Archives for 2019

After a fairly lazy morning, and checking out Apollo's legs for any gimpiness, it seems that he just might be a bit stiff from standing around so long, I decided to saddle him up and just take him for a short ride. He was reluctant, but I think that was partly because it was so late in the day (as if he was going to miss dinner!), and maybe partly because of his stiffness, but with some gentle persuasion I managed to get him moving. He improved somewhat once we got out of camp, and I didn't really see any signs of limping, so I think it's just stiffness from standing on a highline for so many days in a row. We stayed within the park today, picking up a couple of trails I had missed previously, like along the utility easement and a short one that's not even on the map (go figure!), for just about an hour before we made it back to camp. Just as we were passing a pile of dirt and a building next to the camp, two deer suddenly bolted in front of us, which, naturally, made Apollo jump, but I managed to hand on, so damage done! Got our adrenaline going, though! Got back to camp and settled down for the evening. Several regulars here showed up tonight, early for the weekend, so we had several chats during the afternoon and evening. Another beautiful day reminiscent of my childhood days at the cottage!

Woke up to another gorgeous day, and since I had a day off from caregiving, I went on a long ride on Flash. The only con to this place is the lack of trails. The ones they have are nice, but there is only about an hour or so of riding if you take every trail in the park. You have to get off the property to get to more trails, and even that's pretty boring. I've noticed some people will take the trail toward Malabar, then make a big loop around a crop field a few miles out and come back again on the same trail. But Flash and I were both ready for a long ride today, so we headed out on the same linear trail to Malabar and kept going. I found one alternative trail to take that added a new trail experience, then later found the trail up to the Jeez overlook, which is the highest point around. Hubby and I had already driven out there, but I wanted to make it on horseback and we had no problem getting up to it. Passed a couple of bikers going in, but it was quiet at the summit when we got there. Beautiful view of the surrounding area, including the lake in the distance. Flash was in the mood to go, go, go today, and we did over 16 miles in less than 3.5 hours, averaging 4.7 miles per hour according to my mapping program. We did quite a bit of cantering along the fields as well as gaiting through the forest. He loves to move, this horse! And yet when we got back, the only sweat was under the saddle pad, just as it should be! Good horse! Great ride! Settled down for the afternoon reading and napping, a really fantastic day!

Hubby felt strong enough for a ride this morning, so I saddled up the horses and headed out on the trail. We did all the same trails we had done before, plus I added a loop on the white trail that wasn't too rough for him, and we ended up going over 3 miles, taking just over an hour. He was a bit tired by the end, but he did great, considering this was the longest ride he's been on in a while! On one section of the trail, there were a couple of young deer that just stood there watching us, and when we stopped to watch them, one actually stepped bravely toward us, giving us a great view! Got back to camp and started his dialysis afterward, had a bit of trouble with his access today, sorry to say it seems to be closing up again already, the venous clogged and we had to stop early, only getting about half the session in. Sigh. Looks like we'll have to schedule a de-clogging procedure before long, sorry to say. Oh, well, comes with the territory! Had a relaxing evening, expecting it to be a busy weekend, so we're enjoying the quiet while we can!

We both got another excellent night sleep, now that the heat wave was pushed out by yesterday's storms, and the temps and humidity are way down. Hubby woke up ready to go on a ride, so after a glass of juice, I saddled up the horses and got going. We essentially did the same trail as before only backward, with the addition of a section of purple trail I hadn't found before, but discovered when I took Lola for her walk this morning. We cut out a small section of the white trail, so the ride was only 2.8 miles and under an hour, but it suited him just fine. If he rides more often it will make up for it. I'm hoping he'll be able to go every morning before he dialyzes, which will make it every other day, so that should strengthen him up. Again, he was able to climb on Apollo from the bench of the picnic table, and I only had to give him the smallest bit of help getting his leg back over when he was getting off, so he keeps improving, yay! It was a lovely ride, perfect weather, fabulous day! Got back, put the horses away and got him dialyzing pretty early, so we should have a nice quiet night tonight. Folks have been pulling out all day and by suppertime, it was empty again, thank goodness. Not that we don't like people, mind you, we just like being on our own a little better. No need to compromise or make the effort to be tolerant of other's odd ways. Looking forward to a quiet week!