I was planning to go to a competitive trail ride this weekend. But, due to lack of entries the ride was cancelled. So, I suddenly had a free weekend as did several of my friends who had also planned on going to the CTR. Jim And Mary Ellen invited us all to come ride with them at their home in Colebrook, NH. We were delighted at the chance. I love riding with Jim and Mary Ellen, they have such a nice place and the riding in Colebrook is just fabulous. So Amy Beem, her daughter Sierra, Louise Townsend and Kyle Nielsen gratefully accepted Jim and Mary Ellen's invitation.
Friday was going to be HOT, HOT, HOT. So, I wanted to leave fairly early in the morning to avoid trailering in the hottest part of the day. I was actually a little concerned about trailering on such a hot day as I have an enclosed trailer. I was taking both Louie and Marie as well as my dog Zephyr as I didn't have anyone to look after them for the weekend while I was gone. I figured having a spare horse wouldn't be a bad thing anyway especially as Jim's horse Shaker has been lame and Jim was not bringing him. I didn't head out quite as early as I'd hopped but pulled out around 8:00 am. It was already getting quite warm. The only worry on the way up was getting caught sitting in construction traffic on such a hot day. But, I checked Marie and Louie a few times and they seemed to be fine. The drive through Grafton Notch in Maine and Dixville Notch in NH is so beautiful! I arrived in Colebrook around 11:30 am and was the first to arrive. I took Mary Ellen by surprise by having Marie with me. I had emailed them but they didn't get it before heading out. Mary Ellen was ok with having an extra equine she just had to rethink where everyone one would go. I suggested putting Marie, Louie and Hillbilly together and seeing how they did. Well, Marie went into instant heat over Hillbilly and Hillbilly fell in love with Marie. Louie wasn't sure what to think about the situation but they all seemed to be doing fine so we left them together.
Jim let me hose off my truck and trailer. There was one spot of construction I'd gone through were the tar had been torn up and it was dirt. The dirt had been watered down and when driving over it, the wheels had thrown a fine coat of mud over my entire trailer. My truck also as the vehicles in front of me were throwing up the mud also. The others arrived soon and we spend some time deciding what horses were going where and who was sleeping where. I was going to sleep in my trailer. The other's all sorted out where they would sleep in the house. Louise had made a chop suey and we had that for lunch. While we were eating, we heard some noises from the barn that you never want to hear. The sounds of scuffling horses that never means anything good. We rushed out to the barn and they, Louie, Marie and Hillbilly, were all out of the barn and trotting around. Everyone seemed ok but we realized that the should not have had access to the 10x10 stalls while all together. Mary Ellen separated Hillbilly from Marie and Louie and all seemed fine. Jim, Kyle, Amy and Sierra went riding but it was so hot that Mary Ellen, Louise and I decided to go into to town to a bakery and then visit a friend. When we got back, I was so tired from having worked the previous night that I took a nap on the couch. I got up just a in time to join the others in a sunset ride. I caught Louie and it was then I saw that he had some injuries from his scuffle with Hillbilly. He had some scrapes on his back and a long scrape on his back leg. But, they were minor, mostly just hair scraped off. But, he had a very nasty cut on his left front leg on his cannon bone. It was on the outside of his left about half way between his knee and pastern. It was about 3 inches long horizontally and down to the bone. Not that it is far to the bone in that spot but still..... AGH! He did not seem at all lame and was not bleeding much. So, Mary Ellen helped me and we cleaned his cut up and bandaged it. Louie was so good about letting us take care of him. He wiggled around a bit at first, then resigned himself to or torture. I did not feel good about riding him with this cut even though he was not lame. Jim was not going to ride this evening so would be there to keep an eye on Louie to make sure he didn't get too upset when all the other horses left.
We headed out at 7:00 PM. We had the most wonderful ride. The riding is great in Colebrook. It's quite challenging and hilly. But, the footing on most of the trails is really good. And there are also lots of dirt roads. We got up on some hills for some fantastic views. We were up on one hill right at sunset and it was just breath taking. The picture here doesn't even begin to do it justice. And my horse.........I have not ridden her much of late and I could not believe how fit and strong she felt. She was powering up the hills like they were nothing and she was just full of it and actually pulling me!!! Someone forgot to tell her she was 20 years old I guess! We got back just after 9:00 pm. We took care of the horses and mule, fed them then had our own supper. Louise had made a spinach dip that we had with cracker that was delicious. Mary Ellen grilled steak and sausage and it was wonderful. After supper, Louise went to bed and the rest of us sat around a campfire and toasted marshmallows. Well, I didn't have any part of the marshmallows, nasty things that they are but the others seemed to enjoy them. My dog Zephyr was having the best time here and was being a very good boy. I was exhausted by the time I went to bed and would have slept well except for...... well, some tales are better left untold ........
Sunset Ride
I slept in late the next morning and Jim, Kyle and I'm not sure who had already been out for a ride. Mary Ellen cooked us a wonderful breakfast. It was going to be another hot day and I decided to head for home. Jim was leaving and I didn't feel comfortable riding with no one around to keep an eye on Louie. I KNOW I was being a worry wort as Louie is quite good about being left behind. He doesn't like it but doesn't flip out about it. But, that is at home and...... worry, worry, worry...... A few of the group had made a run into town to pick up some things so I waited until they got back to say good-bye, then headed home. I had one very scary moment driving home coming over Dixville Notch. My front passenger side break overheated. Scary moment as it billowed smoke and the breaks went all spongy while I was trying to pull over and stop. I did manage to get stopped and sat for a while to let things cool down. I made it home ok but crawled over Grafton Notch. Guess I will have to have the truck looked at as I don't want that happening again! Anyway, though I did cut my visit short, I very much enjoyed seeing and spending time with my friends and can't wait to do it again.
Louie feeling sorry for himself
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