Mustang Diaries

The weather here has been spectacular of late. Cold, but beautiful. The photo above is the Nooksack River with the Twin Sisters behind. The Sisters are part of the Cascade Mt Range. More importantly, they're the daughters of Mt. Baker. The old Indian legend is that the Sisters had suitors who came and asked for their hands in marriage, but Kulshan, (now known as Mt. Baker) refused. Heartbroken, the twins ran away and now live separate from their father as opposed to under his shadow like they had before.

I know...what has this to do with mustangs? Not much, except that I've got a crazy bee in my bonnet, and it involves this river. I'd really like to start riding this summer and training for a long ride next year. City Boy isn't so keen on the idea, so I'm not sure if it'll actually happen or not, but the ride planned would take several weeks and cover approximately 600 miles in Eastern Oregon. I may have to modify my plans and only ride through the southeast portion of the state, though. I'd love to go through the herd management areas and try to get some photos of the horses in the wild.

Again...what has this to do with the above photos? Well, I've got to train for the long ride, and that will mean lots of miles and wet saddle blankets. And I'm not just talking about sweat here. I want to be able to cross that river!

Darling is totally on board with this whole idea, although I think she's in for a rude awakening when it comes to hours in the saddle. She's used to small rides around here, not day long treks. However, she's got an adventuresome spirit and if she's willing to give it her best shot this summer without complaining, then we'll see what we can do about a long trek next year.

Of course, all this will mean getting Firecracker ready for her to ride by summer. The progress has increased tremendously now that we've got the head under control. While I can't really see the wound on her poll, I was able to run my fingers up rather close and it appears to be pretty well healed over. Just need to pray for no major scar tissue.

As you can see from this photo, she's not thrilled with the rope around the nose, but she's adjusting. We've gone from it taking 30 minutes to pushing once around the pen and then standing patiently. A huge improvement. Still a bit worried about the poll, but she's so much better now that she's realized no one is going to eat her.

And with that, it's time to head out and see how she'll react to my second favorite tool, that short little rake that isn't quite a flag, but surely does make them look twice before they realize just how wonderful it feels to be scratched with it.