It was late, close to evening when we decided to ride. At the snow bank, instead of going around it this time, David said "Stay here, let me see if this is okay." He and Roy stepped in and went right up the middle, stepping on the snow, not sinking in to badly. The melting snow has become so compacted that it's pretty solid. Prestigious hesitated, "no.. not to sure about that..." but with a few clucks and squeezes with my feet, he went right on up. At the top he shook his head a couple times. We rode up to where those big logs had fallen across the trail and this time bushwhacked around them. Easier said than done, because the woods are so thick up there. We had to go quite a distance up and around. Prestigious is starting to really relax about things and get the idea that we are a team and that I won't let anything bad happen to him. He shoved on through the thick young aspen trees. They were so thick I had to turn my feet in so not to hook them. Limbs scratched across my hat as I ducked down low over the saddle. Once at the other side, we rode on further to a place that was such a mess we had to stop. Right before it though, was a sweet little patch of snow.
He's starting to relax enough to just slow his brain down, think it over, and trust. This is what I get the biggest kick out of.
We had to shove back through the brush and trees going back down. At the snow bank, I took out my cell phone to take a movie. I filmed while he slowly, cautiously stepped down the steep snowy slope. A couple of his steps slid just a little bit but he never lost his composure. That put a smile on my face and after we made it down, he didn't even shake his head. What a trooper.
Now they get a vacation, We have a business trip to go on, and while we'll be staying at the Red Lion, the horses will be at a place I like to call the Four Seasons. Huge green pasture surrounded by tall pines, with a trough full of fresh water and a big salt lick. What more could a horse want?
