trip cancelled

Butch's rope burn was worse again yesterday morning. I asked myself, if I were at home, would I ride him?

The answer: No.
I'd call the vet and give him time to heal.

Instead of hauling to Colorado City, TX, I asked Lee to turn around and haul us back to my rig at John & Lois' place in Salt Flat.

I took Butch home today.


Thank you to everyone who has helped me & Butch mule on this attempted ride, everyone who has lifted us up with your support and encouragement and belief; to John and Lois, you incorrigible enablers! for seeing me off at the beginning and being there in every way possible throughout; Annie for the half-chaps and britchen; to the MTR Texans who planned to host or meet up, maybe next ride; thank you to Darren, Lee, Cathy, for your endless patience, good humor and refusal to accept any excuses when I needed a good kick in the butt, and for biting yer tongues & letting me make my own mistakes and learn the hard way when needed; thank you to JoAnn and Joyce for showing me true Texas hospitality, welcoming me into your homes and treating me as one of the family; to Charlie and Drue Stanford and family, and all the hands at the Collier ranch; to the good folks of Seminole, especially Meriya; to Bo, who I still hope to meet; to anyone I'm forgetting right now only cuz I'm old and it's late at nite; and to all those at home in Arizona (plus Lee and Mel in CA) who have given your love and support since the planning began... from Betty's Mule Shower to Sally's printouts to Tom's chaps to Jan's holding mail to Jack's cat sitting, to all my friends who spent so many hours of listening cheerfully to my obsession. And finally, thank you and much love to my Mom, Dad and brothers for your support even after you realized what I was actually planning to do!

I could not have gotten this far without all of you.

Next one will go better...

trial run con't.

Upshot is... I was so mad as we went out the gate I was telling Butch he better speak Spanish, but he redeemed himself completely. He went the whole 16 miles without making any scenes, at a good steady walk, behaving like a gentleman every time I got off and on. We had a great ride and when we pulled in, his only sweat was under the saddle pad (and he wasn't dehydrated - he drank plenty at every opportunity).

About an hour into the ride, I finally let go of the idea of trading for the molly mule. I've messed around long enough, far too long in fact. I'm taking Butch. He's a good good mule, I know him, and he knows me. We'll try it again together.

So... restart tomorrow!  Said my goodbyes to new friends the Kleins, packed up, Kathy leaves for her home up north and Lee will trailer us out to our new starting point tomorrow. Doing it more wisely this time - have places to stay lined up for all but one night of the next two weeks.

If you're reading - thank you for following the ride - posting might be spotty for a while.

All the best to you and yours!

Final trial run - overnight, 16 miles packed

Butch seemed to have recovered from his temporary insanity - the 20-30 lbs he lost pacing appears to have been mostly water weight (he was drenched in sweat, hardly ate or drank for a night & day). He filled out a lot after a day of hydrating. He still looks thinner to me than I'd like, but he's so raw boned and now buffed up, it's hard to tell how much is lean muscle.

Anyway, mule calm, leg fine, cut healing, so I decided to take him for one last test before deciding whether or not to continue. Lee arranged for me to camp out on the land of a friend of his, 16 miles away down mostly deserted rural roads. Lee trailered us there late yesterday afternoon. I set up camp with Lee coaching me on how best to stay organized and set up/take down efficiently (advice I promptly ignored and then ended up rooting around in my bags in the dark, of course). I slathered Butch's lead rope with nasty-tasting fly goop so he wouldn't chew it in half, tied him and hobbled him and went to bed. He did well.

This morning (after comedy of newbie camping errors we won't dignify by describing), finally camp all rolled up, time to saddle and pack my mule. My mule had other ideas. He moved. He fidgeted. When I corrected him he came up with  new tactic, backing up. He shook himself after I put on his pads, while I went to grab the saddle, shaking them out of place. I manage to get the saddle on, start cinching, and he swings his butt toward me and feigns biting at a fly, dislodging the saddle position. Pull off saddle and pads and start over...

Packing actually went a little better. By that time I'd corrected him enough, or he'd been shocked enough by the level of profanity his person gave vent to, that he stood fairly still. I discovered, however, that Butch is even taller than I imagined, or I'm shorter. I couldn't reach the top of his cantle bag to tighten the straps or attach the canteens. So I re-rigged the canteens and bucket over the horn. Feeling quite pleased with myself, I untied Butch and proceeded to mount.

Attempt to mount, that is.

Getting on tall Butch with all the packs is a complicated yoga move in the best of circumstances. Butch decided to make it even more complicated by adding the extra challenge of a moving target. He stood stock still as I put my foot in the stirrup, then every time, the instant he felt me hoist myself...

he'd start walking. Or turning. Or backing up.

More colorful vocabulary, much pulling of riens and turning of mule, round and round and round.
And, finally, we're off.

To be continued [time to go feed] ---

about healed

Quick note -  swelling completely gone, Butch's leg looks fine. Burn wound much improved, still very tender to the touch but healing up.

Isolated Butch night before last by moving pen buddies across the street, and my mule lost his mind again. Better today, grooming calmed him down, loaded all his packs and rode him a ways. By the time we returned his ears were flopping. Tonight camping out alone with him (in a safe location) to see how he handles it.

limbo

Everything is in limbo while we wait.

The swelling is way down on Butch's left hind, but the hairless area has become a moist, lightly oozing wound, and I can tell now it is most likely a rope burn. When I hobbled him to a tree on the last ride, there was a stake hidden in the long grass that he got the poly rope hung up on. His left hind was only caught for a moment, but he did jerk it, and I think that one-second jerk is what caused both the burn and the leg strain. I was afraid the situation was much more serious, but thankfully it appears the stocking up (swelling) is only due to a mild injury, healing quickly. Butch is feeling fine now, bored, making mischief and playing with the gate. He's putting full wieght on his foot. No limp at all. Right now I'm more concerned about the burn.

So I treat him 3x/day with exercise (leading down the road), meds and 20 minutes of hosing, and wait... and watch... and wait.

Butch is sore, summer is here

Yesterday had Butch in a working trot for longer than he's used to; last night I noticed the area in back of his left hind foot just above the coronet band had all the hair rubbed off with pink skin showing. It didn't appear tender but I put salve on it anyway.

This morning the bare crack is tender; he's favoring that foot a bit, both hind pasterns are slightly swollen and he's walking slowly on all four feet. (No heat in his feet, thankfully.) Lee says it's to be expected, just like a person being sore the day after a heavy workout, but I am concerned. Seems to me we built Butch up to this point pretty carefully, yesterday was not much more than the day before. I am wondering, again, if Butch has what it takes for this journey. If I'm asking too much of him. Next couple days will give some idea.

I ran the hose on his legs for a while, reapplied salve to the crack and gave Butch the day off. Re-evaluate tomorrow.

The summer heat has set in. Yesterday by the time Butch & I returned to the barn it was 105. I had planned to be beyond the west Texas desert by now! We'll just have to deal with it... turns out Lee and Kathy are too busy now to leave for thier own trip next week and help with water/feed caching. If we can't be dropped off beyond the water-danger zone (as far as towns being close enough together to avoid being stranded, waterless) I'll either have to go back to get my rig and haul us to an entirely different destination (if I can plan a new trip in such a short time), or haul us back home.

boot camp update

Boot camp is going well. Butch has put on wieght and is fit; we're doing average 12-13 miles every morning, and another 2-3 in late afternoon. Practice miles, local rural roads. We rode next to a train twice, and the second time Butch didn't spook until the two engines on the end went clanging by. He no longer shies from huge tanker trucks. Best of all, he stands still for grooming, saddling, and mounting, and for the minimal packs I've had on him so far. Next we do the rides with full packs.

Tomorrow the plan is to go over my entire camping/pack setup, making any adjustments needed. Hope to leave for re-start by the weekend.

Kidnapped!

Darren, Kathy and Floyd (Lee)

A few posts back I mentioned meeting packer Floyd Lee Morton and Kathy at cowboy church, and them offering to help coach me on packing. They came by the next evening with thier horses & mule, bringing a decker packsaddle to show me, and rode with me & Darren for about 10 miles out on the ranch. They left me a cared and said, please call with any questions.

Day before yesterday, worked with Butch mostly on the ground. He saddled up more quietly, but after a short ride was a stinker about standing still to be unsaddled, so we put him on the hot walker to ponder the strange ways of humans for a few hours.

When I went to take him off he tried to shove me and pull the lead away. He got backed up, tied to another post and left for a couple more hours.... I had concerns about this, and about Butch ponying another animal on the road, after the big spooks over oil rigs going by on the narrow dirt road. Also questions about the weight Butch is carrying.

So that night, I phoned Lee to ask his advice. After we talk a while Kathy gets on, says "Can we call you back in a few minutes?" 5 minutes later I pick up the phone and hear:

"We want you to come stay with us for a while. Lee knows every inch of that country along your route. We can get you and your mule pack-ready, go over your gear, and teach you what you need to know. He's gonna go over the details of the route with you, and help you plan stopovers. Then we'd like to do some overnight camping anyway, so we'll all go out to the grasslands before we send you on your way. So when do you want us to come pick you up?"

Dumbfounded, I stuttered out something about helping Darren the next morning before I leave. They said they'd come around noon next day. I hung up the phone, looking around for some kind of reality check - it seemed so unreal! I stepped outside the trailer in a state of cheerful shock. How could this be?

When Lee and Kathy came the next morning, we all - they and Darren, D's best friend who has been working on the ranch, and Charlie (the ranch owner)'s 2 sons who work there also - stood around telling stories for a bit. Then the boys (yes, I can call them that - they're all younger than me) all gave me goodbye hugs (cowboy hugs!) and wished me well. After we had delivered Butch to his new pen and gotten back to the house, I hesitated at the suggestion I unfold the sleeping couch.

"It's okay, I can sleep on the couch in my sleeping bag."

"Are you sure? The bed is a whole lot more comfortable. So are sheets."

"Well, it's just... I decamp so often, I've learned it's not wise to unpack and get all situated."

"Oh, heck, just settle in. You've been kidnapped. You're gonna be here a while!"

That night Lee grilled steaks, Kathy and I made salads, and we all sat around the dinner table howling over Lee's stories - from pack trip for vegetarian college dudettes to wax smuggling over the border - his life is a book in itself...

This morning Kathy and I did a timed ride on Butch to guage his trekking gait while Lee went to town. Tonight we're all decompressing from the work week. Tomorrow longer AM ride, groundwork, Lee goes over my tack and probably takes Butch for an evening ride.

I have given up on any semblance of a schedule. We'll start again when we're ready. We'll get there when we get there.

Life is meant to be savored as it is lived. Viva la vida!

pics next post (hopefully)

Still at boot camp. Butch and I did test ride yesterday. About 20 miles from the barn to Saragosa. A beautiful morning after the first rain here in years. The first 7 or so miles on a well-traveled oil rig road, huge garbage-truck-like monsters rumbling noisily by over the washboard semi-paved road just a few feet away as I struggled to control a terrified mule. We made it (thanks in part to the very considerate drivers), including riding through foot-deep water pouring over a culvert. The rest of the way Butch was pretty much fine with the highway traffic; he doesn't mind most trucks whizzing by at 70 miles an hour. But the shoulder was another matter. Deep, sucking mud for miles and miles. We rode along any tiny strip of dry ground we could find. It was exhausting. I was so proud of Butchmule by the end!

We're still working on some issues. The respect issue is the biggest one. I'm small, he's big, and unfortunately now he knows it and uses it. I trust my ability to ride him but have lost confidence in both of us on the ground, so he's great for me under saddle but hard to saddle, pack and mount, ill-mannered and pushy on the ground. So much so that I am debating whether we are a good match to continue this ride together. Yet when he's good, he's so good!

It's late, tonight is my last night with access for a while. Next post will tell what I decided to do. Would have written more and posted pics but we had a freak hailstorm with a flooding rain here this afternoon - hail piled up like snow!

And I left my tent out with the flap open from last night! (Had Butch here hobbled to a railroad tie by one foot and camped out in the yard to keep an eye on him.) Needless to say we all spent hours cleaning up... sure glad our test ride was yesterday!

G'nite all.

today

Worked with Butch all day. Mostly on attitude - I've allowed him to revert and get as pushy as he used to be. I had him how I needed him to be, as a good respectful working animal, and over the past 6 months or so let him become more and more of a big pet. Now he's pushy.

First, hobbled him and had him stand still for grooming. Then, same with saddling. Went well. We went ahead and loaded the full packs on him. Worked with him til he stood perfectly still, relaxed, while I messed with the packs, tying and retying the cantle bag different ways.

Now... the whole time we're in the round pen doing this, we have an audience. There are big logs to climb up and view from outside the walls. The ranch owner, his grandson, hand, and a neighbor horse & mule trader who wants to sell me a mule were all watching as I made mistake after mistake - nothing like a little public ambarrassment to act as a motivator!!! And then again when we went outside for me to lead him around... "Don't let that mule push you around like that! Don't let him move while we're talking! Make him stand still!" Of course they were right... and then after I corrected my big brat, every one of them would tell me a story about a mule they let get too familiar that took advantage. Lots of painful laughter - the kind of day you KNOW you learned a lot. We ended up putting a stud chain on Butch to get his attention, and the day ended well. It was determined that I would do well to travel with one and use it pretty much all the time - such is Butch's temperament. A fine, good mule, but "give-him-an-inch-he-takes-a-mile".

Tonight went to Cowboy Church with the Kleins. It was a very small local congregation, kids' easter egg hunt and dinner before the service, and bluegrassy bilingual band (all the songs in English and Spanish) leading everyone. People updating the congregation on news of loved ones and asking prayer requests. Everyone so welcoming.

While there met a mule manand old packer Lee, who with wife Kathy are coming Monday to help me with the packing and ride with us.

Now the kids are asleep, we're all winding down, time for bed before Easter get-together tomorrow. G'nite all...

Yesterday

Am working with Darren Klein of Saragosa, TX - a good man and a wonderful trainer. (Or I should say, "colt starter"; Darren specializes in starting young horses.) Darren starts colts for clients at the Collier Ranch. And staying with his wife JoAnn and thier beautiful children. The warmest, friendliest, most welcoming family!

Yesterday helped Darren with his work in the morning and we began working with Butch in a quiet way. Put him in a stock run and had him stand there all day, half of it with a light saddle on. He fell asleep. No time to do more. At night putting him in a 40' round pen with 8' walls, where he can hear the other equines but can't see them.

Watching Darren work was a revelation. He talked me through everything he was doing, loading me with far more information than i'm sure I'll retain. I could see so many things I'd been doing with Butch that need changing or refinmement. And I finally began (began!) learning how to properly lunge on a lead line.

mule & human boot camp detour

Good news: Vet says nothing appears wrong with Butch but mental stress.

More good news: After working with Butch for less than an hour yesterday and today, he's back to his sane, respectful and funny self.

Caveat: All I did was groom, pick his feet, saddle him up and ride around the pen. No packing.

He was still pacing when I arrived early this morning, and still hadn't finished his hay from 2 nights before. He finished it when I stood next to it and kept him company. Then he ate about 3/4 of the 2 flakes I put out after that. (He ate whenever I stood there. He left off when I left.) And he calmed down, relaxed and stopped pacing, even laying down to sleep, only, apparently, because I spent the day up til an hour ago at the corral, and 2 donkeys arrived this afternoon and were penned across from him.

Sooooo.... ranchhand of brother-in-law of close friend of Jack is arriving shortly to take me & Butch to far southwest TX. They'll work with us for a week or so to teach me to handle my mule more safely and confidently, and to see if Butch has the temperament to go solo. If not, I'll decide whether or not to get a pack mule (or ride/pack mule) and continue.

I'll post if I can. Vet gave me a ride into town just now. The people of this town have been wonderful! Meriya, bless you and Pedro and your family!!

day 5

I'm doing fine. Butch... more about that in a minute.

I'm at the library in a small Texas town I'd love to name but will not for the moment until I get a bit farther on and have the daisy chain going of local folks keeping an eye out for me.

Day one, mule friends and trail angels extraordinaire Lois and John drove us over 4 hours to our starting point. From there we got off to a late start, still working out glitches (after having spent the entire day before completely re-weighing and repacking everything, this time including food and water).

Butch and I set out at 2:34 pm Saturday March 31, 2012. Lois rode along with us for 4 1/2 miles to our first rendezvous with John and the LQ trailer, at a roadside picnic area. I pitched my tent, and after groom, water, roll & feed tied Butch to the fencepost by his lead. After a hot meal (thank you J&L) had sudden bad feeling about Butch being secure so close to the highway, and clipped a second, stronger yellow poly rope to his halter as insurance.

The next morning, there was my mule, looking innocent next to his chewed-off lead rope dangling from the fence. The poly rope was knawed halfway through.

Next day, while we rode John went to the hardware store next town up and bought a chain for Butch. More weight... crap... but he has to be safe. That day Butch did great, striding happily along, ears flopping in relaxation, til the last half hour or so, when he began kicking at his cinch. (We rode maybe 8-9 miles). I loosened the tie strap and exchanged the lovely mohair (thank you Edie!) for his old wool pad cinch, hoping that would help next day. Also the riding became kinda challenging - not due to traffic, which Butch handles very well - but holes. Hundreds and hundreds of holes made by small critters in the soft dirt next to plowed fields. Lois's mule went down to his knees in one and finally refused to go anywhere but right next to the asphalt shoulder. We were worried Butch could hurt himself bad if he stepped in one carrying all that wieght. But we made it, carefully. And the fields! So many wheat fields. To this desert rat, there was something comforting about all those miles of green... green = water. The mules had a feast grazing on volunteer shoots along the wayside. That night chained Butch to the trailer and hobbled him, concerned the light chain might break. Butch tested the chain til late into the night, when he finally fell asleep.

Monday, about midmorning J&L drove away from us with mule Barney in tow, braying at Butch through the bars of the stock trailer. At first Butch seemed confused - hesitant, looking all around anxiously. Then he got his stride. But after about 2 hours he suddenly began having a nervous breakdown. I got off to check the cinch and he tried to tear the lead out of my hands, head high, snorting, spinning, running into me, backing up at my sharp command (thankfully!), then trying it again and again. Took me ages to stop his spinning long enough to get back on.

Turned into a house by the highway to ask permission to stop for an hour for tack check, water mule & lunch. Young woman very sweet with broken German accent, kind but clearly nervous about having a stranger on the property, let me tie him. Or attempt to tie him, I should say. Butch nearly exploded when I tried to tie him to a tree. Apparently he has had enough of being restrained. Brought out the chain, even worse... then he wouldn't let me take off his packs. Wouldn't let me touch him. He started swinging a hind foot at me every time I tried to unclip the rear bags. (Clip was near the cinch-I learned later this was one of the two issues.)I ignored the first 4 warnings, as I have learned that the "10 seconds of death" usually has the opposite effect with him as it's supposed to. Also I knew he was not deliberately being mean, he was scared and confused and hurting somewhere. He nailed me on the 5th. Not hard enough to break my thigh, but man did he bruise it deep! Then I wanted to give him 10 seconds of death, but had nothing in my hands to wallop him with so it was too late to do anything but look big and yell loud. Spent the next hour very, very carefully little by little reaching over to unclip here, untie there... whenever he'd swing I'd stop and just let him stand for about 5 minutes with the packs hanging. It finally worked, he quieted just long enough to let me slide everything off.

But he was still furious at being tied, and hard to get near. What to do? Only 2 in the afternoon and I obviously wasn't going to be able to even check his back, much less get anything back on him. And I couldn't leave him tied all night, not in this condition. And I needed to get him to a place with horse people to help.

I began leading him back down the road to a place I had seen with an empty turnout and metal horses on the driveway gate. Butch tried several times to tear the lead away - something he hasn't done since I first got him 2 1/2 years ago. We ended up at the home of a wonderful woman named Barbara who said they haven't had horses in years, but offered the use of thier huge arena turnout or little pen, and a barn for me to pitch my tent. Husband got home after turning on water in the barn, the whole family swept and cleaned the bathroom and sink area, and then they went and bought a bale of hay. What a blessing! That night there was an issue with hobbles, I am only saying it here to remember to write more later.

Took me 4 hours the next morning, to tack up and pack Butch. I lost his rear cinch in the melee. But once I was on him he gave it his all. Stepped out like he had nothing on his back, focussed and purposeful. As long as we headed south. Butch had spent much of the night pacing the rail, looking west and south. Apparently he thinks that's the direction of home. (He's right!) We turned east and he suddenly got slow and fearful again. I was afraid to get off his back to give it a rest. But I did, halfway there, and without much fuss he let me remount. Barbara had showed me a vet clinic for large animals just east of town. That's where we headed; I wanted the vet to look Butch over, and thought he might know of a place I could put Butch up for 1-2 days to rest.

We rode right through town. City traffic, lights, 3 police cars with sirens blaring, huge construction site going full blast, everything. I kept saying to him "just a little farther Butch, just a little farther... you're doing good... just a little more..." he made it like a champ. Once through, he suddenly began kicking at his cinch again. Then it was: "Just get us to the vet's Butch... don't buck me off... just a little farther..."

We made it right at closing. The vet agreed to let Butch stay in a large pen with grass, gave him hay and got me feed from the store, and let me pitch my tent out back by the rest of the pens.

Today started out discouraged, feeling dirty, hungry and tired. Walked 2 miles to town to eat a good meal and do laundry and errands. Well... landed at a Mireya's restaurant with the world's greatest breakfast burrito, run by the world's most wonderful family. After I ate, they announced they had bought me breakfast! And if that wasn't enough... or more than enough... the daughter, Meriya, offered to drive me to my errands. The first of which was buying a backpack, to carry the tent and feed for Butch. Meriya came with me, and... yup... backpack donated. Oh my gosh. Such generosity! We talked about her church and the tradition of giving, which was very gentle and made me feel more at ease about accepting the help, also knowing it was for Butch and his comfort.

Now I need to get offline so I can go do laundry. And shower later, courtesy of Meriya's fiance Pedro's empty for-rent house. Cleanliness! Woohoo!

And then to the vet's to see how Butch is. Crossing my fingers, hoping hoping it's just mental adjustment, and a bit of soreness that can be easily tended.