Thomas Creek/White's Creek

S and I rode out from the Thomas Creek trail head yesterday and logged another excellent ride! The trail was quite different from our usual haunts... through the woods alongside a creek, so much more like actual "trail" riding. Plus, the majority of the trail was in the shade, which was absolutely awesome. There were stumps, logs and rocks all along the side of the trail, which threw Finn for a loop at first, but he soon realized these were not, in fact, hiding places for horse monsters and settled into the new environment.

Early on.

This was definitely a fun trail for "challenges." We passed several hikers, some with off-leash dogs, and bikers. Both horses handled this superbly; S and I were really pleased. We have seen hikers and bikers on our rides before, but not with this frequency and often not in such tight quarters.

There were three creek crossings on our ride. The first two were in places where the water was moving through quickly, which definitely gave Finn pause. I was so pleased, though, because I actually found it quite easy to maintain my intent without getting impatient or frustrated! I just kept focusing on the idea that we were crossing the creek, remained passively persistent in the proper position, got firm with fairness to make my point, and soon enough Finn was willing to give it a try. His first tries at the first crossing were leaps, but he walked through calmly on the third attempt. At the second crossing, his first attempt was an excellent, thoughtful walk across! And at the third crossing, I barely had to encourage him. I was so, SO pleased, and I think I did a good job conveying my appreciation for his efforts. Funnily enough, he actually stopped in the middle of the third crossing to pee in the creek, which I found very amusing, but also count as an indicator that he was pretty relaxed about it by then!

On a related note, he also drank from the creeks for the first time on a ride. Finn is usually very suspicious of any new drinking source, so he has been slow to catch on to this concept. It took him a few minutes to get the idea at the second crossing, but by the third crossing he had the hang of it.

This ride offered a nice climb to a lovely meadow with a view of Mount Rose. That seemed like a good midway point for a snack break, which the horses LOVED:

A bit further on, there was a view of the actual Mount Rose Summit:

And a little further still, a view of Washoe Valley. We could even see Washoe Lake, the location of so many excellent (and sometimes challenging) rides:

After a very pleasant descent with long switchbacks into White's Canyon, we encountered the second creek crossing and then a new challenge: our first bridge! S and I both decided to get off and lead the horses across a few times before tackling it from the saddle. While Finn was suspicious, he was more apt to rush than balk at this question... in part because T and S had already crossed. But he walked across with no problem, and when we remounted, I decided to lead the way. He was hesitant, but not resistant, approaching the bridge. I gave him a moment to look and think, and he very quickly decided he had this and walked across with no problem. I was SO proud!

The bridge!

Along the way, I also asked Finn to walk across several small fallen logs and he never hesitated. Excellent progress and a good indicator that we're getting closer every day to our goals. I told S I'm starting to get really excited about taking Finn cross country one day, because I am starting to feel it inside him already. Maybe that seems weird, but one of the things I've learned as a horsewoman is that we do tasks or exercises with our horses to develop the qualities we want in them. Qualities like bravery and willingness and trust. Walking down the trail may seem a far cry from galloping a cross country course, but on these rides I'm starting to feel the qualities I'll need on the cross country course one day, and that makes it feel not so very far away.

On another note, I haven't talked much about barefoot hoof care on this blog yet, but it is something I'm quite fascinated by and passionate about. Finn has been barefoot all his life, and I intend to keep it that way. This trail was by far the rockiest S and I have ridden this year... even my trimmer told me we'd need boots for it. While I'm not opposed to booting when needed, I don't have space in my budget for boots at this time. The horses, however, showed no need whatsoever for any assistance, and they both put some beautiful wear on their hooves during the course of the ride.

I've been wanting to learn to trim Finn myself for some time, and my reflections on this ride this evening really affirmed that I ought to get on that. Through regular riding, Finn pretty much keeps his toe and heel worn to the correct length on his own. He's a bit over seven weeks out from his last trim right now (and my trimmer didn't think he really needed to be trimmed then) and I wouldn't say he needs anything taken off his toe or heel.

On the one hand, I'm drawn to the minimalist idea that if he's keeping his toe and heel length in check and he's sound, why bother messing with it? On the other, I'd like to have the ability to confidently tweak... giving him a little more quarter relief, or helping him clear out some excess bar. There's not enough to do to call out my trimmer, but there are some helpful things that could be done. The obvious solution is to learn to do it myself. So there's another mission for me...

Anyway, another excellent ride in the books. Finn could not have been more superb. As usual, the stunning scenery was a nice bonus. I chuckle to myself when I think how I used to say, "I'm not much of a trail rider." Now I can hardly think of a better way to spend my time.