Trail Ride

 Went on a 3 hr. trail ride today on Giz. He was wonderful. We walked, trotted, loped, and galloped. He was well behaved and slowed down and stopped with the energy in my body. The galloping wasn't by choice though. If I asked for the lope and he was behind the other horses it went into a gallop until he was caught up. Will have to work on that! Once he got to the front he would slow way down and kind of go a little sideways to make sure everyone was still coming. It was kind of interesting how obvious it was that he wanted to be in the herd and not to far in front or behind them. He went after the dog on some occasions like he'd be after a cow. When we were loping, I wasn't in favor of this. I kept telling the dog to get out of the way and trying to steer Gizmo in opposite direction. It was all a a great experience for him. I just don't think he has ever been in this situation before. The weather was very warm and after about 2-1/2 hrs I think Gizmo was done. He got more introverted which, to be honest, bothered me a little. All in all I was pleased with him. Our big test comes this weekend at Brushy Creek. Me and a couple of lady friends will be going horse camping. I'll keep you posted!