Being a bad example

Last night Anne and I went for a walk on the trails - her with her dog, me with Peanut.

I was naughty. Peanut is so curious and lively when taken for a walk on the trails, rather than ridden, that I grew curious as to what he would do if I let go and let him do his own thing. So, I tossed the lead over his back and walked on.

I was very surprised. He behaved better off lead than on, and it gave my shoulder a break. For the most part he fell right in step behind me, with the occassional (frequent) lick on the back of my neck, shoulder, arm, and at one point rear pocket (fresh!).

If he did start moving beside and ahead of me, I would just have to reach out, grab the lead as it draped over his side, and give it the slightest bit of pressure. With that, he would stop. Much better than on lead.

The whole time we did this we were on wooded trails which weren't very wide. Anne, who was following, let me know that there were riders coming up behind us. I grabbed the Nutters and found a spot where we could move off trail behind a tree and plopped Peanut there. Not wanting to spook the oncoming horses, I stuck my head out from behind the tree, said hello, and told them that there was a horse back there. They smiled and said that they knew. Oh yeah... a mere trunk can't hide the great golden expanse....

As they came alongside, both of them complimented Peanut. Once they passed, Peanut wanted to go with them so we followed a bit behind them for a little while (with me holding the lead, no one needs to see how idiotic I am). I said, "Peanut, they're not your herd! You can't go with them!" The guy in the back turned and said with a smile that he wouldn't mind.

My horsie. Hmph.

It was cute. You meet some really nice riders out there.

The field before the woods leading back to the barn was the only open area where I let Peanut walk free. I was curious if he would still follow me with so much grass, and he did! He kept right at my back until we stopped to let Anne catch up (she was working on her heel command with Lady). At that point Peanut decided that it would be great to graze, and to continue grazing. It's a good thing that I know my horse. ;)

When riding, if we dawdle in that field and Gene keeps going into the woods and starts to disappear from sight, Peanut will begin to panic and scoot along after him. I decided to see if he would react the same way to me, so I told him goodbye and kept walking.

As I went a bit into the woods, I heard a commotion behind me and there was Peanut, gaiting to catch up with me. Hah!