Horse Hunting~

Farah getting shoes~

 Justin had to cancel our shoeing appointment last Fri.  I had no nail heads left & didn't want to pull a shoe, so he rescheduled for Sunday.  Yes - it was Cookin' hot!  Butch sat up one of his big fans to keep Justin cool & the bugs off Farah.  She loved it!  Was so funny watching her - she almost went to sleep!  Justin told me that I'm very lucky that Farah has such great feet - that can hold up to the constant shoeing that all the miles have required over the past couple years.  I know he's going to be lobbying hard for me to let her go without this Winter...  I dread the thought of having to do boots again, so we'll see.

Yes - there's still water!

I knew there would be a lot of riders out early looking for the lost horse, so since I prefer riding in the afternoon anyway - decided to go up later & act as the drag rider :-)  They're the ones that usually find stuff anyway!  People were worried that the horse wouldn't have access to water - but there's still plenty in the wetlands - so if he's smart - he'll find it.

From an overcast morning - things heated up quickly~

Since the parking lot was full & I couldn't go on out to the road without doing major backing - which I do not do...  I parked along the back edge.  I was riding out as Charlotte was riding back in - so she took my keys & parked my rig in a empty spot she found upon her return.  Thanks Charlotte!  There were riders all over the mountain.  I'd stop every so often to listen & we'd usually hear other riders on other trails.  Two groups of hikers stopped to talk & they too were looking for the horse.

Hazy view from the top~

We had our lunch up at the Monument.  No one else around at that time.  Heading down, we ran into another hiker who was taking trails & looking everywhere too.  She lives on the perimeter of the farm & mentioned that she had listened last night to see if her horse called out - but no - all was quiet.

Going to the deep dark woods~

The woods are SO Dry!  The driest I've ever seen them, with the lower branches dropping so low that I had to bend down over Farah's neck in places...

The way back~

We covered just over 11-miles, not a sign of the horse anywhere.  When we got back to the trailers, there were only two left & we saw the owners coming in.  A lady in a car said she'd seen a brown horse going fast - way on up the road.  Katie took off at a gallop that direction.  It was the way I'd just come in - so really didn't think he was there...  Hope so though - for their sake.  Horrible feeling to lose an animal - I just went through it with Rascal & can't imagine the anguish of looking for a saddled horse.  Hope he's found soon~

Update~  Linda texted last evening & Penny posted ~
 The lost horse on Victoria was found by Jennifer and Joe Ridgley at 9:30pm on the road overlooking lake Mcmurray. Seems to be fine. No cuts or marks. Saddle still on. They caught him and led him to their place just outside tree farm. Owner is coming in morning to pick up. Happy ending!!