Ring work and a trail ride

We tested out the new ring yesterday. Harley and Rolex got a small taste of it before we headed for the woods. He who shall not be named, once again gave me a hard time about circling to the right at the far end--Noooo!, Rolex is down at the other end! And I have to say, he can really be pig-headed with the bitless bridle. It called for some rather drastic measures before I got Harley to relinquish and bend a bit to the right. Once he did that, it was off to the woods!

Tatnic Woods trail

The mosquitoes bothered us a bit if we stood still too long. I've tried using Clac-Deo a rather potent smelling bug dope, but one that doesn't use harmful chemicals. It works quite well, although it does leave a greasy residue. I guess it's time to dig out the fly mask. I'd be curious to know what other riders prefer--full face mask (which does make their faces sweaty), or just the crocheted ear bonnet with fringe.

We rode out via the power line, complete with 2 steep scrambles uphill and Big Bump (our version of the Tevis Cup Cougar Rock), then out the Lollipop Loop towards Tatnic. We crossed a lovely mowed field that a gentleman kindly lets us access, thinking we might have a nice canter or trot. Harley tried to just to go straight to the woods while Rolex cantered nicely along the edge. Once back on the trail, he encountered the dastardly wood piles which he's seen before, but always give him pause.

We rode past the world's loudest lawn mower (I thought the owners must be power washing their house!) which made Harley prance sideways. and then encountered the tallest wisteria I'd ever seen. It's a lovely ornamental vine, but in this case, it's eventually going to choke the white pine it's climbing. We had to take pictures at any rate, but unfortunately, the color got washed out in the bright sunshine.

Tallest wisteria in Wells, Maine!

I left John back at the barn, brushing Ruffy , and went out to get carrots (high in electrolytes) and drinks. I was parched from the heat, as I guessed John was too, and our brave ponies deserved some carrot treats. I feel guilty if I'm empty handed at the barn! I got back just as John was tacking up Ruffy. Time for a quick lunch, and snack for Ruffy, then off to our new ring! She took a gander at all that dirt and thought she was back at the track! All the jump equipment was stacked along the edge, and that was super-scary. But she settled down as John worked her. Ruffy is still learning that things aren't so bad and that she actually can just walk over rails. She made good progress today.

John schooling Ruffy

A new ring in the making

Dad and John attaching the plow

How did I spend my spring vacation? Rock-picking, shoveling stone dust, painting, mowing the lawn, oh, and riding nearly every day!

With the beautiful weather still holding, we called my dad to come help us reconstruct the old ring. It's been years since the ring was in use, and Pete put a garden in it one year. So now it's full of uneven patches and old furrows. John wanted to start from scratch and begin anew so we'd have a flatter and larger area.

Dad arrived at 8:30 this morning. We spent the entire day plowing, discing, scraping, and rock-picking (that was my job). By 4:00 p.m., we had a relatively flat, even surface. The job required moving a fair amount of material from one end of the ring to the other in order to make for even footing. This also exposed a stretch of clay that will now need some sand mixed in to soften the footing. We gained a lot of extra square footage which will be nice. Now we need to come up with some sort of a drag in addition to fencing. For now, I'd settle for something at least at the barn end of the ring so he who shall not be named, doesn't try to beat it for home when he's left alone in the ring! He can be so bad when one horse leaves--same thing on the trail, Don't leave me behind! 

Thankfully, John has experience with rings and footing. Together with my father's tractor and Pete's big bucket loader tractor, we ended up with a pretty decent surface. Once the sun was high in the sky, we all got nicely toasted and by day's end, I didn't even have the energy to ride. All Harley got was a quick grooming in the pasture and some ticks removed. Tomorrow we'll go for a nice long ride, after we show them the ring. That should get a jump out of Harley!

Dad putting the old 1956 Ford Jubilee through its paces!

Yesterday, we took Rolex and Harley on a short trail ride on the Lollipop Loop, hoping to find the dropped crop John lost a few days ago. So much for bright red standing out! Unless a hiker found it and did what with it? Hmm...

So many spring wildflowers are blooming, I ooh and ahh  at every turn. I had to dismount and take a picture of this lovely ladyslipper that some person built a little stone wall around. I thought it was so cute--a mini woodland garden!

Pink Ladyslipper

Dodging the rain

The rain stopped for a few hours yesterday. So John graciously gave up riding Nina to give Harley and me a lesson. We got out the lunge line to work out the kinks in both of us. I haven't had a lesson like that in ages, and it really helped getting back to the basics. Harley and I need some solid foundation work, and since the weather was being unpredictable, the timing was right! I know what I need to work on, and Harley behaved like a good school horse for me. Our next ride will be on the trails though--I don't want to bore him with ring work.

I thanked him for letting me plod in circles on him, gave him hugs and carrots, then turned him back out with his pals. Thanks for being a good boy, Harley! I sound like some gooey 13 year old, but then, I've wanted a horse since I was a kid. And now that John has made a dream come true, I relish every moment I have going gaga over Harley. I think John gets a chuckle out of it as well!