Dark but not Gloomy Trail!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I have been loving my stay at home vacation. I have been sleeping in every day this week and in the afternoon I go over and ride Lilly. I could get used to this!


Tuesday we finally had a day without any form of precipitation. It was glorious. When I arrived at Bill's Christine and Nancy were there with plans to do some ring work. But then decided to head out on the trail. Bucky was up in the barn on crossties while Bill worked on his feet. Isn't he a dear little thing? While he was in the barn the other donkey in the pasture brayed and brayed for him. Adorable. With my Renegade Hoof Boot drama unresolved, I wasn't sure what to do for Lilly's feet. She had been pretty ouchie on Monday even on the softer trail. I told Bill maybe we could put shoes on her until the Renegades came back. So he put some shoes on her on the spot!


Out on the trail, the sunshine was dazzling! And so was the difference with shoes on Lilly's feet. She was so much more comfortable, I could tell as soon as I started riding. Darn those little rocks everywhere that are constantly poking at her! But at least having shoes on has obliterated that problem. I'd like to keep her barefoot, but certainly not at the expense of comfort. So, for now, shoes.

Today, which is Wednesday, the storm clouds were back. I managed to get myself to Bill's in the AM (a very rare feat) to avoid the rain that was coming in the PM. I also wanted to try some bareback riding in the ring. Riding bareback is like sitting on a big comfy cushion. I also like feeling how warm Lilly is beneath me. And it is so much easier to hug her without a saddle horn dislodging my spleen when I lean over. I walked and trotted bareback. Lilly was fine with it. Her behavior is no different saddle or no saddle. After the bareback ring riding, Bill and Cody joined Lilly and me for a trail ride. There are two things to note in the picture above. One is the fabulous pink saddle pad which I finally took to the laundromat to get clean in a triple loader. My fave saddle pad is BACK! And the second noteworthy item in the picture is the saddle Lilly is sporting!


It is Bill's Syd Hill saddle!! Just for kicks, I thought I'd try a different saddle today. Bill has quite the collection. Isn't this one terrific looking? It is also all leather so it is much heavier than my Big Horn. And it is smaller than my Big Horn by one inch. It wasn't as comfy as being on Lilly bareback, but it was not too shabby in the comfort department. Thumbs up, Syd Hill!


It was another dark day on the trail. No sparkling sunshine. We actually had to hurry because Bill had some hay bales out and rain looked imminent. But what is Bill doing up there?


I thought I heard a phone ring in the middle of nowhere! We are lucky that we get service out on the trail! That is Cody Bill is riding. Cody is a gelding but he has been very busy with Glitter and Jody in heat. Busy having fun and wearing himself out.....

Here's that high and nose-tickling hay again. One good thing about the rain: everything is as green as it could possibly be and it looks so lush and gorgeous and smells so good I could die.
We got back to the barn just as it started to sprinkle. How's that for timing?
~~
Here's hoping tomorrow's weather is spectacular!

2 comments:

juliette said...

Keep up the good work with sleeping in and riding in the afternoons. Definitely the way to a long and happy life.
Poor Lilly and her tenderfeet.
We are having a tough time with high hay - too many nibbles and too little riding! Ugh!
How great is it that you got to ride bareback. Lilly is a good girl.
Bucky is a cutey-pie!

Kristen Eleni Shellenbarger said...

What a beautiful ride!! :)

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