With the sun peeping out from partly cloudy skies, and a bit more of a breeze than we've seen since we arrived, we had a quick breakfast and saddled up the horses, for just a short, test ride to see how Hubby does, as well as Lola. We decided to really experiment today and take little Billy with us. When he was younger, he was kind of a pain on the trail, because he would bark at the horses whenever we stopped moving, and it would agitate the horses. Now, at about eleven years old, we figured he wouldn't be able to keep up with us on the trail, but as this was just 3.5 miles, we decided to give him a chance and see how he does. Turns out, he was perfect! In fact, everything went great, no drama at all! The only worrisom part was when we had to cross an FM road, which didn't have too much traffic, but the traffic it did have was moving VERY fast, including large trucks, so when we got near it, I jumped down off Apollo and grabbed Lola by the collar and walked her across. She had begun to get close to the road, and is still not listening to me completely yet, so I wanted to to be safe rather than squashed. Once we crossed the road I let her free, and did the same when we got close the road crossing back again. The trail was pretty soft and muddy in spots, understandable considering the weather we've been having, but under the mud it was fairly firm, so no one went in deeper than the top of the hoof. No knee-deep anything, thank goodness. One creek had spilled over its banks, making for a valiant swim for Billy, which he did with great aplomb, although swimming isn't anything he's shown a great propensity for. He did walk through every puddle, though, to cool off I guess. Anyway, it was a wonderful ride, Lola mostly staying close, which is good news, and Billy making it all the way back to camp easily, better than I could hope for! I had thoughts of having to pick him up and carrying him towards the end, but he trotted along the whole way like a trooper! And Hubby, well, Hubby made it just fine, and his blood pressure was even down after we got back! Nothing better than the outside of a horse for the inside of a man! A great day!
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