4 Mile Ride

The weather report predicted rain on Wednesday and Thursday so I decided to go out the ranch one more time while it was still nice out. I saddled up Axel and brought out the mounting block. I'm not sure if he's ever seen a mounting block before so I thought it'd be a good idea to introduce it. Well that goofy Axel just stood by the mounting block like he's done it a million times before. I wiggled the saddle, pulled on the stirrup, put my foot in the stirrup and he just stood there. So that pretty much put an end to our practice of standing still while mounting. Tricky fellow, that Axel. So Tom went and got Cody and saddled him up and we went for a ride down the road to find the State Trail. We walked down the gravel with only the usual tenderfoot issues. When we got to the pavement things slowed down a bit. Axel started calling and Cody joined in. Must have been all the new sights and smells. We got out the country road and walked all the way down to the trail entrance, cars whizzing by, and no issues at all. It was slow going as the boys were being extra alert, but we made it safe and sound. We walked the trail for a while before we turned around to head back. Axel and I had a little canter along the trail with no bucking. Cody proceded to trot the fastest shortest trot ever. Only one minor surprise on the way back when a dog ran across the road. But Cody recovered quickly and was just startled. When we got back to the gravel road we cantered a few more times along the corn field. I think Axel may have gotten a few bucks out but nothing major. Cody even picked up a few canter strides as well. So we probably went a little over 4 miles total and it all went fantasically.

I've made a little map of our usual trail ride and some of the escape locations the boys seem to find themselves in. Luckily since we've found their way out and fixed it, they've keep themselves on the correct side of the fence.