August 14, 2020 – Mucher the Gentle Gelding and the Eighth-Grade Teacher

On August 14, 2020, Lyn Goffaux recorded this focused, affectionate episode about a single horse who quietly trotted into her life and stayed: a big, gentle gelding named Mucher. She explains how Mucher first appeared of his own accord, drifting in with their horses and bearing Jelly’s brand, marking him as belonging to another man. After the horse simply kept hanging around, Lyn’s father finally called Jelly to report they had his gelding, only to be told, “Oh, give him to Lyn”—and just like that, Mucher became Lyn’s horse by gift rather than purchase.Lyn describes Mucher as perfectly gentle, likely used more for packing than riding before he came to her, but already broke and calm enough to carry inexperienced riders. She talks about trying him out, finding him steady and reliable, and then putting “dudes” on him—paying guests who needed safe mounts for trail rides—confident that Mucher would take care of them. In time, when the ranch horses were eventually sold, Mucher went with them, but Lyn’s goal in this recording is simply to keep his memory from disappearing, to make sure his quiet service gets spoken aloud at least once.One of her favorite memories involves the local eighth-grade teacher, a young woman named Lucy who loved to ride and often accompanied Lyn. Lyn recalls placing Lucy on Mucher again and again, knowing that he was gentle enough to carry a schoolteacher who wanted adventure but perhaps not the unpredictability of a more spirited horse. She admits she cannot say much more about him—no dramatic wrecks, no flashy stories—but that, in its own way, is the point: Mucher stayed with their horses, did his job without fuss, and quietly became part of the fabric of her ranch life.By the end of this short, tender episode, listeners feel they’ve met one more member of Lyn’s four-legged family, a horse who might otherwise have vanished into anonymity. Through her voice, Mucher is remembered as a steadfast, uncomplaining partner, entrusted with guests and teachers and absorbed into the long, living chain of horses who carried Lyn, her friends, and her stories across the mountains.