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July 5, 2018: When it Rains it Pours

And we aren’t just talking salt here, either. In addition to being hot, it’s gotten humid. I had it in mind to ride Raudi 20 miles today. It turned out to be a shorter and tougher 15 miles. It’s so odd -- she has parts of our rides that she likes and parts she hates. My riding her to the end of Buffalo Mine Road is in her mind like going to the House of Doom. She sees nothing fun about it. I think that she envisions going to the knackers. The ride back down the gently sloping road – now, the closer to home we get, the more energized she becomes.

She seems to like the Moose Creek Trail, the one that is about 3/4s of a mile in length. And she likes the Spike Fork Trail.


Chickens waiting for the storm

She’s not as keen about crossing the meadow leading to the Four Corners, but she (as do I) really likes Raudi’s Runway, a grassy trail about a half-mile in length, one that has not yet been ruined by the four wheelers.

She regards Murphy Road (coming in the direction of home) as a slog, and usually we trot it, so that we can quickly get it over with. Today was a little different. I was crossing the meadow and happened to notice that inky blue/black storm clouds were building along the Talkeetna Mountains. I really didn’t think anything of it – I just kept going and in fact allowed Raudi to walk up Murphy Road. I was tired (from the heat), and so was she. Towards the end, the wind energized her and we trotted and cantered the final stretch.

Once home, I cooled her down with water, put the gear away, put her away and then headed up to the house. The light sprinkle that started as I was untacking Raudi then became a full on downpour, the likes of which I have never experienced here. It was like God overturned all the buckets of water in heaven. I watched the storm from the house and the horses watched it from the safety of their sheds.

I made two wise decisions. The first was that I walked Raudi up the road. And the second was that I opted not to do our trails and go on and do Grizzly Camp.

We as humans set goals, which is okay for us, but not always okay for our animals.

So we don’t make mileage. It is not of consequence. What’s of consequence is that we stay fit and don’t tire ourselves out.

My knees have been getting achy at 10 miles, you could set your watch by this. Ahh, I am going to send CJ and Dave, who made my Synergist Saddle, photos and ask them if they have any ideas about this. I hope that they have a possible solution because I do not want to resort to drugs.

The rain has stopped. Have to regain my momentum and start to get evening chores done.

Next: 187. 7/6/18: Dog Days of Summer

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