Today was a recovery day for Raudi. I have learned that it’s a good idea after doing a Competitive Trail Ride to give horses two rest days for every day that they compete. This became evident to me two years ago, when immediately after coming home from Fairbanks, I took Raudi on a lengthy ride. Dumb idea – she was resistant because she was sore.

I did take Tinni for a leisurely walk around the loop, stopping to let him graze on dandelion greens, right now his favorite. As he grazed, I pulled braids out of his mane. He might be intermittently lame in his right front leg. So walking, as is body work, is good for him. We were giving him Bute, but I don’t think he needs this.

Raudi seems as fit as a fiddlehead fern. She’s not the fidgety horse she was out on the trail. Same goes for me, or this is what she’s now communicating to me.

We had a lot of packing and unpacking to do but it all went very quickly. Heather had far more stuff than we did – this included a few bales of compressed hay, a canopy, a large tent, a cot, and a heavy bin containing grooming equipment. She did not bring much food for herself, so this tells you where her priorities were.

We didn’t waste any time – last night we went and picked up Tyra and Hrimmi who were both very glad to see us. We were taking a look at Dan’s horses and Hrimmi went to the edge of the round pen and whinnied to us. And neither hesitated to hop in when we opened the trailer door.

Today we rode to Grizzly Camp—I rode Tyra – she is doing a wonderful job of figuring things out. She sloshed through the pond water, plodded through the mud, and waded through long creek. Nothing seems to phase her. And it appears as though Hrimmi is looking to her younger herd mate for guidance. In summation, Tyra is going to be an excellent trail horse.

Pete has been thinking out loud about the next competitive trail ride, which is going to take place next summer in our area. On our ride, he was evaluating our trails for CTR suitability and formulating a route. I have my fingers crossed that someone else will step up the plate and run the show. The deal is that if Pete is the organizer, he can’t ride. But if no one else is the organizer, he can’t ride. The same goes for others who might assist. He says he’ll do it if someone else is the trail master. However, I don’t see anyone wanting to take on that job, either.

If I had my druthers, I would take the horses, go outside, and do one or two rides there. Tyra and Hrimmi might be a bit young for this, but either one could do it.

Right now, I wish I had a glass ball and could see what the future is going to hold.

210. 8/2/17: Resuming the semi-monastic lifestyle