San Pedro River Ride

Minnie and I spent the week working on easing her mind about horse trailers. There was a lucky break, the trailer that she would most likely need to get on in an emergency happened to be hooked up and available for practice for a few days. The early part of the week we worked with that trailer. I gave her breakfast in it every morning and between bites of oats we practiced loading on a loose lead at first, then she learned to self load when I pointed.

Gradually we addressed the fear she had about backing off the trailer. I asked her for one quiet step backward at a time, then waited, took another step back, and waited, until just before the trailer door. Then we would come forward, turn around and exit slowly. I wanted her to learn that when I ask her to back up a few steps, I am not necessarily going to ask her to back off of the trailer. That went really well with some practice.

Then we worked with putting one hoof on, and backing off. Two hoofs on and backing off. Three hooves on, hold, then slowly backing off. We ended our sessions with that trailer with slowly walking all four hooves on, holding, and slowly backing all four hooves off calmly. Minnie worked very hard on managing her fear and after a few days she really was okay with that trailer.

For the next two days we did the same exercise with Wayne’s trailer. By Wednesday she was asking to self load on his trailer. Thursday morning he brought his trailer over and she walked right on and settled into her breakfast. By 9:00 am we were heading out for our next adventure. This time we headed east to the San Pedro River.

It was a very chilly morning, and there was a steady breeze out of the north. I had dressed in layers that I thought I would be shedding eventually, but the temperature stayed cold and Minnie was frisky when we arrived. She was full of energy after having a week of oats for breakfast when she usually just gets hay. It took me a few minutes to get her tacked up as she was dancing around and wouldn’t stand still. If I was in the same scenario with her a couple years ago I would have expected a buck, but with how our relationship has evolved I felt confident she would settle down once we got going.

We headed off and she was dancing a bit for a minute, but quickly settled into a very forward business walk. The trail winds down into the river bed in the first part and almost immediately Minnie went through a very slippery and muddy area that was covered with leaves, her front feet went out from under her, but she shifted her weight to her hind end and recovered in midair without going down. She realized she had to really watch her footing. From that point on she was focused on the trail and looking for the best approach to the muddy areas.

We wound though the giant cottonwoods along the river for a while, then came out into large fields that had been alfalfa fields years ago. Red Tail Hawks were working the fields in the bright morning sun, under brilliant blue sky.

On the west side of the fields the trail narrows into a slalom course through the grasses that has wonderful footing, we trotted that area. It was really fun to give Minnie her head and let her navigate the course on her own at a brisk trot. I saw a flash of movement up ahead and mentioned it to Wayne. Minnie hadn’t seen it. I slowed her to a walk in case something was going to pop out. Wayne said, “I see them, it is deer”. They blended well, then I saw them as well. They were playing statue. As we came abreast of them I turned Minnie to face them and said, “There are deer there, do you see them?” She was looking hard but didn’t see them until one of them moved. She startled a little, then immediately ignored them and we went on. She was a little higher on alert after that, but calm.

We stayed on the trail on the west side of the fields until reaching the parking area at Hereford Road - where I was so happy to see there are rest rooms! I dismounted, handed Wayne the reins and made use of the facilities. When I came back out Wayne said “She was very concerned about where you had gone, she looked for you the whole time”. Awe!! Here I am Minn. She stood quietly for me to mount and we headed off again. We went through an area of “Johnson Grass” that was super tall and thick, it was over my head as we made our way down toward the river again to cross under the Hereford Road bridge. There is a muddy spot right under the bridge and as we navigated that I had my fingers crossed that a car wouldn’t go over the bridge while we were under it. None did.

On the north side of the bridge the trail is a single track and it looks like mountain bikers use it quite a bit. I made a mental note that we really need to do bicycle training, before we run into one that is coming at speed toward us on a trail. The single track in this area is just beautiful. It winds through lovely bushy grasses.

The trail turned onto an old road that was a little more gravely. We rode on for another mile or so then turned around to head back. On the way back Wayne put his horse in the lead. Minnie relaxed and let his mare do all the thinking. When we got to Hereford Road we crossed over the pavement this time. I wanted her to experience pavement because she has never been on it. I remembered her half sister Abby thought it was water the first time she saw pavement. When we trotted up the bank to the pavement Minnie jumped onto it, and I laughed. No hesitation there! We trotted across and made our way back to the trail.

About halfway back to the trailer we hooked down a trail to the river to give the horses and dogs a drink. There are some sizable logs to step over and the footing is steep and muddy down the bank into the river. Minnie carefully slid her front hooves down the mud in a very controlled way and plunged her mouth into the water for a long drink. Her hind end was still up on the steep part of the bank so I was glad my saddle fit well or it would have slid down onto her neck. After a drink she crossed the river and we dismounted. I handed Wayne half of the clementine I had brought in my pack and we hung out for a bit while the horses ate some grass and drank again.

We crossed back over the river and took the trail closer to the river on the way back. I found it interesting how aware Minnie is of any movement. She noticed the Red Tail Hawks hunting and watched them as we walked. This part of the trail has some holes in the silty footing, so we had to keep an eye out for them.

As we approached the trailer Wayne asked me if I was worried that she would not want to load. I said “Not yet.”. She stood quietly to be untacked. I put the second half of her breakfast in a pan and left her tied while I went in the trailer to put it in her spot. When I looked up from inside the trailer her face was right up to the window on the outside where she was tied, she watching what I was doing inside. I untied her and brought her over to the door to load first. The trailer was parked in a way that the jump up was quite high, it was above her knees. She put her two front hooves in and looked around for a minute then with no encouragement from me she slowly high stepped her hind hooves in and settled into her spot at the front.

Trailering back was quiet and when we arrived back at the ranch she unloaded calmly and carefully. She wasn’t sweaty or nervous. What a wonderful success to build on.