Conditioning Ride 8-27-2010 – Hills, hills, hills!

RHR: 44

HR on return: 52

HR at 10 min: 40

Terrain: Moderate to Challenging

Distance: Approx 12 miles

Avg Speed: Approx 5 mph

Ride Time: 2.5 hrs

This was a ride at the steel bridge outside of Spring Valley. My dogs were nuts, so I had to go somewhere I could take them along. There are very few places where I can get away with taking them. It's an area that has many challenging spots, lots of rocks, and just is a "slow" set of trails. The advantage, though, was that I was able to do a good, challenging "hill day."

I saddled up, grateful that our recent hot spell had let up. It was only in the 90s! The breeze was nice. Okay, in some places, it was a wind, but even that was nice. I turned on my GPS unit, only to have it give me a low battery warning. Memo to me: put spare batteries in my saddle bag! Oh, well. I know the area well enough to have a reasonable guesstimate of my distance. I decided to go ahead and ride without a bit, since Hoss had been so great two days earlier. I did, however, pack it in my saddle bag.

I got on and we crossed under the bridge to do trails on the other side of the highway first. We reached the river, and I guess I should have paid closer attention to what was happening with my dogs. It was only later that I noticed they were thoroughly drenched. If I had been watching them, I would have noticed that the river was insanely deep! As it was, I discovered this when Hoss stepped into the river, and his front end dropped away nearly two feet! He's gotten really good at handling situations like this. The winter rains created a bunch of surprise bogs, so he's had a lot of practice! Some horses, I would have ended up in the river because they'd have dumped their heads and been on their forehands. Hoss, though, he shifts his weight back and I'm able to keep myself in the middle of him. He did not want to cross, but I still hadn't noticed my soaking from head to foot dogs, so I was sure it couldn't be that bad. The river's never been so deep there! I urged him on, and he waded in. He hadn't taken three steps when my feet went under water. By mid stream, I was in a third of the way up my shins, over the tops of my boots. Hoss started trying to follow the dogs, thinking that wherever they went, the water would be least deep. Good thinking, but, unfortunately, Hoss weighs an awful lot more than those dogs, and he just sank. I did my best to keep in the middle of the crossing, but he was pushing to my left, where I'm weak. Coming out of the river, he ran my knee into a tree trunk. That hurt!

Once out of the river, Hoss headed out at a nice clip. I was beginning to worry that I'd made a mistake in not bitting him up, but it turned out to be a fine decision. I felt like he was actually listening to me better with the reins simply clipped to his halter than he does with the bit. Now, I wouldn't do this in just any situation. Having had him run away with me with the bit in his mouth, certain circumstances will just mean he has to wear a bit so I can be reasonably in control. Just the halter gives him too many opportunities to ignore me.

We did some flat trails first to warm up. Then it was up the steep hills behind the high school to the water tower! It was still warm enough that I wasn't wanting to push real hard. I let him walk up the steepest hills. Still, he did some trotting and a little cantering on those hills.

We crossed back under the bridge (obliging us once again to cross the ridiculously deep river) and headed up what is known as the Ribbon trail. This is a steep trail that, when I hiked it on foot, in some places I felt like I needed rock climbing gear. Hoss is getting pretty good at this stuff, too. He picks his footing with care and dug in with his feet nicely. Once we topped the rise, we made our way to the next set of hills, the SDG&E access roads. These hills are steep and have lots of rocks. The steepest stuff I had him walk up, but I did insist on a little trotting on the milder uphills. Coming down off this trail, the downhill gets very steep. Lots of learning to be careful and keep his butt underneath him!

Once we were back on the somewhat more level trails, we made our way to the next river crossing. Once across, we were on the dirt road. We like to run here! So, I let him go and we had a nice, if brief, gallop along the road. Then we turned up into the next set of hills. These trails are a little more treacherous, and a horse has to have his wits about him to keep from falling into the deep ruts the winter rains cut into the trails. And this area is particularly rocky. My daughter and I, the first time we took our horses on this trail, decided to call it "Bitterrock Trail." So, again, mostly walking in this area.

We made our way across the top of the ridge and back down, to cross the river on the bridge. We made our way back to the trailer, where his heart rate was at a very nice 52! We did walk most of the trail, but still, after hard hill riding, this was awesome! At ten minutes, he was at 40bpm, lower than when I'd taken his heart rate before we left. Of course, when I took his first heart rate, I was having a hard time hearing his heart due to the traffic on the very nearby highway. When we got back, it was easier to hear him.

All in all, despite having to guess our distance and speed, a very nice and respectable ride.

The Other Challenge

Conditioning for endurance riding isn't just about the horse. The rider needs to be fit, as well. The comparative fitness levels of endurance riders has been broken down as follows: A rider who completes 50 mile endurance rides is comparable in fitness to a marathon runner; a rider who completes 100 mile endurance rides is comparable in fitness to an ultramarathon runner. I'm not sure how accurate this assessment is. After all, I complete 50 mile endurance rides and I doubt very much I'd do well in a marathon. I'm pretty sure I could finish, but I'd be waaaaaaay out in back, so far behind that everybody else would've gone home before I crossed the finish line.

The fitness level of the rider is just as vital as the fitness of the horse. Non-riders often assume that the rider is just that – along for the ride. But horseback riding – particularly at endurance levels – is more akin to bicycling. Even that is not quite true. While riding a horse, the rider is engaged at all times. Meaning I'm always actively riding my horse. This would be like always actively pedaling a bicycle. On a bicycle, when the rider is headed downhill, the rider is still engaged, but not at nearly the level as when the rider is going uphill. I've a friend who used to do 100 mile rides on her bicycle. She now does endurance. She says that there is simply no comparison; the bicycle is easier. Of course, the bicycle doesn't spook or need a drink, either.

The other side of this is the amount of weight the horse should be carrying. The optimal weight bearing capacity of horses is 20 to 25% of the horse's body weight. Most horses can do more, and there have been cases of endurance horses carrying as much as 33% of their body weight. However, I'm not a fan of this as a practice. So my goal is to see that Hoss isn't carrying more than 25% of his body weight. I'd like to get down to 20% of his body weight. There is a study that suggests that horse/rider teams with a combined weight over 1200 pounds have a significantly reduced completion rate, especially in 100 mile rides. So the other side of the goal is to keep us as far under a combined weight of 1200 pounds as possible.

Hoss weighs about 900 pounds. I weigh in at the "heavyweight" division. The heavyweight division is rider with tack weighing over 211 pounds. My saddle weighs 36 pounds. This puts us dangerously close to that 1200 pound limit. Hoss is unlikely to get any smaller, and no matter how much I exercise it, my saddle isn't getting any lighter. This means I have to lose weight! In order to be at that 25% mark, I need to lose 13 pounds.

Often people who know me are surprised to learn that I am overweight. They look at me and say it's not possible. Trust me; I'm overweight. I could stand to lose a good 40 or more pounds. Not only would this keep our combined weight under the 1200 pound limit, it would improve my health and my riding.

There is something incredibly unjust about the universe in that some riders cannot get fit enough for the sport of endurance simply by riding. Oh, I hear from plenty of people who do nothing more than ride and care for their horses to stay fit. These people should watch their backs, in order that they do not end up being bludgeoned by people (like me!) who can't stay or get fit so easily. That I can't get fit enough for endurance just by riding is a cross I have to bear. It is quite clear that I will neither get fit enough, nor lose enough weight simply by riding the hair off my horse, for my sport. Not only do I need to ride Hoss regularly to get him fit, I have to work out like a mad thing to get me fit.

In pursuit of this goal, I have joined our local YMCA. It's a great place to be a gym rat; I highly recommend it. I've taken several classes, and use the work out machines as often as I can. Between that and my daily walks, I'm working out up to three hours per day. That's not including riding or animal care. So far, I haven't lost any weight, but I have received comments that I look better. I observed that I'm probably just rearranging it!

I know my fitness level has improved since I started riding Hoss in endurance rides in January. After the January ride, my daughter, her friend, and I all camped Saturday night, packed up on Sunday morning, and headed toward home. We were all feeling pretty good. Until, that is, we stopped for drinks. I parked the truck and we all piled out of the truck. Okay, we tried to pile out. We all discovered that we could barely walk! I was reduced to falling out of the truck and hoping that I could keep my feet underneath me. Somehow we managed to unload and take care of the horses when we got home.

At the next ride, in April, I rode 55 miles on Saturday and once again camped overnight, this time with my husband who did not ride. Sunday morning I arose and took care of Hoss, went back to bed for a couple more hours, then helped my husband break down camp. After, of course, he cooked me a huge breakfast! The best part of having my husband at a ride is that I actually eat. On the way home, when we stopped, I braced myself for a repeat of the fallout from January's ride. Much to my pleasant surprise, I felt fine! I was tired, but okay. I even worked on the Monday following, something I could never have down four months earlier.

In June I did yet another 50 mile ride. It was very close to home, so I packed up and left for home a little over an hour after completing. I wouldn't have left had the ride home been longer than an hour strictly for the safety of my horse. On Sunday morning, I woke up feeling very good. I walked my dogs and went to church. I was even able to climb the stairs into the choir loft without feeling like my legs would fall off.

This is improvement. It's encouraging. Now, if I can only drop the extra weight….

Conditioning Ride 8-25-2010 or We’re Not Lost; I Just Don’t Know Where We Are!

RHR: 36

HR on return: 80

HR at 10 min: 56

Distance: 19 miles

Average speed: 4.5mph

Trail: Moderate to Challenging

I trailered out to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park once again, with the intention of riding 25 miles of the trail used for the 50 mile endurance ride in June. I recall that, during the ride, I felt like we were going the wrong way. Of course I was wrong! The result though, is that I missed the trail somewhere, and Hoss and I were wandering about somewhat aimlessly.

Confident that no matter what happened I'd be able to get us back to the trailer (a GPS unit is a wonderful thing), I just continued forging ahead in hopes of coming across the trail I'd so obviously missed. The trails we were on were rocky, steep, and not entirely clear. At one point, there was a half-fallen tree across the trail. Hoss was utterly confident that he could walk right under it. Sure, he could have, but I wouldn't have made it! I would have had to duck on foot. I did get him to negotiate by it, even though it looked to him like a crappy way to go. I do tend to prefer to stay on the horse.

We eventually came across a rusty old cowboy gate, which I got us through and continued on. Well, now we were out of the park and on US Forest Service land! The trail I could see didn't appear to head in a direction I ultimately wanted to go, so I headed Hoss on down the dirt road in hopes that we'd come across a trail that would take us back into the park. This was not to be. We ultimately came across a sign in red letters that read, "No Trespassing or Hunting." I would think that "No Trespassing" would cover both things, since one would be required to trespass in order to hunt, but that's evidently not the case. Not being in any desire to run across some angry land owner with a shot gun, I turned Hoss around and we headed back the way we had come.

At this point it was becoming obvious that Hoss was thirsty. I knew there was a spring back in the park that we had passed, so I figured he'd be able to drink there. By the time we got within four miles, Hoss was going very slow, and I didn't blame him. It was hot, and he was clearly in need of water. I just allowed him to walk, even though he'd dropped to 2.5mph. At one point, at a mile to the spring, I dismounted to lead him, but that was not better. I figured he'd be able to walk faster if I led, but it was sort of like trying to drag him. I just can't walk that slow! So I just rode him the rest of the way with the reins resting on his neck.

At the spring, about 13 miles into the ride, I led him over to the water, which is looked at, sniffed, and looked at me, saying, "I ain't drinking that!" I pumped a little fresh, and was thirsty enough myself to drink some, despite the warning that it was for "livestock only." If it's not good enough for me, it's not good enough for my horse! The water was sulphurous and nasty, so I don't really blame Hoss for not wanting to drink it, but, he's gonna have to learn that sometimes you have to drink what's available.

I gave Hoss about five minutes to rest and hopefully decide to drink. While he never drank, the five minute rest did help. I had dropped his bit out of his mouth in the hopes of encouraging him to drink. He was obviously pretty hot at this point, and I didn't think I really needed the bit, and didn't really want to put it back in his mouth at that point. So I attached my reins to his halter rings and mounted up. We still had a good six miles to go. While I wanted to get back, I didn't want to make my horse sick, either. So we primarily walked. A few times he picked up the trot, and I just let him do so for as long as he cared to.

When we finally got back to the trailer, I decided to take him under the bridge where the river runs. I wasn't entirely sure how much water was left in the trailer tank, and was concerned that it would be hot. Also, he's been showing some disdain for drinking from the little bucket I have at the trailer. At the river, he drank nicely, and I gave him a good five minutes to drink and rest. Then we went back to the trailer.

I was alarmed when I took his return heart rate, and he was at 80bpm. Especially for a horse that's just walked five or more miles, that's fast! I'm sure it was because he was dehydrated and hot. I filled the bucket from the trailer tank and found that the water was, indeed, hot. Additionally, there was just enough to fill the bucket a little over half. That's not enough water, even if he would have drank it. So I sponged him with it to get the sweat off of him.

At ten minutes, Hoss's heart rate had dropped to 56. That's a good recovery considering the conditions. I do not want to experience his heart rate at 80 after walking that long ever again! When I loaded him in the trailer, he did poop, and it was normal in appearance, so I was somewhat relieved by that. He also tucked right in to the hay in the trailer. By the time we got home, it was clear he was none the worse for the wear.

Hot Laps

Terrain: Easy

Distance: 6.25 miles

Avg Speed: 5mph

On Saturday, I had planned to trailer out for a good long ride. We had many people coming over for a barbecue, and I wanted to get the nutso boys (aka the big dogs) worn out so that they would be less inclined to misbehave. Well, my son called, needing to borrow the horse trailer to help a friend move. What could I say? Of course I let him use it.

So that meant I had to ride at home. I got my saddle and other gear out of the trailer tack room, and rode what I call hot laps. . Unfortunately I forgot to get my stethoscope out of the trailer, so I don't have heart rate data for Hoss for this ride. There's about two and half miles of dirt road in a "lap" just out from our ranch. Once again I hoped to go faster than I ended up going. Darned dogs can't seem to keep up in this heat! They are black, so I suppose I can't blame them, and since the ride was for "their" benefit (or my guests' depending on how you view it), it really wasn't a big deal.

Hot laps at home can be very fast. It's all dirt roads, nice and wide, and nothing technical. The only thing we have to worry about is the occasional car or truck or dirt bike. Hoss has gotten pretty accustomed to these "obstacles," so we generally do pretty well. The dirt bikes he's not as good about. While we were riding, a fellow on a dirt bike came hotting along, saw us, and decided to turn around to get out of our way. In the process of doing so, he cut a small track in the road, at which Hoss looked suspiciously on his way by in both directions.

Hoss always seems to finish these home rides with a high heart rate and respiration. At home, he goes much faster than he does when we ride elsewhere. It's an interesting phenomenon. At home, he can walk a good 4.5 to 5 mph. On other trails, I have to work to keep him up at 3 mph! I've ridden rent string horses that walked faster! The only time I don't have to go to the extra effort to keep his walk speed up is when we are riding with another horse. Then he'll keep his speed up! He doesn't want to get left behind. Of course, if he gets in the lead, he slows right back down. He also has a nice 7.5mph trot that I'd like to get him doing consistently. But, when he's alone (in the sense that there are no other horses on the trail), he wants to slow down to 6.5mph or less. Just like walking, if he gets in the lead, he slows down, as well. Now, I know he can keep up a fast trot. At Git-R-Done, he was consistently trotting 8 to 10 mph, particularly on the first, 22 mile loop. Even on the last, 8 mile loop, riding by ourselves, he kept up a good rate of speed, going consistently 7.5 to 8.5 mph. So the challenge is getting him to be consistent in training. This is probably the biggest problem faced by endurance riders. Horses like to be in groups. Riding alone is a little boring. Also, many horses will drop to what they consider a "comfortable" pace when not motivated. This is not avoidance of work, just a lack of motivation.

The truth is that I don't have to condition him at high speeds in order to get him fit to go at those speeds at endurance rides. I've known horses that competed in endurance rides that were ridden at a strict walk during all conditioning. This sort of seems like walking to get ready for a marathon, which we know doesn't work for people. Horses, though, get very fit easily and hold that fitness much better than humans do. I could let my retired endurance horse sit for 6 months, take him out of the pasture, and ride him in a 25 mile ride with no concerns that he would be unable to finish. My concern would be for my safety after having him stand for 6 months and letting him get nuts! Hoss could do that, too. Indeed, most horses could be hauled out of the pasture and finish a careful 25 mile ride, even if they've been standing at pasture for a year or more. Kept in a 24x24 corral, however, this really isn't true. A horse at pasture will move quite a bit on his own accord, and therefore stay fitter than a horse in a corral will.

All in all, not a bad ride despite being slower than I'd like. Hopefully it'll cool off and these durned dogs will start being able to keep up again!

The Anatomy of an Endurance Ride

Everything I do to prepare for a ride is geared toward preparing myself and my horse to cope with the environment of an endurance ride.  I expect there are people who will read this blog and wonder, what the heck is an endurance ride, anyway?  How does it work?  In anticipation of the sort of questions that inevitably arise when I talk about my chosen sport, I will now describe the sport of endurance riding.

Most rides are one-day events.  There are also multi-day events, but I won't go into that here.  There are two types of rides recognized by the American Endurance Ride Conference: Endurance, and Limited Distance.  Endurance is a ride of 50 to 100 miles in length.  Limited Distance is a ride of 25 to 35 miles in length.

Rides must be completed within a prescribed time.  For every five miles of distance ridden, there is one hour and fifteen minutes of time.  So, a 25 mile ride must be completed in 6 hours.  A 30 mile ride must be completed in 7 hours, 15 minutes.  50 mile rides get 12 hours.  55 mile rides get 13 hours, 15 minutes.  And so on. 

Horses are presented to a veterinarian judge prior to the ride.  The judge will inspect the horse, checking heart rate, gut sounds, gum color, jugular refill, skin tent, and gait.  Horses must pass this initial inspection in order to participate in the ride.  Vets generally expect the horse to score well on the initial inspection.  It is very rare for a horse to fail the initial inspection, but it happens, usually due to lameness.  Scores are given as A, B, C, and fail.  Anything below a C will result in the horse not being allowed to start, pulled from the ride, or denied completion.

 Hoss tears up the trail in a trot race with three other horses on the first loop of Git-R-Done.  Photo by Merri Melde





During the ride, all horses will be inspected at vet checks.  All rides of 50 miles or less must have at least one vet check.  Some rides will have more.  Many vets like to have vet checks at between 12 and 15 mile intervals.  There is no mention of how many vet checks are required, only that checks are required.

All horses must meet set “pulse criteria” during and after the ride.  This means that, when checked at all vet checks, and at the finish, the horse’s heart rate must come down to a set criteria within one half hour of having entered the vet check or crossed the finish line.

  

 

Hoss is inspected by veterinarian Dr. Mike Tomlinson at the Git-R-Done ride.  Photo by Merri Melde








Once the horse’s heart rate has met criteria, the hold time starts.  This time is generally from 20 to 60 minutes.  Endurance rides often have three holds, the first being 20 minutes, the second being 60 minutes, the last being 20 minutes.  Limited Distance rides typically have 30 minute holds, although I have seen a hold of 60 minutes for one Limited Distance ride.

 Valerie and Hoss leave the final vet check at Git-R-Done.  Photo by Merri Melde








During the hold, the horse must be presented to a vet for inspection.  All the same criteria are checked and judged as at the entry inspection.  The horse must be judged “fit to continue” in order to be allowed to continue on the ride.  Also during the hold time, the horse has a chance to eat, drink, and rest before heading down the trail again.

At the finish, the horse must once more present within pulse criteria within one half hour of crossing the finish line.  Endurance riders have one hour from crossing the finish line to present their horses for final inspection, but may do so at any time after finishing.  Limited Distance riders have a slightly different finish line.  Rather than their finish time being when they cross, their finish time is when the horse’s heart rate has come down to criteria.  At that  point, the clock stops and they have their finish time.  They have one half hour from this point to present their horse for final inspection.

At final inspection, all parameters are again checked, and the horse must be judged fit to continue in order to get a completion.  Since the horse isn’t actually going to be continuing on at this point, the parameters are somewhat relaxed.

That, in as small a nutshell as I can put it in, is how an endurance ride works!

Conditioning Ride 8-19-10 or Wow It’s Hot!

RHR: 36

HR on return: 56

HR at 10 min: 40

Distance: 9 mi

Average Speed: 4.5mph

Time: 2 hrs

Terrain: Easy to Moderate

This week has been bad for riding. It's just too hot! Too hot for me, too hot for the horse. The humidity has finally dropped some, down to something more southern California-ish. Still, I felt that it wasn't worth it to take Hoss out in the heat and humidity we were experiencing at this point in his conditioning. Next year, I'll be looking for horribly hot days to ride the heck out of him in, but not yet.

I headed out with Hoss and the dogs for a quick ride at Hollenbeck Canyon today. I was optimistic that we'd get a good amount of speed on this ride, as it's a generally easy area where we can go fast! We've finished this ride in about an hour and fifteen minutes in the past. But that was not to be today. It was HOT! It's been pretty brutal out here, not just 105 degrees or more, but relatively high humidity. But it wasn't on account of Hoss that we had to slow down. No, those two, black dogs were having a heck of a time on this ride. Several times they stopped in the shade and caught up with me later. I even had to stop and wait for them for about 10 minutes while they drank and cooled off. Hoss, however, was feeling fine and would've kept going at a good clip.

Hoss was in a good mood today, feeling really good in spite of the heat. He didn't even want a drink when it was available. He looked good, too. I just love it when I get him out of the pasture and he all but drags me to the trailer! Not a whole lot of high spirits, but he did decide that the weeds that have grown up in the middle of the trail in places are suspicious. Fortunately I've gotten much better at maneuvering him with my legs, and kept him from getting too silly. Again, I think it may have been a ruse to get to go faster. I didn't want to do a whole lot of cantering, as it was very hot and I don't want him to overdo it.

The positive behavior I was getting from Hoss is a good sign that he'll do well at a ride like Tevis. The temperatures over the course of the day can be in the 30s in the morning, up to 125 in the canyons during the day. So, he needs to be able to handle extreme changes in conditions. This year's ride was particularly humid, which is unusual.

I would really have liked to get my 6mph average on this ride, but it wasn't in the cards. Nothing to do with the trail, or with Hoss, but with a couple of dogs who were just too hot to keep up today!

Conditioning Ride 8-12-10

RHR: 52

HR on return: 60

HR 10 min: 44

Average Speed: 5.5mph

Terrain: Moderate to Challenging

 I had planned to do a good 25 mile ride this day, but it didn’t happen!  After riding Phoenix (my retired endurance horse, 13 yo Arabian) at home three miles, I went down to the YMCA to take a class, and on my way home stopped at the feed store for dog food.  At the feed store, I ran across one of my clients, who said, “See you at 2pm!”  Oops.  It wasn’t in my schedule.  I was already later than I wanted to be, and if I waited ‘til 2 to trim that horse, I’d not have time to trailer out at all.  So, I admitted the failure to get the appointment in the schedule, and asked if I could come trim the horse right then.  Fortunately it worked out.  It was better for the client and for me to go ahead and get that horse handled right away.  The end result, though, was I didn’t get home until noon.  By the time I had lunch and took care of other things, such as dishes and laundry, I didn’t get the trailer hooked up and loaded until 3pm.  Crap.  Now I’ve hardly any time!

I did manage to get to Cuyamaca and get Hoss saddled and on trail before 4pm.  His heart rate when we got there was rather high.  He got out of the trailer and immediately decided there was something in the bushes that was intent upon eating him!  As a result, his heart rate was elevated and I kept having to remind him I was there.  No amount of assurance that nothing was out there was going to convince him.  By the time I got him saddled and mounted up, he was no less sure that there was something evil out there, and we spent about a minute discussing the idea that, no, really, he had to head off down the trail and do his job!

We headed out and once we were warmed up, I started asking for a nice trot.  This was going to be one of those days, I could tell!  While he started out strong, it wasn’t long before he was slowing down below our target trot speed of 7.5 mph.  So there was a lot of nudging and cajoling and kicking on my part.  We headed up the West Mesa Fire Road, which is a long uphill pull.  Frequent nudges and kicks kept him mostly in the target range, but it was annoying!  He slows down very gradually, seems to know that if he’s careful enough, I won’t notice.  But, I kept an eye on the GPS unit, so I noticed, and just kept pushing.  I knew that the trail back down was going to be slower, so I wanted to keep our speed up where we could.

When we got to the point where it was time to head back down, we were just shy of having covered 6 miles, and our average speed was 6.3 mph.  Not a good sign.  I knew that the way back was rocky and a great deal of downhill too steep to trot.  Additionally, this last time I shod him, I took him out of the traction shoes I’ve been using and tried something less aggressive (more on that in a different post).  The result is that he’s still figuring out how to use them.  When we hit large rocks, he would tend to slip, as he’s accustomed to more traction.  So, I’d have to slow him down considerably and do more directing rather than allowing him to find his own footing.

By the time we hit the flat, our average was down to 5mph.  I was getting to where I was resigned to not exceeding 5mph on that day.  I didn’t think we had enough miles left to elevate it.  But as it turned out, we trotted out nicely (Hoss finally seemed to decide that trotting wasn’t so bad; probably didn’t hurt that he’d figured out we were headed back to the trailer), and we ended with a respectable – but still short of our goal – 5.5mph.

We only managed to cover 11 miles.  Something of a disappointment considering my goals for the week.  Additionally, I would’ve liked to cover more miles and wear him down a bit more, as I knew a friend was coming to ride on Friday, and it would’ve been nice to have a horse that wasn’t a complete idiot on a home trail ride.  But, all in all, not horrid.  I’ll take it.  For now.

When Life Gets in the Way

The purpose of this blog is to track my progress in my journey to Tevis 2013. Clearly. That is the title. But a blog that is nothing but ride reports could get really boring really fast. Besides, real life has an awful lot of influence on the achievement of my goals. A fabulous example of this happened just last year. It was Hoss’s first year, so we were doing Limited Distance. He’d done really well at the Descanso ride in June, so I planned to bump up to 50 miles at Manzanita. Well, as luck would have it, on July 1, one of my dogs cut in front of my bicycle while we were racing downhill on a dirt road. The end result was a nasty accident that caused a separated left shoulder for me. The dog? He’s fine. But he doesn’t run in front of bicycles anymore! Well, anyway, this meant that there was no way I’d be riding 50 miles in October at Manzanita. By October, I was able to do the 25 mile Limited Distance ride at Manzanita, but I hadn’t been back in the saddle long enough to do more. So, yeah, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.

Which brings us to my latest little interruption. This one isn’t a killer. But it is kinda funny.

When I first moved in here, I noticed a section of pipe that comes out of the ground, goes about a foot with a valve in the middle, then goes back into the ground. It’s right next to the driveway. It’s practically in the driveway. I thought, now there’s a bad place for a section of live water pipe! I wasn’t real worried about it, though, because we erected my round pen in the middle of the pull through drive way, so nobody was likely to be driving over it. Even when we opened the round pen to drive through it, the panels would be between the vehicle and the pipe.

Fast forward to the present. I took the round pen down for a birthday party we had, as it would really cut down on space to park or just party. I have another party scheduled soon, and I had an area flattened for a couple of pipe corrals, which cut out part of where the round pen had been. So, the driveway has been through for a while now. This means that I don’t have to back the trailer in from clear down by the neighbor’s house! How nice! Well, I pretty quickly realized I was gonna have to watch out for that pipe. So I got in the habit of watching my mirror to make sure I wasn’t going to take it out with the trailer.

Which is exactly what I did last night. I pulled in to the driveway, and noticed that one of the trash cans had been upset, and dog and cat food cans spread everywhere. I immediately knew who the culprit was: Tanner, the Pomeranian/chow cross dog. Well, I was so annoyed by this particular happenstance, that I forgot to watch where the trailer was. I pulled around the corner, backed the trailer into its space, got out, let the dogs out of the truck, and looked back at the trailer. I was a little confused as to why the trailer tires were wet. Oh, well. Off to let the goats out. While I was opening the goats’ gate, I noticed the booster pump was running. Why would that be running? There wasn’t water on. Then I noticed the sound of water. Oh, no. I was pretty sure at that point what had happened.

I hurried over to where the pipe is. Yup, broke it. Water was gushing all over the driveway. I went over to the breaker box and turned off the booster pump, but that didn’t stop the water, just slowed it down. I pretty quickly realized it had to be pressure from the tank. I found the shut off valve on the tank, cranked it off, and put an end to the flood.

I was very lucky in that I had filled the tank in the horse trailer before I went out to ride. So, despite not having running water, I at least have enough to get by. I’d also filled the horses’ water tank the day before, so they’ll be fine. I just have to worry about the goats, whose bucket is not large enough for more than a one day supply of water.

So, I took care of the goats and horses, cleaned the pasture, fed the dogs, and walked over to the next door neighbors’. I knocked on the door, and asked could I please take a shower at their house? After explaining what had happened, I was, of course, granted my request. It’s always best to know the neighbors.

How has this affected training? My grand plan had been to take Hoss to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and take a long, about 25 mile ride today. That has been derailed. I’m occupied getting the pipe fixed. I will probably get to do that ride tomorrow, as well as riding one of the other horses, so my friend will have a good ride with him on Friday.  I had planned to use tomorrow afternoon to work on trails here, which will be pushed off to Friday now.  I think I had planned to rest on Friday.  When I will really get rest is a good question.

The water pipe got fixed, and the water’s back on. No more above ground pipe! But, I did decide that it was probably put in by the previous owners. It was right beside what I call the “overlook,” an area that has been set up in preparation for a grill and has a nice paved area to sit above the canyon. We figure the plan was to eventually put in a sink, so they’d left the pipe above the level of the driveway so they’d be able to find it. I did bury it. I doubt I’ll ever get so ambitious as to put in a sink at that location, but I know where it is if I do!

Conditioning Ride 8-10-10

RHR 36 (RHR = Resting Heart Rate, taken before saddling)

HR on return 68 (HR = Heart Rate)

HR 8 min 48 (This is Heart Rate taken at 8minutes after our return)

Distance: 13 miles

Avg Speed:  5mph

Time: 2.5 hours

It was a nice day for a ride.  The sun was out, nary a cloud in the sky, and a lovely off-shore breeze that kept the temperature down in the "pleasant" range.  We trailered out to the steel bridge and headed out on trail a little before 2pm.  We pushed pretty hard even though we only got a 5mph average.  For the terrain, that’s pretty good.  I took Hoss up some pretty tough trails and asked him to trot or canter some steep hills.  These trails are rocky and technical.

I was most pleased to note that Hoss spent the entire ride with his ears pricked forward and had a willing attitude.  He gave me very few spooks, which I’m beginning to think he uses to try to go faster.

When we arrived back at the trailer, Hoss wasn’t interested in water.  I think he’s decided he doesn’t really like sticking his head in that little bucket if he doesn’t have to.  So, he’s thinking I’ll be taking him home, where he can drink from the stock tank in the pasture.  Well, that didn’t happen today.  He spent an extra hour in the trailer parked outside the YMCA while I did a core training class.  I left him a bucket of water, but he didn’t drink.  It’s entirely possible that he’s reached a point where he doesn’t need to drink as often as I think he should.  He didn't even drink at the river crossing, where he'll usually join the dogs in a quick drink. But, when I checked his mucous membranes and jugular refill and skin tent, it was clear he wasn't dehydrated, despite having sweated quite a bit.

 I was pleased with Hoss's recovery today.  We came in pretty hot, didn't slow down from a trot until we were within a half mile of the trailer.  He came in to the trailer with a heart rate of 68. I usually aim to take his heart rate at 10 minutes after the first one taken when I get off at the trailer, but I had a class I wanted to get to across the street, so I took it again at 8 minutes.  He'd dropped from 68 to 48 in 8 minutes.  That, I must say, is really good!  At endurance rides, depending on the vet, criteria for the horse's heart rate can be anywhere from 56bpm to 64bpm. Of course, at an endurance ride, I want him to come in to the vet check at or below the criteria.

All in all, a good ride.  I would've liked to get a faster average, but I knew going in that the trails I chose were likely to prevent us from getting it.  I'm aiming for 6mph on average for this next year.  Our training average to now has been 5.5 mph.  For Tevis, we will need to be up to 7mph.

I Have a Goal

As you may have guessed, my goal is Tevis 2013.  For those who haven't a clue what that is, Tevis is the popular name of the endurance ride of endurance rides, the Western States 100 Miles 1 Day ride. This ride is frequently referred to as "Tevis" as a reference to the Tevis Cup, which is awarded to the horse and rider team coming in first place.  The Western States 100 Miles 1 Day is the granddaddy of endurance.  It is the first endurance ride, inaugurated in 1955, 17 years before the American Endurance Ride Conference was established.

A little about me.  I have been riding limited distance and endurance with the AERC for about 6 years, with a year off during which I didn't have a horse to ride.  I live in Southern California.

A little about the horse.  My horse is a 6 year old Mustang named Hoss (registered with AERC as NRR Team 91 Hoss).  He so far has done very well.  We have 80 limited distance miles and 155 endurance miles.  Hoss is a fantastic horse with sense and grit.  Never has he finished a ride looking anything less than great.  We're not fast, finishing in the lower third of riders, but that's okay.  Slow is good for him, and I'm just fine with taking my time!  Below is Hoss and me at the Git-R-Done ride in April.

I hope to use this blog to chart our progress and share the lessons we learn, the rides we finish, and the grand, sometimes frustrating, often funny, things we encounter on the trail.