blurry but pleasant trail ride

We FINALLY made it into the woods again! It's been ages (since March, actually) and I've missed it. Plus it's good for Isabel's brain. Unfortunately my intended trail buddy got stuck at work, and I usually avoid going out alone bc we've previously had disagreements about speed and head flinging and general diva-type behavior... But I was determined that we would do this thing, and we would enjoy it, dammit. 

And it was great. My plan was to let Isabel choose her speed and reinforced this to myself by grabbing her martingale neck strap whenever I felt like getting handsy. She's sensitive enough to notice the pressure on her neck so I could sorta communicate 'slow down' that way without fussing with her mouth. Really tho, she was a star. 

Izzy was so surprised to be out there again - and ALONE. She had snagged a mouthful of hay on our way out the barn that she just kinda held onto not chewing for the first 5-10 minutes while we cruised along the road and fence lines toward the woods. Finally tho, she started chewing again (and grabbing more mouthfuls as we went) and settled into her forward march. 

She chose to trot a few times (and even canter once) but was very balanced and polite about it, despite the slick muddy footing. So I let her be. She handled obstacles in our path with ease (like a nasty-ish wood fall on a rocky narrow stream bank) and had her ears pricked the entire time. Naturally, since she walks so fast all the pictures are blurry. But that's ok - it was still gorgeous with lush greenery and we had a blast. What a nice change of pace!