The sun came shining in at Linda’s Last Chance Ranch in Aromas
for a couple of hours last Sunday for the both of us.
The sun came shining in at Linda’s Last Chance Ranch in Aromas for a couple of hours last Sunday for the both of us.
With the exception of an occasional barfy stomach, the impacts from the shots I’m taking are beginning to ease up a little.
My significant other started to feel like a human once again after his mouth finally stopped hurting from having wisdom teeth removed and a bout with a “dry socket.”
So Sunday was a day comparatively without pain and discomfort and I had animals that sorely needed my attention. It was time to saddle up an antsy horse and take my first ride in a long time.
Since I’m still a little slow around the barn, Junior has got to be about the most patient horse around as neither of us really knows what we’re doing when it comes to saddling him up. But Junior just stands there while we take turns trying to untangle the bridle and get him saddled.
But first things first. The dead rat embedded on my saddle had to be removed and scrubbed clean. Like I said, it’s been a long time between rides. But I don’t feel too bad about not having enough time to ride because Junior has 10 acres of rolling landscape to work his muscles and graze – unlike a neighbor down the road who keeps two horses in a postage stamp-size paddock with no place to run and nothing to look at but U.S. 101. That’s my idea of cruelty to animals.
Because Junior has so much freedom he can get bratty if I let him, but he does like to work. So he patiently waits while my guy attempts to saddle him up. When it comes to putting a saddle on a horse, my guy says it‚s like trying to put a bra back on a woman. “I can’t quite figure it out,” he says. But the horse knows and he won’t move until we get it right.
“That means when I put my foot in the stirrup the saddle stays put,” I said to my partner, who neglected to tighten the cinch properly. I think he was emphasizing with the horse.
This time I rode in the pasture across the street by myself because the last time I took Junior for a ride on our property, I looked like Dr. Doolittle with Daisy the donkey, the goats Sally and Hogan and the sheep Molly and Velcro all crowding around us to see what was happening.
My guy said it was quite a sight to see all our animals going up and down the inside of our fence trying to stay even with Junior as I rode on the other side of the road.
In the year we’ve had all the animals they’ve become a real family. Junior is definitely their leader, but I had to show him who’s boss. After I surveyed the pasture I took him out to round up a few cattle, which he apparently knew more about than I did, but it was sure fun learning from such a spirited animal who loves to be the boss.
Monday rolled around and it was my significant other’s very significant 60th birthday. However, when I woke up sore and achy on Tuesday morning, my guy tried to take credit for Junior’s workout.
Easy, big fella.
