The big bog- up hill like an 'S' - Al went through fine- as Al always does- doesn't bat an eye- never has a bad word... Then experienced Measha and Jody went through. I saw Measha almost go down at the curve of the 'S'- This got me thinking this might be a bit challenging. Chance went through OK- There were many times on this ride I wished I was on my experienced Chance :!:
I decided to let Syringa do her best and gave her her head, but she went the same way Measha did- a little bit too far down the 'S'. What we didn't see was a big rock- half the size of a stove- She slide over this and went down- at that point I put my hands on her neck to brace myself. She came up again only to go down for good and I came off the left side. Hit my eye on the saddle horn and got a bruise on my right inner thigh.
My guardian angel was with me though. I didn't want to move away from her because I knew two other horses were coming behind us. So I just lay there wondering if she was going to thrash on top of me or step on me. Sweet little Syringa just got up and walked out of the bog without touching me :lol: I watched as she stepped her hind leg right past- A horse will go a out of their way to keep from stepping on you! I got myself up- got my nice Royal Robbins blouse muddy. Then I had to stand there while the other two riders finished. The horses were stopped so Leigh could get hold of Syringa who wasn't going anywhere once she was out of the bog.
In front of me Brandy's mare was going nuts though- swishing her hind end and spinning around- very irritated. So I just stood there until the way was clear for me to get to Syringa. It turned out Brandy's mare was standing in stinging nettles! Guardian angel helped here too as I did not touch any of them :lol:
I mounted up and we continued on. I had small carrots in my fanny pack- moist and cool- so I held one of them to my eye and it kept the swelling down. I was shook up, but keep it under wraps, and Syringa was a bit nervous on bogs now, but she never showed irritation or bad behavior. She was a real trooper :D
We hadn't yet gotten to the 'rocks' Al told us about- Lord only knows what they were like! We never got to them- Thank God! Al's idea of a trail is different from ours- he is a genuine cowboy who can go anywhere- he's the real deal - a back country guy.
Before long we stopped for a pow-wow. I suggested that it was late enough and my little girl was tired and we had to go back through all the stuff we had come through and we decided to turn back. I told Al that I was not going to ride through that bog again. We discussed the situation and I decided I would dismount, take off the reins and let her go by herself. That worked perfectly. She went through as she wanted and ended up right on Chance's tail, safe and sound. I did that through three bogs.
Then when I was mounted I did a bog and Syringa decided to take a different route and ended up on more solid ground as she went through. The bogs had gotten deeper with all the horses going through and my little girl made a good choice! This little girl is a thinker!
I was tired and Syringa was too, but we had the steep, steep climb up the mountain with deep soft footing and two foot jump ups to handle. When we went up I vocally encouraged her, "Go, go, you can do it! Go little girl!"
leaning forward and she did it! Difficult, but she made it safely up :D Al would stop us to let our horses rest, but he sometimes did it where it was too steep to just stand there.
As we continued on Syringa was tired and faltered a little but was a trooper still. We went down the first steep toward the trailers- Chance was in front of me and it was neat to see how he handled it. Then there was a dirt road between the two steep areas. We opted to take the road. This was a little longer but it was worth it!
Jody let Measha go ahead with a fast Tenn. Walker gait which made Chance want to catch up, but Leigh handled him well. So Al, Jody and Leigh got to our trailers ahead. Linda, Brandy and I took up the rear. Some way down Syringa just wanted to stop. She decide here would be a fine place to take up residence and stay forever! She was not hurting though. Her MO is to stop until things get better. I lead her the last half mile- had to urge her on though. She was living in the moment and at that moment she thought it best to stop a lot ;)
On the way out Jody said Measha was getting a little ticked off- when a super experienced trail horse says 'That's enough!' We need to listen to her. Of course Al was happily going on with his lopping of branches... What a guy, you gotta love him! His last remark- "I guess I gave you another Trail Challenge"!
It's OK to have some challenges on a ride, but you want some easy parts too!
98% of this ride was difficult - not for the faint of heart :!: Leigh had her Forest Service GPS and charted this route which was different from the original trail on an old map. She will chart this at her office as the real trail... Trail!!!! Some sort of TRAIL!
Leigh, Jody and I all trailered together and agreed that this was a bit much for all of us. It's OK to have challenges on a trail, but this was one after another after another with barely an easy going part at all!
Both Syringa and Chance are happily out in pasture today. Poor Chance got serious rub marks on his armpits by the elbow- That western cinch he wore wasn't as good as we thought! And Syringa got a few tiny scrapes, and I have a black eye :! Photos of the good parts...
Looking back on this adventure I would take a more experienced horse next time and read the map more carefully to understand the ups and downs of the terrain. And we need to discuss and plan on some of the more challenging areas. I was totally impressed by Linda and Brandy's partnership as mother and daughter. Leigh did an excellent job on Chance and he did not fall off the mountain! Jody is a great trail rider and following her is recommended.
And Al, you gotta love him- he called and asked how my eye is and he is a even tempered nice guy who is a blast to ride with... Except for hitting my eye and a bruise on my leg my fall wasn't so bad because I only fell maybe a
foot- my horse was down. And landing in a bog is as soft as landing on a matteress!
Happy Riding to you all!
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