This past week the double duns, aka Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Divide Basin WY mare Lacy and Twin Peaks CA filly Echo, went on yet another mountain adventure.
Michelle Moreland and I had decided to take our trusty steeds and dogs back to a familiar trail to finish what we had set out to do earlier this year. The weather was lovely with hardly a cloud in the sky that morning. In typical monsoon fashion that was supposed to change later in the day.
We were equipped with rain coats, GPS and determination to watch the weather so as not to do anything overly stupid. Getting hit by lightning wasn’t high on our list of things to accomplish that day.
It was an area I had ridden many times before so I played tour guide until we decided to do a little exploring instead of continuing to follow the known path, which turned into hours of aaaaahs and ooooohs as we rode to the top of another ridge and then another, keeping an eye on the now much darker sky.
Looking for a way to connect the known area with our new discoveries, we navigated some steep stretches and led our horses up the worst of the loose rocks to this plateau.
As it turned out it would have taken mountain goats to get to where we had hoped to go but the view from the edge was breathtaking and so worth it.
We had just enough time to take it all in when we noticed distant thunder and turned our horses around to get to a safer spot before we would inevitably get pelted.
Mission accomplished: We had first lunch under a tree in a hail storm with lightning just a bit close for comfort, our wet disgruntled horses also seeking shelter under trees and soggy dogs hopeful for a snack or a stick to get thrown.
Second lunch was much nicer, in between storms on warm rocks surrounded by content horses enjoying lush grass and sleeping dogs drying their coats in the afternoon sun.
I’m grateful for Mustangs that are always game for adventures and reliable even when the unexpected or uncomfortable happens, loyal happy dogs and friends who love horses, dogs, wildflowers, mountains and exploring just as much as I do.
We’d love to hear about your favorite summer adventures with your horses, Mustang or domestic, in the comments!
#BLMmustangs#wildhorseswillingpartners#exploremore#adventure#friends#makingmountainmustangmemories
