Cisco had thirty days with Nichole Hack to prepare him for me. I took my first ride and it was a good one. Cisco came home and I took him to my favorite summer arena to get better acquainted. I rode him in a clinic with Jenny Vaught. We were doing great. I started trusting him to take care of me.
Friend Chas called and wanted me to go on a trail ride with her. Gulp! My first trail ride with Cisco. I said yes and the deal was made. We agreed to ride at Holden Lake. It is a city lake with a trail that goes around the lake. The trail include riding through woods, behind people’s houses and across a long damn. Louie and Chas; Cisco and I.
Cisco was excited when I unloaded him. Chas and Louie showed up not long after we got there. Louie was excited too. Chas and I did the ground work with our horses. Chas got on Louie and came over close to where I was going to mount Cisco. I got up on the trailer fender, holding on to one of Cisco’s reins. Cisco was still a wee bit excited at the new place, but he appeared to me that he was going to let me mount. He stood sideways at the trailer so I could get my leg over the saddle. I had to turn around on the fender to get my body in proper position.I turned around and let loose of the rein for a millisecond. In that millisecond, Cisco took off. He left Louie, Chas and me behind. He galloped out of the parking lot neighing and screaming. There were two horses in a pasture across the road. Where was Cisco going? How far would he go? Was there a fence around the Lake Holden Park? If there was, it was too far off for us humans to be able to see it. Cisco continued his gallop.
The thing not to do is take a horse and run after the fleeing horse. This makes the fleeing horse think that the chasing horse is joining him and will gallop for freedom. Chas turned Louie around and started after Cisco at a calm and slow gait. She knew that Louie had to become Cisco’s anchor when Cisco’s right brain behavior was replaced by a thinking brain. She kept on trying to shorten the ever expanding gap between Louie and the galloping Cisco.
Heaven was my reward. Lake Holden was fenced off. I headed for the open gate so I could block Cisco if he ever found the way out of the park. Louie and Chas were still heading for Cisco. When Cisco came up short at the fence, he ran back and forth a bit trying to find a way out. He gave up and noticed Louie. His thinking brain came back. Cisco came over to Louie and Chas was able to grab a rein. Cisco was caught. He would not be running out wild on the gravel roads of Cass County.
Cisco and I reunited and did more ground games while Louie and Chas watched. Louie was impatient. I led Cisco up to the trailer fender again and did not let go of the reins. I was able to get into the saddle. Cisco and i moved out with some fretting going on with both Cisco and Louie. We started across the big meadow with an ugly black stump near a dried up ditch crossing. Louie was in the lead, but was uncertain of that stump and the narrow crossing. Cisco was fine. I let Cisco take the lead and away we went. We made it to the forest pathway where Cisco relaxed. Louie had taken the lead again and we were going on like you read in the perfect trail ride book. We did a water crossing. I think he jumped the water, but that was just fine with me. it brought back memories of riding Velvet on the trail.
Cisco and Louie went the entire distance around the lake or did we turn back and take the forest trail again. Maybe Chas will remember. It was a successful trail ride and one for the memory book. My horse got loose and galloped away on our first ever trail ride. scream