Channeling Borat...

GREAT SUCCESS!

Not only did we have an amazing ride today (yes, she was a little quick, yes, she was a little feisty, but hey, that's OK, once I got her brain she was a superstar) but we went on our FIRST REAL TRAIL RIDE EVER. Alex accompanied us on foot; he's never really ridden a horse before and I don't have one for him to ride, but he was a sport and was happy to get out of the apartment and go for a walk in the woods.

SHE WAS SO FREAKING AWESOME. I am on Cloud 9, and have been since we got back. She didn't ever get upset, she didn't get fast (I call it the mall walk: when we go out on trails or down the road, she walks like those ladies you see in the shopping malls, on a mission in their running shoes and workout gear...) and she took everything in stride like a true champ. The trail we went on was part of the old stagecoach road which connects several different towns and runs a total of over 100 miles. We took the first baby step and did a 2ish mild round trip. It was almost all hill, either up or down. Alex and I giggled for a bit because you could hear her grunting as she was working to navigate the hill, which I'm sure was hard work for her. At only a couple points did I have Alex take the rein and guide her: she would stop and look but never look scared. We passed an old, rusted out pick-up which she perked up at and started to back away from, but after watching Alex investigate it she was willing to walk up and check it out.

Once we got to the end, we had a couple canine visitors from the house just ahead. Once again Stella proved her awesomeness by completely ignoring them, on ocassion turning an eye to watch them wander behind her. One of them, a very cute and super-friendly herder mix, followed us all the way back to the farm. We drove her back to her owner, who was out looking for her.

She was very happy to share Alex's lap on the ride back to her house. I put her in the back of my SUV at first and as soon as we got in she hopped over the back seat and onto the center console. What a sweetheart she was.

Overall, a very good day. I learned something I already knew but didn't want to admit, too. My tension = bad news bears with this mare. I was relaxed and happy today, and so she was too. It's a pretty obvious thing, you'd think, and I knew it before, but nobody really wants to admit that horses are way more gifted at picking up on emotions than we are. You can't hide anything from them.

Mom made me canter. Now I iz tired.

Lastly, and on a totally unrelated note, the biggest downside to cooler weather is layering. I had a tank top underneath the shirt in the above picture, which apparently completely rolled on me and made me look like I have more rolls than the muffin man. So much for being athletic and in shape :) Faux-saggy boobs are always a plus, too...