No hail for hammer

This pic was taken from the same spot as the top pic in my last post--two days later when it was not getting ready to hail. Way more to see huh? It is a pretty high point.
This is what baby Hammer looks like on day 3 of hard riding. He got better and better every single day. There was nothing he could have done better.
I never had to worry about him worrying the reins when he was tied for a break, because he was too tired!


Isn's he darling? I never thought I would be able to say this, but this one even tops Radar on his first hard trail ride. Someone will have a handy little horse when he gets a new home---any takers? You won't be able to throw anything at him on the trail that he will not take in stride. He will hop logs, climb out of steep ravines--he will drop his little butt and shimmy down the side of a cliff like he has done it a million times--and when he slipped in one, he burn the hide off his fetlocks and still has not even told me about it. He is a stoic sort, and I sure did not expect that from him. He thinks he is big--and thereby able to climb out of creeks like the other horses, even when the edge is almost over his head. And then by God, he does it, even if he has to crawl on his knees to get up it. I could not be more shocked by him, I swear.

The area is much prettier when the sun is shining, isn't it?
Hammer went up and down this washed out climbing spot---I admit that on the way down, I shut my eyes, laid back and let him go--hoping he could handle the weight shifts and be sure footed about it. He did it better than the other horses, and I do not think he considered for a second not doing it. Going back up, he just dug down and got after it, and the only side effect was my lost hornbags who could not handle the angle
There seem to be a lot of pics of roads here, and we rarely even ride on a fire road. This year's rain has worn out some of our regular paths, so that they are just rutted gravel--far more slickery than the rougher terrain we are used to.
This was a rare moment when Hawk was not torturing Jodi by rubbing his head on her to scratch. He is a scratchy dude. They got along fine--she liked him. As she said, he is a bit of an asshole, but he rides nice so she liked him. He comes across as such a thug and I do not know why, as he really is not--and he is so brave, I swear he holds his breath and just throws himself into any new challenge. I do not think he has any fear about anything either.

Here, he was asking Head if he could maybe have a drink of beer. I do not know how he made out on that deal. I suppose if Hawk really wanted it, he would have knocked Head off his perch and taken it.

Linda has a long horse--it makes it easier to get phone reception in the wilderness. Even out there, there is always something demanding attention back home--so thank goodness The Dirty Cowboy knows how to hook her up with a high point to take a phone call.



Radar rode only on Monday, and that is when we realized that he and Hammer have to share a headstall for their bitty heads. I was not about to give it up, so Barry had to make do with a closer fit. Not very close at all, actually--about a half inch too long, and the buckles on the throat latch thing were missing. Because we are fancy, Barry tied it in a knot under Radar's jaw--which of course would not stay. There was no curb chain either--so this poor feller was in a bit of a snit about his ill-fitting equipment. He and Barry do not get along like Radar and I do, so they argued for a while, until they reached a truce. And now I have an excuse to shop some more!

Look how far down on his head that browband is--pathetic, huh? He is still awfully pretty, but I guess we might as well admit that he will always wear a yearling halter and have to have his headstalls adapted to fit his pea head. I guess there are worse problems.

We had a great weekend, and there are more pics to go through, but if I waited to post until I was recovered, it would never happen.

I love these weekends with Headleys and Jodi, and various other people that come along-- they rejuvenate me. I am lucky to have friends like this to spend time with, and lucky to have a constant supply of home grown babies that make me happy to be around, and ride. What more could anyone ask for?

Hail for Hammer

This was the scene of the high point of our trail ride today--right before all hell broke loose. We had a lot of hangups getting ourselves to the campground today, but finally got here three hours later than anticipated. We hurried as fast as we could to saddle up and get out, since our friends had been waiting forever.

We should have know something would go berserk, as we had driven through off and on monsoons all morning to get here--but it had only sprinkled here.

Hammer got off the trailer a little shaky and a lot scared, but we did not have time to indulge that. He was immediately hooked to a picket line for his first time, so we could unload the trailer, etc. He did GREAT. Honestly, that was what worried me the most--picket lines are something we take for granted, but we are bound to eventually have a young colt that takes exception. Somehow, by the grace of God--today was not that day. Anyone who placed money on that deal---you will collect from me, because I sure did not see it going that easily.


Anyway, we went to the scene of the most infamous trailriding crime of my time--the place where Haida Girl hauled balls years ago, leaving me stranded miles from camp, on a bluff high above the Shawnee. We arrived, and I am not exaggerating, the second we got off our horses, I took this photo.

This was at about 3 pm. Brightest part of the day, on one of the highest points in the Shawnee. If you could see this on a regular day, you would see hills and bluffs for maybe 50 miles--but this storm was a doozy. We started out hiding in the trees and commenting on how easy it was to avoid the raindrops. That did not last long. Before we knew it, it was hailing and blowing and raining so hard, I was soaked through to my drawers within minutes. And it showed no sign of letting up.

We had no choice but to head back to camp in that mess--we were freezing and the rain was coming down so hard that previously hard packed trails had water running down them the wrong way. We made it back in about 45 minutes--but they were a long 45 minutes!

I could not have been more proud of Hammer. He hesitated at nothing. Mud? No issue. Logs? If they were below belly level, he never even hesitated. He did not need to be up anyone's butt, he was content to be left behind by hundreds of yards, he did not blindly follow the horse in front of him ( a pet peeve of mine)--he was just outstanding. My little scaredy cat acted like a seasoned pro. I felt as safe as if I had been on one of the oldsters who have done it a hundred times. On top of all that, he was as happy as I have ever seen a young one faced with all these challenges the first time.

Right now, I am outside the trailer at a picnic table--watching him on the picket line--which is also okay with him. He did not even have the initial trouble all babies have when trying to eat from a mobile hay bag--he figured that bad boy out with the first bite. Right now, it is strung across his back--about twice as scary as the rope that he got wonky last week after his bath that caused him to attack the barn wall, and yet he is not even bothered by it. I could not be more proud of him, I swear it.

I am psyched about tomorrow--if riding in a hail storm does not phase him, I feel a whole lot more secure in him than I had ever anticipated I would at this stage of the game. I am so psyched for tomorrow. Hopefully, there will be no more hail. The charm of that has passed.

Weekend in the woods

Try as we might, we cannot quite get everything together at the same time. We got out of town a little after 4 pm on Friday and arrived at the campground around 5:30. Jodi and Ed had been there all afternoon, so were set up and relaxing. We were surprised to see how busy the campground was--we have gotten a little spoiled in that we have quite often had it mostly to ourselves over the past year, since our friend bought it. The word is out though that it is open, and it was pretty busy.


We hung out and had dinner and talked all nite. We expected Amy and Burt to arrive from Chicago Friday nite, but they hit a snag of some sort, and did not get in until Saturday afternoon. Linda and Randy arrived Saturday morning. We had a nice ride--not long, maybe 3 hours or so on Saturday afternoon.


I rode Gyro, because she is delightful. And after this, none of the pics will make any sense.


This Great Pyr came to visit on Sunday. I thought he was swell.

Amy brought her pack of dogs. This is Bopper.
Every time the dogs got a chance, they got their short asses right back in the Denali. Evidently, camping is not the best thing in their world--they prefer leather seats to sleeping in a tent.
This is Jodi, looking like she has been caught in a thunderstorm, because she had in fact been caught in a thunderstorm. Our Sunday ride went off the rails a bit, as it looked like the rain was over. It most certainly was not.
Only Eddie had a reasonable raincoat. I of course, had nothing, and was soaked to the skin.
Look how wet all the horses are. I had to use the flash too, as the skies were so dark.
Poor Amy had on a sweater, I cannot imagine how unpleasant that felt.

I did not mind the rain so much, it was actually kind of fun.
This is what Jodi looks like when she is not caught in a thunderstorm. Her horse is a pretty good boy too.
Here, you can kind of see Tequila's ouchies. And that her ass is shaved, so that her wounds could be treated. She discovered the couch in the trailer, but honestly, she was as happy having the mid tack and stud stall to herself--she could come and go and had two rooms to choose from. Not a bad way to live.
This is Barry and Head at the initial tree. We always stop here for a snack break.
Who knew that Bocephus had been there?
It was at this stop that Gyro got up close and personal with this tree. She spent the longest time trying to get it in just the right place to scratch her itchies--which evidently involved her udder or something else personal. I don't think you can see her face well enough to know how much she was enjoying this episode. We watched her do this for several minutes, moving that tree all over the place. When she got done, she picked up her off hind leg and tried to get it out of there--that required hopping on her other leg all the way around the tree. She never got the least bit bothered by any of it--she is a good girl, and kept us laughing for a while.
This is the big Weed. His real name is Tumble Weed. we mostly call him the Weed. When he is bad, he is the called Dick Weed. This weekend, he was regular Weed, which is nice.
I did not get many scenery shots, as I thought I would have time on Sunday--and then the down pour started, so I mostly have pics of rain, and a few rocks in the rain. That kind of sucks
This is Tequila acting like a good girl. She was an angel all weekend, and she is feeling very good. It does my heart good.
Ah--finally proof that it did not rain the entire weekend. This is Linda and the Dirty Cowboy. Saturday was hot and humid and other than it making me sweaty, it was really nice.
Barry rode Hawk on Saturday. Hawk got cut from the team last year, as he was pretty solid and did not need the work, and got bratty about the trailer. It was time for that to end though, so he was back in the lineup. He was excellent. Did not take a wrong step, was great about the trailer, and was all around swell in every single way. We were thrilled since he has been off so dang long--like a year or so--which is a long time for a young horse. Barry loves him.


I kinda like him my own self. He is such a handsome boy. He is going to make someone a great horse---if someone would just step up and buy him. You could not ask for more in a young horse with as little work as he has had--he is just such an athlete, but laid back enough to get along with everyone.

This is Barry's favorite activity on these weekends---sitting. He did not ride on Sunday, opting instead to go mountain biking, but he did not get to do that either due to the rain. So he sat and rested. I take my resting in the form of a nap--I slept so long Saturday evening, I missed dinner. I only was down for an hour or so on Sunday when Darrell and Paula showed up and I never ever ever miss the Logan show. You just cannot make that stuff up, so I got up for that adventure.
The other swell thing of this trip as baby Junior---Eddie and Jodi's pup. Is he not the cutest thing ever?

Another weekend in the woods

It was cold this weekend, so we built a fire as soon as we got settled in camp Friday nite. Headleys had some family issues arise, so it was just Barry, Mom and me, plus Emily, Jessie, Adrianna and her brother, Alexander, who arrived just before us. We had a great dinner of italian beef that mom made, then some ribs, pineapple, tomato salad and cheesy potatoes that Adrianna brought. We talked a while, then read and just enjoyed the fresh air. It was a relaxing night, after the initial trepidation about where in the campground our trailer could fit.

Verdict--one good spot in the area we like, that will allow us to make the turns to get into it---



The leaves are changing, and this is such a beautiful area. We are so lucky to have it just an hour away.

Jodi and Ed arrived a little before 10 am Saturday morning, so we had some breakfast, and took our time saddling up for the ride. Too much time, as there was a disaster or two in the making. We mounted up and went to Adrianna's cabin to get them. As we waited, we played around in the pasture--Target calmed down pretty quickly, and we remarked on how well he was learning patience, which he needs to work on. Barry had previously talked to another group who wanted to ride with us, since they did not know the trails. As they arrived in our area, something still unknown set Target off. The next thing we knew, he was bucking from a stand still--and I do not mean a little bucking, he was dead serious, throwing in a lunge and really getting some air. He bucked like a mad man, as we all sat there dumb-founded.

The other group had two loose dogs with them. By the third buck or so, the little rott was on Target's ass---barking and chasing as he bucked himself across America---a few bucks later, Barry voluntarily dismounted. I have no idea how he stayed on that long...I sure had no idea he was that kind of cowboy. This was big time rodeo bucking.

And it was not over. With the dog still on his heels, Target bucked two huge circles--pretty circles, worthy of the reining pen, they were so uniform. He bucked the whole way. I have never seen anything like that. By the third pass, he was simmering down into a lope, but he could not stop as the dog was still chasing and barking.

What was his owner doing, you ask? NOTHING. Barry said later that from his vantage point on the ground, he saw that her horse set to bucking as well--which suited me just fine, as she made no attempt to control her damn dog who had no business loose with other horses. There were four or five people with the dog girl and they too did nothing.

By the time Targ was making his big circles, Radar was dancing--he was scared to death. Eventually, Target came to Radar and stopped snugged in close to us. Rad was still hopping around and I was trying to figure out where to grab Target--his reins were twisted up around his ears, and I was a little anxious to get out of the center of the saddle, for fear I would get dumped too. As usual, it was Jodi to the rescue and she got Target's reins--by that time, he was shaking in his boots, and Barry was getting up.

He is tougher than he looks, as got back on Target and we set off in the other direction--shed of the wild dog group, thanks. I do not even think they said they were sorry. As we headed that way, Radar finally blew and went straight up. Do not ask me why, I think he just could not take it anymore. We went back to the trailer, and put him in a snaffle bit--he has been out of that almost a year, but his Myler combo bit was clearly pissing him clean off. We proceeded as normal after that, and things got back to normal.


Today, just Jodi and I went out for a short ride together, and Fred determined that when he is in the lead, he is anti-markers on the side of the road. All he did was snort it and look at it funny, but I like to mark these occasions to recall when my horses act a fool.

This is one of the caves we stopped at yesterday--we had lunch there.

My pics are all out of whack, but blogger is not cooperating. This is Fred having a snack.
The tie-line at camp.
The picnic table. Yeah, this is not interesting, is it?
Radar needs a haircut. Maybe this will remind me to tend to that--he looks silly and I think he is embarrassed.
See how contrite Target looks here? He was likely hoping that Barry does not leave him out there to die, after his little episode.
Mom and Jodi--interesting facial expressions, aren't they?




The scene of the explosion, just before it happened.
I do not think Radar is ever tied anywhere without doing something goofy with his reins. Maybe he was showing off that he is back in his snaffle bit
Twist wants everyone to know that he was the good one.
Barry, about an hour post-pitching, with his admirers and their mother. He was self-medicating. I think he needed help to get up--his ankle is hurt, as is his hip and his butt, and he has bruises he does not understand on his inner thigh. If he had as much experience getting pitched as I do, he would know full well those are horn and pommel bruises---he is lucky he has me to tell him these things.


You can see from these photos how the trails are covered up pretty well by leaves. And it is loud to ride through it, but with temps in the mid 60s, it really was beautiful riding--I will take that over 100 degree rides all day long.



We rode about 4-4.5 hours and made it back to camp for dinner. Ed still cannot ride since his shoulder surgery, so he polish the aluminum on his trailer and just relaxed. Then he got stuck grilling dinner, which was steaks and chicken and a whole pile of Adrianna's food. I was too worn out to eat. Linda and Randy were still hoping to come down, but things worked against them. They did come down for dinner and brought pizza and hung out for a few hours. By 8 pm we were all practically nodding off in our chairs, and by 9 we were all retired to bed. I stuck it out long enough to watch Saturday Night Live, but not even all of that, I do not think.


And now, for real, I am sending in my power shot to be cleaned and fixed as most of these photos really suck.