The husband is home from his vacation now, so I seized the remaining day light, left him to watch the kid not watching the puppy, shoved Tarma’s boots on (Scoots on all four now) and squeezed in a short ride. We’re lucky to have private timberlands to ride on with volunteer maintained trails a short haul from the barn.

This is technically our second solo ride, but I had none of the anxiety or hesitation this time. We’ve done enough work and had enough time together that I knew, more or less, how she would be. The only unexpected obstacle was a bunch of bee boxes. She actually got mad at them, pawing and snorting and trying to decide if she could pass them. I gave her all the time she needed to think about it, and it only took a few minutes for us to scoot by. My happiest moment came when I dropped the reins and gave her the option of turning back to the trailer or continuing on, and she turned away from the trailer! Two miles in an hour is not far or fast, but I loved every moment and I’m fairly sure Tarma did as well.