A Near Perfect Day

Although it was a little blustery and cold off and on, it was a nearly perfect day ahorseback on Saturday. Alisa and Odie came over to spend the day with us on the Hennessey and after Lynn finally found Odie and Jupiter (who are now best friends) so they could eat breakfast, we headed out. Our plan was to ride the long trail, up and around and down to the back side of Underwood to one of our favorite mountain trails which then opens up to the meadow just above where we park.

The horses went along fine together. Everyone took turns being in front, being in back, riding alongside each other--everyone was happy to be out on the trail. We took the high road and headed into what could be called "The Fear Factor Zone." We went around a gate and into a deserted, illegal grow area. It was trashy, of course, and Lynn said it looked like toxic waste. There were barrels and collapsed tents and who knows what else. It was the same area Lynn and Shirley rode through last fall when it was full of activity and even more scary. She plans to contact her friend whose house is nearby and remind him to tell his "friends" that we are harmless and not to shoot us--we are definitely not interested in their product! However, as I keep saying--it is our land, too--the US Forest Service land belongs to all of us! I hate being frightened by these jerks. Anyway. . .once we were past it, we stopped at a logged block and had cookies and rested the horses. We weren't quite on top of the whole world, but it's our world, I suppose.

There was snow on the ground in spots and some big mud puddles, but the brush and trees were pretty dry. The ground was soft and Jupiter's barefeet did fine everywhere except by Bray's house on the hill where it was pretty rocky. We went down some steep slopes and everyone did really well. Odie was as surefooted as his friends and did well coming down. Jupiter didn't seem to think twice about any of the terrain and loved going through the woods. He was very surefooted and confident. I loved riding him all day--I'm still smiling.

Then we saw a red pickup. The driver slowed and turned around. He gave us a wave and headed back down the road. Odd, but nothng we really commented on. We crossed the pavement and went down the next trail. It was Alisa's viney trail, but Lynn had cut off the potentially dangerous vines earlier and we relaxed and headed down the hill. When we came out to the next road crossing, there was the red pickup again. This time it parked, running, and the driver's side door was open. Alisa commented that she hoped he wasn't going to pop out of the brush and spook anyone. Ahead I hear Lynn hail someone.

Unfortunately, the driver is the owner of a crazy, out-of-control, stallion that thankfully I have only heard about and not ever seen. The guy stopped Lynn with the words, "My stallion is out. He's down there. Don't let him smell you--stay out of the wind!" Lynn, Shirley, and Alisa have all had experience with this horse. They immediately turned around and got us all headed up the hill. Lynn said, "Be quiet" to the horses and no one whinnied--who knows if they understood there was a dangerous problem. Everything I read and hear from Lynn tells me that they understand a lot just from our body language and attitude, so they might have understood very well as there was a lot of tension in the air.

Ziggy looked beautiful as he carried Lynn up the hill ahead of us. He made it look effortless as his long legs ate up the distance. Jupiter and I also ran, with the other two pretty close behind us. Lynn came out on the road, still moving at a good clip. As we entered the roadway, Alisa and I stayed to the righthand apron and Shirley and Star crossed to the left side. Just as Lynn turned around to say, "Stay off the black stuff, it's slippery," Star slipped on it. Both feet skated under him and he valiantly tried to get his footing, but he couldn't. Just as smoothly as he does everything else, he went down on his right hip. Shirley's leg was caught under him, but she let go when he got up.

Star went to Lynn and stood still. Shirley took inventory and then slowly stood up with some help from Alisa. As frail as she looks, that woman is tough. She walked off to the Bray's road where we were going to hide from the stallion. The only real casualty was her new leather glove. She checked her saddle to make sure it was fine--she didn't want any scratches on her pretty saddle!

After a hurried conversation, Lynn and Alisa decided to run down the hill and through the woods to get the trucks and come back to get us. So away they went leaving Shirley and I to stand with horses in what was becoming a howling wind and light rain. Not five minutes passed before the old guy came up and saw me in my bright orange jacket and honked that he had caught his stupid horse.

Lynn and Alisa half-ran, half-walked close to three miles. They "dropped and rolled and hit the other side [of locked gates] running." While they were gone, Shirley and I hung out with the boys. The young ones ate the little grass shoots for awhile, then all of them dozed. She and I talked a bit, but mostly we just listened to the wind and tried to visualize where the two were in their trek. It didn't take them very long and they were back. Everyone loaded easily and we came home.

So we missed a favorite leg of the trail, but all the horses and all the people (and Happy) came home safely. Jupiter and I both have scratched knees (mine is probably more bruised than his!), but Shirley is fine and we all lived to see another day of wet blankets!