Back in the Saddle, Take 2

Since the last time I rode, I got my right foot stomped on and my back wrenched. Both by horses that were being less than cooperative about having their feet trimmed! The result was no riding for about six days. I was finally able to ride on Thursday, and took Hoss to Lakeside for a lesson. Since we're going to the gymkhana tomorrow, our trainer gave us a lesson on Things That Will Help in a Gymkhana. With any luck, this will give me a fantastic post for tomorrow! After Thursday, it was like I had done a week of never stopping, so I took all day Friday off. Just sat. And my back was bugging me, because I had bucked 16 bales of hay out of my trailer. Not something I'm supposed to do, anyway, much less with a back injury! So today I finally was able to get out there for a trail ride!


RHR: 36


HR on Return: 60


HR at 10 minutes: 56


Miles: 6.9


Avg Speed: 3.9mph


Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes


It was pretty hot out there today. I didn't really notice until we'd been out for a while, but it was warm. And Hoss is putting in his winter coat, so he was particularly feeling it. He was feeling pretty good when we first struck out. He really wanted to go! I let him canter along until it got to the point where it wasn't really safe. Then we just trotted on up. I took us up some challenging, steep trail today. Since we are doing the gymkhana tomorrow, I wanted to tire him out physically and a little bit mentally so he's not a complete nutcase in the arena. Not that he's particularly bad in the arena, just that the atmosphere tomorrow may be charged enough that he can't concentrate.  I also have a few hang-ups about the arena, but I think I'll address that further in the post about the gymkhana.


I thought for sure he'd drink at the river crossing. He'd spent an hour in the hot trailer before we got to the trailhead. I'd had a bunch of little errands to run (post office, gas station, pharmacy, bank) before we rode, so he was in there longer than usual. When he got out of the trailer, he was a little sweaty, so I know he was hot! But, we got to the crossing, and he just watched the dogs drink and licked a log.


After we crossed, Hoss trotted on up out of the river bed and I could feel his anticipation of running on the road when we got there. I turned him up on the road and gave him the signal and off we went! He loves to run a little bit now and then! At the top of the rise, I turned him up into the hillside for some more steep work.


About three quarters of the way up the hill, Hoss stopped. He just stopped. Only once before has he just quit on me like this, on a very hot day when he was in full winter coat, and he stopped in the shade. This was different, though, because I noticed pretty quickly that he was shaking, too. He also promptly stuck his nose on the ground and was scratching his nostril pretty enthusiastically. I jumped off and checked him over. Other than he was breathing very rapidly and dripping sweat (not unusual, really, with Hoss), I could find nothing wrong. Outside of a little dirt in his nostril (gee, wonder how that happened?) his nose looked fine, too. Other than the rapid breathing, he looked fine. Eyes were shiny, ears pricked forward, mucus membranes looked good, jugular and capillary refills were fine, even skin tent was okay if not ideal. So I just stood there with him and waited for his breathing to improve. 

After about three minutes, Hoss relaxed and it looked like he was feeling okay. I started walking up the trail and let him follow me. I don't know how far I walked, but I stopped several times and let Hoss rest. At the last spot I let him rest, he started eating everything he could find. Not that he wasn't looking for food before, just that he was more in earnest about it. So, once we'd topped the rise with me on foot, I mounted back up and let him carry me.


At this point it was pretty much all downhill. By the time we got to the bottom, it was clear that Hoss was feeling much improved. He trotted out in a few places. But, once we crossed the wood bridge back toward the trailer, I made him walk. I could tell that he really wanted a drink, but there wasn't anywhere I could get him to water safely. So I got him back to the trailer and got him untacked and loaded as quickly as I could and still get my data. 

Hoss came back to the trailer with a heart rate of 60, which is really good considering the conditions. In 10 minutes, he was down to 56, which I think would have been better had he been able to get a drink.


It was a slow ride, but I'm okay with that on this particular day. Pushing faster wouldn't have made any difference in his long-term conditioning, and might have harmed him. Once he got home and in the pasture, he went straight for the water and took a long, long drink. Now he's waiting for his bath in preparation for the gymkhana tomorrow!