Can he go hacking? That was my second question when I came to try Biasini the first time. My first question was to ask what kind of spook he had because I had been warned he had a “spook”! The spooks described were not a problem for me. And when I was told he was good to go out hacking in the forest I knew he was a candidate.
Yesterday we trained in a lesson with my coach Belinda Trussell. Belinda was very happy with our dressage work . I will post about the lesson later in the week.
Today we had some snow and cold temperatures (- 6 Celsius) and I felt that Biasini needed a day off from arena work. We will be back in lessons tomorrow and Friday. I told one other rider at the barn I was going out and she said: “You’re brave.” I had already asked the barn manager Carl if the road up the hill past his house was icy. He said it was not and if I was going hacking just avoid the steepest hills as the leaves beneath the snow might be slippery.
No problem. I knew a good route that would not involve any steep hills. Biasini has his snow pads and corks on his front feet and he is unshod behind. I tacked him up, put on his special outdoor quarter sheet and off we went. He started out being a bit alert but soon settled into his usual relaxed Western trail horse mode.
The woods were so quiet . A few snowflakes drifted down through the trees. It was beautiful.
A talented horse who can do so well in dressage and he can go out on a cold day for a forest trail ride in the snow. That’s what I call a multi-purpose horse! What a star!
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