Bumps, Scrapes, and Fall

Last Thursday afternoon, I hauled Star and Mercy's butts out to go for a ride. I had already ridden that day ( I rode a friend's horse at her lesson... long story) so I was looking for an easy, quiet ride. When I got the girls to the trailer this is what I found:

Dang it Star. At least it was only a little hide missing and not a gushing bloody mess. Grrr.... It wasn't sensitive at all, so I ignored it, lol! I got Mercy saddled up and headed out. Since I wasn't sure how sore Star still was, we took it slow and only stayed toward the service roads to get to the lake. Of course, we had to take a few trails to get to the roads. The lovely fall colors made up for the huge rocks I tried to avoid, for Star's sake.

We had almost reached the roads when we found our first downed tree. I had forgotten that we did just have a huge weekend of wind and crazy storms, so of course I forgot to being my little saw. I got off and tried to snap a few branches off but the limbs were still 'alive,' making it very difficult to do. I ended up just bending and tucking some back, just enough to get through.

Mercy wasn't too sure about that mess, but she walked over it just fine after getting the chance to lick the moss on it's bark. *sigh*

A little further more and we came across another downed limb. This one wasn't so scary, especially in this serene setting.

The roads were clear of debris, so we were able to really focus on getting to the lake without too much distraction. A pair of ducks were the only other things at the lake. Mercy couldn't keep her eyes off of them. Maybe I seriously need to get some geese or pigeons for her to herd, lol!

if I had let her, I'm sure she would have walked/swam out to them, even though it was not quite swimming weather. Star was interested too, but I think she was mainly thinking about the grass on the other bank.

Making our way to the park we met a nice dog (on a leash!!!!) being reminded she had to 'heel,' even around horses. Then we finally got to the grass. Mercy was being patient, for once, but Star was just awful. She kept walking past my knee (a big no-no) and diving for the grass. So we worked on that for a while. Every time she went past my knee I stopped her and backed her immediately. Once I could stop Mercy and Star would stop and look at us for her next instructions, I let them graze.

After grazing for quite a while, it was time to head back. The rain was coming in fast so we headed into a brisk trot. Didn't last long though... we ran into the good dog again and another, evil dog. "Leo" is a super aggressive mutt that has actually come to our place and harassed our girls. And he is NEVER on a leash. If I was in more of a foul mood I would have told his handler off, but I just wanted to go home. Next time Leo, next time...

We made it home quickly and Star seemed fine when I checked her legs, no heat, swelling, or pain. This was short lived, however. On Saturday her leg was a little swollen again. But this time there wasn't any heat. Ugh.

We wanted to ride and Star seemed willing, so my mom and I headed out. We decided that if she was ouchy in any way, we would dismount and walk home. Well, she was feeling great. Spirit is not a problem for her! It was a murky day, so we both wore our Outbacks and stayed dry. The sun peaked through the clouds for a minute, illuminating the rain drops on vegetation. The appeared to be ice-laden. It was really sparkly!

We followed the creek to the lake, but I wasn't feeling the best and there were a lot of people out walking their dogs, so we headed back home on the roads. There was an amazing breakthrough though! LEO WAS ON A LEASH! The couple walking these dogs were not his owner, but we thanked them repeatedly for leashing the animals in THEIR control, whether it's their dog or not. :)

I guess people can learn...