Grounded

Well, I've done it again. What started out as a nice exploratory ride through the woods turned into a disaster. John and I were hoping to find a trail to access a neighbor's land. The previous day, we rode Harley and Rolex, following snowmobliled trails and came out in an old granite quarry, actually riding through a chasm of granite blocks--pretty cool. But due to our late start, we needed to head home before darkness fell.

So on Monday, we headed out with Harley and Ruffy, trying to bushwack our way through to Hank & Lily's place. Ruffy is a bit claustrophobic and isn't a fan of bushwacking. She likes open trails with solid footing. When John asked her to wind her way through whippy little saplings and over sticks on a non-existent trail, she lost it. Next thing I know, John passes me saying, "Stop when you can!" That was it--I was already leaning over to get under a branch, with lose reins, when Harley, Mr. Chickenpants, panicked too. "Don't leave me, Ruffy!" Well, we both were unseated, and our ponies took off, headed for home. Thankfully, no one was badly hurt (at least we didn't appear to be) and we started following their hoof prints out to Hank and Lily's drive. I jogged down to the road, afraid they might be hit by cars, clutching my hurting chest. I got 2 visuals of them, ambling up the road, and calling them only made the horses stop, look, and continue home, as if say, "Oh, it's just her, let's go back to the barn." I finally caught them in a neighbor's drive, standing there looking lost. "Ruffy, you've got the wrong house, "I said, "How about some carrots?" That brought them close and I grabbed their reins. John appeared, a little gimpy, and we walked home, shaking our heads.

A couple of days later, I finally went to the doctor only to find I have a fractured sternum--oh yay! So now my winter may be shot--no skiing, no skijoring, and certainly no riding until I can actually lift a saddle. Yes, I'm so sore I can't do much of anything. I'm grounded.

Do you have carrots in there?

So while John took Rolex back to "the scene of the crash", I went for a safe walk in the woods, exploring the skidder trails and checking out animal activity in the forest.

I may be doing a lot of walking for the next few months. John will get to ride the FB (aka Fuzzy B____d) and keep him worked. Poor John, a lot has fallen on him now; shoveling, water buckets, grain hefting, pretty much nearly all the barn chores. Oh, and don't forget hammering on the frozen water buckets! I guess it's a good thing this happened in winter in that I won't be missing out on prime riding weather when spring arrives. I'm hoping this will all heal up quickly so I can get back in the saddle soon. Cross your fingers for me!
Here are some shots taken from my walk in the woods, sans cheval.

Turkey track--one left by the eight males I was following!

All sizes of deer wandering back there--looks like Grand Central Station at the logging staging area.

Ruffed grouse 

Coyote and deer tracks--hunting for dinner?

A little bit of winter wonderland tucked down in lowlands.

Frozen brook

Our horses looked so fuzzy in the blustery weather, they looked like they had velvet coats. First, Rolex is trying to be big boss mare and is nipping Ruffy, and it the next one, she's given up and I've got a sweet shot of Ruffy. Harley, unaware of the drama behind him, is noshing on the hay (big boss gelding).

Rolex, trying to rule the herd

All's well, time to come in for dinner.