Kellie and I take a ride

Friday morning I went out to get The Biscuit.  He never tries to run off now.  That is so nice!!!  I took Biscuit up to the trailer and threw the rope over his back and asked him to load up.  He just stood there looking at the trailer.  I tugged on the rope and he just stood there looking at the trailer.  I looked behind me and the butt bar was up.  I am sure Biscuit's though bubble said "how do you expect me to load up when the butt bar is up?  DUH!!!"  I took it down and he loaded up and started digging in the buckets.   I got his tack loaded and some hay for him and took off to Tyrrell.

Kellie was there when I arrived and had just taken Elan out.  I took Biscuit out and groomed him quickly.  A few treats were passed out.  I took the new bucket of treats that I got in Bastrop over to Elan and he watched me with his huge liquid eyes pull the cord and open it up.  He gobbled up a few treats - he is such a beautiful guy.

I got the heart monitor on and in place.  I cinched up and got on and wow - too loose.  I had to get back off and pull that cinch in.  Biscuit was flopping that tail around.  I mounted up and off we went.  We walked around to the bayou and went out to the open area.  We went all the way down to the big bridge.  Elan spooked at something half way down and took off.  Kellie got him in hand immediately.  We kept going and Kellie said she didn't want to take him in the back and have him spook at hogs as he seemed on alert!  She said let's try to take them over the Yellow Brick Road Bridge.

We got them to go - Biscuit waits on Elan to go first...I wonder if I will EVER get him out of the "I have to wait til another horsey goes first" mode.  We went down the little shell road to where he had spooked before.  He was watching closely...he is so funny.  We got to the front of the bridge and Biscuit didn't want to go first and Elan certainly wasn't.  Biscuit was backing up and I kept turning him in circles.  I finally got off of him and he will follow me.  We went over the bridge and Elan followed too.  Good boy!

I remounted and so did Kellie and we went back across the bridge with no problems.  We went back down the bayou and were half way down when we saw a kid coming down the levee road on a 4 wheeler.  He went down the levee and across the bayou bride.  Kellie called police dispatch as we were told to do.  We kept going and they came back as we were getting near the woods.  We keep going down the bayou and into the woods near the road.  I heard them in the woods and Biscuit got a little antsy.  Kenny used to chase him around the pasture on a 4 wheeler if he wouldn't let Kenny catch him.  He ran him until Biscuit stopped running so I don't know if Biscuit is anxious or if it is like a game with him.  We dismounted and walked around the road side and could hear they were going away from us.  We mounted up and went the other way closest to Cattail Marsh.  We put the horses in a jog as it kept them "busy".  We could see where they had rode in there and could here the 4 wheeler.  We got up to the park area and could see where they had entered the trails.  We kept going and we could hear them but they weren't really close.  We got to the front and could here them really well and we came out of the woods and I got off and went back into the woods to see if I could see them...didn't.  So we took them over to the trailers and tied them up.

We got our lunches out and then I heard them coming.  I got up from the picnic table and trotted into the woods.  They were coming from the road side and came around the bend and I put my hand up - it was a boy and a girl.  He had a "Jason" hockey mask on.  I said "These are equestrian trails only.  ATV's are not allowed.  There are signs posted."

He apologized and said he didn't know.  I said that is fine but you will get a big fine if the police catch you and you are scaring our horses.  He said he'd leave and I said "Thanks.  Just don't want to see you get a big fine.   The posted warnings are when you come into the woods."  He did leave thank God.

Kellie and I ate our lunch and mounted up again and took off to the left side.  We did a some cantering!  Woot!  How fun is that?  We jogged quiet a bit around and came back to the trail for a 7.3 mile ride.  What a blast.  Ready to go again!

I kept an eye on Biscuit's heart rate and it seems to be getting lower at the jog.  That is great!