Rhu = Amazing

42 minutes - 1.75 miles - Rhulain

 When I first saw Rhu's picture on the rescue website, I knew I loved her.  People questioned why I would buy a horse from the other side of the United States unseen. My husband offered to fly me to New York so I could see her in person and ride her to make sure.  But me, I just knew that she would be amazing.  She's proved me right every single day.

Today was no exception. We wandered through new scenery, different footing, the "salt flats," went around sand dunes, climbed small and medium embankments, watched clouds float lazily by, and just were there, in the moment, with each other.  No rush, no schedules, no training, just pure peace.

I must have hugged her neck and told her she's amazing 25 times during the ride. I meant it every time.

Sunsets are the Best!

Wednesday, July 30th  Left at 7:22 pm  Home at 8:12 pm  97°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Lovely sunset to the west ... storm clouds to the east

Storms are moving in and the wind really picked up today, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to ride.  I managed to sweet talk Bill into joining us just as the sun was starting to slip down behind the mountains.

Morgan's mane just cracked me up in this photo

Morgan spies Bill's free hand and moves in for an ear rub

Morgan was an absolute pleasure to ride, even with the wind, crackling lightening off in the distance, and the sky growing darker.  She has learned to listen for the saddle bags to open and the distinct chime of the camera when it turns on ... then she stops moving and stands perfectly still. Apparently, I've been taking enough pictures lately that she's trained herself  :)

My absolute favorite picture of these two!

We wandered through the sand dunes, in the salt flats, and started down the path to our street. When we reached the corner, neither of us wanted to turn towards home just yet, so we extended our ride to include the streets we had taken yesterday with Wasabi.

Caught in the act of petting my beloved Morgan

We talked very little, but we shared some great moments.  I absolutely love spending time with my husband and my horse!  It was one of those days where I was just living in the moment ... the beautiful, splendid moments that can only be found in the saddle.

Picking up the pace as the sunlight was fading

Majesty vs. The Log, Round 1

Monday, July 28th  Left at 6:41 pm  Home at 7:20 pm  85°
Rode with Bill & Majesty

Morgan waiting patiently for the ride to begin

We got home from work early and decided to see if we could find any puddles in the sand dunes to practice water crossings.  We dashed outside and tacked up ... I even put a breast collar on my darling Morgan in case we had to climb dunes to get to the puddles.

Majesty stares down the horse eating log

We started off by turning right out of the north driveway. Morgan was still acting a bit tender on her front hooves, so I moved her off the street and played in the desert next to the road. We came across the downed log and invited Bill and Majesty to join us in stepping over the obstacle.  Majesty took a long, hard look at the log before committing to going over.  Bill's quiet words of encouragement rather than pressure paid off in no time, and Majesty was stepping over it in both directions in a matter of moments.

Me, caught off guard and looking very messy ... Nice to see Morgan's head lowered

We continued down the road and turned North towards the salt flats.  Basically, we just reversed the path Morgan and I had taken on our last solo adventure. Not a drop of water to be seen anywhere ... you'd never know it had rained on and off for the last two days.

Headed to the salt flats

We ambled peacefully through the paths, crossing the salt flats, over sand dunes, and around bushes.

Top of the ridge

The sky was a glorious blue and Majesty kept a nice, easy pace.  Made for some relaxing riding.

Two wary horses eyeing the distance

Love that Majesty's muzzle and eye area become darker in the Summer

We turned towards the sand dunes where we had last seen puddles, but saw smoke rising up from someone's quad.  We heard another quad racing about, so we decided to skip our normal dunes and cruise on home.

Horrible photo, but I loved that it looks like Wasabi is whispering in Morgan's ear ... 

It also looks like Morgan is listening to her evil plans!