Perfect Day for a Ride

Cowboy enjoying lunch amid the forget-me-knots

After several weeks of bad weather, holidays and a sick kitty, we finally got the chance to go for a ride yesterday. And what a great day it was! Summer-like weather, blooming hillsides, happy horses--a great lift after a few really bad weeks. The boys have been out on a lot of grass and Cowboy, who is always energetic, was beside himself about the chance for an outing. We started out with a hackamore but within 40 feet of the trailhead he earned a bit after yanking the reins out of my hands grabbing for grass. Much more cooperative, if chagrined, with the bit on! We went up Horse Trail (Pt Reyes), which was awash with blue forget-me-nots and little irises. Got a great view of the point from Sky Trail, although taking the picture was a little challenging with Cowboy being antsy and looking for grass. Finally pointed the camera in the general direction and snapped the shutter.

We tried a new trail, Woodward Valley, that is usually our turning-around spot on Sky Trail. Nice trail! We didn't go far on it as we were running out of time (that's the problem with being the slowest riders on the trail), and turned back before we got to what we hear is a steep drop down to Coast Trail. Then back to the trailer. Cowboy was a happy guy the whole trip and was really making tracks on the way back to the parking lot. No signs of soreness. I've been reading Sally Swift's "Centered Riding 2" and it has really helped me stop bracing in the stirrups, and I think Cowboy's back is much better for it.

Dexter's enjoying lunch, too

We got home safely (the most dangerous part of our rides is the trip to and from the trail) and congratulated ourselves on another successful ride. We know someone whose idea of a successful ride is one where nobody gets hurt, so we've jokingly adopted that as our criteria for success as well. When we unloaded the horses, I was checking out the height of the step down from the trailer, which seemed a bit high, and pulled myself into the trailer at the same time, not noticing that the butt bar was still up. I took it full on the nose, breaking my sunglasses and seeing a lot of stars in the process. So much for success, although technically we were done with the ride at that point, so success or failure is up for debate. Luckily, I seem to have escaped with a red mark on my nose and a mild case of whiplash--no black eye, concussion or broken nose.

Thanks for all the kind expressions of sympathy over the loss of Patches. I've moved from grief to relief that her suffering is over to forgetfulness--I keep looking for the cat when I get the feeling she's missing. Today Laura gave me a clay cast of her pawprint and a bit of her fur (she had been taken to the vet hospital for cremation) so a bit of her will always be here.

That's it for now--enjoy the nice weather this week!