Amigo on a Night Time Trail Ride

Amigo is a bit of a silly horse, we've all come to agree here at Chiron's Grove. When he goes on a trail ride, we gather a list of the things that make him stop to consider his situation before moving forward. Now, that would be simple, except that when Amigo decides to move forward, few horses are as brave as he is about doing what he's asked to do.

This was never more evident than tonight.

We have a new resident here at the Grove, and that is our farrier, Cordell of Smart Shoeing (his last name is actually "Smart," lucky guy). Cordell moved in yesterday to the apartment in the basement. He will be handling the morning feedings and helping in lots of general ways (including shoeing, yay for that). Cordell is really good at controlling horses, obviously, because he has to stand underneath them all the time and work on their feet. And Cordell also used to ride in a scrappy sort of way as a kid. Same as me, come to think of it. You know, the kind of riding where your pony might just jump the log you asked him to, or he might stop, look at you, and then roll. Or jump in the pond. You just learned to deal with these things as a farm kid.

Anyway, Cordell hasn't had much time to ride in quite a while, what with being in the military, getting married, having three children, and running a farrier business. But he wanted to get back into it.

We've been without a car here for the summer, and as a result, I've learned what it's like to use horses for transportation. Especially since Rocket got here, I've loved my trips to places like the Spear St. Store and Magic's house to check on Bella. Checking on Bella has become a nightly thing. I go and get Rocket, then head off over to Magic's house to see how she's doing (when is that foal coming, anyway?). Although I try to get this done early enough to have daylight the whole way, as the days get shorter, more and more of my ride is in darkness.

So tonight, Cordell was here and he wanted to come along. So along with Rocket we saddled up Amigo. Amigo the cautious. Amigo the homebody.

We left when the stars were out, and by the time we got home the stars were like a carpet on the sky. In between, Amigo faced numerous challenges.

First, just going up the driveway at that time of day (8 pm) was a challenge. He'd rather not go. He liked it just fine in the barn. Okay, the corral. Okay, maybe just the driveway. But not the road, definitely not the r-- all right, all right, if you're going to slap my butt with that stupid baling twine... and so Cordell got him along, one way or another, until we got to the covered bridge.

I've been doing this ride with Rocket quite a bit. I expected him to cross the bridge nicely for me. But it was completely dark by the time we got there, no moon, nothing but starlight, and Rocket saw that bridge as being full of hiding places for cougars (remember, he was a wild stallion for years before he was trained). No way, no how was he going over that bridge. I capitulated and got off him. Usually that's enough. I have this trick that I do with horses who don't want to go somewhere. I stand just behind the left ear, stroke and maybe scratch the neck a little, and whisper, "Hey, let's do it together. We're partners." For a lot of horses, and usually with Rocket, this works. Most horses just want to feel like they're not alone. But even that wonderful trick completely failed to move him into the teeming shadow of the covered bridge.

Clip clop. Suddenly Amigo was passing us, walking in his high-stepping way onto the bridge. Rocket relaxed and followed him. It seems that Cordell and Amigo had had a conversation and Amigo had decided to trust Cordell cross the bridge for him. See? that's what I like about Amigo. He'll balk and balk, but once he decides to do what you ask, nobody is braver.

So off we went after the bridge up to Magic's house to see how Bella is doing. We did a little jogging. Well, Rocket jogged (he's just getting the hang of the Western jog), and Amigo did this sort of walk-really-fast, trot-a-little thing to keep up with us. Not exactly comfortable for Cordell on a bareback saddle.

This part of our ride was with Lewis Creek on our right and a large meadow on our left. I looked up, and saw the Milky Way like a path in front of us. I didn't want to stop looking at those stars.

When we got past the open area, Amigo had a problem going under the trees and into the shadows again. Rocket was the guy in good form this time. He relaxed and stood very still while we waited for Amigo and Cordell. I was proud of him. Rocket likes to move, and for him, the training challenge has been to teach him to relax and not to burn energy unless it's needed. So when he chills out and cocks a rear foot while I sit on him on a dark road, I feel pretty darn proud.

Cordell and Amigo talked, and Amigo considered, and Cordell encouraged him, and Amigo balked, so finally Rocket and I walked back to them. I gave Cordell an apple I had in my pocket. Maybe he just needed a little endorphin kick to relax and head into those shadows.

Nope.

So Rocket and I swung around behind him and pushed him from behind (not pushed as in pressed against him; pushed in the horse sense of putting pressure on him just by moving towards one of his pressure points--in this case, his hip). I flopped my reins in a very loose and silly way across his rump. He finally moved out, and kept moving out as we went up the final hill to Magic's house.

So we went there, and we laid hands on Bella to see how she was (skinny, for a pregnant mare, and extremely tired). Cordell let the horses graze and then handed them over to me and messed a bit with Rosie's feet (Rosie is a two-year-old black Percheron filly, so her feet are a bit hard to lift). I stood with the horses and looked up again at the stars. What a night for stars!

Then we started home again. Amigo needed a bit of herding to get started, and he stopped once on the way home because he saw the horses we had just left as they walked in front of the back porch light. At one point both horses shied and gave a wide berth to a point in a field where we couldn't see anyting. Could have been a fox, or a bobcat, or a fisher... only the horses knew.

As we went home, I couldn't just look ahead. Most of the time I had my neck craned so I could watch those fascinating stars. Saw a shooting one, once. Identified the north star, and the big dipper, and Cassiopeia, and the little dipper; but the Milky Way was the path that led directly from Magic & Alan's house to my house. If we had been gods, we would have walked the Milky Way carpet on our immortal steeds to go from one house to the other. As it was, we only felt like gods, and our steeds were only normal horses--but even as such, they felt like the creatures that could lead us to eternal and spiritual places. Even Amigo, for whom the whole trip out and back was a long challenge to his nerves.

But he did it. We came home around 10 pm, safe and sound (I wonder if Amigo remembers those safe arrivals home when he goes out on another scary adventure? I doubt it.).

Off with the saddles; scratches for both horses where the saddles maybe itched them; into the paddock with their friend Vegas, a few flakes of hay, and lots of fresh, cold water.

During those hourse, riding in the darkness, Cordell and I spoke of nothing but the things that were happening right then and there, and that only when words were needed because nothing else would do. The best rides are like that. On the best rides, riders enter communion with our horses that easily replaces nattering words that puncture the largeness and emptiness of spirit to which our horses unconsciously lead us. It was clip clop, and a craned neck looking at the stars, and one shooting star, and the steaming of our breath and our horses' flanks.

Few things are as good as a night-time ride. And Amigo, despite his fears and his nervousness, managed to carry his rider through the whole experience. He probably doesn't know to be proud of himself, but I know to be proud of him.

Good boy, Amigo. And Rocket, what an excellent job you did helping your friend along.