Girth update

My newest girth arrived yesterday afternoon and I'm ridiculously happy to report that Ruby seems to like it.  We rode for maybe 20 minutes this morning, but it was a very good ride.  She was happy and forward but not rushing. It should be fine - the only thing wrong with the other is that it's too long. Still, I'm sure to be paranoid about girth everything for the rest of my natural life, so we're going on a short trail ride tomorrow to really make sure before we start longer rides again.  Teddy at Running Bear Tack was awesome to deal with, for anyone considering ordering from him.

Ruh-roh, Raggy

You guessed it, the girth isn't going to work for us.  I hate being a pain in the vendor's ass but I'm going to ask how much it will cost me to trade this out for a 22" mohair.  Now I better understand how horse people get so stuck in 'my way is only right way' mode.  To add to this, I still have not heard a peep out of the 2-in-1 bridle vendor, though they state on their website that they will resize their products for you. 

PS. Teddy from Running Bear Tack is awesome.  In the time it took me to write this whiny post, he has already answered my email and agreed to exchange the Toklat for a 22" mohair (on a Sunday afternoon, no less!).  Maybe I'll be riding again by the end of the week. *fingers crossed*

Your first horse blog experience?

Which horse blog first caught your attention?  For me, it was Zephyr's Wonderful Wanderings & Wonderings .  I'm not sure how I first came across it but once I did, I was hooked.  I loved reading about their adventures together.  The author's ride stories were so detailed that it made me feel like I was there with her.  It was her blog that first introduced me to 'real' barefoot trims.  It was her blog that made me really want to try endurance - the bond that she and Zephyr shared was exactly what I wanted for myself and Karma. And treeless saddles - I had never heard of such a thing (in my admittedly very limited experience).   I actually ordered two of her Rhythm Bead necklaces for Karma, one of which she wore in the Veteran's Day parade in 2011(?):

My terrible riding on display for everyone to see - but look at how calm and purdy Karma is!

Anyways, Zephyr's mom made me really think that I could do this endurance thing -  and she made it sound like such an amazing adventure.  I was so bummed when she began slowing down in 2010 but I have come to realize that this is the way of most blogs.  Most of us post for a while, then move on to other things.  I hope she and Zephyr are well and are still tearing up the trails.

This week

Monday: went to see my pony then went to my first lesson with a new instructor.  She grew up riding dressage in Germany, then moved to the US.  She currently rides dressage and working equitation.  So far, I like her a lot - she has eagle eyes and a sense of humor.  Now about my riding: apparently, I go much better to the left.  I also have a tendency to tighten my lower back while posting (causing Ruby to 'go giraffe'), grip with my knees (no wonder they kill me after an hour in the saddle), and stiffen my shoulders.   For now, we are going to focus on developing an independent seat before we get into the fun stuff.  Another really great thing about this instructor - she did LDs for four years with her Paso Fino gelding before having children.

Tuesday: Ruby got a pedicure, a la me.  Usually she is very good, but on this day she was trying to snatch grass and kept moving every twenty seconds, grrr.  I had to tie her really short so that there was no hope of reaching any grass, then she got the hint and stood quietly.  The heels on a couple of her feet have cracks so I finally worked up the nerve to really bring them down.  I was so nervous about this that I took her for a walk down the street to make sure she was still comfortable.  Afterwards, I decided to take her for a spin and try out some things I learned yesterday.  When I went to put the bareback pad on, she tried to avoid it (insert irritated face here) but she did let me clamber up on her like a drunk monkey when I asked her to.  And, she was a very good girl for our ride.

Wednesday, I just groomed and visited with the Redhead.  By Wednesday afternoon, I'd received my new 2-in-1 bitless bridle.  The owner of Moss Rock is still out due to surgery complications, so I got antsy and ordered something similar from a relatively new vendor. 

Thursday: I decided to rig the bridle as a side pull first, since that's what we normally use.  I don't know why I didn't notice in the website's pics, but for the 2-1 bridle from this particular vendor, the side pull is not the usual style.  Instead of the cheek pieces coming down and splitting into two that then attach to the nose band, there is one solid cheek piece all the way to the nose band and they are sewn together.  Where they join there is a D-ring that the reins attach to.  I don't know about other folks, but I had no brakes with this set up.  I'm not sure if it was the beta biothane or the way that the bridle is set up. Now, I normally don't need a lot of brakes - Ruby will stop when asked, even though she oftentimes just tries to speed off as soon as she is given some slack. This time, I HAD to one-rein stop almost like she couldn't tell that I was requesting a stop.  I walked her back to the barn, tied her up, and changed the setup to the bitless bridle.  Unfortunately, the entire headstall may be too big for Ruby. The pieces that cross under the head keep catching on the bottom of the nose band.  I'm currently waiting for the vendor to get back with me - it's likely that I'm doing something very wrong.

Thursday - it's a beautiful blue!  Now, if I could just get it adjusted properly...

Friday: I didn't hear back from the vendor yesterday but I did do some research on how the bitless bridles are supposed to be fitted.  The nose band is supposed to be much lower (hackamore area), than the picture above, then it's supposed to be tightened to allow just one finger between the jawbone and the nose band.  This one is far too big for the Rubes.  I can take the nose band up one more hole, but then the end of the strap goes through the D-ring on the side of the nose band. This, obviously, interferes with the way the chin straps work.  I have sent another email to the vendor; this time asking if I can send it back to have it re-sized.  I would do it myself, but some of the straps will need to be cut as well.  Crossing fingers here.  More Ruby torture ensued as I hooked up to Lee's trailer and did some loading practice with her.  I don't know much about her background - for all I know, she's never loaded in a two-horse straight load.  She was not enthused.  The scariest part, of course, was backing off the trailer.  She was getting so worked up over backing off the trailer that she was making me nervous for her, sheesh.  We practiced, took a break, practiced, took a break.  I don't think we'll have a problem when/if Lee and I ride together next week. 

Thinking out loud

The last few weeks, I've been looking over the ride schedule for this fall and winter, attempting to figure out which rides I would like to take Ruby to.  The first ride is in September and is only two hours away.  It has an intro ride, so I could ride, then volunteer if I wanted.  The problem: it looks like the easiest way to get to the ride location is to take I-4.  For anyone not familiar with the area, I-4 towards Orlando is a nightmare to drive in a car. If I decide to go, I'll need to figure out another route.

Then there is SEDRA's next distance clinic which is being held in early October.  I went to their clinic last year (it was fantastic) but this year they have changed up the topics.  They also have a short practice ride which I didn't get to participate in last year.  But, it's so close to the September ride that I'll have to choose one or the other for spouse sanity reasons.  I SHOULD go to the clinic instead of the ride, but dammit I want to go to a ride already!  

I'm also tossing around the idea of participating in a CTR or two before our first LD.  There are multiple reasons for this, but it boils down to having experienced horsemen/women watching me and judging how well I care for my horse.  I don't have an extensive background in horses. How many times have I dealt with a serious illness or injury with a horse?  0.  How many times have I ridden horses long distances? 0.  How many times have I even camped with a horse? 0.  I wouldn't go expecting to place, I would go for the experience and the constructive criticism.  One possible issue: the average pace that an endurance rider needs to maintain to complete a ride is 5 mph, while a CTR rider needs a 6 mph pace to complete.  On paper, this doesn't seem like a big deal but from the reading I've done, it can be difficult for a new rider/horse team to set a 5 mph pace, especially on their first real ride.  We'll see how Ruby does when we start real conditioning rides.

All of the above is just brain vomit - thoughts that have been swirling around in my head for the last little while.  For any of this to happen in the first place, the stars will need to align: my truck is an '05, my horse is a '00, my family has to come to first, and Heather's trailer has a low spot in the floor that needs to be fixed.  Until then, I'll be thinking, dreaming, and planning. 

Pinpointed the problem

I went out to see Ruby this morning, and maybe ride her around at a walk.  As usual, she neighed at me when I walked around the corner of the barn, stuck her head into the halter over the stall door, and gave me goo-goo eyes while I groomed her.

'Whatcha doin' back there??'

She stood quietly for tacking, though she did flinch a few times as I placed the saddle pad.  I'm not actually sure what you call it, but I'm referring to that skin shudder they do when a fly has landed on them.  She sometimes does this, so I proceeded to place the saddle. I put more Desitin on the seams of the saddle pad and started tightening the girth.  I wasn't able to get the girth as tight as it needed to be for trotting, but it would work for walking so I led her into the arena.  As usual she stood stock-still for mounting and walked off when asked.  We walked over poles, around barrels, did baby leg yields and worried about what we couldn't see on the other side of the trailer parked in the arena.  She was great and I was thinking, let's just see if she'll trot over a pole one time with me riding.  But, if I wanted to trot, I needed to tighten the girth.  I hopped down and tried her left side - seemed tight enough.  I walked around to her right; this side could go up another hole.  I don't know how everyone else does it, but when I tighten a girth, I'm looking at the girth buckles and the holes in the saddle billets, not at the horse's skin.  This time, I noticed what must have been staring me in the face for the last several months...when the girth is fully tightened, it pinches her skin between itself and the edge of the saddle pad. 

Not currently pinching, but you can see how the Desitin was squeezed up between the edges

I noticed and mentioned to Heather that Ruby will sometimes pin her ears when we are trotting especially when I would ask her to turn. I had Heather watch me because I assumed it had something to do with my position, whether it be my legs, hands, or seat.  She never saw anything that might cause a negative response so I assumed Ruby was just a horse that only wanted to trot when it was her idea.  Or maybe she didn't see the point of running around in circles.  I figured that as we worked more and got to know each other better, she'd work out of it.

Wow, do I ever feel like a jerk.  I've thought several times that I should go ahead and buy a shorter girth but I've never needed to tighten beyond the billet holes closest to the saddle.  I figured another girth was something that I didn't actually need, as my current one wasn't technically too long.  I also worried that if I got a shorter girth, the buckles would place pressure directly on a massive vein that runs from near Ruby's elbow to her belly on both sides.  How wrong I was!  It is unreal to me that this mare has never attempted to buck, rear, bite, or otherwise throw or harm me considering that she has been getting pinched!  She had every opportunity and honestly would have been justified.  Ruby is a freaking saint. 

Saint Ruby just before untacking

I untacked her right there in the arena, gave her a huge hug and a thank you and let her graze to her heart's content on the 'special' (ungrazed) grass of the arena and the barnyard. 

Picture from Poker Ride

Photo courtesy of Poker Ride for Kate Facebook page

Another short solo ride's in the bag

I rode Ruby yesterday and she felt great so I asked Heather if she'd like to ride today.  Ultimately, she decided it wasn't worth the sweat equity (can't say that I blame her).  So, what to do?  If you're like me, you have two little voices in your head.  One of them is completely reasonable.  This is the one that says, 'Maybe it's not a good idea to let the kids run through the kitchen' (re: pots of boiling water, hot oven, knives, etc).  Then there's the other one.  That other voice is a complete coward and will keep you from living your life if you let it: if you take a plane, you might die; if you walk out your door, you might die; if you do that, you might screw it up.  Part of getting back into horses for me has been telling that second voice to shut the hell up.  So, I hooked up the trailer, loaded Ruby, and headed out. We went to Tenoroc, which has wide, mowed trails and is only a ten-minute drive.  It was actually a great day to go riding: no rain clouds in sight, a nice breeze, and it wasn't 'make-you-wanna-die' hot.

It took me a good ten times to back the trailer in straight, but I'm getting it.  Regarding the rub and this saddle pad: I am in the process of modifying a Toklat Woolback pad into something that I (hopefully) will be able to use.  In the meantime, I sprayed her sides with Show Shine and put a thick line of Desitin on the seam of the right flap.  The plan was to hop down and check every so often and watch her body language: if I listen, she will tell me when something isn't right.   

Not a care in the world...

Ruby was completely calm standing by the trailer but is a different beast after you mount up - she becomes completely incapable of standing still.  In fact, she doesn't even possess the ability to walk at less than break-neck (well, for walking) speed.  We went around and around (and around) the parking area, with her giving the hairy eyeball to the trail head - at the beginning of a ride, she dislikes thick brush being close to the trail.  When I got serious about pushing her to the trail entrance, she went.  We have gotten a lot of rain in the last few days, so there were muddy parts and places under a few inches of water.  She's a bit of a prima donna when it comes to getting her feet wet so I let her choose her way across as long as she stayed on the trail.

We rode for about 30 minutes when I decided to hop down and check her for rubs - so far, so good.  I walked her maybe another 20 feet, mounted up and headed back to the trailer.  I didn't want to stay out too long because I'd completely forgotten sunscreen and the trail has next to no shade.  If it wasn't so muddy, we would have done more trotting and gotten more mileage.  

Heading back

When we popped out into the parking area, I expected Ruby to make a beeline for the truck but she marched right past it and started following another trail.  Laughing, I decided to see how far she would go until I almost caught a spider in the face. I turned her back towards the trailer, and she picked another trail beyond it and made a beeline for it.  Ruby is a trip and I love that she seems to enjoy the trails.  She didn't spook once, only tried to trot off with me a few times, and was willing to keep going when we were done - I'm proud of my girl :)

We rode 3.4 miles in just under one hour, average speed 3.7 mph: https://www.strava.com/activities/167592460.  I was worried that our first solo ride was a fluke, but today proved otherwise.  My girl is ready to go solo.  I cannot tell you how freeing it was to pull in, park and fiddle around until everything was just right, with no one waiting for me or vice versa.  If things went well, fantastic, if not, I could leave whenever, no big deal.  And, I no longer have to wait for anyone else to want to ride - if I feel like riding, I'll go.   

New/different things:
The Desitin and Show Shine did what was hoped, but we might not have ridden long enough.  For now (as long as there are no new rubs), this will have to do.  As stated, I am modifying another pad that I hope will work for us until I can buy a new one.

I think I've finally figured out which pad to buy when I do buy a new saddle pad.  I'm on a mostly self-imposed budget (is there anyone else that feels guilty spending cash on horse stuff when their spouse doesn't?) so I research and research and research, then I cross my fingers and say a little prayer before pushing the 'Buy' button.

Jeggings - super cheap and way more comfortable than my cheapo riding tights.  I read about them on the AERC Facebook page.  They may not hold up for very long, but at under $13 a pop, I can afford to replace them.

Side pull - Ruby prefers the side pull so no more bit for her.  Oddly, she is also more responsive in the side pull than the snaffle bit.  Maybe at some point I'll find one she likes, but until then we're going bitless.

Finally, my dressage lesson has been rescheduled for Monday due to the rain - I'm looking forward to it!

Trail Riding in Florida

As inhospitable an environment as Florida is for horses, with the heat, humidity and overall wet conditions, I was shocked to find out that this state is in the top five for horse population in the US.  As such, there are a lot of riding opportunities for horse-lovers.  Not having had a horse here as a child, I didn't have the opportunity to explore any of the local trails.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that there at least three riding clubs located in central Florida:

Florida Sport Horse Club - I'm not going to lie, the name threw me.  Perhaps they were once something else, but they are now a trail riding club that has weekly (even through the summer!) group rides.  I have ridden with these folks once, they are a super-friendly and welcoming group.  Emails go out weekly with details for upcoming rides.

Triple B Riding Club - I have not met these folks in person, but they have been extremely friendly through email.  They have a club meeting once a month.  Trail rides average 2-3 month, with things slowing down during the summer.

Florida Trail Blazers - while the website is only updated a few times a year, the club appears to be very active. They claim to be dedicated to the creation and preservation of equestrian trails her in FL.  I haven't emailed these folks yet, but plan to by the end of the week - if for no other reason than to find out if they have monthly meetings, etc.

While there are no trails easily accessible by horseback from my barn, I am lucky that are two places within a 15 minute drive and another within 30 minutes of the barn.  If I want to drive for an hour, there are another four areas to choose from.  Still, I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface.  I plan to get more involved with these clubs if for no other reason than to broaden my and Ruby's horizons.

Freckled- and whiskered-adorableness

On the Ruby front, her rub continues to get better.  I considered riding today but had a pounding headache by the time I got to the barn. I didn't even lunge her, but we did walk over some cross-rails.  Ruby is VERY lazy about picking her feet up for PVC-type poles so I'm considering asking my already over-burdened husband to make a few cavaletti for me.  Why not do it myself?  I am completely worthless when it comes to building things or even using power tools - sad but true.  Besides that, measuring and then making cuts is something that I have never mastered; not just wood but even when it comes to fabric for quilts.  I just suck at that stuff.  The hubs, however, acts like he was born with a Dewalt drill in his hand, so these things fall to him. 

Pics

Love that she approaches me now, even if not called. 

'Please just let me sleep...'

Waiting expectantly

Yesterday I evened up the heels of her right hind.  I also found a dressage instructor and set up a lesson for next Friday.  I will be riding a lesson pony for the first several lessons, then we'll start incorporating Ruby.  In the meantime, Ruby and I will begin some very basic in-hand dressage along with our usual stuff. 

Feet

I trimmed Ruby's feet this morning and took before and after pics.  For anyone who might come along - I am learning and far from perfect (I already see some things I need to take care of when I go to the barn tomorrow).  Ruby's left rear is very out of whack - her sole seems to be more built up on the inside.  Anyway, without further ado...

Left front before trim:

Holy stretched white line, Batman!

Left front after trim:

Left rear before trim:

The wonky foot.

 

Left rear after trim:

Wonky sole - I took the wall down to the sole in the hopes that the higher side will want to flake out in the future.

Right rear before trim:

Right rear after trim:

I'll be revisting this foot with the rasp tomorrow - I just didn't see the imbalance until I looked at the picture. 

Right front before trim:

Right front after trim:

Things I see - I need to get better at seeing the flares and rasping them off.  I borrowed Heather's hoof knife to trim the frogs but it was too dull, so I'll have to pick up one of my own.  She has quarter cracks on a few feet so I tried to take the quarters down more on those feet.  I need to get better at the mustang roll.  I picked up some Desitin for her heel bulbs today, which should help with the super-soft, pitted tissue.  Finally, she was developing a few toe cracks and has white line stretching all around, so I will be trimming every week or so for a while.  My big fear is that I'm going to get 'rasp-happy' and make her sore.

:(

While trying to rinse Ruby off on Saturday afternoon, I noticed a swollen spot on her right side.  Unfortunately, it was very dark due to the storm so I didn't get a chance to really check it out.  I was semi-hopeful that the swelling was caused by a horse-fly bite, but the location suggested that it was a tack issue - damn. 

Yesterday, I checked it again.  The swelling was mostly gone.  It didn't seem overly sore but I threw some Furazone on it before I left. 

@#$@#$@#!!!!  Definitely a rub *sigh*

This morning, I had the chance to really check it out and ponder what might have caused it.  I threw her saddle pad on - it looks like the rub was caused by the seam of her Equipedic pad.  Sunnuva! So, what the heck happened?  There are a few possibilities.  I was able to tighten her girth (on the left) a hole more than usual on Saturday, so I did but I didn't check to see if I could still get two fingers between her and the girth.  I should have, but got complacent since 'they say' you should really crank the treeless saddles down due to all of the padding.  Or maybe this pad just isn't going to work for her on longer rides.  Saturday's ride wasn't a 'long' ride but it was the farthest that we have gone so far.

Is this why Ruby could not seem to trot a straight line during the ride?  Very likely.  I know she kept looking over her right shoulder - at the time, I thought she was trying to look at Copa or that she was hearing other horses in the woods.  Now I realize that she was trying to tell me something, doh! 

What to do? I know I won't tighten her girth that tight again...ever.  I've also been considering a 'self-centering' girth for quite a while - supposedly with these girths, you don't have to tighten them so much.  I could (and probably will) sew some sheepskin over the seams at the bottom of the saddle pad flaps.  I'm also considering getting a Dixie Midnight pad, which would go under the Equipedic - it should allow her to sweat more freely and may also keep the Equipedic's seam from touching her skin.  If none of these work, I've been wanting to buy a used Haf or Skito pad, but it's a possibility that these may rub her too. Maybe one of the new Toklat Matrix pads?  Gah - I wish there was a place I could go to lay my hands on these pads, I hate buying pricey stuff over the internet!

So, it looks like no riding for me until poor Ruby heals up.  And no longer rides until I get the saddle pad figured out.  But that's ok - it gives us time to work on other things.

My poor mare!  I hate that I didn't recognize that she was trying to tell me it hurt :(

Alafia River State Park

Lee and I decided last week to take our ponies to Alafia today.  We met up around 8 am, loaded our crap and the ponies and got on the road.  Alafia is about an hour and a half drive, and we arrived around 9:30 - so far, so good.  Unfortunately, immediately after mounting up Lee and I got sucked into a conversation with a very nice lady who was already done riding for the day.  Seriously, this conversation dragged on for over half an hour - long enough for me to start Strava and turn it off to wait for the conversation to be over.  I'm not really anti-social, I would just rather ride than talk, especially when riding an antsy mare that believes that no good can come from standing still.

Anyway, we had a great ride - it was mostly overcast in the morning, so was relatively cool.  The trail was constantly changing and therefore interesting.  There were a few other folks on the trail but not too many; we were having a great time.  After two and a half hours or so, we came upon a water trough so we took the opportunity for a break, during which I got this picture.

Yeah, next time we might want to remove the masks...still, they are obviously trying to be cute for cookies, which, of course, is cute!

Right after this picture was taken, we decided it might be a good idea to find the trailer - ominous clouds were beginning to gather.  It turns out we were lost and it took us another two hours to find the trailer...Two hours, with it getting hotter and sunnier but with a huge thunderhead forming in the sky.  We did trot a few stretches which brought into perspective that Ruby cannot trot a decent straight line to save her life, lol.  We need to practice this, a lot...We did eventually make it back to the trailer, not long after which we started to hear the thunder.  Ruby loaded up fine, but Copa didn't want to load, crap!  It was right around this time that Lee started having real issues with the heat.  In her defense, when we got to the trailer the air was so thick it felt like it was sticking to us - it was HOT.  Lee went to sit in the truck's AC for a few minutes while I tried to load a horse that wanted to load even less for someone he doesn't know *sigh*.  Eventually, Lee recovered a bit, loaded Copa and we took off.  The storm followed us north to the barn and rolled in a few minutes after we got the horses unloaded.  Poor Ruby probably feels like I don't appreciate her at all!  I was able to run a little water on her before the lightening started, then I threw her into her stall with some hay and ran to park the trailer. At this point, the flashes of lightening and sound of thunder were nearly simultaneous.  We got the trailer parked and unhooked, and I got the barnyard gate closed right before the sky opened up. 

All in all we had a good ride, no spooks or refusals - other than at the trailer.  I did learn that it's a bad idea to wander in the forest under the impression that you have all day.  I also learned that Ruby needs to do more trotting outside of a small arena, and I really need to work on bringing her back down to a walk on the trail as well.  We rode 13.6 miles today - a new record for us, woohoo! http://www.strava.com/activities/162122720

First solo ride

It went well, though not without its moments.  If you dare to look at the Strava link, you can see that the beginning of the ride had lots and lots (and lots) of circles.  Ruby was very up - she wanted to trot everywhere and (predictably) was not listening when asked to slow down so we did lots of one rein stops.  Even the one rein stops didn't stop her feet right away though; at one point, we circled so many times that I was actually getting dizzy!  When she was walking calmly, we headed to the trail *cue Jaws music*.  There was stopping, and ducking to the left or right in an attempt to get back to the trailer, but nothing too serious.  Even so, I was starting to feed off of her nerves so I turned on some tunes and started singing to calm myself.  There were moments of brilliance, when she was listening to slight cues and walking forward with impulsion like she knew what she was doing and maybe starting to enjoy herself a bit.  Then she was attacked by a monster horse fly, so I hopped down to lend my assistance.  That's when I heard the first peals of thunder, uh oh.  People and horses get struck by lightening all the time here in the Sunshine State so it was time to leave.   On the way back she was calm, forward, and rateable - a pleasant surprise, as I thought I was going to have a real fight on my hands with her trying to bolt back to the trailer.   When we got back to the trailer, I untacked and loaded her in record time.  Within two minutes of pulling out onto the road, I saw a lightning strike.  Somehow, the storm completely missed us during the drive and didn't hit the barn, phew!  Even though our ride was cut short, I feel like Ruby did very well - I am proud of my girl!  https://www.strava.com/activities/16125472

Ever-so-slightly worried about what her crazy human may have in store for her...

She passed!

One of the skills any good trail horse (not to mention a good endurance horse) has is the ability to go quietly down the trail alone.  In that vein, I have been slowly preparing Ruby for this skill.  In all honesty, this is something that she should have been exposed to by her fifth or sixth year at the latest, but with all of the other holes in her training I am sure it hasn't been done.  Today's ride was a test - I rode her by herself through the gelding pasture.  This is a pasture that she does not graze in and there are areas from which you can't see the barn, so she was definitely outside of her comfort zone.  She did try to duck back to the barn a few times but there were no spooks or hissy fits.  When we turned around she tried to rush back to the barn and was so adamant that I made her trot back AWAY from the barn - if there was going to be a fit, it should have been then.  Instead, Ruby did me proud so tomorrow will be our first attempt at trail riding completely alone.   I'm not going out there thinking that we are going to get down the trail without incident, instead I plan to ride her in the parking area to feel her out. If she has a meltdown, we'll do our usual arena workout close to the trailer.  If she seems good, we'll still do our usual workout but then we'll try the trail.  The place I'm going is small, completely fenced (including the parking area) and has no asphalt or gravel.  Fingers crossed that things go well!  In the meantime:

Ruby bran-mash-face...

and Bourbon bran-mash-face!

P.S.  Miss Anti-PDA now lets me hug her neck without pulling away.  And she comes to me when I call her, even if I'm not in sight.  Huge leaps of faith for her - I officially feel special.