Dudley Can't Do This!

Just to let you know this cowgirl appreciates all types of riding -

My Dear Angel

Last night my dear friend Carol called - her beloved horse Angel was colicing - never mind I had dinner about cooked - anxiously waiting for my man to drive in from the ranch - we were going to watch the season finale of "Saving Grace" with Holly Hunter on TNT - jokingly referred to as Humpin Holly - but when a friend calls with a sick horse - you go. I threw the butte paste and some other colic medicine shots in the truck and drove like a madwoman to the Rock Ranch. Angel had been thrashing around her stall and was pretty torn up - I was out of the truck and had the paste down her throat in a matter of seconds. Carol kept walking her and I hooked my truck upto her gooseneck. Thankfully I had a flashlight in the truck so I could see in the pitch dark - yes, there is no electricity at the Rock Ranch. Carol called the vet again and we loaded up Angel. Carol rode in the trailer and I drove - a little more gingerly this time - precious cargo - a horse and my girlfriend in the back of the trailer. We arrived at the vet's house/clinic around 8:20 PM. Its a father/daughter vet team. I proceeded to hold Angel as Sid stuffed a four foot plastic tube up Angel's nose and from the bucket they pumped some type of oil into her stomach. She quivered and shook as if she was going to fall down. Then we moved her into a corral where the sides are close enough she couldn't lie down. Then they stuck an IV in her & started her with liquids because she was dehydrated. Then we waited and waited and waited - a few hours later and still no bowel movement. Did I explain what colic is? The hours passed quickly in the barn as I played hop scotch, alphabet games and sang mickey mouse songs with Sid's three year old grandaughter and learned more about Sid's family history. A quiet time. Then after a few hours loaded with more drugs we took Angel home to continue the wait. I left Carol and Angel at the Rock Ranch driving her hybrid car headed home to salvage dinner with my honey. I had to call Carol three times to ask questions about the the hybrid's computer screens, gas gauge, how to turn off the car ...the gps was prettty cool though and the camera! I love gadgets.
Then sometime around 7am my phone rang it was Carol - Angel had died. I could feel her tears on the phone and know the pain she must feel. She was around the corner bringing me my truck - we hugged and cried together in my driveway. I will miss Angel.
Farewell my dear angel - thanks for the great rides & big heart & willingness to share yourself with so many novices.

Task turns into Terror

Though I don't relish riding alone - I do love it when I have a task to complete. As I was debating about where to ride - my honey suggested I follow the creek & push out any cows I found back around the mtn. It's a spot we'd pushed cows out from before so I was comfortable with the task. There were nine pair hidden under a cottonwood and once they saw me enter the pasture and head towards them - they moved out. Almost like little kids that knew they weren't supposed to be hanging out on this side of the mtn. It was pretty easy to push them back to the dirt tank - along the way I picked up a Charolais bull and another pair. Then I went back up the side of another hill to push down some cows so I could get an accurate count. So, I was upto 14 pair that had wondered back into this part of the pasture (there isn't much water in the dirt tank) so we're keeping a count. I rode up another hill and was headed back to the house - virtually making a big loop around this this mtn. There are many canyons on the sides of these hills and I've been up & down hundreds of them - some easier to cross than others.

I headed down a rather steep one and Dudley my trusty steed didn't think twice about it. As I got to the bottom and began heading up the other side - all of the sudden Dudley was on all fours thrashing about obviously entangled in some wire. I quickly jumped off - I was close to the ground one would say practically on it - Dudley continued to struggle, thrash - it was incredibly scary to see him struggling and thrashing about - he managed to get up, moved a few feet and then as he kept struggling - the wire took him back down to the ground - his legs looked contorted. By this time, I am truly scared for my horse and I'm thinking, how in the heck am I going to get to my fence pliers in my saddlebag to cut the wire if he doesn't calm down.

He managed to get up again - this time he made it about four feet and the wire took him back down to the ground for a third time. The contortion continued - his legs were going in every direction. I am thinking what if he breaks a leg. He finally gets up - stands there holding his leg in the most peculiar position. We are both breathing hard and Dudley's nostrils are coated in dirt.

I walked the four miles back to the house. And thankfully Dudley was ok. He is such a great horse!!

Canyon Ride

We actually had the weekend off! Sat. we explored a beautiful canyon near the house - as you can see Dudley and I get to ride the back!

Roll with the Moment