It Didn't Stop There!

Sandy with Allison Trimble, and myself on Oz.
Photo Courtesy Valarie Richey 

"Hey, wanna ride?"

"Uh, yeah!  But Darling won't be here and I'd like to make sure we've got someone to ride Sandy so Oz can follow."

"No problem, I'll find someone!"

Before long, Valarie, Allison and myself were heading up to the trail head.  I had my big cowgirl panties on and was planning on riding Oz on his first official ride.  Weeee!!!!!!!!!

Sandy had ponied Oz on this trail two weeks ago today.  Oz tried his best to walk as close as he could to Sandy, nearly pushing us off the trail a couple of times.  He was nervous and it came out in typical youngster fashion as he nibbled on Sandy's saddle blanket, nipped his shoulder, and when he had the chance, grabbing at the reins and trying to lead us off.

Being steady as Sandy is, I was comfortable riding Oz just so long as that steadfast bay was right in front of us.  And things went pretty well.  Yes, Oz was fidgety.  He was tense.  He tried trotting when we first started, but was easily pulled back.  He managed to negotiate the downhills relatively well, though his head was always tucked and low.  

After the first couple of hills, Oz settled into a nice walk, and even managed to pick his way carefully over a steep hill that had an exposed rock face at the top.  We made it down a muddy hill and across a wooden bridge.  Once out of the woods and into the clearing, he walked up alongside Sandy, but didn't try to pick his own way, rather just walked alongside, borrowing confidence from the older mustang.

And while his attitude was positive, there was still that underlying feeling that he was holding his breath...at least halfway.  Always tense and waiting for the unexpected.  

Oz makes his way gingerly into the water, fearful of being swept downstream.

Photo courtesy Valarie Richey

When we got to the creek, he was totally unsure that it was in his best interest to cross.  Sandy went first.  Two weeks ago, Oz jumped it while being ponied.  I half expected him to try it again, but instead he simply refused, backing away, doing tiny half hearted rears, turning and trying anything he could to avoid getting his pretty white toes wet.  It took a few minutes, but when Sandy walked back into the water, Oz finally decided he'd give it a try.  Amazingly enough, the water didn't sweep him downstream, and we managed to make it back to the trailer in one piece. 

We came home and Oz went out into a grassy paddock.  I came inside and was happy to see that my riding buddies already had photos up on facebook.  While I used to pack my camera on all my trail rides, I felt it was a bit big and cumbersome when riding such a greenie as Oz, and I've not got one of those new fangled 'smart' phones.  I felt pretty good about our ride, but now I was itching for more.  I couldn't stand it, I had to go back outside and saddle him up again!

Oz is always nervous out behind the house.  Darling's former jump course has been transformed into a trail course, but Oz struggles to get beyond the step down log.  He's very insecure, and wants his herd, so a small loop around the trees and back up to the barn is about all we manage to get done (mostly because there's never anyone around to realize I'm down in the dirt should he happen to uncork!)  

Today was no exception.  Though the earlier ride may have burned off a little bit of his apprehensiveness, he was still on edge.  I rode a couple circles up near the barn, then headed out behind the house.  I didn't even recognize that he had a 'do not cross this line' spot picked out in his mind.  Just stepped right on past it!  He wasn't sure what to do.  I rode an extra five feet and then turned back to safety.  He breathed a sigh of relief and carried me up over the log and back to the barn.

Now, Oz was quite content with leaving, but the fact of the matter is, it was my choice, and we'd gone past the point where he was comfortable before turning back.  So another circle up near the barn, and back down the path we went.  This time, we went a little further.  Oz had a panic attack.  He tried to stop.  He rocked back over his hocks just a bit.  But I urged him to take a few extra steps, and then we again turned and went back to where he was comfortable.

We did this two or three times, taking in an extra ten feet on each trip, or turning a different direction, or crossing a log rather than stepping around it.  Oz began to focus on where we were walking, knowing that he'd head back to the barn.

And then it happened.  Rather than turning from the barn back down the same trail, I headed straight back to the creek.  Oz put up his ears.  He was curious, and didn't hesitate to head down the new path.  His step was relaxed and light.  We turned a corner and walked back onto the trail that went behind the house.  No hesitation.  No tense body.  Ears up, easy steps.  We stepped down over the log, crossed a couple more, walked over the bridge that's sitting out among the trees.  I tried to get him to cross some mud, but he sank a few inches, so we backed up and turned around and went somewhere else.

Oz didn't bat an eye.  We walked past the old dog kennel where the ducks and turkeys had lived the past couple of years.  Robins were flitting in and out, and he did a double take, but continued on.  He began searching out pathways to explore in his big backyard.  I was wishing the backyard were bigger!  Finally, Oz wasn't worried about trying to protect himself, and allowing me to simply drop the reins and trust that I wasn't going to send him into some place scary where he'd need to use his fight or flight instincts.

It was, in a word, glorious.  A huge weight slid from both of our shoulders this afternoon, and we're both a little more prepared to conquer the world!

Darling and Maxine

Darling climbed onto Max today and took a little ride through the trees.  This was Maxine's first venture outside of an arena/round pen setting, and she did great!

First 'obstacle' she encountered was the step down.  Not that she's not been there or stepped down it before, but with a rider perched on the back, some horses feel uncomfortable and will hesitate or spook.  Not Maxine.  She just stepped down like she'd been packing a rider every day of her life across such things.

There was no stopping these girls.  Loose reins and all, Max just dropped her nose and went where Darling's legs told her to go!

It wasn't enough just to walk over logs, we had to see what she'd do at the trot, too.  So after a few circles around the trees, Darling pointed Maxine's nose back to a log.  We both anticipated the filly to stop, or at least break down and slowly step over.  We were so wrong!  Max kept a steady pace and trotted right over!

Good girl, Max!

You, too, Darling!

Horse Shows and Trail Rides

Such a busy life I lead! My head seems to be spinning most days, though for the most part it's in an attempt to get things situated for the Cascade Horse Fair.

Last week I got an email from some friends asking if I wanted to go ride. We'd not ridden together since last summer...they live a couple hours south of me and we meet up at a lovely tree farm trail.

Recognize these two bloggers? It's Paint Girl and Pony Girl!

It was a beautiful, sunny, hot, dry day. Pony Girl wore her chinks. I'm not sure why, but she thinks it's cooler than having the sun hit her blue jeans. Okay, Pony...like, whatever! (I'm actually just jealous. I want a pair! They make her look sooooo skinny.)

The horses were happy to come across the river where they could drink from the cool, clear water. They insisted they'd worked hard enough for the day, despite only being five minutes down the trail.

Did I mention dust? Wheweee! Dusty. Very. I turned around at the bottom of a hill and couldn't find Paint or Pony for a good five minutes. They looked like they'd been covered in soot. Like chimney sweeps from Mary Poppins or something. Paint Girl was crying. Look at the poor girl, wiping her eyes!

Steve Holt!'s long legs carried him way out in front of the pack. No dust for Darling!

It was a great ride. I'm glad we got the call to come down and ride with the Girls!

I received another email from a gal who said she had a horse that needed a home, and since I did the mustang thing, she hoped I may be able to help her out. I drove out to her place to take a look at what she had. All I can say is...wow!

Berta had been neglected and abused by a neighbor before this woman took her in. They called her a 'bad horse!'...but she's nothing of the sort. Fearful...yes. Bad? No. Incredibly distrusting and difficult to catch when turned out into a pasture, Berta was in a stall when Darling & I stopped in the other day. Even there, she wasn't so sure, but once the halter was on, she walked out into the open on a light lead.

She reminds me of a pinto Tika. Only not quite as flighty. I led her around, stopped, backed, had her pivot on the hindquarters. At one point in her life, someone cared enough to teach her manners. Whether or not she was ever ridden is anyone's guess.

Are you tired yet? I'm tired. And we're not even done! Nope. We went to a horse show where Darling did pretty alright with her long legged partner. Steve Holt! managed to hold himself together and the two of them came home with an armload of ribbons...mostly 3rd and 4th...from the day's event.

It's been a long week, to say the least. I'd like to say I'm looking forward to the weekend...but I think it's going to get even busier. Crazy busy. But that's okay. And if anyone knows where to get a pair of chinks like Pony Girls? Please let me know. I wanna be skinny, too!

Me thinks it's love...

Rush, rush, rush!

Best Daddy Note Ever
(click image to enlarge)

Life has been busy, and I don't even know why! And I'm rushing out again...should be on the road right now...down to my weekly 'Bull Session'. But I got this email from my mother stating, "How am I supposed to know what you're up to when you're not even blogging???" Um...sorry, Mom!

My good friend Linda has been out of town visiting her cousin, which has left her cranky old cowboy (aka Curt) at home alone. The weather is cold, wet and dreary, which means the cantankerous old coot is slow to move, and since I'd had some truck problems last weekend, I had left Sandy at his place for a few days. And all of this added up to me doing chores here at, oh, 5:30 am (starting with Red and working down to my own crowd here), and getting Darling on the bus at 7:20, and then my heading south to make sure the cowboy was up and help him with chores.

Fringe benefit was I got a couple of extra workouts on the hydra bull, plus a few more rides on the big red mare this past week. But not much blogging time.

Yesterday was the Sumas Mt. Trail Challenge, and the rain actually stopped for the day! Ground was mighty muddy, but the trees were pretty dry by the time Darling and I rode through, and we had a great time. Darling actually won the Mustang Youth division! Okay...shhhh...she was the only one, but her score was comparable to many of the other youth riders, so it's all good. Sandy & I tied for first in the sr division, but because Darling & I opted not to do the extra 'extreme' loop, I lost in the tie breaker. That's okay...we had fun.

And now? Now I'm off to play cowgirl! See ya later!

Come Ride With Us!

A brief glimpse into the Heady Road trail, home of the upcoming Sumas Mt Trail Challenge.
Come ride with us Memorial Day Weekend!

I may never ride Steve Holt! again...

The little thief is at it again! Who is that girl on my horse?! And wow...will you look at that nice, long relaxed stride he's got? Just walkin' along, covering ground, and poor Sandy beneath me having to jog to keep up.

Do you think I'll ever get Steve Holt! back?

Lovely September Weekend

Darling and Sky Bar

Darling and I hit the trails for the first time in months this weekend. Saturday was Steve Holt!'s first ride in weeks. He was a bit fast paced, and of course Darling had decided she was just fine without a saddle...yesireebob it was an interesting ride! But we made it back alive and had enough fun that we went out again on Sunday.

This time I suggested (strongly) that Darling plunk a saddle down onto her trusty steed's back. She wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but in the end? I'm thinking she was a bit thankful. You see, we headed down a hill and through a creek full of boulders (not the way she wanted to go, but I prefer it to the iron bridge.) Steve Holt! crossed it nicely, but Sandy? Well, he decided last minute to play jumping pony. He hesitated at the edge, then boom! He went sailing over the top!

I heard a small yelp behind me and turned to find Sandy and Darling behind me, no reins in my child's hands, but rather Sandy had them around a leg! Seems the unexpected flight pattern caught Darling off guard, threw her forward and somehow the reins went flying (caught on a branch and ripped out of her grip?)

She was shaky and I suggested she climb off and get her reins. Sandy was uncooperative; he wasn't having fun on this ride. Darling struggled to get him to pick up his foot on the narrow trail, and he outright refused, so I climbed off Steve Holt! and we switched places. There are days when Sandy can try one's patience, and this was one of them as he seemed to have that foot firmly attached to the ground. I finally made him see things my way (backing up down the trail wasn't fun), and Darling and I decided to switch horses for a bit.

Sandy was being a twit, there was no doubt. Walking sideways and refusing to step out in front of Steve Holt! to lead the way, but a good set of spurs does come in handy in times like these and again, he saw things my way.

Darling enjoyed the rest of the ride on Steve Holt!, who's laid back, easy going attitude on the trail is hard not to enjoy. Rather than jumping up over rocks and logs, his long legs take nice, long strides and he walks quietly over them. All Darling had to do was sit and smile.

Riding into...Canada???

Darling is happy. Sandy? Not so much.

Darling and I have been wanting to try a new trail. A new to us trail that is. Acutally, I've been there once before but I was about Darling's age...mid teens...and I refuse to acknowledge just how many years that's been. Let's just say long enough that I didn't remember how to get there. But we recently purchased a little booklet of horse trails in the county, so off we happily went.

A mouth wateringly tempting trail head awaits.

The trail head began with a wide logging road which disappeared into the tall timbers. After a bit we came to a trail that crossed from one side of the road to the other. Darling shrugged, then darted off to the right where we found ourselves on a well traveled and quite lovely path. Vine maples criss crossed over our heads, moss hanging down and sunlight streaming between leaves creating dappled shadows on the ground.

Why Darling and Sandy cannot let me just enjoy a simple ride is beyond me; it didn't take long for that little helmeted punk to find downed trees across the trail, sending Sandy forward at brisk trots and slow canters in an effort to fly. While the flying trapeze act zipped out of sight, Steve Holt! insisted there was nothing to be concerned about and continued his meandering like a well broke trail horse. Why on earth a horse who was wild and untouched just 7 months ago and who took a two month vacation in the middle of his training would pack me along with little concern boggles my mind, but I do believe Darling and Sandy were happy for it as it allowed them the freedom they desired to make foolish decisions; that of being airborne on the trail.

Naturally, nothing horrific happened to either of them. Good think I had Steve Holt! to take care of me and keep me company out there.

Canada, Canada, where for art thou, Canada?

We'd been on the trails for nearly two hours when we came across a man leading his pack horse while riding his mule. We stopped and chatted a bit, and he told us to be careful of the trails to the north as some led into Canada. I told him no problem, we're riding mustangs. You know, the Border Patrol rides mustangs. They'd probably mistake us for Dudley Dooright...oh, wait, he's a mountie, isn't he? He didn't ride a mustang. (Hmmm...maybe I need to enable some mounties?)

Three hours later and untold miles of unexplored trail later, Darling, Sandy, Steve Holt! and I were back at the trailer. The boys were given a bit of time to nibble the green grass before loading up and heading back home. This was a beautiful evening ride and Darling and I are anxiously awaiting our next trip into the foothills below Canada.

Moon Hits the Trail

We had an amazing 26 days of sunshine here in the northwest. Bright and warm and best of all...no mud! And did I mention amazing? It was awesome. Darling anxiously awaited her last day of school, which had been delayed by over a week due to making up not only snow days from the winter, but flood days as well. The river had risen to the point where the buses were unable to make it on some of their routes, so no school. Which, of course, children were delighted about at the time. Once June was here and Ol' Sol was up high in the sky, they were not.

But school is out now for the summer.

And the rain has returned.

While Darling was still stuck behind a desk doing tests, I grabbed her boy Sandy and headed up into the hills dragging along this lovely boy, Moon. Moon is from Beaty's Butte, just like Steve Holt!. In fact, they remind me a bit of each other. Same wistful, longing look to their eye.

Moon doesn't really need any dragging. He's pretty happy to get up on the hills. Like most Beaty's Butte horses, Moon has a good mind and enjoys learning. And with good, mustang tough feet, he follows Sandy like a trooper.

Despite the clouds and early morning rains, the afternoons have cleared up and give way to bits of sunshine. Ever optimistic, Darling wears her new summer outfit as we saddled up and hit the trails with Sandy & Steve Holt! yesterday afternoon.

We found a new little trail that kept us busy an extra five minutes before it met back up with the lower loop. Darling has become quite the little rider. Last year it would have frightened her a bit to have Sandy bolting down hills, but this year as he began a downward descent at the canter she stuck right with him. Me, of course, I'm hollering WHOA, and Steve Holt! thinks I'm talking to him and is more than happy to oblige. Sandy and Darling both looked up when they came face to tail with us, Darling giving a weak smile and saying, "Sorry." Kid thinks she's a cross country jumper or something these days.

Steve Holt! is less than enthusiastic about trail riding

The Case of the Missing Mustangs

Rufus bounced happily along in front of me, despite my threats to send him back to the pound.

"Homeland Security, just doing my job, ma'am," was his answer. The naughty ball of fluff could care less that my boys were not in sight. Turning back towards the house and ready to go climb into my truck to see if they'd fled down the road, I noticed something back up in the shadows alongside the neighbor's house. Sure enough, there were my two runaways, grazing contentedly on the overgrown lawn. The muddy fluff ball at my side bounced towards them as if to indicate he'd been the one to locate their whereabouts. I growled at the dog, rattled the grain and coaxed my wayward mustangs towards home.

Darling was at school when I loaded our boys into the trailer and headed to Curt's for a lesson. Steve Holt! rode in the outdoor arena for the first time, and we were back on the bull! I just can't tell you how pleased I am with this horse; he doesn't seem to have missed a beat when it comes to memory retention. His biggest hang up is he's slow at his turns. Spurs will become part of our attire from this point forward.

I was just warming up when City Boy pulled in and deposited Darling. Her ride was fantastic! Curt left me to cool out my gelding while getting Darling started. By the time I walked around the front of the arena he was calling to me, "Hey, Mom, get in here!" So I did, and I watched Darling and Sandy doing some fast rollbacks along the wall. "This is the most aggressive I've ever seen her," said Curt. "She's getting better each time, she's real coachable. More than her mom," he said with a wink. Whatever, Storbakken... But he's right. Darling's riding has improved ten fold in the few lessons she's had. Once they'd spent a few minutes indoors, Curt had her move outside to see how Sandy would respond to her in the open. With all going well, Curt nodded his head, saying, "We'll do something a little different next time." Something tells me there's a bull session in Darling's future...

We loaded up and headed further south, completely confusing those mustangs, I'm sure, and met up with Paint Girl and OH for an evening trail ride. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again...hopefully with Pony Girl next time around!

Steve Holt!, week 5

Steve Holt! had a terrific week, despite the rain and flooding in our region. While my stalls are on the downhill side of our property, and water does tend to drain into them, it could have been a lot worse as you know after seeing Duns video earlier in the week. While things got a bit damp and even soggy, the horses were drier inside than many horses in the northwest this past week.

On to our successes of week # 5!

1) Steve Holt! learned to stand tied for long periods of time. Long to us, at least. 20 minutes at the rail while I rode Sandy at the riding club was pretty darned good, I thought. He also stood pleasantly at the side of the trailer later in the week.

A couple days ago Darling and I had both geldings tied at the rail inside the arena when another woman came in with her two quarter horses. She tied the first one to the rail alongside Sandy, then left to get the second out of the trailer. Her little mare began pitching a major hissy fit, throwing herself around at the end of her rope and screaming wildly for her buddy. My two geldings stood there alongside her; Sandy preferring to ignore the scene next to him, and Steve Holt! leaning forward and craning his neck to see around Sandy, wondering what the commotion was all about. Darling looked at me and smiled. She didn't have to say it, I knew what was coming, "Better be careful with those mustangs; they're wild, you know."

2) I can now pick up all four feet easily, and even get the front feet between my knees like a farrier. Maybe I need to start trimming my own horses? I don't think my back would hold up, but at least I know my new boy will stand patiently for me if I were to try.

3) We went for a walk and crossed a deep creek (once on purpose, once not!) Water hazards will not be an issue for this guy. It's yet to be seen how he feels about mud. My other mustangs are worried about sinking and becoming fossil fuel.

4) Ponying around the tree farm is fun! Steve Holt! did a great job of listening to me, staying back behind Sandy's centerline, walking through knee deep water and not being bothered by seeing a hiker and his dog on the trail.

5) Steve Holt! now stands tied inside the trailer and can be hauled with another horse.

6) Although we're struggling with catching and haltering issues right now (a definite step back), Steve Holt! is taking the bit easier. I can get my right arm up over his head and pull both ears under the headstall from one side without having to do one, then cross over and do the other. He's also relaxing while I stand in front of him, dropping his head down so that his poll is only chest high, allowing me to rub the top of his head and his ears...a definite sign of trust. Or is it resignation???

7) We've begun to lope! And what a lope it is. So smooth...like floating on air.

8) Steve Holt!'s in hand work is coming along nicely. He's trotting around cones, although his stride is long and he's still breaking gait a bit when the circles get small. He's backing an L nicely and can sidepass down the length of the pole without mishap.

9) We rode in the big arena, if only a few minutes.

10) Saturday we hauled down to Curt's for our first riding lesson! The round pen, as you may recall, is fully enclosed with 8' walls. In order to see what was going on, Curt has to climb a big block of wood on the outside and hang over the the top of the wall...certainly a sight not common to Steve Holt!, but aside from some curious looks, he worked well. Curt said he looked great for ride 8. I asked what I should be working on, and he said he wouldn't change a thing... :)

And that, folks, is week number five recap. Five down...ten to go. I couldnt' be happier with where we're at.

Heart Rates and Trail Rides

Last weekend saw Jet on the trail for the first time in a month. A friend called on Saturday, excited because she'd just picked up a new horse trailer and she wanted to go for a ride. With Jet's galls healed up, I decided it was a perfect opportunity to get her back in gear. Darling rode Sandy, which was good because Jet did try to pull a few punches along the way. Thankfully, no rearing was involved and she did seem to enjoy herself.

Sandy was pokey, and he did sweat, but as usual he perked up when on the level, and coming down the hills Darling let him move out and trot to his heart's content. This was only the second time she'd been out on him, and the first time she'd done any trotting. She was amazed at how smooth he was and took advantage of every opportunity.

Earlier in the week I hauled Sandy up north a bit to a lovely little park which has trails that are level and easy to navigate. Since the vet clinic is on the way, I stopped to ask about heart rates. How high can a horse's heart go? Is 72 high? Or low? What about dropping back to resting rate?

I'd been concerned, as you may recall, that he wasn't recovering fast enough. Finding information online was difficult because he's doing a lot of climbing rather than speed work. The vet who was in the office put my mind to ease. Horses who are doing speed work can get their hearts going to 150-180! Endurance riders with very fit horses like to see their hearts back to 60 in four minutes.


Say what? 60? Not resting? No...not resting rate. And what's more, if you get down to 60 in ten minutes it's good for the average horse.

While up on the hills the other day I pushed him a bit more, making him walk out, and finally got him up to 80. He was back to 60 within 3 minutes the first time, but the second time he insisted something was out there and I could hear his heart elevating. Sure enough, a minute later a hiker came out of the trees with his two dogs. On the way home I found a nice stretch with a slight incline and asked for a brisk lope. When I climbed off the heart was going faster than I was prepared to count; this time it was down to 72 in one minute and in four back into the low 60s. So Sandy's ticker is good. I am now, however, obsessed with the whole heart rate thing!

The trail through the park was so lovely and made for a quick ride, so I brought Darling up the next day. She took the camera and I rode Jet so that you could be happy with a picture of us.

Jet did a lot of long trotting; she out trots Sandy's lope. Neither horse really broke much of a sweat, which was nice, and they were both at a resting rate (see, I am obsessed) when we got back to the trailer.

Six Hours on the Trail

...and both Sandy and I are tired and sore!

Torri and I headed up the hill at 9:15 on Tuesday morning. We were wanting to explore a new trail which Torri thought would loop around to Ogallala. Rather than go up the so called Beginner's Trail (which in no way, shape or form is for beginners), we stuck to the logging road. I was beginning to come down with a cold, had maybe 2 1/2 hours of sleep to my name and had made a mad dash to the grocery store for some daytime cold remedy that wouldn't put me to sleep in the saddle. Upon reading the directions (and who does that, really? But for some reason I did...), I found that I couldn't take the meds if I were taking acetameniphen. In other words, my non-asprin pain relief pills that I'd just popped made it impossible for me to now take the big orange capsules that would clear my sinuses. Great. I swallowed down a couple of throat lozenges over the next couple of hours until I knew the cold meds were safe.

The trail was nice and wide for the most part. Quite steep in some areas. A bit muddy in spots. And there were where it was quite evident we were traveling up the face of a mountain by the rock beneath our horse's hooves. Torri brought along her Australian Shepherd who trotted happily along at our feet. By the time we were heading home, she was not trotting quite so briskly, but she was still happy to be out with us.

Once out of the trees we found ourselves with a view that far surpassed those which we normally found at the lower level hills. I've been taking this same basic shot from below, but at this point we can see well beyond the tip of the bay and up into Blaine. It's incredible, really, when you see it in person. Perhaps in the spring we won't have quite so much haze and I can get a really good shot for y'all to enjoy. Or maybe it's just my head cold that created that fog? That lower left patch of green, the little bitty bit triangle shape, is where the horses and sheep spend many summer days. It seems so far away!


Torri's been up here before, although it's been a few years. She tells me that once we round the bend in the road we'll be able to see Mt. Baker and the Twin Sisters. From here, however, I'm content seeing the Canadian Rockies way out there beyond the county...and country...line.

"See? I told you!"

Isn't it lovely? It's been logged here the past few years, so we've got a magnificent view of the mountain right now. Small trees are planted and in 15 years the view won't be so spectacular, but right now we're enjoying it. Miles upon miles of logging roads lead over the hills and I can't wait to get out there and explore. Once winter hits and the trails are closed, we'll be limited to the roads, so that's when we'll head out on these merry adventures.

It turned out that we never did make it to Ogallala. There was work being done, new roads being built and heavy equipment up at the top. They were willing to shut it down for us, but with dump trucks coming up the road and not knowing if there'd be a place to get safely out of their way, we opted to turn back this time. But next time...next time we'll figure it out!

Oh, wait...no, next time we said we'd go down trail #5 and see where that went instead. Well, no matter which way, it'll be a great adventure! And maybe by then I won't be living in the fog of a head cold.

And...He's Back!

It was a beautiful morning. Before heading off to church yesterday I led Dude and Sandy down to the pasture for a couple hours of grazing. That's when I noticed that Sandy's pupil had come down in size enough for me to feel comfortable heading up the trail with him. I called a friend to see if she wanted to ride, and met both her and her sister in law at the trail head a couple hours later.


The trail head is just 1/2 mile from the house, and normally I put the horses in the trailer to haul down. Narrow road, lots of turns, no shoulder...not really good with young horses. But we'd had enough traffic passing while leading back and forth to the pasture this summer for me to feel pretty comfortable on a Sunday afternoon, so I started off on foot, leading Sandy along. Just past the neighbor's place I turned around and realized Rufus was following. I thought about bringing him home, but since I only had a few minutes before my friends were going to be there, I decided he'd just have to come along and learn to be a trail dog.

Sandy did great for his first day back on the trail. A little out of shape, perhaps, but no more than the appy mare that came along. In fact, she did a lot of huffing and puffing, while Sandy's breathing stayed pretty normal. He did sweat up a storm, though! We rode roughly 2 1/2 hours, and while he insisted he was very tired going up, once we headed back down he was amazingly spry once more.

Torri and Shari coming down the hill

We've made plans to meet up on Tuesday morning, providing Torri can get out of work. We're going to explore the trail to Ogallala! Stay tuned...

With Sandy on Hold...

...Jet has found herself under saddle a bit more frequently than she'd like.

This past week the sun has been out and it's been too pretty to just hang out at the round pen, so I've been saddling Jet up and heading up the trail. This was working well until I got it in my mind to travel to Ogallala one day.

Really, I had no clue where Ogallala might be until I mentioned it to others who were quite taken aback that I could ask such a thing. Seems I missed out on a lot by not watching Lonesome Dove...Be that as it may, the likelihood of actually making it 1450 miles to Nebraska (which, for those of you who are as clueless as me, is where Ogallala is...) was pretty slim. Jet wasn't really certain she wanted to go to Ogallala. Her nerves were getting the better of her, but she trudged along fairly well for the most part. Through big trees, tall ferns and even over a scary wood bridge.

But eventually she was done. And I mean done! We started up the face of the mountain (still in the trees) and as it became narrower, she became grouchier and touchier than she'd ever been. Upon finding a place with room to head back for home, she gladly threw her body around and raced down the hill at a break-neck trot. Had me worried, she did, as there was little reasoning with her once those nerves took over. I must admit I lost a bit of horsemanship with her that day and when we got to the bottom in one piece I decided to head her straight back up that hill, at least the lower level. She, however, had other ideas and a small battle ensued where she reared and I hung on, then turned her back again and encountered yet another protest. But she met with my heels and took off briskly up the lower portion of the hill, and this time when we turned around it was to walk down.

She was thankful for the hitching post we found down below as it offered her an opportunity to stand and catch her breath as I took her picture and answered my cell phone to chat with someone who's interested in adopting a horse. I must admit I nearly sold them Miss Alpo at that moment, but instead talked about Joe. When I climbed back on Jet, she was still edgy and nervous about our long ride in unfamiliar territory, which made for an interesting ride home.

The following day I opted to head up the old familiar trail, but again she decided to challenge me. This time there was nothing nervous in it, just a three year old tantrum at the top of a steep hill, which I so did not need. More loss of horsemanship skills as I behaved like I've not behaved with a horse since I was 12. I dismounted this time as we weren't in a location which offered me much choice; I gave her a good smack with the end of the reins and stomped up the rest of the hill of foot, fuming with each thud of the boots, and when I climbed back on board she was forced to put it into high gear straight away.

By the time we made it back down to the foot of the hill she and I were back on good terms. However, I noticed the next morning that she had some galling from the cinch which undoubtedly contributed to her cranky behavior the past two rides.

So now I've got two horses on bed rest. Sandy's eye is healing up, but his pupil is still quite dilated which makes it impossible to head out on these sunny days. I've had him out on a couple of short (very short) evening jaunts of five or ten minutes just so he can start tuning up again for when he's ready. Jet will have to wait until I can afford a sheepskin cinch, as both the string cinch and felt have irritated her sensitive skin.

Hey, Dude...wanna go for a ride?