Mustang Saga

 I've been looking forward to going to Horse Camp for weeks, and finally the weather cooperated.

Now that we're down to three horses, I can take the whole household with me in one trip.  Here are my three redheads settling in.

That evening we took the horses for a hike, then the next day we did it again, but saddled them in case we wanted to ride.

I look behind me:

 

I look ahead of me:

 

My good horse gave each of the kids a ride when they got footsore.

 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well he did with Katia.  They were a good team.

 

 I rode all three horses at different times.  John forgot his riding boots and didn't want to risk riding in tennis shoes on a green colt.  While I was riding Scout lost his cool and got all squiggly and nervous when he saw numerous puddles in one spot.  But other than that he was a good boy.  Bella did GREAT and I think she's ready for a real ride, one that's not mostly a hike.  She still has a long ways to go but I was pleasantly surprised by how relaxed she was.

They slept tied up for two nights, and they stood tied a lot during the day too.  It was a difficult learning experience for Scout.  He actually managed to walk under the rail at one point, which I didn't think that was possible.  He danced and fidgeted a lot, but by the end of the trip he was standing like an old bored pro.  I was a little worried about Bella because she can't lock her knees to sleep standing up, but she didn't try to lay down as far as I could tell, and she didn't seem overly tired. 

You should have seen them when we left this morning.  They all loaded right up, eager to be getting out of there.  When we got home they had a good roll and then ran and snorted and shook off all the stress of the camping trip.  Now they're all laying in the pasture having a nice nap.

We saw two elk with a baby, a tiny baby bunny right at our feet, a gigantor caterpillar, a silly grouse, and lots of butterflies.  The horses don't like butterflies, but the butterflies like them.

Tonka's little friend:

 Now I'm exhausted.  Didn't sleep well last night in the rain.  And I just don't know if horse camping with the whole family is really a good idea.  It probably didn't help that the horses weren't very settled (I think they needed much longer rides to wear them out for all the standing around).   And we had too many riders and not enough grooms, if you know what I mean.  It wore me out more than it was really worth, and I think the kids would enjoy a less horse-centric camping trip.  So I probably won't be doing this again any time soon.  But it was good training for the green horses!  Lots of firsts for both of them.