Wednesday 10 August
Think of the film "Broke Back Mountain" but not with 2 dudes. That's the setting the ranch reminds me of.
My girlfriend drove in last night. Of the 2 of us, she is the only one who owns a car. She has been alternating her time spent between here (the cabin on the ranch where I am staying), her parents' summer house in the nearest town which is some 30 miles away, and San Francisco.
I think this arrangement is ideal. She likes the idea of rustic living (Oregon Trail settler style), but when life gets too far from her comfort zone, she can go into town and take a break. I appreciate that at least as much as she.
This morning, I slept a little late and rose a little after sun rise. I started a fire in the fire pit outside the cabin.I put a kettle of water for coffee on the edge of it. A___ set an iron griddle on a grate over it after the blaze had died down to hot coals smoldering at a temperature which approximates the medium-high setting of a modern kitchen stove. She fried some eggs and sausage. Then she put teh Dutch oven in the coals, waited until it was hot, and baked some scones to go with the coffee whic she had made in a French press a short time earlier.
I learned to ride horses using a Western style saddle when I was 5. I haven't been on one since then until this month. There is a saddle in the barn here, but it needs to be repaired and cleaned before it can be used. I don't know how to do that, but I would still like to ride. So, I decided to teach myself to ride bareback. I have been practicing here and there on the swaybacked gelding Shotgun for several days. I started out figuring out how to mount and unmount him without a saddle or stirrups. Then I found an old halter (For those unfamiliar with horses, unlike a bridle, a halter has no bit or mouthpiece) and fashioned some reins from a loop of rope which I hooked to the sides of the muzzle portion of the halter. Then I got used to riding around the cabin and the barn. It turns out that his back being slightly swayed makes this easier to do. His droopy back provides a natural indentation for me to balance more easily. And so long as he shows no discomfort, it should OK for him. So, later yesterday, I was riding him around the ranch. Everything was fine for a while until I directed him down a steep hill.
Anyway, we were going down a steep hill a little too fast for my lack of skill. I started sliding forward (no riding blanket either). I dared not grip him tightly with my legs as this is often a cue for horses to speed up. So I balanced as best I could but was quickly becoming unstable. This hill was pretty steep so I kept sliding forward and finally bounced off. I fell toward his left (down hill side). He's a tall horse. Cpnsidering his height combined with the steepness of the downhill side of wehere I fell, I must have fallen at least 10 feet.
So somehow, I listed over and started falling head first. I put my hands forward, elbows slightly bent, thumb and forfingers forming a triangle a couple of feet away from my face. Then I hit the ground HARD. My elbows gave and my face smacked down pretty hard. Then I had to roll fast to get clear of his hooves.
I got up and was ok except that I have a patch of road rash on my forhead. My nose was saved by the fact that the triangle I had formed with my hands had allowed my nose to go through the triangular hole as my brow struck my fingers. I did not see stars or lose consciousness.
Also, the heel of my right hand impacted in a depression in the ground. This caused that part of my hand to sink in deep while my fingers did not. That and my right hand hit first since it was more uphill. The result is that my wrist bent back too far and is sore today.
Think of the film "Broke Back Mountain" but not with 2 dudes. That's the setting the ranch reminds me of.
My girlfriend drove in last night. Of the 2 of us, she is the only one who owns a car. She has been alternating her time spent between here (the cabin on the ranch where I am staying), her parents' summer house in the nearest town which is some 30 miles away, and San Francisco.
I think this arrangement is ideal. She likes the idea of rustic living (Oregon Trail settler style), but when life gets too far from her comfort zone, she can go into town and take a break. I appreciate that at least as much as she.
This morning, I slept a little late and rose a little after sun rise. I started a fire in the fire pit outside the cabin.I put a kettle of water for coffee on the edge of it. A___ set an iron griddle on a grate over it after the blaze had died down to hot coals smoldering at a temperature which approximates the medium-high setting of a modern kitchen stove. She fried some eggs and sausage. Then she put teh Dutch oven in the coals, waited until it was hot, and baked some scones to go with the coffee whic she had made in a French press a short time earlier.
I learned to ride horses using a Western style saddle when I was 5. I haven't been on one since then until this month. There is a saddle in the barn here, but it needs to be repaired and cleaned before it can be used. I don't know how to do that, but I would still like to ride. So, I decided to teach myself to ride bareback. I have been practicing here and there on the swaybacked gelding Shotgun for several days. I started out figuring out how to mount and unmount him without a saddle or stirrups. Then I found an old halter (For those unfamiliar with horses, unlike a bridle, a halter has no bit or mouthpiece) and fashioned some reins from a loop of rope which I hooked to the sides of the muzzle portion of the halter. Then I got used to riding around the cabin and the barn. It turns out that his back being slightly swayed makes this easier to do. His droopy back provides a natural indentation for me to balance more easily. And so long as he shows no discomfort, it should OK for him. So, later yesterday, I was riding him around the ranch. Everything was fine for a while until I directed him down a steep hill.
Anyway, we were going down a steep hill a little too fast for my lack of skill. I started sliding forward (no riding blanket either). I dared not grip him tightly with my legs as this is often a cue for horses to speed up. So I balanced as best I could but was quickly becoming unstable. This hill was pretty steep so I kept sliding forward and finally bounced off. I fell toward his left (down hill side). He's a tall horse. Cpnsidering his height combined with the steepness of the downhill side of wehere I fell, I must have fallen at least 10 feet.
So somehow, I listed over and started falling head first. I put my hands forward, elbows slightly bent, thumb and forfingers forming a triangle a couple of feet away from my face. Then I hit the ground HARD. My elbows gave and my face smacked down pretty hard. Then I had to roll fast to get clear of his hooves.
I got up and was ok except that I have a patch of road rash on my forhead. My nose was saved by the fact that the triangle I had formed with my hands had allowed my nose to go through the triangular hole as my brow struck my fingers. I did not see stars or lose consciousness.
Also, the heel of my right hand impacted in a depression in the ground. This caused that part of my hand to sink in deep while my fingers did not. That and my right hand hit first since it was more uphill. The result is that my wrist bent back too far and is sore today.
