Romeo's First Trail Ride

In all this blogging about regular client horses, I have totally failed to mention the fact that young Romeo went on his first trail ride about a month ago. Jen and her niece, Alissa, were going out for an evening jaunt through some of my favorite old haunts and, despite the fact that I had had an extremely long day, I couldn't say no to the invitation they extended to me.

Romeo had already been ponied on the trails and we wouldn't be going far or fast. The handful of rides I'd had on him indicated that he's a mellow horse who isn't likely to spook or act up. The difference between riding an older horse with some rough miles and a youngster with a clean start is unbelievable. Romeo made a lot of seasoned trail horses I ride look like spooky greenies.

We kept it to an hour of walk-only riding. We made our way down the street, up the neighbor's impressive, tree-lined driveway, and across fields to where I boarded Ozzy back in 2008. I was sad to see how run down that farm has become, but glad to be back on trails I haven't ridden since I moved him. Along the way we saw deer, barking dogs, other horses (both ridden and loose in pastures), cars, bicycles, and all kinds of footing and shrubbery. Romeo just plodded along on a loose rein, ears floppy, eyes soft, taking in the sights with a subdued kind of interest.

Our route took us out to the creek, which Romeo had seen before and splashed right into. He actually seemed to delight in nosing through the cool water and hanging out with the older horses. What a good man!

As we rode back under a blue moon in a pink sky, I thought to myself, "If they were all this easy, I'd be out of a job!"