This weekend, Ponygirl and I participated in the Ramsayville Equestrian Club‘s Pink Ribbon Ride. The ride is organized as a fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The ride was located about 10 kilometers from Ponygirl’s place and we thought it would be a good opportunity to give the two horses some experience with trailering and being around a large group of strange horses.
Convincing a horse to get into a trailer can be tricky when the horse doesn’t have regular experience with trailering. Both Diva and our youngster have been trailered a few times, but it is not an everyday event for them. As it turned out, Diva initially balked at the prospect of climbing aboard.
To our delight, our baby had no such reservations and jumped in! Diva, seeing her buddy on board, soon followed with just a bit of encouragement. We have tried a few different names on our 3-year-old quarter horse mare since we purchased her. Her registered name is Leo’s Tuff Jackie. She came with the name Angel. But what we couldn’t resist calling her, in the end, was Baby. That name has stuck tight, but Baby isn’t a baby any longer. She has matured into a beautiful blonde.
Once loaded, both horses were quite comfortable on the trailer. Getting into a trailer is really an act of faith on the part of a horse. They have no idea where they might be going, what is in store for them. In fact, horses and other animals and pets rely on their owners for pretty much everything and have few options. I try hard not to betray that trust.
It was just a short trip to the ride location and soon we were there. There was a good turnout and lots of trailers and vehicles and horses and riders about.
Soon Ponygirl and I were saddled up. We had Birdgirl along to help with holding horses and taking photographs.
Above, I add an important item to my pocket: tissues! It’s terrible to have a runny nose and no tissues in the middle of a ride.
It didn’t take long before we were ready to head out. Here’s the horse from the rider’s point-of-view.
We started on our way, leaving the parking lot…
and entering the woods.
It was a beautiful place to ride. The weather co-operated and we had a lovely, sunny fall morning. The woods were streaming with shafts of sunlight and the trail underfoot was sandy and deep in pine needles. Because this was Baby’s first experience with trail riding we didn’t do the full ride, but headed back to the trailer about the halfway point. We didn’t want to overdo it. While we were out riding, Birdgirl took the opportunity to do a bit of hiking in Larose Forest. You can read her post here.
We got the horses loaded back in the trailer and soon we were back home again. Above, Birdgirl unloads Baby…
and rewards her with an apple.
Here they are, two terrific girls.
After a bit of a brush and a long, cool drink, Baby and Diva were soon settled back in their field with their friend BeeBee, the three amigos. It was good experience for the horses, we had a fun morning, and we raised $140 for breast cancer research! Thanks to Dave Wilson for the trailering service.
Willow House Chronicles 