Last minute, cold 2pm Ride with Hershey, Sheila and Tango

Duchess was on the walk ride. I like when she is on the rides. She is such a beaufitul large horse.

Sweet Hershey & Horsee Mumps (Boger)  I real sweet horse.  Hershey was a great ride!

Crazy day for a ride.  Not sure there was time, next weekend is Christmas but Id like to ride as much as possible.  I waited to hear from Colleen but she didnt write.  She said she was havin lunch and couldnt ride. I had wanted to ride at 3pm but I know the farm tries to get the horses out with one ride or larger rides so that its worth it for the farm.  I rode into the dirt road at 2pm on the nose.  Ran over to Bobby. He looked as though he had done some real hard work today.  He had on his dirty work coat. I gave him a hard time about not having his Santa hat on.  He said he got his Christmas present today, His favorite kitty returned home. He pointed to him laying on his Lazy Boy chair sleeping with the santa hat on the kitty.  It was nice. Anyway. I was ready.  The guides said that we needed to wait for 8 more people.   At 10 past a car of 4 asian people pulled in the farm area.  There was a girl and 3 guys.  She was all dressed up special boots. She was kind of amusing.  There was a man with a stylish suit coat on and they looked under dressed as far as riding in the cold.  Still we had to wait for 4 more.  Again at 2:20 the other Mercedes showed up.  They signed in. I was getting pretty cold.  I should have been pissed but I was happy to be there.
Anyway. The others were loaded on the horses. I wanted Foxxy but its ok.  I was lucky there were no large men.  Duke, Midnight, Andy, Boger, Duchess and some other really nice horses were on the ride.  I was happy to finally be on Hershey.
The trail ride was crazy. The team of riders from Asia were kind of wacky. The girl walks up to the gate where the horses were waiting and asked, "What is the fastest horse you have?".  It made us laugh.  None of the guides answered.  She seemed to be the gang leader. She was the only one that spoke english.  That made things exciting. She translated everything that Sheila said.

There was a small girl on the ride that was excited to ride. Her boyfriend went on the walk ride and she went on the trot.  Her Mom and Dad stayed in the car.  This girl didnt seem like a problem at first. She rode Foxxy and she had riding experience.  The 3 others behind me seem like they may have the problems.  They spoke a foreign language to each other the whole ride.  Well less than half way through (and we were having a great ride. Sheila took trails and short cuts that I had never taken). We went up many hills, with soft leaves, rocks and on the higher sides to avoid the regular trail. The ground was pretty cold and partly frozen.  The girl spoke that she couldnt feel her toes. She also whined for a while. She talked about her feet were so cold she couldnt ride.  Sheila felt bad but its cold but you really need to dress for the ride.  Anyway we ended up going most of the way around the lake then we went back the way we came to the trail. And Sheila asked the girl if she would feel better if we trotted. So we were on one if not the longest trot I had ever been on.  Funny thing at the very end, one of the horses spooked.  When I looked back Duke was racing toward the rear of Hershey.  I was worried. Sheila yelled to pull back.  The man did. I saw that Foxxy had also felt frightened.  Sheila took the girl and Foxxy up front and we headed down the hill of the farm. The backway.  The girl behind me and her friends did ok with the spacing and the animal controlling. We got back and it was a different sort of ride.  I was worried about them but it was an interesting ride.  Cathy and Sarah took the walk ride. We got back sooner but we took a different trail. The backwards one. I went into the barn and petted Duke and Tango.  It was a great ride.
Funny thing, we needed to get back quickly because the girl was making crying noises and wanted to go back to the barn.  While we were trottig backwards, Sheila said she told Tango to take the trail that was the fastest and he brought us up through the middle of the woods and cut over.  He found a great path.  Sheila said he was a great guide horse.  They know exactly the fastest way to get back to the barn everytime.

Took the trail today then took it backwards to farm Blue

Today's ride was different in many ways.  Colleen made cookies and bought an xmas has for bobby and I had a card for him  Colleen wanted to put him in good xmas spirits. Colleen was wearing a hand made hat  that had 2 pompoms.  Id say she was spirited and she was sharing the spirit. The weather was warmer that we thought. The weather man said thirties this morning. By the time we came back to the farm it was almost 50.  Today's ride was a 9am.  I love 9am.

Enja was our guide and Sheila took out 2 girls for an on trail lesson. Those girls needed to go on the trail.  One of them was tailgating Blue wicked bad.  He even tripped a few times.  Blue is a great horse.  We chose to do a trail that the horses cantor on and he wanted to run.  I mean run, Enja was surprised and I was that I had to disappoint him with pulling back the reins.  It was a great ride.  He tried to cantor or run a few times.  Enja said he probably wanted to run. Wow, Blue wants to run.  Its a great day.

Bobby at the window

Anyway the girls were with Sheila and then ended up joining us. Jewel was Sheila's horse and she said she was tailgating lately and going to have her do better after a "guides ride".  I think she'll be fine.  Blue has a beautiful face. I think he has the prettiest face in the stable.

Oreo for Colleen (Sheila said switch it up) and Blue for me.  Sheila says, the bumpiest horses in the stable.  Its good for us. I have ridden Blue many times this summer and fall.

Here is my friend Colleen.  She is so full of Xmas Cheer.

Beautiful Blue --  Pretty Face (You can see Hershey in the back being a sweetheart). This shot is behind the Barn.

Here we are heading back to the farm the backway. Thats Beautiful Blue's pretty fur.

Halfway through the ride we turned around and came back to the farm on the trail that we take. Sheila said the trails on the left were washed out.  Blue was pretty happy about the decision.  He hated the puddles yesterday.  So we turned around and came back on the outward trail. Pretty cool.

Duke getting his new shoes! Young Bobby is doing the shoein. 

When we got back, we heard that Duke needed a shoe.  Bobby was in the barn shoeing him. I took a couple of horse shoeing shots.  Then Bobby said I could come closer if I wanted to.  I wanted to. I took some shots of Duke and was able to talk to him and pet him a bit while Bobby shoed him.  It was wonderful.  Winston Enja's horse was in the barn and Shiela was giving many people a group lesson.  Like 8 people including a mom.  The farm was very busy it was nice to see all the activities.

Put on your seat belt . . . - Duke

Colleen on the trail that runs along the edge of the farm.

Vew from Duke's back as we came around the boarder barn.  Great ride. The girl in front of me was a drag though.

Thats what Colleen said when I got in the car today. We were really late leaving. She was doing some errands in Burlington and at about 12:40pm she was arriving at her house where I jumped in as she rode by.  Well almost.  It was exciting. As we got to near the exit I called Bobby's and Sheila answered and I said we were on the way. She said no problem and we ended up pulling in the driveway at 1pm on the nose.  I told Sheila that any horse will do for me. I did mention Foxxy. She was resting so I said, whoever wants to ride.  They got my horse Duke.  He is a sweetie.  He loves to run.  Too bad he has to hold back so much with the trots.  He was in front of Andy this time and still Smokey gave him the stinkeye too many times.

Grizzley's harness got caught on Andy's horn on the Saddle. It was crazy as they tried to walk together in the coral.  Sarah and Sheila got them untangled fast.

Smokey should move up to where Jewel was but the young girl seemed inexperienced and would pause as Smokey turned each time. This held up Duke even more.  Bobby said that he sold more horses this week. Strawberry, Wasabi, 2 boarder horses.  It make me realize that the farm is a business and Bobby knows what he's doing.  I felt worried about losing my favs, Duke, Domino, Tulsa, Oreo, Blue, and sweet Hershey.  I heard that Bright Eyes was going to a theraputic farm to work with the children.

Colorado Springs Horsebackriding

Just found out that Ill be going to Colorado Springs this January.  I believe that Im going to plan a trip horseback riding with Colleen. The city is at the foot of Pike's Peak which is the inspiration for "America the Beautiful"  the song.

http://www.triplebranch.com/activities_food.php

Academy Stables
This place rides in the Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs
http://www.arsriding.com/
This place looks like its close to the Colorado Springs 6 miles away.

Inn at Cascade
http://www.theinnatcascade.com/rooms-rates.htm

Eleven Mile Canyon
http://www.tellerlinks.com/activities/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=26

Private Ride today, Sheila Grizzly, Andy Colleen and Tulsa

Tulsa  looking right at me and I loved her today. Young Bobby w/her.

Sweet Tulsa great to be on the trail with her again.
As we signed in today, Bobby says, Its just you two on the ride this morning.  I was thinking how happy  Colleen would be,  it was worth the sacrifice.  We have had some packed rides.
Sheila told me that lately Tulsa has been riding so much on all rides that she may be getting worn out. I hadnt rode her since last March.
Because we were with Sheila and she was first ride, it was an advanced ride just for Colleen and I.
Today during the ride, Sheila said that Andy trots  slow.  I was relieved because Tulsa thinks so too, along with Duke.  I think that Blue would be thinking that he trots just fine.
It was a beautiful day almost 60. I wore silk long johns but I didnt need them.  Sheila said pick a horse that you like the trot, we'll be trotting alot.  It sounded great.  Tulsa was ready and I could have ridden Duke (I thought about it) but I miss my Miss Tulsa.  So young Bobby got her ready for me.  She kicked up a bit on them because she was still eating. I told young Bobby that I could take any horse ready.

Side shot of Tulsa on lakeside trots.

She was great, she didnt like the water today and we took some interesting paths with Sheila because she was mixin it up.  As we came down the first hill, Sheila took us back on the middle trail that had been washed out. You could see that it hadnt been used in a long time.

We had for a few months now been taking the hard right The weather almost perfect, blue sky with peaks of sun.  Bobby signed us in and he was in a great mood. I was almost running to get back from the bathroom so we could get on and start riding.  The geese were on Kennedy Lake and made plenty of noise while we trotted at the edge of the lake.  Like I said Tulsa hated the puddles of water but one of the later trots she just went right through the water and didnt miss a beat. Good Girl.

You can see Tulsa looking up at me from the trail.

Colleen was up front with Sheila and I was in the back. I was thinking that maybe I would like to go tomorrow too.  The ride was beautiful, Colleen mentioned that we trotted places we had never trotted before.  At  

Heading lakeside for a great ride today.  Beautiful day.

At the end of the ride Colleen and I went into the barn and said hi to Amanda with Rosc, Sarah with Hawk and Anya with Winston.  They were brushing out the horses while Sheila was in the ring giving a lesson with Jewel and another black horse.  It was very nice.  They were brushing the fur and the tails of the horses.  It was great to see how sweet the horses were while they were being groomed. Not sure but it seemed as though the next ride had 2 young riders.

Kennedy Lake

At the end of the ride I took pics of young Bobby shoeing some horses. It was cool. I like how Bobby is at the farm.  Sheila shared some info on how things were going.  She said she has a daughter Tory and had worked yesterday. She also said how things were going on the farm lately.

2009 June Loon Mountain

This may be a short post. Two years ago June 2009,  Colleen and I took a weekend off to go zip lining and horseback riding in New Hampshires White Mountains.  I rented a nice condo in the town and we had a wonderful weekend.  We got up very early Saturday morning and had lunch at the Bear Breakfast place in Lincoln and then we started out to Loon for the 1st ride of the day and of the season.  It was pretty exciting we were the first run of the season. The horses were new and we would be going up the mountain. As it was the trails were down so we went up some trails on the sides. We trotted across fiends.  I felt that my horse was small or my butt was big. for some reason I felt like I was falling out of the saddle. Our guide was very nice and lived in the area.  she rode her own horse.  I was so upset with feeling like I was falling off the horse that she switched horses with me and gave me her horse.  It is the pretty one.  

It was a great ride even though all day I was wondering why I was so off my self on the horse.  I know now that I need to make sure my stirrups are tight and my leg is bent plenty.  

On the mountain trails there were so many wild lupine it was beautiful. There was piles of horse manure and the butterflies were flocking to it.  It was strange and beautiful day.

In general I thought that Loon's stables were just too touristy looking. The condos in the background bummed me out. Maybe next time Ill rent there and then I wont mind so much.

http://loonmtn.com/info/winter/horse.aspx

Great last ride today! It was huge. Foxxy

Here is Foxxy, she was the smoothest horse I have ever ridden. I dont want to tell anyone so I can ride again.

The ride today was pretty good. I was at the end of the huge lines.  A few people walked but most trotted. We had 3 trots one of them was very good.  I was the last person to get on a horse. Because there were so many riders I didnt think that Id even get a horse. Duke, Tulsa, Hershey, Jewel, so many horses I was scared. They only had Pixie and Domino left. I knew Pixie would work too hard to have me on her back.  Bright Eyes was in front of me. She is so beautiful.  Yesterday when I  got to the farm it was early for my ride. I saw that Bright Eyes had an eye hurt.  I didnt ask too many questions but I was worried for her. I realize that taking care of all those horses must be pretty difficult.

We were at the back of the ride and Sarah was in front of me. Way ahead was Sheila. I do love to ride with her but she had to go ahead to lead the huge amount of people.  Colleen was wearing a bright blue coat and I could see her from the rear as she rode.  There was a lady behing me that was riding Strawberry. Id like to ride Strawberry, Bright Eyes (Bright Eyes is a big rusty-brown painted mare with a white mark down her face, white patches on her side and dark brown mane and long tail) and Foxxy very soon.  Foxxy was great.

Sarah on Pumpkin. She is a very cool guide from Bobbys.

As we trotted I didnt even feel like I was going to fall off.  She is an amazing horse. Sarah says her face is so pretty. I have a picture of her in the top photo she is black with a white and pink nose.

Im sitting on Foxxy at the end of a huge ride.  Domino is front of me. I was last to be loaded.

I wish I had a chance to ride Bright Eyes.  She may be leaving to go to a thereputic farm. She sure seems sweet.
Dec 10th saw Bright Eyes giving a lesson.  So maybe I can ride her someday.

Late again had to go on the 10am, Duke was great

Great ride today.  Its funny There were so many guides and so many riders too. The ride split up 3 ways.

Jess told me - ** the blue strap Duke wears is because of his shape it keeps
his saddle straight. 

I was on Duke, Hershey was behind me and Blue was in the front.  At around the middle of the ride after the split with the walkders after little desert, Jess (Sheila's daughter) came in the front of me. I think she was trying to help the woman who was on Blue, get him going during the trots.  Jess told great stories about Blue and Rizo, Mariah, Blueberry, Tacoma (I think) and others too. Jess said that two of her horses were Blue's children.

The ride was great even though there were so many children. The kids went mostly on the walk ride.  The guides on our ride, were Sheila in front Amanda in the back and Jess in the middle.
We had 4 trots and one of them was very long. I loved it so much.  Duke rode perfectly behind Jess's Mariah. There was so much mud this weekend I saw mud where I hadnt before.  Jess said she trained Blue and Smokey and that they came together at the same time, they were both about 3 years old. She said that those 2 horses were kinda tough training.  I liked being with Jess she told great stories and I loved learning more.

On Sunday Duke let me get very close to him and hung out.  He is a sweet boy.  You can see his Brown eye.

Duke's white eye, He is a beautiful horse with his trained horse style. Like Hershey he is classy guy.

I didnt expect the ride to be such a great trot ride. So many people but it was smooth because of the guides I think. The 3rd trot was very long, up a hill around a corner and down the next hill. I was so happy. Blue did slow down a bit but the Jess got up behind him and tried to make sure he kept up the trot.

At the end of the ride I did get to get off Duke on the ground. I love when I get off on the ground. Enja is good at knowing that I like to get better at my horsemanship.
I was too late for the 9am just as I had arranged.  I needed to call Bobby to get in the 10am.  I had missed a beauty of a ride, only 2 people maybe only 1 person.

I went and got a coffee before the ride and then took a drive to Vine Brook Road at the end of Powers Road to see if I could access the little dessert. The area was posted as no tresspassing unless you were a resident of Vine Brook Road.

**The strap on Duke is called a :  Breastplates, breastcollars or breastgirths attach to the front of the saddle, cross the horse's chest, and usually have a strap that runs between the horse's front legs and attaches to the girth. They keep the saddle from sliding back or sideways. 

Duke Rocky Andy Colleen, Erika 2 (Deer Jumped the trail)

The two hour ride is the most beautiful rides that I have done ever.

Here Duke is trying to get around the other horses, he's so anxious today.  He jumped so beautifully over the water today it was so thrilling for me.  He's a big fav for me. Always keeping it exciting for us.

Today was so cool. Erika was our guide. She said that the trails might be blocked because of the storm.  It was a 9am there was another man on a trail ride for a one hour and the girl who really talks alot was taking the man on Tulsa.  I miss riding Tulsa.  Erika broke off after the lake up the hill where Colleen likes to trot up the hill and to the right.  We took the left.

Colleen letting Andy eat grass in the cornfield.

We past little desert and this time we trotted a few times before we started out trak out to the outer areas of the conservation land.  Just as we started down a hill just before the hill before we would take a hooked right and go up a huge embankment that formed a ridge.  The valley we were currently walking had the ridge on both sides of the trail.  The gradual hill we continued to walk down  was beautiful.  As we progressed there was a stomping from the right and a sudden sound of the small branches moving.  Duke stood still and my heart was beating strong.  A huge Buck with a rack of antlers came leaping down the ridge on the right, then leaped huge across the path infront of us and then up the left ridge so fast then away into the forest.  It was a wonderful moment.

We continued through the forest's pine needle paths, they were beautiful but the paths were blocked by fallen trees at several points we needed to pass.    We needed to bush wack around the trees into some very thick brush.  My knees were crushed 2 times during the tight squeeze that Duke needed to make.

Before we get to Texas Road we go through what Erika calls, the Cornfield.  We today walked and she told us we could let the horses graze on the grass for a while in the sun. It was cold and it felt so good to be horseback in the sun with the horses eating so loudly in the field.
After the cornfield we go out onto the road, Texas Road, by Sterling Road and then we were back in the woods thick until I start to see sandy ground and some of the dry looking long grass that is brown and has while buds that look like strings of cotton ball material.
We were at the Big Desert.   We rode there for a while and Erika took us to the edge of a golf course that I had no idea that was there.

Duke was very anxious the whole time during the ride. He thought that Andy was going too slow and that he should pass him and Colleen and take the lead. The whole time I had to hold him back. I needed to steer him constantly too.  I really like Duke, hes a nice guy but he's a tough guy like I may have said in the past.  He is also very beautiful to me.  He has lots of style and personality.

Today Duke Jumped a real horse jump over the river. I had to hold on like never before. It was amazing. No one saw it but I dont care he is so strong and I felt like I was going to bump right off his back.  Good Times.

When we got back to the farm, Enya asked me if I wanted to dismount on the ground instead of the ramp.  I really like that but Id like to have a guide give me the "ok" to dismount. This way the horse can be held.  Because they dont know me, if I was dismounting and the horse started to move, Id be off on the ground on my back.  I appreciate her asking.

This is the link for the printable map.

http://www.actontrails.org/images/mNashobaBrook.pdf

This is the link for the Nashoba Brook conservation Webpages

www.actontrails.org/MapNashobaBrook.htm

So to get to the place where the hunters park their cars to hunt at little desert.  You take the right onto Powers road off of Great Road and then find the VineBrook and follow it to the end.  Park and that is little desert.

Sheila's horse Cash was feeling much better and Sarah's horse Hawk had a absess that she treated with ebson salts and he was on the trail today feeling great.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Sunday with Blue Sheila and some new family riders

Colleen's lil fav sweet horse.  Andy posing for me last week. He kept nudging my camera and he gave me a hug too.  He is a sweet boy.

Ive been trying to get the post up for a while.  Ended up riding 11am on Sunday. I enjoy riding early but just didnt get it going. I called in and then I had a low tire.  I think I should have gone at 9am.  As I drove for a 10am I realized that my tire was too low and I had to call in to the farm and let them know I need to reschedule for 11am.  Amanda answered and said that the 11am was less busy and it may be a good move.  Well I guessed Id just hang around the farm for the extra time. When I pulled in the ride was still loading. I didnt want to rush and the ride looked full so I sat in my car and organized my cash til the ride was loaded and left for the trail.  I got out and the barn had Bobby, Sheila and another man talking about the internet and phones. I know that Bobby sure could use some help with business.  Sheila seemed preoccuppied with something. She has been so busy lately with all the horse work.  I went over to the two horses at the post in the barn.  Domino was one and the other was a horse I didnt know. I said hi to him and he seemed a little worried.  I petted his head some.  Sheila came by and told me that he was her new horse.  She said that he could get fresh so I should be aware. I didnt want to annoy him so I kept my distance but still showed him some caring.  I took a couple pictures and just hung out with the kitties, donkeys and goats it was nice.  There was a family that arrived in a BMW. I was quick to judge them as snobs and rich people but I was wrong. They signed up with Bobby and they were on the ride with me.  As they stood getting ready I could hear that the ride was a first time for 3 of them and the others hadnt ridden in 25 and 30 years.  They were excited.  I think they shouldnt have gone on the trot but did. The father was on Hershey, I told him that Hershey was a cadillac of a horse. I was first to be saddled and they gave me Blue.  I am fine with him. He keeps me in my horse form.
As the cowboy guide placed me first because I wasnt with a group.  Blue was a great listener and He is very good on the trail.  After most of the family was loaded on and the young man on Domino was clearly overwhelmed with his size and his power.  Sheila cantered in at the last minute and said she needed to get out of the barn and out on the trail. She was stressed. She said her horse didnt feel good and she was worried.  I felt sad for her, she was clearly overwhelmed.
Well by the end of the ride she was better and we were smiling. I would like to send her a note and see how she is doing now.
Just checked in with Sheila and Cash her horse was feeling better the next day.  She had felt overwhelmed with taking care of the other horses and animals and also needing to take care of her horses.

37 degrees and Hershey was all reared up

Here Hershey is not riding with Enya and the lady because he
was annoyed they were too slow.  I love this guy!  They were.

Just got off Hershey. I think this guy is something special!

Hershey is looking right at me while he gets ready for a ride.  He's my sweet horse.  Love him love them all.

Had to run and catch a ride at Bobby's today.  It was cold and I was laying down in bed this morning and thought that I better get up and get going to the ride. Finally a day that isnt beautiful and I may be the only rider.  Sheila said at the last minute a lady called and it was the lady and I.  The lady didnt look very well. She may be recovering from cancer or something.  I realize that she was growing hair and maybe getting her strength back from something. She was riding Jewel and she seemed to say she knew so much about horses and was sharing her knowlege.  She did say that Hershey was a Perthshire Horse.  She talked to Anya the whole time. Asking questions and basically talking for the ride.  Hershey on the other hand wanted to pass her. He was getting tired of her slow-walking and not trotting in the usual times.  He was so wanting to ride fast.  I had to pull back on him more than 20 times.  I adore him.  He trotted so much when we werent suppose to trot.

I was saying the cold weather probably made him a lil wild n crazy. I dismounted him on the ground but Im not sure I could mount him correctly.  Sheila had suggested him this morning for me and I was all about it. Today there were hunters parked in the sandy area. We passed through the Richard Emmett Conservation area again today.  I know last time we went through it and it was at the end of Texas Road.  There was a wooden sign.  Today I saw his name was carved into a granit stone. It was pretty cool.

Colleen couldnt ride today she's so busy with stuff. She mentioned tomorrow but Im pretty sure we wont be riding tomorrow after this crazy snow storm in Oct.  The storm is tonight and they say that we will get a foot on Oct 29th.

Im note sure how much more I will write today because I have to do homework but I enjoy reading them later if  I write whatever I want on the journal and then correct or add to it later.  Oh yeah Sheila told me today that Brenda has left Bobbys and that ole Bobby was having a hard time.  Sheila said that he was 81 years old.  I am amazed by this.   I really enjoy going there and Im amazed how lucky I am to have such a beautiful place to go every weekend.

Anya rode her sweet little horse the lady rode Jewel and I was on Hershey. Hershey was moody. Hes been that way everytime  have been riding him.  Oh while we were riding,  Hershey sensed stuff in the woods.  He is so sensitive that he heard the wings of a Heron about to land.  He stopped and listened to the sound and made sure I knew. When we started riding today he only had a little hay on his head and in his mane.  As we rode I felt safer with him as my horse. The lady riding Jewel said she likes to ride english and she is used to horses that dont listen that you have to kick to get them to go.

Later that day Massachusetts was hit with a terrible storm that knocked out our electricity for 4 days and dropped 1/2 tree on the side yard. I heard it fall and it was a scary night.  We had heavy snow about 8 inches.  Others had up to a foot maybe more.
.
I did get more info on the Richard Emmett Conservation area though,
http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?14214
http://www.oars3rivers.org/river/tributaries/nashoba-brook

Two hour ride to a beautiful place - Hershey

Colleen on Andy at the end of the field just about to go onto the road.

Erika's Horese Grizley. He was a sweet horse that turned his head around to make sure all the other horses are all up to pace.

Today we were all excited to ride for two hours. I wasnt sure how the farm would do it. We set up iwth a family that was kinda rambuncious.  The ride went on and then split after the bridge. I had not ever done that before. I had Hershey because I hadnt been out on a 2 hour and I wanted to be on a horse that I knew.  Colleen had her usual Andy. He's a sweet horse that is the perfect listener as far as she is concerned. Perfect Ride.
Well the ride split up and it didnt take long before I was seeing things I had never seen before on the ride.  We crossed beautiful streams with steep embamkments and running up hills and manevering around things I had not seen.  Little Dessert,  Texas Road, Nagog Woods and some other name like Emmet conservation area.I'll get back to this later.

Erika told us stories the whole way.  She said that Hershey was an Amish work horse before he came to Bobby's Ranch.  .I could so see him pulling a plow in a field.  He is so beautiful I wonder if he likes his home now.
During our ride today some cool stuff happened.  One time near the end of our ride there was this nice patch of water on the right.  Suddenly there was a loud noise of about 20+ ducks had take off at the same time.  It startled the horses so that they started to run a bit and also turned thier faces toward the sound.  I feel that Hershey was going to stand off to the sound.  He was actually standing off to the sound.

He made me feel somehow safer with him protecting me.

Red Dead Redemption bridge.  Hershey is so big I was worried about the us falling through.

Erika was so cool telling stories about how her and her sister would take trips together and that her old horse was at her old house and her sister took care of him.  She was riding a horse that reminds her of her old horse. His name was Gissley.  A couple of times during the ride I could hear him sort of growl.  He was a very patient horse. Erika said that he kinda walks fast so she stops with him often so that the other horses can catch up. I noticed that he would look back at me and Hershey to see how we were doing during the ride.

Walking through the field of blue bird houses it was beautiful conservation land.

The ride was amazing. At times I didnt know where we were going and we would be going totally down a steep embankment and other times we were sneaking between two very small rocks or climbing a rocky hill that I wasnt sure that Hershey would be able to naviagate. I guess I didnt judge him as he should be judged. He rocked. He was ready to trot during the trots and he was a great trail horse manuevering like I had never seen any horse never mind a huge draft horse like Hershey.
At the beginning of the ride, a woman came up behind me and said, "you stole my son's horse"  so I gave her the stink eye. She said I hope you dont think Im serious.  She said that she had come before and her son had said next time he wanted to ride Him.  I told her that I dont ride him too often. I always have to let the men ride him first choice.  I also told her that her son would not be riding such a large horse he was too little. I said the Hershey was big for me even.
Hershey was so funny. FIrst when I got on him he didnt want to be first so he turned around right at the area where I had just gotten on him. He actually turned into the right part of the outer ring.
Then during the ride he took off and when with the walk ride because he thought that he had made a mistake and went on the wrong ride. He actually took off running to catch up.  Then Erika caught up with him and the ride split was further up the trail on the right.  We followed down the right side of the river and where the other ride always takes a right we continued going around the lake in areas that I hadnt seen. The hills were steep right away.  Erika said that the ride was not a fast ride it was a difficult stepping for the horses and most of it was lose rocks and diverse terrian I think that maybe Colleen was disappointed when she heard it but when we realized what she meant and that we would get a chance to trot later we realized it was the best ride of our lives.

This week Bruno was sold.  He was a sweet horse for people but he was the ultimate Alpha for the other horses. Duke hated him so much. I have seen him push each other around.

I had to get this photo because I loved Bruno and I had only ridden a couple of times but there were amazing. The one time that I rode Duke and he was upset about being behind Bruno was particuatary exciting. Going to miss that sweetie Bruon but they say he has his own herd of female horses in Grafton Mass.

Erika 

Ranch was packed today! Duke

Duke having a snack after a great ride today. 

Went up to NH to maybe take a ride at Castle in Clouds and see Zues.  I didnt get the reservation in and they were book.  Colleen decided that we could go up to NH and come down and ride at Bobby's.  It was crazy there were a huge family on the ride. 15+ people. The ride was good extremely wet.  I was lucky enough to answer when Erika asked, "Who's an experienced rider?"  She was with Duke and I was hoping to ride him soon.
Whew, I Lucked out and got on my nice horse.  Hes a sweetheart and I found out more about him from Erika. What happened was he was an event horse that has been totally trained to jump and avoid water. That is why he hates the puddles so much he thinks he'll get introuble.  Duchess was in front of me and Pixie was behind.  Colleen had Andy but she was behind Domino. It took a while but Erika moved Colleen in front of Dominot and she finally got to ride during the trots.  The guy riding Domino was kinda of out of control.
Well I was so happy with Duke. He at one point when I put my knees against his body and he started to trot and then the guides started the trot.  It was amazing.  He's a great horse.  Duchess got in some trouble with her
attitude. I think the man was holding her reins too tight. I also loved that Duchess loves young Bobby. While we waite she eased her way up to get a hug from him as he stood at the beginning of the ride by the barn.  Hes a really nice guy I got a nice pic of him today he's pretty cool..
Below are some cool pics I got at the end of the day on Saturday.

Young Bobby bringing the tractor around to get some hay for the horses

Here he is getting the hay onto the spool on the trackor so manypeople were in the way. You can see the shadow of a guy taking a cell phone picture in the hay.