Since Hoss had ripped through the toe of one of his Gloves, I had to use his Edges on his front feet for this day's ride. His girth gall was a bit swollen and slightly larger than it had been when we'd arrived, but wasn't particularly tender. With the use of Body Glide, I was keeping it from getting too irritated. I failed to mention that, just days before this ride, my riding boots suddenly started causing huge blisters on my heels again. By Day 3, I felt like I needed to just tape the heck out of my heels to prevent any further damage. Any bandages I used simply came apart in my socks and came off when I took off my socks. This was not adding to my comfort!
The vet check for Day 3 was back in camp, meaning I had no need to prepare a crew bag, and could expect to be back at camp in time to take my meds. I took some of the meds with me, just in case I needed them. I also brought along my regular riding gloves. My hands were getting dry and chapped from the cold and dry, and my knuckles were getting knocked open on the zippers on my saddle pack.
Once again I used the lighter bit. I still wasn't feeling real good about using the hackamore, considering how difficult he had been at times.
At the top of the mountain range, looking down into the Panamint Valley, we had some spectacular views. The ride photographer chose a great location. We were riding along the edge of the ridge, with a 2000+ foot drop off the opposite side from where he was taking pictures.
By the time we came in for the vet check, we were not far behind Echo and his rider. We got our out time, and headed to the trailer.
The one drawback to having the vet check back at camp is, Hoss seems to think it means the ride is over and eats at a much more leisurely pace than he does at out vet checks. Either that or he thinks other horses might steal his food at out checks, so he eats faster than at the trailer.
I made up a bran mash with electrolytes for Hoss, and tossed out some alfalfa. My husband had headed in to town to get supplies to cook dinner for Saturday night – the New Year's Eve dinner for everyone, not just us! – so I was on my own to get my lunch. I found a can of soup and heated it up. I also made myself a cup of hot chocolate, and sat in my "anti-gravity" chair to eat. I also made sure I got my meds as I needed them, and made sure I had on me what I might need out on the trail.
Hoss vetted out, and we hit the trail again. Echo and the horse he was with were just in front of us. I tried to hang back in an effort to get them to lose us, but it didn't work out very well. The entire second loop, I was fighting Hoss trying to catch up to horses trotting much faster than he could reasonably maintain.
We rode through a long canyon, where we had to pick up another playing card. Hoss was far too interested in catching up with the other horses than he was in listening to me. I had to get off to get my playing card, and to take one of my meds which I was due for.
When I got back on, Hoss did everything he could to cut trail and ram right through to catch up with the other riders. He had a bit of a fit, and spun about in a bush. Once I got him going straight again, I noticed an odd sound and realized he'd pulled one of his hind boots. I got off to put it back on to discover he had broken the cables, and the boot was unusable. I also noticed the tread had worn radically. With less than 300 miles, the Renegades had reached the point of being nearly completely worn out. They're supposed to last 500 miles.
I attached the broken boot to the saddle and mounted up. Now I had a horse with a bare hind foot who wanted to run like crazy and catch up to the other horses. I needed him to stay fairly slow to protect that bare foot. Fortunately the footing was reasonably good, and we were close to the end, so the odds of him wearing the foot down so far he would be sore by the time we finished were low.
I let Hoss trot on the best parts, and tried with little success to keep him to a walk in the rocky areas. He was locked on to those other horses and he was not letting go. When camp was in sight and we'd crossed the last road with less than a mile to go, I got off and led him in. It was the only way to keep him from continuing to try to catch the other horses.
Hoss vetted through just fine, but now we had a problem. The Renegades were the only boots we had for his hinds. At this point, though, I was becoming somewhat less than enamored of the whole boot thing. I took Hoss back to the trailer, and while he was eating, I prepped and nailed on a set of steel shoes. I think the boot thing is officially over.
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