NO Dumping

Okay, I know I keep coming back to this, but apparently, construction workers and homeowners are not the only ones who can't read this sign, "NO DUMPING". Calico can't read it either. That's right, it happened. I got dumped in Cactus Town. You can view this place in an earlier post. We were having a lovely ride, trying out Cali's new boots, Easy Care gloves. I actually got a used pair and they seem to be fine. Anyway, we had gone about three miles, I dismounted, gave her some carrots, adjusted my tack and led her back over a busy street to a large desert lot, mounted and headed toward home. As we moved down into a wash, I noticed a pile of Spanish roof tiles on one side and a garden hose on the other. I wondered if stepping over the hose would concern her, but we moved up out of the wash with no problem, and then, a moment later, she was rushing sideways. I said, "whoa, whoa, whoa" and tried a one-rein stop, and looked back over my shoulder just long enough to see the problem. She had a long piece of wire caught on her foot, and it was dragging along behind us, about a ten-foot length. The end was a big tangle of wire with a platic bag caught in it! I may as well have tied a long string of tin cans to her tail. Good Grief! Now, in the time it took for me to assess the problem and attempt a one-rein stop, Calico was already taking evasive actions of her own. One big buck was all it took to get rid of the wire monster. Wait, slow-motion replay...rush to the side one, two, three steps, glance back and buck. 4.5 seconds. I cussed the ground as it rushed inches past my face. It's hard to know exactly how I landed, but I'm pretty sure I sommersaulted out of the saddle. I remember my feet coming over my head. My guardian angel protected me from serious harm. Even though I landed hard on the rocks (not catcus or broken glass, thanks be to God) I only sustained a bruise on my lower leg. I jumped up to see if Calico had taken off for home, but she was right there waiting for me. I ran over and attacked the wire (I rolled it up and tossed it into a shrub) and cussed those motherf***ers who dump garbage in my desert. When I picked up the wire, I startled my horse and she went trotting off. I thought, Oh great, my cell phone is in the saddle bag. She turned around about 75 yards out and came back when I called her. I checked her all over and she was unscathed. When I got back on her she nipped my leg. She was clearly bothered. Later I couldn't figure out how I had a bruise on the back AND the front of my leg, then I remembered, Oh yeah, she bit me. We rode all the way home, but she was looking at every shrub now with suspicion. We did encounter another rider, and Calico was very well-mannered as we visited for a few minutes. She didn't have any trouble leaving the other horse, since he's not part of our herd and she knew her breakfast was waiting for her at home. She did get very excited as we got a few blocks from the ranch, so I dismounted and led her home. She settled down, and we finished our outing at a leisurely pace. I really wish I could get to some nice trails without having to cross this junk. Well, this was my big fear as we started out to the desert, now I've faced it and survived. I just hope I haven't undermined Cali's confidence in me too much. Only time will tell.

What happened to July?

Man, this month is half over and I haven't posted a thing. It's not because I haven't been doing anything; it's because I've been trying to do everything. My oldest son got married on the Fourth; that kept us quite busy for a while. I've had a young German midwifery student living with me for three weeks, sort of a job shadow thing, only she shadowed every aspect of my life. She was a delight. If you've never taken a complete stranger into your home, I would recommend you try it. It was a very enriching experience. I've spent an inordinate amount of time on Craigslist looking at horse trailers and trucks. I promised my husband I would wait and not do anything crazy. It's weird how reading classified ads is addictive. My husband and I have had two lovely dates at the Mt.Charleston Hotel which included a good three mile hike in the morning. Once we hiked to Mary Jane Falls and the next time to the top of Cathedral Rock. In all of this, I have seen my horse everyday, except when we were out of town for the wedding.

Calico is doing great. She had her annual vaccines last week, and I was surprised to see she recognized the vet immediately. She hadn't seen him in three years, since she lived out-of-state for a while. She also had her hooves trimmed and and will be fitted for hoof-boots tomorrow. This week I'm finally getting her Brand Inspection papers updated. I want everything to be ready for when I enter our first ride. We've been doing a lot of arena work and walks around the neighbor hood, but I haven't taken her on the really rocky stuff again since she was tentative about going out last time I tried. I want to wait until she gets her boots. We trotted on some trails yesterday. She seemed very willing and we had a great time. I had planned to enter a novice 30 mile ride in Fallon in October. Now I have two women due around that time, so I'll have to see if there is another ride that we could do before the end of the year that is not too far. IF I feel our conditioning is on track, and IF I can find or borrow a horse trailer, and IF no one needs me to attend a birth, we might make it to a ride. The main thing cutting into my conditioning schedule is heat. It's hot here by 7:30 am. I mean hot. Last night we had a big thunderstorm, and it cooled things off a little, but I don't know how long that will last. I sent my camera to Rome with my son and his bride. They'll be back at the end of the month and I'll be able to post photos again. Ride on, folks.

Desert Or Dump, you decide.

I've mentioned in an earlier post about the way some people seem to think our desert landscape is nothing more than a dump. I guess they never heard that Nevada is not a wasteland.

Mother/daughter time

Theresa came out with me today. She just graduated from high school and now she has some time to hang out with dear old mom. I don't think she's been on a horse in ten years. When my children were little, I always had green broke horses, arabs. I rarely let them ride, because I didn't trust the horses enough, and my horses have always been the one thing I did for me, as a retreat from mothering. My mother-in-law put it nicely when she'd say, 'You need this time to re-create yourself'. It was so nice to share this time with Theresa, today. I gave her a pony-ride in the desert, and I think she really enjoyed herself. She took this photo of me and a short video of us trotting up the power-line trail. The video didn't turn out too good. Cali is still acting 'ouchy' on the rocks even though her hooves feel like concrete. Once we are on the asphalt she walks out just fine. I'll just keep taking it slowly until she travels on the rocks without being tentative. We found a big blue tarp in the desert, and she walked across it after checking it over for a moment. Theresa led the way on foot as I rode Calico. She was so cute, the way she followed Theresa through the landscape, with her chin nearly resting on Theresa's shoulder. I'm so glad she came, we needed this time together.

Back Home

After a rejuvenating time with my horse, I have to come back to my other life. This is a couple of blocks from my house. I'm a down-towner.

Tack adaptations

Calicorice
Check out the new saddle bags! I know, it's the same one every endurance rider has, but I'm stoked. I'm not sure two water bottles is enough, though.

One of the things I've noticed as I'm riding, is that I feel separated from my horse. I've always ridden in an english saddle, but I bought the saddle I have now for the price. It's basically a western saddle without the horn. It's heavier than I'd like, but it's comfortable and it fits Cali, and the price was right. I've mentioned in an earlier post, that I changed to endurance stirrups. Yesterday, I removed the fenders from the saddle and replaced them with english leathers. This is much better. I can feel Cali with my legs now. I was having to rely on my reins to steer her before, now I can use my leg cues more effectively. The only problem is the leathers are one inch wide and the top of the stirrup is closer to three inches. I'll have to make a little modification there, but I'm still thinking about it. It's working for now. I'll have to get a respectable saddlepad at some point, but that's not the next item in my spending plan. She looks a little muleish in this picture; I think it's that long lovely face and those exotic eyes. I hope to have a mule someday. I'd call it Juniper. Her braids make me think of black licorice. Yum.

Steady Progress

Power-line Road

It's been one month since I first started keeping a conditioning log. Although our progress is slow, I'm happy to say that Calico and I have covered over 50 miles. I've been riding some nearly every day. On days I can't ride, I still spend time grooming her and handling her feet and doing TTeam touches and stretches. Some days we just do arena work, but I've really tried to get her out on the trail as much as possible.

On June 15th, we met our intermediate goal of a 6 mile ride with some trotting. I found a power-line trail, a gravel road and we just took off. This trail goes all the way out to Kyle Canyon Rd, once you cross the 215 beltway. It was so fun and Cali did great. Then we trotted cross-country on the 'cactus town' terrain, then we went over a few large dirt mounds left by construction sites. (hillwork, right?) We went into a little wash or 'arroyo', in Spanish, and she had to jump up about two feet to get out. We even crossed the Grand Canyon! Grand Canyon Parkway that is, a fairly busy street, and I rode her all the way back home to the gate. I was thrilled and honored to be carried by such a splendid creature.