I am finally, at long last, getting around to starting a new blog.
Check it out at:
furtheradventuresteam91.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
....And Beyond
*This post was originally written shortly after Tevis. So please read it as though it is quite a bit sooner than December!
We've come to the natural terminus of this particular blog, but the story doesn't end here. I've always known there was an end point for this blog. It has always been my intention to continue to blog about our adventures. With DC added to my herd, plans to breed her for a colt next year, the troubles with my hip, and of course many miles ahead in my future with Hoss, there will be plenty of stories to tell.
Despite our failure (well, more appropriately, my failure) to finish Tevis this year, we made it. There was plenty in my way. My hip has deteriorated so badly even a month ago I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to ride. I was determined to make it anyway. I still believe we would have been able to finish despite being 15 minutes over time. I think we could have made up time, and I'm confident we would have finished on time.
I learned plenty of lessons, and I know we have our work cut out for us. We'll work to be able to make it through this challenge next time. Although I think the speeds expected for this ride have much more to do with its pull rate than its difficulty does, I'm just bull headed enough to get this done.
I would like to express my gratitude to those who have helped me along the way.
Beth Smith, who found and broke Hoss in, and continues to be my trainer and friend through all things. Without her I don't think we could have made it this far. 2825 career miles are not to be taken lightly. By improving my riding and keeping Hoss moving well, Beth has kept us on the trail.
Michael Goulet, my most wonderful husband. He keeps me fed and encourages me when I have down moments. Always chipper and with a smile on his face, it's hard to be unhappy when he's around.
Cora Setzer, my daughter, who crewed so deftly at Robinson Flat. She rode Hoss while I was down after my shoulder repair, keeping him in shape and happy.
And, of course, Evelyn Allen of Just For Horsin' Round. Her friendship and encouragement have meant much to me. And the sponsorship of a pair of simply wonderful tights will be worn again -- when we hit the Tevis trail yet again in some future year.
We've come to the natural terminus of this particular blog, but the story doesn't end here. I've always known there was an end point for this blog. It has always been my intention to continue to blog about our adventures. With DC added to my herd, plans to breed her for a colt next year, the troubles with my hip, and of course many miles ahead in my future with Hoss, there will be plenty of stories to tell.
Despite our failure (well, more appropriately, my failure) to finish Tevis this year, we made it. There was plenty in my way. My hip has deteriorated so badly even a month ago I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to ride. I was determined to make it anyway. I still believe we would have been able to finish despite being 15 minutes over time. I think we could have made up time, and I'm confident we would have finished on time.
I learned plenty of lessons, and I know we have our work cut out for us. We'll work to be able to make it through this challenge next time. Although I think the speeds expected for this ride have much more to do with its pull rate than its difficulty does, I'm just bull headed enough to get this done.
I would like to express my gratitude to those who have helped me along the way.
Beth Smith, who found and broke Hoss in, and continues to be my trainer and friend through all things. Without her I don't think we could have made it this far. 2825 career miles are not to be taken lightly. By improving my riding and keeping Hoss moving well, Beth has kept us on the trail.
Michael Goulet, my most wonderful husband. He keeps me fed and encourages me when I have down moments. Always chipper and with a smile on his face, it's hard to be unhappy when he's around.
Cora Setzer, my daughter, who crewed so deftly at Robinson Flat. She rode Hoss while I was down after my shoulder repair, keeping him in shape and happy.
And, of course, Evelyn Allen of Just For Horsin' Round. Her friendship and encouragement have meant much to me. And the sponsorship of a pair of simply wonderful tights will be worn again -- when we hit the Tevis trail yet again in some future year.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
2013 Western States Trail Foundation 100 Miles 1 Day Ride -- Tevis
I had everything together. I had a horse ready to pack my half-crippled ass over any obstacle. I knew we could get it done. Due to what can best best be termed pilot error, we did not ride into the fairgrounds in Auburn after hours on the trail; we came in on our trailer.
I made two critical and ultimately ride-ending errors. The first was believing the "suggested cut-off times" ride management had published were realistic. The second was freaking out when Hoss's heart rate monitor malfunctioned and showed him with a significantly elevated heart rate.
We started the day in good form. I did not want to ride around in circles in the "pen" with the rest of the horses, which would have seriously amped Hoss up and made him more difficult to manage than usual. So we headed out from our camp in time to catch up with the tail end of "Pen 2" when I figured "Pen 1" had been released. We got there a bit later than I would have liked. I underestimated how long it would take us to ride to the gathering area. Still, we hit trail at a good time.
This early in the ride we were hung up in quite a large pack. Hoss was doing pretty well keeping pace with the somewhat faster Arabians around us so long as we were trotting. When we needed to walk, however, his slower pace became apparent. Much of the trail is on single track, so when the pace needed to slow to a walk, the horses ahead would pull away while the horses behind would pile up. We became very good at giving trail for faster horses!
At the pre-ride briefing for "new riders," the speaker described five bridges over a boggy area. The way he described it, I envisioned five narrow bridges side by side over the same section of trail. I was a bit puzzled by the idea of this set up. Why would anyone do that? It didn't make sense. It turned out the five bridges were, of course, one after another on switchback trail. They were quite narrow, but Hoss handled the notion just fine.
After we made it through the single track we were in Squaw Valley and climbing up to High Camp. The road was pretty steep, so everybody was walking. In hind sight, I probably should have urged Hoss to trot more, as he is quite slow when walking and we lost a significant amount of ground. We did make it to High Camp before the suggested cut off time of 7:45, leaving me feeling pretty good about our progress.
The next "segment" of trail crossed the Granite Chief Wilderness. I had heard it was a challenging segment. During the pre ride briefing it was mentioned not to expect to make up time across this section. The suggested cut off times essentially said this 8.5 mile section could be traversed in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Unfortunately this was a bit optimistic for your average horse. Much of the trail is steep and rocky, and there are sections of bog and places the stream runs right down the trail. I have since seen another rider describe the Granite Chief Wilderness as the most challenging section of the trail. Hoss tackled it just fine, but we missed the suggested cut off into Lyon Ridge by 21 minutes, coming in at 9:21.
The next section, to Red Star Ridge, was relatively easy. Still, we weren't going to get it done in thirty nine minutes. Suggested cut off was 10:00. We crossed this section of steep sided trail which included Cougar Rock in 1 hour and 39 minutes. Hind sight being 20/20, we probably could have accomplished it faster, and should have. Cougar Rock was the most challenging part of this section, aside from the trail being generally narrow and steep sided. Hoss is a sure footed and confident horse, so I now feel I could and should have striven for a faster time.
By this time we were largely alone. Other horses had passed us and gotten just far enough ahead we were setting our own pace.
Red Star Ridge is the first stop with a "Gate and Go," meaning Hoss needed to recover to a heart rate of 60 beats per minute and pass a modified vet check. Walking down the hill into Red Star, Hoss's heart rate on the monitor was 92, just exactly what I would expect under the circumstances. We came in just under the cut off time of 11:00. We had one hour to get through this check and make the next 7.5 miles to Robinson Flat.
This was my second error. I had hung the heart rate monitor on Hoss's tack so I could see his heart rate recovery. We came into the check and he promptly took a big drink. I had given him electrolytes at High Camp, but hadn't given him a second dose until just about two miles before we came into Red Star. I was already thinking he would be doing better if I had been slugging him with electrolytes at a quicker pace. His heart rate had been elevated at High Camp, and started coming down to a more normal rate after I had slugged him. When we got to Lyon Ridge, I contemplated giving his next dose then discarded the idea as too soon. Coming into Red Star I had changed my mind and electrolyted him before we got in. So of course I was thinking I was behind in getting electrolytes into him. When the heart rate monitor showed him at 101, I thought, oh dear, he's gonna have a hard time coming down because I didn't give him the electrolytes sooner.
I sponged him and watched the monitor. One of the volunteers checked him with the stethoscope and said he was high. Well, I took that to mean the HRM was right, and now it was going up. I was beginning to get a little freaked. The HRM got up to 168 and stuck there. No amount of sponging made any difference. All the while, Hoss was standing there cheerfully eating. This should have been my first clue the HRM was malfunctioning. Other horses nearby that were not recovering were ignoring food. Hoss was eating as he usually does -- as if the food might at any moment be stolen from him.
After fifteen minutes, I was beginning to think my horse might require treatment, although nothing other than an apparently high heart rate suggested it. A volunteer came over and checked him -- and he was recovered. I don't know how long we waited, but long enough I suspect it made the difference in us making the drop-dead cut-off at Robinson Flat of 12:00.
We went to the vet, who checked Hoss over and declared him fit to continue, although he felt Hoss was behind on hydration. I knew I would need to up his electrolytes, but he didn't look that bad off to me, and he was certainly drinking well enough now to catch up. We left Red Star Ridge at 11:20, giving us 40 minutes to make it to Robinson Flat.
Another horse, which had taken a long time to recover at Red Star, was just ahead of us, giving us the inspiration we needed to book it. We have covered 8 miles in an hour and fifteen minutes, trail much more challenging than the mostly downhill and flat jeep road we were on. So off we went, trotting and cantering all the way. We would canter the flats and as far up the hills as possible, then trot on down. The other horse (plus one which came galloping up and passed us, offering us more inspiration) got well ahead of us. We came to a steep downgrade about 1/4 mile out of Robinson Flat. I hopped off and walked down the hill, giving Hoss a bit of a break, as we was starting to feel the speed of this section.
I got back on when we reached the bottom and rode him in. When I looked at my watch and realized we weren't going to make the cut off, I stopped pushing and we walked the rest of the way. We were overtime by 15 minutes. We made those 8.5 miles in about 55 minutes, probably would have been 50 if we hadn't slowed down.
My daughter and husband met me on the road. Since we were over time, we were not given an "in card." I didn't take the time to cool Hoss off and get his heart rate down because it didn't matter; we weren't continuing. He took a good drink while my daughter pulled his tack. We walked down to see the vet, my thought being to get it over with and get him to food.
When we got to the vet, Hoss's heart rate was, understandably, high. He was at 72. This isn't exceptionally high considering what we'd just done and not taking the time to pulse down. He got his exam, and the vet asked me to bring him back after 20 or 30 minutes to be seen again.
We walked over to our crew area and got Hoss set up with food and water and got him sponged down. After sufficient time had passed I took him back to the vet. Now his heart rate was down, although only to 60. Considering the walk back over to the vet in the heat, I wasn't the least bit alarmed by this. The vet, though, was alarmed. It turned out she had gotten the impression he was "weary." This was because Hoss likes to "point" a front foot while resting the opposite hind. He also tends to "switch off" the instant I get out of the saddle. He knows it's rest time, and he isn't about to waste a moment of it if he doesn't have to.
This began the most bizarre process I have ever experienced at an endurance ride. Hoss was demonstrably fine. He just wanted to rest and eat and drink. Since there was no food, he elected to sleep. But because the vet thought he was "weary," I had to keep him over in the treatment area to be examined. Long story short, we were there for at least half an hour and three separate people had to check him over. By the time the last person got around to seeing him, he was starting to look dehydrated and the guy commented on it. It was all I could do not to point out he'd be eating and drinking and probably not dehydrated had he been where he should have been rather than cooling his heels where he didn't need to be. I stopped by the water troughs on our way out and he took a big drink. Duh.
Getting a trailer ride was the next ordeal. Whole forests die to put this ride on. We had to have a slip of paper to get a trailer ride. I don't think I've ever seen anything made so complicated.
Hoss was, of course, absolutely fine. We got our trailer ride back to Foresthill where my husband had parked our trailer. Hoss was so unhappy he was being a handful and my hip was giving me a great deal of trouble. My daughter took Hoss from me and decided it would be easier to ride him than lead him. She hooked the reins to his halter and got on bareback. Yup, he was fine!
We didn't finish, but we learned some lessons to apply next time. I don't know if we'll be able to go next year, as I'm on the path to get my hip fixed at some point in the next months. How much down time I'll have is yet to be determined. I'm hoping to be there next year, but I'm not counting on it.
I do know when we get back again, we'll be going faster. To that end, we've got our work cut out for us. I'll have to recover and rehabilitate from whatever surgery I wind up having. Hoss will have to work on going a bit faster on uphills, his one problem at rides which he doesn't really have at home. So, between now and surgery, since I've already stopped working due to my hip, I'll be taking him out and getting him running uphill in hopes of getting him trotting uphill at rides. Who knows? Maybe it'll get him running uphill at rides if I ask for it!
Here's the video from the ride. Fair warning -- I drop an F-bomb toward the end!
I made two critical and ultimately ride-ending errors. The first was believing the "suggested cut-off times" ride management had published were realistic. The second was freaking out when Hoss's heart rate monitor malfunctioned and showed him with a significantly elevated heart rate.
We started the day in good form. I did not want to ride around in circles in the "pen" with the rest of the horses, which would have seriously amped Hoss up and made him more difficult to manage than usual. So we headed out from our camp in time to catch up with the tail end of "Pen 2" when I figured "Pen 1" had been released. We got there a bit later than I would have liked. I underestimated how long it would take us to ride to the gathering area. Still, we hit trail at a good time.
This early in the ride we were hung up in quite a large pack. Hoss was doing pretty well keeping pace with the somewhat faster Arabians around us so long as we were trotting. When we needed to walk, however, his slower pace became apparent. Much of the trail is on single track, so when the pace needed to slow to a walk, the horses ahead would pull away while the horses behind would pile up. We became very good at giving trail for faster horses!
At the pre-ride briefing for "new riders," the speaker described five bridges over a boggy area. The way he described it, I envisioned five narrow bridges side by side over the same section of trail. I was a bit puzzled by the idea of this set up. Why would anyone do that? It didn't make sense. It turned out the five bridges were, of course, one after another on switchback trail. They were quite narrow, but Hoss handled the notion just fine.
After we made it through the single track we were in Squaw Valley and climbing up to High Camp. The road was pretty steep, so everybody was walking. In hind sight, I probably should have urged Hoss to trot more, as he is quite slow when walking and we lost a significant amount of ground. We did make it to High Camp before the suggested cut off time of 7:45, leaving me feeling pretty good about our progress.
The next "segment" of trail crossed the Granite Chief Wilderness. I had heard it was a challenging segment. During the pre ride briefing it was mentioned not to expect to make up time across this section. The suggested cut off times essentially said this 8.5 mile section could be traversed in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Unfortunately this was a bit optimistic for your average horse. Much of the trail is steep and rocky, and there are sections of bog and places the stream runs right down the trail. I have since seen another rider describe the Granite Chief Wilderness as the most challenging section of the trail. Hoss tackled it just fine, but we missed the suggested cut off into Lyon Ridge by 21 minutes, coming in at 9:21.
The next section, to Red Star Ridge, was relatively easy. Still, we weren't going to get it done in thirty nine minutes. Suggested cut off was 10:00. We crossed this section of steep sided trail which included Cougar Rock in 1 hour and 39 minutes. Hind sight being 20/20, we probably could have accomplished it faster, and should have. Cougar Rock was the most challenging part of this section, aside from the trail being generally narrow and steep sided. Hoss is a sure footed and confident horse, so I now feel I could and should have striven for a faster time.
By this time we were largely alone. Other horses had passed us and gotten just far enough ahead we were setting our own pace.
Red Star Ridge is the first stop with a "Gate and Go," meaning Hoss needed to recover to a heart rate of 60 beats per minute and pass a modified vet check. Walking down the hill into Red Star, Hoss's heart rate on the monitor was 92, just exactly what I would expect under the circumstances. We came in just under the cut off time of 11:00. We had one hour to get through this check and make the next 7.5 miles to Robinson Flat.
This was my second error. I had hung the heart rate monitor on Hoss's tack so I could see his heart rate recovery. We came into the check and he promptly took a big drink. I had given him electrolytes at High Camp, but hadn't given him a second dose until just about two miles before we came into Red Star. I was already thinking he would be doing better if I had been slugging him with electrolytes at a quicker pace. His heart rate had been elevated at High Camp, and started coming down to a more normal rate after I had slugged him. When we got to Lyon Ridge, I contemplated giving his next dose then discarded the idea as too soon. Coming into Red Star I had changed my mind and electrolyted him before we got in. So of course I was thinking I was behind in getting electrolytes into him. When the heart rate monitor showed him at 101, I thought, oh dear, he's gonna have a hard time coming down because I didn't give him the electrolytes sooner.
I sponged him and watched the monitor. One of the volunteers checked him with the stethoscope and said he was high. Well, I took that to mean the HRM was right, and now it was going up. I was beginning to get a little freaked. The HRM got up to 168 and stuck there. No amount of sponging made any difference. All the while, Hoss was standing there cheerfully eating. This should have been my first clue the HRM was malfunctioning. Other horses nearby that were not recovering were ignoring food. Hoss was eating as he usually does -- as if the food might at any moment be stolen from him.
After fifteen minutes, I was beginning to think my horse might require treatment, although nothing other than an apparently high heart rate suggested it. A volunteer came over and checked him -- and he was recovered. I don't know how long we waited, but long enough I suspect it made the difference in us making the drop-dead cut-off at Robinson Flat of 12:00.
We went to the vet, who checked Hoss over and declared him fit to continue, although he felt Hoss was behind on hydration. I knew I would need to up his electrolytes, but he didn't look that bad off to me, and he was certainly drinking well enough now to catch up. We left Red Star Ridge at 11:20, giving us 40 minutes to make it to Robinson Flat.
Another horse, which had taken a long time to recover at Red Star, was just ahead of us, giving us the inspiration we needed to book it. We have covered 8 miles in an hour and fifteen minutes, trail much more challenging than the mostly downhill and flat jeep road we were on. So off we went, trotting and cantering all the way. We would canter the flats and as far up the hills as possible, then trot on down. The other horse (plus one which came galloping up and passed us, offering us more inspiration) got well ahead of us. We came to a steep downgrade about 1/4 mile out of Robinson Flat. I hopped off and walked down the hill, giving Hoss a bit of a break, as we was starting to feel the speed of this section.
I got back on when we reached the bottom and rode him in. When I looked at my watch and realized we weren't going to make the cut off, I stopped pushing and we walked the rest of the way. We were overtime by 15 minutes. We made those 8.5 miles in about 55 minutes, probably would have been 50 if we hadn't slowed down.
My daughter and husband met me on the road. Since we were over time, we were not given an "in card." I didn't take the time to cool Hoss off and get his heart rate down because it didn't matter; we weren't continuing. He took a good drink while my daughter pulled his tack. We walked down to see the vet, my thought being to get it over with and get him to food.
When we got to the vet, Hoss's heart rate was, understandably, high. He was at 72. This isn't exceptionally high considering what we'd just done and not taking the time to pulse down. He got his exam, and the vet asked me to bring him back after 20 or 30 minutes to be seen again.
We walked over to our crew area and got Hoss set up with food and water and got him sponged down. After sufficient time had passed I took him back to the vet. Now his heart rate was down, although only to 60. Considering the walk back over to the vet in the heat, I wasn't the least bit alarmed by this. The vet, though, was alarmed. It turned out she had gotten the impression he was "weary." This was because Hoss likes to "point" a front foot while resting the opposite hind. He also tends to "switch off" the instant I get out of the saddle. He knows it's rest time, and he isn't about to waste a moment of it if he doesn't have to.
This began the most bizarre process I have ever experienced at an endurance ride. Hoss was demonstrably fine. He just wanted to rest and eat and drink. Since there was no food, he elected to sleep. But because the vet thought he was "weary," I had to keep him over in the treatment area to be examined. Long story short, we were there for at least half an hour and three separate people had to check him over. By the time the last person got around to seeing him, he was starting to look dehydrated and the guy commented on it. It was all I could do not to point out he'd be eating and drinking and probably not dehydrated had he been where he should have been rather than cooling his heels where he didn't need to be. I stopped by the water troughs on our way out and he took a big drink. Duh.
Getting a trailer ride was the next ordeal. Whole forests die to put this ride on. We had to have a slip of paper to get a trailer ride. I don't think I've ever seen anything made so complicated.
Hoss was, of course, absolutely fine. We got our trailer ride back to Foresthill where my husband had parked our trailer. Hoss was so unhappy he was being a handful and my hip was giving me a great deal of trouble. My daughter took Hoss from me and decided it would be easier to ride him than lead him. She hooked the reins to his halter and got on bareback. Yup, he was fine!
We didn't finish, but we learned some lessons to apply next time. I don't know if we'll be able to go next year, as I'm on the path to get my hip fixed at some point in the next months. How much down time I'll have is yet to be determined. I'm hoping to be there next year, but I'm not counting on it.
I do know when we get back again, we'll be going faster. To that end, we've got our work cut out for us. I'll have to recover and rehabilitate from whatever surgery I wind up having. Hoss will have to work on going a bit faster on uphills, his one problem at rides which he doesn't really have at home. So, between now and surgery, since I've already stopped working due to my hip, I'll be taking him out and getting him running uphill in hopes of getting him trotting uphill at rides. Who knows? Maybe it'll get him running uphill at rides if I ask for it!
Here's the video from the ride. Fair warning -- I drop an F-bomb toward the end!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
2013 Descanso Endurance Ride, 50 Miles
My original plan had been to take DC to this ride for the 25, with Hoss along again with Wendy Turner. Unfortunately, she was decidedly lame two weeks before the ride. I never did figure out exactly what was going on. Happening so close to a ride, I was reluctant to pitch her in anyway and take my chances.
That being the case, I opted to take Eclipse instead. Eclipse, clearly, is up to more than a 25, so I put it to Wendy to move on up to the 50. She was a little intimidated, but game. I took her and the horses up to Cuyamaca the weekend before and we rode 30 miles of the 50 as a tune up for Wendy and Eclipse.
The night before the ride, my husband was flying in from work, so I would have to go get him. Wendy and I didn't make it away from the ranch until 6:30. Hindsight being 20/20, I should've just driven to the airport, horses and all, before going to the ride. As it was, we barely arrived at camp, checked in, got the horses vetted in, and the truck unhitched by the time his plane was landing. I went and got him, but was over an hour late picking him up. And, we had missed dinner! So when Mike and I arrived back at camp, we had to pitch the tent and prepare some dinner. We didn't make it to bed until nearly 11:00.
The ride start was 6:00am. We all dragged out of bed at 4:30 to start getting ready. Very little was accomplished in terms of getting ready to ride the prior evening. Our water bottles needed filled and we needed to make sure everything we wanted was in our saddlebags. It was gonna be a hot one, so we had to be very sure we had enough to last between vet checks. Mike was crewing for us (and volunteered while he was at it) so we didn't need crew bags.
We got a late start. By the time we finally headed out of camp, Terry, the ride manager, had driven back over from the start, and the vet was walking back toward camp. I knew we'd better hustle, as this ride is challenging. I'd done my best to prepare Wendy, letting her know we'd have to trot every step we could, even if it was only five paces.
No amount of preparation will ever be quite enough, when it's just verbal. I chucked Wendy into this ride and trusted Hoss to get her through it.
We got out on the trail and I got us all trotting. Eclipse is significantly faster than Hoss, but he's not as well conditioned as Hoss. So I needed to keep Eclipse checked back to a 7-8 mile per hour trot, rather than his preferred 9-10 miles per hour. This does not make Eclipse happy, I'm afraid, and about 6 miles in, he made sure I knew it.
I'd already discovered Eclipse will spook when confronted with passing a downed tree or similar things some evil critter could "hide" behind. Don't get me wrong, his spooks are quite easy to deal with. I mean, even the time he went 20 feet to the side, it wasn't one of those leave the rider behind sort of things. He quite gallantly took me with him. And now that I've ridden him a while, I can read him and have a sense of when he's thinking about something a bit too hard.
We were coming around a corner with a large boulder in the side of the hill to our left. I had my eye and attention on the trail, and I really didn't think the boulder was one of those objects he was liable to spook about. He did, though. He did a pretty hard jump to the right, forcing me to engage my (pretty badly damaged) right hip in order to stay on. I dropped the right rein, a habit I've picked up riding as a result of my shoulder injury. Before I had the rotator cuff repaired, I didn't have sufficient strength in my left shoulder to hang on, so I just took to dropping the reins altogether when a horse trips. When I dropped the rein, Eclipse tried to run out to the right. I am, however, pretty damn fast. I got the rein back and checked him before he could launch a complete stride.
Wendy missed the whole thing. Hoss had fallen far enough back they were around the corner. All she got to see was me yelling at Eclipse for being a snot.
We made the highway crossing and kept up our pace. I wanted to be to Vet Check 1 by 8:30 if possible. Cut off time was 9:30, and I knew from past experience it gets harder to make cut offs as the day progresses at this ride. Our in time was much closer to 9:00. We got the horses pulsed down and vetted through, then got them eating. I gave Hoss his electrolyte laced bran mash, which he didn't finish. Eclipse won't eat bran mash, so I just let him eat whatever he wanted, then gave him a tube of electrolytes before we left the vet check.
Back out on trail, we picked up the pace once again. I knew we had limited opportunities to move out, so I was pretty brutal about keeping it up when we could. By this time Eclipse was starting to think I might be right about the pace I wanted to set and gave me a little less of a hard time about it.
Going around the lollipop loop, added last year in order to make up a few miles the ride was short otherwise, we weren't able to go very fast. It's a bit technical to allow for much speed, and thus we could not make up much time. Once we were back on the fire road, though, we picked it up. We had to walk the steeper downhill portions, but we trotted most of the downhill and finally go to the flatter fire road.
After turning onto the flat fire road, we came to a water stop. Eclipse drank sparingly, Hoss drank quite a bit, as per usual. Hoss also took the opportunity to pee.
Once done at the water, we got out rears in gear. There was a steep uphill climb I knew these two horses were not trotting up, so we had to keep up.
At the bottom of the hill, we slowed to a walk and allowed the horses to climb at a walking pace. It was a warm day, but not nearly so hot as the previous weekend. We made decent time on the climb, then picked up the trot again once we were back on flatter ground.
We didn't make as good time as I would have liked. Cut off for the second vet check was 12:30. We were in at 12:15. Both horses pulsed down and vetted through easily. We got them set up with lunch and got ourselves something to eat. The lunch crew was getting everything ready to pack up, so we just made it.
By this time Eclipse was beginning to feel the exercise. He spent most of the hour sleeping while Hoss pigged out on the hay and beet pulp we set out and finished the bran mash he hadn't eaten at the first hold.
A pair of drag riders came into the vet check, but they had missed the lunch crew and as a result got nothing or very little to eat. They were understandably miffed, and asked us to make sure the "cookie stop" crew knew they were coming and wouldn't leave before they had made it through. We promised to do so.
Once our hold was near over, we took the horses for one final drink before giving Eclipse his electrolytes and bitting up. Eclipse did not think highly of the paste electrolyte thing, and this second time he was downright offended when I shoved the tube in his mouth.
With three hours to make the next 13 miles, we had to really get our hustle on. Cut off for vet check three was 4:15. The next 13 miles were not very fast miles. I knew we were going to have to take risks I wouldn't take under non-competition conditions. With that in mind, we got our butts moving.
We had to climb up out of the third vet check. It is a wide fire road, and by this point Eclipse was over trotting uphill and Hoss has never been particularly fond of it. So I was working hard to keep them moving. When the road was less steep, I'd demand they trot. Eclipse would trot for a little then want to fall out. I told him the shorter he made the trot sessions, the shorter I would make the walk sessions.
Once we topped the hill and started down the far side, both horses were more willing to move out. We boogied on down the trail with as much speed as we could reasonably muster, slowing for steeper parts of the trail. It was a race against the clock to make it in to the third vet check.
We made it to the cookie stop (and five minute hold), and gave the horses a chance to drink while getting our drinks topped up. Eclipse stuck his nose in each of the buckets but did not drink. Hoss drank like he usually does.
By this point I was getting a little worried about Eclipse. He hadn't peed all day. Of course, he's done this before and been fine, and this time he was getting the electrolytes he needed, so I wasn't thinking he was in some sort of dire danger. I'd just rather see him feel comfortable to go ahead and relieve himself! I was sure by that time his bladder had to be full.
We made sure the cookie stop crew knew about the drag riders (the riders later thanked us for making sure they weren't forgotten), and got ourselves on down the trail.
Now we were on winding single track, Hoss's favorite thing. I got Eclipse moving out and let him go just a bit faster, knowing Hoss would be more enthusiastic given the nature of the terrain.
A few miles along this trail, we came to a water crossing. Eclipse stopped and plunged his nose in, drinking deeply. I realized his objection to the water at the cookie stop was it was hot from being in the tubs all day. Picky horse!
We hotted right along, going around and up and down as fast as we could. Just as we made the turn to the vet check, a man on foot popped out from behind a rock. Eclipse spooked a bit, not enough to really make me notice, but enough those watching from the vet check noticed it. We made it to the third vet check with minutes to spare.
Unfortunately, Eclipse did not pulse down on time. He was technically a few minutes over time. However, the vet staff knows me well, and decided to allow us to continue. The area was being cleaned, so we got Hoss's bran mash made and down him, and let both horses eat from the bucket full of collected hay. The vet, realizing we really didn't have anything to feed the horses and not much time left, released us from the hold early.
We had an hour and a half for eight miles. Hoss has done the eight mile loop at Hollenbeck Canyon in an hour and fifteen minutes. Last year, Hoss's time on this ride was eight hours. I knew we could do this. All Wendy had to do was stay on.
By this time I was getting pretty tired from holding Eclipse in check. Eclipse was beginning to realize we were headed back toward camp. So we were making Hoss work a bit hard, but he was game enough. When I looked back, Hoss was coming along, ears forward, looking every bit like he hadn't really done anything yet.
We came into camp with ten minutes to spare. Eclipse was not recovering, and even Hoss didn't come down very quickly, so I decided we'd take the horses back to the trailer and get them untacked before vetting them out. I suspected the reason Eclipse's pulse was hanging was he hadn't peed yet, and sure enough, once we were back at the trailer, he let go. Once he peed, his pulse came right down. We unsaddled and sponged them off, gave them bran mash, and took them back for final inspection. They both passed, of course, and we took them back to the trailer before heading over for dinner ourselves.
After dinner, Wendy was asked how she liked the ride. She responded it was "95% fun." When asked what wasn't fond, she allowed as trotting downhill kinda sucked. In all, I have to say that's a win. For a first-time rider to say it was "95% fun" immediately after a ride is pretty amazing.
That being the case, I opted to take Eclipse instead. Eclipse, clearly, is up to more than a 25, so I put it to Wendy to move on up to the 50. She was a little intimidated, but game. I took her and the horses up to Cuyamaca the weekend before and we rode 30 miles of the 50 as a tune up for Wendy and Eclipse.
The night before the ride, my husband was flying in from work, so I would have to go get him. Wendy and I didn't make it away from the ranch until 6:30. Hindsight being 20/20, I should've just driven to the airport, horses and all, before going to the ride. As it was, we barely arrived at camp, checked in, got the horses vetted in, and the truck unhitched by the time his plane was landing. I went and got him, but was over an hour late picking him up. And, we had missed dinner! So when Mike and I arrived back at camp, we had to pitch the tent and prepare some dinner. We didn't make it to bed until nearly 11:00.
The ride start was 6:00am. We all dragged out of bed at 4:30 to start getting ready. Very little was accomplished in terms of getting ready to ride the prior evening. Our water bottles needed filled and we needed to make sure everything we wanted was in our saddlebags. It was gonna be a hot one, so we had to be very sure we had enough to last between vet checks. Mike was crewing for us (and volunteered while he was at it) so we didn't need crew bags.
We got a late start. By the time we finally headed out of camp, Terry, the ride manager, had driven back over from the start, and the vet was walking back toward camp. I knew we'd better hustle, as this ride is challenging. I'd done my best to prepare Wendy, letting her know we'd have to trot every step we could, even if it was only five paces.
No amount of preparation will ever be quite enough, when it's just verbal. I chucked Wendy into this ride and trusted Hoss to get her through it.
We got out on the trail and I got us all trotting. Eclipse is significantly faster than Hoss, but he's not as well conditioned as Hoss. So I needed to keep Eclipse checked back to a 7-8 mile per hour trot, rather than his preferred 9-10 miles per hour. This does not make Eclipse happy, I'm afraid, and about 6 miles in, he made sure I knew it.
I'd already discovered Eclipse will spook when confronted with passing a downed tree or similar things some evil critter could "hide" behind. Don't get me wrong, his spooks are quite easy to deal with. I mean, even the time he went 20 feet to the side, it wasn't one of those leave the rider behind sort of things. He quite gallantly took me with him. And now that I've ridden him a while, I can read him and have a sense of when he's thinking about something a bit too hard.
We were coming around a corner with a large boulder in the side of the hill to our left. I had my eye and attention on the trail, and I really didn't think the boulder was one of those objects he was liable to spook about. He did, though. He did a pretty hard jump to the right, forcing me to engage my (pretty badly damaged) right hip in order to stay on. I dropped the right rein, a habit I've picked up riding as a result of my shoulder injury. Before I had the rotator cuff repaired, I didn't have sufficient strength in my left shoulder to hang on, so I just took to dropping the reins altogether when a horse trips. When I dropped the rein, Eclipse tried to run out to the right. I am, however, pretty damn fast. I got the rein back and checked him before he could launch a complete stride.
Wendy missed the whole thing. Hoss had fallen far enough back they were around the corner. All she got to see was me yelling at Eclipse for being a snot.
We made the highway crossing and kept up our pace. I wanted to be to Vet Check 1 by 8:30 if possible. Cut off time was 9:30, and I knew from past experience it gets harder to make cut offs as the day progresses at this ride. Our in time was much closer to 9:00. We got the horses pulsed down and vetted through, then got them eating. I gave Hoss his electrolyte laced bran mash, which he didn't finish. Eclipse won't eat bran mash, so I just let him eat whatever he wanted, then gave him a tube of electrolytes before we left the vet check.
Back out on trail, we picked up the pace once again. I knew we had limited opportunities to move out, so I was pretty brutal about keeping it up when we could. By this time Eclipse was starting to think I might be right about the pace I wanted to set and gave me a little less of a hard time about it.
Going around the lollipop loop, added last year in order to make up a few miles the ride was short otherwise, we weren't able to go very fast. It's a bit technical to allow for much speed, and thus we could not make up much time. Once we were back on the fire road, though, we picked it up. We had to walk the steeper downhill portions, but we trotted most of the downhill and finally go to the flatter fire road.
After turning onto the flat fire road, we came to a water stop. Eclipse drank sparingly, Hoss drank quite a bit, as per usual. Hoss also took the opportunity to pee.
Once done at the water, we got out rears in gear. There was a steep uphill climb I knew these two horses were not trotting up, so we had to keep up.
At the bottom of the hill, we slowed to a walk and allowed the horses to climb at a walking pace. It was a warm day, but not nearly so hot as the previous weekend. We made decent time on the climb, then picked up the trot again once we were back on flatter ground.
We didn't make as good time as I would have liked. Cut off for the second vet check was 12:30. We were in at 12:15. Both horses pulsed down and vetted through easily. We got them set up with lunch and got ourselves something to eat. The lunch crew was getting everything ready to pack up, so we just made it.
By this time Eclipse was beginning to feel the exercise. He spent most of the hour sleeping while Hoss pigged out on the hay and beet pulp we set out and finished the bran mash he hadn't eaten at the first hold.
A pair of drag riders came into the vet check, but they had missed the lunch crew and as a result got nothing or very little to eat. They were understandably miffed, and asked us to make sure the "cookie stop" crew knew they were coming and wouldn't leave before they had made it through. We promised to do so.
Once our hold was near over, we took the horses for one final drink before giving Eclipse his electrolytes and bitting up. Eclipse did not think highly of the paste electrolyte thing, and this second time he was downright offended when I shoved the tube in his mouth.
With three hours to make the next 13 miles, we had to really get our hustle on. Cut off for vet check three was 4:15. The next 13 miles were not very fast miles. I knew we were going to have to take risks I wouldn't take under non-competition conditions. With that in mind, we got our butts moving.
We had to climb up out of the third vet check. It is a wide fire road, and by this point Eclipse was over trotting uphill and Hoss has never been particularly fond of it. So I was working hard to keep them moving. When the road was less steep, I'd demand they trot. Eclipse would trot for a little then want to fall out. I told him the shorter he made the trot sessions, the shorter I would make the walk sessions.
Once we topped the hill and started down the far side, both horses were more willing to move out. We boogied on down the trail with as much speed as we could reasonably muster, slowing for steeper parts of the trail. It was a race against the clock to make it in to the third vet check.
We made it to the cookie stop (and five minute hold), and gave the horses a chance to drink while getting our drinks topped up. Eclipse stuck his nose in each of the buckets but did not drink. Hoss drank like he usually does.
By this point I was getting a little worried about Eclipse. He hadn't peed all day. Of course, he's done this before and been fine, and this time he was getting the electrolytes he needed, so I wasn't thinking he was in some sort of dire danger. I'd just rather see him feel comfortable to go ahead and relieve himself! I was sure by that time his bladder had to be full.
We made sure the cookie stop crew knew about the drag riders (the riders later thanked us for making sure they weren't forgotten), and got ourselves on down the trail.
Now we were on winding single track, Hoss's favorite thing. I got Eclipse moving out and let him go just a bit faster, knowing Hoss would be more enthusiastic given the nature of the terrain.
A few miles along this trail, we came to a water crossing. Eclipse stopped and plunged his nose in, drinking deeply. I realized his objection to the water at the cookie stop was it was hot from being in the tubs all day. Picky horse!
We hotted right along, going around and up and down as fast as we could. Just as we made the turn to the vet check, a man on foot popped out from behind a rock. Eclipse spooked a bit, not enough to really make me notice, but enough those watching from the vet check noticed it. We made it to the third vet check with minutes to spare.
Unfortunately, Eclipse did not pulse down on time. He was technically a few minutes over time. However, the vet staff knows me well, and decided to allow us to continue. The area was being cleaned, so we got Hoss's bran mash made and down him, and let both horses eat from the bucket full of collected hay. The vet, realizing we really didn't have anything to feed the horses and not much time left, released us from the hold early.
We had an hour and a half for eight miles. Hoss has done the eight mile loop at Hollenbeck Canyon in an hour and fifteen minutes. Last year, Hoss's time on this ride was eight hours. I knew we could do this. All Wendy had to do was stay on.
By this time I was getting pretty tired from holding Eclipse in check. Eclipse was beginning to realize we were headed back toward camp. So we were making Hoss work a bit hard, but he was game enough. When I looked back, Hoss was coming along, ears forward, looking every bit like he hadn't really done anything yet.
We came into camp with ten minutes to spare. Eclipse was not recovering, and even Hoss didn't come down very quickly, so I decided we'd take the horses back to the trailer and get them untacked before vetting them out. I suspected the reason Eclipse's pulse was hanging was he hadn't peed yet, and sure enough, once we were back at the trailer, he let go. Once he peed, his pulse came right down. We unsaddled and sponged them off, gave them bran mash, and took them back for final inspection. They both passed, of course, and we took them back to the trailer before heading over for dinner ourselves.
After dinner, Wendy was asked how she liked the ride. She responded it was "95% fun." When asked what wasn't fond, she allowed as trotting downhill kinda sucked. In all, I have to say that's a win. For a first-time rider to say it was "95% fun" immediately after a ride is pretty amazing.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
2013 NASTR Ride, 75 miles
This ride was not in the "plan" for this year. Then, pretty much at the last minute, I decided I really did want to go! The trailer was still loaded with hay left over from Mt Carmel, certainly enough for another ride, even one with as long travel time as this one. There was even enough food in the truck's non-perishables box for me. All I needed to do was hook up the trailer, pack my bags, put Hoss in, and we were ready to go.
I got a late start on Friday night, but we made almost 200 miles, which was good enough to get us to the ride in plenty of time to set up camp and get vetted in on Saturday afternoon. When we arrived, I found a decent place to park and set up camp. I am very grateful I have a water tank again, as I would have had to lug water a looooong way at this ride!
The wind was terrible. It was rather frustrating setting up the tent, but I am glad I found one as sturdy as this latest. Along with the four corners of the tent itself, the rainfly has seven additional stake points. The poles are also quite thick. This has so far allowed it to stand up to some pretty serious wind conditions.
The ride started at an inhuman 5am. I got my saddle ready and made sure everything was together for a quick getaway in the morning. I packed a crew bag, but I didn't make myself a lunch. I forgot my lunch bag, but my experience from last is was that I would be pretty okay with the lunch provided by the ride, so I wasn't worried about it. I also had plenty of dried fruit and gluten-free "granola" bars to pack in my saddle bags, so I certainly wouldn't starve to death.
Despite all my preparation, I managed to be late to the start. I decided, last minute, to put the breast collar back on Hoss's saddle. After the saddle on the butt debacle at Mt Carmel, I figured it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a little extra insurance. That caused me to mount up a few minutes later than I had wanted to, and everybody had already started. The mule camped next to us was at the start, getting his bridle on, so he started behind us.
Hoss was really good on this ride start. He started out quiet and obedient, listening to me and prepared to do as he was asked. We trotted on by a fellow clinging to the reins of a little grey mare (looked kinda like he was flying an Arabian-shaped kite). Shortly after, the mule caught up and passed us, and the fight was on.
Once the mule passed us and showed he was distinctly faster than Hoss (nothing new there), Hoss was of course determined to catch up. I then spent quite some time working on keeping him to his safe pace.
We got to the top of the hill, and just as the previous year, there was a large flock of sheep. This caused Hoss to slow down. Despite several exposures to these harmless creatures, Hoss is deeply suspicious of them. He walked on by, giving them the hairy eyeball.
Once past the sheep, Hoss was once again focused on the horses and that mule ahead of us. I kept him checked back, but it was less than easy. I'd get him to slow down, then get his head down, and he'd speed back up. So it was a matter of doing the same things over and over again. I know: definition of insanity and all that.
Eventually, the guy with the little grey mare caught up to us. He stayed behind us, and asked if it was okay if he stayed there. I said sure, not a problem.
The early part of the ride is fairly rocky and slow going. Hoss is a slow walker, so this means we took more time than we usually would over the same distance. I had him trot every time it was clear enough to do so, even if it was only a few strides. Make time where and when we could.
The grey mare got ahead of us briefly, and I noticed she had spun off one of her hind boots. I let her rider know, then waited while he got the thing off of her. It was clear he wasn't going to have any success getting it back on, as he chased her around for some time just to get the gaiter off her. He put the boot away and got back on and we continued on our way.
The stop allowed Hoss to let go of the notion of catching up to other horses, and he dropped back to his usual pace. The mare stayed behind us, kept there by her rider, although she was clearly faster than Hoss. I didn't get it at first, but it became evident he was using Hoss to pace his horse, and in a pinch using his butt as a brake.
I suggested he take the lead, as his horse was faster, but the rider declined. His horse was of a different opinion. She asked Hoss to let her by, and he obligingly yielded trail, only to have the rider jerk her back in behind him. She ran up his butt several times.
It didn't take long for this to become a problem for Hoss. I didn't recognize what he'd done the first time, but he finally kicked out at her, pissed off because she was asking to pass, then not doing so, and running up his ass. After the second time Hoss kicked out, I mentioned to the rider that he wasn't happy with how close she was. He backed her off, but I kept hearing him talking (ostensibly to his horse), saying "That's too close, he doesn't like that." I don't know as he was trying to be snide, but it wouldn't surprise me.
We got to a steep and rocky downhill. I rode on down, following behind a 50 mile rider who had caught up to us. I was concentrating hard enough on getting down the hill that I failed to notice we'd left behind the grey mare until we had gotten to the bottom. I waffled about pulling up and waiting, and decided I'd rather not stick with the dude if I could help it. So we trotted on down, and stopped for a drink at the water tanks.
We were trotting on up the road when, darn it, that rider caught back up to us. I expected that, really. What are the odds Hoss would be able to leave her behind? Not high.
We trotted up the road, and I felt Hoss take a funny step behind. I only felt it once, and I paid close attention to how he felt until we got to the vet check and I got off.
Hoss pulsed down right away and we went to see the vet. When I trotted him out, she said he was moving funny. She had someone else trot him so I could see it, and he was definitely not right. He wasn't lame. I would call it "off." The vet did not consider it enough to pull him, but she was concerned after having watched Hoss at several different rides and noting he has always been consistent in the way he moves -- start to finish, day after day. I was alarmed, too. I certainly did not want to chance hurting him. I should note that, at no point did Hoss feel off under saddle, aside from that one bad step.
The vet did palpate Hoss and couldn't find anything. Not that this is particularly meaningful. Hoss is a pretty stoic fellow. He's unlikely to let a vet know if she'd found something unless it was really bad.
At the end of our hold, I took Hoss back for a re-check. He was better, but not normal. I was given the go-ahead to continue.
The next loop was 25 miles. I decided to pull. We still had a long way to go, he wasn't 100% normal, and the next loop was awfully long to take the risk. He probably would have been okay, but it wasn't worth risking his soundness for a completion. I loaded him in the trailer (he was quite confused by this development) and we took the long ride back to camp.
Link to our ride video
I got a late start on Friday night, but we made almost 200 miles, which was good enough to get us to the ride in plenty of time to set up camp and get vetted in on Saturday afternoon. When we arrived, I found a decent place to park and set up camp. I am very grateful I have a water tank again, as I would have had to lug water a looooong way at this ride!
The wind was terrible. It was rather frustrating setting up the tent, but I am glad I found one as sturdy as this latest. Along with the four corners of the tent itself, the rainfly has seven additional stake points. The poles are also quite thick. This has so far allowed it to stand up to some pretty serious wind conditions.
The ride started at an inhuman 5am. I got my saddle ready and made sure everything was together for a quick getaway in the morning. I packed a crew bag, but I didn't make myself a lunch. I forgot my lunch bag, but my experience from last is was that I would be pretty okay with the lunch provided by the ride, so I wasn't worried about it. I also had plenty of dried fruit and gluten-free "granola" bars to pack in my saddle bags, so I certainly wouldn't starve to death.
Despite all my preparation, I managed to be late to the start. I decided, last minute, to put the breast collar back on Hoss's saddle. After the saddle on the butt debacle at Mt Carmel, I figured it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a little extra insurance. That caused me to mount up a few minutes later than I had wanted to, and everybody had already started. The mule camped next to us was at the start, getting his bridle on, so he started behind us.
Hoss was really good on this ride start. He started out quiet and obedient, listening to me and prepared to do as he was asked. We trotted on by a fellow clinging to the reins of a little grey mare (looked kinda like he was flying an Arabian-shaped kite). Shortly after, the mule caught up and passed us, and the fight was on.
Once the mule passed us and showed he was distinctly faster than Hoss (nothing new there), Hoss was of course determined to catch up. I then spent quite some time working on keeping him to his safe pace.
We got to the top of the hill, and just as the previous year, there was a large flock of sheep. This caused Hoss to slow down. Despite several exposures to these harmless creatures, Hoss is deeply suspicious of them. He walked on by, giving them the hairy eyeball.
Once past the sheep, Hoss was once again focused on the horses and that mule ahead of us. I kept him checked back, but it was less than easy. I'd get him to slow down, then get his head down, and he'd speed back up. So it was a matter of doing the same things over and over again. I know: definition of insanity and all that.
Eventually, the guy with the little grey mare caught up to us. He stayed behind us, and asked if it was okay if he stayed there. I said sure, not a problem.
The early part of the ride is fairly rocky and slow going. Hoss is a slow walker, so this means we took more time than we usually would over the same distance. I had him trot every time it was clear enough to do so, even if it was only a few strides. Make time where and when we could.
The grey mare got ahead of us briefly, and I noticed she had spun off one of her hind boots. I let her rider know, then waited while he got the thing off of her. It was clear he wasn't going to have any success getting it back on, as he chased her around for some time just to get the gaiter off her. He put the boot away and got back on and we continued on our way.
The stop allowed Hoss to let go of the notion of catching up to other horses, and he dropped back to his usual pace. The mare stayed behind us, kept there by her rider, although she was clearly faster than Hoss. I didn't get it at first, but it became evident he was using Hoss to pace his horse, and in a pinch using his butt as a brake.
I suggested he take the lead, as his horse was faster, but the rider declined. His horse was of a different opinion. She asked Hoss to let her by, and he obligingly yielded trail, only to have the rider jerk her back in behind him. She ran up his butt several times.
It didn't take long for this to become a problem for Hoss. I didn't recognize what he'd done the first time, but he finally kicked out at her, pissed off because she was asking to pass, then not doing so, and running up his ass. After the second time Hoss kicked out, I mentioned to the rider that he wasn't happy with how close she was. He backed her off, but I kept hearing him talking (ostensibly to his horse), saying "That's too close, he doesn't like that." I don't know as he was trying to be snide, but it wouldn't surprise me.
We got to a steep and rocky downhill. I rode on down, following behind a 50 mile rider who had caught up to us. I was concentrating hard enough on getting down the hill that I failed to notice we'd left behind the grey mare until we had gotten to the bottom. I waffled about pulling up and waiting, and decided I'd rather not stick with the dude if I could help it. So we trotted on down, and stopped for a drink at the water tanks.
We were trotting on up the road when, darn it, that rider caught back up to us. I expected that, really. What are the odds Hoss would be able to leave her behind? Not high.
We trotted up the road, and I felt Hoss take a funny step behind. I only felt it once, and I paid close attention to how he felt until we got to the vet check and I got off.
Hoss pulsed down right away and we went to see the vet. When I trotted him out, she said he was moving funny. She had someone else trot him so I could see it, and he was definitely not right. He wasn't lame. I would call it "off." The vet did not consider it enough to pull him, but she was concerned after having watched Hoss at several different rides and noting he has always been consistent in the way he moves -- start to finish, day after day. I was alarmed, too. I certainly did not want to chance hurting him. I should note that, at no point did Hoss feel off under saddle, aside from that one bad step.
The vet did palpate Hoss and couldn't find anything. Not that this is particularly meaningful. Hoss is a pretty stoic fellow. He's unlikely to let a vet know if she'd found something unless it was really bad.
At the end of our hold, I took Hoss back for a re-check. He was better, but not normal. I was given the go-ahead to continue.
The next loop was 25 miles. I decided to pull. We still had a long way to go, he wasn't 100% normal, and the next loop was awfully long to take the risk. He probably would have been okay, but it wasn't worth risking his soundness for a completion. I loaded him in the trailer (he was quite confused by this development) and we took the long ride back to camp.
Link to our ride video
Thursday, May 23, 2013
2013 Mt Carmel Endurance Ride, Day 5, 50 Miles
The last day. I awoke thinking I felt pretty good, and cautiously hopeful I'd thwarted the dreaded bronchitis. I got Hoss fed and cared for, and got my own breakfast. We hit the trail as the start was called, thinking Cheri and Helen would likely catch up to us in short order.
Hoss was really feeling the groove. He was not concerned about waiting for Echo, and didn't even seem to be looking for him. He wanted to step out and keep up with the "big dogs" in the lead.
Once the fastest horses disappeared, and we had managed to pass and stay ahead of one horse, Hoss settled in to his reasonable pace and we had a great morning. And then horses started catching up to us. First a few LD horses caught up shortly before a water stop. As is typical, they were faster -- not to mention fresher -- than Hoss. It took some doing to keep him from going much faster than he really ought to.
We arrived at the vet check at mile 17 in just over three hours, pretty fast but not too fast, unless you happen to be tired from doing 200 miles over the previous four days. Hoss drank and ate well, then took himself a nap, resting his head on top of my helmet where I sat on my little portable stool.
We were about 45 minutes into our hold when Cheri and Helen arrived. Wow, we had been going fast!
When our hold was over and Hoss passed the vet check we started out on trail. Because Echo had arrived before we were leaving, I knew Hoss was going to be difficult. Rather than mount up and have a fight about it, I led him until we were out of sight of the vet check.
Hoss still wanted to wait for Echo, but he went forward. After a while he gave up the notion of waiting for Echo, and picked up his comfortable trot.
Right about that time, he heard horses catching up. Elfta Hilzman and her friend were coming up behind us. Well, Hoss wasn't going to be doing a whole lot of trotting until they got by! I didn't see any point in getting into a fight about it, so I let him dawdle.
The other horses passed us up, and the fight was on. Nothing new, the horses were faster than Hoss. And now that he'd been passed, Hoss was particularly annoyed. I had to really keep checking him back.
We'd been having this argument for some time when we passed another horse. Hallelujah! Hoss settled down, satisfied he was "ahead" of someone.
It didn't last long. The rider of the horse we passed mounted back up and they trotted on by us. And the fight was on yet again.
We were coming up on the meadows after coming off the Rim of the World. Elfta and her friend were well ahead, and the other horse was putting distance between us. I knew I needed to keep Hoss back. There was no way he was going to be okay if I let him go at the ridiculous speed he insisted he wanted to do.
After a time the other horses got far enough ahead for Hoss to give up. Usually this results in him just picking up his good trot and doing what he needs to, but today, he sulked. His walk dropped to about two miles per hour.
Rather than fight about it, I stopped Hoss and offered him the opportunity to graze. Once he had a good mouthful, I got him moving again. When he'd finished, I stopped him again and let him get another mouthful. We made our way through much of the meadow this way, until he decided life wasn't so bad and picked up his trot.
I don't recall why, probably because I needed to answer a cause of nature, but I got off and led Hoss for quite some time. It was nice, I suppose, to walk and feel a little bit like we were just loafing along and hanging out.
Another rider caught up to us, and we rode along companionably for a while. By this time it was becoming evident I wasn't going to dodge bronchitis. I'd developed a "death rattle," and was alternately having trouble staying warm and staying cool. I kept my jacket on, knowing I really needed to just stay warm and my sense of my own temperature was off.
Hoss and I rode with the other rider through the farmland and to the highway. The other rider was pleased enough to stay with us, as she didn't want to ride along the highway alone. She wasn't particularly concerned her horse wouldn't be okay, but felt better about having a sturdy, steady companion for him.
We continued on together after the highway and crossed the Little Muddy together. One last steep uphill climb before we got back to camp.
While we were climbing the hill, I began to notice Hoss's stifles were hitting my heels. That had never happened before! It didn't take me long to realize the saddle must be slipping back. I hadn't tightened it quite as much as usual. We were in the middle of the hill, and Hoss didn't seem to be overly concerned about me gradually sliding back over his butt, so I let him finish working the hill before I got off. If that saddle had slid back any further, I really would have been sitting on his butt!
We made our way back to the finish and vetted out happy and done with five days, 250 miles.
On Monday morning, I got up and finished packing, and realized yes, I had bronchitis. I got us loaded up and headed out on the road. I dropped the hammer and got us home Monday night, so I would be able to get ahold of the doctor Tuesday morning and get my bronchitis treated.
And the link to the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx2GUpp_D_I&feature=youtu.be
Hoss was really feeling the groove. He was not concerned about waiting for Echo, and didn't even seem to be looking for him. He wanted to step out and keep up with the "big dogs" in the lead.
Once the fastest horses disappeared, and we had managed to pass and stay ahead of one horse, Hoss settled in to his reasonable pace and we had a great morning. And then horses started catching up to us. First a few LD horses caught up shortly before a water stop. As is typical, they were faster -- not to mention fresher -- than Hoss. It took some doing to keep him from going much faster than he really ought to.
We arrived at the vet check at mile 17 in just over three hours, pretty fast but not too fast, unless you happen to be tired from doing 200 miles over the previous four days. Hoss drank and ate well, then took himself a nap, resting his head on top of my helmet where I sat on my little portable stool.
We were about 45 minutes into our hold when Cheri and Helen arrived. Wow, we had been going fast!
When our hold was over and Hoss passed the vet check we started out on trail. Because Echo had arrived before we were leaving, I knew Hoss was going to be difficult. Rather than mount up and have a fight about it, I led him until we were out of sight of the vet check.
Hoss still wanted to wait for Echo, but he went forward. After a while he gave up the notion of waiting for Echo, and picked up his comfortable trot.
Right about that time, he heard horses catching up. Elfta Hilzman and her friend were coming up behind us. Well, Hoss wasn't going to be doing a whole lot of trotting until they got by! I didn't see any point in getting into a fight about it, so I let him dawdle.
The other horses passed us up, and the fight was on. Nothing new, the horses were faster than Hoss. And now that he'd been passed, Hoss was particularly annoyed. I had to really keep checking him back.
We'd been having this argument for some time when we passed another horse. Hallelujah! Hoss settled down, satisfied he was "ahead" of someone.
It didn't last long. The rider of the horse we passed mounted back up and they trotted on by us. And the fight was on yet again.
We were coming up on the meadows after coming off the Rim of the World. Elfta and her friend were well ahead, and the other horse was putting distance between us. I knew I needed to keep Hoss back. There was no way he was going to be okay if I let him go at the ridiculous speed he insisted he wanted to do.
After a time the other horses got far enough ahead for Hoss to give up. Usually this results in him just picking up his good trot and doing what he needs to, but today, he sulked. His walk dropped to about two miles per hour.
Rather than fight about it, I stopped Hoss and offered him the opportunity to graze. Once he had a good mouthful, I got him moving again. When he'd finished, I stopped him again and let him get another mouthful. We made our way through much of the meadow this way, until he decided life wasn't so bad and picked up his trot.
I don't recall why, probably because I needed to answer a cause of nature, but I got off and led Hoss for quite some time. It was nice, I suppose, to walk and feel a little bit like we were just loafing along and hanging out.
Another rider caught up to us, and we rode along companionably for a while. By this time it was becoming evident I wasn't going to dodge bronchitis. I'd developed a "death rattle," and was alternately having trouble staying warm and staying cool. I kept my jacket on, knowing I really needed to just stay warm and my sense of my own temperature was off.
Hoss and I rode with the other rider through the farmland and to the highway. The other rider was pleased enough to stay with us, as she didn't want to ride along the highway alone. She wasn't particularly concerned her horse wouldn't be okay, but felt better about having a sturdy, steady companion for him.
We continued on together after the highway and crossed the Little Muddy together. One last steep uphill climb before we got back to camp.
While we were climbing the hill, I began to notice Hoss's stifles were hitting my heels. That had never happened before! It didn't take me long to realize the saddle must be slipping back. I hadn't tightened it quite as much as usual. We were in the middle of the hill, and Hoss didn't seem to be overly concerned about me gradually sliding back over his butt, so I let him finish working the hill before I got off. If that saddle had slid back any further, I really would have been sitting on his butt!
We made our way back to the finish and vetted out happy and done with five days, 250 miles.
On Monday morning, I got up and finished packing, and realized yes, I had bronchitis. I got us loaded up and headed out on the road. I dropped the hammer and got us home Monday night, so I would be able to get ahold of the doctor Tuesday morning and get my bronchitis treated.
And the link to the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx2GUpp_D_I&feature=youtu.be
2013 Mt Carmel Endurance Ride, Day 4, 50 Miles
I was starting to feel better by day four, and really had hope to have licked the whole cold into bronchitis thing. I kept taking the medications I'd been relying on to keep me going, knowing I had a good chance of relapse if I didn't.
I got Hoss his breakfast and got us ready and our crew bag to the trailer. We headed out for the start. I figured we'd either meet up with Echo and Rocky or we wouldn't.
We did end up meeting up with Echo and Rocky pretty early on. Hoss spotted them right away and lagged until they caught on up to us.
So we had our typical day with Echo. Echo and Rocky got ahead of us and we spent most of the day following. Which is fine, really. Especially when we got to the tunnel under the highway, made of corrugated pipe. Hoss probably wouldn't have gone through the evil Tunnel of Doom had Echo not gone through first!
We wound through some single track pine forest and along the edge of canyons. It was a warm day, and I ran through quite a lot of fluids before we made it to the vet check.
The vet check was in an area known as Cow Camp. Once we'd pulsed down, I found our crew bag and got Hoss set up. There was a lot of deadfall around, and I lightly secured Hoss's lead to a fallen tree. It's not that he really needs to be tied off, just that I'll always tie him if I can.
Once I finished my lunch, I took my water bottles over to fill them up. While there, I was chatting with Alyssa (our vet) and Ann. We were chatting away when Hoss pulled just hard enough to break the branch he was tied to. He stared suspiciously at it, and I turned to Alyssa and Ann and said,
"I have to go back to Hoss; he's freaking out." Of course, Hoss's brand of freaking out looks like nothing. Another rider asked if Hoss could teach her horse to "freak out" like that.
After I got Hoss situated, he was wanting to graze and walk around rather than eat his hay. I accommodated him to a certain extent, but really didn't let him range far. There was plenty of grass so he didn't need to go far to get good grazing.
Then, he decided he wanted to roll. I've never told Hoss he couldn't roll, but the saddle was on, so I couldn't let him go down. I jerked the saddle off as quickly as I could, and he laid down for a good roll.
What happened next was more than a little frightening. Once down, Hoss did his typical rub up and down with his neck, and then laid completely still on his side on the ground. Never have I seen him do that. After a tense minute or so, I called Alyssa (who was watching, just as concerned as me, from the trailer) and she came over to check things out. Once Hoss saw the vet, he decided he'd better get up. He arose and shook, just like he normally would after a normal rolling. Alyssa checked him over carefully and pronounced him fine.
Once up, we realized he had laid down on a tree branch. Most likely it prevented him from rolling properly, so he just decided to lay there and have a snit about it.
I got the saddle back on and vetted Hoss through. I packed up our bag and we hit the trail once again with Echo and Rocky.
After the laying down incident, I was understandably worried about Hoss. I was concerned he wasn't going along so much because he was feeling good, but because he was being "pulled" by Echo. So I was relieved when an opportunity arose to separate from the other horses and see what he'd do on his own.
Another rider had lost a hind shoe but lacked a boot to act as a spare tire. Cheri had one in her packs of a suitable size to help out. So she and Helen stopped the help the other rider. I explained I'd like to see how Hoss was doing by getting him out by himself for awhile and we headed off on our own.
Hoss would really have preferred to wait, but he continued on with little urging. After a time, he decided this wasn't the worst set of circumstances in the world and picked up an easy trot. Once he'd done that, and kept it up, I felt a whole lot better about him.
It didn't take terribly long for Cheri and Helen to catch back up to us, as expected. We continued on, making our way through the open area, and Cheri realized we had gotten off course. Had I been alone, I would probably have followed the ribbons, still up from another day, and gotten us pretty thoroughly lost. Cheri realized we'd missed a turn, and knew where we should be in relation to where we were.
We hit off cross country. In due course we could see the road we should have been on, but there was a problem. There was a fence between us and it. However, as we got closer, it became clear the barbed wire was not hanging on the posts, and we were able to find a spot where it was buried sufficiently for the horses to safely step over it.
Coming into camp, we came down the new trail into the back side of camp. We finished in good time. Alyssa looked Hoss over with extra care, and pronounced him healthy. I told her he had gone alone for a time cheerfully enough and had been grazing greedily. I was satisfied he was okay, and so was she.
Here's the link to our video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2VGbecOWI
I got Hoss his breakfast and got us ready and our crew bag to the trailer. We headed out for the start. I figured we'd either meet up with Echo and Rocky or we wouldn't.
We did end up meeting up with Echo and Rocky pretty early on. Hoss spotted them right away and lagged until they caught on up to us.
So we had our typical day with Echo. Echo and Rocky got ahead of us and we spent most of the day following. Which is fine, really. Especially when we got to the tunnel under the highway, made of corrugated pipe. Hoss probably wouldn't have gone through the evil Tunnel of Doom had Echo not gone through first!
We wound through some single track pine forest and along the edge of canyons. It was a warm day, and I ran through quite a lot of fluids before we made it to the vet check.
The vet check was in an area known as Cow Camp. Once we'd pulsed down, I found our crew bag and got Hoss set up. There was a lot of deadfall around, and I lightly secured Hoss's lead to a fallen tree. It's not that he really needs to be tied off, just that I'll always tie him if I can.
Once I finished my lunch, I took my water bottles over to fill them up. While there, I was chatting with Alyssa (our vet) and Ann. We were chatting away when Hoss pulled just hard enough to break the branch he was tied to. He stared suspiciously at it, and I turned to Alyssa and Ann and said,
"I have to go back to Hoss; he's freaking out." Of course, Hoss's brand of freaking out looks like nothing. Another rider asked if Hoss could teach her horse to "freak out" like that.
After I got Hoss situated, he was wanting to graze and walk around rather than eat his hay. I accommodated him to a certain extent, but really didn't let him range far. There was plenty of grass so he didn't need to go far to get good grazing.
Then, he decided he wanted to roll. I've never told Hoss he couldn't roll, but the saddle was on, so I couldn't let him go down. I jerked the saddle off as quickly as I could, and he laid down for a good roll.
What happened next was more than a little frightening. Once down, Hoss did his typical rub up and down with his neck, and then laid completely still on his side on the ground. Never have I seen him do that. After a tense minute or so, I called Alyssa (who was watching, just as concerned as me, from the trailer) and she came over to check things out. Once Hoss saw the vet, he decided he'd better get up. He arose and shook, just like he normally would after a normal rolling. Alyssa checked him over carefully and pronounced him fine.
Once up, we realized he had laid down on a tree branch. Most likely it prevented him from rolling properly, so he just decided to lay there and have a snit about it.
I got the saddle back on and vetted Hoss through. I packed up our bag and we hit the trail once again with Echo and Rocky.
After the laying down incident, I was understandably worried about Hoss. I was concerned he wasn't going along so much because he was feeling good, but because he was being "pulled" by Echo. So I was relieved when an opportunity arose to separate from the other horses and see what he'd do on his own.
Another rider had lost a hind shoe but lacked a boot to act as a spare tire. Cheri had one in her packs of a suitable size to help out. So she and Helen stopped the help the other rider. I explained I'd like to see how Hoss was doing by getting him out by himself for awhile and we headed off on our own.
Hoss would really have preferred to wait, but he continued on with little urging. After a time, he decided this wasn't the worst set of circumstances in the world and picked up an easy trot. Once he'd done that, and kept it up, I felt a whole lot better about him.
It didn't take terribly long for Cheri and Helen to catch back up to us, as expected. We continued on, making our way through the open area, and Cheri realized we had gotten off course. Had I been alone, I would probably have followed the ribbons, still up from another day, and gotten us pretty thoroughly lost. Cheri realized we'd missed a turn, and knew where we should be in relation to where we were.
We hit off cross country. In due course we could see the road we should have been on, but there was a problem. There was a fence between us and it. However, as we got closer, it became clear the barbed wire was not hanging on the posts, and we were able to find a spot where it was buried sufficiently for the horses to safely step over it.
Coming into camp, we came down the new trail into the back side of camp. We finished in good time. Alyssa looked Hoss over with extra care, and pronounced him healthy. I told her he had gone alone for a time cheerfully enough and had been grazing greedily. I was satisfied he was okay, and so was she.
Here's the link to our video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2VGbecOWI
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
2013 Mt Carmel Endurance Ride, Day 3, 50 Miles
I wasn't feeling any better when I woke up on Day 3, but I wasn't feeling any worse. Besides, I was going to make all five days unless I couldn't get up. So up I was and fed Hoss and got myself going. I made sure to take the meds I needed and ate a decent breakfast.
The vet check would be in camp, so I didn't need to make myself a lunch or pack a crew bag. I'd get a decent hot lunch!
We started with Merina and Chance yet again, heading out across the highway along the Virgin River. We were able to keep up a nice trot on the flat dirt road and up onto the hills.
Merina had spoken with another rider who encouraged her to start letting Chance trot downhill, so we made a little better time. While I have always worked Hoss on trotting downhill, Merina had bought into the old yarn that a horse only has "so many" downhill miles. So after I had suggested I disagreed with that notion, she had spoken to someone who is well respected in endurance and confirmed what I said. At any rate, this made for a little faster going.
After a few miles, we caught up with a Limited Distance rider who was having difficulty with his horse. We let him hook up with us to help get his horse in check. Hoss did not like Monty, this new horse, and made sure Monty knew it. He wasn't terrible, but it was clear he'd rather Monty moved off on his own.
We circled around back to camp, only to pass through camp right by our trailer and back across the highway on trail. Hoss found this peculiar. He didn't complain about it, but he was pretty sure we should stop and have a vet check.
After we got out of camp and across the highway, the LD ride split off and we parted company with Monty.
While riding along, Chance developed a slight head bob. It was initially very mild, and it appeared she had bruised her foot because of dirt getting under her pad. Unfortunately as we continued on, Chance got worse, and Merina made the wise decision to pull. At the juncture where the LD went back to camp and the Endurance ride continued on, Merina turned and walked back to camp.
Hoss was quite distressed by this development. He really thought we should go the same way Chance was going. He went slowly, but he went, and he was very sad. It wasn't long, however, before Cheri Briscoe and Echo caught up with Helen and Rocky. Hoss likes Echo, so he was happy enough to hook up with them for the rest of the day.
The only drawback to being with Echo is, Hoss worries Echo won't wait for him. He didn't care if Chance waited for him. So when Echo would get ahead, rather than chug along at his own pace and catch up as he could, Hoss would get anxious and go faster than he should if I let him. This meant we disagreed a lot. I had to spend much more time controlling his pace.
We made the five or so miles back to camp, pulsed in, and went to the trailer for lunch. I gave Hoss his bran mash and a flake of alfalfa hay, then heated up a bowl of soup for myself.
I kinda like in-camp vet checks. I have everything I could possibly need, there's no chance of forgetting to pack something or needing something I didn't send. It does seem like an hour vanishes in no time in camp, probably because I'm doing more. An out check feels like forever as I sit around watching my horse eat, but in camp, I'm cooking and doing stuff and that hour goes by in three seconds.
Once we were close to the end of our hold, I took Hoss over and we vetted through. I kinda hoped Cheri and Helen would be gone already and we'd be able to go on our own. I put my spurs on, just in case I needed them if we were on our own and I needed to be able to cue him more strongly.
When we headed back out on trail, Cheri and Helen were there, so we went ahead and rode with them.
Hoss really cannot keep up with Echo or Rocky, and anyway he prefers to keep up the "rear guard action" if one of the other horses is a good leader. Rocky is especially swift, so he led most of the time. The three really went along together okay, other than Hoss getting left behind and playing catch-up.
We got through quite nicely. It was fun to ride with Cheri, who has done this ride in the past, and has a lot of knowledge about the area and many of the little tidbits of history. There is a house that Dave and Ann Nicholson used to live in on the top of a mesa. Dave used to stand up there and watch the horses go by on the ride. Now there is a small group of llamas living near the house, and they look down over the edge and watch us pass.
Listening to Cheri's stories and riding along, we got through to the end, and the new trail down into the back of camp. Hoss paused at the top and stared down into camp, contemplating how he could perhaps get there faster. I allowed as he could get down there sooner, but he wouldn't like the sudden stop at the bottom. Being a practical fellow, he chose to go down on the trail.
After we got to the bottom, I looked up, just to confirm for myself that it is not possible to see the trail from the bottom. It doesn't look possible to have a trail down the side of that mountain, but it's been done. Yikes.
After vetting Hoss through, I took him to the trailer and tended to his needs and my own.
At the ride meeting, I learned Chance had evidently suffered some sort of ligament or tendon injury. She was still lame after being tended by a farrier at the ride. She had gotten a little better when her shoes were changed, but it was clear she was done for the weekend.
Link to Day 4 Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhDYbRHaYac
The vet check would be in camp, so I didn't need to make myself a lunch or pack a crew bag. I'd get a decent hot lunch!
We started with Merina and Chance yet again, heading out across the highway along the Virgin River. We were able to keep up a nice trot on the flat dirt road and up onto the hills.
Merina had spoken with another rider who encouraged her to start letting Chance trot downhill, so we made a little better time. While I have always worked Hoss on trotting downhill, Merina had bought into the old yarn that a horse only has "so many" downhill miles. So after I had suggested I disagreed with that notion, she had spoken to someone who is well respected in endurance and confirmed what I said. At any rate, this made for a little faster going.
After a few miles, we caught up with a Limited Distance rider who was having difficulty with his horse. We let him hook up with us to help get his horse in check. Hoss did not like Monty, this new horse, and made sure Monty knew it. He wasn't terrible, but it was clear he'd rather Monty moved off on his own.
We circled around back to camp, only to pass through camp right by our trailer and back across the highway on trail. Hoss found this peculiar. He didn't complain about it, but he was pretty sure we should stop and have a vet check.
After we got out of camp and across the highway, the LD ride split off and we parted company with Monty.
While riding along, Chance developed a slight head bob. It was initially very mild, and it appeared she had bruised her foot because of dirt getting under her pad. Unfortunately as we continued on, Chance got worse, and Merina made the wise decision to pull. At the juncture where the LD went back to camp and the Endurance ride continued on, Merina turned and walked back to camp.
Hoss was quite distressed by this development. He really thought we should go the same way Chance was going. He went slowly, but he went, and he was very sad. It wasn't long, however, before Cheri Briscoe and Echo caught up with Helen and Rocky. Hoss likes Echo, so he was happy enough to hook up with them for the rest of the day.
The only drawback to being with Echo is, Hoss worries Echo won't wait for him. He didn't care if Chance waited for him. So when Echo would get ahead, rather than chug along at his own pace and catch up as he could, Hoss would get anxious and go faster than he should if I let him. This meant we disagreed a lot. I had to spend much more time controlling his pace.
We made the five or so miles back to camp, pulsed in, and went to the trailer for lunch. I gave Hoss his bran mash and a flake of alfalfa hay, then heated up a bowl of soup for myself.
I kinda like in-camp vet checks. I have everything I could possibly need, there's no chance of forgetting to pack something or needing something I didn't send. It does seem like an hour vanishes in no time in camp, probably because I'm doing more. An out check feels like forever as I sit around watching my horse eat, but in camp, I'm cooking and doing stuff and that hour goes by in three seconds.
Once we were close to the end of our hold, I took Hoss over and we vetted through. I kinda hoped Cheri and Helen would be gone already and we'd be able to go on our own. I put my spurs on, just in case I needed them if we were on our own and I needed to be able to cue him more strongly.
When we headed back out on trail, Cheri and Helen were there, so we went ahead and rode with them.
Hoss really cannot keep up with Echo or Rocky, and anyway he prefers to keep up the "rear guard action" if one of the other horses is a good leader. Rocky is especially swift, so he led most of the time. The three really went along together okay, other than Hoss getting left behind and playing catch-up.
We got through quite nicely. It was fun to ride with Cheri, who has done this ride in the past, and has a lot of knowledge about the area and many of the little tidbits of history. There is a house that Dave and Ann Nicholson used to live in on the top of a mesa. Dave used to stand up there and watch the horses go by on the ride. Now there is a small group of llamas living near the house, and they look down over the edge and watch us pass.
Listening to Cheri's stories and riding along, we got through to the end, and the new trail down into the back of camp. Hoss paused at the top and stared down into camp, contemplating how he could perhaps get there faster. I allowed as he could get down there sooner, but he wouldn't like the sudden stop at the bottom. Being a practical fellow, he chose to go down on the trail.
After we got to the bottom, I looked up, just to confirm for myself that it is not possible to see the trail from the bottom. It doesn't look possible to have a trail down the side of that mountain, but it's been done. Yikes.
After vetting Hoss through, I took him to the trailer and tended to his needs and my own.
At the ride meeting, I learned Chance had evidently suffered some sort of ligament or tendon injury. She was still lame after being tended by a farrier at the ride. She had gotten a little better when her shoes were changed, but it was clear she was done for the weekend.
Link to Day 4 Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhDYbRHaYac
2013 Mt Carmel Endurance Ride, Day 2, 50 Miles
Once again I hauled my butt outta bed and started getting ready for another ride day. I had forgotten to soak beet pulp for Hoss, so I ended up giving him his electrolytes and vitamins etc. in a bran mash. He loves bran mash anyway, so it was probably best. I set up beet pulp to soak for him to have with dinner and got all our preparations done.
We met up with Merina and Chance and hit the trail. Merina had used a snaffle bit the day before, but felt she still didn't have the control she wanted, so I loaned her Hoss's Kimberwicke. It turned out to be the perfect choice. Merina had much more control over Chance's silly behaviors and had better luck preventing her from doing her sideways spooks or bucking
Day Two went to the "Rim of the World," an apt name for that section of trail. It wasn't a particularly steep ride, but it had its moments. Several times other riders got off and led up or down, while Merina and I rode.
Much of the ride was on jeep roads. Not Hoss's favorite, but it'll do. He did just fine, especially with a trail partner.
Passing through a farm/ranch, we saw icicles had formed where water was running overnight on the hay fields. I truly did not think it had gotten remotely that cold, but several people mentioned ice forming on water buckets.
Somewhere before the vet check, Hoss managed to lose a shoe. I didn't even feel him do it. I did notice he slowed down a touch, but I attributed it to going down a slight hill. It wasn't until we were in the vet check, pulsed down, and I had fed him that I realized the shoe was gone. Luckily I had been smart enough to put a boot in my pack. Unluckily, I had used my multitool to open the bales of hay in the trailer and neglected to put it back on my saddle. A screwdriver was located with little effort, and I was able to apply the boot.
We vetted through and got ourselves back out on trail. Hoss felt a little weird at first due to the boot, but he adapts to that sort of thing quickly enough and it wasn't long before we were hotting along and he felt like his usual self.
We finished strong and in good time. Once again both horses vetted and were ready for the next day.
During the vet check I had mentioned I was getting sick and needed to find some medicine. It turned out Ann Nicholson had exactly what I needed. When I got back to camp, she had left it on my table for me. I still unhitched the truck to get myself some more water and ice for the cooler, but it sure was nice to have the medicine I needed without having to hunt for it.
*Link for our YouTube video. Blogger still can't find my videos.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1pSDUtbaYY&feature=youtu.be
We met up with Merina and Chance and hit the trail. Merina had used a snaffle bit the day before, but felt she still didn't have the control she wanted, so I loaned her Hoss's Kimberwicke. It turned out to be the perfect choice. Merina had much more control over Chance's silly behaviors and had better luck preventing her from doing her sideways spooks or bucking
Day Two went to the "Rim of the World," an apt name for that section of trail. It wasn't a particularly steep ride, but it had its moments. Several times other riders got off and led up or down, while Merina and I rode.
Much of the ride was on jeep roads. Not Hoss's favorite, but it'll do. He did just fine, especially with a trail partner.
Passing through a farm/ranch, we saw icicles had formed where water was running overnight on the hay fields. I truly did not think it had gotten remotely that cold, but several people mentioned ice forming on water buckets.
Somewhere before the vet check, Hoss managed to lose a shoe. I didn't even feel him do it. I did notice he slowed down a touch, but I attributed it to going down a slight hill. It wasn't until we were in the vet check, pulsed down, and I had fed him that I realized the shoe was gone. Luckily I had been smart enough to put a boot in my pack. Unluckily, I had used my multitool to open the bales of hay in the trailer and neglected to put it back on my saddle. A screwdriver was located with little effort, and I was able to apply the boot.
We vetted through and got ourselves back out on trail. Hoss felt a little weird at first due to the boot, but he adapts to that sort of thing quickly enough and it wasn't long before we were hotting along and he felt like his usual self.
We finished strong and in good time. Once again both horses vetted and were ready for the next day.
During the vet check I had mentioned I was getting sick and needed to find some medicine. It turned out Ann Nicholson had exactly what I needed. When I got back to camp, she had left it on my table for me. I still unhitched the truck to get myself some more water and ice for the cooler, but it sure was nice to have the medicine I needed without having to hunt for it.
*Link for our YouTube video. Blogger still can't find my videos.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1pSDUtbaYY&feature=youtu.be
2013 Mt Carmel Endurance Ride, Day 1, 50 miles
We arrived in base camp on Tuesday, after I locked the keys in the truck in Las Vegas and my GPS routed us through Zion National Park. That made for a rather expensive day! At least I had everything I'd need for the next five days and shouldn't need to spend money for more than a bag of ice or two.
By the time we arrived, I realized I was developing a head cold. For most people this is nothing more than a nuisance. For me, especially so far from home, it is potentially a problem. It is almost inevitable that a cold causes me to experience bronchitis. And it wasn't like I could just call my doctor and get a prescription called in to the neighborhood pharmacy. I had no cell service, and there was no neighborhood pharmacy! I'd just have to muddle through.
I set up camp and debated about my sleeping arrangements. It was very warm, but the forecast I checked before I left called for temperatures in the 40s or lower overnight. So I chucked all the sleeping bags into the tent, but only set up the summer weight one. I could always get more out if I needed them.
We vetted in and I attended the ride meeting (just about a first in a long time). It was light until nearly 9pm, but once I'd taken care of Hoss I crawled into the tent. If I was gonna fend off a bout of bronchitis I needed every bit of rest I could get.
In the morning I fed Hoss and got us ready to head out on trail. Not feeling particularly like doing bunches of cleanup, I just had cereal and fruit for breakfast for myself. I sent my lunch along with Hoss's to the vet check, and we headed out to the start.
While riding around warming up and waiting for the start to be called, we ran into Merina Mitchell and her mare, Dual-E Grand Chance, known as Chance for short. Merina asked if I would mind her hitching up behind me and Hoss. I said no problem, and we set out on trail together, Merina using Hoss's butt to keep Chance in line. I had to keep Hoss in line, of course, as he was excited and more than ready to go.
Once we felt we had our horses in hand, we picked up an easy trot. Chance is ever so slightly faster than Hoss, so after a time she did most of the leading. She wanted to follow Hoss for a while, but once she got bored with being kept to a slightly slow pace she was happy enough to lead.
The views were spectacular. Hoss liked having Chance as a trail partner. He wasn't worried about whether she'd wait for him, and kept to his usual pace quite nicely even when she disappeared ahead on the trail.
We didn't go terribly fast. Chance had hurt her back at her previous ride, just two weeks earlier, and Merina was being understandably conservative. I was happy enough to go slow and enjoy the day.
We made the vet check in decent time, and stood down for our hold. Hoss ate well, and both horses shared a pile of the hay Merina and I had individually brought along. I sat and ate my lunch and minded horses so Merina could get her lunch. Then she tended the horses while I got some stuff as well.
Hoss vetted through nicely toward the end of our hold. Chance did fine, under increased scrutiny due to being pulled just two weeks before. We got ourselves ready, packed up our bags, and headed back out on the trail.
Some of the climbs were interesting. Very steep up or down. The one mentioned in the ride meeting was dubbed the "Hill of Death." To my mind, it wasn't as bad as some of the others. It earned its name because it comes down and makes a 90 degree left turn at the top of a rather steep cliff. Dave Nicholson's description on the ride map said something to the effect of, "If you fall off your body will vaporize before hitting ground." It was recommended to lead horses down, but I stayed on. With my hip in the condition it is, I'm safer on Hoss than the ground. In fact, he seems to know this and will frequently try to "force" me to get back on if I get off.
There was some nice single track curvy stuff through the trees, which Hoss just loves to do. We don't go fast, and Chance got far ahead several times. Hoss just kept his head down and powered through it. Still we kept up much of the time.
The last hill down toward camp was, in my opinion, far more treacherous than the Hill of Death. We were again advised by our trail description to dismount, but again, I'm safer on Hoss than on my own two feet. I trust his four more than my own two any day. He's careful and contemplates what's ahead. He'll even stop to think about how he's going to manage an obstacle or to allow the horse ahead to get further ahead so he has room to work himself. Smart fella.
We made it down the hill in good form and rode back to camp for the finish. Everyone vetted out fine for the next day's start.
I got Hoss settled in for the night with a huge pile of hay and bran mash. I felt a little bad I wasn't blanketing him, since everybody around me was blanketing their horses, but I just didn't think he needed it. I was sleeping in the summer weight sleeping bag in shorts and a tank. How could he possibly be cold? So I left him naked.
*For reasons I am unable to fathom, I can't get Blogger to recognize my YouTube videos. Below is the link to the video for Day One of Mt Carmel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN13w_YZ-Wk
By the time we arrived, I realized I was developing a head cold. For most people this is nothing more than a nuisance. For me, especially so far from home, it is potentially a problem. It is almost inevitable that a cold causes me to experience bronchitis. And it wasn't like I could just call my doctor and get a prescription called in to the neighborhood pharmacy. I had no cell service, and there was no neighborhood pharmacy! I'd just have to muddle through.
I set up camp and debated about my sleeping arrangements. It was very warm, but the forecast I checked before I left called for temperatures in the 40s or lower overnight. So I chucked all the sleeping bags into the tent, but only set up the summer weight one. I could always get more out if I needed them.
We vetted in and I attended the ride meeting (just about a first in a long time). It was light until nearly 9pm, but once I'd taken care of Hoss I crawled into the tent. If I was gonna fend off a bout of bronchitis I needed every bit of rest I could get.
In the morning I fed Hoss and got us ready to head out on trail. Not feeling particularly like doing bunches of cleanup, I just had cereal and fruit for breakfast for myself. I sent my lunch along with Hoss's to the vet check, and we headed out to the start.
While riding around warming up and waiting for the start to be called, we ran into Merina Mitchell and her mare, Dual-E Grand Chance, known as Chance for short. Merina asked if I would mind her hitching up behind me and Hoss. I said no problem, and we set out on trail together, Merina using Hoss's butt to keep Chance in line. I had to keep Hoss in line, of course, as he was excited and more than ready to go.
Once we felt we had our horses in hand, we picked up an easy trot. Chance is ever so slightly faster than Hoss, so after a time she did most of the leading. She wanted to follow Hoss for a while, but once she got bored with being kept to a slightly slow pace she was happy enough to lead.
The views were spectacular. Hoss liked having Chance as a trail partner. He wasn't worried about whether she'd wait for him, and kept to his usual pace quite nicely even when she disappeared ahead on the trail.
We didn't go terribly fast. Chance had hurt her back at her previous ride, just two weeks earlier, and Merina was being understandably conservative. I was happy enough to go slow and enjoy the day.
We made the vet check in decent time, and stood down for our hold. Hoss ate well, and both horses shared a pile of the hay Merina and I had individually brought along. I sat and ate my lunch and minded horses so Merina could get her lunch. Then she tended the horses while I got some stuff as well.
Hoss vetted through nicely toward the end of our hold. Chance did fine, under increased scrutiny due to being pulled just two weeks before. We got ourselves ready, packed up our bags, and headed back out on the trail.
Some of the climbs were interesting. Very steep up or down. The one mentioned in the ride meeting was dubbed the "Hill of Death." To my mind, it wasn't as bad as some of the others. It earned its name because it comes down and makes a 90 degree left turn at the top of a rather steep cliff. Dave Nicholson's description on the ride map said something to the effect of, "If you fall off your body will vaporize before hitting ground." It was recommended to lead horses down, but I stayed on. With my hip in the condition it is, I'm safer on Hoss than the ground. In fact, he seems to know this and will frequently try to "force" me to get back on if I get off.
There was some nice single track curvy stuff through the trees, which Hoss just loves to do. We don't go fast, and Chance got far ahead several times. Hoss just kept his head down and powered through it. Still we kept up much of the time.
The last hill down toward camp was, in my opinion, far more treacherous than the Hill of Death. We were again advised by our trail description to dismount, but again, I'm safer on Hoss than on my own two feet. I trust his four more than my own two any day. He's careful and contemplates what's ahead. He'll even stop to think about how he's going to manage an obstacle or to allow the horse ahead to get further ahead so he has room to work himself. Smart fella.
We made it down the hill in good form and rode back to camp for the finish. Everyone vetted out fine for the next day's start.
I got Hoss settled in for the night with a huge pile of hay and bran mash. I felt a little bad I wasn't blanketing him, since everybody around me was blanketing their horses, but I just didn't think he needed it. I was sleeping in the summer weight sleeping bag in shorts and a tank. How could he possibly be cold? So I left him naked.
*For reasons I am unable to fathom, I can't get Blogger to recognize my YouTube videos. Below is the link to the video for Day One of Mt Carmel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN13w_YZ-Wk
Sunday, April 21, 2013
2013 Bar H Ride, Day 2, 25 miles
After the long and hot day on Day 1, including an unscheduled dismount from Eclipse, I was tired enough I didn't really want to eat. Fortunately Wendy Turner was there by that time. Not only did she do a good job rubbing Eclipse down (in the dark), she badgered me into cooking for myself and getting some food in me.
We awoke bright and early to tend to the horses. I took Eclipse for a short walk to make sure he was adequately recovered from the previous day's ordeal. Despite causing us a bit of worry, he was fully responsive and willing to trot off easily enough. He had eaten over night, and drank quite a lot of water. I felt confident with leaving him alone in camp while we were gone for the day. It turned out our neighbors were leaving a horse alone in camp, too, and they offered Eclipse their empty corral to keep their horse company, so he got to relax untied most of the day.
We got Hoss and DC saddled and left once most of the other riders were well out of camp. DC wasn't sure what was up with this new thing, and was not moving confidently. Hoss, of course, knew the routine and wanted nothing more than to get after it and do his job.
DC seemed to forget everything she knew about trail riding. Every remotely unfamiliar object was a horse-eating monster. I rode more sideways spooks in the first five miles than I have in the last five years. And, of course, because I was under ride conditions, I couldn't really take the time to work on every single act of stupidity. I did work on a few, but it was simply too time-consuming to work on each and every one. I was just going to have to ride it out and hope she'd settle in.
At the water crossing, DC seemed to forget she had learned to quietly and confidently cross water. It didn't help the crossing was full of unusual debris (I think there was a shoe in there, and not a horse one). Hoss, of course, crossed quite willingly. DC was just short of hysterical about the prospect. I did finally get her across without dismounting, but I thought it was going to be the end of us both.
At the "T" intersection, we became confused as the which direction to go. The trail directions said at some point to "go the opposite as Saturday." Well, that presupposes I'll recognize it when I get there. Not helping matters, the trail markers had not been removed, and the sole ribbon in the direction it turned out we were supposed to go looked old and dirty. So we went the wrong way.
Remember I said I could go the rest of my life without riding Dawson Canyon again? I did not get my wish. My error resulted in riding through Dawson. By the time I was sure we were going the wrong way, it was really too late to turn around and pick up the proper direction.
After the wrong turn, and with me feeling insecure because I was pretty sure we were going the wrong way, DC was getting more and more flighty. She was less and less willing to move forward. For most of the day Hoss was unaffected by this, but he started to catch it, too.
Going through Dawson yet again on my green little mare was just as unpleasant as it had been with Eclipse the prior day. Because she's green and really has no base, I hiked as much on Sunday as I had on Saturday. The only difference being, Hoss knows how to tail and I was able to hang on to his tail and get a little help on the steeper parts.
By the time we got out of Dawson, DC's mood was really affecting Hoss. He was just as reluctant to go forward as she was by this point.
We made our way back to camp and vetted through. We were allowed the opportunity to finish, as what we'd done would turn out to be longer than what everybody else had done.
Once we had pulsed down we returned to the trailer to give the horses bran mashes and hay before the last eight miles. After our hold, we headed back to trot the horses out. DC was a little confused as to what was being asked. It was the first time I had asked her to trot out with the reins on her bit. It only took a few steps before she "got it," and trotted nicely.
We headed out for our final eight miles. The first five were terrible. Both horses were dragging. DC wanted nothing to do with passing the Longhorn cattle along the ranch road. She backed up, circled, did nearly everything she could to resist passing. I ended up dismounting and backing her all the way down the road.
After that little fiasco, DC was shying and giving the hairy eyeball to every remotely suspicious item she saw. And now Hoss was doing it, too. Hoss wouldn't move out. DC wouldn't move out. We just kept after it and got them through.
About three miles out, suddenly DC seemed to "get it." She upped her game and trotted out along the trail like the horse I thought I had brought to the ride. She even left Hoss in the dust.
We finished in a "squeaker." We pulled into camp just in time to get our completion. Both horses vetted nicely, and we took them back to camp. By this time Eclipse had been returned to the trailer, as our neighbor had finished before us. He was certainly happy to see us! We got the horses untacked and settled, then broke down camp.
I loaded the horses and drove them home, dropping Eclipse off at the ranch in Imperial Beach. All in all, quite a successful weekend.
We awoke bright and early to tend to the horses. I took Eclipse for a short walk to make sure he was adequately recovered from the previous day's ordeal. Despite causing us a bit of worry, he was fully responsive and willing to trot off easily enough. He had eaten over night, and drank quite a lot of water. I felt confident with leaving him alone in camp while we were gone for the day. It turned out our neighbors were leaving a horse alone in camp, too, and they offered Eclipse their empty corral to keep their horse company, so he got to relax untied most of the day.
We got Hoss and DC saddled and left once most of the other riders were well out of camp. DC wasn't sure what was up with this new thing, and was not moving confidently. Hoss, of course, knew the routine and wanted nothing more than to get after it and do his job.
DC seemed to forget everything she knew about trail riding. Every remotely unfamiliar object was a horse-eating monster. I rode more sideways spooks in the first five miles than I have in the last five years. And, of course, because I was under ride conditions, I couldn't really take the time to work on every single act of stupidity. I did work on a few, but it was simply too time-consuming to work on each and every one. I was just going to have to ride it out and hope she'd settle in.
At the water crossing, DC seemed to forget she had learned to quietly and confidently cross water. It didn't help the crossing was full of unusual debris (I think there was a shoe in there, and not a horse one). Hoss, of course, crossed quite willingly. DC was just short of hysterical about the prospect. I did finally get her across without dismounting, but I thought it was going to be the end of us both.
At the "T" intersection, we became confused as the which direction to go. The trail directions said at some point to "go the opposite as Saturday." Well, that presupposes I'll recognize it when I get there. Not helping matters, the trail markers had not been removed, and the sole ribbon in the direction it turned out we were supposed to go looked old and dirty. So we went the wrong way.
Remember I said I could go the rest of my life without riding Dawson Canyon again? I did not get my wish. My error resulted in riding through Dawson. By the time I was sure we were going the wrong way, it was really too late to turn around and pick up the proper direction.
After the wrong turn, and with me feeling insecure because I was pretty sure we were going the wrong way, DC was getting more and more flighty. She was less and less willing to move forward. For most of the day Hoss was unaffected by this, but he started to catch it, too.
Going through Dawson yet again on my green little mare was just as unpleasant as it had been with Eclipse the prior day. Because she's green and really has no base, I hiked as much on Sunday as I had on Saturday. The only difference being, Hoss knows how to tail and I was able to hang on to his tail and get a little help on the steeper parts.
By the time we got out of Dawson, DC's mood was really affecting Hoss. He was just as reluctant to go forward as she was by this point.
We made our way back to camp and vetted through. We were allowed the opportunity to finish, as what we'd done would turn out to be longer than what everybody else had done.
Once we had pulsed down we returned to the trailer to give the horses bran mashes and hay before the last eight miles. After our hold, we headed back to trot the horses out. DC was a little confused as to what was being asked. It was the first time I had asked her to trot out with the reins on her bit. It only took a few steps before she "got it," and trotted nicely.
We headed out for our final eight miles. The first five were terrible. Both horses were dragging. DC wanted nothing to do with passing the Longhorn cattle along the ranch road. She backed up, circled, did nearly everything she could to resist passing. I ended up dismounting and backing her all the way down the road.
After that little fiasco, DC was shying and giving the hairy eyeball to every remotely suspicious item she saw. And now Hoss was doing it, too. Hoss wouldn't move out. DC wouldn't move out. We just kept after it and got them through.
About three miles out, suddenly DC seemed to "get it." She upped her game and trotted out along the trail like the horse I thought I had brought to the ride. She even left Hoss in the dust.
We finished in a "squeaker." We pulled into camp just in time to get our completion. Both horses vetted nicely, and we took them back to camp. By this time Eclipse had been returned to the trailer, as our neighbor had finished before us. He was certainly happy to see us! We got the horses untacked and settled, then broke down camp.
I loaded the horses and drove them home, dropping Eclipse off at the ranch in Imperial Beach. All in all, quite a successful weekend.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
2013 Bar H Ride, Day 1, 50 Miles
Hoss still needed a little time to recover from his bruise before doing a 50 a week after Twenty Mule Team, so I picked up Eclipse again. This time, I had Hoss, DC, and Eclipse along. Bar H is a two-day ride, so Eclipse would do his first 50 on Saturday, and DC would do her first 25 on Sunday with Wendy Turner aboard Hoss, the ever faithful babysitter.
For once I arrived at camp at a decent hour. I even got there well before dark! I set up camp, including putting up the big tent, as Wendy would be coming up Saturday.
Heidi Helly was performing with her band on Friday evening. They go by Heidi and the Hurricane. They were pretty good, too. And they were between my camp and the vet check. Eclipse handled it pretty well. We even took a moment to "dance" to the music on our way back to camp.
In the morning we headed out on the trail. We had to ride down the entrance road for the ranch, right between the pastures for the longhorn cattle. Eclipse gave them the hairy eyeball but walked along nicely enough.
I had managed to find a girth to use DC's Australian saddle on Eclipse, so that was what we were going to ride in. The western, it turned out, had caused quite a lot of rubbing, so the Australian was a better choice, putting the girth much further back than the western. There was no way I could use the western again on the rubs he had.
I had put my endurance stirrups on the Australian, but I had missed one critical fact: the stirrups had to be bolted on for a reason. When I tried to pre-ride Eclipse on Friday evening (and I'm very glad I did), the stirrup just fell off the saddle. This left me with quite the dilemma. In the end, I had to strip the fenders off Hoss's endurance saddle (Wendy would be riding him in the western) and use those on the Australian. I had quite the franken-saddle going.
As we rode along, I was noticing I did not feel balanced. Several times I had to stop and dismount to try to get the stirrup lengths right. I don't know how I managed to get it so wrong and why it took me so many tries to finally get it right, but I eventually did.
Another problem cropped up: the saddle pad wanted to slide out behind the saddle on the left. I expect this was due to my personal imbalances, not anything to do with Eclipse. A few more stops to make adjustments and we finally got that one under control.
We made our way in to the first vet check, and Eclipse decided he'd learned something from last week's ride: he got a big drink and tucked in to a flake of hay. Now, Eclipse isn't a fast eater. He eats at a sedate pace, seemingly no matter how hungry he is. It's a little funny, watching other horses scarf down whatever they can reach, and he's over there eating like he's being very careful to chew each bite the right number of times.
Eclipse passed the vet check, and we hung out a few minutes to let him eat and drink. The day was quite hot, and he hadn't eaten his electrolyte bran mash in the morning, so I wanted to be careful with him. I had a feeling I wasn't getting any more electrolytes into him, and I hadn't brought any syringes.
(On our way to Twenty Mule Team the prior week, one of the spigots on my water tank had broken, spilling 39 gallons of water in my tack room. As a result, I had pulled everything I kept in the trailer out to dry the floor. Many things didn't make it back in, including the syringe electrolytes.)
We hit the trail again, and rode on through a neighborhood for some time. Another horse caught up to us, and we rode with him for a time.
Riding through the neighborhood, we were passing a house side by side with the other horse, when two large dogs charged the fence. Eclipse couldn't have cared less, but the other horse sure did! He jumped and shied pretty hard (I describe it as he tried to jump into my arms) into Eclipse, resulting in Eclipse losing his balance. The girth wasn't quite tight enough, and I knew it. I planned to tighten it at the next water stop. That wasn't soon enough, because when he lost his balance and tripped, I went to the right, the saddle went to the right, and I got an intimate introduction to the road. I even managed to land on my shoulders and head. I did maintain my grip on the reins, something I would not normally do. We were riding in a neighborhood with people driving like maniacs. I feared if I released the reins, Eclipse might run off and get hit by a car. So I kept a death grip on the reins, and when he started backing up, I used the momentum to get me back on my feet. I adjusted the saddle, tightened the girth, and we headed back out on trail.
The fall happened at mile 17, so I had another 33 to go. My left elbow was banged up and a little bloody, but other than that I felt okay. We continued on with the ride.
When we came to the top of Dawson Canyon, I looked down the trail with a bit of trepidation. The hill was far too steep to ask Eclipse to carry me down it, so I dismounted and carefully led him down, then got back on and we rode away.
Getting down into the canyon wasn't much of an issue. It was when we started going back out that things got rough. The trail out was brutally steep. Eclipse hasn't learned to tail yet, and he's kinda bad at following trail, so I had to lead. At one point, riding through a flat section, we came to the steepest hill I'd ever seen. Eclipse stopped, and we looked at each other. He seemed to think I was about to ask him to climb a wall. Once again I dismounted and led him up. I swear I could have used mountain climbing gear. I consider it some sort of miracle we made it to the top, and then out of Dawson Canyon, which I could go my whole life without ever riding again.
When we got to the mid-way vet check back at camp, Eclipse was feeling the effects of the heat and lack of electrolytes. It was very hot for a black horse, so I took his saddle off and used a nearby hose to rinse him down and help him cool. He came down in a reasonable period, and we went to the trailer for our hold.
I hoped he'd eat a bran mash, but no such luck. He ate hay well, and drank well, but would have nothing to do with bran or beet pulp. I hoped he'd get enough out of the hay to get him through. At least he was drinking well and sweating, but he also hadn't peed at this point in the ride.
Once our hold was over we hit the trail again. Eclipse was feeling pretty good, and spent some time trotting well and willingly. I did pull him down to a walk several times, and got off for the hills, wanting to spare him as much as possible.
By the time we walked in for the third vet check, I was feeling that fall. All the hiking wasn't helping, and I was beginning to hurt. Only eight miles left, so I got Eclipse through the vet check and we headed back out.
We hooked up temporarily with another rider, and Eclipse followed along cheerfully enough for a couple of miles. Then his spirits started to flag, and he needed to slow down. After 45 miles, he was beginning to think this might never be over.
At this point, Eclipse refused to go faster than a walk on even the slightest hill, and would stop dead and wait for me to get off on steeper stuff. I was willing enough to oblige, but it was getting to be a bit annoying that he was looking at me and saying, "Get off!"
We got to the last water stop before the end and Eclipse tanked up. He still hadn't peed, and I was getting worried about him. So we took it easy the last few miles.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Eclipse started to perk up as the weather cooled. I got him trotting for a bit. When we were about two miles from camp, and darkness had settled in, he stopped and refused to move on.
I dismounted and stood with him for a while. I could just hear him screaming, "It's never going to be over!!!" He must've been sure we'd get back to camp only to have to leave again. I gave him time to settle his thoughts, and then started leading him back to camp.
I walked most of the rest of the way back. When I got worried we wouldn't finish on time, I did get back on. He rallied and gave me a little more trot before I pulled him down and we walked in, with 15 minutes to spare.
Still, he hadn't peed. I was pretty concerned at this point, and so was the vet. But he passed the check, despite looking a little dispirited, and I took him to the trailer. He wouldn't eat anything I could put electrolytes in, and I knew that was what he needed. I finally located a syringe, and put some electrolytes and water in it and just slugged it down him. Within fifteen minutes, he was much brighter. He had started eating upon arrival at the trailer, and drank a bunch as well. He remained bright, alert and responsive during this episode. Sometime during the night, he finally peed.
For once I arrived at camp at a decent hour. I even got there well before dark! I set up camp, including putting up the big tent, as Wendy would be coming up Saturday.
Heidi Helly was performing with her band on Friday evening. They go by Heidi and the Hurricane. They were pretty good, too. And they were between my camp and the vet check. Eclipse handled it pretty well. We even took a moment to "dance" to the music on our way back to camp.
In the morning we headed out on the trail. We had to ride down the entrance road for the ranch, right between the pastures for the longhorn cattle. Eclipse gave them the hairy eyeball but walked along nicely enough.
I had managed to find a girth to use DC's Australian saddle on Eclipse, so that was what we were going to ride in. The western, it turned out, had caused quite a lot of rubbing, so the Australian was a better choice, putting the girth much further back than the western. There was no way I could use the western again on the rubs he had.
I had put my endurance stirrups on the Australian, but I had missed one critical fact: the stirrups had to be bolted on for a reason. When I tried to pre-ride Eclipse on Friday evening (and I'm very glad I did), the stirrup just fell off the saddle. This left me with quite the dilemma. In the end, I had to strip the fenders off Hoss's endurance saddle (Wendy would be riding him in the western) and use those on the Australian. I had quite the franken-saddle going.
As we rode along, I was noticing I did not feel balanced. Several times I had to stop and dismount to try to get the stirrup lengths right. I don't know how I managed to get it so wrong and why it took me so many tries to finally get it right, but I eventually did.
Another problem cropped up: the saddle pad wanted to slide out behind the saddle on the left. I expect this was due to my personal imbalances, not anything to do with Eclipse. A few more stops to make adjustments and we finally got that one under control.
We made our way in to the first vet check, and Eclipse decided he'd learned something from last week's ride: he got a big drink and tucked in to a flake of hay. Now, Eclipse isn't a fast eater. He eats at a sedate pace, seemingly no matter how hungry he is. It's a little funny, watching other horses scarf down whatever they can reach, and he's over there eating like he's being very careful to chew each bite the right number of times.
Eclipse passed the vet check, and we hung out a few minutes to let him eat and drink. The day was quite hot, and he hadn't eaten his electrolyte bran mash in the morning, so I wanted to be careful with him. I had a feeling I wasn't getting any more electrolytes into him, and I hadn't brought any syringes.
(On our way to Twenty Mule Team the prior week, one of the spigots on my water tank had broken, spilling 39 gallons of water in my tack room. As a result, I had pulled everything I kept in the trailer out to dry the floor. Many things didn't make it back in, including the syringe electrolytes.)
We hit the trail again, and rode on through a neighborhood for some time. Another horse caught up to us, and we rode with him for a time.
Riding through the neighborhood, we were passing a house side by side with the other horse, when two large dogs charged the fence. Eclipse couldn't have cared less, but the other horse sure did! He jumped and shied pretty hard (I describe it as he tried to jump into my arms) into Eclipse, resulting in Eclipse losing his balance. The girth wasn't quite tight enough, and I knew it. I planned to tighten it at the next water stop. That wasn't soon enough, because when he lost his balance and tripped, I went to the right, the saddle went to the right, and I got an intimate introduction to the road. I even managed to land on my shoulders and head. I did maintain my grip on the reins, something I would not normally do. We were riding in a neighborhood with people driving like maniacs. I feared if I released the reins, Eclipse might run off and get hit by a car. So I kept a death grip on the reins, and when he started backing up, I used the momentum to get me back on my feet. I adjusted the saddle, tightened the girth, and we headed back out on trail.
The fall happened at mile 17, so I had another 33 to go. My left elbow was banged up and a little bloody, but other than that I felt okay. We continued on with the ride.
When we came to the top of Dawson Canyon, I looked down the trail with a bit of trepidation. The hill was far too steep to ask Eclipse to carry me down it, so I dismounted and carefully led him down, then got back on and we rode away.
Getting down into the canyon wasn't much of an issue. It was when we started going back out that things got rough. The trail out was brutally steep. Eclipse hasn't learned to tail yet, and he's kinda bad at following trail, so I had to lead. At one point, riding through a flat section, we came to the steepest hill I'd ever seen. Eclipse stopped, and we looked at each other. He seemed to think I was about to ask him to climb a wall. Once again I dismounted and led him up. I swear I could have used mountain climbing gear. I consider it some sort of miracle we made it to the top, and then out of Dawson Canyon, which I could go my whole life without ever riding again.
When we got to the mid-way vet check back at camp, Eclipse was feeling the effects of the heat and lack of electrolytes. It was very hot for a black horse, so I took his saddle off and used a nearby hose to rinse him down and help him cool. He came down in a reasonable period, and we went to the trailer for our hold.
I hoped he'd eat a bran mash, but no such luck. He ate hay well, and drank well, but would have nothing to do with bran or beet pulp. I hoped he'd get enough out of the hay to get him through. At least he was drinking well and sweating, but he also hadn't peed at this point in the ride.
Once our hold was over we hit the trail again. Eclipse was feeling pretty good, and spent some time trotting well and willingly. I did pull him down to a walk several times, and got off for the hills, wanting to spare him as much as possible.
By the time we walked in for the third vet check, I was feeling that fall. All the hiking wasn't helping, and I was beginning to hurt. Only eight miles left, so I got Eclipse through the vet check and we headed back out.
We hooked up temporarily with another rider, and Eclipse followed along cheerfully enough for a couple of miles. Then his spirits started to flag, and he needed to slow down. After 45 miles, he was beginning to think this might never be over.
At this point, Eclipse refused to go faster than a walk on even the slightest hill, and would stop dead and wait for me to get off on steeper stuff. I was willing enough to oblige, but it was getting to be a bit annoying that he was looking at me and saying, "Get off!"
We got to the last water stop before the end and Eclipse tanked up. He still hadn't peed, and I was getting worried about him. So we took it easy the last few miles.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Eclipse started to perk up as the weather cooled. I got him trotting for a bit. When we were about two miles from camp, and darkness had settled in, he stopped and refused to move on.
I dismounted and stood with him for a while. I could just hear him screaming, "It's never going to be over!!!" He must've been sure we'd get back to camp only to have to leave again. I gave him time to settle his thoughts, and then started leading him back to camp.
I walked most of the rest of the way back. When I got worried we wouldn't finish on time, I did get back on. He rallied and gave me a little more trot before I pulled him down and we walked in, with 15 minutes to spare.
Still, he hadn't peed. I was pretty concerned at this point, and so was the vet. But he passed the check, despite looking a little dispirited, and I took him to the trailer. He wouldn't eat anything I could put electrolytes in, and I knew that was what he needed. I finally located a syringe, and put some electrolytes and water in it and just slugged it down him. Within fifteen minutes, he was much brighter. He had started eating upon arrival at the trailer, and drank a bunch as well. He remained bright, alert and responsive during this episode. Sometime during the night, he finally peed.
2013 Twenty Mule Team 35
A week before the ride, Hoss had a rock in his foot. I pried it out and thought nothing of it.
Two days before the ride, Hoss was lame. He had a bruise, possibly an abscess, as a result of that rock. I removed the shoe, treated the foot, and knew he would not be doing a 100 mile ride anytime soon.
I called Melissa Ribley, the ride manager, on Friday to let her know we weren't going to make it.
At this point the whole abuse accusation thing was coming to a head. I really hated the idea of skipping the ride altogether, because it would look like I had backed out due to the accusations. I contemplated taking DC for the 35, but of course I really did not want her to do her first ride without Hoss along for a babysitter.
I talked to my trainer, and she didn't like me not going either. In the end, she offered me the use of her horse, Eclipse. I called Melissa, let her know I was coming with another horse, and got myself loaded up.
This was the point at which I was called and told I abuse Hoss and not to bring him to any rides. This was rather the low point in that whole episode.
I loaded up Hoss and we left to pick up Eclipse. I had to bring Hoss along so I could continue to treat his foot.
We arrived at camp far too late to vet in, so I got myself set up and the horses settled. Since it was Eclipse's very first ride, we were doing the 35, giving us quite a long time to get arranged in the morning.
Due to the extra excitement of leaving for a ride at the last minute, I unfortunately neglected to bring along my video camera. I was able to get a few stills with my phone.
After the 100-mile start, I headed over and arranged our entry. Once that was done, I started the process of saddling Eclipse.
The only piece of tack I had taken from Beth was Eclipse's bridle. We were pretty sure one of my saddles would fit just fine. We were right. DC's Australian saddle sat on him beautifully. One problem: the girth was too short. Oops. Well, the Western saddle fit him well enough. The girth was way forward, and with Eclipse's "extra padding," I knew I would have to be very careful not to gall him.
I set out late, after most of the other horses had left camp. It had dawned on my sometime during the ride up that I had never, not even once, not even for 30 seconds, ridden Eclipse. Additionally, the last time he'd done a ride (a 15 mile fun ride several years ago), he had been a handful. So I was giving myself the best chance to have a reasonably decent start.
I got up on Eclipse and we headed out toward the start. Although I'd never ridden him, or perhaps because I hadn't, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I let him have a loose rein. He would have to give me reason to ride him harder. Eclipse had a hard time, but he worked very hard and did as he was asked.
Once we were well out on trail, we set out at a trot. Eclipse was excited and a little confused. As far as he was concerned, the farrier had stolen him. Now the farrier had saddled him up and taken him riding. Really bizarre!
We hooked up with another horse after a time. The two were relatively well matched and seemed to be okay with each other.
I pulled Eclipse back on most of the uphills, wanting to ride conservatively. It was his first ride and I didn't know him well at all. We trotted on the flats and any gentle downhills we came to, plus some of the uphill pulls which weren't steep.
We finished the first 19 miles in just about 3 hours. Wow, that's fast. I was impressed with his speed, but a little worried about going quite so fast the first time out. So I pulled him back and let the other horse go on ahead of us.
It turned out that other horse had been somewhat messing with Eclipse's normal energy. When the horse was gone, Eclipse sighed and released quite a bit of negative energy he had gradually built up riding with him. I liked this horse better, even though I hadn't realized it was happening.
The vet check was at 25 miles. I dismounted a distance out, wanting to give Eclipse at least a little signal it was time to wind down a bit. My little toes were going numb on me, too, from riding in that western saddle.
Eclipse met criteria in good time, and I presented him to the vet. He stayed at criteria for a while, but he was looking around like he was on high alert. I never did convince him to eat. Nor had he taken a drink during the first 25 miles. It was a cool day, and we were doing 35, not 65, so I didn't fret about it.
After our hold, we set back out on trail. We had sort of hooked up with yet another horse, whose energy was better. The other horse caught up to us shortly out of the vet check, and his rider allowed him to crowd Eclipse. Eclipse did not take this especially well and lashed out. I knew the other horse kinda deserved it, but I got after him for it anyway. He should have let me know he was unhappy so I could remedy it for him, and I'm pretty sure he knew that. Still, I had to give him some slack. It's not like he's spent a lot of time being ridden in crowds or with horses allowed to run up under his tail.
The last ten miles were great. Eclipse is not a large horse, and the horse we were loosely riding with was longer-legged. So we'd fall behind, and Eclipse's competitive side would come out and he'd want to catch up. Once we had topped the hill, I got him up to a trot and we blew past the other horse and kept on going.
We went on for the rest of the day, alternating trotting and walking. Once the finish line was in sight, I pulled him down to a walk, and got off when we were close. It took him several minutes to come down, after finally taking a huge drink there at the end. I think he needed to pee, and would have recovered more quickly had he taken the time to do so, instead of waiting until we were walking back into camp.
When I presented Eclipse for the final check, I was pulled aside and given the best news I'd heard all week: someone was on my side in the whole abuse thing. As I walked through camp and talked to different people I knew, I found many others also in my corner. By the time I went to bed, my stress level had dropped incredibly. I hadn't realized how much I was carrying it until I laid down. I fell asleep and slept harder and better than I had all week.
Two days before the ride, Hoss was lame. He had a bruise, possibly an abscess, as a result of that rock. I removed the shoe, treated the foot, and knew he would not be doing a 100 mile ride anytime soon.
I called Melissa Ribley, the ride manager, on Friday to let her know we weren't going to make it.
At this point the whole abuse accusation thing was coming to a head. I really hated the idea of skipping the ride altogether, because it would look like I had backed out due to the accusations. I contemplated taking DC for the 35, but of course I really did not want her to do her first ride without Hoss along for a babysitter.
I talked to my trainer, and she didn't like me not going either. In the end, she offered me the use of her horse, Eclipse. I called Melissa, let her know I was coming with another horse, and got myself loaded up.
This was the point at which I was called and told I abuse Hoss and not to bring him to any rides. This was rather the low point in that whole episode.
I loaded up Hoss and we left to pick up Eclipse. I had to bring Hoss along so I could continue to treat his foot.
We arrived at camp far too late to vet in, so I got myself set up and the horses settled. Since it was Eclipse's very first ride, we were doing the 35, giving us quite a long time to get arranged in the morning.
Due to the extra excitement of leaving for a ride at the last minute, I unfortunately neglected to bring along my video camera. I was able to get a few stills with my phone.
After the 100-mile start, I headed over and arranged our entry. Once that was done, I started the process of saddling Eclipse.
The only piece of tack I had taken from Beth was Eclipse's bridle. We were pretty sure one of my saddles would fit just fine. We were right. DC's Australian saddle sat on him beautifully. One problem: the girth was too short. Oops. Well, the Western saddle fit him well enough. The girth was way forward, and with Eclipse's "extra padding," I knew I would have to be very careful not to gall him.
I set out late, after most of the other horses had left camp. It had dawned on my sometime during the ride up that I had never, not even once, not even for 30 seconds, ridden Eclipse. Additionally, the last time he'd done a ride (a 15 mile fun ride several years ago), he had been a handful. So I was giving myself the best chance to have a reasonably decent start.
I got up on Eclipse and we headed out toward the start. Although I'd never ridden him, or perhaps because I hadn't, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I let him have a loose rein. He would have to give me reason to ride him harder. Eclipse had a hard time, but he worked very hard and did as he was asked.
Once we were well out on trail, we set out at a trot. Eclipse was excited and a little confused. As far as he was concerned, the farrier had stolen him. Now the farrier had saddled him up and taken him riding. Really bizarre!
We hooked up with another horse after a time. The two were relatively well matched and seemed to be okay with each other.
I pulled Eclipse back on most of the uphills, wanting to ride conservatively. It was his first ride and I didn't know him well at all. We trotted on the flats and any gentle downhills we came to, plus some of the uphill pulls which weren't steep.
We finished the first 19 miles in just about 3 hours. Wow, that's fast. I was impressed with his speed, but a little worried about going quite so fast the first time out. So I pulled him back and let the other horse go on ahead of us.
It turned out that other horse had been somewhat messing with Eclipse's normal energy. When the horse was gone, Eclipse sighed and released quite a bit of negative energy he had gradually built up riding with him. I liked this horse better, even though I hadn't realized it was happening.
The vet check was at 25 miles. I dismounted a distance out, wanting to give Eclipse at least a little signal it was time to wind down a bit. My little toes were going numb on me, too, from riding in that western saddle.
Eclipse met criteria in good time, and I presented him to the vet. He stayed at criteria for a while, but he was looking around like he was on high alert. I never did convince him to eat. Nor had he taken a drink during the first 25 miles. It was a cool day, and we were doing 35, not 65, so I didn't fret about it.
After our hold, we set back out on trail. We had sort of hooked up with yet another horse, whose energy was better. The other horse caught up to us shortly out of the vet check, and his rider allowed him to crowd Eclipse. Eclipse did not take this especially well and lashed out. I knew the other horse kinda deserved it, but I got after him for it anyway. He should have let me know he was unhappy so I could remedy it for him, and I'm pretty sure he knew that. Still, I had to give him some slack. It's not like he's spent a lot of time being ridden in crowds or with horses allowed to run up under his tail.
The last ten miles were great. Eclipse is not a large horse, and the horse we were loosely riding with was longer-legged. So we'd fall behind, and Eclipse's competitive side would come out and he'd want to catch up. Once we had topped the hill, I got him up to a trot and we blew past the other horse and kept on going.
We went on for the rest of the day, alternating trotting and walking. Once the finish line was in sight, I pulled him down to a walk, and got off when we were close. It took him several minutes to come down, after finally taking a huge drink there at the end. I think he needed to pee, and would have recovered more quickly had he taken the time to do so, instead of waiting until we were walking back into camp.
When I presented Eclipse for the final check, I was pulled aside and given the best news I'd heard all week: someone was on my side in the whole abuse thing. As I walked through camp and talked to different people I knew, I found many others also in my corner. By the time I went to bed, my stress level had dropped incredibly. I hadn't realized how much I was carrying it until I laid down. I fell asleep and slept harder and better than I had all week.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Addressing The Accusation
At this juncture, I feel I must address a bit of unpleasantness. I'd much rather let it lie, but I can't help but feel it would be counterproductive to do so. By staying silent on the matter, I allow it to stand unchallenged and suggest I accept the conclusions reached by soom.
After Eastern Mojave, a post appeared on Ridecamp (a listserve for those interested in distance riding hosted by endurance.net) asking for "advice" on what to do about a rider "abusing" her horse. Although I was not identified by name, enough information was provided to make it very easy to determine exactly who was being discussed.
The particular incident initially brought up was the one I described in my post about Day 4 at Eastern Mojave. The original post went on to aver that I must "beat" Hoss to get him to go at all, to even get him out of camp and on the trail. Subsequent posts went on to assert Hoss only goes out of fear and doesn't like his job.
Many individuals responded to this thread. Nearly all respondents assumed the observations of the original poster (and another individual who did, indeed, call me between Death Valley and Bumble Bee) were absolute truth with no consideration given to the fact the other side had not been presented. At least one person pointed out I couldn't exactly jump on and defend myself without opening myself to attack, and exposing myself to further action.
I did not, initially, recognize myself in the post. In fact, I almost posted on the thread to point out that whoever was being discussed was being rather unfairly maligned. We cannot know what is in the mind of another individual, and even if we don't like what someone else does, we don't get to define it as wrong. I have seen plenty of things I disagree with, but my position is, it ain't my horse, and if the horse isn't being harmed, it's none of my business.
What disturbed me most was the responses from riders and others who have ridden with me or seen me on trail, opining my horse must be foot sore or his tack not fit, or if the respondent was still a ride manager, I would be disqualified. All of this without ever concerning themselves with knowing the other side of the story.
After a complicated mess which resulted in me taking another horse to 20 Mule Team for the 35 (details in the blog about that ride), I ended up speaking with an AERC board member. The conversation, from my perspective, was quite frustrating. I got the distinct impression this person had come to a conclusion and was solely interested in convincing me I am an abuser.
One of the incidents brought up occurred at Death Valley last year (2012 ride year). I have no memory of the incident in question, but evidently I was lunging Hoss after a ride day. I was whacking him in the butt with the whip because he wouldn't go. This person saw us, and asked me if he hadn't done enough already, and said he "looked tired." Not remembering this incident, I can only say I must have felt I needed to see something. Hoss dislikes lunging, and will dive in on the circle, which I will address by tapping his butt with the whip.
During the course of this conversation, there was nothing I could say that wasn't turned and contorted to this individual's point of view. Maybe his tack doesn't fit (trust me; I know his saddle fits perfectly); maybe he doesn't like his job. Maybe this, maybe that. I got more stories about misbehaving horses that "improved" with a job change than I can count. I was told I should get a different trainer.
In the end, this person just told me I abuse my horse. Obviously that ends the conversation. There's nowhere to go from there. I was told I would start being denied entry "for cause," and it was suggested I'd better not bring Hoss to any rides, at least for a while.
The distinction between "abuse" and "not abuse" is fine. I see it this way: A corrective action being taken with a horse, which the horse can gain relief from/cause to stop by behaving properly is acceptable. "Abuse" is when an action is taken from which the horse cannot find surcease through any change in behavior or action.
What I do to correct Hoss's behavior does not rise to the level of abuse. It is not abuse to require him to do his job and do it correctly. His stubbornness and insistence on continuing to try my patience does not transform my corrections into abuse.
I expect my horse to behave himself, under any and all circumstances. I expect him to stand quietly for the vet, walk when I ask, and trot when I ask. It's not too much. I have carefully conditioned him to meet the demands of our sport, and make sure he gets plenty of variety. He gives lessons to youngsters, goes to shows, and goes to gymkhanas. He is well rounded and by no means mentally frayed. He lives in a large pasture with lots of stimulation, including getting the watch the neighbors put a new roof on their house last month.
It would pay to remember I know my horse best. I know if I let him get away with a little thing, later it will be a big thing. I'm not going to put up with poor behavior just because someone thinks I'm too hard on my horse. If he has the energy to misbehave (try to bolt, calling, not going forward), he has the energy to behave, too.
My expectations of my horses are higher, by my observation, than what most endurance riders expect. Where other horses are allowed to call, kick, bite, threaten other horses/people, shove their way in to the water, etc., I expect my horse to be polite, let me know if he's unhappy with the proximity of another horse, and wait patiently for his turn at the water trough. It's not that hard. I don't really care if other people let their horses be undisciplined, so long as they don't harm me, so I expect the same level of respect for my personal desires.
Hoss has several traits that make him a challenge to ride. He's opinionated, stubborn, smart, and strong. These same traits make him an excellent endurance horse. When I see the horses blowing down the trail, pulling their riders' arms out of their sockets, I see horses that will be lame, burned out, and unmanageable in a short period. By contrast, Hoss considers what is ahead of him, pays attention, and keeps a reserve for use later. He'll last because, as much as I expect him to behave, he knows I will not ask more of him than he can give, and he is allowed to have some say in the matter. I can't always let him have his way. After all, deciding he wants to be with a particular mare is not conducive to finishing the task at hand. But I can let him tell me what he thinks and take his desires into consideration.
Hoss and I are a team. We support each other and listen to each other. He gets me through in the dark when I can't see, and I get him through when he's feeling low. We complement each other. I'm still the leader, but I'm also his friend, his protector, and his champion. He is my rock, my consistent partner, my reliable friend.
To suggest that I would abuse this horse is appalling and insulting. And that is all I have to say on the matter.
After Eastern Mojave, a post appeared on Ridecamp (a listserve for those interested in distance riding hosted by endurance.net) asking for "advice" on what to do about a rider "abusing" her horse. Although I was not identified by name, enough information was provided to make it very easy to determine exactly who was being discussed.
The particular incident initially brought up was the one I described in my post about Day 4 at Eastern Mojave. The original post went on to aver that I must "beat" Hoss to get him to go at all, to even get him out of camp and on the trail. Subsequent posts went on to assert Hoss only goes out of fear and doesn't like his job.
Many individuals responded to this thread. Nearly all respondents assumed the observations of the original poster (and another individual who did, indeed, call me between Death Valley and Bumble Bee) were absolute truth with no consideration given to the fact the other side had not been presented. At least one person pointed out I couldn't exactly jump on and defend myself without opening myself to attack, and exposing myself to further action.
I did not, initially, recognize myself in the post. In fact, I almost posted on the thread to point out that whoever was being discussed was being rather unfairly maligned. We cannot know what is in the mind of another individual, and even if we don't like what someone else does, we don't get to define it as wrong. I have seen plenty of things I disagree with, but my position is, it ain't my horse, and if the horse isn't being harmed, it's none of my business.
What disturbed me most was the responses from riders and others who have ridden with me or seen me on trail, opining my horse must be foot sore or his tack not fit, or if the respondent was still a ride manager, I would be disqualified. All of this without ever concerning themselves with knowing the other side of the story.
After a complicated mess which resulted in me taking another horse to 20 Mule Team for the 35 (details in the blog about that ride), I ended up speaking with an AERC board member. The conversation, from my perspective, was quite frustrating. I got the distinct impression this person had come to a conclusion and was solely interested in convincing me I am an abuser.
One of the incidents brought up occurred at Death Valley last year (2012 ride year). I have no memory of the incident in question, but evidently I was lunging Hoss after a ride day. I was whacking him in the butt with the whip because he wouldn't go. This person saw us, and asked me if he hadn't done enough already, and said he "looked tired." Not remembering this incident, I can only say I must have felt I needed to see something. Hoss dislikes lunging, and will dive in on the circle, which I will address by tapping his butt with the whip.
During the course of this conversation, there was nothing I could say that wasn't turned and contorted to this individual's point of view. Maybe his tack doesn't fit (trust me; I know his saddle fits perfectly); maybe he doesn't like his job. Maybe this, maybe that. I got more stories about misbehaving horses that "improved" with a job change than I can count. I was told I should get a different trainer.
In the end, this person just told me I abuse my horse. Obviously that ends the conversation. There's nowhere to go from there. I was told I would start being denied entry "for cause," and it was suggested I'd better not bring Hoss to any rides, at least for a while.
The distinction between "abuse" and "not abuse" is fine. I see it this way: A corrective action being taken with a horse, which the horse can gain relief from/cause to stop by behaving properly is acceptable. "Abuse" is when an action is taken from which the horse cannot find surcease through any change in behavior or action.
What I do to correct Hoss's behavior does not rise to the level of abuse. It is not abuse to require him to do his job and do it correctly. His stubbornness and insistence on continuing to try my patience does not transform my corrections into abuse.
I expect my horse to behave himself, under any and all circumstances. I expect him to stand quietly for the vet, walk when I ask, and trot when I ask. It's not too much. I have carefully conditioned him to meet the demands of our sport, and make sure he gets plenty of variety. He gives lessons to youngsters, goes to shows, and goes to gymkhanas. He is well rounded and by no means mentally frayed. He lives in a large pasture with lots of stimulation, including getting the watch the neighbors put a new roof on their house last month.
It would pay to remember I know my horse best. I know if I let him get away with a little thing, later it will be a big thing. I'm not going to put up with poor behavior just because someone thinks I'm too hard on my horse. If he has the energy to misbehave (try to bolt, calling, not going forward), he has the energy to behave, too.
My expectations of my horses are higher, by my observation, than what most endurance riders expect. Where other horses are allowed to call, kick, bite, threaten other horses/people, shove their way in to the water, etc., I expect my horse to be polite, let me know if he's unhappy with the proximity of another horse, and wait patiently for his turn at the water trough. It's not that hard. I don't really care if other people let their horses be undisciplined, so long as they don't harm me, so I expect the same level of respect for my personal desires.
Hoss has several traits that make him a challenge to ride. He's opinionated, stubborn, smart, and strong. These same traits make him an excellent endurance horse. When I see the horses blowing down the trail, pulling their riders' arms out of their sockets, I see horses that will be lame, burned out, and unmanageable in a short period. By contrast, Hoss considers what is ahead of him, pays attention, and keeps a reserve for use later. He'll last because, as much as I expect him to behave, he knows I will not ask more of him than he can give, and he is allowed to have some say in the matter. I can't always let him have his way. After all, deciding he wants to be with a particular mare is not conducive to finishing the task at hand. But I can let him tell me what he thinks and take his desires into consideration.
Hoss and I are a team. We support each other and listen to each other. He gets me through in the dark when I can't see, and I get him through when he's feeling low. We complement each other. I'm still the leader, but I'm also his friend, his protector, and his champion. He is my rock, my consistent partner, my reliable friend.
To suggest that I would abuse this horse is appalling and insulting. And that is all I have to say on the matter.
2013 Eastern Mojave Scenic, Day 4
Hoss was plenty ready to go on Day 4. While I was still wrapping up my morning duties, he started calling and getting worked up because other horses were saddled and moving about. He managed to convince me I was late. I scurried about and got him saddled up, only to realize while I was leading him up to put our crew bag in the trailer that we were 10 minutes early! Okay, so we warmed up wandering around camp.
It was finally time to start and we rode out of camp to start the day. We ended up pretty close behind another pair of horses for a time, all through the burro canyon. Once the trail opened up, the other horses quickly left us behind and we were on our own at last.
By this time, Hoss had gotten into his head he should get to stop and graze anytime he pleased. Knowing there was plenty of hay for him back at camp, I objected to this idea, and we ended up having a bit of a problem over it during the ride. He'd see grass and ask to stop. I'd say no and keep him moving. The next time, he wouldn't ask before slowing or pulling to the side of the trail to snatch a bite. I had to be really on the ball to keep him moving forward.
This bit of disagreement set the tone for much of the day. While we weren't exactly fighting, we were definitely not on the same page all the time. And sometimes, when he finds himself being thwarted, rather than simply go to work, Hoss will spend more time on defiant behavior.
That was definitely true during this ride day. He was keeping a pretty good pace, but he was certainly coming up with every excuse he could think of to do something other than simply move on down the trail. This did eventually set us up for a fight.
We were heading up hill and had just passed two other horses. For reasons not relevant now, I was uninterested in staying with those riders and just wanted to get on down the trail. Hoss had found himself the perfect opportunity to practice Not Doing What He's Told. He dislikes moving out uphill. He dislikes leaving other horses behind him. And he thought he should get to slow down, graze, or stay with the other horses if he wanted to, thank yew very much. So he was trotting, but he wasn't going in a forward manner, meaning he wasn't engaging his hindquarters to propel him forward.
A horse that is not moving forward is moving improperly. Allowed to continue in the manner, a horse is far likelier to become lame earlier in life. With Hoss's conformational challenges, if he doesn't move as he should, he'll be lame even sooner than a better put together horse would be. So it's important to me that he do what he should, and I'm not about to accept anything less.
I hadn't needed the whip up until this point, but now it was time to bust it out. Picking it up will usually cause Hoss to pay attention and do what he's supposed to, but not today. He ignored that I'd picked up the whip. I waved it at him, letting him know he'd better get his butt in gear. I got "the finger." I waved it at him harder. When that failed, I struck him over the rump with the whip. He took five steps in a forward manner and fell back off. Rinse, repeat. I think we went through this about five times, plus twice he dropped to a walk and I used the increasingly forceful barrel kick technique to get him moving again.
It isn't unusual for Hoss to get worse before he gets better. He is a Mustang. It took eleven months to break him in. He's just about as stubborn as they come. So I have to out-stubborn him, and it isn't easy. It means I cannot give up on anything I ask him. If I ask, I cannot back off, ever. He has to do it, pretty much no matter what.
It took some doing, but by the time we made the next turn Hoss had acquiesced to doing it "my" way.
Other horses caught up to us after a time, and Hoss used them as motivation for a while. I wanted to let them go, because the riders were pretty much letting them do whatever they wanted, and Hoss decided he should get to do whatever those horses were doing. So, if the rider let the horse stop and lick the snow, Hoss thought he should get to stop. It was a little frustrating. I used it as a "training moment," and managed to keep him moving at one point at which those two horses were stopped to graze.
I managed to get away from the other horses and we spent much of the rest of the ride largely alone. Hoss did get worse than usual about horses behind him, slowing earlier than usual when other horses started catching up. I would get after him a bit with heels and whip, since what I'd really like is for him to maintain his speed until I ask him to slow down to allow others to pass. That's a long term problem.
Despite our difficulties and our little spat, we finished in very good time on day 4. When we got back to camp, I discovered the promised bale of hay next to my tent. I began rolling it to the back of the trailer, much to Hoss's delight and excitement. He watched that bale eagerly. I managed to get it past him and into the trailer where I could pop it and throw out two flakes to a very grateful horse.
It was finally time to start and we rode out of camp to start the day. We ended up pretty close behind another pair of horses for a time, all through the burro canyon. Once the trail opened up, the other horses quickly left us behind and we were on our own at last.
By this time, Hoss had gotten into his head he should get to stop and graze anytime he pleased. Knowing there was plenty of hay for him back at camp, I objected to this idea, and we ended up having a bit of a problem over it during the ride. He'd see grass and ask to stop. I'd say no and keep him moving. The next time, he wouldn't ask before slowing or pulling to the side of the trail to snatch a bite. I had to be really on the ball to keep him moving forward.
This bit of disagreement set the tone for much of the day. While we weren't exactly fighting, we were definitely not on the same page all the time. And sometimes, when he finds himself being thwarted, rather than simply go to work, Hoss will spend more time on defiant behavior.
That was definitely true during this ride day. He was keeping a pretty good pace, but he was certainly coming up with every excuse he could think of to do something other than simply move on down the trail. This did eventually set us up for a fight.
We were heading up hill and had just passed two other horses. For reasons not relevant now, I was uninterested in staying with those riders and just wanted to get on down the trail. Hoss had found himself the perfect opportunity to practice Not Doing What He's Told. He dislikes moving out uphill. He dislikes leaving other horses behind him. And he thought he should get to slow down, graze, or stay with the other horses if he wanted to, thank yew very much. So he was trotting, but he wasn't going in a forward manner, meaning he wasn't engaging his hindquarters to propel him forward.
A horse that is not moving forward is moving improperly. Allowed to continue in the manner, a horse is far likelier to become lame earlier in life. With Hoss's conformational challenges, if he doesn't move as he should, he'll be lame even sooner than a better put together horse would be. So it's important to me that he do what he should, and I'm not about to accept anything less.
I hadn't needed the whip up until this point, but now it was time to bust it out. Picking it up will usually cause Hoss to pay attention and do what he's supposed to, but not today. He ignored that I'd picked up the whip. I waved it at him, letting him know he'd better get his butt in gear. I got "the finger." I waved it at him harder. When that failed, I struck him over the rump with the whip. He took five steps in a forward manner and fell back off. Rinse, repeat. I think we went through this about five times, plus twice he dropped to a walk and I used the increasingly forceful barrel kick technique to get him moving again.
It isn't unusual for Hoss to get worse before he gets better. He is a Mustang. It took eleven months to break him in. He's just about as stubborn as they come. So I have to out-stubborn him, and it isn't easy. It means I cannot give up on anything I ask him. If I ask, I cannot back off, ever. He has to do it, pretty much no matter what.
It took some doing, but by the time we made the next turn Hoss had acquiesced to doing it "my" way.
Other horses caught up to us after a time, and Hoss used them as motivation for a while. I wanted to let them go, because the riders were pretty much letting them do whatever they wanted, and Hoss decided he should get to do whatever those horses were doing. So, if the rider let the horse stop and lick the snow, Hoss thought he should get to stop. It was a little frustrating. I used it as a "training moment," and managed to keep him moving at one point at which those two horses were stopped to graze.
I managed to get away from the other horses and we spent much of the rest of the ride largely alone. Hoss did get worse than usual about horses behind him, slowing earlier than usual when other horses started catching up. I would get after him a bit with heels and whip, since what I'd really like is for him to maintain his speed until I ask him to slow down to allow others to pass. That's a long term problem.
Despite our difficulties and our little spat, we finished in very good time on day 4. When we got back to camp, I discovered the promised bale of hay next to my tent. I began rolling it to the back of the trailer, much to Hoss's delight and excitement. He watched that bale eagerly. I managed to get it past him and into the trailer where I could pop it and throw out two flakes to a very grateful horse.
2013 Eastern Mojave Scenic Day 3
Late in the night, I could hear the shushing sound of snow on the tent. I was snug enough in my cocoon of sleeping bags. Hoss was comfortable in his heavy blanket.
I got up early enough to get Hoss fed and my breakfast and lunch made. Then we got saddled up and hit the trail.
Hoss, like most horses, is a fan of cold weather. He likes to get up and move when it's cold. He was quite the handful getting out of camp. We started out okay, walking pleasantly, until we hit the road outside of camp and he wanted to just run his legs off.
I spent quite a lot of energy on keeping Hoss in hand until we caught up to Randy Cowin and Assad riding with Jackie Bumgardner riding Fire Mt Zane. Hoss really likes Assad, so I was able to use Assad's presence to get Hoss to behave himself. I didn't mind riding with Randy and Jackie. So long as Hoss didn't get stupid about Zane, we would be fine.
Most of the time, Hoss dislikes having other horses behind him. Assad is an exception. Hoss doesn't mind at all having Assad follow him. So what wound up happening was, Zane would be in the lead, then Hoss, and Assad behind us. Except Hoss couldn't really keep up with Zane's pace. So Zane would end up getting way ahead of us, while Assad and Hoss cheerfully kept to their happy pace and watched him leave. At one point Jackie and Zane got so far ahead we thought she'd hooked up with different riders and left Randy with me.
We alternated walking and trotting, and stayed pretty much in a loose group throughout the day. Approaching the vet check, Randy and I decided to dismount pretty early. Hoss recovers better if I get off and walk him the last quarter mile or so in to the check. It gives him a chance to relax and prepare for rest and recovery.
After I dismounted, I removed Hoss's bit. I was chatting with Randy while I was disconnecting the reins. When I pulled the reins over Hoss's neck, I gave it a bit too vigorous a pull and the snap whipped over his neck and whapped me in the face right in the sunglasses. It got my cheekbone, but thankfully the sunglasses I was wearing protected my eye. Darn thing hurt bad enough as it was!
We found a place to hide out from the wind behind a truck and trailer for our hold. Hoss ate his bran mash and had a little bit of hay, but it was less than he would usually have eaten during a hold. Still, he was okay and there was more hay back at camp. Also, Randy was leaving the next day, and had picked up a bale of hay which he was not going to need. He gave that bale to us, a great relief.
After the vet check, we continued on through some very pretty countryside. We passed what's called "Hole in the Rock," which I got on video pretty well. Much of the last several miles was along the highway and thus less interesting.
We made it back into camp. Knowing I'd have plenty of hay for Hoss, I gave him a bunch of what I'd gotten from Heidi. Just one more day to go!
I got up early enough to get Hoss fed and my breakfast and lunch made. Then we got saddled up and hit the trail.
Hoss, like most horses, is a fan of cold weather. He likes to get up and move when it's cold. He was quite the handful getting out of camp. We started out okay, walking pleasantly, until we hit the road outside of camp and he wanted to just run his legs off.
I spent quite a lot of energy on keeping Hoss in hand until we caught up to Randy Cowin and Assad riding with Jackie Bumgardner riding Fire Mt Zane. Hoss really likes Assad, so I was able to use Assad's presence to get Hoss to behave himself. I didn't mind riding with Randy and Jackie. So long as Hoss didn't get stupid about Zane, we would be fine.
Most of the time, Hoss dislikes having other horses behind him. Assad is an exception. Hoss doesn't mind at all having Assad follow him. So what wound up happening was, Zane would be in the lead, then Hoss, and Assad behind us. Except Hoss couldn't really keep up with Zane's pace. So Zane would end up getting way ahead of us, while Assad and Hoss cheerfully kept to their happy pace and watched him leave. At one point Jackie and Zane got so far ahead we thought she'd hooked up with different riders and left Randy with me.
We alternated walking and trotting, and stayed pretty much in a loose group throughout the day. Approaching the vet check, Randy and I decided to dismount pretty early. Hoss recovers better if I get off and walk him the last quarter mile or so in to the check. It gives him a chance to relax and prepare for rest and recovery.
After I dismounted, I removed Hoss's bit. I was chatting with Randy while I was disconnecting the reins. When I pulled the reins over Hoss's neck, I gave it a bit too vigorous a pull and the snap whipped over his neck and whapped me in the face right in the sunglasses. It got my cheekbone, but thankfully the sunglasses I was wearing protected my eye. Darn thing hurt bad enough as it was!
We found a place to hide out from the wind behind a truck and trailer for our hold. Hoss ate his bran mash and had a little bit of hay, but it was less than he would usually have eaten during a hold. Still, he was okay and there was more hay back at camp. Also, Randy was leaving the next day, and had picked up a bale of hay which he was not going to need. He gave that bale to us, a great relief.
After the vet check, we continued on through some very pretty countryside. We passed what's called "Hole in the Rock," which I got on video pretty well. Much of the last several miles was along the highway and thus less interesting.
We made it back into camp. Knowing I'd have plenty of hay for Hoss, I gave him a bunch of what I'd gotten from Heidi. Just one more day to go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)