow down and trot a bit, then walk the rest of the way home. Coming down the access road he whinnies (getting replies from Bambi) and unlike usual lately when I get grumpy about it, he still keeps it up :( 

We make it home safe and sound though and I realize that as bad as he was, I wasn't nervous or scared. So in all it's a good ride I figure! We got through something I not long ago would have been scared of!!

we end up doing almost 7 miles :)





I decide from now on, I can't ride out with Robyn.. which is sad, we both have horses here.. both want to ride and usually end up going on the same day and cant' even ride together.. ugh how stupid!!

but it's for the best since when she takes her mare home  in the spring we can't ride out together anyway, and will just have more problems with our horses.. we will have great fun this summer meeting up on the trails though!! can't wait for warmer weather, late summer nights and lots of riding YEAH!

For now it's riding by myself in the cold to keep Kizz going a bit, and enjoying riding with my daughter over at the indoor.. it's looking to be a good winter! I've started back to winter boot camps and am feeling great!!!


My Daughter starts riding full time!

A little post about my Daughter Ava lee & her gelding Coby! We boarded Coby out at an indoor for the winter so that my daughter could spend the winter riding him. She really hopes to do trails next year on him!

Here he is settling in over at Dena's .. he's the horse on the left.. although it's hard to tell he looks so much like the appaloosa gelding (his new buddy) Wander!!





She's been riding some since she was 2 and more when she was 3, than she did this year, as I've been so busy with Kizz!! So I'm excited for her to get lots of riding in now! She's riding a few times a week, and her and Coby make such a good team! they're doing great!


first ride in the indoor


I had to buy her some new winter riding clothes.. me as well!! we never usually ride in the winter!!




here she is giving Coby a well deserved pat! 





She works on staying out along the rail, and whoa. So far. ! So excited to see how well they do over winter :) The lady that owns the barn is going to coach her some as well! should help, it's hard learning from "mom" I think!

Nov , 11 Holiday Ride... brrrr


   Robyn is excited to get out riding her mare so we plan to go out again on the holiday. It's freezing cold and snow on the ground now! But we tack up and head out. We ride down the driveway together and on the pave she does up the access road and I head straight. I go in the field and along the tree line. I get to the little rock wall that cross the tree line and wait for Robyn. Isn't long and I see her. We then both ride together through the mowed trail and take a right up to the ant hill road. We go down the pave (605) and then go in to the fields down to the RR. Her mare slips a bit as she's walking where Robyn doesn't want her to and she has a little moment of acting up but she's fine and continues on. We trot a little on the camp road and then again on the RR a bit. It's getting dark and cold so we just go up past the big ditch on the RR, up to the hydro line and then turn and head back. We are cold when we hit the pave again so we ride the rest of the way on the pave.

The horses were good! We probably did around 6-7 miles?

Kizz was completely dry when I un tack which is good because it's so cold out! (And with his winter coat In he sweats bad now!)

Happy with how things are going. I plan to ride out completely alone next time and do some work solo on the clone road then come back and meet Robyn and ride a bit with her. Hopefully Kaaren can meet up with us too!

Hope Kizz is good going out alone this next ride!


Nov 9, Sat., big changes for the winter!!


It's freezing cold out and dark early so no riding for me since last ride!

My friend brings her new horse Friday! She bought an off the track TB mare. She's a sweety! We plan to go for a ride the next day!

Saturday rolls around and a trailer picks up my gelding Coby to take to the boarding stables not far from me - that we are keeping him at for the winter so my daughter can get some coaching and use the indoor.

So Kizz isn't very happy with his buddy gone! He's yelling most of the day. And just when he's starting to settle a bit. A family comes and buys our mini mare's filly. So then the mare is yelling and Kizz is replying. What a day to choose to ride. It's also windy and cold! But Robyn is excited to ride her mare and I want to go too!




So I tack up and we head out! We don't get far (just started up the mowed trail when we meet Kaaren. We continue on down the mowed trail and hit the logging road.






When we get there I am sick of Kizz jigging so Kaaren suggests I trot on ahead. I trot all the way to the clone road with no hesitations !  We turn and head back and canter a bit.

When I first ask for the canter he rushes so I pull him back and he gives a buck but settles in to a nice canter and we go along all the way up to Kaaren and Robyn.  We slow nicely when we meet them and turn and walk along with them. He's not jiggy anymore thank goodness.

We ride to the Clone road and go right and out where it's hilly. Robyn's horse is super quiet and sweet! She rushed the mud a bit but other wise she's A1! She trots a bit to catch up to us and does great! We ride a ways and chat.





When we come to a hill (the exact place I cantered kizz for the first time!) She goes ahead and canters for the first time. They do great!! Kaaren and I trot side by side. Kizz is good! No racing.

We continue riding.




We each take a turn cantering (kizz and I trotted most of it) a big hill and I got a video of Kaaren & Robyn

Then we  head home walking.

Kaaren leaves us at the clone/logging road fork. Kizz acts a little strange he wants to go with Odin! Lol but we ride on home.

 It's a great ride. I'm so proud of Kizz and Robyn's new horse is wonderful!!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Nov 2nd unexpected!

It is raining and Kizz is muddy, but a friend comes to take pictures of Ava lee and her mini, so we get some of Kizz and I... and we go out back into the fields for it!! I RODE Kizz out there bareback!!!!

what an accomplishment for me! I wouldn't have did this even just a couple weeks ago!!! Sat on him bareback in an open field!! wow!!!

here's some of the great pics she got!!
sitting on Kizz debating riding him out to the back pasture for pics :P
this is us going up the Access road by my place..




annndd we made it!!



then it really started raining!!! lol







and a couple of my precious Ava lee with her Mini mare Dream



Thank you kendra hawkes for the beautiful pictures!!!








Halloween ride- out alone!

today's the day, I see how Kizz is able to handle the riding out alone after a few weeks of only going out with other horses!!  I tack up , head out...
He's great!!No yelling not even looking back. We head up the access road.. but the fields will tell me how he's going to be.. that is where he always acts up.

We get to the fields and trot on through them, Cross the rock wall, and walk through the next field. HE is A1!!! Doesn't make a sound or fuss!!!! AH!! SO happy!!!

We trot a bit through the wooded trail but walk very slowly down at the bottom of the mowed trail as its frozen mud and slippery a bit. We get through it fine without him rushing or upset at all!

We trot some on clone road, canter a bit but mostly walk , he's very settled! I find that when I post on his right lead, it's short striding bad like he does sometimes..






We meet a four wheeler and side by side.. He is perfect :)

When we meet Kaaren & Magic he steps it up a notch, and he no longer seems to be short striding on that front right. We continue on to pave... go down pave and cut in road that goes to RR
go along that and check out a little traiil off to the side to the hydro line while we chat.. The puddles are big and frozen along there and him crunching down through the ice doesn't bother him like I thought it would!

We turn and head back, hit pave..

She takes me up as far as the horse at blaneys , as I'm worried it will see us and starting crashing through the woods and yelling and have Kizz upset! I don't know how he'd react and on the pave isn't good!

Kizz seems happy to go on home, so I trot off... We even pick up a canter for a ways :)

A ways off we hear a whinny but he doesn't care, we keep going!!

trot some , wak some eat grass he''s excellent!
Almost home he see's Coby and when Coby whinnies, he does one, but other wise A1!!

I tie in wash rack to cool with his blanket and give him supper and snacks ...good boy!!!



I'm super super happy and  Sooooo gosh darn proud!!!





9 Miles

!





Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Oct 26, our group trail ride out from home!

I was super super nervous in the morning and couldn't eat! I was worried people weren't going to like our trails, or maybe slip in the mud at the bottom of the mowed trail , or get lost because we would get split up and the marking not be great.. But people started arriving early so I had no time to fret. Chris went up the access road and got the trailers parking and got a water barrel filled and taken up.  I got me some water containers filled with coolers for my ride to keep me warm ;) and went out to brush the horses..

It wasn't long and Amanda and B got here and Allie arrived (the lady riding Coby) We talked some and then got tacked up. We mounted close to 12 and head up to the trailers. Everyone was chilled and ready to go. (it's cold up on the hill!)


Kizz & Coby checking out the trailers and horses!

Kizz & Coby (picture taken by Carol Egers)

Allie on Coby, Myself on Kizz & Amanda on Bronwyn




We waited a little bit but Kaaren and Robyn arrived not long after.. Then we did a pre-ride and head out!

It wasn't long and we were the last 3 and only ones together.. hahaha Coby is so super slow.. he just walked quietly along.. A few spots we jogged and loped a few spots along the trail.. and had a great time. It wasn't long and I had a couple coolers done, so had to hop off and have a break ;)

Myself , Amanda & Bronwyn and Allie on Coby



We trotted some more and even at one point Amanda and B trotted on ahead of Kizz and I and I held him back and he was fine!

At one point along the short narrow trail between the Clone road (logging road) and the pave before Kaaren's (cross road) Amanda and B got a bit ahead of Kizz and I and he wanted to run and catch up (even though Coby was behind us) and he pitched a fit! He bucked and kicked but I yelled and turned him around and then he was ok. We continued on. but he did it 2x though! Little bugger!

When we did arrive at the part of the trails where we can see Kaaren's.. everyone was having their halfway break and waiting.. we didn't go in, so we continued on.. It was only a few minutes and the group caught up and flew by us again..  but later on we noticed we had a few people missing! Amanda went back while Allie & I waited on trail.. She finally found them as they were on their way back (they noticed they'd went the wrong way) our ribbons had turned from orange to yellow (and we forgot to point that out.. oops!)

When the group caught up to Allie and I , a few stopped and chatted. Someone was saying how Beautiful Kizz is :)  then the rest flew on by us.. haha We lost sight of them pretty soon.

Then in a bit, Amanda and B (along with a young girl on a paint horse) caught up. We all rode nicely along the RR together (at this point my cell died , so no more pics from me )

Later on along the trail someone mentioned the young girl on the paint horse was only 14! I was so surprised! I asked her how old her horse was and she said 4! and this was their FIRST TRAIL ride!!! I was soooo surprised!! they were like old pros!!! we all stuck a little closer to her after that! He refused a ditch crossing a little bit but as soon as Amanda and B crossed I said PUSH him on!! and he went right through! and then at the ditch to the camp road at Tim Blaneys, he crossed that no problem as well! What a SWEET little  horse! and lovely rider! Was so nice to have met them :)

We trotted a bit  up through the fields at Tims and I even got a video of Coby's "gallop" for Allie (slow slow lope lol)

We took a short cut and head down the pave and up the ant hill road , to get back around the same time (if not still way after) a lot of the other riders. No traffic came and we all did fine .


here's a picture of Kizz and I trotting home through the field Kaaren got :) Kizz is looking pretty proud of himself I think! 




We got back and Chris was BBQing! yum! All in all it was a GREAT ride!!! Kizz was good, Everyone said they loved the trails and had a great time!! 
We had 14 riders! Great turn out! So happy!! Now I'm super looking forward to our ride in June here!! I'm going to try very hard to have us ready for the 50 mile!!! It's my goal for 2014 to have us ready and Kizz and I ride our own ride for the first time!! (not ride with anyone)

Now I just have to get through my next ride out alone! 

The last 2 rides in the last 2 weeks I have rode out WITH a horse, I'm sure Kizz will give me a hard time the next few rides, so we are going to get them over with soon! I'm going out Thursday I hope!! meeting Kaaren on trail too! Wish me luck!!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Oct 19th riding out with Amanda!



      So it's calling for heavy rains Sunday, So we cancel the ride until Next Saturday! Amanda and I decide to go out on Sat since it's so nice out and she won't be able to do Sat ride here plus the group trail ride we plan to do Sunday next weekend. So she comes Saturday and we ride out. I tack up almost all before she arrives. I decide we might as well make the best of it and I get Chris to get us 4 coolers haha ! (I pour them into water bottles and hand her one when she tacks up )


We finish up and mount. We head down the driveway with Kizz looking at her mare the whole way.. haha he's in LOVE! A beautiful black mare! (we hadn't ever rode alone with a new horse before that he'd never met ! ) So this will be interesting to see how he does! I wonder how he'll react with her behind us.. will be be snaky and just keep looking?

We get out on the access road and walk along. Both horses are super good and quiet ! the fields are the same, Kizz gets strange at the rock wall crossing! I think the trail marking ribbon is wierding him out! haha!

But we go through first and she follows , we head to the trails and the horses walk along side by side well. We go single file through the muddy spots and Kizz is really good! he's not looking behind constantly! We go up to the ant hill road and then up to the camp with a view , cross over to the fields behind Merle Wallace's and go down and cross the road there straight across to the camp road. (Her horse doesn't have much road riding experience yet) We do fine! We walk and chat down through those fields and down through the camp road there are some new logging piles which Kizz looks at like it's going to eat him.. haha but he survives. Walking along makes for much  more stuff to SEE .. haha

We get to the ditch and Amanda says, she 's never crossed a ditch like this before with Bronwyn. The walk across it like it's nothing though! yay! then we go along up the RR, We get quite a ways and decide we are doing fine (her horse is fairly out of shape) but we are just walking most of it, and have time, so we do the WHOLE trail ride that was marked out for the group ride. We trot some on the RR (some with her ahead and some with me ahead ) and they both do great! Kizz encounters some new things on trail (a culvert stuck out that they have to REALLY step over and a new spot of running water they have to cross) and they both do awesome!!  We go through the really cute little trail that gets you to the logging road and I grab some pics!






The horses are doing great and we are having a great old time! I can't BELIEVE that after 6? days of no RIDING , Kizz isn't hyper trying to go ahead or Jigging the whole way, he walks along nicely!! even when we trot it's a quiet drag your feet kinda trot! Amazing after the race brain horse I had last ride!! HAHA!!

I can't explain enough how wonderful he was!! I NEVER imagined I would have SUCH a QUIET RELAXING ride on Kizz.. EVER! well  it was wonderful! A great experience!!

We talked on the logging road and I told her what I had experienced in the ACTRA club so far. How it works at the rides and such. She was asking me how I would normally do this trail , and I said probably the few times we had Trotted, would be the few times we would have WALKED. She asked if I would have cantered or galloped any, and I said probably a few times along the rail way if Kizz wanted. Also on a few little hills on the logging road I would have. I feel comfortable picking a spot to Canter and deciding where to end before I even pick it up.

When we came to a little knoll she said, if you wanted to canter we could try it.. So we trotted on ahead (I wasn't sure if he WOULD pick it up, he was so laid back and not wanting to leave his new Girlfriend!! haha)

But as soon as he heard Amanda and B trotting up quickly on us in behind he picked up his canter and we looked back and they were cantering too.  I looked back and Amanda had the biggest smile! I think she was outright laughing actually! We cantered the whole way to the top and then pulled back, Kizz was great , no race brain at ALL. FUN FUN!

We continued along walking and chatting , we laughed it up a lot. Fun times! (coolers were yummy too!)

We cantered up a hill once more and it went great we had a blast.. then continued on walking the rest of the way. When we got to the lower part of the mowed trail that is all muddy and sloped, we walked slowly and of course I lost a back boot! I got down and got it and tied it to my saddle. I got him next to a stump and remounted and that's when Amanda and I both pointed out I should have removed the other one.. haha

I got about halfway through the mud hole when She said I 'd lost the other.. I said , oh well, I'm coming back for it Tomorrow.. So we head on home. We walked on home. Through the rock wall Kizz was fine, we came out the other side and waiting for Amanda and B. When they came through , we continued on, Kizz spooked (I think at the ribbons on the trees there again lol) but then we continued on. The access road  he whinnied a quiet little half whinny but I told him No, and he didn't again. He was happy that he had a buddy anyway I think :)

We got home and my wonderful hubby was throwing on some burgers on the BBQ for us! YUM!

It was close to dark but hubby grabbed a few pics of us :)





We un-tacked.. Kizz wasn't even WARM! that was a first! lol not a wet spot under his saddle any. My boy is in good shape me thinks ;)

She loaded the beautiful B up and had a burger then left. What a great time we had!

thanks for coming Amanda, it was a great experience for Kizz .. and me too!! ((HUGS))









No riding all week :( but we get new boots and the scales are going down too!

It is getting dark so early it's hard to get out any during the week! I don't get out any during the week on either horse! :( but I do get Kizz's new back boots in the mail! We clean up and try them on. He doesn't mind them at all. So proud of him! (new things used to really blow his mind!)


I'm also down another 5 lbs!! I'm so happy!! All this happiness and riding has really been good for me! I start back to boot camp Monday too, so I can't wait to see how much better I can do! I'm down to 150lbs, from 178lbs! I really would like to get to 130lbs :) for my height of 5'1 that isn't asking much I don't think!





here's my handsome dude in his new back boots :) I trot him around the driveway and they seem to stay on well! But I know they will probably pull off in the mud. I need to get gators to add to them asap!







Oct 13, Ride with 2 horses.. RACE BRAIN :(



   So , its been a while since we've went out with 2 horses... but he's always been fine when Robyn and Kaaren rode Magic & Odin with Kizz , so I'm not concerned at all.. Well I have plans at 3pm so when they call to meet, I decide I'll hurry and meet them along the RR and then head home after riding with them along the RR a bit. So Kizz and I leave and go right straight down the 605 to the camp road and go down to the RR , We trot up along the RR and meet them around where the hydro line crosses the RR. He is hyper to see them. We pull in behind but he starts acting funny so I put him in between Magic & Odin, he's much better.. they decide to come up through my way so that works for me.. I can head home after we get to my turn off.  We go through the camp road and into the fields and they trot, well Kizz picks up a trot but wants to race and tries to canter, well I pull him back and he bucks and kicks up a fuss! I yell and pull him back. Kaaren slows and after we talk a bit, she tells Evan to go off again .. So Kizz and I can try again. Magic leaves Odin and I trotting (we trot too) and he just wants to race ahead. This happens a few times, then he finally trots beside odin being semi-ok. We get to the top of the fields to the 605 . We cross the road and let them eat grass there while we chat about how she dealt with Magic with race brain all his life. It gives me hope that at least I will survive it!! We continue on through the trails. We stop and talk to the property owner at the camp on the top of the hill with the great view. I grab some pics of the trail buddies :)





All 3 pretty chestnuts :)



 He isn't too bad other than I have to hold him back most of the ride. When we get down to the mowed trail they stop and I continue on home. He leaves them very well ! We trot down the mowed trail and walk across the fields.. He stops to eat in one of the fields and I'm SO impressed with this! I get off and let him munch a while. :) He does keep looking back looking for his buddies though but doesn't call for them or anything. What a GOOD boy!
looking back for his buddies while he munches




I loose track of time and get a call that Robyn is at my house waiting for me! So I mount up and we trot on home. He only whinnies ONCE in the access road right beside home. He is really good. HE isn't hot at all  so I un-tack and leave. I have a LOT to think about!! What will I do? How will I handle his RACE brain??? Is he going to be horrible on our group trail ride the next weekend ?? There will be 12-15 horses !!!




Oct 11, Fri- perfect ride alone! down the RR.. hyper hyper boy!







        Friday evening I decide to tack up and ride out alone... I hadn't been on Kizz since our Sunday ride last and he's probably going to be pretty hyper. I tack up and as soon as Chris gets home I hop on and head out. I tell him I am going to the logging road to trot some. I leave all the horses out and hope for the best. We leave and all horses are GREAT! No yelling and nothing. We don't go up the access road , rather I go down the pave farther and head up into the fields across from the diary farm and head through those to our mowed trail. For leaving and going out a completely new trail for Kizz, he is AWESOME! We trot the whole way. Once we come to the mowed trail we walk some where it's muddy. He is pretty hyper I can tell from the way he's hitting the ground with his feet!

We get to the hilly wet part of the mowed trail and I can tell something is down there.. Kizz keeps acting strange and doesn't want to go, I decide I best turn.. After I turn I can tell I was right, Something WAS down there because the whole way back out Kizz is snakey, turning and looking behind us. I know it's way too early to head back home -we only  just got out! and Kizz is very hyper still. So I call my hubby to tell him about our course change and head down towards the pave. We will go down to the RR. The whole way Kizz is perfect. He has lots of energy but he's being very good. We get down to the RR and trot along it. I am a bit nervous as it's late in the evening and it gets dark so quick! So I don't know how far we will go.. I decide to go until he calms and settles some. We trot and even canter some along the RR. We make it to the pave in MILLVILLE!!! wow! I'm so happy I get a pic!






He bites some grass by the road and then we turn and head back. We trot and canter some. He is A1, Still hyper though! We turn off at our ditch and head up the Camp road . Halfway up it I hear the tractor! When we get to the tractor and the property owner he turns it off and we chat some. Kizz is pretty good! He wants to GO but he stands fairly well. When we do head off we trot up the Camp road and I let him canter up a hill a  bit. He lets out a couple little bucks so I pull him back to trotting.

We trot the rest of the way home! He is Still hyper coming home and we did 9? almost 10 Miles!? ALONE





What a guy. I untack and lead him around letting him eat grass (after his supper) and dry him out a bit before putting him away. What a GREAT ride, I'm SO SO proud of us!!!!!! He was great!!! AH! love this!!!!!!!




Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Oct 6th - Is this the end of our trail?? or the beginning?

I feel like this is the end! maybe not the end of our journey as we have a long life of trail riding ahead of us Kizz and I, but I feel like this is the end of our "trail to happiness!" I feel we've made it!!!

The last few rides have made me (and I think him! seeing as how we are going alone and he is happy, forward moving and not giving me a hard time to leave!) feel like we are THERE.. the happy spot!! I'm not as reluctant to go out and tack up, I'm nowhere near half as nervous.. I'm so proud of what we have accomplished in just a few months really!!   We have so many years of fun ahead of us! Guess this is really the Beginning! 

let me tell you about this ride...

I am meeting Kaaren on trail.. She's leaving in about 20-30 minutes she says, so I go tack up and head out, I know since I am taking the logging road to meet her, I have about an hour ride before I get to her turn off, so I have lots of time! So we head out. Kizz is slower and relaxed today.. FIRST TIME EVER when we have been alone! We take the same trail as Friday evening down onto the logging road. We trot some and walk most of it, he's very laid back! We have our bear bell on its jingling away merrily.. I'm SO SO happy I can't tell you enough !  We go almost to Kaaren's trail when we meet up with her and Odin. Kizz's ears perk up and he's excited to see them! When we continue on our way I see Kizz DOES have energy.. Energy to keep up (and pass ) Odin.. he has most definitely caught the BUG of competitive riding haha !

We go out of the logging road and down the 605 and back onto some trails that lead to the RR. We walk most of that, its beautiful!! We even stop and grab some apples from a tree and have a munch with the horses on them.. yum!

I am supposed to be home in like 30 minutes so we pick it up a notch! We trot and canter down the RR. Kizz keeps wanting to go in front but I keep him back. At one point later down the trail we are cantering in front and Odin's head and neck appear at our side in his vision and he TAKES off like a "bat outta hell" lol
I pull him back after a bit (after Odin has been slowed down) and he slows down.. what a bugger! Kaaren looks at me and says... bet ya didn't know he had another gear did ya!? hahah I said, yeah I've seen it in the field I just wasn't expecting to RIDE it! haha!! she and I decide at the Ditch on the RR to separate.. I continue on and once I get to my ditch to get off the RR and onto the camp road I see Odin and Kaaren cantering up to us! I guess Odin hadn't wanted to leave us! haha! so she and I go along up the camp road together.. We decide to split up in the big fields (eeeeek!!) but I don't want to do it on the pave in case kizz acts up.. I just ask him to trot all the way up to the 605 (he slows and asks to stop but he never stops on me or whinnies) I'm SO SO SO proud!!! I can't believe it really!!

We trot on home along the pave! I cool him out and run my tack in and then get ready to leave!
I forget to turn off my GPS when we leave so it's not accurate, but I love the loop we did, and how it shows RED where we cantered and Green where we walked and yellow would be trotting :) we probably did around 11 miles.




look at the ears up on trail! this is the logging road when we were all alone at first


When I get home we let our new boarder "Kit" out for the first time (she came that morning) and Kizz is super excited to meet her! :) (She is actually out of our old mare Katra that lived with Kizz and Coby from when Kizz & she were yearlings until 4)