Double Time!

45 Minutes (20 min walk, 15 min trot, 10 min walk)
Rode Morgan - Solo
Distance: unknown, tracker lost connection

Reagan was completely unfazed by the saddling process

Morgan and I went for a 20 minute walk and then I hopped in the saddle and we played in the dunes.  There wasn't another soul to be found ... not a single jackrabbit, crow, horse rider, or quad was out and about.  It was a glorious bit of wandering with just the right amount of exercise.

Reagan's "Aren't I cute?" look

I have an app on my phone that tracks our ride, provides our average mph, total distance, and shows our path with a red line on the map.  I was so excited when we were done to see how much distance we had covered and what our map would look like.

Reagan just found out that cute doesn't get you treats

Only we must have lost internet connection somewhere in the dunes because it didn't save any of our progress. *sigh*  Oh well, we'll stay away from that set of dunes in the future.

15 Minutes
Rode Reagan - Solo

Her ears just crack me up ... here's her burro imitation

Morgan and I had left late morning, so there was plenty of sunshine left to try Reagan under saddle.  I initially was just going to try on the saddle for fit, make all the necessary adjustments, and then take her for a walk.

Little tufts of funny hair tucked between her funny ears

She was so placid about the whole situation, I decided to get in the saddle and let her walk around the yard for a few minutes.  She was clearly nervous about any pressure on her face (even with the cross under headstall) so I used my legs to cue a turn reinforced by laying the reins across her neck. 

After the first five minutes, she released the tension she was clearly holding and breathed out softly.  To stop, I asked out loud then sat deeper in the saddle.  Worked out great! 

A Day Filled With Surprises - Or, Rocket Fizz's Wardrobe Malfunctions and Spooktasticness

Sunday, November 30th  70 minute ride 
Rode with Bill and Wasabi

So, Bill woke me up this morning and told me the horses were saddled. Wait, what?  He'd woken up early and fed the horses then went out an hour and a half later to groom and tack the horses ... all without waking me up.  Now that's the kind of husband that deserves a trophy for awesomeness!

Surprise!  Two wonderful horses tacked up and waiting to go!  I've got one incredible husband :)

We came across a spot where Wasabi needed to step up about 8". She hesitated a second, but then thrust herself upwards.  When she launched, she farted. I couldn't help it, I started laughing and told Bill she had to use gas propulsion to get up the "embankment."  I started singing "Rocket Man" and Bill changed the words to rocket fizz.  Sadly for her, I think the nickname may stick because she was certainly gassy.

I think Wasabi was trying to say cheese too!

Shortly after that, Bill noticed his cinch was loose.  Perhaps she'd let out enough gas by then. HA!  Bill hopped off, tightened the cinch, and we were on our way again in no time.

Bill giving Wasabi a congratulatory rub ... she's a sucker for neck rubs

After half an hour later, I noticed Wasabi didn't have a curb strap.  I asked Bill about it, and he swore she had one on when we left.  Somehow she'd managed to get the curb strap in her mouth.  He hopped off for a second time, fixed the issue, and we were off again.

Remounting after wardrobe malfunction # 2

About ten minutes later we stopped to chat with a friend when I noticed Wasabi's headstall was only on over one ear. So, Bill hopped off, took off the headstall and was putting it back on when a loud braying from right behind us spooked both horses.  To Wasabi's credit, she stuck near Bill without her headstall on when it would have been easy for her to take off and leave him standing there.

For my part, I was really surprised Morgan spooked.  I can't ever remember her jumping sideways like that before.  She settled quickly and we were soon on the way home, though she did keep a wary eye on that burro for a while.

Morgan keeping an eye on that "wild" burro

We were meandering along creating our own path, when Morgan tucked her tail and shot forward a few steps. Wait, what?  She's never done that before.  Hmmm. Uncharacteristic behavior usually means one thing ... she's coming in to heat.

Two tired mares resting while they are untacked

A quick roll in the sand and they're ready to go for another ride! 

Maybe next weekend girls ... tomorrow is a work day

It was a fabulous morning ride! Filled with adventure, new nicknames, wardrobe malfunctions, and spooks ... all kinds of fun!