Older But Better

Older can equate to better, like in wine, cheese, antiques, and old blue jeans.  Even with people, this applies to at least some aspects.  According to research, seniors tend to make better decisions, are more emotionally stable and become less impulsive than their younger peers.  Older minds tend to better understand the weight of each decision because they know the value of their time, energy and happiness.

Friday 10/10 - When done with chores in the upper paddock, I went down to fetch Rico with the hopes Dorado would follow.  The three boys were in the farthest off corner of the back field.  Things did not go as planned, so I closed Rico into the paddock by himself while I went all the way back out to get Dorado.  Rico went a little crazy and when I eventually came through the gate with Dorado, Rico busted a move, rushing past us and running back out to Cowboy.  Well, I got a lot of exercise and really wet boots by the time I made a third trip back and forth through the dewy grass.
 

Batty arrived and we took our time loading up Rico and Dorado, and making the 90 minute drive to True West horse campground.  

  

We had unloaded the horses right away and I held them while Betty parked the truck and trailer.  
We tacked up the horses and Betty took the photo of me with the two horses in front of the campground.

Then we headed out on what would be a nearly four hour, 11 mile ride, on a beautiful fall day.  


We rode the Spruce Creek Trail past several houses to get to the Cumberland Trail head.  











Many places had beautiful fences around nice pastures containing horses.  







We got to the parking lot for the Cumberland Trail Head which I thought I recognized.  And off we went down Gernt Road (video) which also looked famiiar.  








Looking back in time, I found this photo Jean took on 11/5/2022, while riding Robbie.  I was on Amiga and Joe had come looking for us, driving down Gernt Road.  

When we got to East Laurel Overlook, we tied our horses and each took a turn hiking about a 5th of a mile to the overlook view.

Both horses did well standing, waiting, and resting while Betty and I took turns doing the short hike.  We snacked while there also.  

Rico got a couple of treats and a taste of my peanut butter cracker for being such a good boy.







We doubled back to the Cumberland Valley Loop and headed down that trail to go to the O&W Trail.  

We rode a few fairly level miles through the woods until we got to the 'big hill' which would take us down to the O&W Trail (video).  FYI, my saddle isn't crooked, but the saddle pack is.  
Once down to the bottom of the mountain, we let the horses get a drink from this creek.

Rico took his time and got a big drink.

Then we had to cross this creek to get to the O&W Trail.  It took awhile to get Rico to go.  At first he had tried to turn back to avoid it, but slipped on a huge rock, and that made him all the more leery.  His trusty partner and companion (Dorado) had gone ahead, so Rico decided to give it a go (video).





 

 


We only took a short ride along O&W horse trail (video) that follows the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, knowing we had about five miles to go, to get back to the campground.
 

We turned around to head back the way we came, and this time Rico lead the way through the creek crossing (video).  He is much more willing to go when he thinks we are headed 'home,'  which we were.

I tried to get pictures to show the beauty and magnitude of our climb, but photos just can't capture it.  

 








So I took a (video).  We obviously weren't going straight up the mountain side, but were on a well made trail diagonaling up to the top.  

It was 8/10ths of a mile from bottom to top, so we stopped several times to let our boys catch their breath.  Rico really wanted to forge onward and upward.  

We stopped at the parking lot for the Cumberland Trail Head, and got off to stretch our legs a second time.  Then we finished our mile and a half back to the campground.  It was already getting fairly late in the afternoon when we got back, as our shadows show.  

Both horses got hosed off.  Rico is very buddy sour so we kept the two within sight of each other.  

Betty was with Dorado, down the hill from us, while he ate grass.











I put my long sleeve shirt back on because it was getting cold as the sun got lower in the sky and it started clouding up more.

 






Betty and I got our stall ready for our horses while the other one of us held lead ropes while they ate grass.  







Rico was a bit nervous but did well if he was able to see Dorado.  This was true with trailering, tacking, and riding out on the trail.  



Once we got the horses settle in their stall with their feed, we checked in at the office.  The sun was setting, seen here with one of the T-pees.  






The Covered wagons, with only one occupied, were across the pond from our cabin.  






The front of Betty's truck is seen bottom left.  We had to park out front and tacked up there by the truck.  We also had to walk all our stuff down to our cabin.

I hit the hay before Betty.

Saturday 10/11 - I was up before sunrise (and Betty).  I sat and read while I sipped tea.  Right at daybreak I went up to the barn to check on the horses.  I gave them both more hay.  The barn cat was a friendly, beautiful Manx who came to greet me.  










Heading back to the cabin, I took a photo of Betty's truck and our trailer, as the sun was coming up in the distance.  

Betty got up while I sipped my second cup of tea.  We had a slow relaxing morning, with plenty of time on our hands.  This shows our cabin with many leaves from a Bigleaf Magnolia tree (native to Tennessee).  They turn silvery-gray on the undersides, often looking like "newspapers" on the ground.  And they kind of startle the horses when falling or even laying on the ground in the woods.

Here's a better photo of the barn kitty after the sun was up.  

Betty and I  took turns 'baby sitting' the horses while they ate, so one of us could clean out our horse's stall and get all our supplies packed up in the trailer.

We soon had both horses loaded and were on our way a short distance down the road to Brandy Creek Trailhead.  

When we got to the parking lot, it was very full because a large group was gathering for the Missouri Fox-trotter's breast cancer awareness ride.  We could barely pull the trailer off the road and Rico had to stand with his back feet in the road while tied to the trailer.  




It was doable, except when a bike rode by, Rico got very scared and even tried to rear up while tied to the trailer.  Betty came to my rescue and helped hold/calm Rico.  And of course the bike made the loop around the parking lot and had to go past us again on the way back out, causing the same reaction in Rico.  




The large group headed out and we took our time hitting the trail so we would not catch them.  Betty had also asked which direction they were riding the loop so we could go the same way and not run into them 'head on' while out on the trail.  






We did meet three or four small groups without incident but the large group ended up going the opposite direction they had thought they would go, so we met them too.  








We had stopped at a clearing to get photos and then Rico heard the group coming.  We got off the trail and waited for all 17 to pass (video).  Rico got more and more nervous as they passed and was shaking all over before it was clear for us to go.

When we got back to the parking lot, we put the boys in the round pen.  While they ate, rolled, and relaxed; we ate our picnic lunches.  It had been a wonderful 7.7 mile ride in just over two hours.  The trail was very nice and we had beautiful fall weather.  









These two boys did great. Rico had some moments where he got rather anxious, but he had no big spooks.  



Once back to the ranch with the horses unloaded, look who went in to inspect the trailer.  👀  I love Wanda our wonder cat. 

Our weekend trip was wonderful.  We couldn't have asked for better weather, horses, trails, or glamping.

Sunday 10/12 - It was another beautiful fall day, although it had gotten rather cold overnight, so the house air was a tad crisp.  I turned the furnace on for the first time this season.  But the cats sought the sunlight for extra warmth.







This is Mama Styx and that was Monita in the first photo.  And this is Babe in the third photo.  Her sun beams are shaded by the leaves still on the tree just outside the window.  



I went to Church with Shirley.  The service has been moved inside the sanctuary, where it will be until next spring.  



By the time I returned home, Mama Styx and Monita had moved to new sunny spots.

And Maggie was seeking sunlight also.  With the sun lower in the sky this time of year, the trees out back block it from shining in like it does in the summer.  But those leaves will be gone soon and the sun is very welcoming in the winter.  

I met Joanne and Karen at the ranch to go for a ride.

The first order of business was to ride to the corner of Beachwood and Marmaduke because we had heard chainsaw and machinery noises coming from that direction while out for a ride Thursday morning last week, and I'd heard noises during morning and evening chores before Betty and I left for horse camping.






And as I had suspected, the lot (actually three of them) had been cleared.  There was one drive put in, so now we are wondering, is it going to be one house on a big lot, or will there be two or three squeezed in here.  




Look at the size of the equipment, and in this photo you can see the drive.  Because it was a Sunday, no one was working and all was quiet, so the horses really didn't seemed bothered by the machinery or lack of trees they are familiar with.  They were very observant and quite aware of the change.  




Joanne looks great on my nice looking horse.  I was riding Amiga and Karen was on Zorro.  











Again it was a wonderful day and we had a lovely ride.  


I headed back early to keep Amiga at only three miles.  The other two went a little farther, although wanted to go back with Amiga and I.  











Jan dropped by just after Karen and I had taken Zorro and Amiga back to the upper paddock.  We all had a nice little gab session.  Joanne got on with chores and I put up a few fall decorations before going home and calling it a day.  

Monday 10/13 - Today was Rico's Birthday.  He turned seven years old.  He is getting better with age (and experiences) but still needs more time to mature more and gain confidence.  

  

After morning chores I did some small tasks.  I moved the green bench from the laundry room, down to the barn, to make room for a bench Jan was gifting us. 

I put steal wool around the drier vent opening, which the over-nighters (who were here two nights due to truck problems) had stuffed some of our old hand towels around.  We wondered if they had seen a mouse, but hadn't said anything about it.  

 
I got my Covid shot on the way to the gym.  Late afternoon I was back out at the ranch. 

I helped Joe wrangle horses so he could get into the back field to spray weeds.  

And then, the whole reason I had made a second trip out to the ranch, coming straight from the gym, was to help Joe move Jan's bench in from the trailer.  Well, he had already moved it.  It fits under the mudroom window so nicely and I think it is so cute.  

Tuesday 10/14 - I was up at 3am not feeling very good.  I took ibuprofen and tried to work here at my computer.  I went back to bed until 6:30.

Rico and Dorado are best buddies but = partners in crime.
I met Melisa and Berry at the ranch at 9am and we discussed the up-coming pool party we were having out there.  
I took acetaminophen and went to town to do my 'big' shopping.  







I got home after 1pm, unloaded perishables and stowed them in fridge, ate a late lunch, took ibuprofen, and then a two hour nap.  




I woke at 5pm still feeling out of it, so drug while doing household tasks.  

When I walked the dog, I went to check out what had been going on right across the street.  There had been sawing of cement with dust everywhere, and a cement mixer.  Well, it appears they are adding more 'columns' to the columbarium.

Wednesday 10/15 - It's the one year anniversary of when Rico arrived at our ranch.  In the process of finding a photo of that day last year, I noticed lots of things that had happened last October.  

10/1/24 - Betty brought Dorado to the ranch as a new boarder.  

10/3/24 - Stevie was euthanized.  In this photo, she was finally resting the day before I took her to the vet, after a long night of diarrhea and vomiting.  

10/10/24 - I met and 'test' rode Rico and really liked him.  













10/11/24 - After looking at three other horses and riding two of them, we went back to Rostin Foster's and purchased 'Baron de la Charca' who Joe then named Rico.  

10/15/24 - Rico was delivered to our ranch.  I walked him around the upper paddock, gave him 20 minutes of grass time, but then had to put him in a stall since he hadn't had access to grass where he came from.  

10/16/24 - Rico meets Dorado (who'd been away on a camping trip) for the first time, over the fence.  






10/18/24 - Rico did not do well stalled or without other horses in sight, so he was let out into the side pasture with Dorado.  He had no pasture where he'd come from, so was unable to run free for who knows how long.  In this (video) taken a few days later, which I really love, the boys continued to have a great time together.

10/20/24 - Joe bought this very nice truck because we did not want to pull the trailer with my expensive horse in it using the very old, unreliable truck with over 300,000 miles on it.  There's a point when aging (especially with hard use) tends to be a degeneration in product or body.  






When I got to the ranch today, the three boys had been hanging out up near Amiga and Zorro, but soon dispersed when I let A&Z out of their paddock.  





Betty and I went for a 6½ mile ride.  We took the boys up close to this tractor for 'desensitization' purposes.  The other two larger machines were now gone from this building site and stakes were in the ground marking were the foundation would go.

Below, Rico smelling the front loading bucket.

I did chores once we were back.  Rico had a mild choke when eating his dinner.  It was my fault because I hadn't offered him a drink before or after we rode.  He had cooled off after we got back, but was overly excited because he couldn't see Dorado all the time.  When I checked to see if he was finished, he was standing in his stall with his head down and only half his dinner gone.  I took him from his stall, led him to the water trough and he got a big drink.  I added water to the rest of his feed and he proceeded to finish it.  Yikes!  Ugh!  Phew!

Thursday 10/16 - I'd gotten so caught up in nastalgia and memories while writing yesterday's post, it was nearly noon by the time I got off my computer.  I'd had a nice little walk down memory road however.  








Joe had picked up two round bales of hay that I later looked at.  It is not new, fresh green hay, but at least it didn't smell moldy.

I went to the ranch after lunch and soon the dish washer repair man arrived.  The good news was he could fix the latch so it didn't need replacing.  It had been flipped to the close position and wouldn't allow the dishwasher to seal shut.  The repairman thought somebody must have stuck a knife or something into the latch to flip it.  He had to take the whole front panel off to get to the latch.
I spent a few hours watering all our young trees and shrubs.  I noticed the little pink volunteer vinca by the pot of marigolds.  I'd had vinca in this pot last year.  





After loading my tack into the horse trailer, I did chores.   I had added oats to Rico's alfalfa mix to make it a 50/50 mixture like it had been.  Then I poured about ¾C of hot water over his feed before bringing him in.  He ate it all up, no problems.  He was still agitated in his stall, in the barn all alone, but not as bad.  Patty reported the same anxiety with him when feeding Tuesday evening.

Friday 10/17 - A younger deer outside my office window.  For the forth night/morning in a row, I was up at 2am but later took a 90 minute nap on the couch and was back up at 6:15.  










After morning chores, Betty and I trailered to East Fork.  It was a very busy place, with October-fest going on (video), but it was quite festive.

There were no bikes to frighten Rico, but there were plenty of other distractions.  He did quite well.  



Betty's friend Melissa joined us, riding her mare Jade.

The fall colors were becoming more striking.  And the continued unseasonably warm, dry weather made for perfect riding conditions (video), although a tad dusty.  









We rode a total of ten miles, getting off about the halfway point to stretch our legs and take a look at the view from the Coatney Loop picnic area and overlook.
 

Rico did well, although got a little pushy after I'd given him a piece of my granola bar and he wanted more.  
I walked down to get a photo from the overlook.














Betty and Melisa stayed with the horses.  We took turns leaving them to take a look out over the cliff.  

Rico lead the way back to camp, moving out well and being so brave, although he had a big spook at a squirrel that seemed to fly down from a tree and go racing across the trail in front of him.

 

We rode around the campground once we got back.  At one point I tried riding Rico away from the other two and he went nuts; hollering, throwing his head around, twisting, turning, and cow hopping.   

On the way trailering back to our ranch, I got hit with shocking, disheartening news.  Betty was leaving our ranch to move Dorado to a different barn.  The responsibility (and possibly burden) of chores, especially the care of other's horses, was weighing heavily on her, so she made the decision to move to a full care boarding barn.  

I felt a little hurt, kind of frustrated, rather worried about moving forward without her, and pretty sad.  But I have no hard feelings and fully understand and support (although don't like) her decision.  Photo of Dorado the day he arrived just over a year ago.