Rosie Hits The Road

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Yesterday, I became slightly lost en route to Lebanon on a route I’ve often traveled. I skipped a turnoff at Mill City, a big mistake, for on mountain highways there’s little space for turning around a truck and large horse trailer. It was ten miles past Mill City before I could turn around and try by memory (no GPS signals) to find the road to Scio. After missing a beat or two, I managed to get it right, arriving in Lebanon barely with time to unload and harness a horse to drive.

That horse was Rosie. She, Megan (our trainer), and I went directly onto the streets and began working. Rosie started by jigging nervously on the strange road (with deep culverts on each side). Megan coached me to prevent the horse’s half-trotting and attempts to drift from side to side. I had to move Rosie steadily and keep her in the road’s center, away from the culverts. Once I had Rosie dependably listening, I asked for a trot, and again, worked to keep her in the road’s center. Rosie gave way to passing cars, she’s accustomed to vehicles and their noises.

But, uh oh, the boogeyman, a bridge! She stopped abruptly, tried turning us around. Oh, Rosie! Bridge avoidance is one of your favorite pushy tricks. Back in the days when I rode horseback, she and I worked through this same bossy behavior. Now with Megan’s direction, I pushed Rosie to continue and to cross the bridge. Soon we turned around and crossed again without a problem. To be sure, we repeated this crossing sequence several times.

Now, having had some exercise, Rosie perfectly trotted the mile or so back to the barn. What a rascal! She’d make all the decisions. Well, Rosie, that ain’t gonna happen. You’ll keep listening, and we’ll have more adventures.

Otherwise, all went well. As usual in Sunni’s session, she performed perfectly. When finally, once loaded and headed home, we smoothly found our way via Scio and Mill City.

Dear Friends: Rosie will become the fine driving partner she’s meant to be. Diana