Max Goes To Round Valley

 August 25, 2026
Round Valley Reservoir
3.88 miles
1h12m

The barn basically backs up to Round Valley. In fact, if the dam wasn't fenced in, I could ride there from the farm. This makes Round Valley one of the closest trails to the horses. Unfortunately, it's also one of the tougher trails in the area with lots of elevation and rocks on top of rocks. 

On a random Tuesday after work, I decided to haul Max the five minutes to the main entrance and see how he handled a little bit of terrain. I planned to ride out and back with no mileage goal in mind. Mostly, I just wanted to unwind. 

For the first time in a long time, I parked in the main lot. It turns out admission is free after 5pm, which I have noted for future reference. 

As I drove into the park, I saw a sign that said, "Ask our rangers how trees use their computers."

Gleefully, I pulled up to the booth at the entrance. Since there was no entry fee, the kid behind the glass tried to wave me through. I just did my very best Jack Nicholson smile until he slid the window open. 

"Parking is...."
"...on the right by the boat launch, I know..."
"Ok..." I could see him grasping for straws. "Can I help you with something?"
"Yes! I have a very important question."
"Ok..."
"How do trees use their computers?"

Guys... you probably heard this kid groan from inside your houses. 

With a huge eye roll, he replied, "They log on."

It was worth it. 

Max and I went on to have a beautiful ride. We went out the only way you can go on horseback and the views were lovely. I am quick to reject this part of the park because it's an out-and-back, but it does feature some of the nicest scenery along the way.

I decided to take a detour up the sledding hill to take in the view. It's a steep climb and the biggest hill Max had seen at that point, but he handled it easily and with confidence. Good boy!

From there we just went out to the dam. Max marched happily along and I even clocked him walking at 4mph which is pretty good for a non-gaited horse. 

On this ride, I could really feel how Max's fitness had changed in the course of a month. He was more forward, balanced, and confident in general.

I was a little cautious heading into the stairs down the hill approaching the dam. This can be a challenging section even for seasoned horses. Max power walked down the stairs like he'd been doing it his entire life. 

I gave him a loose rein and let him pick the way, but I'll admit to saying out loud, "It's not a race. You can slow down if you need to." He did not need to. 

He handled all the rocks and terrain really well too.

When we reached the dam, I decided this was enough for one night. I was ready to retrace our steps back to the trailer. That's when something funny happened. It took me a moment to figure it out.

Normally, Max is a little pokey going away from the trailer. Then he perks up on the return trip. This time, he was marching away from the trailer, but he balked when I turned him to head back.

A few minutes later, I realized that the dam pops out at the end of the road that leads to Hannah's. I'm pretty sure Max thought I was riding him home!! When I turned him away from the barn, he resisted. I was pretty impressed with his sense of direction since I have never ridden him off the farm and had trailered to the reservoir that night. Clever boy!

He did eventually seem to realize we had to go back to the trailer and picked up a forward walk again. 

Climbing back up the stairs.

We ended the night by taking a little dunk in the lake. It wasn't quite that peaceful. 

A few people have mentioned that Max seems perfect. Don't get me wrong. He's a very good boy and I love him. But he does have some faults.

One of them is that he will plant his feet and refuse to move forward if he doesn't want to. This isn't a big deal. My solution to this is always relentless pressure followed by an immediate release to reward any forward thoughts. In Max's case, the pressure comes in the form of annoying taps with my dressage whip. 

Max hates being tapped with the whip and will kick out in protest. Early on, he tried to double barrel at me when I was lunging him. We corrected that pretty promptly, but he still has Opinions. 

He is slowly learning that the only thing that makes me stop being annoying is going forward, but he still tests the boundary from time to time.

On this night, he wasn't sure he wanted to go down the steep rocks into the water. I nudged, kicked, and tickled him with my whip. He balked. I increased the tickle to a tap and he kicked out, which earned him a firmer smack. He retaliated by double barreling and throwing his butt up in the air. I wasn't unseated, but it was pretty athletic. 

So I whacked him and growled at him and he went, "Oh? Did you just want to go in the water? That sounds fine. I guess."

So much drama *eyeroll*

It was worth having a little spat to take in this view though. Just wow.

So lucky to have this in my backyard.

The rest of our ride went peacefully and uneventfully. I noted that Max was starting to feel really confident out on his own, which is important to me.

I made a mental note to have Mike bring the camera to the barn later in the week to get some updated riding photos of us together. 

The booty is starting to fill out a little.

Getting thicker in general.

He does have a sweet face.