As the bright sun beats down on the back of my neck, I carefully open the gate and approach the large horse eyeing me across the pasture. After a moment, he turns away with a bored expression, and I know I have the all-clear to approach and put his halter on.
So begins one of my favorite summer activities. Horses are fun all year round, but summer is when they really shine — literally and figuratively. Trails, riding outdoors, even just standing in the sun leaning up against a quiet friend is enjoyable.
Before I became a part of the workforce, I was at the farm every day I could wheedle a ride from my parents, grooming, helping the younger students, mending fences and, of course, cleaning stalls. Now that I have a full-time job claiming the bulk of my days, it has become harder to even take a weekly lesson, and I guard my horse-time jealously.
It’s not just me, all of my friends, riding buddies and fellow horse geeks find every conceivable reason to be outdoors at the farm during the longer days. Plus training for upcoming shows and the ever popular county rodeo. Even the horses react to the nice weather, frolicking and relaxing out in the sun, looking as cool as any sunbather next to a pool in Maui.
My trainer, Karma Huff at Clear Creek Stables, has been waiting and hoping and wishing for the warmer weather so we can better utilize the great outdoors, which provides different challenges an indoor, protected arena can’t. It teaches the rider new skills, works different muscles (which I always feel the next day) and helps develop trust between horse and rider.
In my own lessons, I’m learning the fun and somewhat useful art of “Trail” with my equine partner, Tucker. The event is popular at shows, and I can definitely see why after trying it. Trail is a series of obstacles one may find on an actual trail, such as moving over a bridge, opening and closing a gate and backing around an L-shape. Of course, on a real trail one isn’t given points for how well one does.
Unlike some other competitive aspects of horsemanship, Trail is done very slowly with no extra points given or taken away for time used. If I rush at anything, it’s guaranteed Tucker will step over a rail he shouldn’t, turn too much or move farther from the gate than my arm can reach. He’s good at letting me know when I’ve pushed too hard or far, and I learn just as much from him, and the other horses at Clear Creek, as I do Karma. If he moves the wrong way, I can feel it, and with Karma’s guidance and steady hand, I correct my mistakes.
After practice, the move becomes second nature, and we’re ready for the next challenge.
Summer is the perfect time for riding and hanging with horses, just look at almost any picture of them. Usually they are running through grassy fields with a blue sky and fluffy white clouds behind them. Or they are galloping through a snowy field, but seeing as it hardly snows here and horses look like anything else in the rain — miserable and soaked — summer is the time to discover the joy of horseback riding.
