I want to let everyone know how well Sasha, by General Bob, my 2 year old gaited molly mule did on her first official trip away from home. One word, Wow! She was a gaited dream with a mind of a very seasoned trail mount. It was very nice to be back on a mule after selling Audi, my 3 year old mule. Sasha was very fun and smooth to ride. I was very, very pleased at her performance. She loved the mud so much, she would not only go right through the middle and never go to the edges, but she would actually even stop and stand right in the middle of it and just take it all in! She was such a good girl!

We have been riding like crazy! It's been so fun to hit the trails with Maria and Pumpkin. I have to report that Maria had her first true canter experience the other day at Paint Creek! I'm so proud of her progress and riding skills. She has become a true cowgirl! There is something so special when you first canter, it's like a frozen moment in time when you hear music and everything else fades to black. An utter life changing experience I think.

I rode Coco, my 3 year old Buckskin mare last night at Paint Creek, and I also was very pleased. She definitely loved it. This was her second ever trail ride and it was also a great one. I'm very pleased to say that my hard work and time spent on her is paying off. She was a blast to ride! Loves to long trot and jump logs on cue. Her and I plan on spending some serious time in the saddle together. Another very special mare here at DiaMond D.

We did have a freak accident on Saturday morning this weekend. We were loading up Abby, a 2 year old buckskin molly mule out of Dulce, my Paso Fino horse and Bob my jack who has been here for 3 months now to be broke to ride, and were heading off to Paint Creek to meet her owners and friends for a nice trail ride. Well, she loaded fine in my steel stock trailer, but when I turned after I tied her head, her back right leg was cut bad! It was shocking to me, because she didn't fuss or anything when she jumped in. I figure she must of caught her back leg on the very bottom of the trailer and it cut her like a knife. Well the freakout began! The rushing around to get her out of the trailer, to the wash stall, and start making calls while not in a shear panic, was in full force. At one point I looked at Maria and I asked, "Are you allright?", as she was pale and sweating. She says "not really". I was thinking, great, there goes my helper! I truly thought she was not going to make it. The shear look of this brutal looking cut, with tendons and bone exposed, was truly enough to make anyone with the strongest stomachs swallow hard, including myself. Happy to report that Maria did manage to hang on and was a huge help as always, even though I was barking orders at a high pitched shrill.

Well, we took her to Washington Court House to see our not regular vet, because our regular vet was on vacation, of course. The vet just gave us some strong sedation for a few courses of dressing changes and said that stitches wasn't an option for where she was cut. He said Furazone, wrappings, and of course lots of hosing.

Happy to report, Abby is on her way to a full recovery with hopefully minimal scarring. Wound care and hosing twice a day is definitely our priority for her right now. She's a picky eater so antibiotics I'm having to shove down her throat along with the bute paste. I feel bad, but it really is for her own good.

Accidents can happen at anytime, to any animal, with any handler or trainer. Be prepared with some sort of game plan ahead of time. Emergency numbers handy, gauze pads, Furazone and lots of vet wrap. Biggest thing, don't pass out when the animals need you the most.