A Day in the Field

This past week, with the temperature reaching into the 70's, Mom and I  were able to get out and go for a nice long ride. We spent some time with them in the morning on Friday, and as Mom was getting the wind twists out of Charlotte's mane, Woody lay down practically right beside me. He then stretched all the way out, placing his head on the ground and stretching his legs out. He stayed like this for around 20 minutes, then sat up. I went to check on him and see if he'd allow me to pet him, and Mom took advantage of the opportunity and took some pictures. After I let him be, he stayed down, alternating between stretching all the way out and sitting up, for another 30 minutes or so. He finally decided nap time was over, and after he rolled around making sure he was COMPLETELY covered in dirt, he got up.
I then haltered him, brushed him and tacked him up at Liberty, and when bridling time came he showed remarkable improvement: he kept his head down low, and he handled himself quite nicely. Mom and I took the horses out the gate and I began to play with him a bit, making sure he was really with me. He seemed to be very calm, relaxed, but attentive, so I prepared to mount. He didn't move an inch while I was getting on, and from there everything was great.
In the beginning of out ride he really needed to be directed. He was all over the place, crooked, tuning me out, but I held in there and patiently waited for him to complete the tasks I asked him to do. Since I asked softly, he in return gave me softness back. Soon he and I were on the same page, and off we went.
We went down the drive and in the hayfield into sections we've never been. We rode up fairly close to the road, and up and down the hills of the field. We ended up riding for a little over an hour, and by the time we returned and untacked, everyone was sweaty and tired, but very content. Both horses did very well and handled themselves beautifully.

~Eden