Dru's first trail ride (6/25/06)

We couldn't be happier with Dru.  Liz has been riding him around the land and in our makeshift arena and has been very happy with his progress.  He is very willing and never mean.  When he gets confused he gets irritated like all horses, but he sticks with it and never becomes frustrated.  After 2 weeks at home we decided to put the old barrel saddle on him and go for a walk in the woods.  I don't think he saw alot of trees in Utah, but he had no problems at all.  We went down the "gas line".  It is owned by the gas company for them to run their lines underground so liz has access to a long stretch of land to train on.  People have their old swing sets and tires piled up along the edges but he handled it all very well.  As you can see they were recently burying some new lines and Dru snorted a few times but went tight up to the mechanical dinosaur.

In fact, Dru spooks more at our Lab flying out of the woods chasing rabbits than anything else and hell, I spook myself when she does that.

I did not take pictures of Dru's first creek crossing, but it was an adventure. The banks are 2 or 3 feet down to the water on a fairly steep incline.  He went all the way down to the water but he was not crossing.  It too about 20 minutes but Liz got him across.  On his back!  She has a will of iron.  He never bucked or got ill and she of course never gave him more than an encouraging swat.  It was a very positive experience.