Archives for September 2024

Hi Sweetie,
An excellent night sleep, a good start to our final day of trail checking. Today it's the white trail, and a mystery from the spring ride was solved. Apparently there are two white trails, the white river trail and the white forest trail. I had been told by several people that the white trail was their favorite, and the only one I knew about was the white river trail, and I didn't particularly like it. Today, however, I was checking the white FOREST trail, and I can certainly see why people liked it, it was lovely. Not quite 15 miles, it did mostly meander through the woods, so there was only the occasional bit of gravel and stone to cope with. Once again, I didn't put boots on Flash, but he was still pretty slow at first. I'm now pretty sure his problem is simply that he's depressed and missing Apollo. He's been laying down even more than usual, which is really saying something, but he didn't have any signs of limping or discomfort, he is just going really slow. Once we got turned back toward camp, though, his pace picked up considerably, so I'm thinking his slowness isn't physical, it's mental. He might be a little tired, after all he's done over 50 miles this week now, but I'm not convinced it's that. I'm continuing him on the bute, though, just in case. Normally I would give him a day off, but the trailmaster Stagg is giving me the extreme honor of being able to ride on the west trails, a rare privilege usually only reserved for the 50 milers or more, and is closed off the guests the rest of the time, so I just don't want to miss this chance! We're labeling me as a "drag rider," following behind everyone else to make sure everybody gets out okay. They apparently used to do it but quit when drag riders were getting lost, something he knows he doesn't have to worry about with me. Anyway, Flash is just going to have to tough it out for me tomorrow. I learned of a shortcut that will take about four miles off, and I'm taking the orange west trail, so in all it will be about the same as today, about 15 miles. Got back today before 3:15, chatted with Patsy a minute, then got back to camp and put Flash away, giving him some feed. He's not liking this hay too much, I'll be glad to get rid of it! Drove down to have dinner with the group, a nice self-serve buffet of rigatoni lasagna, salad and garlic knots, and sat in the riders meeting, where Stagg and I worked out the logistics for tomorrow. Got back after 7:30, watched a Farscape, won't be long out of bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
A great night sleep, managed to get out on the trail just after 10:30. Flash seems to be feeling better, though he was still crying for Apollo this morning, and he's doing a lot of laying down. That's not really unusual, it just seems he's doing it even more than ever. I know it sounds crazy, but I suspect he's depressed. I didn't put boots on this morning, and he did a lot better, though I don't know if it's the bute or the boots. Regardless, our task today was Lime Green out and Purple back, which we've done before, and it was a nice ride. I took my rain jacket along just in case, but as it turned out, it cleared up and we had blue skies for a few hours, then a few clouds came in. I heard it sprinkle for about 30 seconds, but otherwise it was a beautiful day! Today's ride took us past the goats, and they were actually in their pen today. We passed yesterday but they weren't there. We also passed by the sheep, they were just being let out into the pasture, and there were so many babies! Flash was a bit startled by them, not sure why. Their Great Pyrenees guard dog saw Flash looking at them intently, and it started him off barking away, making sure his warning was heard! Finally, we passed by the big carriage draft horses in another paddock. Busy day for the animals! It was a nice ride, and Flash did seem to move along a lot better. One more trail tomorrow! When I got back, I swung over by where the competitors were camping, and found Patsy in the same spot as in the Spring. We chatted for a bit, then I sent back and put Flash away and did some work on the computer. I made myself a nice shrimp salad and drove down to share a meal with Patsy, chatted until almost 7:00, came back and fed Flash and caught a short movie. Won't be long before shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had a little lazier start to the day, didn't get out on the trail until around noon. Flash was giving me a hard time, really fussing about his boots, and when I tried to ride him, he seriously limped for a few steps. I seemed to remember the Red trail, which is our assignment today, didn't have that much rock and gravel, so I ended up taking the boots off and putting them in my saddle bags. Since there was supposedly only a very slight chance of rain today, I took out my slicker to make room for them. That was a mistake. I also decided not to wear my rain suit again today. That was another mistake. Of course, halfway through the ride it started raining, and fortunately I did have an old holey poncho in my saddle back, which helped somewhat, both in keeping me dry and also warmer. I thought it would warm up in the afternoon, but it really didn't. With Flash limping off and on like he was, I began to think that leaving Apollo in TN was another mistake. He didn't seem as bad once the boots were off, but he was a terrible slug again today, barely topping 2.5 mph on average. It was 3:45 when we got back, which, for a ten mile ride was ridiculous! Sometime he seemed to be limping, but most of the time not, so I'm not sure if he was just playing silly buggers with me or if he was truly having a problem. Anyway, the markers were in good shape, but there was one small blockage with a bunch of vines across the trail, dragged there by a small dead tree, but I didn't have my leather gloves with me, and it looked like brambles, so I just reported it. There was another much larger tree down later, probably close to three feet in diameter across the trail, I reported that, too. Once we dragged ourselves back to camp, I gave Flash an apple spiked with bute, so hopefully he'll feel better after that. Spent a little time cleaning my tack, there was so much accumulated mud on it, it was long overdue. Around supper time, at last, a couple of other trailers started coming in. I was surprised it took so long, I seem to remember it was a lot more crowded here by this time in the spring ride, but I may be wrong. Steve and Cam arrived, they were here last time, and another couple who are just camping, though their kids will be riding this weekend. We all sat around chatting until nearly 9:00, so I'm just getting my tea and cookies now. Just about back on schedule! I'll give Flash another dose of bute in the morning, hopefully that will make it easier for him on the ride. I'm doing Lime and Purple tomorrow, together they're only about nine miles, so that should be easier, and he'll get a longer rest afterward. I hope he recovers okay, Friday's ride is about 14.5 miles, and I might even be able to get over to the west side on Saturday, that will be the longest ride yet, but I really want to do it because it's highly restricted over there and it's my only chance. Of course, I won't if he's not fit, but I'll do everything I can to get him right! Anyway, time for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Busy day today! Woke up and finished packing, got Flash loaded up and was on our way to the Biltmore just after 9:00. Had a wonderfully uneventful drive, and for the first time EVER, I got all the way through Knoxville with NO CONSTRUCTION! That's a first! I did run into a short section of road works right at the border to NC, but other than that, it was a breeze. Arrived pretty much on schedule, got all the way back to the volunteer parking, and discovered that unlike the last time I came here (when it was empty), today it was packed with day riders and some campers. I managed to move around and get a perfect spot, right next to the washrack so I can easily get water, and not too far back on the grass, because they're calling for a lot of rain this week (tropical storm on the coast), and I wanted to stay near the gravel. I decided I had better get the trail checking done before I got everything set up, so I got Flash out and got him saddled and we were on the trail just after 2:00, which was exactly my plan. Our first trail check for the new Green trail being used for a Ride and Tie on Friday, and the markings were all perfect except for the very end, which, after bringing it to the trail master's attention, will be fixed. Only had a few branches to trim back and one limb to be moved off the trail, other than that, the trail was fine. A lot more gravel than we like, but that's just the way it is here at the Biltmore. Flash was crying for Apollo the whole time I was tacking him up, and he's still doing it now, well into the evening. I knew he would be upset, but it just didn't make sense to make all the extra work when it wasn't necessary. We got back before 4:00, and I went about getting his fence up so I could put him away. He was pretty tired with all the travel, riding and crying for Apollo, so once he got into his paddock, he crashed for a little while. Got completely finished with setting up right at 5:00, including solar panel, though I doubt I'll get much sun with all the rain in the forecast. Looks like a lot of days riding in my rain suit! No worries, that's what I signed up for! Had dinner, managed to get a good enough cell phone signal for a couple of Farscapes, ready for an early bedtime tonight! Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hi Babe,
A great night sleep, thank goodness, but it was another long day of waiting with no results. I did manage to get a ride in on Apollo, just around some trails that Linda has cut through a small WMA next door to her farm. Only went just over three miles, but at least it gave him a chance to stretch his legs, and to give Lola a good walk. I spent most of the afternoon trying to sort out where I want to go after Biltmore, but without brakes on the trailer, I'm loathe to go anywhere up in the mountains, and in this part of the country, that's where most of the horse camps are, so I've been doing a bunch more research to try to figure it out. Found some new information, but still have no clue where to go yet. Hopefully I'll figure it out over the weekend! Not much else to report, except I trimmed Apollo's feet and received the new fly masks I ordered from Chick's Saddlery. Trying to get to bed early again tonight, it worked last night, hope it will again tonight. Even if this mechanic doesn't show up tomorrow, I think Linda and I are going to do a few experiments to see if we can narrow it down. We'll see. Anyway, good night, my darlin'! Love you!