New Place to Ride

Ready to go!  Don't mind the rust :)

Heather and I rode at a new (to us) little place about 15 minutes from the barn.  The weather forecast was not good, but we decided to chance it and had a great time!  There are shaded trails through the woods, a path around a lake, open fields.  The main horse trail is a short loop, but there are a lot of little side trails to explore. It's also semi-exclusive in that you have to have a gate code to get in.

The ride itself was more exciting than it really should have been.  Ruby always stands stock-still for me to mount up, because if she does she gets a cookie.  Except today.  I took the time to correct the issue, instead of swinging up anyways.  Hopefully, it won't become a problem.  A little ways up the trail, she got boogery so Candy passed us.  Then Candy remembered that she doesn't actually like to be in the lead and did a mini-spook.  Ruby almost left me in the dirt - one second she was facing straight down the trail, the next she was facing 90 degrees to the left.  If she'd kept going, I'd still be picking sticks out of my backside.  Later on we saw a very fat black racer and a raccoon that apparently didn't get the memo that he's supposed to be nocturnal.  After the raccoon, it was obvious that Ruby felt completely justified in giving the stink eye to every bush we passed *sigh*.  She is figuring out the 'Want a bite?' cue for grazing (that I totally copied from Haiku Farm) - what's great is that she'll grab a bite or two, then she wants to start moving again.  She's also coming to the realization that I can be quite the horse-fly-swatter.  She was starting to relax a bit as the ride was coming to an end...and honestly, she is doing great and we had a very enjoyable ride.  As she gets used to the sights and sounds of the trail, we should have less boogery moments.

Don't feel too bad for her - we rode for an hour at a walk in 75 degree temps...she's just a bit of a drama queen is all.

We rode 3.4 miles with one hour of riding time.  We got home just as the thunder started, so the timing was great.  Good times!  https://www.strava.com/activities/141506059

I checked the spot again today and it looks fine (no rubs, no dry spot, no heat or swelling, etc.). I might get some shims anyways to fill in the shoulder dips.  We'll see.