Water Woes

I know most traffic that hits this blog is from the equestrian community. Frequent visitors are likely familiar that while much of my blog is horse-based, I pursue far more than solely equestrian adventures. I rock climb. I ski. I travel. I explore.

Much of this adventure, many of these shared shenanigans - including visits from fellow bloggers/friends - take place in West Virginia. My home.

I'm sure many of you heard about the water disaster in recent weeks that happened near the State's Capitol. An "accidental" chemical spill occurred in the Elk River that ended up affecting the drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. (No, I was not - fortunately - affected by this.)

They couldn't drink or cook with it. They couldn't clean or wash with it. They couldn't do a single thing with their tap water beyond flushing the damn toilet. FOR DAYS. Even now, with the system "cleared", there are questions looming about the potability of the water. The CDC has recommended that pregnant women don't drink the water.

The following text was written by a friend of mine on his blog "ropetrip". Now, while many of you are not climbers, the points Dylan makes regarding visitors to this state who enjoy what we have can relate to many who enjoy the outdoors and West Virginia. I'm sharing this with you in hopes that it will make you think and perhaps incite a response from you to push for better regulations for not only my home, but others as well. Without clean water we. have. nothing.

: : : : : 

west virginia's water woes and why they matter to climbers 

 I've kept the ropetrip a lighthearted foray into the adventures and life lessons of rock climbing. I never intended for this to become a proverbial soap box on which I would stand and wax poetically. However, it's time we band together and call for action. Environmental issues related to the sports in which we partake are numerous and should be addressed as areas of concern.
With the recent 7,500 gallon spill of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM) into the Elk River that left 300,000 citizens from Charleston and nine surrounding counties without potable water for several days, many questions are left unanswered. Most notable is the facepalming location of the guilty tanks a mile upstream from the largest public water intake in the state. The sketchy business dealings related to Freedom Industries and the development of CDC safety measures arbitrarily based on improper chemical composition and material safety data sheets (MSDS) with no safety data available are also severely conspicuous activities.
This is a multi-faceted issue that deals with problems in industry, economy, and regulatory frameworks. I won't delve further into the details as any interested folks can venture down the rabbit hole on their own time. What I want to do is inform all the climbers, paddlers, backpackers and mountain lovers that this issue belongs to you, too.  In-state, out-of-state, West Coast, international. In our case, we who take to ropes tend to focus on access over actual ecological health. It's time we look at land management from a holistic point of view and promote watershed health from source to sea. It doesn't matter who you are. Young, old, gumby, top roper, 5.14 leader. If you make it down once a week or once a year. You're a New River climber, and this is your land. In fact, it's everyone's land, because we publicly own large tracts of it as taxpayers. Have your love and passion for the region go beyond practicing Leave No Trace ethics and throwing a couple bucks to NRAC for hardware replacement.
Because, guess what? Once the mountain tops are chopped and the water supply is poisoned, nothing remains. Your weekend getaways to the AAC campground and cheerful meals at Pies N' Pints mean nothing if you don't stand up to fight tooth and nail for what remains. Simply frequenting West Virginia as an out-of-stater doesn't absolve you from the responsibility to collectively build coercive force to fight corporate corruption.
Call and write to West Virginia's representatives. And don't think your call doesn't matter because you're not a voting constituent. You contribute to the state's tourism economy by spending your dollars at West Virginia businesses. Considering how much money talks on the steps of Charleston's gilded capitol, you have as much a voice as any native Mountaineer.
Don't fall pray to the idea that there are enough regulations on the books and the only problem is their lack of enforcement. This issue was the inevitable result of an industry with ZERO regulations. These tanks faced not one line of century code dealing with inspection because they were only used for storage purposes. And, you know, storage containers don't deteriorate over time. So go and demand effective regulatory structures. Demand that those regulations be enforced by properly funded agencies with compassionate employees. Demand an end to a destructive system that has long harmed the disenfranchised folk who shorten their lives and poison their land to provide your surrounding states with electricity.
Enough lofty rhetoric on my part. It's time we organize and produce tangible material. When it comes to environmental policy, we fall under the gift and curse of the policy window. This phenomenon is engaged by unpredictable events that point the spotlight on particular areas of concern. While these issues are illuminated, action may be taken out of urgent need or public support. However, these windows are often short-lived. As soon as some other story takes the spotlight, concern is lowered and the window closes.
With the Bridgegate scandal stealing the airwaves from an involuntary public health experiment being waged on 300,000 tax payers, the window is already closing. I ask that you take one source of action from the following avenues listed below. Call, write, donate, curse, scream. Do it for me. Do it for West Virginia. Do it for the New. Because when we've processed the last chunk of coal and the lights go off...when we've deemed the last stream dead, it'll be too late.
NEW RIVER ALLIANCE OF CLIMBERS (NRAC)
Don't just send bolt money (well, do that too) but find out what you can do to increase climbers' presence in recreational and environmental policy issues at the grassroots, local, and state levels.
WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (DEP)
Charleston Headquarters: 601 57th Street, S.E. Charleston, WV 25304
304.926.0495
WEST VIRGINIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE MIKE MANYPENNY (one of the goodguys)
mike.manypenny@wvhouse.gov
Room 203E, Building 1
State Capitol Complex
Charleston, WV 25305
304.340.3139
EARL RAY TOMBLIN, WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNOR
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25305
Office Phone: 304.558.2200
Governor's Mansion: 304.558.3588
WEST VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY
One of the state's oldest environmental conservation advocates.
WEST VIRGINIA CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB
A great resource for all legislative contacts in West Virginia.
Last but not least, share this blog post. Share your ideas. Ask your friends if they know the travesty that's unfolding down here. Do your research and understand not only why the issues are the way they are, but what is endemically wrong with West Virginia's all-too-lax regulatory system. If you're out-of-state, make sure people are aware that we provide the power they use on a daily basis. And finally, keep climbing at the New. Thank you.

Griffin Updates

With the winter weather coupled with two jobs, I've been slacking major on my horse-time lately. Riding Griffin has turned into a 1x a week if I'm lucky affair.

This past Monday I was able to get out to the barn for a 6 hour stint though. I had time to work with K and her new horse (a post on this is in the workings) - now named Tempest - work with Griffin, and ride Q (yet another post).

My main goals for Griffin on this day were to trim his feet, get some saddle time, and get his legs shaved to prevent intense ice balls from forming on the longer hair around his fetlock and prevent scratches.

Trim: 4 feet with minimal issue. His heels have contracted a bit with the wet weather, constant mud, and lack of movement due to standing at the round bale more than moving about. Overall, I'm not greatly concerned though. Its the nature of having a horse in the winter on the east coast. Its wet. Its rainy. Its snowy. Mud is a fact of life. My horses hooves will change a little with each season. Knowing what is normal for each season is the best I can do.

The main thing I did on this trim that I've been slacking on was trimming his overgrown bars. Discussions with several of you on Facebook lately really helped me to explore and expand my understanding of bars. Griffin's were overgrown and starting to flare out in places so I took care of them.

All things considered though, Griffin's feet are headed in a better direction. The increased movement through rides is helping to change some aspects of his feet that I was optimistic would change with the advent of more riding. I'm excited to see how things develop in the next 6 months.

Shave: Griffin, ever ready-to-please and true to the "you tell a gelding" phrase, was absolutely stellar about the whole shaving process on his legs. And honestly, I didn't really expect anything less.

His legs were muddy from the field, so the first step was getting them washed off. I'm not fortunate
enough to have a fancy wash stall with warm water, so I did the least painful thing I could think of for both of us: I filled up a bucket and had him stand in it for about 15 seconds per leg while I swished the water against his leg to get the mud off.

I've never asked Griffin to stand with his foot in a bucket before. Ever. But I asked him to for this and he did. With ZERO issue. In fact, his only issue was not wanting to take one of his feet out of the bucket! SUCH a good boy!

Once his legs were significantly cleaner, I wrapped them in standing wraps - another new experience for the little man - and then proceeded to ride him for a bit, then stall him while I rode Q, before finally shaving his finally dry and clean legs.

He was completely unbothered by the buzzing of the clippers on his legs. No. Big. Deal.

I'd given him grain to nibble, but he'd inhaled that by the time I was half way through the second leg. Once finished eating, the most he did was nuzzle me as I went about my work.

Seriously, this little grey horse is one of the sweetest equines I've ever been around. I love him.

Ride time: This was the first day in a very long time, probably ever, that I did zero work with Griffin prior to hopping on his back. I even noted to him as I was about to mount, "Okay little buddy, here goes nothing. Cold backed. Don't be an ass, please."

I rode Griffin while K was on Tempest. I used him to lead her around the round pen a bit before teaching from him. He was SO GOOD.

I rode once again in the Australian stock saddle. I also had my dressage whip in hand for this ride, too, as Griffin had been sluggish during our ring work on New Years Eve. This added tool was very useful during our ride on Monday. I'd offer Griffin "the good deal" and if he was sluggish about responding, I'd pop him on the shoulder. It only took doing this twice for him to hop to it - literally - when I requested a change in gait from the walk to the trot.

His transitions in the ring (not on the trail, conversely) are so enthusiastic. He literally hops from one gait to the other with his upward transitions. I was laughing aloud at him at one point because, in his intense desire to please, he did an absolutely stellar walk-canter transition. I'd said, "Trot," aloud one for him to transition, and he'd ignored it, so in my hasty impatience I gave a smooch as additional encouragement. Griffin knows the smooch noise to also mean "canter". So he did just what he knew to be right, he cantered immediately after hearing that noise.

It was totally my bad and his right. I slowed him from the canter laughing and patting him on the neck for being such a good, smart boy.

Watching K (greeny) trying to get Tempest to respond well (also a greeny, but with a heart of gold and so, so kind) and comparing them to Griffin, I was even more proud of my little grey horse. I was thankful for the knowledge I've built over many years that have been able to get Griffin to where he is.  While I was giving K her lesson I was able to demonstrate certain concepts for K with Griffin and have him respond beautifully for each teaching point. Even when he wasn't perfect, it was okay because he provided K with a better understanding of how to work through an issue like that with Tempest.

I continue to be so thrilled with where Griffin is headed in his training. He's still having some angsty moments, but they are so minor and short-lived that they're hardly even worth noting anymore. A tiny head toss here, a stiff-legged protest there. Brief nano-seconds of obstinate behavior that are nearly immediately over-ridden with stellar good behavior.

We still have a long journey ahead of us, but I'm very pleased with our progress so far!

(Almost) WW: Atticus Crazy Eyes

Brief backstory: Atticus was in Mike's lap after dinner. He kept trying to eat crumbs off Mike's plate. Each time he did it, Mike would do what he did in the video above. The video was filmed around the dozenth time. Atticus just.didn't.get.it. We were all losing it laughing.

Horses Who Made Me: Rocky

Traci at Fly On Over started a series chronicling her past with horses and how it got her to where she is now. I think this idea is brilliant. I'd thought for awhile about some sort of series, but was never able to sell myself on a good topic.

Until now.

Each Tuesday for the next several weeks I'll post - in chronological order - about horses who have made me the rider I am. The lessons I've learned from them are great and small, but all influenced me in some way to better myself as a rider and an equestrian.

Rocky
Rocky was the first horse I have memory of doing a significant ride on.

He was the horse of a local farrier with whom my parents were friends with. I would learn - much later in life - that my parents had discussed the possibility of buying a horse for me with this gentleman.

Rocky's owner led me on Rocky up a trail through the woods on his property. I was on the lead line throughout this portion of our adventure. We wound up a mountain side on a 4-wheeler trail for a time, and then back-tracked back down the mountain to the field where we'd begun. The whole time he talked to me about horse things and riding. Minor instruction was given here and there.

In this field, the lead line was unclipped and Rocky was left to follow his owner through the field at a pace of my choosing.

While the memory is fuzzy, I can remember having a little difficulty in the beginning of my new freedom on this horse. He wanted to eat and I wanted him to go. He finally chose to follow his owner back to the barn, not due to my efforts.

I remember him trotting some. I remember the thrill of that.

This was one of only a very few times I got to ride this pony, but I will always remember that first taste of freedom riding a horse under my own volition and not under the direction of someone else.

That moment, however brief, was the last pebble that tripped me into falling the rabbit hole of loving horses and riding. I've been here ever since.

Saturday Snaps: Skiing Snowshoe

Update on Kenai: 5 Months Post-Op

If you remember (or if you don't here's an update anyway), Kenai had surgery on the cruciate ligament in both of his knees in August. It seemed surprising at the time - such a young dog (3) needing surgery like this. But we'll just have to chalk it up to genetics and make the best of what's happened. (While unaware at the time of purchase, Kenai has some of the TOP Siberian show lines in the country. His close cousins - his father's brother's pups - were featured in Snow Dogs. He's got > 50 champions on his mother's side alone. I think all of these generations of Siberians in the show ring have weakened tendons and ligaments because they're no longer working dogs. Their bone structure - and Kenai's - is near perfect, but the other supporting structures of their skeleton are lacking due to years without a true job. I know none of this for certain, but its the best hypothesis I can come up with re: what happened to his knees. He has a VERY active lifestyle with me. He's a husky that can be off-leash and recalls 99% of the time. He trail rides with me!)

Its been a long road to recovery since then. I'm fortunate that he was a really phenomenal patient, taking it easy most of the time, and pushing through rehab exercises as they were provided.

In November and December he was considered "healed" as far as paperwork on rehab goes. However, he was still not 100%. He wouldn't limp after a day of movement, but he would rise very stiff-legged. It would take several minutes of stilt-legged movement before he was loosened up and moving forward. He'd still favor a 3-beat gait over his old favorite, that lilting jog that floated him over the ground that is so specific to all spitz breeds.

This worried me for a time. A friend had consoled me, noting that his broken ankle (that had to be put back together with metal it was so badly broken) was stiff like that, too, for awhile. He assured that Kenai's stiffness would go away with time. I had to trust this. It was all I had.

With the advent of winter weather, consistently lower temperatures, and being a lot more active, Kenai has really shown huge improvement in the past month insofar as stiffness goes. I rarely, if ever, note the stiffness in his movements now.

He's quick and agile again. He has zero issues bounding into my car - whereas before it was hit or miss if he'd ask me to pick him up. (And yes, he would ask! He'd stop, turn, look at me, look at the car, and repeat until I helped him out. He's conservative about things when uncertain.) He chooses the 2-beat gait over the 3-beat more and more often. His movement during his jog isn't quite as light and free as it once was, but there is improvement every day.

His hair is far from normal though, 5 months post-op. I had originally guesstimated that March would bring about "normal" appearance for his coat, but I'm now fearing that this may not come to fruition. He's got all of his undercoat - it gets thicker by the day. But his guard hairs are still struggling to come in. And he has bald patches in a few places! There is a reason people advocate against shaving double-coated dogs! There is no guarantee the coat will grow back the way it originally was. If you have a working dog, or a dog with a job who is often exposed to the elements, having an ill-functioning coat could seriously limit the animal over time. I've found some opinions online that say that a Siberian's coat will take 2 years - 2 years! - to be 100% normal again. From my experience with Kenai so far, I believe it!

But overall, if you were to ask me if I thought the surgery was worth it, would I do it again, my answer would be a resounding: yes. Kenai is feeling so much better than he was before I opted to do surgery. He moves better and doesn't favor his legs at all after a long day of running or hiking or exploring. He's happy. He plays more. And his life through the future will be so much better for it. I'll have my fuzzy partner in crime, happy and healthy and able to keep up with my shenanigans far into the future. And this makes us both happy.

Barn Blog Hop

Ashley at Horses: The Process of Learning started this blog hop.

It's time for a blog hop of barn tours! Ever wonder where your horsey Blogger friends spend most of their day?  Want to show off the amazing place you get to keep your fur child? Now is your chance to share and get to know your friends just a little bit more!

Here's how it's going to work; its simple and fun!

Share with us the following 5 photos:

1. A View of the Barn

 

Taken from the horse field; the barn

The interior as viewed from the main door

Big enough area to back my car and trailer into

The aisle; one larger foaling stall + tack room on the left and then three smaller
stalls on the right. The indoor round pen at the back. Wash rack is just out of
view to my right, too.

2. Your Horses' Living Space

 

24/7 turnout on many many acres

3. The Tack Room

 

Panorama taken from door in barn that leads to tack room.

The door into the tack room from inside the barn

The door to the outside from inside the tack room..and oh, a horse.

From the blue bin at center to the bottom saddle rack to the saddle pad hanger..my crap

4. View of Where You Ride

That's the area I refer to as the "barnyard" where I set up jumps and hope to
create a dressage practice area with letters this summer

Its nice to have a flat area to do this

I also ride around the property like this.
(A ride from Griffin earlier in the year.)
The barn is the roof in the upper right.

 

Indoor round pen

Outdoor round pen

Trails woods and the rail trail

5. Your Favorite Feature of Your Facility

Access to a trailer to travel far away trails

Access to versatile trails

The opportunity to ride in a place like this

 My absolute favorite part about my situation is the versatility available to me.

I have access to:

• wooded mountain trails that I can create up to a 20 mile ride on.
• the rail trail that I could ride one way for 30+ miles; a flat trail with excellent footing.
• two different sized round pens for liberty work and simple basics.
• a barnyard area that is flat and perfect for jumping or dressage schooling.
• a back field with a hill that is perfect for hill sprint workouts.
• a TRAILER that I can use whenever to go off property to the new, big covered arena or head out to far away trails for a change of scenery.
• wonderful people who are always there to help me out at a moment's notice; people who keep an eye on my horses at all hours of the day from the windows of their home and inform me if something is amiss. This last part is probably THE BEST thing. Its why I don't feel overly guilty throughout the winter months when I cannot get out there for a week at a time. I know my horses are okay or I would have had a call. 

So, I live in a barn

Backstory: I'm currently working in the town I grew up in. I was fortunate enough to score a job in my field immediately after college. I wasn't thrilled to be moving back home,  a much smaller and quieter town than where WVU is (yes, yes, party school, blah blah blah), but I couldn't turn down the amazing opportunity present to me. The first two years of my position, which constantly evolved, was completed in short spurts. I wasn't guaranteed a job past so many months. Fortunately, as things evolved I was able to stay again and again. In the spring of 2013, the job became more permanent, guaranteeing me a position a year at a time for 4 years. And thus, I was able to begin apartment searching.

It became evident immediately that the listings available in local papers and real estate flyers weren't going to work for me. Having pets made things significantly more difficult. So, instead of relying on those modes of discovery, I reached out to friends who are VERY well-connected within the community to keep an eye out for me.

Within a week of this request, my vet (and friend) had an idea.

Her practice is one that involves a lot of travel around the area. She specializes in equine and large animal, but also supplements that with small animal work two days a week. (She's seriously super woman! She's also the one who performed Kenai's surgery.) She sees a lot of properties and knows a ton of people as a result!

She mentioned a barn apartment just outside of town. Its on a road I didn't even know existed until a few years back, despite growing up here! The location makes it seem like its way out in the boonies, but really its only a 7 minute drive from just about anywhere in town - and only a 15 minute drive to my horses.

She cautioned that the place would need renovated, that the landowners would do that, but not until I confirmed my interest and saw it first.

I was ecstatic.

In no time at all, I'd check it out, approved of the renovations they'd planned and we set a tentative move-in for July.

The apartment is linear. Front door leads into the kitchen/living room area and then a central hallway/doorways connect each of the rooms. It flows as such: kitchen/living, bathroom/gear storage space, spare bedroom/office space, laundry area and closet, bedroom.

An odd layout, for sure, bu perfect for a single person.

And, of course, I was allowed to bring the animals! Bonus? Kenai would have SO much room to run around the property!

So, without further ado, here is a photo tour through the months of my place. I absolutely adore it - minus the two gates I have to open/close to get from my residence to the road because of the horse field. (I have a moat of horses/fields, haha.)

The area painted red is the apartment. The rest is the barn. Their horses are on 24/7 turnout, so its not stinky or noisy.

The view as I drive in. The barn is on the right.

Better view of barn to right. Apartment is the red painted area on the far side from the point-of-view.

A baby Atticus enjoying a crisp summer day from the front door.

The view from my front porch. Autumn colors surround me. This view is to the west.

The view to the south. I come through that gate to enter my yard. I love watching the storms roll in during the summer.

The view to the east at sunrise. The bottom land area in this photo is an oxbow wetland.

I sometimes let the boys into the yard to mow it for me. L-R, Major, Cooper, Chester, Something. Magic is outside the fence behind them and Hammer isn't pictured. All of the boys except Hammer are TWH. Hammer is a QH.

Chester, one of their 6 horses, greeting me one misty morning.

Rain rolling off the tin roof during a summer deluge. Its so loud when you're inside the apartment. I love the sound of the rain on the tin roof.

A panorama of the southeastern view one frosty morning.

The living room from the front door.

The kitchen/living area as viewed from the doorway that connects to the rest of the apartment.

The office/extra bed space looking toward my bedroom. My bedroom was originally a garage.

My bedroom. The back wall used to be a garage door.

Not a bad place to hang out. We have big plans for summer "beach" parties in this yard. Complete with cornhole, croquet, a slip-n-slide, baby pool, mini sandbox, chairs, and shade umbrellas.

My Mountain

Photo: Sam Zurbuch

All of my patrol ventures take place at Canaan Valley Ski Resort. In dire need of more snow, but not too shabby all the same considering the weather so far this season.

Its not a huge mountain and its not often busy. These factors make it a great place for beginners and a great private playground for those of us who frequent it often.

Griffin rides 7 miles

Last weekend Mike accompanied me for our second outing on the trail. Having a chaperone on the trails is a wonderful thing. After only two outings on the trail, I already feel so spoiled. I'm so lucky to have someone willing to gallivant through the woods with me in the manner I prefer to travel.

Griffin was his usual eager self, minus his sometimes spunky behavior on this day. Mike and I brought both of my horses in and set about tacking each up: Q in his Aussie saddle and Griffin in the Wintec, as I don't want to put my nice Ansur on my unpredictable greenie who may or may not dump me and run away into the abyss!

I once again used the halter-bridle with the little grey, too, since I've been receiving better results with it at this point in time. As with riding in the round pen on NYE, fighting the battle of the bit with Griffin isn't worth it to me on the trails at this point. I want to set him up for other successes - like moving forward down the trial, navigating potential obstacles, and enjoying his trail job - not worry about fighting with him over the bit and bridle. 

Prepped and ready, Mike and I mounted up and headed out from the barn, Griffin choosing the lead position instantly.

Mike and Q-bee

The ground and landscape was still blanketed with snow from previous days' bad weather. I don't
remember the temp on this day; it was overcast without rain and brisk enough for me to choose to wear my smartwool leggings with my breeches + my insulated riding boots. I was comfortable.

The ice leading up to the creek was the first obstacle for the day. With Griffin in the lead, I didn't know how it would go. Honestly though, I'd never done that on Q either, so even if she'd been in the lead its hard to say if she'd have been any more predictable than Griffin. Fortunately, the ice crunching and breaking (down into about 2"-4" of water) was a non-issue for both of my horses!

We proceeded to cross the creek where both drank deeply for a few moments before proceeding onward through the back open field toward the woods.

Mike and I chatted amiably the whole time about a myriad of things. Conversations come easily between us. We took a few moments in the field to goof off with photos on our phones since both horses were so relaxed and forward of their own accord.

We trucked up the first hill after the field photoshoot at a slow trot, Griffin huffing like it was the worst thing ever. I laughed at him and urged him onward. He was alert to his surroundings, but unbothered by everything we passed. He wove skillfully through saplings (trails still aren't 100% since Sandy hit last year) with only a little guidance from me as we worked our way to the main trails. Such a great little horse!

Instead of turning the first half mile of the ride all into an uphill journey, I chose instead to drop immediately onto the haul road with its more moderate grade.

In anticipation of taking this route, I'd put Renegades on Griffin's fronts. He'd been ouchy the weekend prior, so I wanted him to be able to enjoy life a little more without the added discomfort of ouchie feet on the rocks. Q was fine. She's got the greatest feet ever. (One of the reasons I'd really love to breed her one day - I want those feet in another horse!!!)

Big ol' feet on those legs of hers!

We bopped along the haul road for awhile, intermittently walking and trotting.

Griffin, still in the lead, wasn't so sure about trotting too much. He was interested and forward, just not with great haste.

I requested for Mike to put Q in the lead and head out at a nice trot, cantering if he chose. The two of them headed out, leading for the rest of the haul road at a medium-fast trot or a canter.

Griffin was a bit surprised at the increase in speed at first, but with time, despite his initial huffin' and puffin' he really seemed to enjoy himself! My requests for him to move faster were more and more minor as he chose to move out more willingly.

From here, the trail we chose followed along the haul road, up the mountain along a skid road, and then transitioned to some very established 4-wheeler trails in the area of mature forest where we would "thread the needle" by creating a small loop then doubling back on more or less the same trail we'd followed out.

Once Mike and I had crested out of the successional forest and into the mature forest, I told him to turn Q loose. Its one of my favorite places - and her favorite places - to gallop. The stretch is only a hundred yards or so long on a slight uphill grade on perfect footing.

With only the tiniest of smooches from Mike, Q rocketed off in front of Griffin and I. Griffin, who had been quite perky since reaching this stretch of trail with its ideal footing, quickly and quietly acquiesced to my request to canter through this area. He even surprised me by powering into a gallop for a very short snap! Good boy!

Mike and I were laughing and giggling after this short spurt of speed from the horses, who were now a little prancey and full of themselves after the fun. We wound around the crest of the mountain and then shot up another incline - the steepest of the day!

Griffin led the charge up this one! He did a far better job of things than I expected, too! Q passed him near the top though, powering forward the way she does, as if to say, "Come on little baby, THIS is endurance! Gotta power on through these short spurts. We'll be rewarded in just a few seconds with a nice long downhill walk!!" Griffin puffed along behind her giving it his best.

At the last little flat area before we descended for awhile, Griffin took the lead again, springing into a nice little canter.

It was in this moment when I could really tell that the job he'd been given had really clicked for him. He knew that moving out in areas of perfect trail (like this short stretch) was what he should do. He did it with willingness and gusto, falling back to a walk smoothly as we crested a slight rise and began our descent.

He's after my heart, this one. <3

Griffin was still a bit startled over some contrast differences between the ground and the puddles/ice, but he was far less hesitant about it this time than the previous week. Each puddle/ice spot he would drop his nose to double-check that it was indeed not a monster, and then he'd continue on. He even did a phenomenal job navigating his way through a puddle with ice that was over an inch thick!!

The only thing that gave him worry, once again, was an upturned root ball from a tree that had fallen during Sandy. Mike and Q helped us through this spot and all was well.

Posing after Q had decided to make an attempt at bushwacking off trail. We had been laughing at her.
Also noticeable here, my super crooked pad under Mike's saddle. We've had a lot of pad woes with that saddle so far,
but we're slowly getting things figured out! Additionally, I'd removed Griffin's Rennies for the tail-end of the ride.
(They're tied to Mike's saddle.)

The whole ride, somewhere around 7 miles looking back on previous journeys on this same path from the spring (my GPS wasn't working due to low battery this time), was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Mike makes for great company and incredible conversation. Not to mention, he and Q work really well together. I love that I have a chaperone so that I can ride my little grey horse and help him learn his new job on the trail without having to worry about being alone and in trouble if something bad happened.

I think my near future is going to be quite full of rides like these. And I've got to admit, I'm not too sad to see the amount of solo riding I did go away. Another person + horse makes the whole experience 10x better!