First LOONG Trail ride- 10-11-10

Time for Taffy to show what she can do out in the desert mts. Today we rode 5+ hours at a walk mostly- short canters and lots of jiggy trots when she wasn't with her buddy horses. The Renegades did great- one did come off in the boggy soggy mushy sucking mud at the springs. It was not adjusted right to begin with. It was a hind boot.
She wore all 4 boots for most of the ride- made a huge difference. We wouldn't have made it up the first rocky steep grade without them. She wore the fronts for the entire ride, and I put on the hinds once we got into the rocks.
She did great- crossed the water (jumping over whenever possible), through sandy wash, around cactus and up and down rocky hills. She got a lot more careful where she put her feet by the end of the ride. Nine horses started, two turned back before the springs due to time constraints, and two went on ahead when one balked at the water. So 5 of us straggled down and split up as we neared town. Taffy was glad for some water at the trailer! She wouldn't drink at the spring. She had a nice snack while we were waiting for the balky horse to come through the water. She never did seem tired- just winded going up the steep rocky grade toward the beginning of the ride. I led her the last 100 yards of that. She is definitely learning to trust me :P
Funny thing- of the 9 horses that went- NOT ONE had shoes. This was a challenging trail! 3 horses were booted, the others fully bare. Only one had a sore shoulder at the end. Not one sore hoof.