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In the afternoon, both animules hit the doldrums and got pokey. I decided to
let Chelse grab bites of native grass and flowers and bushes. That perked
her up. She has learned to snatch a bite and move on. She can keep up a good
pace and not fall down. As we made our way down the mountain like this.
Alexa and I got off and walked to relieve our butts and knees. It wasn't too
hot and it was a pleasant thing to do. We were all alone up there. No other
riders, no hikers, bicyclists or any motorized vehicles of any kind. Quiet.
Mysterious bird calls. Insects busily buzzing. Chelse munching and clip
clopping along. The grasses were strange to me, but she seemed to recognize
them, from past experience or prior life?

About 5 miles from the finish another rider intersected us coming from the
wrong direction---having missed the turn and gone miles out of her way. She
got in between us on a single track trail and Chelse came  alive with the
new energy of the additional horse. She was very activated. The new rider
requested permission to pass and informed me that she was riding a stallion.
So that explained the new energy. I couldn't help but notice...the cheeky
stud had his wiener out, flapping, flappetty, flap, flap against his belly,
back and forth!. It was an awesome site and Chelse was mightly impressed.
They flew down the trail at a rapid pace. Chelse thought a nano second, and
galloped off in hot pursuit. "Wait! Come back! I didn't know you were a real
guy, I think I love you." But, he went too fast too far and she worried
about her new friend left behind and gave up the chase. I never even tried
to stop her she was so smooth and efficient in handling the stick and stone
terrain ... I just let her go. If she wanted to gallop at the end of 50
miles...good for her. I was glad she felt so good.

We were headed toward her new home at a fast clip, she could now see and
hear Penny calling. There are myriad gopher holes hidden in the grassy
pasture, so... I tried to keep her at a nice walk to the finish line. Being
overly excited and not watching where she was going anymore, down she went
on both knees... five feet from the finish line. Didn't unsettle me at all,
I just sat back and let her right herself and we were off again, over the
finish line. I could hardly wait to get to the porta potty and she was
anxious to get back to her private dust wallow and her beloved Penny,
apparently having now forgotten about her nice gray horse friend.

The portable corrals were just the right size for a good one-side-at-a-time
roll, sending up billowing clouds of black powdery dust with her tail, from
the hole she had dug in the nice carpet of grass down to the black silty
dirt below... and when she shook off, flapping her ears...flump,
flump,flump, flump... she was so happy I couldn't conceive of trying to stop
her.

I ate some dusty tuna salad, drank some dusty cranberry juice and decided
that cleaning her up before the final vet in was going to be more trouble
than it was worth... stirring up more dust and she would probably roll again
and we weren't going to be showing for best condition anyway. We came in
13th
We had one hour before going back to see the vets again. She ate, drank and
rolled. I sat in a dusty chair watching and wondering about how tired I was.
I wasn't. ..fifty miles in 10 hours in the mountains and I'm not tired? She
is so smooth and easy...I'm still wondering why more people don't use mules
for endurance. Yes, she is a bit pushy sometimes, but I think it's worth the
effort.

She wouldn't trot out for me at the final vet in. She can walk as fast as I
can run and just wouldn't, no  need. The vet wanted to try his hand. He
didn't get her to trot, but he did get to experience how strong she was
"...doesn't feel like a horse, her neck is sooo strong." We passed the final
test, but not with flying colors. I should have told the vets about the
recent disappointing love affaire. She wasn't too tired to trot, she was
just disappointed she let him get away.

The first horses came in more than 2 hours ahead of us. How do they do
that?. I heard  4 of the first 10 horses were pulled ( not "fit to
continue.")  That is way to risky for me... too fast to see anything. The
only point then is to Win, and that is competition...  willing to go faster
than anyone else (no matter if they have good sense or not.) Going fast is a
rush, apparently addictive and  possibly clouds sound  judgment.

I try to keep perspective. I worry about hurting her legs. I worry about
frying her brain...trying to stay within her limits, not asking her to do
more than she can. I want her to think she can do anything. She has such
tremendous potential, is so athletic, smart, graceful, beautiful, and strong
that I feel obligated to take care of those capabilities to the best of my
abilities. That is a big responsibility. So many "experts" have opinions
about what I should do with her, and they don't necessarily agree...so I
have to ferret out what is appropriate for us...and I'm not a mule person or
a horse person...per se...I'm just me...seeking the Truth.???
I think about Reason and Caution ahead of time, so when I get to a
"situation" I will hopefully remember to use it.

Susan's mother Susan and who calls her Rose was camped right next to us. Her
mother Mae S. was the recipient of the first Partners Award. All three
generations have ridden Endurance Rides together. Unfortunately Susan's
horse was "off" and didn't get to start. That's what we have the
veterinarians for, to help protect our various animules on this adventure.
They can spot a potential lameness and prevent a major problem from
occurring out on the trail somewhere far from help.

The vets initially determined that Penny (who has an "odd" way of traveling,
throwing her feet and legs all which-a-way) was "off" behind. Jacqy's
"presentation", I thought, looked a little sloppy and perhaps contributed to
their decision. After some discussion, the vets agreed to let her come back
later and try again. We got a lunge line and whip and worked on circles to
the right and left.  The horse wasn't  "head bobbing" or showing signs of
lameness...that we could see and was doing better circles. So, Jacqy took
her back and showed her again. The vets agreed that she looked better, and
still not entirely convinced, reluctantly consented to let her start the
ride. That was good news:  Chelse likes to have her buddy with her. Mules
seem to bond stronger than most horses.


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