First Outing!

Early this year, Roxie’s mom texted me about hauling down here with a horse so we could go trail riding together in the mountains near my barn, which is obviously an amazing idea. I had grand aspirations of having ZB super fit and prepared and having a bunch of outings under our belt and anyways life happened which means none of that did.

Except Roxie’s mom still came.

 

note it is 86f in this photo and we are all dying

I go on and on about Roxie because. Well. If you’ve been around a minute, you know. If you haven’t, that horse broke my brain and changed my life and is why I have ZB today. The queen herself is mostly retired these days so Roxie’s mom did something very special, which was bring Halo Horsebaby.

 

heart eyes

a trail zb!

so happy!

We hauled in to the trailhead and set off on a hot sunny day with a ripping wind. Both girls were being So Good. We popped over a lil rise and saw a herd of cows. Full disclosure ZB has seen cows but it was… years… ago and idk how it went. Halo has not.

artistic rendering as i failed at an actual photo

 

They were both BIG BRAVE LADIES and kept marching while giving the suspicious cows a wide berth. But then there were more cows. So we thought it was a good time to choose a different trail in the interest of a more calming ride.

 

actual photo by roxie's mom

Halo Horsebaby!

I just have to have a proud ZB moment here—she lead. She followed. She walked beside Halo. She looked where she was going, followed the trail, and kept her brain in her head. Even when she was worried, she was bold and going forward. She let Halo trot up behind her and she trotted up behind Halo. She lead the way through a steep little draw and never put a foot wrong.

 

somehow pulling grass out of her mouth to get a cute picture is the cutest picture

Like y’all. I know she’s a good horse but also she’s a certified Real Good Horse.

 

on the way down!

Eventually we realized the trail was getting pretty steep, our horses were not that fit, and also the sunny skies were turning threatening. We marched back to the trailhead and took our tired ladies back to the barn and ourselves out to dinner.

 

likely new profile pic

Sunday morning was designated “hacksies barebacksies” wherein we were going to toodle around the barn bareback sipping coffee to let Halo Horsebaby stretch her legs before the long haul home.

 

weeee!

Except. Fun fact. The temps dropped 25 degrees after a heavy overnight rain and the wind was WHIPPING through the barn. Our calm, drafty ladies who should be TIRED were wild mustangs. I let ZB get the worst of it out while Halo Horsebaby ate her breakfast and then.

morning light

  

Omg. You guys.

SWOON

Roxie’s mom brought us Roxie’s absolutely stunning western saddle. We put it on ZB and it fit beautifully. I just. Like not to be the sappiest person ever but I can’t even put into words right now what that means to me. I am all warm fuzzies and gratitude. (We also made ZB’s auntie take her for a brief spin in the morning sun now that things were calmer).

 

it was so cold omfg

Halo Horsebaby strutted her stuff in the arena. There was definitely no calm bareback hack but we had coffee and laughs and saw our friends safely off.

ha ha i love her

  

picture from when they were calmer

Until next time <3