While I’m not physically packing for Lake Almanor, I am most definitely packing and repacking for it in my mind. I am much more anxious and stressed out this week before the race than last time, but that is mostly to do with outside factors (our bank account getting hacked into AGAIN etc) and if I stop and really think about it all the horse aspects and the race itself should be A okay and fun. I just can’t wait to be there already. The husband suddenly decided he wanted to leave tomorrow (Thursday) instead of the usual Friday; it will probably be nice to get up there early and get a prime camping spot and be able to relax before the race, but its just making me more squirrelly because he is off in the truck (which I need to pack, not a big deal but I am seriously uptight about plans and packing) and our animal/plant watcher isn’t even back in town yet. I know, I know, it will all work out. Just breathe.
I got up this morning and was showered, saddled, and out the gate in 20 minutes! I know I’m fast but that seemed speedy even for me. We left about 6:20 and rode up the steep hills to the top of the ridge and back, about a 6 mile ride. Some jerk on a dirtbike came FLYING down the narrow dirt road at least 40 mph and not only didn’t slow down but actually pinned it wide open past us! Poor Blaze spooked a little but not bad but MAN was I furious! There is absolutely no reason, not even an emergency, to not at least slow down a little when passing a horse, but to just fly on by on a narrow little road like that…ohhh man I am still pissed off right now. If I wasn’t on the nearest thing to a bombproof horse it could have gone badly for me, not that he would have known since he would have already been a mile down the road as I was getting bucked off or something.
Anyhow the plan is to pack at some point, animal/house watcher to show up at some point, hoping my new bank card shows up at some point..and somehow we are leaving tomorrow for the Lake Almanor ride…

Well today Sheza filly made a gate in the fence where no gate had previously been before! That’s right folks, at nearly 4 months old we finally had our first wild foal adventure. My farrier came up this morning (that’s right, MY farrier comes on Sunday mornings! hahah don’t know why but I’ll take it!) and put new shoes on Blaze fronts. I pulled Desire for the farrier and since I have been riding her for short periods without the filly I thought it would be okay to just pull her for a quick trim and leave the filly. Well I thought wrong, as evidenced by the filly running full tilt at the fence and crashing into it. She hit it right next to where it connected to the gate post and the fence just popped free of its staples– she somersaulted through it and was up and hauling ass around the yard in a matter of about 2 seconds! It was quite a sight. She doesn’t have a scratch on her, thank the maker. We all stood staring with our mouths open for about a minute and then went into management mode. Luckily she was just in the still-fenced part of the yard so we swung the gate closed and stationed the hound dog at the one open corner so she was fully enclosed again. She trotted around trumpeting like a little wild beast and Desire just stood in the cross ties getting her feet trimmed, didn’t bat an eye, didn’t even whinny back! Truly amazing behavior I think, wouldn’t most mothers be frantic or at least interested in their baby throwing a complete shit fit? I am VERY glad Desire doesn’t buy into it, she is one cool customer. Once the farrier left I tied the mare just outside the gate of where the filly was and then proceeded to try to catch and halter the filly. I didn’t feel like just letting her re unite with her mom and nurse after that behavior was right so we spent 20 minutes playing touch-me-not on one side of the gate while mom cleaned up hay scraps on the other side. I was pretty frustrated when finally the filly started to quiet down and then, and this is quite funny and true, our friend, who had been watching this whole chain of events, said “never underestimate the African Zulu trick” and started wiggling his fingers and making twilight zone noises at the filly who proceeded to walk right up to me and let me halter her. We did a little walk around the property, the fence was quickly repaired, and now all horses are home safe in their respective pastures. So people, the lesson here is: Never underestimate the African Zulu trick!

That’s about what I was thinking as I was bunny-hopping–I mean, cantering, around the arena on Desire this evening. She was a bit worked up and isn’t in shape so I don’t think its a great representation of her true canter out on the trail but it was pretty hilarious as she took these BOING-BOING strides around the arena. It wasn’t actually hard to sit you just had to let yourself go fully with the momentum of up and down. She is a little hard to figure out, I feel like her brain is off somewhere in the distance and and she is only tuned into being a saddle horse with about 60% of her attention. She does what is needed and isn’t particularly difficult but I don’t entirely like the feeling of her being so “checked out.” I am really curious to have my horse trainer friend come ride her and see what she thinks. I confess I am so used to Blaze that I am having to re-discover what its like to ride someone new, but I really think Desire is somewhat on a distant plane in her mind. Of course I don’t feel like I will truly know her until we are out on the trail since that is my (and I suspect her) true element. I tried to recruit the husband to ride Blaze and I would ride the mare and pony filly for our first ponying journey out into the world but he begged off and went fishing. I am getting a little frustrated as I really want to take this next step with the filly and just don’t feel that its safe to go off alone for the first time. I guess I will have to try to schedule my horse trainer friend to come out and help me, if possible.
Anyhow I had a fun be-bop around the arena with the mare, her fly bites are healing nicely and the War Paint protects them from re-irritation. I did put a thick gauze pad over the one that lies right where the girth runs and duct taped it on just in case the girth rubbed it since it wasn’t 100% healed and it seemed to work just fine.
Must be time for some ice cream!

This morning my husband and I decided to do some carpooling, since the fishing hole he goes to every morning (or evening, depending) abuts the riding trails at the lake. We left around 6 and after a stop for ice I was in the saddle by 7. He went off to meet some friends and fish and I headed down the cool canyon where the sun wouldn’t reach us for a few hours. We rode Sycamore hill and I walked/jogged halfway up it and all the way down, then we looped back around to the gravel road and were technically almost at the trailer but I took a higher trail, crossed the highway, and added a few more miles winding along the hillside. About 2 miles from looping back around to the trailer Blaze threw his front right shoe! I had just been telling myself this morning it was time to call the farrier–speaking of, doing that right now before I forget again! Okay, left messages–and then the shoe went zinging off. I have my fingers crossed he will be able to run up and throw front shoes on Blaze before next Friday when we leave for Lake Almanor! Oh man, I hope he isn’t out of town…okay, let the paranoia cycle begin. I never believe a farrier will shoe until I see the whites of his eyes, and I still have that feeling ingrained despite my farrier being thus far great and reliable.
Anyhow I walked Blaze back to the trailer with only one shoe left ( we call him Shoeless Joe) and then untacked, sponged B, and took him for a walk over to the fishing hole to scare up the husband. We did some fancy footwork to get around a rock barricade (sure your motorcycles might not make it but my Arab mountain goat will!) and found the man who had a successful morning of fishing. All in all a great way to carpool and start the day!

..and its 90 degrees in the shade. After a week of about 50 degrees and drizzle my system is in a bit of shock. I gave a friend a ride this morning so an hour and a half of my four hour drive went quickly. My cell phone won’t charge and the battery died and my iPod was dead as well, no charger. Boy, am I gadget dependent or something? A week without my DVR, I tell ya…okay, actually it was really fun and I loved hanging out with my brothers and reading a bunch (Dance with Dragons, yeahhhh!) and didn’t miss the t.v. at all. I DID miss my horses though. Oh yeah and the husband 😉 I should really go love on the horses but it is nasty out there right now and I am very hot and tired. My husband’s birthday presents came (3 sizes of skillets) and I brought home our mountain lion archery target my family brought from Maine..my husband loves to shoot his bow and I have been meaning to bring it to him for a year or so! I tend to forget something EVERY time I go home to my parents house. I got to meet my new nephew, first child of my brother who lives down south. The happiest, most smiley baby I have ever seen!
I went for a ride with a friend and rode a Quarter Horse for the first time in…YEARS, anyway. Oh, probably back when I worked as a trail guide on the coast, there were a few QHs there. I can’t wait to get back on my zippy little Blazey boy. Lake Almanor ride is next weekend! It will be here in no time.
Oh man its 5 pm and the couch is calling my name, I am hot and sleepy.

Made the drive over to the coast yesterday (and my truck survived, hooray!). It was hard to leave the fantastic temperate weather at home but my brother and his wife and new baby are making their first journey and will be here for the weekend for a friend’s wedding and a mini family re union on our end. We haven’t all been together in ages so it was a can’t-miss event. The fog is burning off here and I see blue sky, which is great! Here’s hoping the weather cooperates the family BBQ Saturday afternoon.
I am already itching to get my hands on a horse and I’ve been away from mine for a day! I truly felt a moment of panic when I realized I hadn’t brought my riding helmet along, you know, just in case there was a horse somewhere here that needed riding! A friend emailed me and needs help getting a horse she used to own (who now lives near us) back into her possession, so after I okay it with the husband and get back home I may be picking up an Arab (I’ve actually ridden him before too) and boarding him for a couple of weeks until the owner returns to the country. I might be riding him on the second day of the Mendo Magic ride in August too, if he is fit enough! Anyway, off to be social and can’t wait to ride a horse, any horse, very soon!