Peanut's new passenger

Today the boys were trimmed.  Peanut's about to shed a sole - there's a seam in his groove - and still has cracks in the rear, but Dawn said that they weren't bad.  The bottom third - the tip part - of one of Gene's frogs is... well... gone.  Still sound.

Afterwards, we went on a trail ride.  Well, really a hike for me.  Gene carried Rick, and Peanut carried Dawn.  :)

Dawn had ridden our guys once, very briefly, for a minute each or so.  This is the first time she really got to try out Peanut, or a gaited horse at all for that matter.  This was also the first time she rode in Fair Hill.  What?!

First, Dawn is not a Fhoenix fan.  She felt the saddle pushing her forward which a number of people seem to find but I don't.  Instead, it gets me where I need to be.  I also took off the knee rolls during the ride, carrying them with me as I went.

When Dawn first gaited, she turned around afterwards and asked what you're supposed to be doing during the gait.  She sounded rather perplexed.  Nothing, I said, that's the point of the thing!  Just glide!  Just look at the scenery, added Rick.

She was also a fan of Peanut's canter, saying that it felt like riding a carousel horse.

At every opportunity she asked Peanut for speed, loving the gaited horse experience.  Well, except for when Peanut tossed a trot her way and she couldn't believe the roughness of it.  Yup.  The boy gets a lot of air in his trot.

Another rider rode by at one point and complimented Dawn (and then me when realizing who the owner was) on Peanut's cleanliness.  *Shrug*  His mane and tail are still a sort of cream color instead of white.  He won't get a real bath and be really clean until at least May.  :)

I can't wait until my saddle is customized and we can go riding with Dawn, Lisa, Anne, and hopefully Jill!