Charm’s baby Norah suckling for the first time. 🥰
Charm being charm. This was AFTER the chaos.
Khat got moved to a bigger pasture today after being in a smaller paddock for a couple of months. She’s very happy about it but doesn’t like the prickle bushes! 🤣
Monument Peak Trail System in the Santiam Forest! My first time back since that fateful ride on Charm back in 2019. The last time I was here was when Charm tore her DDFT. Then the 2020 Canyon fires obliterated a good chunk of this beautiful place. It only just opened again this year and I finally made it back!! It’s different due to the fires but it’s weird what the eye remembers. I used to ride these trails almost every weekend and even hiked them a few times. I surprised myself and was able to navigate it in its entirety purely by memory. That is no mean feat considering the considerable scenic change from the fires and the fact it’s a confusing trail system without enough signage. Lots of road crossings and sections of trail on roads and junctures not marked. But the trails were impeccable and it was truly majestic. It felt like an epic adventure. 11 miles round trip with 2,000 ft elevation climb on Khat. She was a trooper!
Silver Falls State Park, Oregon. One of my most favorite places to ride and it’s only 20 minutes away. Khat is feeling good!
Fun times at Historic Santiam Cascade Endurance Ride! Khat and I managed to get over for the trail ride and it was the perfect day! Khats first time back at an endurance ride camp in over a year. She did awesome and we both had a lot of fun.
Another great ride at the McDonald-Dunn forest! This time we changed things up and started at the Sulphur Springs trailhead and did our primary loop in the opposite direction than normal. Starting at this trailhead adds an extra two miles to our distance so we did 10.5 miles. Changing the direction of the loop made for some more challenging elevation changes.
Charm and Kaylee did awesome! Charm was feeling really good and we even got some canter in. She’s getting stronger every week.
And yes… this is all in one day. Lovely #PNW spring weather; rain, snow, hail, fog, and sunshine all in 3 hours time! 🥴
Todays ride! Once again starting at Chip Ross Park in Corvallis and then heading into the McDonald-Dunn forest. Did our 8 mile loop. Charm was a rockstar and Kaylee was happy there was still snow!
Todays adventure! Took the day off work cause the farrier was out to the barn today. Had enough time to get a ride in on Manny. A hard 8 mile very hilly ride. He did awesome and is more fit than he wants me to know. Lol. It was clear enough I could see the Sisters Mts, Mt Jefferson, and Mt Hood though it was hard to capture in the photos.
First trail ride off property of the year! Took my main girl Charm out. She’s feeling and doing phenomenal so far this year. Was a nice 5 mile ride today with hills and some technical trail. Did a little trot but mostly walk. She’s not conditioned for much more yet but we’re getting there!
My old Kaylee girl got to go too. She can’t do long rides anymore and can only go when it’s nice and cool. She’s 13 this year.
They both did amazing.
Got a nice 6 mile conditioning ride on Mr. Mandarb today. It’s his first time out since September. We just rode from the barn up the road and back. This is a nice 6 mile round trip with a decent climb and is my go to quick conditioning ride. Mandarb was honestly a little sh*thead today. He’s not used to riding by himself and he’s barn sour. We came to an understanding and next time he’ll be better but my goal with him is to do a bunch of solo riding the next couple of months. He needs to learn to rely on his rider and not depend on other horses around him. He’ll get there quickly and I’m excited to see what he’s like when he starts really tuning in.
