Double Whammy

Today was a "big girl pants" day for Jetta. At 8:00 am we headed up to ride on the high mountain trails an hour away. Gail met us there with her horse, Star. The trails were absolutely glorious--wild flowers at every turn, lush grass and new foliage. This is a great time of year up on the mountain, and Jetta seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. She marched out in the lead and passed boulders and downed trees like an experienced trail horse. She faced multiple creek crossings (and DRANK from most of them!), stepped over logs, handled steep ups and downs (much more balanced now than she was a month ago), met other horses on the trail as well as a hiker with a dog, and she even crossed a black bog like the good girl she is! Like I said, this was a big day for her. Our ride was a little over two hours, and I was sad to have it end.

(The water in the creek was so clear, it's invisible!)

We loaded back up and headed to Zephyr Ranch, where I had scheduled a lesson and also had appointments to trim three horses. I think Jetta was a little surprised when I unloaded her and we weren't at home! I let her rest and eat from her hay net while I trimmed the first horse, and then I saddled her and we headed to the arena. We had a great lesson from Marleen, starting with ground work. I have lots of homework, which if I do it correctly will really turn Jetta into a supple and very responsive girl, as it will give me control of her feet. The under saddle work in our lesson was a continuation of the ground exercise we did. It was a great lesson; I'm excited to work on this. After our lesson, Jetta went back to munching her hay while I trimmed a pony. The third horse cancelled, but it was OK as I was ready to head home. I'm sure Jetta felt the same way!