Tell us About the Horse You Rode
I rode my three year old arabian mare Winnie. She was green broke and full of spunk. She was my best friend then and 20 years later she still is.
What Was the Best Part of the Adventure?
When we headed out into the desert on horseback following a covered wagon, you lost all sense of time and year you were riding in. It could have been 100 years ago.
What Was the Biggest Challenge?
We had to climb this huge steep hill. I had not yet done this with Winnie. She climbed the hill like a little trooper, but when we got to the top I panicked. I hate heights. I live in the desert for a reason and my horse is short for a reason.
What Did You Do To Prepare?
I had a vet check done on her to make sure she was physically sound and ready for such a big ride. We were putting in LOTS of time in the saddle prior to.
What I Did:
We headed west on horse back following a covered wagon to camp in the hills of Arizona. It was a 20 mile long ride to primitive camping somewhere near a stream in the woods.
How I Did It:
With lots of patience and love and the best horse teacher in the world Bob Richardson. He gave me the foal when she was 6 months old and taught me how to break her the gentle way. Winnie was way excited to be doing this and she was feeling her oats. She crow hopped and out walked everyone. Unfortunately, she wore herself out and I had to walk her the last few miles.
Lessons learned
- If you can't take a bucket with you, teach you horse to drink from a stream prior to leaving. Winnie had never seen a stream. We live in the desert. She wouldn't cross it to get to the camp site or drink from it. Uncontaminated free flowing water is VERY VERY scary. Wouldn't have hurt to teach them to ground tie either, though I did tie her to the wagon for the night and she was fine.
