Let's Ride

Siera and Badger

Siera
Badger

Me: Oh honey let's just go now...
Him: Well we got some work to do...fencing...
[I heard yaddah yaddah yaddah]

I gave him my best 'come hither' look and put my hand on his shoulder.

*The heck with work today, let's go play.*
..and he listened!

We gathered up Badger and Siera. Siera has had several short rides and one ride on trails at Wildcat State Park, and hasn't had a blanket or saddle on her since September.

Today we were going through the rough woods, dry runs, steep ravines, creek bottoms, and non-trail areas...in other words...
brush busting.

To Siera's credit, she did not act wild and crazy and remembered most of what she'd been taught.
BUT
We found that she disliked ditches, creeks, and the really rough stuff. Several times Badger had to 'show' her the way.
Several times Badger and I had to sit quietly and watch my husband work Siera so that she would cross the ravine.

Once she figured it was okay, off she'd go.
She even walked up the creek bottom...but it took some convincing on her part. Sucking mucky ground was not her favorite.
Again, Badger showed her that she would not get sucked into a bottomless Mule Sucking Hole.

I did find an antler shed and carried it home.

We didn't get home until sunset.

There is something so lovely as having a mule that has been there and done that.
It was dark as we wound around through the woods towards home. I couldn't even see the trail that we normally followed.
But Badger knew it by heart.

I tried to impress my husband by saying 'right by this tree!' or 'hang a left by the birch!' as if I were calling out directions to Badger.

He laughed and said, 'That mule has been down this trail SO many times, he could do it in his sleep.'
True enough, and I was glad.