Dog Hair & Mule Sweat
with Natalie Riehl
editor@rockymountainrider.com
horses ahead must have disturbed the nest, and by the time we reached it, those flying needles were hellbent on stinging the first belly they could find. The girls behind me were shouting,
“Wasps! Wasps!” and quickly turning their horses around. I was engaged in grip-
ping the saddle with my knees as tightly as I could and trying to pull the mule’s nose up with the lead rope rein. I finally got him off to the side and past the wasps. I had forgotten all
about this incident until a couple of years ago when one of the women on that ride reminded me of the time my “mule took off bucking when he was at-
One summer, over twenty years
ago, I joined the local ladies riding group for their regular Wednesday ride. The ride was on easy terrain through pine forests and aspen groves. My mule, Piper, was four, and I was a lot younger then, too, which meant my brain was more agile than it is now. I still have no idea how I arrived at the trailhead having forgotten to bring a bridle. Never fear! That mule could be
ridden without a bit! Even though he stood sixteen-two and weighed at least 1,300 pounds, and that it would take some muscle power on my part to turn him and to stop him, I believed he would direct rein off the halter. (No, I couldn’t have borrowed a
bridle from somebody else — no one had one that fit. That mule’s head measured 48” from the corner of his mouth over his poll to the other corner of his mouth.) The day was perfect. Warm sun-
shine that wasn’t too hot. A breeze fluttering the aspen leaves, the moving shadows dappling across my cheeks. Dried pine needles and sarvisberry blossoms perfumed the air. In a group of ten riders, I was
fourth. The mule’s ears were rocking back and forth as he leisurely followed the horse ahead of him. All of a sudden, Piper exploded
and it took me a couple of seconds to realize what was going on. He was be- ing attacked by little black wasps! The
6 ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER • JULY 2013 tacked by wasps.” Early this spring, we found six
small wasp nests that had been started in the back of the horse trailer. They were easy to knock down and stomp. I have to be careful with wasps; the last time I was stung, a lump the size of a small loaf of bread swelled up on my leg.
Rick is ever-vigilant about destroy-
ing any wasp nests built under the eaves of the house, underneath the flatbed trailer, and in the box scraper on the tractor. If I have to tackle a wasp nest, I prefer blasting it from fif- teen feet away using a can that states “kills on contact” in big letters. However, in the big scope of wasp
management, not everyone prefers the “rapid death” plan. In this issue, our staff writer Dorinda Troutman re- searched wasps and includes informa- tion about easy-to-make, non-poison wasp traps. You’ll also read Chuck Miller’s
tale of his encounter with the hornets along the Big Creek trail.
Happy riding…and watch out for wasps!
Idaho–Montana–Nevada–Oregon–Utah–Washington–Wyoming Regional All-Breed
____Horse Magazine____
P.O. Box 995, Hamilton, MT 59840 406-363-4085 888-747-1000 Fax: 406-363-1056
www.rockymountainrider.com July 2013
_____Publisher & Editor_____ Natalie Riehl
publisher@rockymountainrider.com
_____Production Department_____ Dorinda Troutman
graphics@rockymountainrider.com Veronica Grainger
proofs@rockymountainrider.com
_____Display Advertising Sales_____ Natalie Riehl
publisher@rockymountainrider.com Barbara Shook
barbara@rockymountainrider.com
_____Classified Advertising Sales_____
classifieds@rockymountainrider.com
ethyl@rockymountainrider.com Bookkeeping & Office
office@rockymountainrider.com
Editorial Department Dorinda Troutman
Distribution Coordinator Ethyl Keel
ethyl@rockymountainrider.com
Associate Photographer Rick Landry
rlandry@rockymountainrider.com
Office Dogs Arrow & Florie
All Around Great Guy Al Brown
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDER MAGAZINE is a Montana Owned & Operated Company
ABOUT THE PUBLICATION: (ISSN 1536-3007) Rocky Mountain Rider Magazine is published monthly, with 14,000 copies distributed free of charge in 400+ horse- related businesses throughout the Greater Rockies. © 2013 Rocky Mountain Rider, P.O. Box 995, Hamilton, MT 59840. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of any editorial material, artwork or photos is strictly forbidden without express written permission of the publisher.
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FREELANCE WRITERS: We're looking for interesting stories! Please submit query letters, articles (typed, double- spaced) and/or photographs to P.O. Box 995, Hamilton, MT 59840, accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Submissions received without a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope will not be returned.
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