Walking by the kennels. One of the hounds did come out of the shadows and startle Wiley, but he settled right back down.

 

Maggie followed them most of the ways through the woods.

I think she's telling me what paths she planned to take.

They circled into and out of the woods a number of times.

Wiley doesn't seem to see spooky things in the trees.

Wiley's got a smooth steady trot. He'll really be comfortable on long rides.

There are caveletti scattered throughout the trails. They help the hunt horses learn to navigate fallen trees like they would when they're out hunting.

It's great to have this area to use for training.

And coming back out. He did pull a bit heading back to the trailer.

So, Christina rode him past the trailer (and Adiron) and took him down the road a bit.

Here's what he looks like when he puts his head up to look. From the saddle those ears look pretty big.

The roll of wire that he spooked at. Trees in the woods on a blustery day, no problem, but what a scary roll of wire...

The reason for the flash nose band. Normally he holds his mouth quiet, but every once in a while he tries to avoid the bit by opening his mouth. I think another week or so and the flash can go away. He resisted the bit less this ride than the last.

We think with the work under saddle he's starting to muscle up a bit.

What a good boy. He dealt with a lot today and still gave a good ride.

Heading back to the trailer completely relaxed. He wasn't sweating or tired, but he's learning that we won't ask more of him than he can handle. I think a few more times out and he'll think of trailering and working at the kennels like having a bath or getting groomed. Just what a grown up horse does and nothing to worry about. Next week will be the test. He's going to go out on the hunt trail ride.