The Great Migration East

The great migration to the east!!!!  The barn was ready to go - waterer hooked up, hay, bedding in the stall.  I've been dreaming of having my own horse for as long as I can remember.  I've had her, but now she's home!!!  I can look out my window and just see her.  (Ok, this is where my non horse friends think I'm really weird.)





I started my trip around 12:30.  Temperatures were rising, up to 45 and no wind!  Got a quick pic of us before we left.  Chuck said his good-byes.  I think he'll miss her and I think Cassie will miss him too.  He has the best treats!  Have a feeling he'll stop by and see her when he gets the chance.  Did I mention that Chuck was very instrumental in getting our shed ready to go?  He is the handiest guy around and we thank him for everything he has done for us!!!!

We took the usual route down the long driveway and exited Wilhelm Family Farms.  Cassie was riding very calm so far and I felt like she was ready for our long ride.

We made it across the section by only scaring up 3 deer; 1 nice buck and a couple smaller doe.  They stayed out in front of us so Cassie didn't get spooked at all.  Saw a couple of bluebirds which is odd this time of year.  Hard to believe that we'll be riding a new trail.  Excited to see what that will be.

My main concern with our trip home was the one and only bridge we would have to cross.  It was a one car bridge with no sides and a big drop off.  I've had visions of us not making it across the bridge successfully.  I decided to get off and walk her across before the trip started.  Remember, my short self has a hard time getting back on my tall horse.  So, my loving husband met me there with my step.  All went well and we continued on our trip straight down G Road.

Only three houses close to the road until the last mile.  The first one had a dog that was locked up.  The third one, I texted beforehand to see if they had dog.  Not a fierce dog, but they kept her in the house while I road by (thanks!).  But, their dairy cattle decided to follow us along the fence.  Cassie thought that was quite interesting.  

We only met 5 cars on the entire trip.  Nothing major except the anhydrous tank being hauled by a truck kind of took her off guard.  Made it across 2 lane Highway 50 with no traffic too.

Our last mile had a lot more action.  I think Cassie was wondering when we were going to turn around and go home because that would be a long trip home.  She tried to turn around a few times, but I got her turned in the right direction.  Lots of grassy areas here and saw a couple more deer in the trees.  Passed a tractor that was doing some dirt work.  She saw her first neighbor horse.  He ran away from us :-(  She was really taking in all of the sites and sounds, stopping just to look a few times.

Once we made it to our lane it was like she knew that was where she needed to go.  She saw her barn for the first time!  The most she spooked the entire trip was at the round bales by her barn.

I set up a GPS Tracker on my phone this morning to record my trip.  Going to try to use this each time I ride and keep track of my rides.  Would be very interesting to see how many miles we ride together.


Activity type: Horseback Riding

Description: Homecoming

Total distance: 9.13 km (5.7 mi)

Total time: 1:54:07

Moving time: 1:50:00

Average speed: 4.80 km/h (3.0 mi/h)

Average moving speed: 4.98 km/h (3.1 mi/h)

Max speed: 14.08 km/h (8.7 mi/h)

Average pace: 12.50 min/km (20.1 min/mi)

Average moving pace: 12.04 min/km (19.4 min/mi)

Fastest pace: 4.26 min/km (6.9 min/mi)

Max elevation: 382 m (1253 ft)

Min elevation: 289 m (947 ft)

Elevation gain: 308 m (1011 ft)

Max grade: 0 %

Min grade: 0 %

Recorded: 11/3/2012 12:24pm

Map:  https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=214749973068700153477.0004cd9c5137f3eee585f


Once I got Cassie unsaddled, I lead her around the boundaries.  Still very calm about everything.  She did a great job on the ride and it looked like she was liking her new digs already.  

I just watched her for awhile.  What do horses do when they aren't being ridden or not eating?  Livia came to the barn and we sat together and watched.  Cassie toured her lot and indoor stall numerous times and always ended up back at her hay or mineral block.  Nice sitting with Liv too.  She doesn't always like to sit and chat anymore.  My mom stopped by to check everything out and we just sat and chatted too.  And then Nick came home and guess what we did.  Looks like we are in the market for a patio set :-)

A beautiful day, a beautiful ride on a beautiful horse!!!  She's home!