Maggie Takes to the Trail

Yesterday was a big day for Maggie and I. I took her off the farm for the first time and hauled over to Herron Park . It would be a safe location for our first outing away from home, where we wouldn’t have to deal with motorized vehicles of any kind but still have plenty of things to expose her to, including cross country jumps, dogs, hikers and bikers and ofcourse , trails. It was the first time I have trailered her anywhere, first time wearing easy boots (luckily JB’s fit her!) and her first time on the trail, so it was alot of first on many levels.
She patiently stood while I wrestled the boots on , she loaded up like a champ and she seemed very interested on getting down the trail. She was definitely on high alert at all the new sights and smells. We took our time and walked around to take a good look at everything. After about a half hour, she settled in so I headed up the trail with her. We only went a couple miles and went very slowly since it was all uphill. She seemed to pay close attention to where she was putting her feet and was quiet, when we had to let two other horseback riders by. Despite her huffing and puffing (as a result of her being horribly out of shape) she definitely has some willingness to move out. We had to stop a few times so she could catch her breath. I exposed her to hills, both going up and down hills. She did not like going down at all but I expected that to be the case with a youngster, at least until she learns how to carry herself. I plan to spend some time ponying her on the trail to allow her to sort out hills with the added burden of a rider. I find that really helps a young horse sort hills out. Overall, our first outing together went better than expected and I am looking forward to more time on the trail with her.