Monday, June 2, 2008

On the Road Again: Continued Endurance Conditioning

After most of a week's break following the Owyhee Fandango LD (ride story here), Aaruba and I hit the trails again on Saturday. He was full of...ummm...brio (how's that for a euphamism!) and ready to check out the BLM land just 6 miles from home.

I'm excited to have discovered the network of dirt tracks on these sage-covered hills, particularly because they give us a place to trot for miles over the kind of terrain we encountered at the Eagle Extreme and in the Owyhee Canyonlands -- steep inclines, rough ground, and long stretches of relatively level trail on the ridges.

Unfortunately, a lot of folks come to these same hills for target practice. The land is riddled with junk. People will shoot anything, it seems. We passed bullet-riddled tires, mattresses, electronics, appliances, badgers, ground squirrels, and even a chocolate lab. We also came upon several small groups of people clustered around pickups and jeeps, blasting away. Thankfully, they were kind enough to stop shooting so we could pass, all flared nostrils and bulging eyes, and I only had to short circuit one near-bolt.

I was hoping to ride a good 20 miles or so, but an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in and I decided that returning to the trailer early was preferable to getting barbequed by lightening. Travis, who had been sighting in his new rifle while I rode, was ready to go home.
Aaruba, on the other hand, could have used the mileage. Guess what we'll be doing this evening...What a life!
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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

like i always say... a "short tour beats no tour" :)

happy trails
gp and gazi in montana

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous looking horse you have!

I've just stumbled across your blog and believe I'll have a ball reading through what you've got to say.

Cheers,
Chris

Mrs. Mom said...

Hey! I am one of those folks who will shoot a variety of things.... lol.. But I pick up my targets after wards and dispose of them. (Can not shoot critters though. Just not right IMO if you are not going to eat it.)

Looks like a good place to ride though,and give a change of scenery and conditioning challenges!

Shana said...

Nice photos! Are you planning on Renegade?

The Sweaty Equestrian said...

Welcome, Chris!

Hi Shana -- Nope, no Renegade for us, though I dearly wish we could go. It's just too long a haul this year. You know all about that! :-)

Alicia said...

I'm don't normally read horse blogs. I don't own a horse, but love to ride them. The pictures on your blog are gorgeous! And your postings are fun to read.

rksistu said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Wayne Jones said...

Hi There, i've just found your blog & started reading, which is odd because i'm a man & we don't read things !

And had to say love the pictures !

Kind Regards

Wayne

http://www.equineview.blogspot.com/