Better with Mira

At 6:45 AM the last thing I wanted to do was ride, but I had a date with Ani and I try not to cancel. 4.5 hours later, we're done, both soaked completely.

It poured rain on us the first hour of our ride, and then off and on.

I knew what I had to do - I had to recreate yesterday's experience and see if it would help Mag to have another horse there.

Replicating yesterday, I tried to teach Ani how to use a compass, map, and find the hide, this time from her horse's back. I had Mag on the lead line and put him into the brush again. Of course he's fine from the ground. What I didn't plan on: MIRA did not feel like hanging out there either! As poor Ani tried to use her compass and steer her horse one-handed, Mira got annoyed and tried to walk back to the trail. Ani got frustrated and tried to get her back into the trees.

At that point I told myself, "If Ani cannot find this thing successfully today, screw it, I won't even try to introduce the sport here. " (Back home a new rider would always be teamed up with an experienced rider - otherwise the sport would have no new members. It's just that hard.)

Ani was great with the compass, and seemed to have a spatial sense that Katja does not have. She had no trouble zooming in on the goal, but her horse did not appreciate it.

Ani started to get emotional, "I can't do this! I can't steer with one hand, and my horse is freaking out!"

I scoffed (rudely, probably): This is NOT freaking out! Yesterday was the freak out! For old reliable Mira, simply not wishing to stand still feels like "freaking out."

I got on Mag and just kept him in that brush. He was much better unless Mira started to wander off. Eventually Ani jumped off Mira so she wouldn't have to ride one-handed (who knew that would be an issue? Had I forgotten that?)

Then Ani found the hide. Thank God! I praised her, "I knew you could do it!" But I could see she was pondering how difficult it was - maybe not fun at all?

Then Mag started to toss his head and bite his reins and I said, "Can you hold Mira still please?" and as soon as Mira stood still, Mag realized that he didn't need to leave the area NOW so he settled down, and I jumped off, and started talking to him again. It was a long morning of silence before that point.

Then we wandered through the woods, the horses happily back on trail and moving in a straight line again.

I didn't want to go home so despite being on foot, I followed Ani all the way back to her barn, an hour away.

I learned a soaking wet scarf doesn't keep you warm.

After Mira got her mash (TWO buckets full, that's more than Mag gets!) we left her there eating and Ani put the two empty buckets on the handlebars of her bicycle and we walked back to our side of town, another hour's walk for me.

The bike was fun for Mag because Mag's never been up close to a bike before. He wouldn't take his nose off of it, the entire time, he had his nose in the back basket, and every so often he's try to grab the basket to see if it's removable (lol) and it was so adorable. Cars were whizzing by - it's all streets on the way home - and he had the most blissed out look on his face, "Bike basket!"

When we parted ways Ani got on her bike and I said, "Oh, I wanna show Mag you riding off!" so she did, and of course, I ran after her so he could trot next to the bike. How fun! Then I said Tschuess and finally went home. My legs were starting to hurt so almost home, I stopped, pointed to grass and said, "Eat." I guess 4.5 hours is a long time to go with no food, even though he wasn't working. He was ravenous.

Now he's in the stall eating hay with a cooler on, drying out, and I'm finally dry too, it feels wonderful. All my wet things are hanging on radiators all over the living room.

I was so discouraged last night because I couldn't think of a strategy. But now I know another horse helps (even if that horse is "freaking out" (not holding still) too). Interesting to me that neither horse wanted to be in the woods, they both were straining for proper trail underfoot. So I'll spend more time off trail in general, even if it's not standing or circling.