Mud Ranch’s Real Dirt

Last night my riding buddies and I set out on a small trail ride.  I had to hitch a ride with my friend Dixie because Hubby needed the truck and we went down to park at our friend Jenni’s house, and met with our other friend Maleah there. 

Being that all three of my steeds are pretty overweight and definitely not very “in shape” I switch between them to give them a break each week.  This week I took Sunnie out, he’s the least obese out of the three so I knew he wouldn’t have as hard of a time, but still, he lacks the muscles needed for a long ride.  I braided his mane during Annie’s nap time so he’d get some additional ventilation as we rode.  Carrying around a large, thick, black mane can be quite hot in the heat and climbing hills.

We set out on the little country road that Jenni lives on, to meet up with a dirt road that takes off up the mountain side.  I always enjoy starting out with a good climb so that I know most the vinegar has been used up in my horse — Sunnie likes a good buck every now and then.  I believe he enjoys it.

Once we got to the top, we let the horses have a breather.  Dixie was smart enough to wear an orange vest — bow hunting season just started here, and wouldn’t you know it, we came across a forked horn.

Maleah’s arab mare, Tiki, realized that if she just started heading up this hill that home was down the very steeppower line on the other side.  Maleah wasn’t thrilled with the idea of heading down that, so she took over the reins and came back to our side where our horses still caught their breath.  Tiki isn’t exactly very sure footed when sliding down hills.

“Awww Mom, do we really have to keep going?”

Here’s a view from on top of the little mountain we climbed.  There’s the burn directly in front of you, though most of it was from the Lowden fire which was in ‘99.  That mountain used to be covered in thick fir and pine forest — we’ve had the BLM to thank (“control burn” in July!) and this last lady with her cigarette to thank for no more trees (total sarcasm.)  Anyway, you can see that all the little smokes are out, and the red from the bomber planes that I was photographing still stains the land.  My house is over there to the left at the base of the ridge where the land starts to flatten.  My parent’s and Hubby’s parent’s house is out of the picture and far to the right — where the fire started.

We came off the mountain and down on to the main town road that passes my house, then turned down the country road that Jenni lives on — just the opposite side from where we started.  It makes a nice loop!  While we were riding on the mountain we came across four bow hunters which Otter (Jenni’s horse) and Sunnie (my horse) both spooked at.  I think it was strange for them to see, being that the men were wearing camo with regular faces looking out from it.  For their vision, it had to be quite creepy!

Once we got back, Sunnie was quite sweaty but we enjoyed our time together.  He did excellent, my saddle was again super comfortable, and I completely enjoyed my time away from being a Mommy.  A breath of fresh air is always a good thing!  One huge difference between riding Cali and Sunnie is that Sunnie so short backed, where Cali is long.  On Sunnie, I felt like I was driving a little sports car, I can touch his tail and his ears equally.  On Cali, I’m driving a big Cadillac or “tuna boat” — her tail and ears are completely out of reach.  She also goes quite a bit slower.

We girls plan on going again this Thursday, which is our normal riding day — I hope to find something bright to wear so the hunters can see me easier.  Granted, four girls riding together is not a very quiet ordeal.