A Nice View

I had a wonderful trail ride on Gabe this afternoon.  We've managed to get out on the trails a few times since he came home from the trainer's (sort of, he is staying at a friend's place until the baby donkey FINALLY gets here).  He's been very good, but testing and questioning me a bit.  Today, it finally started to feel like we are speaking the same language and working as a team.

It always takes some time to adjust to a new horse and it takes more time for a young horse to get to used to a new rider.  I am sure that everything that I do is a bit different from how the trainer did things and the first few rides after Gabe came home were mostly about the two of us learning to communicate with each other.  Things started to click this afternoon and we both really had a nice ride.  Gabe enjoys going out, seeing new places and moving through the woods.  To me, this is very important.  I don't like riding horses who hate their jobs and aren't having any fun.  It takes the joy out of riding and without that, I may as well stay home.  Gabe is a smart, energetic and curious young horse who wants to get out and explore as much as I do.  We're going to have a lot of fun together.