Ace Settles In & Goes On A Trail Ride

Ace has had one week and one day in his new home and is doing exceptionally well. We even went on our very first trail ride last Friday!

Moving Day

Moving day dawned cold, windy, rainy, and dropping in temperature. While it was gross for loading up my jump equipment and horse, it fit the mood as we prepared to leave our former home. The new barn owner and I took her trailer to get Ace, and after visiting with my friends for a while, it was time to head out.

We didn’t have far to go, but I wrapped Ace’s legs anyways because as any one who has read for a while knows, he’s a bit accident prone. He walked right onto the trailer and was patient as I shoved him in and closed the divider (he’s so long he barely fit). He behaved himself the whole way. When we arrived, I opened up the trailer door and then the divider, and Ace immediately started to back out … before I could unclip him. To my great happiness, our tie training paid off and as soon as he felt the pressure from the trailer tie he stepped forward again instead of fighting. Once he was unclipped and I got the lead attached, he backed himself right off and took a good look around his new home. We walked around the arena a few times with just a little blowing as he checked out the surroundings. Then I took him to his new stall … he got one of the double stalls that is 10×20 feet! With a flake of hay and lots of room, he settled right in.

Settling In

Ace settled into the new routine very quickly. Because being in a smaller space and with bossy horses, stresses him out, he gets turned out daily with the “babies.” He quickly made himself king of his little 4-horse herd. His new buddies are Mister, a colt foaled last spring; Mo, a very timid 3-year-old; and Tie, who is 2-years-old and the pushiest of the bunch. After receiving two small warning kicks from Ace, Tie quickly relinquished leadership. They all get along well and mostly stay out of each other’s way.

Ace seems quite happy with his new routine of being stalled overnight and out during the day. He’s been very relaxed and cooperative all week. Some of his spooky and other bad behaviors that appeared with the cold fall weather have disappeared.

Working Hard

I immediately took advantage of our new 60×150 foot arena and put Ace to work. We went from only riding once a week to 5 rides in one week! We’ve mostly been doing walk/trot to get him re-conditioned, with a little canter work and some trot poles thrown in. He feels so much better with the extra room. Although, he did have to re-learn not to over-bend and bulge through the turns.

And the best ride so far was going for our first trail on Friday with our friends Pam and her Appy mare Nikki. We went out for a little over an hour and Ace was fantastic! He was pretty relaxed the whole time. Every once in a while he’d go on alert and look around, but mostly he just followed Nikki and seemed to enjoy a nice afternoon out. I think it might just have been the most pleasant trail ride I have ever been on. Pam, Nikki, Ace and I have scheduled a recurring trail date for Friday afternoons.

I might just have my eventing horse after all!

After 3 good rides and an hour on the trails, Ace was worn out! He was happy to stand in the aisle outside his stall and let the cross ties hold his head up for him.

When my mom and I showed up Saturday for yet another the ride, the look on his face very clearly said, “You’re kidding me, right?”

He’s getting Sunday and Monday off, and then we’ll be back to work with these Jane Savoie exercises tomorrow.