trail ride
Jul 30th, 2008 by woodstone
The longer we have Blaze the more connected he and R become… It’s been really wonderful to watch the two of them becoming closer and more in-sync with each other each time she rides.
She’s started taking him out of the pasture for some trail rides lately, something that’s fun for him and more challenging (and fun!) for her. I decided to record the last trail ride in pictures…
Before she left the pasture she decided to try rounding up the donkeys just for fun. It’s something she’s done before on Blaze, but it’s a bit of a challenge…
The donkeys weren’t in the mood to cooperate this time though, and were getting ornery, and she was anxious to get going so she let them go and headed for the gate out to the pasture.
A new trick she and Blaze have figured out is opening the pasture gate without her dismounting. It’s obviously something Blaze was trained to do at some point before we got him, but it’s still pretty amazing to me to watch them working together so beautifully.
She’s heading over to the gate, and getting him lined up just right…
…then Blaze side-steps, getting close enough to the gate…
…for R to reach down, unlatch it, and start swinging it open.
Little by little she swings it open, as he takes small steps forwards, sideways and sometimes backwards… to allow the gate to open.
Out they go! (While I quickly shut the gate again to keep Tilly and Tucker in…)
I love watching them wander through the big pasture…
She dismounted to lead him down the deer trail into the gully.
Once she got down there and needed to get back on him, she was wildly excited to discover that she’s finally grown tall enough to get her foot into the stirrup without needing a leg up or having to stand on a bucket. For the first time ever she was able to mount her horse with no help at all!
They wandered through the gully for awhile…
…then back up the hill again.
Time to turn around and head for home…
LOL, she’s not having fun or anything!
It’s amazing to me that just a few months ago she was thrown so hard from a horse that she suffered a severe concussion, lost months of memory (most of it eventually came back), and insisted she would never ride again.
Little by little Blaze has taught her how to trust again, and I think… little by little… she’s teaching Blaze, who hasn’t had the easiest life, to trust again too.
Oh! That is so beautiful it made me cry! There is just about nothing sweeter than a girl and her horse.
Ah that’s so great! I’m so glad that she has a horse that she can trust and that he trusts her too. They’re going to be great friends!
Love the riding pictures. Does she have a picture of her snuggling with Blaze for her room?
that is soooo beautiful!!!!
They look so good and easy together. It is obvious they enjoy one another immensely.
i’m with lapazfarm ~ i, too, had tears in my eyes as i looked through the pics. i understand how very, very special this is ~ so much more than just a child with a pet. Praise the Lord!
Hope you guys are enduring the heat!
That was a great post. I loved the pictures. I’m so jealous!, she’ll have to teach to ride one day!
Just beautiful pictures, and I’m so glad that R. has such a wonderful companion in Blaze.
That last picture is the very best…. that smile just screams “I’m alive and lovin’ life!!” It would be fun to put those photo’s together into a collage for her room……………. (smile).
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Tigger