Go To Hell

No my Dears! Not all of you!

But it is October and that makes me think of Fall, and Fall makes me think of things dying, and dying makes me think of Hell, and Hell makes me think of the great big Trail Rides I used to sponsor back when I used to run my own Boarding Facility.
Long way 'round~ but there it is- October = Hell

You see, when you have a Boarding Facility- you have all levels of riders, and being the kind of 'go-get 'em and have fun' kind of a gal I am, I thought having a big ride would keep my customers entertained. Actually it almost got a few interred!

Ride number one was just a few of us. The day was cold and rainy and actually it was probably Halloween day.
" Don't worry!" I said with my customary bravado, " You aren't made out of sugar! You won't melt!"
So off we went and though the horses were a bit on the fresh side, they pulled the hills and stayed between the reins- until we got to the very top of the hill crest, and the wide plateau stretched out before us. One little gal's horse just couldn't resist the urge to bolt! And Bolt it did!
It ran hard and fast. The rest of us were calling out, " One rein! One Rein" and so she ended up going in a big fast circle around the top of the hill until finally that SOB horse just quit. She was so frightened that we had to pony her down off that hill and she never rode with us again.

Or the October that just one boarder and I went for an October ride, and her big black and white Appy saw the hayfield- a long stretch of open meadow bordered by canyons. That horse took off like he was going to the races! She hauled on the reins. But he actually had been a running Appaloosa and pulling back meant running faster.  She panicked and thought about him running over the side of the hill straight into that canyon and she bailed off. Broke her pelvis in two places. Ambulance took a hour to get to us up in the hills where we were riding, and they hit every pothole and rut on the fire roads back to civilization. She ended up giving that horse away, and I don't know if she ever rode again.

And finally one of the last rides- by now we were calling them Hell Rides and trying to laugh about our bad luck- my little brother was kicked in the shin by the horse in front of him and it shattered his leg. We took him off the horse and splinted it with a couple of branches and our bandannas  but again, it was a long bumpy ride back out of the canyon where it happened for Lil Bro. I know he never rode again- but after many operations his legs are still the same length.

So is it any wonder that though the weather appears perfect- the horses appear to be broke and all seems right- I still consider October the month from Hell.

Happy Halloween everybody!