Friday, January 8, 2016

Paddy vs Taran: Trail riding perspective

I love taking Paddy out on the trials. He's solid, steady, and doesn't spook. I'm pretty sure he's on a first-name basis with all the deer in our neighborhood. The bunnies in the bushes don't bother him, joggers might have foodz (hey, hope springs eternal!) and unfamiliar dogs might be new friends. Basically he's the perfect trail horse.

The world is awesome, and there are foodz everywhere!

Taran, on the other hand, is convinced that everything eats grey horses. EVERYTHING. Deer and bunnies are dangerous. Squirrels are dangerous. Leaves and sticks and rocks and cacti are dangerous. Invisible things can't be trusted either. However, one must always be on the lookout for foodz. 

The world is terrifying, but there might be foodz.

What's your horse's view of trail rides?

42 comments:

  1. Dino and Paddy are trail twins! Everything is either eatable, friendly, fun, or generally fascinating. Things I think he may spook at (deer popping out, people on bikes, small children screaming in strollers, kids on scooters, barking dogs) he just looks at with curiosity, and if he sees something unusual, his first instinct is to walk right up and check it out for himself. The only thing he's ever found truly scary on the trail is when some turkeys burst out from the brush unexpectedly, but I'll give him that one. I LOVE trail riding him!

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    1. Hahaha, there are things that startle me where Paddy's like "oooh, what's that?" Dino and Paddy definitely sound like trail twins!

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  2. Poor Taran!! For the most part, both of my horses are like Paddy. Rico does pick things to spook at, mostly for entertainment purposes I think. But I can take him anywhere and put anyone on him and he's fine. I haven't taken TC a lot of places yet so I don't quite know how he is- he's totally bombproof on his home trails though. Generally he's much quieter in the open/on the trails than he is in the arena. I have no idea wtf that is. Like if I take him to a new facility, I'm more comfortable riding around the property than I am riding in the arena on him. I think it's that when we wander around, he can keep an eye on things. This bodes well for me since I feel more confident in the arena than out in the open. But hopefully he gets over it soon.

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    1. Maybe TC is claustrophobic in an arena and prefers wide open spaces? And Rico's spooking sounds hilarious. Not that I'd want to ride those big spooks, but entertaining nonetheless.

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  3. Yesterday Henry spooked at: a sign, a dog, a car, spray painted writing on the ground, a mailbox, and a donkey. Henry did not spook at: water rushing out of a huge culvert, crossing two bridges, dead reeds making a really loud scary noise, or cows. He makes no sense.

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    1. Parts of the world are so scary. Other parts, not so much.

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  4. Val is both terrified of everything on trails, and desperate to explore the great wide world. So we usually jig for a while and snort at scary things, all while charging ahead with or without friends. When in a group he really likes to lead because somebody might find exciting things before him, and we sometimes leave the group so far behind we have to circle, but once we find the exciting thing, he much prefers someone else approach it first. He's an odd one.

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  5. My guy is a mix of the 2.. he'll be happily going along, looking at everything, then all of a sudden OMG A MUD PUDDLE!!!

    :/

    He's kind of a princess...

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    1. There are alligators in mud puddles, didn't you get the memo?

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  6. noms, noms everwhere! and probably even MOAR noms if we just go *faster*!!!!

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    1. You might want to point out that it's harder to eat the noms if you're going fast...

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    2. lol you haven't seen her in action yet - she practically makes a game out of seeing just how much food she can nab on the fly

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  7. Post-foxhunting, Gina's view of the world is "everything is food when you are standing still". Moe thinks he'll find a jump or a new friend if he JUST. WALKS. FASTER.

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  8. Love it. Nilla thinks about food mostly. She's not terribly spooky or really bombproof. Somewhat in-between. But food is her foremost though at all time. Food and how much she hates me when I make her keep moving and not eat food. Dijon thinks trails are a racetrack. He's not actually spooky per se. But he likes to pretend to spook so he can bolt and go faster. He actually doesn't care at all about food and will often just stand around when you stop instead of gorging on grass. He does like to twist his head back to see if I have carrots.

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    1. Food is very important - Nilla obviously has her priories straight!

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  9. Mia does a great job of teleporting sideways, especially in a canter while on trail rides. Or going XC during a horse trial. The faster she goes, the more the teleportation. Walks don't typically have bad spooks, go figure, we just have drunk horse syndrome who could not go in a straight line...

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    1. I dislike the teleportation move. Taran does a great job of that, and I don't want to faceplant into a cactus.

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  10. Nancy is like Paddy although is not overly fond of multiple motorbikes passing nor sounds that she can't see.

    Kika is deff more of a Taran, anything and everything is out to get her whether hacking under saddle or just being led down the same route to & from the field every day. I am not sure when was the last time we walked both journeys on the se day without stopping for no reason to stare at who knows what!

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    1. If Kika were grey, I'd start to suspect it's something about grey ponies. Seeing how she's not, maybe some horses just think they're tastier than others and thus more apt to be preyed upon by things like fallen leaves and random sticks?

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    2. Don't even get me started on patches of sunshine in the woods - that is the devils work according to Miss Kika

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  11. Hahaha, this is accurate. I love trail riding Paddy :)

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    1. Paddy is great at trails. Too bad he's not as good at dressage!

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  12. Bobby is like a demon child on trail. He's totally bomb proof because if he sees something scary, his first instinct is not to spook but to KILL. He has zero problems stopping the life out of any small animals that cross his path and don't move out of the way fast enough. Turkeys, birds, rabbits, baby fawns that tremble in terror in tall grass--all fair game.

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    1. I am now terrified of Bobby. You might need some horns and a red butt-cape for him for trail riding, just to warn unsuspecting passers-by of the danger involved.

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  13. According to Lucy, trails are pure evil. All the food in the world couldn't compensate for that fact. The rest of the horses are comfortable on the trail.

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    1. Lucy seems to have her priorities straight ;)

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  14. Izzy LOVES going out ... better with a friend though. Speedy is awesome, he does enjoy a good spook now and then, but he is super reliable, especially when it comes to kids running up to him. :0)

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    1. Oh, friends are always better on trail rides, but not always practical. There's safety in numbers, after all!

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  15. Hahahah that's awesome. Apollo is usually very much graphic #2, but sometimes something stupid and random will blow his mind. I ride him in a ditch between a buffalo herd and road cyclists...he's fine. Cat jumps on the tractor...shut the front door, he's outta there.

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    1. You do know that millions of years ago, that cat's ancestors ATE Apollo's ancestors, right? I don't think they ever forget things like that.

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  16. We do endurance. So mine is like "ho hum, another trail ride... Ooh, usual eating spot... bugger, a hill... friend I always pretend I cannot bear to leave... Ooh, home, I'm not tired any more"!

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    1. I think endurance horses have a whooooole different outlook on trails than most horses!

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  17. ahahahaha poor Taran! Hafl is more the: does the other horse do something? Oh yeah, she is spooking, what at? let me have a look? nope can't see it - and off he goes :D he is too funny :DDD

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    1. Taran doesn't trust whoever is going ahead of him on the trials. He's got to keep a lookout for #1 at all times!

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  18. Ries is def like Taran. Its unfortunate

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    1. Alas, it hasn't gotten better as Taran gets older either.

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  19. With Jazz it alternates between "I must be in front I am the brave boss mare leader and all shall listen to my might", and "OH MY GOD WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT WAS THAT? AND THAT? I AM GOING TO STAND HERE TREMBLING LIKE I AM ABOUT TO LITERALLY EXPLODE DOWN THIS VERY NARROW TRAIL AND RUN AWAY WITH YOU WITH NO STEERING WHY IS THIS 'experienced' trail horse with me NOT LOSING HIS ENTIRE MIND ALSO?" and there is no in between whatsoever.

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    1. That does not sound like the most relaxing trail ride ever... :(

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