Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Scenes From Our Horse Ride

Cliff and Gambler

Cliff and his friend, Preston, host a winter horse ride every year. They call it the Gator Ride because they ride in gator country. Although, I'm not sure they have ever seen one this time of year.

Cliff and Preston like to go out a couple weeks early to check out the conditions in the Francis Marion National Forest and that's what we were doing Sunday. They like to make the ride challenging for the veteran riders that come. The thicker the forest, the snarlier the brambles, the muddier the roads, the deeper the water....the better. And, if they see a gator.....icing on the cake!

I'm not one of those die-hard riders. I would rather stay mostly in the clearings behind the camera. Preston would stay with me, for my safety, while Cliff was exploring.  Sissy and I did walk through some water up to her knees, though. She trusts me because she knows I don't want to go any where that she doesn't want to go. Ha! At least that's what I thought until she had a little freak, later.

The ride was pretty uneventful, except for the time Cliff and Hunter (Preston's friend) rode through the brambles and Preston and I rode around the outside perimeter. Sissy couldn't stand that her boyfriend, Gambler, left her. She was biting at the bits to get to him and would twirl me around in some vicious circles. But Cliff wasn't gone long and she calmed down, when she saw him and Gambler coming back. And then there was the time that Gambler saw some rusty fence wire lying off to the side of the path and did a quick side-step because who knows what he thought that was. Oh wait, and there was the 'when Sissy freaked' thing. You'll see the pictures below of the water we had been walking in all day. The water...dark and knee deep. You would think this was the creepiest of creeps, but no....we came up to a tiny stream. I'm talking about 8 inches wide, if that. The water running through it was but a trickle and couldn't have been more than a half inch deep. Yet, Sissy freaked and felt like she had to jump the 8 inch wide, half an inch deep stream or drown. Now, I wish I had a picture or video of that. Good thing I was holding on! I told Whitney about it and she said, "Yeah. she just can't wrap her head around that." Ha!

Well, there's lots of pictures to look at, so I'm going to leave you to it.....

 The Francis Marion National Forest

 Saddling up. 
(Whitney, don't look at the dreadlocks)

Cliff and Hunter clearing the brambles. Sissy was so excited!

 Cliff and Gambler trudging through knee-deep water.

 Cliff on Gambler and Hunter on Waylan. Do you see the swampy area in the background? 

 Gator country.

 Preston on Dolly and Cliff on Gambler.

After the ride, we took the horses back to the barn. Our horses are boarding at Preston's farm, temporarily. They have guineas at the farm. Aren't they interesting?
 
 From the neck up, they are as ugly as sin. But, from the neck down...... just look at that beautiful plumage. 




 Heading to the barn for some R&R and food.

 But first, a dirt bath! 

 And now, a well deserved meal.


Talk soon,
Laurie




24 comments:

  1. Laurie, I loved all your pictures. That is a wild area...but pretty. Your horses are so beautiful. The first time I saw a guinea, it was in a tree at my uncles. I asked how did that chicken get in a tree...cause I just knew chicken didn't fly. You are right their feathers are pretty. Blessings to you and good luck to the fellows on their ride. xoxo,Susie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Susie. Yes, this area of the National Forest is primitive and beautiful. I didn't know guineas could fly, either. But the ones on the roof, here, proved it. And they can be quite loud. HaHa!

      Delete
  2. And, if they see a gator.....icing on the cake!
    I don't think so! I would be racing for the barn, LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too, Connie! But, I have to say....Cliff kind of knows what he's doing, so I felt safe.

      Delete
  3. What a lovely area. At least it is withOUT the gators! I'm not sure I could relax enough to enjoy myself thinking there might be one around who decided not to "hibernate" for the winter!

    Cliff looks like he's nineteen years old in that top picture!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I felt safe, Mama Pea. I think I may have been more concerned about wild hogs. Didn't see any of those, either. Cliff is kinda cute, isn't he? Lol! Must be my good cooking that's keeping him so young looking.

      Delete
  4. Gator Country sure looks pretty, I love those tall trees and the swampy area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rebecca! It's very pretty in the forest.

      Delete
  5. haha...sounds like the humans had more fum than the horses! Glad you didn't have any gators to deal with! Laughing at those guineas! Beautiful feathers...their heads look like their belong on something else!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, those Guinea heads are ugly and foreign! Lol!

      Delete
  6. Awesome pics! Lovely country and you captured a fun day really well. I didn't know, or didn't remember that you had horses. You are a very adventuresome gal! I've heard that Guinea hens are good protectors for other chickens...don't know if it's true though! Glad no gators came your way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, YaYa! Yes, Sissy is or was Whitney's English Show horse. She won all sorts of ribbons. But as the usual, when she left for college, she left those activities behind. She now loves Sissy from afar. Guineas are supposed to be good for keeping snakes away, also. That might be the reason they have them at the barn. And, yes ma'am, I do love a good adventure.

      Delete
  7. OK, so with gators and guinea fowl afoot, I'm pretty sure you have to keep an eye out for snakes, too? Though, this is the wrong time of year for them, I'm sure. Great pictures, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well thank you, Tanya! And yes, you always have to be on the look out for snakes in theses parts. Although, you don't really see any this time of year. But that day was pretty warm and I'm sure there were one or two out sunning somewhere. But since I was on the horse, I didn't worry about it too much.

      Delete
  8. Looks like a fun day for everyone, horses included! My kids had a pony that would rather walk through fire than through a puddle :) Glad you didn't have any gator sightings. Our neighbor had guinea hens - I love how they seem to say, 'coconut, coconut!' Love the scenery and those beautiful horses! x Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Karen. Yeah, I don't know what it is about those puddles or streams. The guineas are fun to listen to...they can get really loud, too.

      Delete
  9. What a fun day, and such beautiful pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Laurie, what an amazing and fun day. The horses are beautiful and I love seeing the hens too. What beautiful property. Thanks for sharing and also for stopping by and your kind comment to my trip to The Silos.
    Have a nice rest of the weekend. xo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Laurie, I haven't ridden horseback in many years and now I just know I would break one of my brittle bones! One of the most memorable dates Glenn and I went on was to stables, here in Aiken, where they rented horses out by the hour. My thoughts are the horses were ridden too hard and didn't get enough care. Maybe, that was the reason some of them were so anxious to get back to the stables and didn't hesitate to run over everything or throw every rider who wasn't moving along fast enough. We saw a young boy get thrown front first into a post and a very experienced woman rider get thrown sideways off as they rounded the bend near the stables. It was Glenn's first(and last)riding experience and he was riding behind me along the path in the woods. I didn't know that after I took off ahead of him his horse had thrown him right after he mounted. He was determined though and got right back in the saddle, I'm told. I wondered where he had gotten to and was thinking I should wait for him. I slowed up and then I heard really fast galloping of the horse behind me. Then, I heard Glenn say "Whoa, I said. Damn you, whoa!" Well, the horse did just that. It stopped dead in its tracks and when I looked around I saw Glenn sailing through the air over the horse's head, missing a big tree, by mere inches! He would never mount a horse again! We had a horse for a while. I didn't get to ride much because I came here to Aiken to school. Sorry for the long commentary. I loved your post and the beautiful pictures of the horses!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Lynn. My sister had an experience similar to Glenn's. Her horse took off for the barn and bounced her off somewhere in between. I don't know what it is about the barns...maybe they think they're going to miss a meal. I'm glad Glenn wasn't hurt. Hitting a tree could be fatal. We had fun that day and even though Sissy had to jump the stream, I enjoyed it.

      Delete
  12. Wow, I love everything about this post! Beautiful! I have dreamed of having a horse since I was 8... This was seriously over the top! And what a beautiful area. We used to live near a horse farm, but now we love next to 30+ llamas...pretty, but not as photogenic as a horse!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the forest with those tall trees....
    The horses are beautiful....I didn't know you had horses....lucky girl!
    We are in Lexington Kentucky tonight...91/2 hours driving...Relaxing....
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

    ReplyDelete