Lost Easy Boots and a Lakeside Trail with a View

Flora Hillman

Spring has graced us with deliciously warm weather -- so unusual at this time of the year. But with 5 ponies now being worked under saddle, I am thrilled for the nice days, even though I feel like I'm in the saddle 24 hours a day! This week has raced by so fast I'll do a quick recap of the last four riding days.

Tuesday - 3/11 - I decided to begin my day by walking Drummer down to watch the Piedmont Hounds go off. He was very good, standing quietly while looking wide-eyed at the activity while I talked to neighbors and friends who were there either to enjoy the final weekday hunt of the season riding to the hounds, or watching them from the sidelines. When the hounds finally moved off, Drummer and I walked the 1 mile home, stopping only at one point to watch a beautiful red fox lazily trotting across a field, safe from all concern as it was on the opposite side of the territory from the hounds who were now easily another mile away. The fox popped into a local den, and Drummer and I continued our ride home, enjoying the unusual springtime warmth and sunshine. He is still unshod but we spent our whole time walking on the grass or in the woods.

Not so for working Libby -- she wasn't shod as yet, either, but I did want to take her out on part of the gravel road so I opted to throw a set of easyboots on her front feet. Now, Libby has this habit of losing one .. or more.. of her easy boots every time out, so I decided I would stick strictly to the road and not traverse the mucky, oversaturated fields. So... off we go, heading down the road at a merry clip, me trying very, very hard not to listen to the siren song of the spacious grassy fields calling me to come hither and trot across the springy soft ground. I was doing very good not listening to the seductive song as Libby trotted down Willisville Road and back... until we got to Foxlease Farm's back lane at the edge of Cannon Hill's far fields. Libby and I turned down that old road to the stream... and the next thing I knew I was pointing my mare's darling head towards the truck path that led through the fields.

The siren song had been too irresistible to ignore!

..more