"Queenie the Weenie" and Other Tales from the C&O Canal

The sky was a brilliant blue and dotted with cotton candy clouds.  A gentle breeze kept the temperature from feeling like a typical hot, sticky July day in the Washington DC suburbs. Our planned trip to the C&O Canal was a definite go!

Almost 185 miles long and operated for nearly 100 years, the C&O Canal provided employment and goods for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, agricultural and other products floated on mule-pulled barges down the waterway to market.  The barges still operate for tourist rides in two locations along the Canal.  The miles of towpath make excellent biking, hiking, and of course, horseback riding trails. 

Saiph had been to the Canal a few weeks earlier with Carol and they had figured out (by trial and error) how to reach Pennyfield Lock.  The trip took us about 30 minutes from the barn.  Since it was a Friday, the parking lot was nearly empty and we found a great spot under a shade tree. It didn't take us long to get saddled up and ready to go. 

We trotted down the road from the parking lot to the lock bridge that would take us across the canal to the towpath. 

The horse-eating bridge is on the left

When the Canal was operational, the locks would open, changing the water level to let boats move down the canal

Uh-oh.  Neither one of the horses wanted to cross the bridge.  Saiph urged Lily across but she was having nothing of that wood surface with the rushing water underneath.  I tried to see if Queenie would lead.  No way.  Lily at least would approach the bridge.  Queenie never acts anxious or jittery.  She just calmly puts it in reverse and backs quickly away from whatever is scaring her.  Queenie never turns and runs but she can set a wicked pace going backwards!

Since Saiph is a far more experienced rider and Lily is a less stubborn  horse than Queenie, we finally crossed with Lily in the lead.  Queenie trotted along contentedly behind her, no doubt thinking, "I'm good.  All those terrible things on the trail will eat Lily first and I'll have time to back up all the way to the trailer."

Having successfully conquered the bridge, our next challenge was an orange snow fence.  Both horses took one look at it as if to say, "Too bright, too big, and just too weird.  Game over."

What Saiph and I saw...

What Lily and Queenie were certain that they saw

 
Saiph again was able to push Lily to go past the fence.  Queenie dutifully followed but stepped to the far right of the tow path and kept one eye on the fence the whole time.

Just as we finally began making some progress along the towpath, a father and daughter launched their kayak and began paddling in the same direction that we were heading.  Lily and Queenie's eyes were big as saucers and they told us in no uncertain terms that they were not going to pass anywhere close to that yellow monster with its crazy, waving "arms."

What Saiph and I saw...

What Lily and Queenie saw!

Saiph had fallen off Lily just a few days earlier so she was understandably nervous about her jittery horse.  We took a side trail to give the kayakers time to get ahead of us.  The trail was short and after a few minutes, we were back on the towpath and quickly in line with the kayakers again.  Damn!

Since Lily and Queenie were refusing to move forward at the walk, Saiph suggested that we start trotting with Lily in the lead. Lily was in heightened-alert mode but she obediently trotted, giving us distance from the kayak but not doing much to settle Lily's nerves.


Queenie did not seem to be particularly anxious but also was not confident enough to lead so I jokingly started calling her, "Queenie the Weenie." Clearly Queenie figures that if the lead horse won't go, she's sure as heck not going first to be attacked by whatever is ahead.  Queenie's self-preservation instinct is very finely honed!


With the dreaded kayak behind us, we quickly approached an area of rapids on the Potomac River to our left.  The sound of the water rushing over the rocks once again made Lily hit the brakes and she started backing up sideways on the trail (no doubt she learned that backing up thing from Queenie). 

We saw and heard the rapids...

Queenie and Lily were certain that this was coming out of the water to destroy them.

The towpath drops off on both sides.  The Canal was to our right and a wooded downhill area to our left led to the Potomac River.  As Lily was backing up to the Canal-side edge, this outing suddenly looked like a really stupid idea.

And speaking of stupid, if rapids weren't enough, we encountered several bicyclists who apparently did not read the park rules that state horses have the right of way.  At some areas of the towpath, there is simply no place to move a horse out of the way.  We tried to accommodate a young couple riding side by side.  We moved off the trail as far as we could but Lily chose the moment they started to pass us to start back up in fear.  Sure enough, the bicyclists crashed into each other.  I confess that I didn't have an ounce of sympathy for them.

At this point, Saiph and I both decided that the Canal ride was becoming less of an enjoyable outing and more of a torture session for both us and the horses.  We decided to head back to the trailer even though we had only made it a couple of miles.

As we made our way back, we noticed that the horses suddenly were completely calm.  Queenie always perks up when she realizes that we are going back to the trailer or barn.  She moves like a snail going out on a ride and like a cheetah on the return.  I always say that if I averaged the two, she would be going the perfect speed.


Saiph and I started to relax and as we neared the area where the trailer was parked on the other side of the Canal, we decided to keep riding in this much more peaceful direction.

I was finally able to look around and appreciate the beauty of the Canal and the Potomac River.  I was fascinated by the huge boulders and imagined the difficulties in building the Canal.

At one point, we decided to take another side trail.  Saiph and Lily went ahead through the woods to a small beach.  We followed until Queenie saw a 4-inch hole to our right.  It might as well have been a mammoth sinkhole.  Queenie was NOT going to pass it.

I finally got off and tried to lead her by it.  Nothing doing. So I walked her through the woods.  She refused to set hoof on the river bank and look terrified at the sight of water.  Completely frustrated, I asked, "Aren't you the same horse that decided to roll in the water a few days ago?"  Apparently Queenie is quite particular about when and where she will go in the water.  In other words, it's only on her terms.

And if you read my last blog entry, you know that I can't get on Queenie without standing on something; in this case, a large fallen tree.  Queenie led us out of the woods (get it, we're heading back the way we came--Queenie's favorite direction).   Once on the towpath, Queenie came to a dead stop and waited for Lily to take the lead again.

Our ride continued uneventfully except for some darn mud puddles.  Lily had narrowly missed falling in a very large hole last week and her sudden stop at it put Saiph on the ground.  Lily is a very sensitive horse and it was obvious the incident left a deep impression.  She seemed to say, "those could be very deep.  I'm trying to be brave but I'd rather not go near them."  Saiph made her approach the first few puddles and soon Lily was completely relaxed about them, even drinking from a few.

We went about four miles and turned around to return to the trailer.  We looked ahead at a long empty stretch of towpath and decided to canter.  Queenie has a surprisingly smooth canter that is much easier on my sore back than her trot.  The hock injections have helped her gait more consistently but when she's in a hurry to catch another horse, she'll usually go to a back-pounding trot.  We've got more work to do on the gaiting thing. 

As we neared the bridge to cross the Canal, we were confident that there was nothing else that could frighten Lily or Queenie.  Ha!  Feet from the bridge, a guy on a bike pedaled quietly up behind us.  He did not have a warning bell and did not speak until he was right behind Queenie.  We scooted over and he sped past us and over the bridge.  He immediately laid down in the grass and began doing all kinds of stretching exercises. 

The canal is below the area across the bridge so all we could see were arms and legs waving.  Trying to imagine it through the horse's eyes and minds, I'm thinking that exercise man looked something like this.

Returning to the trailer, we had a late lunch/early dinner and packed up to return to the barn.  I'm betting the conversation in the trailer went something like this.

Queenie:  Can you believe those two?  They are laughing and talking and we're risking our very lives, encountering one horrifying thing after the next.

Lily:  Next time I see this red box roll up to take us somewhere, I am running the other way.

Queenie:  Me too!

Lily:  Oh, who are we kidding?  We'll get on quietly like we always do and face the next challenges they throw at is.  "Remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." 

Queenie:  Did you have to say "kill?"