Saturday, January 23, 2010

My broken heart is on the mend

I had such an amazing fantastic ride today, and I realized about halfway through that I trust Dixie, finally. I don't miss Champ quite so much. I love my hot hardheaded spotted yak!

Stats: 7.24 mi in 1:45, 4.1 mph.

I wanted to do 10 miles, but didn't quite make it. If I really want 10 miles without dealing with traffic, I have to do two loops of the mines, and that's just so psychologically boring and daunting - head out, "finish" the ride back at the barn, then ride back out AGAIN. So I just wandered and explored and made the whole thing a little bigger.

We started off behind the pueblo house, then headed down the sandy trails toward the mines. Took a detour and cantered down the Road to Nowhere and it was absolutely wonderful. I wasn't nervous at all, and Dixie was incredibly responsive :D Then we worked our way all the way down the mine canyon - over snowy rocks, downhill - and I just gave her her head and she picked her way downhill like a very large mountain goat.

I think ~C will know exactly where we went next - I went exploring up a gravel jeep trail I'd noticed off to the west, and I ended up on top of a hill where I could see Pyramid Hwy and Alamosa Dr. I'm pretty sure it leads to the boarding stable on the other side of the hill - the gravel jeep trail had old rotten hay and horse manure spread in the low spots. Getting to the top of the hill was a steep climb, so we took a breather for a minute then headed back down. I kept a little contact, stayed very light on her back, and asked her to walk, and she was perfect.

Dixie really had no sense of self-preservation when I got her, and she's really gotten so surefooted since we came to Nevada. :D

Slogging back home out of the canyon was hard. Deep, soft, wet sand and a slight but neverending incline. I kept her pushing at a walk, and every now and then I'd ask for some speed. I think we cantered once more on the way out and racked a couple times.

6 comments:

  1. Trust is such a special thing and sometimes so difficult to develop. Good for you and Dixie!
    (p.s. I got on Kate for 10 minutes today--you'll see how much trust THAT took when I get it posted, and you see the shenanigans beforehand!)

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  2. Oh good fund! Sounds great, your bond with your mare.
    Nice ride too!
    KK

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  3. I'm so happy for you. I was able to watchthe video of minx on utube (only video I have) that was taken a few days before her death without crying today, which I guess means life goes on! And I've finally stopped feeling guilty about being so happy I'm down to one horse (time and money considerations). Here's to you and Dixie and many more happy years!

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  4. Funder (and Mel): it does get easier with time, doesn't it? We never stop missing them, though....I think of my old mare every single day, but I don't need to cry any more. It's been three years.

    I think it helps when the "other" horse is completely different. What do you think?

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  5. I am glad that you can trust your horse now. I'm sure that she feels this, even through you being more relaxed, creating a virtuous circle that both will benefit from.

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