Brrrrrrrithday Ride

Yesterday was our annual birthday ride with Shirley. She is 84 years young! What a competent rider, too. She does get flustered and nervous underneath sometimes, but I think that's just respect for the fact that she's so tiny and the horses are so big. She worries about breaking (and rightly so). Occasionally, we do end up in situations that are less than favorable and yesterday we had one of those.

But let me start at the beginning--we headed out from home with our horses in blankets and our tummies excited at the prospect of breakfast at Marino's. Once we arrived at East Weaver Creek trail, we bundled up (it had to be in the low 30s) and brushed the mud off the boys. It was a typical November overcast day; however, the leaves were still bright yellow with a few bright red dogwoods thrown in. It was gorgeous. I think it is my favorite time to ride in Weaverville.

Lynn and I did a lot road riding last time, so she looked up a map and had a better idea of where we should go this time. We rode the Manzanita trail, the Howe Ditch trail, Jack Ass Ridge, and Day Ranch trail. It worked into several loops and very little backtracking. It was beautiful and we had the trails completely to ourselves--seeing no one until we were almost back to the trailer.

It was cold! I was dressed in hand-me-downs that kept most of me warm (Gordy's denim shirt and Cole's red jacket), but like Lynn, my thighs and toes were cold. Lynn had on her WalMart jacket and she admitted it was not a good choice; thankfully, she also had on a fleece vest. Shirley wore her usual old blue standby and vest and never complained about the cold. We all wore gloves. It seemed to get colder, rather than warmer as we rode--well as least until the sun finally came out. Then we could feel the warmth on our backs.

Throughout the day, Lynn had gotten off and checked Ziggy's feet. Once she found a pretty good-sized rock in his shoe. Finally, she said he was lame at a trot. She said he had been off all day and it was probably because his hips hurt. She thinks it is from a poor fitting saddle. He is such a good trooper, he never complained or acted up in any way, though. On the way back, Jupes got his turn at leading, so we worked on just walking back out, because you know, he likes to get back to the trailer for a snack!

There were a couple of narrow, slippery spots on the Day Ranch trail that took us back to the creek. Everyone did well and no one slipped, but it was a little dicey. This is the trail that forks at the bridge. If we take the bridge, we can head left a bit for a creek crossing that allows both horses and dogs to drink. If we keep going (which we rarely do) we wind up and around then back to the East Weaver trail that will lead us back to the creek crossing and then toward the trailer.

Unfortunately, we chose the bridge. We started off first. About halfway, Jupes slipped. The bridge had large leaves scattered across it. I yelled for them to be careful, it was slippery. We skidded and slipped across. Shirley and Star were behind us. Star went down on the bridge. His foot slipped under the railing. Nevertheless, in true Star fashion, he gracefully got back up and continued. He was shaking and holding up his foot when they got to us. Lynn told us to meet her at the creek--she would ride up the trail. As we started that way, she yelled for us to wait. She had changed her mind; it would add another mile on Zigs who was already hurting.

She took off his reins and tried to send him alone across the bridge. He said, "No way, you go first." So she walked very slowly in front of him and he came along behind. He did great. We went to the creek and made sure Star kept his feet in the cold water while they drank. He walked off his fright and his pain on the way back to the trailer. We couldn't see any damage and the way he ran off at the gate (after a good roll) when we got home is a great indicator that he is probably fine.

As we drove home, I recanted how many times I have seen Star go down. He always goes down smoothly and gets back up the same way. Lynn said he is like her dad who just went with a fall and didn't get hurt trying to fight it. Shirley said she more confidence on him than anyone else. I think Lynn has said that many times, but it was the first time I heard Shirley say it. She got a little shook up and confused after the bridge incident, but never missed a beat once we were all back together again. Pretty good for someone who just turned 84! I hope we can all ride on our 84th birthdays!

After feeding, I came home and began to work on Ziva's burrs. I combed a handful out and realized the amount of dirt that was on my new tile floor was coming off her. So we went to the bathtub and I gave her a bath and more combing. After I got out of the shower, I looked at the clock--it was about an hour and half since I gotten home. Poor Haley had hundreds--maybe thousands-- more burrs than Z; I don't know how long Lynn had to work on her!

Anyway, after a great day of riding, I got to do my second favorite thing--sit on my couch with my feet up, Ursula curled up between my knees, Ziva (covered in a blanket) curled up next to me, and a fire in the woodstove. The only detractor: all my Project Runways deleted and replaced with reruns, and now I don't know who won and what their collections looked like! :(

Happy trails--hopefully we'll get to ride on my birthday, even if it's only 56!