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Oct. 1st, 2005 11:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickHorse events today. They could have gone better -- this was not one of our better efforts.
This morning La and Cass and I set out with Sphinx, Chelsea, Eikon, Ginger, and Sassafras for LynnAnn's. La and I rode&led, Cass just rode. We got there in a timely fashion. We came back. We got Kova, Absolut, Elklin, Nick, and Lynn's Red Horse what Lynn (not the same as LynnAnn) will still not ride. Liss and La rode&led, while Cass just rode. I drove the vehicle (with tack, accessories, and Boo) over. That went reasonably well. And then Melinda came to say that she couldn't get her two horses on her trailer.
Two and a half hours and one search party later, we left to go on the ride with fewer people than we had planned on. Sphinx, Kova, Eikon, Absolut, and Sassafras were ridden by people who did not ride and that's always a thing of beauty and a joy forever, I gotta say. Liss took Elklin (and Boo), I took Nick, Cass took Chelsea. La went off with Melinda to play trailer loading. Brittany and her brother rode Cavvy, Brittany's horse. LynnAnn took Rayma, Bruce took Reunite, and Anna took Honey. We went up the mountain.
LynnAnn's kids (Anna and Bruce) had trouble keeping up with our walk because their horses are older than dirt. LynnAnn couldn't really keep Rayma slowed down enough to stay with them because Rayma's young and does not like to be left behind. She kept turning Rayma in circles and her synthetic, crappy saddle slipped around Rayma's barrel so LynnAnn came off. At that point, Reunite turned for home and took off with Bruce, whose mind went totally blank so that he was entirely incapable of stopping Reunite. *sigh*
LynnAnn and Bruce turned for home, then, LynnAnn on foot and leading her horse in front of Bruce's horse so that she could get him stopped in the evenf of an emergency. Anna decided to persevere and continue on the ride which is kind of odd for Anna -- she's not much of a horse person.
Honey is too old for these rides. She's a small pony, woefully out of shape, well past twenty, and incapable of doing anything but the shortest rides anymore. She had a great deal of difficulty going up the mountain last year. This year she had even more difficulty and we didn't go all the way up. When we turned around to come home (daylight was fading), Anna got off and led her most of the way down the mountain. That didn't help. Honey was panting like a dog (this is not normal for horses). Finally we tied her to a tree and agreed to come back for her later. Anna walked the rest of the way home. When we got to the house, La and Melinda had managed to load the two horse and they'd arrived. Er. Yay. Whatever. We had a cookout. Liss went up the hill to check on Honey and she returned with the news that Honey was down and would not stand up. This is not good. Honey was also covered in a cold sweat and still panting. They took her a blanket and some water. We made arrangements to get a trailer up the mountain and to, if necessary, drag Honey bodily onto the trailer for hauling out. Seeing as how the trail was not really vehicle-friendly, this was pretty heroic measures. Anyway, when we got there with the trailer (about an hour since the blanket-and-water trip), she was standing, breathing pretty well, and seemed a lot perkier. We loaded her on the trailer and brought her home.
I am of the firm opinion that Honey needs to be retired from trails even if she is the only damn thing Anna will ride. So Anna doesn't like or trust other horses. Fine. So Anna doesn't ride. Fine. I don't think it would do Anna any good to think that she rode Honey to death, either.
Anyway, a simple, basic trail ride expanded to fill my entire Saturday. It could have gone better.
This morning La and Cass and I set out with Sphinx, Chelsea, Eikon, Ginger, and Sassafras for LynnAnn's. La and I rode&led, Cass just rode. We got there in a timely fashion. We came back. We got Kova, Absolut, Elklin, Nick, and Lynn's Red Horse what Lynn (not the same as LynnAnn) will still not ride. Liss and La rode&led, while Cass just rode. I drove the vehicle (with tack, accessories, and Boo) over. That went reasonably well. And then Melinda came to say that she couldn't get her two horses on her trailer.
Two and a half hours and one search party later, we left to go on the ride with fewer people than we had planned on. Sphinx, Kova, Eikon, Absolut, and Sassafras were ridden by people who did not ride and that's always a thing of beauty and a joy forever, I gotta say. Liss took Elklin (and Boo), I took Nick, Cass took Chelsea. La went off with Melinda to play trailer loading. Brittany and her brother rode Cavvy, Brittany's horse. LynnAnn took Rayma, Bruce took Reunite, and Anna took Honey. We went up the mountain.
LynnAnn's kids (Anna and Bruce) had trouble keeping up with our walk because their horses are older than dirt. LynnAnn couldn't really keep Rayma slowed down enough to stay with them because Rayma's young and does not like to be left behind. She kept turning Rayma in circles and her synthetic, crappy saddle slipped around Rayma's barrel so LynnAnn came off. At that point, Reunite turned for home and took off with Bruce, whose mind went totally blank so that he was entirely incapable of stopping Reunite. *sigh*
LynnAnn and Bruce turned for home, then, LynnAnn on foot and leading her horse in front of Bruce's horse so that she could get him stopped in the evenf of an emergency. Anna decided to persevere and continue on the ride which is kind of odd for Anna -- she's not much of a horse person.
Honey is too old for these rides. She's a small pony, woefully out of shape, well past twenty, and incapable of doing anything but the shortest rides anymore. She had a great deal of difficulty going up the mountain last year. This year she had even more difficulty and we didn't go all the way up. When we turned around to come home (daylight was fading), Anna got off and led her most of the way down the mountain. That didn't help. Honey was panting like a dog (this is not normal for horses). Finally we tied her to a tree and agreed to come back for her later. Anna walked the rest of the way home. When we got to the house, La and Melinda had managed to load the two horse and they'd arrived. Er. Yay. Whatever. We had a cookout. Liss went up the hill to check on Honey and she returned with the news that Honey was down and would not stand up. This is not good. Honey was also covered in a cold sweat and still panting. They took her a blanket and some water. We made arrangements to get a trailer up the mountain and to, if necessary, drag Honey bodily onto the trailer for hauling out. Seeing as how the trail was not really vehicle-friendly, this was pretty heroic measures. Anyway, when we got there with the trailer (about an hour since the blanket-and-water trip), she was standing, breathing pretty well, and seemed a lot perkier. We loaded her on the trailer and brought her home.
I am of the firm opinion that Honey needs to be retired from trails even if she is the only damn thing Anna will ride. So Anna doesn't like or trust other horses. Fine. So Anna doesn't ride. Fine. I don't think it would do Anna any good to think that she rode Honey to death, either.
Anyway, a simple, basic trail ride expanded to fill my entire Saturday. It could have gone better.
