Another Sunday bike and ride

Harley tricked out for trail riding.

John and I saddled up for another Sunday bike and ride--he on the bike, me on Harley. John, armed with a saw, cleared out some winter blow downs (and made a few jumps), making the trail up to Orris Falls a bit better. I showed him the loop up into the Tatnic Woods, through the Nature Trail land, and home. A nice breeze kept the black flies to a minimum, but the ticks were voracious! I stopped and dismounted (Harley was being fidgety), waiting for John to catch up, and picked ticks off us. The nasty little varmints clung to our legs, heading for juicy territory.

Harley was having one of those, "Yikes, it's a boulder" kind of days. The irony is that the Tatnic region is full of giant granite glacial erratics. For an awesome picture of the biggest in the area, check out this link: Balancing Rock

 With John out front on the bike, we noodled down Emery's Bridge and Tufts roads to Three Maples Farm, where we have permission to cross the property and access Tatnic Woods. Harley nearly dumped me when he spooked at an old screen door against the stone wall. Close one, but I stayed on.

Once we hit pavement again, John detoured home on the road while Harley and I cut through the woods. It was worth the ride--a nice canter, some nice trots, and just as we reached home, a sharp-shinned hawk swooped near our heads as it veered back into a tree. Two days ago, I saw a red-tailed hawk, and last week, a broad-winged. I've got a new hobby--birding by horseback.

Harley goes on a picnic ride

Today's weather was perfect; light winds, cool, and sunny. Our Sunday adventure was a picnic ride with me aboard Harley and John on his mountain bike. This also offered us an opportunity to clear out some branches and establish the route in my head so I can ride it alone.
So with John equipped with a hand saw, and Harley with saddlebags, we set out through the woods. Once past the clear cut and across the stream, the trail's marvelous footing allowed for nice trotting almost the entire way until it ended at an abandoned farm. We rode past the house and up into the woods where the Jepson family cemetery offered a perfect picnic spot. We unbridled Harley and let him graze, although he was a bit agitated and kept looking back towards home. John had packed sandwiches in the saddlebags and while I munched, he walked Harley around--John saved his sandwich for later. We continued up Jepson Rd., a lightly used dirt lane, until we came to a fork. At this point, unsure where to go, Harley headed off down a faint pathway that came to an abrupt end. All the stopping, waiting, standing--not Harley's strong points, got him anxious and he began grinding his teeth. Once we turned around, he jogged nearly all the way back to the farmhouse. As John picked up speed, Harley decided to give chase, until--YIKES, a snowmobile under a tarp! He shied sideways, nearly losing me. Back in the woods, we speed-walked and trotted until we reached the tarmac. As always, Harley was happy to be home with his gang. It was a great ride, but we need to find a route that allows us to make a loop from the old farmhouse. The ever-intrepid John will explore further tomorrow! And next time, I'll bring my camera.

One Year Anniversary

Today is our one year anniversary of owning Harley. I know I'm being silly about this, but after longing for a horse my entire life, and then having my wish realized, I savor every moment I spend with Harley. Whether it's riding, or just picking ticks off of his body (they are horrible this spring!), I'd rather spend my my free time hanging out at the barn, just messing around, than anything else. Shoveling manure beats housecleaning chores any day. I think Callie Lou enjoys her time out there as well. To her, it's an extension of her home, and like us, Harley is now part of her pack.
Maybe I'll splurge on a gift for us--a halter nameplate with his registered name: Halawa Moon.

Porkies in the pasture, oh my!

Photo by Gary Beck

Poor Harley, like his stablemate Chey, met up with a porcupine some time yesterday morning. Last week Chey's curiosity got the better of her--yesterday it was Harley's turn. I approached him with carrots and once he sniffed my hand, he threw back his head like it was poison. That's when I noticed the spikes protruding from his chin! We couldn't safely halter him, so we used the lead rope around his head and neck and brought him into the barn. Wielding a pair of forceps, John calmly began plucking them out, while I held and stroked poor Harley. This proved to be quite difficult as he tossed his head up each time John got near his chin. Even with a towel over his eyes, he still threw his head around. After getting all but one out, we took a break and let Harley relax. I held his head, stroking his cheek, murmuring in his ear, until his eyes lost that wild look and he calmed.  I motioned to John to give me the forceps. I snaked in, out of his range of vision, and plucked the last one free. Harley still didn't trust me with carrots, so we led him out back to graze on some fresh grass.

Since he appeared to have no swelling and was happily eating carrots a half hour later, I decided to take him on an adventure. I'd tried to find John's mystery trail once, and failed. This time, thinking I knew where I'd erred, I beat around in the hemlocks,  but still without success. Harley willingly turned around, retracing his steps twice, without fussing until I gave up and said, "Let's find someplace else to go!" We explored a new trail that circled back onto a known route, hearing a barred owl in the forest, and then rode another loop so I could get in a little hop over the downed log. He was stellar! Harley had a new first on that ride too--he took a drink of water on the trail! He's discovered that water isn't dangerous, and sometimes, it just might be refreshing. Good boy, Harley. You're well on your way to being our super trail horse!

What's that noise?

I got off work early yesterday and zipped out to the barn for a ride. Of course, Harley was caked with mud, probably trying to protect himself from those annoying little flies that showed up with the warm afternoon sun. We were finally tacked up and ready to go by 6 p.m.

As we approached the Orris Falls trail head, I saw a man let his setter out and head up the trail. I couldn't tell if the dog or the owner was emitting a weird whistle sound, but it halted Harley right in his tracks. So I called out, "Is that a training whistle", really just to get the man's attention so he'd see I was on horseback. He told me it was some device for hearing his dog's range (???), but thankfully he stopped, asking, "Is the horse afraid of dogs?"  I replied, "Oh, he's used to dogs, but the whistle sound is spooking him." We got past the pair, picked up a quick trot, and got the heck out of there.

Next came the ever present, ever scary, dreaded trail junction. This time, he tried twice to veer away from the water. One smack settled that! Thankfully, he never saw the duck that flew up out of the brook on the far side of the foot bridge! That would have set us back. I think he's creating a pattern here, so next time, I might try a different approach, avoiding that intersection. I think the dog whistle set the tone for "spookiness" on the ride. He was more than happy to turn back once we reached the hilltop, back to the safety of his gang. Now, if I could just get him to think about height and width when going under low branches and between trees!

Today is a day off--40 degrees and rain. After breakfast, everyone snoozed in their stalls except Harley. He's keeping an eye on the 6 turkeys down in the pasture. I saw one ruff up his feathers for a hen, that fearsome inflatable bird! Harley is tucked away with a pile of hay in ankle deep shavings, peering out the window...just in case.

Harley meets Mr. Tom

Photo by Teddy Llovet

Harley met an interesting fellow yesterday. Curious, he approached a male turkey,  who being in an amorous state, displayed his feathers and sent Harley fleeing to the far side of the pasture. Unfortunately, I missed this entire episode. Poor Harley, now it's turkeys AND ducks that are after him.

Oh the wind and rain...

I took Harley out for an hour and a half on Sunday--our longest ride yet this spring. We attempted to retrace John's steps from the ill-fated ride when they were lost out by Route 9. Unfortunately, I missed a turnoff (the trail appeared to be a brook bed in places) and we came to a halt, our noses stuck in the hemlocks. Rather than bashing through the underbrush, I opted for another loop out to Cheney Woods Rd. Harley tried to pull an "I can't go there!" whirl, but we worked it out and had a nice long ride with lots of water crossings (one that paralleled a flooded stream), some nice trots and canters, and a little jump as well. I even had a first--taking photos from the saddle, through Harley's ears. Leaves swirled in the wind, branches clacked overhead, and those dang ducks flew up out of every vernal pool. It was enough to give Harley a minor coronary, until he realized nothing attacked him after all. What a silly boy!

Yesterday, I decided to mix things up for Harley and head the other direction, down to Orris Falls and maybe up to Emery's Bridge Rd. First, I had to get him away from the barn--I thought we were over that! A light smack with the crop and he willingly walked on. The brook roared with water, and he tried spinning away for home once, then relented and stepped forward. He's made great strides in dealing with water. The loop idea failed when we came to a downed tree (about 4 feet off the ground--not jump-able) we couldn't get around. This meant returning the same way--down some tricky, muddy, steeps spots. Harley pulled his nose forward, asking for more rein as if saying, "Trust me, I'll get us down this", which he did, beautifully. Just to prove he isn't really as spooked as he likes to make us think, he dragged an oak branch, caught up in his tail, without a twitch, for about 20 yards before it released itself. Hah! I knew it, you're not as scared as you seem!  The ride ended with a nice little hop over a downed tree with a collected canter away--until we got to the barn. There was John, setting up cross-rails. In Harley's mind, this ride was over! But John made me take him over once--much to Harley's displeasure--he was so done! It wasn't pretty, but he did it and got a "good boy" pat for his efforts, even if he did think about zig-zagging me off (the little devil)!

Lost on a trail in Maine

John, Callie, and I started today with an 8 a.m. road trip to Dover Saddlery's annual tent sale--oooeee! Too much good stuff and not enough money. We controlled ourselves, and were back home by noon. Then we had to go try our new stuff on Harley.
The sun was shining and the wind blowing, just enough to keep things chilly (I hauled my fleece breeches back out), and the woods beckoned. Harley hopped around, snorting at all sorts of "spooky" things. John rode him out, telling me to meet him at Cheney Woods Rd. where we'd swap riders and I'd ride home. After 45 minutes of waiting, during which I hauled a log out to make a little jump, read the Chronicle, and walked around with dog, I decided to scratch a message in the dirt for John (J. went to N P). I drove back to North Point--no sign of him there, drove back up the road and peered down the turnoff. There he was, waving his arms at me and laughing. He'd taken a wrong turn and wound up a few miles away (as the crow flies).
I hopped aboard Harley for the ride home, complete with a couple of nice trots, a little jump, & a canter. We took a side trail that added an extra loop before heading back out to the road. That's when things got gnarly for Harley. He spooked at blowing leaves, 2 cars passing eachother, and the dogs running behind the barn. He was definitely have a Thoroughbred moment, or two, or three. All I can do is laugh at him when he's like that and know that he's feeling good. Not such a brave boy today, but more like a prankster.

Trotting through the woods

John trotting down the trail

Fun in the sun

Sunny Sunday morning, ready to get tacked up!