White Sage

Yesterday *I* got to take Sage on a trail ride.

I've been on maybe 3 trail rides in my entire life, and Sage has been under saddle for a whopping two weeks. I was a little nervous. But he handled it like a trooper. We went over a stream (he did a big flying leap over it on the way out, but I made him WALK through it on the way back), through muddy suck your hooves off sections, splashed through swampy areas, picked our way over fallen trees, went up and down some steep sections in the woods (where Sage tried to take my knee off because he hasn't learned to gauge where he and I will fit through the trees, he just knows he'll fit. Good enough right? Eek.) and trotted across some beautiful rolling meadows. Oh, we also went over gravel / stones.

I came out of that trail ride kind of feeling like "thank God, I survived" because well...it's a shock after spending your whole life prancing around an arena focusing on whether or not your horse is 'on the bit.' I came out of that kinda feeling like I didn't want to go again anytime too soon. Even though Sage was really great about the whole thing, we had a thunderstorm rolling in, I was kinda freaking out, and then as we got back to the barn, my riding instructor's son was fixing a motorcycle that was really loud. I got off Sage and went to fasten the gate behind us...the motorcycle made a loud noise, and Sage spooked (danced all of 3 steps sideways). Call me a big wussy but I was glad I was safe on the ground!!

I came out of the whole thing thinking about how dumb trail riding is. Gee, I know, I have a great idea. Let's take some panicaholic claustrophobic prey animals that run like hell when they're frightened...and let's ride them through the woods and hope they'll just mosey along at a walk. Huh????

Yeah.

So, today my instructor made me go out on the trail again. I was nervous about it, but as soon as I went out to the pasture to get Sage, and he walked right up to me and practically shoved his own head in the halter, I started to feel better.

TANGENT:I was kinda worried that once Sage was under saddle, he would run away from me in the pasture. But no, if anything, he is friendlier than ever. He loves having a job to do, and only gets impatient when he can't go do it right away. He does minorly object to having his cinch done up, but doesn't seem to have actual pain, or be truly upset. He just wiggles around a bit. I was telling my riding instructor how surprised I am by how well he's doing...and by how he is still so friendly in the pasture. She said it reminded her of appaloosas, that were bred by the Nez Perce indians to be truly loyal. These appaloosas even lived in the teepees sometimes, with their rider. The horses loved their jobs, were encouraged to think for themselves when carrying their rider over terrain. They placed their feet carefully, and thought their way out of tough situations rather than panicking. All they really wnated was their human.
Well, that sounds so much like Sage, and I know Joe Mead, a famous Curly breeder, thinks that at one point Curlies and appaloosas were the same breed. It makes me wonder...
/tangent

So I had an asthma attack and somebody else tacked up Sage for me while I sucked on an inhaler and leaned against my car.

But then I got on, and I could tell Sage was really happy to be going out on the trail. It very quickly sank in to my dimwitted brain that he was still in only his second week under saddle and he STILL hadn't run off with me, spooked badly (he did spook in place once) or really done anything at all to scare me. Granted, accidents are always possible, especially with large prey animals. But I realized I had a really solid horse under me, and that it wouldn't be the dumbest thing in the world to just RELAX and enjoy the ride.

So I did. We went on a longer trail this time. Over some of the same terrain as the day before, and then onto the 'waterfall trail.' Sage was so cute because he wanted to be the leader, and my RI said to let him; it'll help him build his confidence. So I did, and you could tell he was just soooo proud of himself to be leading the group. He strutted right along, but also really thought about where he was placing his feet, and what path was best for him to pick his was down the mountain. He actually got a little pissed when the other horse took the lead again. But we were headed onto the waterfall trail, and my RI told him he wasn't allowed to lead on a trail he'd never been on before. :-)

So, my RI has me ride on a very very loose rein when we're out on the trail. Sage gets to choose whether he wants to walk or trot up a hill with me...and also walk or trot down a hill as well. Again, coming from an english perspective of being on the bit and always telling the horse exactly where to go (I mean c'mon, english riders don't trust their horses to navigate around a corner of the arena on their own, let alone the open trail) it was so bewildering in some ways to trust my horse so much. Especially since, as a newb, he has his moments!!! I can't stress how good he is for only being under saddle for two weeks, but we came trotting (flying) down some hills with me using a one rein emergency stop more than once! The great part is, it made me laugh, because Sage never felt like he was going to run away with me...just like he was really enjoying himself, and kinda testing his abilities...he was kinda like 'let me see...I think I can TROT up this hill, AND carry a human on my back. Wow! Mom's gonna be so impressed!!!"

He really did seem to be having soooo much fun!!!

And I have to give him MAJOR credit!!! At one point on the waterfall trail I was flattened over his neck as much as I could be with a western horn in the way and I couldn't really see where we were going, because we were going almost completely vertically up this hill that had stones, but also lots of soft footing and pine needles in between. I had to stay low because of the branches, and I started to lose my stirrup. Sage stopped, balanced on two totally different planes, his front hooves over this boulder, and his hind hooves waaay down the mountain, and he just teetered there until I got my stirrup fixed, and then I said 'ok Sage' and he continued on. My RI thought he was so great, taking care of me like that! (I think so too!)

And we handled some really rough terrain. I mean, talk about a confidence booster! I have a LOT of faith in my horse now. I bounced all over the place as we were trotting down steep hills in mucky footing, and I yanked on his hackamore more than I should've probably in trying to save my knees. And Sage took it all in stride and did really really well.

Oh yeah...we crossed the stream like 5 times on the waterfall trail, and Sage really wants to just LEAP across anything that is more than a puddle. In our battle over WALKING the stream rather than LEAPING it, we managed to land squarely in the middle of the stream...and mow over a small tree! I was trying to turn Sage and he was just determined that his route (THRU the tree) was really the absolute safest way for us to go, and that was where he was going. Lol.

I had soooo much fun, and am still wearing a perma-grin even now. Numerous people have told me my eyes are sparkling today. GRIN> yeah.

No photos, 'cuz 5 yr olds, even well-behaved ones, need both hands. Or at least, I needed both hands...cuz I loved my western saddle this morning...hung onto the horn, and was thankful for the cantle too!

Oh...yeah...Sage isn't coming home tonight. Because we're getting a thunderstorm and possibly hail.

:-)

Edit: I can't remember the last time I rode for over an hour! It's been years! And isn't it strange how my gastritis is still doing ok even with all this riding??? Just goes to show...horses really are good medicine...

:-)