The mornings are (finally!!!) cooling down some, so right before I threw the kids in the car to take them to school, I texted Heather to ask if she wanted to go to Tenoroc. We didn't want to feel rushed, so just decided to take the short northern loop today.
Right from the start Ruby was slogging along - the norm when she has to pee. Knowing that she won't go until we get back to the trailer, we pushed on. This particular loop is a little over three miles long. I felt bad for her, and I'm hoping that one of these days, she'll just get it over with already. I haven't figured out why some horses hold it like this, but to each their own.
The good thing about Ruby's extremely un-Ruby-like pace is that Candy was able to keep up easily. No stopping and waiting. Heather and I moseyed along the trail while she updated me on another boarder's Great Saddle Search. The plus for Heather is that she is also in the market for a new saddle, so she gets to try out All The Saddles. We were coming up on a hill when Candy started blowing. Then Ruby did her death stare stop and I let Heather know that there really was something in the brush. Because her saddle screws with her balance, she opted to climb down and lead for a ways. She remounted at the crest of the hill and we went on with our ride.
Now, I'm going to confess something here. I think I've already made it clear that I'm not a great rider. I'd like to think I'm at least a decent one, but probably not. Candy and Heather trail behind when we ride together because even when Ruby's doing the pee-pee dance she just naturally moves faster than Candy. This results in a lot of head-turning on my part so that Heather can at least hear me when I respond. So, we were plodding along, talking, me with my head turned back over my left shoulder when something moved in the bushes just behind and the right of us. I barely heard the rustle and before I knew it, it felt like I was laid back over Ruby's butt as she bolted. The first bound forward, I remember thinking, "What the hell?" Second bound, "Ruby's bolting!" Yes, it took me that long to get my shit together. I sat up, and knowing that I'm not always organized when gathering my reins, decided to lean forward and grab the reins a few inches from the headstall. As soon as she realized I wanted her to stop, Ruby put on the brakes, hard. So hard that her front legs bounced twice...and we smacked heads twice. It hurt, even through my helmet. I started rubbing her forehead as I looked back to see what had become of Candy and Heather. Luckily, Heather was still in the saddle but it was a close one. Candy did one of those flat 180 degree spins but stopped when she realized Ruby was hauling ass in the other direction. The whole thing was over 4-5 seconds after it started. The girls calmed right back down. I'm proud of them and so thankful for my helmet. And thankful for my saddle, which felt like it was glued to my pants for the whole episode. I seriously cannot believe that I didn't flip over backwards, phew.
Neither of us saw what was in the bushes, but it was probably a pig. A bit further down the trail, we decided to trot because the biting flies were getting bad. Ruby is a trip. She started out slow but soon was seriously motoring down the trail. We were leaving Candy way behind so I asked her to slow up a bit. We took a short walk break, and finding that we still had not left the flies behind, decided to trot again. These were short stretches, maybe a couple hundred yards or so. We slowed again as we came to a curve that should have taken us back to the beginning of the trail. Only it didn't. Coming down off the hill, this stretch of trail looked exactly like the beginning and went to the road, as it should. But there was a gate closed across the trail. Oops, missed a turn. There was just enough room beside the gate for a horse to be led through, so we dismounted, went around the gate and mounted back up. We rode by Ruby's favorite horse-eating-rock and discovered that Candy is also a fan. The rest of the ride was uneventful. Ruby seemed surprised and, dare I say, disappointed to see the trailer again. Candy was relieved that the ordeal was over. Right after tying her, Ruby peed for what seemed like forever. We rinsed the girls, loaded them up, and headed back to the barn.
So, lesson learned. Wear your helmet - you don't have to fall off to need it. My head hurt for a good 10-15 minutes after bonking it on Ruby's; without the helmet, I'd probably have knocked myself out. And, learn to take up your reins properly. I had plenty of time to gather my reins, but I didn't know if Heather was still mounted or if she was hurt so decided not to. In hindsight, I probably could have just asked Ruby to whoa; she was ready to stop as soon as she realized that's what I wanted. I honestly did not think about it, bad rider! All in all though, it was a very good ride.
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