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Ah... I finally went for a lovely horseback ride today. The weather was downright balmy--mid-50's with hazy sunshine and not a breath of wind. I have hardly ridden since last October because I injured my knee in November, tried riding when I felt better in December then regretted it for a week, and January has been either too busy or too icy to do much riding. I rode bareback and I took Finn and Sputnik with me. This was Sputnik's first time following a horse and he handled it about as I expected--he came along just fine but he SCREAMED his protest for the first half a mile. I decided a good run would shut him up, so I cantered until Finn was panting like a freight train and Sputnik was only crying a little between huffs and puffs.
We met a hermit along the way who had put up a nice little shack in the creek bottom since the last time I rode down that direction about a year ago. He waved me down with a milk jug and hollered "CAN YOU TOP ME UP??" So I rode in closer and explained that the boys probably wouldn't be giving any milk, but he was welcome to try if he really wanted to. We ended up chatting for probably 45 minutes while Finn and Sputnik pottered around his garden and ate the dried, dead plants and scrub oak leaves. Finn was quite friendly, but I had to explain to the man about the importance of not grabbing and shaking a goat by the horns. It's so tempting for some guys to do this, but a goat's horns are his protection, and if a person he neither knows nor trusts comes up and grabs them, it's like having a stranger grab the gun in your holster. It's an aggressive thing to do and teaches a goat to fight. I told the guy to "shake hands" with Finn instead, and Finn obediently offered his right foot when asked.
The boys didn't want to leave the hermit--they'd grown comfortable down there and thought maybe we'd stay for dinner. Sputnik started bawling again (even louder this time) so I made the boys chase me and Jet at a gallop up a hill. Finn kept up admirably. Sputnik lagged, but that was because he kept pausing to holler. By the top of the hill he was too tired to scream any more and the rest of the ride was nice and quiet except for the occasional little "Bup-bup" from Finn, who is talkative but not loud. Sputnik is not at all talkative--if he has something to say he shouts it to the world. Otherwise he never makes a peep. Finn almost never hollers but he softly babbles much of the time. He has a quiet, pleasant voice so it doesn't bother me. In fact, it makes me chuckle, which makes him chuckle back at me and so on. It was a good day. And my knee is not punishing me for it either. Woo-hoo!
We met a hermit along the way who had put up a nice little shack in the creek bottom since the last time I rode down that direction about a year ago. He waved me down with a milk jug and hollered "CAN YOU TOP ME UP??" So I rode in closer and explained that the boys probably wouldn't be giving any milk, but he was welcome to try if he really wanted to. We ended up chatting for probably 45 minutes while Finn and Sputnik pottered around his garden and ate the dried, dead plants and scrub oak leaves. Finn was quite friendly, but I had to explain to the man about the importance of not grabbing and shaking a goat by the horns. It's so tempting for some guys to do this, but a goat's horns are his protection, and if a person he neither knows nor trusts comes up and grabs them, it's like having a stranger grab the gun in your holster. It's an aggressive thing to do and teaches a goat to fight. I told the guy to "shake hands" with Finn instead, and Finn obediently offered his right foot when asked.
The boys didn't want to leave the hermit--they'd grown comfortable down there and thought maybe we'd stay for dinner. Sputnik started bawling again (even louder this time) so I made the boys chase me and Jet at a gallop up a hill. Finn kept up admirably. Sputnik lagged, but that was because he kept pausing to holler. By the top of the hill he was too tired to scream any more and the rest of the ride was nice and quiet except for the occasional little "Bup-bup" from Finn, who is talkative but not loud. Sputnik is not at all talkative--if he has something to say he shouts it to the world. Otherwise he never makes a peep. Finn almost never hollers but he softly babbles much of the time. He has a quiet, pleasant voice so it doesn't bother me. In fact, it makes me chuckle, which makes him chuckle back at me and so on. It was a good day. And my knee is not punishing me for it either. Woo-hoo!