mallet's Blog

It has been a long, cold, brutal Wisconsin winter.  Finally, tomorrow morning I am slated to get Jenkins all tacked up for a long trail ride.  There is still quite a bit of snow along the fence lines here at Appy Orse Acres, so we probably won't be able to gallop and canter much. Still, it will be great to be out of the indoor ring.  My big chestnut buddy, Jenkins, and I have been cooped up in the indoor ring since the start of December.  I can't wait to see how the big boy reacts to a quail launching out of the scrub grass or a deer in his path.  I was on a quarter horse in Delaware once named Chance.  Chance saw a big doe run out onto the trail and decided we needed to catch her.  It was nuts.  There is this doe jumping over bushes and fences and we're just cantering along behind her looking for a way to pull up beside her.  Thank god she disappeared before I was called upon to jump a six foot fence.  As it was, a sustained three minute gallop was enough to get my blood flowing.  At any rate, not sure what to expect from Jenkins on the trail.  He is normally a very calm horse.  But he loves to run and jump and takes very little encouragement to really start flying around the ring in his characteristic wide, sweeping circles.  He gets nervous when he hears ice melting and sliding off of the metal roof above the ring.  But I think he is just very smart and wants to see what is happening.  When we are outside, there won't be any unexplained noises.  He'll be able to see it all.  Horses are curious and want to find out what's happening.  I suspect Jenkins will like the trail as much as I do.  I can't wait to go, go, go.