Encountering drums on the trails

Kellie, Barry and I went riding Saturday.  I hauled out and picked up the horses and tack.  The boys are so funny.  I was leading them back out of the pasture and I got on the right side of Biscuit and Sarge was left of him.  Sarge moved up and Biscuit dropped back and Sarge stuck his nose on my elbow.  I told him he was so dominant.  that he is just freaking funny.  Not mean...just dominant.  Barry met me at the park.  We unloaded and tacked up. 

It was muddy in the woods.  We heard a drum when we got into the trails and Elan chose to go left.  I thought someone was setting up for a party in the park.  Kellie thought it was on the trails.  We came around a bend and we could see people on the trail.   The horses were on high alert.  Kellie had a tight grip on Elan; I thought he might turn and bolt.  Hahaha...he looked like he wanted to.  Good boy...he didn't. 

Turns out there was a trap set of drums in the middle of the trail near a trail entrance.  A SUV was in the entrance, several people on the trail and a drummer going at it during a photo shoot.  Barry turned Sarge to go out so we didn't have to go around.  Biscuit quietly followed...good boy...you never know how they will act.  Elan wasn't having any of it.  I asked Kellie if she was ok.  Elan was past high alert - DANGER WILL ROBINSON - (ok...that was a nerdy flashback to Lost in Space in the '60's) and he refused to go forward. 

Kellie asked Barry to walk Sarge back there and Elan still wouldn't go forward.  Kellie got off and the people were talking to him and petting him so he knew they were "people".  I walked Biscuit back on the trail.  Barry urged Sarge around the people to go past the drum set.  He spooked backwards - FAST twice.  LOL  Sarge was just looking for something to spook at.  I followed with Biscuit.  Biscuit gave it a wide berth but other than a jaundiced eye at it he went on.

Kellie had to lead Elan around it.  hahaha so much for brave horses!!!  Kellie remounted and we took off.  It was MUDDY on that side.  Biscuit is not a fan of mud but he wasn't spazzing out.  My heart monitor is what was spazzing out.  Showing over 200 beats - and just crazy readings.  Later the main lead had come off and was dangling so I don't think it was getting clear readings. 

J-Lo looks like a old pumpkin now!!

We came upon J-Lo (that is what Kellie named the huge mushroom) and she had bit the dust.  Probably when it stormed Wednesday.  She looked like a deflated pumpkin.

We went out onto the bayou.  We laughed at Elan because he kept rubbing his face on Sarge's rear end to get rid of the mosquitoes.  They were horrible.  We crossed the big bridge and stopped to clean hooves.  Kellie asked Barry to ride Elan up and down the incline to get him to WALK down.  Barry got on Elan and walked him up the hill and down he came at a trot.  He and Barry went back and forth and Barry got him to walk down twice.  Kellie got on him and worked with him on going slow.

Two Hard Headed Guys

Elan Dark Knight on High Alert

He still wants to go fast down hills so Kellie was walking him at an angle and that was helping.     Elan is just so funny.  We went up the other side of Willow Bayou and I was behind Sarge.  He stopped and spooked at something and instead of Biscuit's head going over Sarge's rear end, his nose hit the back of Sarge's rear and ended up on his chest in deep rollkur position.  I had to laugh at him.  Then Elan suddenly decided that the crane behind us on the other side was a DANGER WILL ROBINSON moment.  He was giving it the evil eye!  We rode on with Kellie getting him to walk down some of the hills successfully...sometimes not.  We got to the part where we have to swing to the left to go around a deep gully and I saw a coyote come up out of it and go on the other side and into the woods.  Wow wee... He was pretty scroungy looking.  Kellie said she had heard the coyote's howling the night before. 

We went around the gully and down the bayou again.  Some guys were across the way fishing and he'd caught a big fish right then and we talked to them as we went by.  We crossed the bridge and back into the park.  We were going down the bayou to get to the woods when AGAIN Sarge spooked and all I saw was Sarge's butt coming at me - he did it AGAIN and what he was spooking at was the guy's pulling back their rods and reels to throw out into the water!  LOL  He is a pill.  Kellie and I walked into the woods and went left.  Barry stayed behind to show Sarge it wasn't a horse eating moment. 

Kellie and I walked down the trail and it wasn't as muddy on that side as the other.  No drums on that side either.  We were about 2/3 back when Barry came up behind us - he'd gave Sarge a little work out.  We got to the trail head and I made Biscuit go back and forth.  Kellie did the same and we were passing each other making the horses go away from each other.  Biscuit gave me a little fuss and I quickly let him know it wasn't an option.  He decided to go my way.   Barry was in the grass behind the water district office and Biscuit's ears were up, his neck was up and he was listening for Sarge.  I finally walked him to the center of the trail and put his head in the brush.  Then the lesson was over. 

I took his tack off and gave him treats - Elan got treats too.  They'd had alfalfa in the trail on the way over so Sarge got his treat.  We washed their feet off and let them eat the very green clover that was growing there.  Kenny and Traci came over and talked to us - hadn't seen them in a while.  Good to see them! 

Sweat marks

I checked the sweat marks on Biscuit for this short ride - I don't think this little ride or the 14 mile ride was a good indicator for this blanket.  Hummmmm...