First Trail Ride!

So yes I have had Rhapsody out on the roads at the farm a little bit, but Friday was our first official trail ride in a group.  We went with Coach and Surge and a friend of mine and her horse Tanner.  Tanner is a great trail horse, not scared of much at all, while Rhapsody and Surge tend to be spookier, so we figured he could lead if we needed it.

However both girls were fantastic!  We took turns leading and following and Rhapsody and I actually led for some of the scariest part of the ride--the last bit down to the river--and no big spooks, bolts, or anything else silly.  Coach took pictures but I don't have them.  We went all the way down the road to the river/dock/mudflats in the back of the property, came part way back, rode into Rhapsody and Surge's back pasture, walked around there a bit, then pulled off the tack and let them go.

Rhapsody is officially without a catch halter now, too.  YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't even say how exciting that is to me!!

Anyway some of the things we saw/went through were ankle-deep dead leaves, water, ankle-deep mud, slippery mud, kids' swing sets and slides, a long arbor-archway thing, a twisted metal gate left over from last spring's tornado, the empty dock, a gazebo, huge brush/stump piles, mudflats, an excavator working across the river, and of course lots of other horses in the fields, including Rhapsody's "boyfriend" Cairo in her pasture.  It was really good and I want to keep up on her trail work the rest of this winter. 

Then I gave Brandi a short ride.  She was being obnoxious with the bit and refusing to stay on the rail, but after some discussions she settled down a bit and we did some walk/trot work both ways before I had to head home for dinner.  I would have liked to canter her with Coach there, but jumps up would've made it awkward anyways, so perhaps next time.  Next time I'll put her in the full-cheek plain snaffle instead of the slow twist D-ring, as I think that was too much bit for her, and I'll bring a martingale in case she decides to try her silliness again.  :)