Boot, saddle, to horse and away

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.
~Richard III, Shakespeare

Horses are an integral part of the TP experience, TP being where we have our cabin and go each summer.  Most of the families own at least a few horses and the horses that aren’t owned by people in Sheridan who have places to keep them are turned out on a ranch over the winter where they run wild.  After being out all winter, some of them run a bit wild in spring, too, when the whole herd is brought up the mountain.  During the day, the horses hang out in the corral; at night, they’re run out to the pasture where they graze and sleep, until whoever is wrangling, rounds them up in the morning and herds them back to the corral.  But it’s not all work.  They even have a day off, Thursday.

Horses, like people, have friends, cliques, and foibles.  There’s always a group or two who will try to bit or kick any horse that comes near and when a horse is turned out after riding, she may be chased by this group on the way to the horse with whom she hangs out.  When a new horse arrives, he’ll usually get picked on until he finds a friend and/or fights back.  Bullying isn’t just for people.

Each horse has a different thing, or more than one, that it finds scary.  To one, it’s the little chattering squirrels running along downed logs.  To another, it’s cattle.  Some horses are afraid of things you, the rider, can’t even see.  But one thing most horses are united about–there are monsters out there and if you’re the lead horse, the monsters will get you first!  Consequently, the lead horse has to be on the alert, entitled (at least in its eyes) to be a little crazy, prance a bit, act up if it can get away with it.  The rest of the horses in the line can relax.  If the monster comes, while it’s getting the lead horse and rider,  they (and hopefully their riders, if they’ve managed to stayed on), will be running like the wind in the opposite (or any other) direction.  So they can take it easy if they want.

Nevertheless, riding is one of my joys, providing a way to get into places that would be too far to walk, too difficult or, sometimes, impossible to reach by vehicle.  And it’s a joy I look forward to enjoying each and every summer.

Horses on their way to pasture in the afternoon

Time for dinner and some rest

The Bighorns

Looking toward the main cabin area

A resident near our cabin