Crossing Water

I am hopelessly behind on my recording of experiences on the horses. Yesterday's ride was an exciting one with Daniel on Tiena, and myself on Delgado.  Daniel told me we would be bush-wacking. I decided to wear my helmet as the last time I rode with him we went through areas with low, hanging branches.  Our goal for that ride was to find a way around John Peck's property. This is a story in itself. Peck's property is a beautiful tract of land, about one hundred and sixty acres, that he intends to develop. At one point, when I spoke to John Peck, he agreed that if I were to write a letter releasing him of any liability, he would allow me to ride on his land. I did so, and then he changed his mind. A few days ago, Peck sent both myself and Daniel a letter threatening legal action for trespassing on his property. It is unfortunate since this is a gateway to many miles of trail riding.

Setting out to find an alternate route, we rode up behind Daniels property. He brought his machete and occasionally got off Tiena to cut away a branch here and there.

This is the "water crossing" that Delgado has been having problems with.

Then we came to a little water crossing. I say little, however to horses who cannot judge the depth of water this can be very scary. Apparently, Delgado has not had much practice with water crossings. After unsuccessful mounted attempts, I got off and tried to lead him. Daniel also tried leading him. We finally got him across, but I realized that I need to go back there and spend some time working with him so he is not afraid.

The path we took circumventing Pecks property requires traversing a substantial gully lined with Live Oak trees, brush, occasional patches of Poison Oak  and boulders. At the bottom, there is the gully, that is passable, but the horses tend to want to jump over it. I was grateful it was dry at this point. Delgado gets pretty worked up in these situations. About half way down we got off and walked the horses. Del doesn't really walk, he prances and sometimes moves faster than I want. We definitely need to practice this type of activity as well. He jumped the gully at the bottom and I managed to stay out of his way.

Mounting up again, we continued through Avocado groves. Then we came to another area of the dirt road we were following, that often has a little run-off of water. This is more like a sheen of water about ten yards across. I am doing what you are suppose to, keeping momentum and focusing on the other side. As we rode on to the wet area Del put on the breaks. All four hooves skidded along for a bit. I wish I had a photo of us for I'll bet it was funny!

Daniel and I continued along one of the asphalt roads, dirt roads and trials in the back country around Starvation Mountain. We arrived at one point that we both know, a beautiful tractor road down through more avocado orchards. It is very cool, shady and normally quiet, except for the rustling of leaves from the horses hooves. This is another area that it is nice to have your head protected by a helmet. I have been conked more than once on the head by an avocado in the low hanging branches.

At the bottom of the hill we decided to turn back and retrace our steps. We had achieved our goal of finding a way around Peck's property. At a distance I noticed a man by his garage. We stopped to talk to  ask for permission, having ridden on his property. He was most gracious and offered us water for the horses. He has three horses of his own and is leaving this week for five days of riding on Catalina Island. How cool is that!

Since we were having good feelings about talking to people along the way, Daniel stopped at another property closer to the stable. The couple who live there are just finishing rebuilding after the fires that swept through the area three years ago. They are adjacent to Peck's property and said we could ride across any time. It is interesting how different peoples' attitudes are concerning their land.

The water crossings went progressively better until the last one where I had first led Del across. I tried to keep momentum and stayed mounted. At the last moment Delgado jumped high into the air over the water. Daniel saw me fly up off the saddle (he said two feet) but fortunately, I didn't loose my balance and stayed on him. It was probably more like a foot, but I was way up in the air. I think I must be addicted to the adrenaline rush that Del gives me!

We headed back over the last little mountain to the stable. It is a steep hill and Tiena was moving along quickly as she can do. I somehow missed seeing the low hanging branch and rode right into it with my head. It hurt my neck from the impact! Needless to say, I have decided to make a habit of wearing my helmet when I ride Del.