Dark

We got our forty miles in . . . it just took us four days to do it.

Tonight, I rode the Mesa with L on Amaar (who did awesome), and G on Charlie. We set off as the sun was setting under the light of a half moon. (No, I have no idea what possessed us.

The overall ride was wonderful.

On our way up the mountain we saw several does with their babies. As you can see in the above picture, the babies have lost their spots and have huge freaking ears. We decided that fawns are born with adult sized ears and their bodies grow into them.

When we got to the steep part, we hand galloped. Both Amaar and Charlie beat Ashke up. (This is a favorite training ride for Michelle). About 2/3rds of the way up I had to get off and fix my saddle blanket. My saddle was loose and if I hadn't had the breastcollar, I might have lost my saddle. After I fixed it, we galloped the rest of the way. Ashke was in the lead with Amaar right behind when Charlie blasted past us. I barely got a pic.

As you can see the ride down was kind of hairy. It was really dark by that time and Ashke did not want to walk. We piaffed down the mountain. Ashke decided that he no longer wanted Amaar close to Charlie, so pinned his ears and threatened to kick when Amaar got close. 

We made it back safely. Pulled tack, rinsed and tucked him away with his mash. The loop we did was 4.8 miles, so I pretty much made my 40 mile goal.

Need glow sticks next time, though.