Road RIDIN'

There is a certain dialect here in TN that is fun to hear. Unfortunately it is hard to translate to the written word. Riding, is not really "riding" here in TN it is RRiiDDINN'! And before moving here I had never heard the term "road ridin' but it is a common practice to ride your horses on the roads around here. My good friend Lauren has shared more than once being caught behind a horse and wagon or carriage on the windy back roads and being unable to pass. I too have witnessed the wagons and carts being pulled by teams of horses or mules, down my very road!

Well today after a trip into town to run errands, I decided to to take Cannon out for a road ride! It was perfect weather in the 70's with a slight breeze. It was early afternoon so no second shift workers returning home or school buses depositing children. I saddled up Cannon and headed down the drive. This would be our first outing, off of the property. We rode center lane, taking our half out of the middle of the road. There are no shoulders to speak of, so I thought it best to keep us on the tarmac. Cannon was moving out at a nice forward pace, looking around but totally unconcerned about what he saw. As we neared a neighbor's place a car was approaching so I moved Cannon to my neighbor's side yard and waited for the car to pass. I decided it was time to turn back. We had a nice jaunt and I wanted to end on a good note, plus I was walking on the road and I wasn't certain how Cannon would feel about it, hard pavement effecting joints and hooves. (Though I had thought about the abrasive surface doing some trim work on Cannon's hooves!)

We turned back for home, less than a mile away at most. Cannon seemed to be enjoying self. I saw in the distance a truck headed our way, so I moved over a bit. The truck driver slowed down to a crawl as they passed. I waved and nodded an appreciative thank you for the respect the woman drive showed. We reached the driveway and headed back home. It was a totally uneventful and relaxing ride. My first ROAD RIDE! LOL