It was just beautiful today. Low humidity, 84 degrees, the sun out, with a glorious clear blue sky. The leaves are turning and the park was awash in color, golden yellows, terra cotta orange, browns, and greens. The best time to be in this part of the state (Indiana). I stretched our mileage up just a tiny bit from last week, but mostly tried to get her to trot out now and then, and to keep her walk at or above 3 mph. She wants to tarry as she knows Cree is back there, somewhere...usually just a bend in the trail behind us, but she wants to see him. So I'm working in pushing her up into a trot, even if it is for very short spurts, whatever her confidence level can handle. I will probably keep repeating the same loops of trail for awhile to build her confidence, and try to create a place where she feels safe enough to start moving out. She jumped up a deer today, and we found a cute little "mini-wolf" on trail today, some kind of Siberian husky cross, a young dog. Phebes was upset until I got her to chase it. It would trot away, and then she'd do it again.
She loaded pretty easily today both going, and coming back. But she is still stressing in the trailer....when I unload her she will have a puddle under her and be soaked in sweat. The trailer wasn't all that hot either, and Cree wasn't sweating. Hate to think of hauling her a long distance with her sweating out her body fluids all the way....we'd have a serious hydration issue before we even got started!
It was a really good ride day, and it made me feel good to turn her out and see her galloping her field, plenty of energy left in her to do that. It was good to be able to relax enough on her to try some new things, and have some fun. She did finally drink on trail at just before the ten mile mark. She tanked up really well out of a big puddle in the otherwise dry creek, good Phebers!
Phebes is conditioning up nicely. She is lean now, beautifully muscled, with a motor that doesn't seem to stop. Her trot today was an easy 5.6 mph (had her up to about 8 mph yesterday at an extended trot). Days like today, give me hope! ~Endurance Granny
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