Conditions were as perfect as they were going to get: Sunday afternoon. Clear weather. A large percentage of the population away on Spring Break. No tourists, no commuters, no big rig trucks. To quote the bar owner in "The Full Monty", "it's now or never!"
The barn was rather busy this fine sunny Sunday afternoon. The chalk board proclaimed it was "Clean The Barn Day", with free cake for the cleaners (dang, I didn't know about that!). There were people cleaning stalls, sweeping aisleways, brooming cobwebs from the walls, and in the indoor arena there appeared to be a group riding lesson going on. Making things more interesting, the door at the end of the aisle was blocked with a two-wheeled draft horse forecart, and the main arena door was blocked by a tractor.
I planned to drive today, and my normal M.O. is to harness Quz in the cross-ties, hitch him up, then lead him and the cart out the door that was blocked by the forecart. If I hitched him up in the arena, I would lead him out the door blocked by the tractor. A Third option would be to hitch him up in the cross-ties on the other side by his stall, but they were cleaning stalls, and tying the indoor horses up in the aisleways while the stalls were being cleaned.
One option remained....the aisleway "downstairs" where my cart is stored...it opens up into the front parking area, has cross-ties, and is relatively quiet. If it works out, it might be my new method, which would cut out the step of wheeling the cart up the ramp, across the arena, and into the aisleway. Less work for me!
Brought Himself in, the grass is just starting to emerge enough to make it worth a horse's while to actually graze. Quzqo got his 2010 shoes put on this past week, so he was ready to get down to business!
While he enjoyed his Sunday bran mash in his freshly-cleaned stall, I hauled his harness over to the stall, and brushed and partially tacked him up in his stall. Then I lead him out the door, down and around to the "downstairs" portion of the barn, and into the aisleway where the cart was waiting.
We were having MAJOR wind conditions that day, and with the aisle doors open at both ends, we were almost in a wind tunnel. Combine that with the creaks and groans of the building in the wind, being in a New and Special Cross-Ties, to say Quz was a little jumpy would be an understatement.
Got him harnessed up the rest of the way, and once the shafts of the cart settled down on his sides he calmed a bit (mostly because he was no longer able to wiggle side-to-side). Instead he pawed the concrete and tossed his head. "Come ON, let's GO!!"
We burst out of the barn and kept going, I managed to get him stopped before he went all the way to the front pasture to visit those horses. He stood still while I got into the cart, we waited maybe 15 seconds before moving on, and out onto the road!
He was so full of P&V, the day was bright, the wind at our back, after a quick visual check that all the harness parts were buckled to the proper cart parts, I said "Trot!" and off we went, heading south on Lake Ann Road!
Have to admit I was distracted by the neighbor's property across the road when suddenly I saw a commotion to the right, and instantly Quzqo bolted forward and began galloping up the road! While I tried to slow him, I saw the three young horses in the other front pasture (known as "Mexico") galloping along the fenceline, tails flagging, heads tossing, freaking themselves out at the scary Horse and Cart on the road!
Quz galloped maybe 50 yards before I got him slowed to a canter, he was not interested in slowing any further. I remembered John Lyons' advice that you can ride as fast as your horse can run. I can drive as fast as my horse can run, so I let him! He cantered on, a car or two passed us in the other lane, but our side of the road was clear, so why not! At the top of the hill he slowed to a trot on his own, and we continued trotting up to the stop sign at the highway.
Now for over a decade I've had this terror of crossing the highway. U.S. 31 is a major regional highway, still only two lanes, but this intersection has been the scene of many a car wreck, and even a fatality or two. Images of being T-boned by a tractor trailer or RV haunted me. But this day I figured it's the safest of the windows of opportunity. God was smiling on me, the only cars coming were easily 1/2 mile away to the east. But I trotted Quzqo right across the highway to the other side anyway.
He had no desire to slow down... So I let him trot! I was thinking I should have borrowed one of the racing sulkies at the barn, the way that horse was trotting! I was glad he had shoes on his front feet, I was glad the cart seemed to be holding together, I was glad there were no cars to be seen ahead or behind! And on we went!
About half a mile down there's a small hobby farm that is home to maybe a dozen Miniature Horses, a black horse, and sheep and bunnies. The Mini pasture runs right along the road. As we trotted past, the Minis started an adorable little stampede along the length of their fenceline, shocked at the horrific Horse and Cart passing their home! I burst out laughing, and I think that may have spooked Quzqo into a little faster trot! O, to have a video camera, there's nothing more adorable than stampeding Miniature Horses!
At the mile mark Quz petered out and slowed to a walk. That's a lot of energy to expend, glad we got it out of the way!
I didn't have a planned route, my main concern was crossing the highway. Sort of like the dog that chases the car; what does he do with one once he catches it? We came to an intersection of dirt roads... to the west, a long, tempting straightaway to parts unknown. To the east, a long tempting straightaway, with a relatively steep hill down into a swamp, and ultimately leading to my house!!
Another fantasy I've had is how fun it'd be to ride/drive my horse to my house....heck, I'm halfway there! So we headed east!
Down the hill, up a hill, down a hill, down another hill...I'm thinking "crap, he has to walk UP those hills going home!". We passed quite a few homes, most with barking dogs. Down into the wooded swamp, past the "Snow Plowing Ends" sign, past another home with barking dogs. Barking LOOSE dogs.
They came pounding down their driveway and out onto the road...three BIG dogs, barking, stopping, advancing, then they began running after us. One of them I swear was a pit bull or a pit bull cross! Quzqo was tensing up. The lead dog got maybe ten feet behind me when I turned and SMACKED the ground behind us with my whip. The loud POP made Quz jump, but the dogs leaped back like they were hit instead of the ground, and after some hesitation, they turned and ran back to their driveway. Whew!
Bad thing is, we'd have to come back past them!
It was really quite nice down in the swamp, at least this time of year. Probably not so much in July and mosquito season. We almost missed our turnoff onto another two-track that eventually turns into a wider dirt road, past another horse farm, and finally onto MY road!
So many times I've daydreamed how it'd be to ride/drive Quzqo down MY road to my house. Well, this was IT! Have to admit, it was pretty anti-climactic. Kind of dull actually. Quz was content to walk along slower than ever, he'd decided about half a mile back that the drive was OVER and it's time we should be going back (I can tell when this happens, because he starts to veer towards random driveways/side-roads, thinking they lead back to the barn).
And we made it!!
Unfortunately he took us stopping for me to take the photo as meaning we're turning around, and I had a devil of a time getting him moving forward. I figured we had to at least make it to the driveway to be officially "Home". I was attempting to hold him still and call my across-the-road neighbor on my cell phone so she could come out for a vist with the horse, when she appeared on her own, having seen us out her front window!
Quzqo was having NONE of this "stand still and behave" nonsense, and started backing up, rearing, head-tossing, backing us up into a pine tree, but still she managed to snap this portrait as further proof of our achievement!
After a few words, I pointed the horse west, and got him going at another roadster trot, we FLEW away from there, and I figured at that rate we'd be back to the barn in half an hour!
That lasted maybe 1/4 of a mile before Quz pooped out again, and was content to amble along at a human's pace. I wouldn't have minded, except this time we were heading INto the wind. A brisk, 20mph wind straight out of the NORTH. And baby, it was ice cold!!
Eventually we made it back to the swamp, and the trees cut the wind. It would have been enjoyable (I think I found a wild blueberry bog) except for the guy on a ATV blatting around the two-tracks behind us. I kept waiting for him to try to pass, but he kept finding side-trails to go down instead.
We came to where the dogs were, the dogs were off somewhere else, so there was another non-event. Fine with me!
Up up up the hills. Quz did better than I'd feared he would. I explained to him that it'd be dangerous for me to get out of the cart and walk beside him to make it easier, and it's probably just as well I don't understand Horse.
It was pretty much uneventful back to the paved road, other than the amazingly cuttingly bone-chilling blasted wind that would not let up. I had dressed for 50 degrees, but now that it was after 5 p.m., it was no longer 50 degrees, that was clearly evident.
I tried a little experiment as we came to the cross-roads, allowing the horse to choose which road to take to go home. He immediately started turning to the left...the absolute opposite direction of the barn! So much for that idea, LOL!
We made it past the Mini Ranch without another stampede (darn!), but one little Mini pranced and cantered along the fence, whinnying at us as we passed.
Quzqo was not impressed by the rumble strips on the road. We managed to go around them, no way would I want to go OVER them. Talk about a bouncy ride!
And again we were at the highway. Cars were whizzing past as we approached the stop sign. An SUV pulled up behind us. Again luck was with us, as the approaching car was maybe 1/4 mile away, and we trotted across the road and headed towards home!
That half a mile was the longest half a mile in my life! Frozen to the bone, having to pee, hungry, the horse probably tired and sore, the sunlight weakening, the wind never letting up. Heading into the arena (the tractor had been moved from the doorway) was heavenly, with the wind stopping, it felt almost balmy warm in there!
Poor Quzqo was traumatized. His winter fur had been rubbed away under the shafts and breeching, right down the short summer stuff. He was still jumpy and jittery, but not so much that he'd refuse a peppermint!
We arrived back at the barn at 6:10, exactly 1 hour, 20 minutes after we left my house. I'm sure we could have made better time if SOMEbody didn't insist on walking instead of trotting. Maybe in the Fall when we're both in better shape. Have to say, I'm in no real hurry to repeat that trip!!
But at least now I think I'm over my fear of U.S. 31, and look forward to doing it again, and this time, heading into the west to see what we can see!
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