Sunday, October 27, 2013

Hoof Beats in the Dark

I had a great time this afternoon catching up with all my sisters in recovery, and came home feeling a little more connected, and a little more at peace with the world.   I was glad I went. Even better...my son and TC were also glad they went.

When we got home I took a short nap, then encouraged Simon to get his boots on for a trail ride.  My boys have shoes now so I felt like an easy ride was in order.



So we hurried with our saddles, didn't even bother with warm ups in the arena and headed down the road.

 The reason for the rush?

The Sun was going down.

We moved out down our road at an easy trot, turned onto the paved road, chatted with Miss Hella Cool on the corner, and then beat feet down side of the main road. We had a mile to go to get to the unlocked gate.



I took this one just as we got to the gate.  We got through the gates and out into a section of desert I have not yet had time to play in. We could see where we were going but just barely, so we crossed a wash, set the goal of a big tree and then just rode.  When we got to the tree we circled it once and headed back to the gates.  




I got this one snapped just as we got through the gate. 


And this one as well. Its a bit blurry- cell phones don't take very good action shots.  At least mine doesn't. 

As we headed back towards the gate and it was getting much darker I started wondering where we were going to cross the wash. We got all the way to the fence and there was no way to cross there. Well I was not willing to try it. So we had to back track a little ways. We could just see some tracks where someone else had crossed so we went that way.   The boys (all three of them) did very well. 

By now it was dark enough that all the cars had their head lights on. I was unsure of how the ponies would react to this. They have no issue with cars during the day, but in the dark with headlight...could be a different story.  It wasn't.  We pointed them towards home, kept them at a walk in case of gofer holes and moseyed home.  I have a "headlamp" flashlight, which also has a red strobe on it. I had Simon put that on and put him in front where I could see him.  Perhaps next time I will hang reflectors off the horses tails!  

Once we got to our road we went a head and let them trot again and I decided to make a video. I call it "Hoof beats in the Dark"

It's not super exciting but kind of fun. 

After we got home we had to do the gratuitous "What a couple of good ponies" shots. 

"Hey Lady, can you quit messing around and get this saddle off?"

Good Boys


"Can't you see it is past my dinner time!"

Killian's wild hair doo

It was a great way to end the day. I need to do that more often. Not the riding in the dark part, but taking time to just go and ride.  I still need to work on my arena stuff, because I still do not have the control that I want to have on Trax. But I need to remember what is really important...having fun. 

Something that someone mentioned on one of my recent posts has me thinking.  She said that it seems as though I have had a rough time the last few months.  It is true, that things have not all been peaches and cream and the move was stressful, but I think my perception of "bad" had been a little distorted.  Or perhaps I have been whining a bit.  One thing I have noticed is that I have lost my inner balance.  Especially the last month. Why?  Simple, I don't have my mornings to sit and watch the sunrise.  I have not been taking the time to give thanks for my life and all the things I love.  It is always get up before dawn, race to get ready and run out the door.  

So what is the answer, how do I fix it?

Well I think I could try by using my driving time for that.  I can shut off the radio and use that time for finding my spiritual connection again. Without it , I have nothing. With out gratitude I will lose everything. 







8 comments:

  1. "With out gratitude I will lose everything"

    yes. this. This is what life is really about.

    xoxox

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  2. Love Killian's hairdo and the clip clops in the video.

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  3. I was dark last night. Some horse was banging around outside, so I grabbed a flashlight to go out to investigate since I recently found dog or coyote prints around the barn in the arena. There was no moon and all I could see was whatever my flashlight lit up.

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  4. Balance - that elusive, ephemeral spot I am always trying to find. If you get it figured out, let me know:)

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  5. Maybe you could do sunset gratitude instead? I have a bench where I can see the sun set behind the trees and I try to be out there, with or without hubs depending on his work day, at some time around or just after the sun sets to watch the sky and think peaceful thoughts. I like to watch the first stars come out too.

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  6. Sounds like a wonderful evening ride! I'm a little envious. I bet it's warm there. We just turned cold, all the sudden, and I'm not liking it!

    I hope you can find a good time to do your thinking. It's so hard to live happily without spiritual quiet time and conscious gratitude.

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  7. I like riding at night, we did a few times this summer and it really is peaceful (and bugless!)

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  8. Love the sound of hoof beats! Sounded like and looked like you were enjoying yourself. Maybe that's a start to finding peace too!

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