We Came for the Horses

 

Before I go any further, we must remember, we came for the horses.  I suppose there are many reasons people might go to a ranch experience, but my primary purpose was to be in the world of horses for as long as possible.  So, Monday morning, we drove the mile back down the dirt road to the corral where the trail rides begin.  I had explained that we were riders, but I guess most people say they are, so they wanted to see what we actually could do.  We went on one of their one hour rides along the river to test our skill.  

The first challenge was to see if Mom would be able to mount a horse and sit without major pain and cramping.  Well, they brought her a big gray gelding named Klondike who turned out to be a walking couch.  He was calm and steady and perfect!  Mom climbed up the mounting platform and swung up into the western saddle and did great!  We were all so happy that she would be able to join in on the fun.  We also found that Wanda recently had back surgery and lost partial use of her leg, so she and Mom were both very happy to be up there.  

Callie rode an amazing paint pony named Cowboy.  I was on Poncho who was stubborn but fun and had a little zip to his personality.  And Mishka was on Martin, who was a slow and steady follower.  I was so very happy to be on horseback.  The western saddles were hard and so different, but nothing could dim my happiness to be out in nature on a horse and away from any care in the world.  

The trail was a really cool path through the trees along the river.  The horses come into a corral during the day to work, but then at night, they get to go out onto the river.  They have a number of acres that eventually are fenced, but they get to roam and run and sleep with their herd in the woods all night.  IT is so special for them to get to be out like that, but they are so exquisitely trained to know that during the day they work.  They can stand tacked up on a fence and just sleep for hours in the heat and then be ready at a moment's notice to go work cattle or rope or do a trail. I was so impressed with their strength, grace and stamina. 

I guess we passed the riding test, because that same afternoon, Tiny (the cowboy) and Brooke (the leader of the trails) said we were ready to move some cattle.  So off we went!