Sunday Bareback and Saturday Road Ride



  



I haven't blogged lately, but that doesn't mean we haven't been riding.

 

Our camera was stolen on a trip to New York city in early March, and I hate to blog without adding pictures. We went out there to see our Italian Exchange Daughter who was in NYC on business. Long story, so here are the bullet points -- I was sick, we almost missed our flight, luggage took a different flight, courier had to deliver luggage to our apartment, when we received the luggage a bunch of things were missing. But the joke is on the thief because the camera wasn't working properly anyway.

 

So we finally got a new camera, and here are some pictures from our most recent 2 rides.

 

 

Last weekend we were very short on time, so on Sunday we just stayed in our pasture and rode bareback.

 

 

 

Then yesterday, we put the Easy Boots on The Girls and took them out for a road ride on the backroads where we live.

 

It was such a neat ride. These are roads we frequently drive on, but from the horse everything is seen from a differentn perspective. You feel like you are someplace new.

 

A house nearby had these pretty flowers growing in their front yard.

 

We stopped for a rest by a field and let The Girls eat some grass.

All of the drivers we encountered were so considerate.....they would slow down and move over for us; some even stopped! They would pass us with a wave and a smile. That really made me feel good to see that my sweet Divna put a smile on so many peoples' faces.

Me, Divna, and Our Shadow! 

Marko -- One Year Memorial

Our little Marko left us a year ago this weekend. Just remembering how much fun he was to have around and how much trouble he caused. I will never forget how we had to secure all the doors, because Marko could open any latch! I really, really miss my goats.

 

 

Ride Our Trails With Us

Take a virtual ride with us on the trail on our property, and then down the abandoned railroad line.

 

Video 1 -- going through our property

 

 

Our trail rides usually include at least one adventure/unusual situation/complication -- this time Divna ended up with her leg tangled in a large grapevine. I had to dismount and get her untangled....

Then, it was on to the abandoned railroad line. The railroad line is broken up into three parts. Here is a view of the first part. There are 2 videos because we have the large washout area that we have to go around. John did not film that part because it goes up and down a steep hill, and he has to keep his focus on  Zora (because she is crazy).

 

 

 

Then we have to cross the Indiana Toll Road to get to the second part of the railroad line

 

We took a bit of a detour off the 2nd part of the railroad line -- completely unauthorized and completely John's idea. I was a nervous wreck.

We did see two wild turkeys, and it was pretty cool.  Now it was on to the last part of the railroad line -- this part is real wide and very nice riding.

So there you go! A virtual ride with us. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Full Moon Ride

It was twenty-two degrees, a  pretty snow covered the ground, and the full moon shone down on everything. We decided we would take a ride. We dressed in layers, and headed out to the barn.

I think "The Girls" were a little confused when after grooming them we saddled them up, since we don't often ride at night. But soon they were into the adventure as much as we were.

With it being night, we headed to a spot near us with fields. It is too dangerous to ride the woods at night -- you just can't see all the branches. Out on the field we could follow deer paths, and the moon was so bright we actually could see the terrain ahead.

The air was clear, there were only a few tiny twinkling stars in the sky, as it was still rather early, and the dark grey-purple sky overhead faded into orange on the horizon line. There were some close, small, puffy clouds just above the horizon. The snow was sparkling, and the moon was so bright we could actually see our shadows. It was truly beautiful.

We loped along at a nice pace, going around tree lines that separate the different fields. "The Girls" were enjoying the experience, and cutting loose. After a while, their pace slowed and we explored at a walk, looking for a safe place to cross over to the road. We found a clearing that lead to the road, and from the road we found our usual entrance to the woods. We took the short path through the woods that leads back to our house.

John dismounted and lead Zora through the woods, while Divna and I picked our way slowly through the wooded trail. All four of us know this trail very well, so we felt safe.

Back at the barn it was carrots and sweet treats for the girls, and a beer for us. With Serbian music playing, we blanketed "The Girls" and closed them in their stalls with grain, hay and fresh water. Once their body temperatures normalized, they got a good brushing and then we turned them out into the pasture.

There was something just so special about this ride. It is totally different riding at night -- it is actually a spiritual experience. Feeling connected to the horse and to nature, you get a feeling of being a part of everything and closer to God. The horses do more for us than they will ever know -- they keep us grounded in the real world, they relieve stress, they personify love. We have always said that getting horses is the best money we have ever spent.

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(About the picture at the beginning and lack of pictures throughout-- I am not the best photographer, and to top it off, have been haiving problems with my camera. It just will not hold a charge in spite of buying a new battery. I have to charge it up for an hour or two before I can use it. Last night I got the one blurry picture of the barn before we set off on the ride, then the battery died. I was really perturbed at that....I wanted to get some pictures of the full moon ride. Since it was a last minute decision to take the night ride, I was not able to charge it up before we left. so you will have to use your imagination to picture the night as described. RZ)

First Snow Ride of Winter 2012-2013

The last Saturday of 2012 was beautiful. We finally had our first snow that actually covered the ground here in Northwest Indiana. Temperatures were in the mid 20's, and they sky was clear. It was perfect weather for a ride, so off we went. To make it even nicer, a gentle snow started falling as we were saddling up.

We took the trails near our house, but in the snow they looked somehow different.





The horses love the snow, and it is a good thing they do. Because once on the trail, it started snowing harder. "The Girls" handled everything just fine, as always. They are such great trail horses.

We got to the point on the abandoned railroad line where a sort of wall of dirt is piled up. It is about 3 feet high, and very narrow which means it is really steep. "The Girls" go over it just fine -- I remember the first few times we approached that all of dirt they had a tough time and some nervous moments figuring out how to deal with it. But just like they learned to go through water, to face and conquor that fear, they learned to face and conquor this one, too. Up and over we went.

Which was fantastic, until we turned back to head home. The snow was coming down even harder, and it was actually stinging our faces. Going over that wall of dirt was not as easy -- it now had a slick, wet, sort of icy coating. Divna took the little hill with a bit too much enthusiasm. Going up was fine, coming down the other side she lost her footing. she went down on her knees and belly, sliding like a tobaggon -- I almost came off her, but managed to regain my balance, and then as suddenly as she went down, she was up on her feet again. It was quite the ride! I dismounted to check her for injury, and thankfully found nothing. We continued on the trail for home.

It was an exhilirating First Snow Ride of this winter....hopefully we will have many more.

Keep Riding!

Saturday Road Warriors - Sunday Hunter's Orange

The boots we bought for Zora and Divna (The Girls) have opened up a whole new world of riding (see past post). With these boots, we can ride places where we never felt comfortable before with our unshod horses. We bought the boots so we could ride in rocky terrain without having to put shoes on The Girls. But what we found is that we can now explore the backroads of rural LaPorte County. So that is what we have been doing the past couple of weekends.

On a recent Saturday we took off to ride a back road that we used to drive down when we first moved out here. This particular road is very pretty with ravines and lots of twists and turns. However, the fastest route to get there takes us down the County Line Road which separates Porter and LaPorte counties. In years past that road was lightly traveled -- it is no longer that way. So it was a bit nerve wracking riding on this busy street, but The Girls handled it like pros. Most drivers were very considerate -- slowing down and moving to the other lane for us. Of course there had to be one "clueless" driver out there -- an elderly man in a small pickup truck came right up behind us and not only did he not move over one inch, he actually honked his horn when he got right behind us! Scared the hell out of me! Divna jumped just a little bit, but otherwise she was fine -- clearly it unnerved me more than it did her.

We decided we would take a different route next time so we don't have to go on County Line Road.

We rode the country roads, and it was such cool and different ride. We passed a house that had a lot of  horses. The people were outside, so we stopped and chatted for a while, and the horses came up to visit and check out our Girls.

The next day we decided to ride through the woods and on the abandoned railroad line near our house. It is hunting season in Indiana, so we had to get everyone decked out in orange.

 

 Zora in orange....













Divna in her orange....




On the railroad line there is a serious wash-out spot. It has been there for years, and just keeps getting bigger and bigger. We already had to make a new trail to go around it, and it looks like it won't be long until we have to make yet another trail around it. We are always nervous about this spot -- especially if it is dusk. It sneaks up on you and you are on it before you know it. The hole is deep enough to lose a horse in. It is difficult to tell from this picture, but trust me, it is dangerous.

So we put up some surveyors tapes on the trees near it, and on the trail about 20 yards before you get to it to serve as an early warning system.

Can't wait to get out there and so more riding, and try our new route to the country roads....

Stay in the saddle!!!

Vacationing with "The Girls" - Part Three of a Three Part Story

Part Three -- The Detour Home

We had spent a few days at Midwest Trail Ride --it was a great vacation with the horses -- we had a cabin, they had stalls, and there were miles and miles of beautiful trails to ride. I was stung by a bee when were were loading our stuff into the truck. We almost went for a trail ride before we left, but John's horse Zora was uncharacteristically acting up, so we didn't bother. Now we were on I-65 North headed home. (See two previous posts)

That bee sting really hurt -- more than any other I have ever had. I had it wrapped with tobacco, like my mother always told me to do. Now we had been on the road about an hour.

My eyes started to itch real bad. I looked in the mirror and saw they were swollen. I sort of figured it out....

I told John I thought I was having a reaction to the bee sting. He went to a truck stop and got me some Claritin. We kept going.

A little while later, it started getting difficult to swallow. I knew what was coming next. My air was going to get cut off.

We were close to the exit that takes us to John's brother's house. I told John, "We have to go to Alex and Cindy's. I am not going to make it home. I need to get to a hospital."  I was praying they would be home. We do not know our way around Lafayette, and it would have been difficult to find a hospital in an unfamiliar town hauling two horses.

When we arrived at Alex and Cindy's, they were outside doing yard work, and very surprised to see us. John told them what was going on, and Cindy and I got in her car (a beautiful Jaguar). I heard Alex say, "Maybe we should call 911." The thought did cross my mind, but they live sort of out in the country south of Lafayette, and I wasn't sure how much time it would take for them to get there. I was thinking to myself "Whatever is faster!" So away we went.

At this point, it is getting difficult to breathe. Cindy was worried about me, I was half out of it...it was all very stressful. We had to cross a busy state highway -- Cindy didn't see the car coming, but she said I did. Later she told me I said "Cindy, NO!!" -- but it was too late. (I don't remember that part.)

They hit us going somewhere between 50-60 mph. After Alex saw the scene he told us they never had time to apply their brakes -- there were no skid marks.



I remember seeing a police officer's face and a broken windshield behind him. Then I remember someone taping my head to a backboard, and strapping my legs down. I came to in the ambulance and I had an oxygen mask on. I was completely confused.

Thank God no one in the other car was seriously hurt. At first we thought the woman driving had a broken leg, but thankfully it turns out she did not. There was a husband, wife and their 11 year old granddaughter in the car. I cannot express the relief I have that none of them were hurt too badly. Just bruised and banged up like us, but nothing serious.

I am also grateful Cindy never lost consciousness. She told the paramedics I was having a reaction to a bee sting, so they were able to take care of that right away. She was the one who called 911, and she called Alex and John. Alex came to the scene, John stayed with the horses. Alex went back to the house and told John they were loading me into an ambulance on a stretcher. John told Alex the 911 vehicles drove right past the house on the way to the accident!

 

 

Once Alex knew what hospital were were going to, he went back and got John. All of us from the accident went to the hospital -- I came to once we were there. It was so fabulous to see John! I had a couple of pretty large lumps on my head, and was really, really hurting on my entire right side. My face was scratched and bruised. They did a CAT scan of my head and found nothing serious. It was a different story for Cindy.

They told her they thought she was the least injured of everyone, but an x-ray revealed bleeding behind her sternum. They did not have a cardiovascular surgeon at that hospital, so they transported her to Indianapolis. Cindy's daughter came to the hospital and took us back to Alex's house, and we had to continue our drive home with the horses -- another 2 hours.

That night Alex called with the good news that Cindy was doing fine.The next morning we found out the bleeding stopped over night and they sent her home the next morning.

Everyone was wearing seat belts, and all the air bags deployed. In fact, the other car was a 2012, and had airbags all the way around the inside of the car. Thank God!!

Cindy's beautiful Jaguar is ruined!!!!

 

 

We should have just called 911 -- they are trained for this kind of thing. When you are scared and emotional and in a high-stress situation you should not be driving.

 

But I do feel it was the hand of God that guided everything that day. This is what I believe:

 

Zora was acting up so that we would not go riding and be out in the middle of nowhere when my allergic reaction kicked in. Driving to the hospital would have taken too long -- it may have been too late for me. So because we did not have enough sense to dial 911 we had to have the accident. And the accident had to be bad enough to send the ambulance, but not bad enough to cause anyone permanent injury. For some reason, the other car was destined to be in that accident with us -- perhaps there was a more serious accident waiting for them down the road, or something else that they needed to avoid, and this accident stopped them.

 

It was a powerful experience. I am still recovering -- dealing with bruised ribs now, but otherwise I am fine. Cindy is fine -- other than being bruised and sore. The people in the other car are fine -- other than being bruised and sore. We have much to be thankful for.