We had an unexpected solo ride off property today! My new endurance buddy and I have a standing ride date for Sundays. But since I only work half the day on Fridays, and she has the day off for Juneteenth, we planned an extra ride this week. Unfortunately, once I got to the barn, my buddy told me she was not feeling well and couldn’t ride. I figured we would just cancel, but she asked me if I wanted to haul out anyway and ride solo. She’s been wanting build Rion’s patience while being tied in strange places, and she’s been wanting to encourage him to eat while we’re away from home, so today seemed like a good day to practice!
We headed out to our “home trail” as I figured I would feel safest where we’ve ridden most often. Luna and I don’t get the chance to ride alone often, so I was excited but also very nervous. I knew it wanted to get some good conditioning in, but wasn’t sure how fast we would be able to go. I had a hopeful goal of a 4mph average. We only managed 3.4mph average, but I’m still proud of us. I didn’t wanna push too hard, so our trot only averaged about 6.5mph, rather than our usual goal of 7.5-8mph. But we were able to pop into a nice canter a few times, and she was brave and willing the entire ride.
Our only issue was a fairly large spook at the canter. I’m not sure what scared her, but we were traveling along at a fast clip when she took off sideways for a few paces. I was able to stay well balanced, and she recovered fast and didn’t break stride too badly. She didn’t stop or spin, so we were able to move on with no issue. The trail was almost completely empty of runners, horses, and wildlife, but we did run into one mom and baby deer. They showed up and moved off trail well before we reached them, so Luna didn’t react at all except to peacefully watch them pass.
Our endurance buddy also lent us her horse heart rate monitor since she wasn’t using it today. Her watch was nearly dead, so I only got about 2 miles of use from it, but it was very helpful. Luna’s heart rate stayed pretty consistently between 80-100, even when trotting. So I think she’s pretty well conditioned physically, and could have easily done more. I think she was mentally there too, but I’m a bit more squirrelly, so I played it pretty safe. Honestly I think the only reason we didn’t make the goal pace is because I held off trotting in places that we usually trot because I was a bit nervous.
Overall it went just about as perfectly as it could have gone. I hope I get more chances to solo ride this year. Bonecrusher is coming up, and my og endurance buddy’s horse isn’t ready for an LD yet, so I may get to test our solo skills at a ride next month. I plan to do the 25 LD on Friday, and as long as Luna does well I’ll back to back it and do an 8 mile intro with my endurance buddy on Saturday. I can’t wait for more miles!
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