Best of Both 50

Since I missed several weeks of lessons due to various weather conditions and illnesses on my part and my trainer's, I decided to take our lesson in Imperial Beach before heading out to base camp. It took me longer to get everything loaded than I would have liked, so I missed my Turbo-Kick class. This diet I'm on for my gall bladder requires much more preparation time than usual. In the past I'd just buy prepared stuff I could heat up or just eat out of the box. That's not an option on this diet, and since the diet is helping, I clearly had to just do what needed done. This involves a good deal of cutting up fruits and vegetables to take along.

We went to IB and took our lesson, which went very well. We worked on getting Hoss's hips moving more appropriately and getting me to stop "riding" so hard, and keep riding when I need to. We're still working on the long and low moving, which Hoss is doing very well in the arena, not so easy to get him to do on the trail. As soon as we go in the arena, he drops his head. On trail, though, he tends to go more head up. I think he's not feeling like I'm "leading" well on trail, so that's what I need to work on.

After our lesson, we loaded back up and headed up through the Laguna Mountains to the Lucky 5 Ranch. On our way through Laguna, I could see the thunderstorm that had hit moving out. While driving through the town of Laguna, there was a smattering of snow on the ground. Snow! It's the end of September for heaven's sake!

We arrived at Lucky 5 Ranch and found a place to camp. The ranch is absolutely beautiful. The owner was gracious enough to allow Terry Woolley-Howe to use her land as a base camp for this ride. We were in the middle of a pasture, so there was a good deal of plant life. I got Hoss unloaded and gave him water. It was getting late so I walked him over to the ride management area to pick up my packet and vet through. The vet gave him an A- on skin, because of those ugly girth galls he's got. Having ridden Hoss in a lesson, though, I was confident I could keep them from getting any worse.

After I got back to the trailer, I gave Hoss a nice sloppy bran mash and his alfalfa for dinner. I set up my tent and got an air mattress set up. It wasn't easy, because the dry plant life was quite stubborn. I tried to mash the plant life down, but really didn't get far with that. I got my stove out and my picnic table. I'd managed to leave all my chairs at home, so the only seating I had was the picnic table. This is fine, because it gave me a place to set things up anyway. I got my saddle ready with water and Gatorade, my map, directions and vet card, electrolytes for Hoss, my jacket and some granola bars and fruit snacks and sunscreen.

Once I was done with all that, it was time for the ride meeting. I headed on over and sat with Evelyn of Just For Horsin-Around to visit until the meeting started. I knew what to expect at the meeting, but it's always a good thing to go anyway. As expected, criteria for all out vet checks were set at 56. It's a bit frustrating for me with a heavily-muscled horse. These bigger guys simply take longer to come down. And with his recent layup, Hoss has lost enough cardio fitness to make it even harder. We were going to have to ride slow to make criteria and we'd be chasing cut-off times all day. Additionally, the way the trail got set up, we ended up with a long (21 miles) first loop, followed by two short loops (7 miles and 10 miles), and a mid-distance (12 miles) final loop. Short loops are much harder for Hoss. It takes him longer to recover after a short loop than after a long loop.

After heating up a can of soup and putting together a salad, I sat down and ate while the night settled in. I went to bed early, lying down to read a couple of magazines and my book. By 9:00 I was ready to go to sleep. I turned off my light and lay down. It took me a while to get comfortable. And then, my air mattress suddenly and rapidly lost air. Something under the tent had punctured it. I was forced to get my memory foam out, fold it in half, and use that as a mattress. Fortunately the ground was soft enough I was comfortable enough.

I got up at 4:00 to feed Hoss his breakfast and then lay back down until 5:30. Once I got up for good, I dressed for the ride. I've now lost enough weight that I'm able to wear the funky lycra tights Evelyn made for me last year. They're still a little tight around my calves, but I expect that has more to do with muscle than weight. Other than that, they fit me quite nicely and are comfortable to wear.

I made my breakfast of fruit and scrambled eggs, then saddled Hoss up and got ready to make the 6:30 start. I always start just a little late. I don't want to get caught up with the hot shoes. Hoss can't keep up with them and he gets frustrated by being passed by faster horses. It's easier to start toward the back and not struggle with him when he's passed. It's something we'll have to work on.

Passing through a meadow at the top of Cuyamaca

We were doing pretty well until a little grey arab mare passed us up. Hoss got heavy on the bit and I had to circle him several times to keep his attention on me. Fortunately we started on a very wide road, making it possible to use the circling technique to correct his behavior. Narrow trails are much more difficult to deal with.

Hoss got locked on that mare and we were chasing her. Fortunately it turned out this mare was coming back after a lay off, so they weren't going terribly fast. Just fast enough to keep ahead of Hoss! Once the mare started to feel a little tired, she'd slow down and we'd be able to catch up.

We turned off the road out of the ranch on to the trails at the back of Cuyamaca. We entered on Deer Springs Road and turned onto West Mesa Fire Road. It was beautiful out there. Most of this early trail was good enough to trot on. Once we got on Harvey Moore there was less trottable trail, but we still were making a good clip. We turned on the Connector to Juaquapin trail, and that's where my trouble started. At about mile 8, I felt something sting me on the back of my left thigh. I stopped Hoss to try to figure out what was going on, and a yellow jacket flew away. Dammit. I'd been stung but good. Still, I've never had a severe reaction to a yellow jacket sting (I've been stung twice before), so I felt comfortable going on. Well, maybe "comfortable" is not the word for it. It hurt and swelled rapidly to the size of a golf ball. I didn't feel I needed to turn off and seek immediate aide, but "comfortable" I was not!

There was water at about the 12 mile mark. Since the first vet check was so far into the ride, I decided to go ahead and electrolyte Hoss at this point. He had taken a good drink, so I felt it was a good time. It was the first time I ever forcibly electrolyted him, and he was surprised. When I slipped the bit back in his mouth, he was still holding the electrolytes in his mouth and got some spit out. I figure he got most of it, though.

We continued on up the wide trail we were on (can't for the life of me remember what fire road it was), then turned off on Soapstone. Soapstone is steep and rocky. It's a tough bit of trail. Hoss was egged on by the mare in front of him, until her rider dismounted and led her the last half of the grade. I might have been inclined to walk as well, but my leg was really starting to ache and I didn't feel like I could walk any distance.

Following the grey mare being led up Soapstone

At the top of Soapstone, there was more water and we stopped to let the horses drink. We were caught up by Rebecca Florio and Elfta Hilzman. I mentioned the yellow jacket sting, and Rebecca, bless her, gave me a Benadryl. We continued on the California Riding and Hiking Trail, passing out of Cuyamaca and into Anza Borrego.

On the CRHT behind the grey mare, Rebecca and Elfta

After riding through the corner of Anza, we turned back into Cuyamaca, still on the CRHT. Rebecca and Elfta fell back, and I wanted to stay with them, as Hoss is much more evenly matched with Rebecca's horse than the little grey mare we'd been with, but he wasn't having it. As soon as that mare took off, it was all I could do to keep him from taking off at a dead gallop after her. The head vet, Fred Beasom, always makes the point that, as riders, we're the adults and the horses are like 4-year-old children. Well, that only works so far. When the 4-year-old is 950 pounds, he's gonna win from time to time.

At a high point on the PCT

We picked up the Pacific Crest Trail across the highway. We came through an area that is used by hang gliders. I was rather alarmed by the number of memorial plaques that had been placed for people who had died hang gliding in the area. Why do people do that if it's that dangerous? I don't get it.

We came into the first vet check at a trail head next to the highway. I would usually slow down the last mile into the vet check, but the others we were riding with weren't slowing down and Hoss wasn't going to be left behind. Again, 950 pounds is going to overcome me at some point and it wasn't like I was in any condition to walk! I would have walked if I could.

It took Hoss almost ten minutes to come down. We were well enough within the cut off time it wasn't a problem, and I was neither alarmed nor surprised it took him that much time to come down. Once he was down, I handed him off to a volunteer so I could go use the facilities. I had needed to pee since about mile 3. When I got back, I saw he was eating out of a bran mash bucket and was a little alarmed. Often those bran mashes have grain in them, and he's allergic to oats. I hadn't mentioned what not to let him have to the volunteer I'd handed him to, a mistake I quickly learned from. Fortunately the mash he was eating was grain free.

By this point the swelling of the sting on my leg had gotten considerably larger. I wasn't in extreme pain, but it was getting hard to walk. I vetted Hoss through toward the end of the hold and gave him his second dose of electrolytes. He really thought that was a dirty trick! He didn't fight me about it, but he wasn't happy with me. We ended up leaving five minutes late, but we got back on trail.

We were alone at this point, but Hoss picked up a reasonable trot. After a brief time, another horse – a 30 miler – caught us up and wanted by. They were going considerably faster than us and hadn't come nearly so far. We were now on narrow, steep sided single track trail. Now when Hoss wanted to pitch a fit, there was little I could do to correct him. Boy, did he ever figure that out in a hurry! He knew I couldn't circle him. He knew my options were limited. So he started acting up. He did learn if he started hollering, I could reach forward with the whip and whack him on the nose.

We re-crossed the highway and we could see Rebecca and Elfta ahead of us again. Hoss wanted nothing more than to catch up. At this point the trail had some treacherous areas and Hoss really needed to pay attention. I spent a lot of time talking to him and downright growling at him to keep his attention where it needed to be.

The 30 mile horse got past Elfta and Rebecca and we caught up to them. Hoss settled down to the pace they were keeping, now separated from the faster 30 miler. He really does like Rebecca's horse.

This loop was very short. We came into the vet check with half an hour to spare and Hoss proceeded to hang his heart rate. I could see from his attitude he needed to pee, but he wasn't doing it. He took a good drink and ate for a bit. I took him back to the water and waited with him, and he finally peed! His heart rate immediately following that was 36. It took just about 20 minutes for him to come down.

Hoss and Rebecca Florio's Lee share a pile of hay

This was the hour hold, so I got him some food and found someone to watch him while I got some lunch and used the facilities. He was once again with Rebecca's and Elfta's horses, so he was happy.

By this time my leg had swollen a great deal more. The skin had become shiny from the level of swelling and now I was limping. It was also a rather nasty bright red color.

I started getting Hoss ready to go with every intention of leaving the vet check exactly on time. I took him back to the water for one last drink before putting his bit back in. Several other horses were preparing to leave as well, including Tammy Robinson, who was just a few minutes behind us time-wise. I mounted up and Hoss decided he wasn't done having a drink. One thing he has definitely learned is I won't make him go on if he's drinking. So he stuck his head in the bucket and sipped, and when he pulled his head out I asked him to move. Oh, no, Mom, I'm still thirsty! Back into the bucket went his head. He sipped a little more. After a few repetitions, he'd stick his head in but wasn't drinking. I made him get his butt back out on the trail.

We were now behind Tammy Robinson, with about ten miles to the next vet check and two hours to get there and be down to criteria. So we were on the hustle on this loop. Being behind an arab was nice. Kept Hoss moving out.

There were many rocky sections that were unsuitable for trotting over. Because of time constraints, we trotted over some questionable areas and walked over the really nasty stuff.

We got back to the highway and stopped to let the horses drink. There was a sign on the water bucket that said ¾ mile to the vet check. This did not square with the mileage on my GPS, and it certainly didn't feel like we'd come that far. It seemed like we had more like 3 miles to go. Additionally, that same sign had been on a water bucket before the first vet check, and it was entirely possible it was inaccurate. Tammy and I chose to believe we had another three miles to go and hustled once we crossed the highway.

I can't remember where I took this, but it sure is pretty.

What a mistake. The bucket sign had been accurate. We came trotting into the vet check. Once again, Hoss's heart rate was hanging. I mentioned earlier he's lost some cardio fitness. It was really showing by this point. We came into the vet check at 3:00, half an hour to go to cut off. It took 25 minutes and a great deal of sponging to get Hoss's heart rate down to criteria, and when I took him to the vet ten minutes later it hadn't dropped any further.

I was really in pain from my sting by this time. The swelling was clearly visible through my tights. One of the vets commented I looked like I was lame. I told her I was!

I gave Hoss his last dose of electrolytes, and he was really unhappy about it. Electrolyte paste was dribbling out of his mouth. Because it took so long for Hoss to recover we were the last out of the vet check. Hoss didn't want to leave. It took a little doing, but once we got going he was okay.

At this point in the ride, the trail markings had been sabotaged quite a bit. Many riders got lost as a result. The trail description was little help. Hoss and I were trotting out pretty well until we went through the cowboy gate. When we'd pre-ridden the trail, I had taken the trail to left, but every indication was we should go right. There were trail markers – too high for anyone not on horseback to have placed – up the right trail, but none visible to the left. Turns out the trail description had gotten me "lost" when we pre-rode!

Because we'd pre-rode the other trail and I wasn't feeling terribly confident about our directions, Hoss was getting agitated. He wanted to do the trail we'd done before, figuring it had to be right. I was unsure enough I'm sure I was feeding him somewhat negative energy. Once I saw another trail marker and felt confident, he moved out better.

Then we got off track again. Enough mountain bikes had come through between us and the horses in front of us to obscure the horse tracks on the trail, and I directed Hoss down the wrong trail. I found our way back, but I was once again unsure. This really agitated Hoss, and he mashed my knee into a tree. My left knee. Now I had a sting and a smashed knee! That really annoyed me. Then the next tree close to the trail, he did it again! It didn't help that my left leg was weak and I was having trouble using it to cue him by that point. I whacked him a couple of times to let him know what I thought of those shenanigans. The next tree he behaved himself better. Of course by then we'd come across more trail markers and I was once again confident we were on the right path.

We were all alone out there at this point. Hoss was trying very hard to convince me he was just too tired to keep going. This was difficult to pass off on me when his ears were perked forward. I couldn't keep him consistently trotting faster than 6 mph, though. I really would have preferred to get 7 mph, but it wasn't going to happen.

When we got to Noble Canyon trail, we were forced to slow down much more often. Once again the trail was quite rocky. We had to trot every stretch we could, even if it was only five strides. I started singing choir songs aloud to help Hoss out a little bit. He seems to like it when I sing. His step certainly picked up while I was belting out "Amani Utupe."

We came around to the bottom of Indian Creek trail. I didn't want to get off and hand jump Hoss over the stream. With my leg in the condition it was in, I wasn't positive I could get back on. So, hoping the previous time by had taught him something, I started urging him to jump. After a little cajoling, he went ahead and jumped. I gave him a pat and told him what a good boy he was. He promptly dropped his head and snatched some grass to eat.

We started up the jeep road and came to water at the top. Hoss stopped for a drink. After he got a good drink I started getting him moving. Once again he used the "but I'm still drinking" excuse to try to stay where we were. He's getting good at this. I got him moving on. We didn't have time to fool around!

The trail from here back to the ranch was rocky and evil. We trotted as much as possible, but it is largely uphill, which Hoss absolutely hates. We got to the top with a spectacular view and more water. Hoss stuck his head in the bucket but didn't drink. He just wanted to stop. I let him hang out long enough to get a couple of pictures and let him breath, but we had to keep going. We continued on our way and started downhill, where we could see camp at the bottom of the hill.

The view from the top

Hoss was really unhappy about going forward by this time. I guess he couldn't tell that was camp up ahead. I was pushing for every trot step. And then a pair of riders who'd gotten lost caught up to us. As soon as they were caught up, Hoss found plenty of energy. I know if he was truly tired he would have let them pass and kept to his own pace. He wouldn't have liked it, but he wouldn't have pushed himself, either. We've been in that situation before.

The riders of the other two horses were off and running with their horses. I couldn't do that. No chance. The swelling from the sting had spread down through the back of my knee, limiting the range of motion. At this point it was pretty constantly painful. If my gall bladder was giving me any trouble, I couldn't tell. Its messages were being drowned out by the messages from my leg.

When the other riders got back on and started trotting, they were far faster than Hoss could reliably go. And I really mean far, far faster. I expect they were trotting 10mph or better, and downhill. I had to forcibly haul Hoss back and circle him several times before I could get him to stay down to a walk the rest of the way in to camp. We finished at 6:15, with 15 minutes to spare.

I got Hoss back to the trailer, gave him a nice sloppy bran mash and cleaned him up. At this point I could just get around. I had to walk to a water trough to get Hoss a bucket of water. While he was eating and recovering, I started pulling down camp. I didn't bother to put things away properly. I was just to uncomfortable. Once I got everything put away, I took Hoss for his completion.

One of the two horses that had caught up to us at the end was also coming in to present. The vet was doing BC, so we had to wait for him to finish. The other horse was quite spunky and kept threatening to either bite or kick Hoss. Poor Hoss didn't like that at all. I suspect that has a lot to do with his heart rate being 60 when we vetted out, but I know his loss of condition is a factor as well.

I took Hoss back and we loaded up and left for home. I ate a banana and a granola bar on the road. When we got home, I almost couldn't move my left leg. I had to manually lift my leg off the seat and out of the truck. The first several steps I had to lean on the truck until I get my leg under me. Fortunately my son was home and he helped me get Hoss put up.

All in all, a good ride. It was a challenge but doable. I certainly hope Terry will be able to do this one again.