Jones Whites Creek Loop

Finn and I went on another brilliant ride with S today. The Jones Whites Creek Loop is 9.2 miles... add in the .4 miles from the parking area to the loop, and it'd be fair to say we rode about 10 miles today! There was quite a bit of climbing (and descending) involved, some very narrow trails with significant drop-offs, creek crossings, and a few fallen trees... all in all quite a challenging ride, but our horses were stupendous and made it feel like no big deal.

This was one of the more "comfortable" narrow spots...

The loop we were on passed nearby the bridge we crossed last week, so both S and I took the opportunity to ride across it twice. Finn was hesitant and took his time evaluating the situation, but crossed willingly once he'd had a minute. He was similar at each creek crossing... while there was some hesitation on his part, I never had to go beyond about a phase 2 to encourage him to try. That's quite a change, even from last week, but especially if I compare to six months ago!

View from the trail, sans ears...

Another noticeable change: while I had to remind Finn a few times to be available to my requests for more energy, and he still wasn't keeping pace with T most of the time, his forward FELT different. He was more mentally committed to it. Trying to explain the difference to S, I said it felt like each footfall was a foregone conclusion, instead of like Finn was asking if we should slow down with each and every step. This held true both uphill and downhill, over rocks and on softer terrain. While it wasn't physically much faster, it was definitely different. Considering all the work we've been doing in this area lately, I felt really positive about that change!

All this riding is really building up Finn's butt!

There were many areas where the trail was very narrow, and to be honest, that kinda freaks me out! Luckily, I am usually pretty good at managing my nerves and not looking down. Even more fortunately, I am getting better at trusting Finn all the time. I work on focusing on where we're going and staying our of his way, and hopefully each time we survive will be one less time I get nervous about it. There was one point on the trail today where I almost decided to get off, but there wasn't much space to. Since there was a turn approaching, I decided to get off there if the trail didn't improve around the corner. Luckily, it improved markedly!

The huge plus of this, and the rockiness of the trail, too, is that it seems to really develop sure-footedness in the horses. For certain, Finn feels many times more sure-footed than he did in January! That's a feature that will really come in handy when it comes time to jump cross-country. Of course, his having seriously earned my trust will be really handy, too. I told S today, after some of these trails, running a Prelim cross-country course should feel like cake!

We stopped for a rest (and to reset my saddle) at the top of the climb.

This trail unseated last week's as the rockiest we've ridden so far. Happily, both horses felt even better over the rocks than they did last week. That, my friends, is the magic of conditioning. It was awesome to feel Finn (and watch T) negotiate the trail with confidence and feel, like nature intended. Neither of them seemed even the least bit foot-sore, even after ten miles with little break in the tough terrain. I've been keeping my horses barefoot for over ten years, but I'd never tested it like this. I'd say Finn's hooves passed with flying colors. I felt very fortunate to at last truly witness and experience something I've believed in all these years.

View of South Reno towards the end of the loop.

At one point during the ride today I summed it all up with the simple statement: "This is so much fun!" I never knew trail riding could be SO AWESOME! Now that we're past the stage where it takes continual effort to keep Finn with me and relaxed, I'm learning about a whole other stage of relationship development and just plain enjoyment.

Finally, today was definitely a day when I was struck by how lucky I am, how much I love my quirky little bay gelding who certainly didn't make this easy for me. He is truly developing into the horse I've always dreamed he would be, and boy am I glad I didn't give up on him in the dark moments. Now, I wouldn't trade him for any horse in the world.

My favorite pair of ears.