Trailriding with Kendall!

Great day! I slept in, the weather was gorgeous, and I had Kendall to myself all day. To top it all off, when I asked Kendall if she wanted to ride, she smiled and gave me an emphatic YES! Ohhhhh, going to be a great day.

After putting air in my truck tires (ugh!), I loaded up the mares and down the road we went. It was 'girl's day out' all the way around. April rainstorms were on the way, but the sky was blue and the weather man said rain wouldn't start until 6pm. We left the house about 12:30. Plenty of time, right?

Things were going just great. Well, Z was a little nutty and lacking in confidence. She really wanted to go back to the trailer. With Rain leading and us moving at a walk, I was surprised that she was so tense. She stopped many times and I waited with her. When she'd give a good exhale or look back at me, I'd ask her forward again. She would move willingly again. I tried so hard to be super patient with her. Kendall was even more patient with both of us.

However, now I'm wondering if she was looking for more leadership from me. If she maybe needed me to take charge instead of waiting. If I think about it, she was acting more like a RBE, wanting go home and fast. I probably would have had better luck taking complete and total charge of her feet. I have to give that a try next time and see what I get. She's just worried on the trail and I think I need to try some different tactics.

I actually got off and walked a bit of it because she was really getting extroverted as we turned to go home and I just can't have a misbehaving horse when my little girl is with me. Having Kendall with me puts me a little on edge - not like riding with a grown-up. I'll be working on getting Z more comfortable with the trail... the time she's had off is just no good. It doesn't help her at all.

The storm started to move in, the wind picked up and it started to drizzle. We hurried back, loaded up and went on our way. Kendall and I had a great time together and I'm so glad we got to do it. We talked about some horse camping, too. I'll try to take her very soon.

Kids and Horses!