Wind in the helmet

 

A day for a quick ride around the Hennessy's cow trails. It was a glorious morning. T/C did great through the puddles and the creek, but wasn't too sure about this big horse-eating stump.

Found a cool trail back to the road that we will probably use a lot more. I love exploring and finding new ways around our favorite places.

Fall Rides

Dang me! I don't know how I get so far behind--October was a great month of riding. We went to Cathy's and rode two different trails. The first one was the McCloud River Trail. We were so lucky to have it completely to ourselves. Lynn and T/C did some water training and Jupes behaved like a champ. Lynn had a bit of a rocky beginning as T/C humped and bucked and had big knots in his back for the first hour. He did settle down and ride out, but it was a tough start.

The second day we did a little off trail riding after following the blue twine trail left by a lady that Cathy knows. It was fun. Unfortunately, Jupiter's back legs sunk into a hole and he had to hump and jump to get out it. I didn't recognize it for what it was thought we were in bees. But all turned out well. He's fine and no one saw any bees. Then they took me to Little Grand Canyon. It's super cool and amazing.

Staying at Cathy's is really nice. It's relaxing and I love visiting with the two of them. I fell in love with Dusty, the Lab puppy, as well. It was fun to watch K.D. play with him.

Although we skipped a few weekends because of rain, we have ridden quite a bit this fall. It has been a good learning experience for T/C and he continues to grow and improve as he learns to trust Lynn; I have had many comfortable rides on Jupes with fewer jigging and stalling maneuvers. He did not lose his temper once this year and rode through all kinds brush and branches without balking. He's definitely my heart horse.

Yesterday was a little cold and misty and the cedar trees slapped our faces with some water, but the sun kept trying to peek through. Lynn tried to push T/C into the big puddle where he began his water training down in meadow by the #2 hoop-de-doo trail and he was not having it. So in Jupes and I went--that is until he put his head down and kicked the water and did a tight little turn! Oh no, we are not laying down in this muddy puddle!! So out we went before he get his legs tucked under him. Sheesh.

Water Videos

Not sure how many more days we have to ride in November. The goal is always to ride on Shirley's birthday and try to make it to mine. Then the shoes come off for winter.

Backwards and Forwards

 September was a good riding month! We skipped Opening Day of hunting season, but otherwise had wet blankets every weekend. Alisa came over weekend before last and we had some great riding. We went up the jeep trail and the cow trail again. It was the best.

Last weekend, we rode the deadfall trail backwards and saw a cool hollowed out tree and super pretty moss with jewels of dew in it. It was a day of pretty nature that we hadn't seen before. Sunday we rode the cow trail backwards and disturbed the cows a little. I guess it was a backward weekend! lol There were still a few apples to be had, so Ziggy and Jupes were happy, since breakfast wasn't served until we got home. 

Now on to October--starting with a trip over to Mt. Shasta to ride with Cathy.

A Cow Trail and a Jeep Trail

 

What a great weekend!! Three days of spectacular riding. We had some wonderful rain on Friday, so Saturday we rode with chinks on and I had a waterproof jacket so we would have some protection against the cedars and madrones which hold the water in their branches. Nevertheless, the first tree we passed doused both Lynn and I across the face. Then the next one went down my neck. It just doesn't matter what one wears, water will win.

Last weekend, we rode way down toward Heidi Carpenter-Harris' place. It was the farthest we have gone down past the low meadow. It was fun and coming out was a lot faster than going in! lol

Saturday was pretty much a regular ride, except that the boys were a little skittish. It is bow season after all and we saw some hunters and there could have been more out there. On the way walking down the road there was a horse eating woman clearing out blackberries and putting up a No Trespassing sign. Sheesh. That was scary.

Sunday we went down on the ranch. We rode our regular route around the back side, then up the trail to the top of the knoll, then made our own way down and into the meadow. Apple eating and picking! Lynn had picked all different kinds last weekend and made a great pie, so she was after some more. Jupes was practically slobbering just thinking about getting over there. 

Lynn rode Zigs so we could check out a water crossing (although Toby Cobie is soo much better) and keep Zigs in shape for when Cathy comes to ride. There was no way we could get through the old way by the old corral, so she suggested we try going on the other side of the creek at the bottom and coming to the lower meadow from there. OMG. It was awesome. We followed a cow trail that lead us through to the crossing. There wasn't any brush and it was super easy. Then we tootled around down there. Lynn got off and checked out the old cemetery and took pictures of the gravestones/markers. We saw the bulls, but no one got excited or freaked out.

Monday was a surprise ride. The horses thought it was a rest day. Nope. We rode up to the top of Hennessy and took the jeep road to the right. We climbed and climbed and then rode along the top of the ridge. Then took a skid road that led us right to our Gray Falls trails. We rode it backward back to the road and then went up and around the loop and back to the top. It was a blast. We saw tons of potential trails and loops we could make. Lots to explore! 

It was a super fun weekend. 

A Long Day of Shoeing

Is he coming today? Are you sure? It's getting late. (We started tied the boys up at 9:45.)

I'll just sleep over here, Maybe you could bring me an apple every now and then. 

Seriously? What is he doing over there? And why I do I have to be first, Jupiter? Open your eyes! No relaxing while I'm being tortured! (He started working on Zigs at 11: 30.)

It was a long day of waiting. I found a chair to perch on (the middle is sort of gone).

Still waiting, but now I have my crochet.

Still waiting. Kind of even tired of scrabbling for horse hooves.

Still waiting.

Still waiting.

I know I untied  myself; I'm pretty clever aren't I? Well I couldn't see what you guys were doing and I was sooo far away. But the gravel? It hurts my feet. I promise to stop pawing, but please tie me lower on the fence so I can see you guys. Ziggy keeps whinnying; I think he wants me to come over there.

Still waiting. But maybe a cat will try to get by me. Or a squirrel!! Yes, maybe a squirrel.

I didn't take any pictures of the lightning or record the thunder or the sheets of rain that fell on all of us as we kept waiting for Pablo to finish. I put Z & K in the house when the sprinkles got harder and before the all the thunder and rain. At 4:45, Lynn got home. I met her at the car. Please hurry and put a rain jacket on and come help me. Zigs was done!! He was pacing and pushing and I know he was trying to step on my feet. Jupes was pulling his legs away from Pablo and getting smacked. Rain was running off me both inside my jacket and out and down my hat. No one was happy. I'm sure my trepidation over all the thunder and lightning above us was contagious and that probably added to the tension the boys were feeling. Plus, they had not eaten or drank since I caught them. They were hungry and tired of standing there and it was pouring down rain and running down their sides. They were cross.

He finally finished Jupes at 5:00ish. (Almost 6 hours later.) After being tied up for over 7 hours, when we turned them loose in the field, they bucked, reared up, twisty-necked, and raced all over the fields. We fed them after we could sneak out from behind the trees we were hugging! What a day. Next time I will wait to catch them when he turns into the driveway. :(

SATURDAY:

We rode up to the turtle pond. Lynn saw something in the water and there were bubbles, but we couldn't see what it was. T/C did really good in puddles and through mud bog below the pond. We wore our chinks and I had a waterproof jacket on, but our faces got doused with rain water held in the trees' leaves and needles and it still got down my neck. But it was a fun morning. 

Both boys were pretty sure there were horse eating monsters in the woods today. And maybe there were! It is hunting season (bow). Walking down the road to trailer, we had to convince them it was safe. But then it wasn't!! There was a lady in woods by the fence cleaning blackberries (?). All the animals saw her, Lynn and I were the last to observe her. I think I kind of jumped, too.

Nope, not going. Horse-eating monsters are between us and the trailer!

 July was a great month of riding! I am sure since I am doing this so late, I will forget things that I wanted to share. 

Cobweb Alley

First of all, we got to ride with Alisa twice! The first ride, Lynn took off Friday and rode up to Little Happy Camp. It was great fun as always. We could see the burn scar and stayed out of it; thankfully it did not affect most of our trails. It was warm enough to just wear our tanktops and the road wasn't too bad. We did do some logging, but the rocks weren't too bad and we didn't need the chainsaw. On Saturday we rode up Underwood. It is always one of my favorites. (or was this the following weekend?)

Alisa left her trailer and Keota to hang out with our boys for the next week and the following weekend, Lynn took another Friday off and we drove over to Dead Fall Lake trailhead to meet up with Cathy & Roany and Karrie & Noah. The Forest Service Road 17 was awful--it was narrow and rocky. The ride itself was enjoyable. We had plenty of water for the horses and Noah went down in the lake with Karrie on him and then at the last lake, she took off his saddle and he really got in and got wet. Trail is the Pacific Coast Trail, so there were lots of hikers. The horses all did just fine and with the exception of one cranky, unfriendly older man, all the hikers were friendly, talkative, and did not appear to mind stepping off the trail. Thankfully it was not too dusty or hot and although there were tight places on the trail, overall it was easy and wide open. T/C did pretty well with the water crossings, but the first one on a tight turn on the trail with rocks and little margin of error, Lynn jumped off and walked him very quickly through the worst part of the trail (probably where she hurt her knee!).

Riding with Cathy and Karrie is also a treat. We ate lunch at Dead Fall Lake and visited. It's a little hard to hear each other on the trail, but when you're close enough, there is much laughter shared between us. The following day, Alisa and us rode together at home on our trails. I wish both she and Cathy lived closer so we could ride together all the time.

The Tevis 100 and the Hennessey 10

The last weekend of July it was just Lynn and I. Saturday we rode our trails along the Gray's Falls area. We did some trail clearing (which is probably where I tore a little of my bicep tendon!). All along the trail is the evidence that the Forest Service has been there and made big burn piles. It is awesome that they are clearing brush and protecting our area from fire! T/C wasn't so sure though. We did not hear the big swarm buzzing, so hopefully they are GONE! We rode our long loops and considered which trails we could take Cathy and Karrie on. Our trails are nothing like what they ride. AND they ride big horses--tall and wide. Would they like horse yoga? Would their horses do okay on our sketchy trails? We are not riding Back Country Horsemen boulevards.

Sunday we rode out on the ranch planning to do the original Hoop-de-doo trail. It was the kind of morning that had a little of everything. First we saw turkeys and their babies--probably eight all total. That's always fun. Then we saw cows. Hmm. Not as fun. lol. T/C was snorting and letting those big bulls know he did not like them. The cows took off and disappeared, but Lynn said T/C was tight. We rode to the little messy trail that we used to take to get us to the road crossing. Nope. No go. It was always a mess; it was always skinny and included lots of knee jabbers and leg scrapers and clothesline opportunities, but this time it was impassable. So we turned uphill and rode the driveway/road to the County road and crossed over to the property where the old Morgan horse lives (who wasn't in view).

I teased about T/C, but Jupes was pretty sure the boogie man (or cows?) were behind him, so he was a little tight, too. We trotted out the trail, jumping logs and tiptoeing through boggy, scratchy tight spots. We reached the water crossing, which is one of the reasons why Lynn rode T/C instead of Big Zigs, and the trail was impassable due to a yew tree across it just above the creek. The bank on the opposite side has also deteriorated. I couldn't tell if our trail is still up there. That was always a fun ride, so we plan to hike it with chainsaw and clippers after our riding season is over. We turned around and trotted back out and over to the meadow. We went up the trail backwards and found the cows. We didn't get too close, but T/C blew the biggest snort out I have ever heard him do. 

So there it is. July is gone! It was the best month so far. I hope we continue to have great weekends in August. 

COWS!!! SNORT, SNORT!

 

Cattle Call

(We need to print out the words and sing along!)

T/C saw cows on the Hennessy ranch today. He snorted a loud warning for them to stay back, because he was ready to run fast the other way if they got too close. :)

Aborted the original Hoop-de-doo trail's reconnaissance on Sunday. It is going to be a long walk with a chain saw and hand saws. The good part of the ride was T/C got his feet wet in the creek. We did a little ride around the ranch and back home. Always fun (and a lot of trotting out and away from the boogie men with horns).