Camping at Washoe Lake, Part 2

On day two of our camping trip, the group decided to head for the arena first to help some of the horses who had struggled the day before. As soon as I got on, I knew I had quite a different horse to ride. A much more grounded horse with significantly less life in his feet. I was also aware that I was different. On Friday night, I was really geared up and dialed in for an intense ride, which manifested as the very strong focus and steady patience than resulted in a success. On Saturday, I could tell I was tired, more mentally than physically. So it was fortuitous that Finn’s state of mind was less demanding of me!

I kept our work in the arena to a minimum, but one notable success was Finn’s excellent handling of a couple loose-horse instances. In both cases, Finn observed the horse running around the arena with interest, but minimal concern. We even drove one of the horses away without a problem. It’s was good to feel like Finn understood that the antics of those horses was not his problem.

Surveying the action.

I took the first opportunity to head out on the trail, when two other riders headed for the beach. Finn perked up a bit on the trail, in a good way! I didn’t feel like he was concerned; I felt like he was eager. That’s a great feeling. He didn’t put a foot wrong all the way to the beach. Once there, I rode on the beach for a few minutes, then decided to ride back to the arena. I wanted to capitalize on the uncommon opportunity to practice being our own herd of two while riding with a group!

Finn did excellent. He was a little hesitant about leaving the beach, but he was willing and was soon won over to my idea. Conveniently, another part of our group was headed for the beach by then, so I was able to practice passing another group of horses on the trail. Finn certainly felt the draw of the other horses, but he stuck with me and soon got his mind back on our agenda.

We trotted part of the way back to the arena, and Finn felt wonderful, maintaining a lovely, relaxed tempo. Two of our group were still in the arena, so we rode around there for a few minutes before turning around and heading back for the beach. Fortuitously, two other riders were headed back towards their trailer, so we got to practice passing horses on the trail AGAIN! So good for Finn!

When we returned to the beach, the rest of our group was still there, so I settled into something I’d been wanting to work on, which was long, straight trots down the beach. We chose a trail where the sand is pretty deep and practiced going away from the group and back. Surprisingly, going back towards the group he felt wonderful -- perfect rhythm and very relaxed. Going away was definitely more of a struggle, as he was much more impulsive and tense. Repetition and quality one-rein stops served us well, and I eventually quit on exactly what I wanted. Finn trotting a straight line away from the group, maintaining an even and energetic tempo, and beginning to stretch across his top line and really relax into the idea. Utter bliss!

After that, I meandered down the beach with three others from our group, practicing changing positions in the group… passing a horse who had stopped, not being drawn ahead by a horse who passed us, etc. Finn was really feeling good by that point, so I was able to really relax and just enjoy the ride.

One last big moment of our ride was when we paused in a meadow on our way back towards the campground. Everyone wanted to ride around a bit, so we worked a little more on our straight-line trotting, maintaining an even rhythm both towards and away from the other horses. That went super, and I got the feeling it was a perfect moment to gallop Finn out a bit. The other riders we were with were kind enough to wait a few minutes while I got good gallops in on both leads. I asked more of Finn than I ever have before, and I think just enough to stretch both of our comfort zones. To be honest, I had a tiny moment of tiny panic, but of course Finn came right back when I picked up on my inside rein and turned him in a large loop. Came right back right to the halt and stood happily on a loose rein, then turned and headed back to the group without an ounce of concern. We tested a flat-footed walk, a relaxed jog, and a rocking horse canter, all on a loose rein headed right towards the other horses. And when I asked, he stopped from the canter without me even picking up my reins. Again, utter bliss!

After that, we walked back to the trailers and were done for the day. I was so pleased with the ride on many levels, but especially for Finn to have the experience of other horses coming and going, riding all around, taking different trails, and ultimately knowing he could just stay with me. That is such a challenge for horses, considering their instinctive desire to be with the herd, and it’s not that often one gets to practice getting a horse more flexible in that regard.

One last highlight for me was Finn’s trailer loading on the way home. As I mentioned yesterday, Finn was a little unsure of the unfamiliar trailer and horse that came to pick us up. When I loaded him to Saturday afternoon though, I got the strong feeling that he 100% understood that that trailer was his ride home. He loaded perfectly, and stood patiently with no thought of backing out while I tied him and closed the partition. It may seem like I making too much of this, but I just LOVE that feeling I get when my horse really gets it… when I feel like he understands and is totally ok with his life, even though it involves things that don’t come naturally to him, like climbing in a metal cave on wheels for a ride.

And with a short ride home, our trip was over. I had such a great time. I absolutely could not ask for more productive, enjoyable rides, and in between rides I had a wonderful time chatting it up and eating good food with my fellow horse ladies! What a blessing!

Last note: I haven’t talked on this blog yet about the goal I set to put in 500 hours with Finn in 2014, but on Friday we broke 300 hours! We’re definitely on pace to achieve our goal, despite that I’ll lose some weeks to braiding over the next handful of months. Not only that, we were more than on our way to achieving what I hoped to achieve during those 500 hours. I said I wanted to get Finn’s foundation solid, get our partnership solid, and feel like Finn understands his job. While those things are certainly subject to never-ending self-improvement, I feel like what I have with Finn now is already what I hoped to have by the end of the year. I can’t believe how far we’ve come. Just goes to show that the wisdom of one of my favorite Buck Brannaman quotes:

“Time is the gift. Give it freely to your horse and you’ll both be the better for it.”

Finn's accommodations for our stay.