It's officially Winter...

Well Chief's fur is getting long and the days are getting shorter so in my little world its officially winter.  Chief is also starting to loose a little weight, you can tell around his withers and in his hindquarters.  My other favorite way to check weight is with the back strap, when we're on the second hole, he's lost some weight.  In the height of the summer, that back strap will barely fit the first hole!  Chief is a super easy keeper in the summer and by the end of the summer, he's down right pudgey.  However, when the nights start getting cold he starts dropping weight.  In the winter they get hay on top of the grass all day but it just isn't enough for my guy.  So starting next month, he'll go on grain.    And when the days stay cool, I'll start blanketing him.  I wait as long as I can to put the blanket on because I like for him to grow his own natural coat.  This is his best insulator, but since Chief lives on top of a mountain where the wind blows most of the time, he needs a little help to keep him warm.  So today I asked the barn to put him in the grain pasture next month.  Hopefully, this will keep him from loosing too much weight too quickly. 

After noticing my fat old boy was getting a little skinny, we saddled up and hit the trail.  You can also tell its winter because of the hunters.  My husband had given me an orange hunting vest to wear but of course I left that in the car so we just listened as the guns went off all around us.  None of them sounded that close and no one is allowed to hunt on that land, so I figured we'd be okay.  Today we took the Work Out trail named so because you go up and down quite a few hills.  This trail meets up with the pumpkin field (though there weren't pumkins on this field this year, its typically what is on that field) and then takes you down to the big pond and Big'ns cabin.  As I was rounding the pond, I heard a gun shot, CLOSE.  It made me jump.  I looked around and of course didn't see anything.  So I kept on my way.  But as I was approaching the cabin those gun shots got loud.  Since I couldn't see them, I stopped and started waving my arms above my head so if they saw me, I would hope they weren't shooting at me...  As I walked a little further, I could see the shooters, they were doing target practice.  Whooo!  Thank goodness.  I might add here that Chief was not at all bothered by the gunshots.  My husband said he wanted to try shooting off of him, I don't think this would be a problem for him.  Love, this horse...  After that, we continued on our way up the gravel road to the peach trees.  We then kept on the gravel road where I couldn't decide if I wanted to go left toward the Submarine trail or right back to the Creek trail.  I opted for the Submarine trail because its a little longer and we had time.  This trail goes by some great rock outcroppings then heads down a steep hill or two.. and then meets up with what is truly some old piece of equipment but really looks like a submarine.  So, its the Submarine trail.  Really looks like a submarine huh?

Once you get down to this part of the trail, it gets a solid 3 or 4 degrees cooler because it is next to the creek and it sits in a hollow and not much sunlight gets in during the day.  So we cantered our way through.  We then met up with the Creek trail as you can see is my favorite way to head back to the barn.  And today the creeks were super full because we had quite a bit of rain this week. 

We then headed back up to the barn.  We took the route that hits the gravel road before turning home.  I love this route because there is a nice flat spot to canter and Chief likes it because he knows he's nearly home so sometimes he gets a little carried away through here.  Not much gets him excited so I like this route too.  Today it was controlled chaos through this flat spot as we cantered toward home.  Other days its more pure chaos and I have to hold him back.  This is the best way I can think to explain this feeling and other riders will agree, sometimes you can just feel them about to explode and then they do.  Other times, they get a little excited and you know you can give them their head and they'll canter nicely on.  It's just a feeling.  All in all it was a great way to start winter.  I hope this nice weather holds! 



Its beginning to look like winter...

S. and I decided to hit the trails yesterday.  It was nice weather but it is definitely starting to get colder.  I decided to wear my Underarmor cold gear and my Patagonia Better Sweater, but no shell was needed.  The Underarmor makes for a great base layer and the Better Sweater just keeps you nice and warm. 

We hadn't been on the New Trail in awhile because they've been logging up there.  I wasn't sure where on the trail they were logging but I thought I did and I thought that I knew how to avoid that area.  Well, I was wrong about the location of the logging so sure enough, it wasn't avoidable. So we did a little bushwacking...  It wasn't too bad until we had to go through a pretty big holly bush.  Luckily, we were dressed warmly so we survived without any scratches.  Once we got through the logging it was a great ride.  There are a couple of nice flat spots to canter through on that trail and those were still in tact so that worked out great.  The New Trail connects to the Creek Trail so we used it to get back to the barn.  We took a couple of pictures on the creek trail.  You can barely tell its a creek with all the leaves in it. 

S. is on Buckshot and I am on Chief.  We make a good team.  Chief decided this day would be the day he wanted to be lazy so we had a couple of moments of "you will go forward no matter how many times I have to hit your rear with the crop."  Aside from that Chief was good.  Buckshot, always the gentleman, was sure enough a gentleman.  Til next time.. 

Just Chief and Me

Yesterday was some of the most beautiful weather!  It was sunny and 65 degrees, can't beat that with a stick.  So even though I had to work most of the day, I decided that such good weather couldn't be wasted and headed to the barn.  Since I work such variable hours, it is often hard to find a riding partner.  This is why I love Chief.  He will go out on his own with no problems.  A lot of horses don't have this kind of confidence so I am grateful that mine doesn't have this fear.  We decided to head out to the cow pasture trail.  This one is a good hour long ride perfect for when you have some time but not a lot of time.  This trail has been dubbed cow pasture trail because it goes by the cow pasture, easy enough right?  Last time we went out there one of the calves was weary of us, but then he decided to get brave and started following us down the fence line.  He was an awful cute little critter so I started jogging to see if he would continue to follow.  Sure enough he did!  Followed us right up to the next fence line.  Too cute.  Our little calf friend wasn't visible this time when we went through so we cantered on down towards the woods.  This trail is great because it goes through open fields, tomato fields, and woods.  So there is lots to see in a fairly short trip.  The cow pasture trail also links up to the creek trail which is how we headed home.  The picture this time is from the creek trail, dubbed so because you cross the creek several times.  You see how these trails get named right?

The fall color is also still out so I included a picture of the leaves as well.

I dread the time change as it signals winter is on its way.  I just hope we continue to have a couple more weekends of gorgeous weather.  Fingers crossed!

Fall Trail Riding

Fall is one of my favorite seasons for trail riding.  The summer sun no longer beats down on you, there is a chill in the air, and the leaves are falling on your head.  It is wonderful.  This past Sunday, I went riding with my good friend S. and her borrowed mount Buckshot.  Buckshot is a good old Quarter Horse with a little bit of spunk, and is the exact opposite of my steady mount, Chief.  When the air is cool most horses, like Buckshot get a little extra energy, not Chief, he is always lazy.  So we headed out to see the pond, it had been awhile since S. had been out there so I figured we should go check it out.  We headed out via the Creek Trail, named so because it crosses so many creeks, and then headed up to the old pumpkin field and down to the pond.  It was pretty stunning in the afternoon sun, so I thought I'd include a picture.  I suddenly remembered a trail that went through the strawberry field and with a little effort found it (it had been awhile).  This trail has a super steep hill and Chief being the lazy horse he is, needed some extra encouragement to make it up.  But we crested the hill into the strawberry field and back down to the woods to head back to the barn.  It was a great ride.  You can't beat the trail on a gorgeous fall day with a great friend.