I’m Ready To Go

All my tack is packed; I'm ready to go….

Yesterday, I spent most of the afternoon going through the garage, the shed and the tack room of the barn looking for where I dumped the tack and camping supplies from my big trailer when I abruptly sold it. Some of the tack I never used for years, I was fortunate enough to sell at the horse auction last month, but there are still those things I like to have with me. Most of my personal riding gear is in my little trailer.

I cleaned out the aluminum toolbox that we sometimes put on the truck and was thrilled that I could get all the grills, fencing equipment, camp chairs and other miscellaneous equipment stored there and still have room to spare. I have learned that half of what I had stored in my big trailer, I didn't need. So that has been kind of a cleansing to not have all this "stuff" to try to find a place for.

I put the saddles on regular saddle racks in the storage area in front of each horse stall. The horse's feed bags will hang over the saddles. In time, I want to have an aluminum tray to fold down over the saddles to keep them separated, but for this short trip, it will work okay. I won't need to feed the horses in the trailer and they are not ones to fuss with stuff. But just in case, I didn't put my good leather saddle there; I left it in the small trailer. I hung up a saddle rack on one of the tack room doors and John screwed on a Rumber brush tray I had bought online.

For now, John nailed together some slats and we inserted under the breast bars. This will keep the tack separate from the horse stalls. It slid in nicely under the stall divider, so it is firmly in place and can't fall. I'm lukewarm about it. I know we need a divider, but this one is not easy to move around; I'll have to lift the stall divider to remove it. Not heavy, but awkward if I am by myself. But again, to get us there and back this first trip out, it will work fine. I'm surprised at how much room I really do have once it is all put together. In a way, I am glad I had that time waiting for repairs to put it all together in my head without just cramming stuff in there last minute.

Since Case and a friend are going with us today, we will take both rigs. We are only going 20 miles, so no big deal. Yesterday, the farrier noticed Blue has a cut on the bulb of his back foot. He'll make the trip, but not sure how much riding he'll actually do. He's not lame on it and if I can slip a boot on it, it should help protect it.

Speaking of lame, yesterday - for no apparent reason - I fell down the basement stairs. One second I am walking and the next, I am airborne. I saved myself after about 4 or 5 steps and luckily the stairs are carpeted and I didn't hit my tailbone that just healed this past spring after a year of pain! But today my ankle is tender and I can only guess as a result of this klutzy move. It's hell to get old.