Once Upon a Time, The End

I was so euphoric on Friday when I wrote my last post that I realized later it sounded like a fairy tale and we were at this part:

          They lived happily ever after. The End. 

In fact, we are only at this part of the trail riding story:

Once upon a time, there was a woman who raised a beautiful, brave horse named Tumbleweed. The woman dreamed of someday riding the trails with him, and she spent many days (years) preparing for it (more work on herself than him).  Soon, they were ready to set out.

One day….

In other words, we are at the beginning of this new chapter. 

I am already frustrated that I can’t get right back out and build on what we started Friday. I worked with Tweed at home yesterday and today I am going out of town. The grandson gets home tomorrow and babysitting duties resume. I am going to have to be very creative. 

In the meantime, I am piecing together all my old trail gear:

After my ride Friday, I was thinking how I wished I owned a thin riding halter, just in case I want to hop off and walk him through something or tie him somewhere.

I began researching them and almost bought one, then a light went off —…Um, I own one and used it often with Cowboy. 

Ok. 

But do you still have it?

The picture already gave it away. Yes, I save everything. 

The next thing was finding my packs and seeing what was still in them and what they needed. 

This is what was in them: sunblock, trail maps, roll on fly spray, and hand sanitizer (my last big rides were during the pandemic, and I had a lot of hand sanitizer!)

This is what I added to it: a first aid kit, ice pack, and vet wrap. Then, a utility knife with a hoof pick. (Cowboy had a shoe hang by one nail on a ride and I was only able to get it off because a friend had a similar utility knife.)

Finally, I was remembering back to some particularly buggy rides that inspired me to invest in riding masks. I looked them up on Amazon and saw that I had purchased them in ‘18 and ‘23. I’m sure they’re in my collection out there, but I ordered both again because you can never have enough fly masks. My horses are hard on them.

The visibility is excellent with the Cashel Quiet Ride masks. I didn’t think they created any issues when I rode with them before. 

And last, but not least…

A friend made me a knife sheath long ago, and I have it tied to my saddle at all times. A horsewoman always needs a knife. 

Right now I can’t think of anything else to add. 

How about you, what’s in your bags?