Drunken Bean Field Adventure

For the first time ever we did not do a turkey and fixings Thanksgiving dinner. We had already had turkey earlier in the month so it was decided we would have a boiled dinner instead. I know some of you will be scratching your head wondering what a boiled dinner is, so it is a ham cooked in a water/vinegar mix with cabbage, carrots and turnips. The best part is, you put it all in the pot and let it cook.
My mom was free to come to the barn and play. The day was a warm and sunny, perfect for riding. Mom was going to stroll on DaVinci since she hurt her back at work. I was going to ride Rosemary, but Winston pricked his ears and blinked his big brown eyes at me. He wanted to work.
Winston has an amazing trot. I swear he floats. Picture the big show jumping horses trotting before and after rounds. That is what he feels like when you are on his back.  Some horses really make you feel special when you can harness their energy into packaged working gaits. Winston is one of those. We had a great ride and we both were happy.
Now we could move onto DaVinci and Rosemary. This ride turned out to be a lesson in patience for Rosemary. She had to learn that just because DaVinci was  ahead of her, did not mean she could move faster to catch up. One correction on the walk out was all she needed to work on a loose rein. We caught up with Mom at the fence between the big fields. Then DaVinci surprised us by setting off across the bean fields. Fortunately these fields are not plowed and the footing was safe.
DaVinci who loves exploring was thrilled. Rosemary, still walking on a loose rein, was like a drunk. Where her nose pointed her body followed. I only did some minor directional cues. Once we crossed the field, we turned around and I took Rosemary ahead to do some trotting. Her drunkenness continued, but she had great rhythm so I let her roam. Then I got a surprise and started laughing. Rosemary started to feel light and bouncy. Not a bad thing except that her head was straight up. Cobs have two kinds of trot they are known for: extended, ground covering and suspended joint bending. This trot was the joint bending kind. It will be great once she is not being a drunk tourist. Mom and DaVinci waited at the top of the bean field. After our wondering trot work, I asked her for canter up the hill. Can you believe she became straight once in canter? Wonder if that is a green horse thing.
Anyway our ride turned out to be really fun and enlightening... for Rosemary. She needs ride time with other horses to learn to listen to me instead of worrying about where the other horse is. It will help her driving too. Not a bad way to spend the holiday :)

Here is a picture example of the joint bending trot. I asked Mom if this was what Rosemary looked like and she said her legs were more deeply bent than in this picture. I think her head was about this high though.