A Sunday well spent....

I'm playing a little catch up tonight...
Dishes, laundry, and a bit of cleaning...

It has been one of those days when the weather isn't good for much of anything. The temps today only reached into the mid to (slightly) upper 80's, but the humidity was terrible.  Being outside for any length of time and just standing still is enough to make one uncomfortable. 

....and tomorrow will be more of the same.

Ugh.....

....so  with that in mind, and a loyal Simon taking up residence in my lap, I thought I'd talk about my ride on Sunday.

On Tuesday of last week, Vickie sent me a text message asking me if I wanted to go riding at the Castle Rock Horse Trails on Sunday.

Without missing a beat, I responded back  that I didn't have any plans on Sunday and I was all for it.

A short spell later, Vickie texts me back asking if I was ok if someone else picked Tex & I up (I have access to a truck,  but my financially, poor self does not own a horse trailer). 

She wrote that our mutual, barn friend, Brenda knows this gentleman as she has lent Morton to him for trail rides with his friends/family.

His name is Brian and he does roping & team penning with his horses.

Vickie, herself, only recently met him...

Vickie also mentioned that if anyone else from the barn wanted to go, that he would also have room for another horse.

At the time, all I could think about was getting out on the trail with my wonderful lease partner and having a nice ride. The forecast for Sunday was supposed to be gorgeous! 

During this text exchange back and forth, I had been out enjoying the evening doing some fun activities with my sister, Gayle and my niece, Fiona. For the moment, I agreed to go and filed it away mentally that I would have plans for Sunday. I then proceeded to enjoy the remainder of my evening with my sister.

It wasn't until the next day that the warning bells started to go off in my introverted brain.

What if no one else from the barn wanted to go? 

Would my shy self be able to make small talk with someone I don't even know for the 1+ hour ride over to the Castle Rock Horse Trails? 

What if we decide right off that neither of us likes the other?

What if he decides to do something crazy and dump me in a ditch somewhere and run off with Tex? 

....my mind has a tendency to think bizarre things when I let it wander too long without a leash! (perhaps I've watched 1 too many Cold Case files on TV).

The next afternoon, I approached Kris about coming with. My barn has very few trail riders and Kris was the only one at the moment that I could think of that might have Sunday free to go along. 

As it turned out, Kris was about as enthusiastic as I was at the prospect of hopping in a truck with someone she didn't know (in addition to her horse being hauled in a strange rig). It ended up being that she decided to pass on going.

At this point, I texted Vickie back and told her I was getting increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of riding with someone I didn't know.

Vickie texts me back "Brenda says you've met him."

Whaat?? (This was news to me)...

....then Vickie, being the ever-faithful  riding friend she is -- told me that if I wasn't comfortable, then she would drive out and pick me up (which takes her farther out of her way).

On one hand, I was happy that we would still go, but on the other hand I felt like a wimp. I should just suck it up and take a chance at meeting someone new (arguing with my stubborn, introverted self).

I decided at that point to text Brenda and find out more about Brian. Brenda, of course, was working (sadly....as always) and could not join us either. I remember her loaning Morton out to a friend, but did not recall meeting him.

In my text conversation with Brenda,  she did, in fact remind me of another instance in which we had gone to his place to look at a horse he was going to give to another friend who boarded at Tammy's farm at the time (that's a whole other story that would take too long to get into here).

At any rate, I might have spoken with him for about 5 minutes.  I still didn't feel like I "knew" him.

Brenda assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that Tex and I would be in safe, capable hands. She said that she had just been with Brian the previous night to cut his hair (Hairdressing is one of Brenda's many skills). She said that he had asked about me as well.... (probably wondering if I was some crazy, Axe wielding, Lizzie Borden sort of chick)....

Smiling,  I just texted back and asked if she told him that I was a fat, overanxious person who wraps my horse in bubble wrap?

she didn't respond to that (*laughs*)..

After talking with Brenda, I felt somewhat better about the idea of riding with Brian. All of my insecurities at that point had to do with me and not the situation.

As expected, Sunday brought along some beautiful weather. Sunny skies and warm (but not overly hot) with little to no humidity.

 

I got to the barn early.....about an hour or so before Brian was due to pick us up. I used the time to do a thorough groom on Tex and bond with him a bit.

When Brian pulled in shortly after 9 am, we were ready to go. I was still nervous, but told myself to focus on the one thing we surely would have in common;  horses.

Brenda was correct that I needn't have worried. Brian was the perfect gentleman through and through.

Tex shared a stock trailer with Brian's horse, Rudy and the two horses rode well together. I immediately noticed that his truck was immaculate and was dually impressed. I guess I expected well used and Dusty (not that it would have mattered as I don't judge folks by what they drive).

We got to the horse trails about a half hour or so before Vickie was due to meet us, so we took our time chatting and getting the horses ready.

I really enjoyed being able to take my time getting set to go instead of feeling like I needed to rush and hurry up out onto the trail. I'm somewhat pokey by nature, so this suited me very well.

Tex (left) and Rudy (right) waited patiently while we waited for Vickie to arrive.

Once Vickie arrived, I played "hitching post" for Dusty so she could get ready without tying him and in no time at all, we were off on the trail.

We rode for the better part of the day and had a lovely ride. 

Surprisingly, the bugs were not bad at all (they have been so bad at the farm, Tex and I have been working mainly on arena stuff as opposed to our usual rides in the woods and fields).

About halfway through, we rode over to the Ukarydee Campground and took a little break. This is a horse user's campground that is connected to the Castle Rock Trails. It was nice to get off for a bit and hang out in a shady spot. There was water access there and bathrooms which were nice to use.

 Camping there with Tex is on my list of future "activities I want to do."  I also found that the break gave my arthritic joints a much needed rest and definitely improved the quality and longevity of my ride.

This makes the 3rd time that Tex and I have ridden at Castle Rock and I still haven't seen all the trails yet.

I guess we need to go more then....

 

I wish I had gotten more photos of our ride.  I came away with only a handful of blurry, snapshots and there were many pretty views to be had on the trail. Tex and I need to work on our tripod skills!

We saw gazillions of mushrooms in a variety of colors (purple,  red, and orange among them). We also saw a couple of deer in 2 different spots. Unfortunately,  neither of them would have been easily photographed.

A blurry shot of Vickie & Brian. I need to teach my man, Tex that a good tripod will hold still.

Brian and myself. Dusty has superior tripod skills to Tex because Vickie 's picture is more clear.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I was tired and sore and dragged my sorry butt through work on Monday but it was 100% worth it!!

I am hoping Brian will ride with us again...and even more so-- that Brenda will join us. They have known each other for quite some time but have never ridden together.

Horsey camp outing anyone?

Hot, STEAMY day = bath day (& good conversation)

Yesterday,  the heat index soared into the 90 's as predicted. It was the hottest day we've had yet this summer. 

As I had planned, I went to the barn to give Griffin a nice bath in order to help him cope with the heat. It's not uncommon for elderly horses to have trouble in ANY temperature extreme (hot or cold). Poor Griff has decided that his dinner just doesn't taste as good when the weather is steamy.

In past summers, I had a box fan attached to Griffin's stall to help move the air around when the thermometer rose, but sadly, that is no longer the case.

..but there is a good reason for that

Tammy recently found out that having household box fans in your barn is not a safe situation. They have actually been known to cause barn fires! (Scary)!  

You see...pretty much all of your general household, box fans do not have an enclosed motor on them. Since even the cleanest barn is a (very) dusty environment, that dust becomes trapped in the motor. As it builds up, the probability of combining with electrical systems and igniting sparks increases. The spark hazard, therefore causes barn fires to start.

The solution is to buy high, quality industrial type fans that have the fan's motor safely enclosed. 

Tammy did go and buy some of these fans to put around the barn, but since they are much more costly ($80 and up), not every horse can have their own, personal fan. In addition, the electric bill on a barn with that many fans is quite expensive. 

Fortunately for Griffin,  he lives in one of the coolest sections of the barn.

In addition to that, I do try to give my sweet, old man baths on the hottest days to help lower his body temperature a bit and help him cool off.

As you can see in the photo below, Griff is tolerant of getting baths, but it isn't particularly one of his favorite things. He usually makes a few "Angry Standardbred" faces and will attempt to paw with his front legs. 

....but no matter what he will tell you *winks*, it DOES make him feel better because he perks up significantly following the bath and definitely acts more comfortable. 

A wet Mr. Griffin with a slightly, peeved expression...

....but one of the after-bath rewards is being able to graze on grass on the "other side of the fence" while drying off.

Since Griffin's human (me) does NOT like the sun, she tries to convince him that eating grass in the shade is a GREAT IDEA!

...Meanwhile, Griffin's current pasture mate,  Morton looks on-- slightly peeved that he is not on the other side of the fence as well (because,  of course, the grass is ALWAYS greener there). 

Morton is a very sweet Quarter Horse who belongs to my friend Brenda. Like Griffin, he has battled his share of health issues including some arthritis and Lyme Disease.

Brenda was kind enough to allow me some rides on Mort when Griffin injured his Stifle 2 years ago. He is a super nice boy ♡.

Griffin, of course, can NEVER be 100% convinced that the grass he covets will always live in the shade.

This is where the longe line comes in handy-- so his human mom can-- at least attempt-- to stand in some shade.

As a side note, grazing a horse this far away from you isn't a recommended thing as the horse can easily get tangled in the line, but when you have a 19 yr relationship with your senior horse, these things have a way of working out because you have developed an Awesome relationship ♡♡.

I would not try this with a horse I did not know well, nor one that did not belong to me.

Before anyone thinks I left Tex out of the equation, he too also got a decent hosing (I just didn't get any pictures because I was too busy yapping).

His owner, Vickie, came for a visit yesterday to update a few of his vaccines. Because Vickie travels all over with her horses on a variety of trail/camping rides, she prefers to vaccinate for everything.

.....so Tex received a few of the less commonly used vaccines yesterday. 

He came in from the pasture a bit sweaty from standing in the hot sun (his choice- as his huge, pasture has shade). I gave him a nice, thorough cold hose and then treated him to an extra long graze session. Unlike my picky old man, Tex was happy to graze in the shade while Vickie, Amy (another very nice boarder), and I stood around talking.

....and as things would have it, we didn't talk enough....

Vickie disappeared for a bit while I gave Griffin his bath so she could visit some other friends in the area (she lives an hour and 20min away), then we got back together and enjoyed a yummy dinner at Pizza Ranch.

We talked about horses and people we knew and everything else.

....but mostly horses....

Because Vickie and I have the same interests (horse camping and exploring trails) the conversation was very enjoyable.

The folks at my barn are wonderful,  but most of them are show riders, so it's not always easy to relate because I no longer have any show interests. I used to do some shows when I was a kid and did a few when I first got Griffin, but these days I just don't have any interest in it.  It was like a breath of fresh air to have some good trail stories & chat!

I had said earlier that our conversation while grazing Tex must not have been enough, because we met for dinner....

What I did not say is that it REALLY wasn't enough, because it was 11 pm when I finally got home last night.  

We sat around at Pizza Ranch and chatted until about 9:30 and then went and stood out in the parking lot and talked for another hour!

....maybe one day,  Vickie and I can live closer! ;-)

Exhausting, but a lot of fun!....

I have a whole, long post in mind to write up on my camp outing with Tex at Wildcat Mountain State Park.

Because it's pretty "book worthy, " in terms of length, I need to find time to sit down and write (which is easier said than done).

Here is a quick share of a few photos from the weekend. Hopefully,  I can make time in the next week or so to do the full write up! :-)

I'm Back. Updates?

It's been awhile.

...but at least this time, I didn't give up, erase my blog, and then "start over" yet again.

I can think of a million excuses why I haven't been blogging.....

For one thing, Facebook is easier to just type a few words and be assured that my closest family and friends will read it (they don't do anything except FB, for the most part).

and yet....

I hate Facebook.

I often find it filled with negativity, drama, people attacking each other in interest groups (over the most INSANELY, stupid things I might ad)....   ...but,  I stick to it because it's easy.

Blogging should be easy, but since I don't own a computer, I find it a bit more challenging to update than Facebook.  When I start to write a post, what  I'd like to be just a short snipet about my day generally turns into a novel.  As a result, that novel ends up taking a LOT more time to write then what I had alotted for time to write in a day.

Well, I need to make more time to write -- because it sincerely is something that I enjoy.

So here goes another effort in redirecting my efforts away from the senseless drama of FB and more towards myself (i.e writing). 

I won't promise posts as interesting as some of the other blogs I enjoy reading (which are quite a few), but I am going to try to share the ups and downs of my life again with anyone with a mind to read.

I will use this post as a brief catch up to where things are in the varies aspects of my world.

Griffin
Ahhh.....my old Standardbred boy....
He's still here and so far, doing well.  His Cushings Disease seems to be under control at the moment and he seems healthy.  He shed his winter coat this spring far faster then he has in probably the last 7 or 8 years (which makes me wonder how long his Cushings went un-diagnosed).  At the moment were are getting in 1 or 2 very small, walking only, rides per week.  We hack around the arena a bit and the barnyard area.  He is still asking to go towards the woods and still showing signs of frustration when we don't.  I handwalk him down there occasionally, but he thinks we should ride there also.

I made a promise to him, that if he does well over the summer (and doesn't hurt himself AGAIN -- see previous posts), we could try a hack into the flatter sections of woods closest to the farm by this fall.  As with everything else that we do, I have learned that everything is a day at a time.  I count my blessings each and every day that he is with me and I don't have any expectations from one day to the next (and believe me that IS HARD to keep in mind).  When it comes to my animal family, he truly is my number one priority. I'd really like to see him enjoy each and every day of his golden years that he has left.  At 28years old, he as already lived a pretty good life and I want to keep giving that to him for as long as I possibly can.  Next year will mark out 20th year together!!

Tex
The situation with my lease horse, Tex, has grown into something far bigger than I ever thought it would.  Originally, I was only supposed to (part) lease Tex until June of this year (next month).  His owner was leasing another horse (that she really wanted to buy), for the year and when his owner was recovered from an injury she'd had -- she would start riding him again, and my friend would take Tex back as her sole, riding horse.

As things started to unfold, the friend's recovery did not go as rapidly as hoped and resulted in her questioning how well she would ever be able to ride again.  In addition to this, other factors in her life made her question just how much involvement she truly wanted to have with horses. Logically, she decided to sell her horse & trailer to MY friend (who wanted to buy him in the first place).

My friend, Vickie, now owns 3 horses.  Dusty (her newest mount), Tex (my lease horse), and Apache (her retired CTR horse).

Vickie knows that I would buy Tex from her in a heartbeat.

If I could afford 2 horses.

...but I can't, and Griffin must come first.

So, Vickie very kindly offered for me to continue the lease as we have been for as long as I wanted (or could). She has stated that she is not interested in selling Tex (although she would offer him for sale to me at a later date, if I was interested....which I am).

At this point and time, I am moving on with what amounts to roughly a 3/4 lease on Tex.  He is boarded at the same farm Griffin lives at and I have a horse to do longer rides and trail with.  Vickie will use him for occasional rides/trips as a backup horse for friends as those situations come up (she already has a 2 week camp trip planned with another friend in October).  I don't mind the sharing part, as I still must also make time for my old man.

I am very happy with this arrangement for a few reasons:
1)- I have a horse who is a SOLID trail horse that I can enjoy riding with friends....and even go out with alone.  Tex is a laid back, more whoa than go sort and he is truly a dream to explore trails with.
While I have lots of experience riding in arenas, showing, and doing arena involved patterns (from my youth working with other people's show horses), I have very little experience as a trail rider. I love trail riding and no longer have even the slightest desire to go to a horse show. Ever.

2.)- Because is not actually my horse on paper, I don't have the anxiety I might have trying to own owning 2 horses and dealing with funds for a major emergency should it come up (and that is not limited to just the two horses, but my personal life as well).  I still plan to have as much involvment as possible and to care for Tex as though he were my own -- but in the back of my mind, I don't have to worry about hanging onto a horse should I not be able to afford it if something major popped up in my life or that of my own animals.

3.)- I have someone to go horse camping with!!
I can't stress enough that if you are ever going to lease a horse, doing so with someone who shares you interests (...and goals) really helps.  Vickie is an incredibly experienced trail rider.  She has done Competitive Trail, Trail Trials, ridden all over the state, and camped in the mountains.

...and she is willling to let this Chicken, Novice trail rider wanna be accompany her.

Not to spoil a future blog post.....BUT
Next weekend we are camping at Wildcat Mountain State Park. It will be a couple of fun filled days of campfires, riding, and more riding!!  I have ALWAYS wanted to do this....and while there is a part of me that is saddened that it's not Griffin who will carry me on the trails -- I am excited to be able to have the opportunity to do it at all.  I have a horse I know I can trust, who I've started to bond just a little, and a friend who has the experience and knows the ropes of it all!!.....

Simon & Lukus
My cats are doing quite well and have become an amazing part of my family at home.  They are my biggest comfort when I am under the weather or feeling sad.  They make me smile.  They make me laugh. Every. Day.  I find it hard to believe I've had them almost 4 years now!!

 Lukus will be coming up on his 4th birthday at the end of the month....and like a crazy cat lady, anthropomorphic, mom, I want to do something special for him. I just dont' know quite what that will be yet.

Simon has turned into quite the lap cat and is nonstop with his purrrs (2 things that were definitely NOT a part of his personality when I got him).  I am also thinking he will make his first camping debut with me possibly next month!  Si loves being outside on his harness and he is certainly ready to be an adventure cat and test the camping waters!! 

Camping
So far, I have 3 confirmed camping outings this summer and I'm currently working on a 4th.  All of them are at nearby state parks with family with the exception of the horse outing with Vickie.

My little niece, Fiona (who is almost 3), has already developed an affinity for the outdoors.  I have a feeling the future will hold MANY camp outings with her and my sister.  She just received a new, made for her (in terms of safety) airbed, that she will be trying out on our June outing.  She has quickly outgrown the Pack N Play and is now ready to take the next step learning to be an experienced camper!

Work
It's the same. Enough said (yes, I just had to include that).

...and that's about it -- I will try to keep updates coming as often as I can....and with the summer I have planned, maybe a good adventure story or two!!

Thanks for reading...  :-)

A Platform Dismount comes in handy!

Because I now have a bum elbow, bum knee, and a recovering bum back (Train wreck...I know), I wasn't sure I'd be able to ride when I went to the barn yesterday,  but I sure wanted to try!!

I decided I was going to do a little ride with Tex because he stands well for me to both climb ON him from the big, outside mounting block as well as climbing OFF of him.

Vickie (Tex's owner who is also an avid trail rider) told me once she likes her horses to stand at a block for both mounting and dismounting as well as being able to do so from both sides. She has taken some seriously long rides throughout her horse life (including Competitive Trail) and she says that being able to dismount onto something is a definite advantage when every muscle in your body is screaming after a long ride.

Knowing some of the rides she has done, I don't doubt her for a second.

I have practiced the mount/dismount using a block with Tex before & he does very well.

...and as I suspected he did well with me today. With my aching, sprained muscles, it was an absolute godsend to be able to get on and off this way! (Note to self to teach Griffin the "platform dismount" as well. He simply has just never been asked to do it).

During our ride, we rode solo in our favorite woods a bit and then did some work in the arena. We even did some trotting (and posting) which I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do.

.....and that made me happy!

Aside from riding myself, I loaned Tex to Jena ' s daughter, Jaxcin, to ride for a little bit (Jena is Tammy's sister. She has her own horse, Sky,  but Sky isn't quite ready for the kids to ride yet).

Jaxcin will be learning the ropes of showing over the next year so she can do the horse project in 4-H.

She spent a little time riding Tex and then hopped aboard Kris' s horse, Rain.  It is the plan that Rain will ultimately be her mount for the fair.

She did very well considering she hasn't had a lot of chances to ride.  Hopefully , she will get more practice in the coming months!

The top photo is a between - the - ears picture of my wooded ride with Tex. The next 3 are Jaxcin and Rain (sadly, I didn't get one of her on Tex).

ALL Good things eventually end..

It was a super busy weekend with lots to get done.

Still, I managed a ride with both horses yesterday.

We couldn't have asked for better weather.

Every time I ride Tex, I love him more and more. He has every quality I want in my next horse.

He is brave on trails...

He is brave on the road...

His only downfall is that he's not a fan of doing more than a trot. He certainly WILL canter, but it takes a lot of pushing to get him there.

With that said, I don't really care about that. I don't show. I trail ride. I don't care if he looks fancy. I want him to get me down a beautiful trail without trying to kill me.

I, myself, have physical issues that make riding a strenuous discipline nearly impossible. Having a ground covering walk and a nice (smooth) trot are important to me. While a smooth canter would be nice, it's not really necessary for what I like to do.

Tex can do everything I need and do it happily.

My lease with him will end next June.  At that time, Vickie (his owner & my friend) will either sell him or keep him as her sole riding horse. It will all depend on how things go with HER current lease horse. A horse she wants to purchase.

I would love nothing more than to become Tex's new owner if those stars were to align.  Sadly, even if I could find the $$ to buy him, I'm pretty sure I would unable to be able to afford full  board on both him and Griffin.

It's so bittersweet.  I'm having lovely rides on a horse I truly mesh with, but I know they will come to an end roughly 7 months from now.

For now all I can do is enjoy the time we have and cherish all those nice rides.

**sigh**