8 November 2020, 9:00 am, I'm in the car driving to Mayrhofen to get my trailer. I have just taken out the ponies in Aschau, fed them and cleaned out the stables. Today I'm going on a trip to Gerlos with a friend and our horses. We are going to explore a new area, something different, for us but also for the horses. From our stable we can only go in two directions, so it is always the same. At 9:30 we meet at the stable, where Issy and Anita are, Anita is my friends horse. I park the car and the trailer along the road, at the same time my friend arrives. Perfect timing. The tires of the trailer must be inflated. Because the trailer is always outside, in all weathers, it sometimes has to endure a bit. For two slightly fat horses (of which mine is pregnant) there is a little too little air in the tires. We walk into the barn and ask the owner of the barn if he can do this for us.

n the meantime, we are collecting our stuff. Saddle, bridle, cleaning stuff, halter, cap, whip, sweat blanked, a filled hay net and a jerrycan with water. We bring every thing to the trailer and pack it in to the tack room. Double checking if we got every thing, and then its time to get the horses. Fortunately our horses are used to the trailer and get on easy. We are ready to go! Or maybe not.... Forgot to go to the toilet, so i got out of the car and went to the toilet quickly. I hate it if I have to go in the woods. Now we are really ready to go!

After about half an hour of driving into the mountains we are in the parking lot of the tennis club in Gerlos. We unload our horses and they are amazed of what they see. They have no idea where they have ended up now! We saddle up, get ready and with a backpack on our backs, we start our tour.

It is still cold, only a few degrees above zero. The first part we ride in the shade, the grass is still white with dew. We first have to cross a bridge, a fairly narrow bridge. Since our horses don't know the area, we decide to walk next to them for the first few meters. The wooden bridge is also a bit frozen and slippery, so we have to be careful. When we get on the other side, we can get on our horses. A bit hard to get on with the backpacks because we are not used to it, but we manage and so we can now really start to ride.

The first part of the road is the 'Erlebnis Reich Weg'. A path with lots to discover and experience, especially for children. Our horses feast their eyes on the three houses, climbing frames and other unknown figures along the path. After a few hundred meters the path changes into a narrow path that winds up steeply through the forest. We look at each other, this is new, for us but also for Issy and Anita. Normally we only ride on wide paths. A bit overconfident in the beginning, Issy prefers to do this at the trot, but after two turns, she decides that it is maybe beter to take it easy.

At the top of the narrow path, the path continues in a dirt road. The sun is already shining and you can see it through the trees. Not long before we are actually in the sun, where the temperature is probably a bit better.

In my backpack I brought my camera. Once in the sun, we also arrive in the actual 'Wimmertal'. It is beautiful, straight ahead the sun shines over the mountain tops. At the very back of the valley there is some snow on the mountains, many autumn colors, green fields and an wide path. It is very quiet, only the sound of our horses' hooves resonate through the valley. Before our horses really start to sweat, we decide to get off and take some nice pictures. I take the photos first, a challenge because Anita doesn't really like to put her ears forward. Eventually we manage to attract attention and I shoot some nice pictures. Time to switch, now it's my turn with Issy. Issy thinks everything is very interesting and the ears are certainly not a problem for her. She likes to imitate a giraffe and puts her head in the air as high as possible while looking around. It produces a few laughable photos, but certainly also some beautiful ones.

Now we really have to ride a bit. We put the stuff back in the backpack, take of a jacket and get on again. We trot a few parts and also try to canter. Normally our horses can go really fast, but today it's different. Far too much to look at! After quite a ride, the path winds up again. After a few turns I notice that Issy is having a bit of a hard time. It doesn't matter, she's been pregnant for 7 months now. Because the valley also becomes narrower here, we get more and more shade. We decide to turn around, wich is fine, because we were already on the road for 1,5 hours.

Issy is happy that we are on our way back and found the pace again. A little further we take a break at a bench. We brought a rope halter so that our horses can relax for a while. We let the horses graze and eat something ourselves. When after about 20 minutes the sun also disappears there, we put the bridle back on and we ride further.

Where we already took some pictures on the way up, we stop again. This time for some action photos. I get of and go on the side of the path. My friend let her horse go pass me a few times so I can make some pictures. After 4 rounds, it's my turn. In good spirits Issy canters and tries to accelerate, but after a few meters it is a bit tough an she stops again. Another attempt, Issy realizes what the game is. She jumps forward, run past with everything she ahs and stops again. We turn again and make one last attempt, even now she jumps forward and clearly likes what we're doing. Here she certainly doesn't show that she is pregnant!

The photos were successful and we put the camera away again. I reward Issy and she sighs contentedly, despite her big belly that sometimes gets in the way, she still wants to do a lot! We pack our things again and ride the last part down.

For the last part we now have to take the narrow path down. Anita in the lead, she looks at if for a moment, hesitates for a second, but then starts determinedly. Issy doesn't like it, she doesn't want to go down. I decide to get off. With a fair amount of encouragement, she eventually comes after me. At the bottom of the path I get on again for the very last part. Back at the trailer we put our stuff away and give the horses some water and carrots. We put on a sweat blanked and get them into the trailer again. Ready to go home. Back at the stable we bring our horses inside. We clean up all the stuff and the trailer, and then we go home.

What a great day! What a beautiful view, we really enjoyed it! We will certainly do such a trip more often!

Other than that, not much happend in November. It slowly got colder and i didn't ride Infinity that often anymore. She got more and more belly, and less desire to ride. Sensation is a huge cuddly horse and always comes to see if I have something good with me. Impressive is just as willing to work as Issy and Infinity, so I lunge her every now and then. In this way we can build a good relationship together and work on the basis. Even though Issy was pregnant, she didn't really calm down, she hat lots of energy. She is a horse i can't understand sometimes...

December.

The last month of 2020. A quiet month. Austria was still in lockdown, there was not much more to do, then work with the horses. It started snowing in the valley, wich was offcourse a good reason to take some pictures. And with these photos, the year 2020 had already come to an end.

Love, Fabiënne