Trail Riding Fun with Vinni

Isn’t he a handsome boy?

Since buying my horse trailer, I haven’t had a chance to use it to go riding anywhere because of having to move. However, this weekend I took a time out from packing and moving to go for a quick trail ride. A friend and I decided to head down to Uwharrie National Forest to ride since the trails there are completely wooded and would keep us cool. Not to mention, this place is just awesome to ride. There are tons of trails to ride on that range from easy to hard.

I decided this would be a great time to get my Thoroughbred Vinni, off the farm and back in shape. I’ll admit I was a little nervous to be taking him because he hadn’t been ridden in close to 2 years and he’s only been on a trail ride twice. Since getting him home from the track a few years ago, I’ve really been slow on his training. I had big hopes of turning him into a hunter jumper but during his training realized I wasn’t into it as much as I use to be. Eventually I stopped riding English all together and now I’m into Barrel Racing.  Now I have thought about training him on Barrels but I’m not sure I really want to do that with him. He’s not very sure footed and I’m not sure how he would do in a fast paced setting. I like that he acts more like a QH then the hot headed TB he was when I first got him.

But anyway, back to the trail ride. This was the first time hooking to my trailer and using it to haul horses somewhere. (Ahh! it pulled like a dream!) With my old trailer Vinni got to the point he wouldn’t go in it at all. There was no making him. I’m guessing it was just to small for him and he didn’t like feeling so cramped. Which was a huge reason for selling it. Not only was Vinni not loading in it but my two other horses that normally load on their own were starting to get trailer sour. I guess Vinni liked the new trailer though. He loaded onto it with very little coaxing and didn’t seem to be to nervous while hauling. He also got right back in coming home with no problems. (Err..I must have ADD, I can’t stay on topic. :/)

On the trail ride he did great! He did like to look at EVERYTHING and wanted to smell it all too. When we got to our first water mud crossing he didn’t know what to do. I asked him to go through it but instead, he leaned back on his haunches and tried to stretch out over it. I was laughing so hard too. I expected him to try and jump it not stretch out across it. We rode the Lake Trail at Uwharrie which took about 3.5 hours from start to finish.

Isn’t the view beautiful? That’s Badin Lake by the way. Vinni wasn’t so sure of the boats and people skiing but he never acted like he had to get away from it. He just looked intently with flared nostrils.

This was hands down one of the best rides I’ve had on him. I was so impressed with how much he trusted me when I would ask him to go places he wasn’t sure of. He also did a great job picking his footing when the trail got rocky. I was very impressed with him and now can’t wait to get back out this weekend. I think with a few more miles he could be an excellent trail horse. 😉

Question for You:

Did you do any trail riding this past weekend? What’s your fondest memory of a trail ride you’ve been on?