Conditioning Ride 5-10-11

HR: 40

HRR: 56

HR 10min: 40

Distance: 8 miles

Avg Speed: 4 mph

 

After my last ride, I realized that Hoss really needs to have boots on for riding, at least for now. I'm hoping eliminating the grain in his diet – which I added shortly before his last trim – will help keep him from being so foot sore. So I was contemplating this need to get him in four boots yesterday. Obviously just fronts are not enough. I thought about it for quite some time and came up with a solution I thought would work.

I still have size 1.5 Gloves. One of the size 1 Gloves is damaged. Although I was able to use it at Eastern Mojave, it's become clear it won't hold up as long as it should. I also have a size 1 Easyboot. Using all four Gloves wouldn't work. I only have three gaiters. So before riding, I gathered up the boots and went to work. I took the gaiter off the damaged size 1 Gloves and put it on the 1.5 that was missing a gaiter. I put power straps on both 1.5 Gloves. I put a power strap on the remaining size 1 Glove.

Once all this prep work was done (at the kitchen table; not a brilliant choice to work on dirty hoof boots), I took the three Gloves and one Easyboot outside. I got a rasp, hammer and a hoof pick, got Hoss out, and went to work. I put the 1.5s on Hoss's front feet. It wasn't easy, but they went on. I put the remaining size 1 Glove on his left hind. I put the Easyboot on his right hind. While I was doing this work, I kept hearing that song from Sesame Street, "one of these things is not like the others/one of these things just doesn't belong."

Booted up and ready to go, I loaded Hoss in the trailer and the dogs in the truck and off we went to try it out at Hollenbeck Canyon.

While saddling up, I started making adjustments to the new saddle. I removed the off side billet and put a latigo in its place. I put my front saddle pack on as well. With the latigo on the off side, it was easier to get the girth right.

Hoss started out on the trail a bit tentative. The tripping/limping I'd noticed on my last ride was gone, but he didn't seem to believe it would last. After we made the first water crossing, though, he started to perk up and wanted to go. I moved him into a trot, which he took up willingly. He wanted to slow down for the rocks, and I encouraged him to keep trotting. He was suspicious, but tried, and seemed to discover that it didn't hurt!

I kept pushing for trotting where it was possible. As we went, Hoss became more and more confident. When we hit our running hill, he took off pretty well, but then tripped pretty badly (hey, I got to test that I can stay in the saddle through some major stuff!), and I could hear a boot off behind. I dismounted and put the Glove back on him. I already knew the size 1s don't fit his hinds well, but it was better than nothing at all.

After getting the boot back on, we set back off at a trot. Evidently working uphill increases the odds he'll toss a size 1 Glove off a hind foot.

Hoss was still feeling more tentative than confident about his feet at this point, but when we turned down past the olive grove, he started to feel better. Of course, he's had a tendency to sand bag me a bit until we get to that point, where we've turned around and are headed back toward the trailer. Still, it was nice to feel him moving forward more confidently.

Halfway down the hill, I noticed the sound of metal flapping about. I didn't think it was likely to be anything on the saddle. In spite of having a fantastic array of clips, D-rings, and leather ties, I really didn't see any reason to think there was anything on the saddle to create this particular sound. I stopped Hoss and looked back at the single Easyboot. Sure enough, the clip had come loose of the cable. The only reason the boot was still on was that the cable had caught on the bottom edge of the mounting hardware, keeping the boot reasonably tight. I dismounted and fixed the problem.

When we reached the flat area, Hoss wanted to go. I pushed him forward into a canter, and he was really having a good time. He did want to slow down earlier than I would normally want him to. I let him slow down, concerned he'd popped a boot off. Once I established all his boots were on properly, I set him back into a trot. After we got through a rocky area, I put him back in a canter. When we slowed down again, I kept him at a trot to the top of the small rise before dropping back to a walk.

After we'd passed through the saddle between two hills, I set Hoss back to trotting on the slight downhill. He was really feeling good now. It helps that we were headed back toward the trailer. When we reached the steeper area, I slowed him to a walk. Once back on flatter ground, I pushed him back into a trot. We trotted all the way back to the water crossing.

Halfway through the water, Hoss stopped for a nice drink. While he was drinking, I could feel the mud under his feet causing him to slip around a bit. On our way out of the water, I felt him jerk a hind foot up. I stopped him once we were on solid ground, and sure enough, the Easyboot was off. I went back and fortunately found it easily. Rather than attempt to put it back on at that point, I put it in my saddle bag and rode back on three boots. It was time to walk, anyway.

When I pulled the saddle, I found Hoss had some dry spots, but they're better than what I've been seeing in the past. Additionally, this saddle sits significantly farther back, giving his shoulder blades more room to move freely. There were no sore spots. I'm thinking the old saddle had started to pinch his shoulders because it needed to be so far forward in order for the gullet not to sit on his withers.

For me, the new saddle is a good fit. The seat fits me nicely, and my legs hang down just right. Even the old saddle, which was a tolerable fit, didn't give me as nice a leg position as this one does.

All things being equal, I think this saddle is a keeper!

Trying Out a New Saddle

About a week ago, I stopped by a little tack store near my physical therapist's office. It's always a little fun to check out new places. This is a new/used/consignment shop.

While I was wandering around, I saw an endurance saddle. I checked the price. $200.00. Humm. It's a nice saddle, although not high-end. I thought it looked like it might fit Hoss, and I was already a little concerned his back had changed enough I needed to get him a different saddle. I didn't do anything about it that day, just tucked the information in the back of my head for future reference.

Fast forward to our ride in the Lagunas, and I was sure. We needed a new saddle. Sure, I could get by with the one we have for quite some time, if I were supremely careful with it. But the knowledge of a saddle sitting in a shop for $200 was there. I stopped back by after my next physical therapy appointment and picked it up.

I was driving my daughter's new-to-her car, due to mystery coolant loss. We had just had the head gasket replaced, and done quite a lot of work on it, so I wanted to be sure things were going well. After having all that work done, I was reluctant to rely on my daughter to know what was going on. When my husband's not home, I'm the designated grease monkey.

I took the car back to our mechanics, who were practically panicking about it. I assured them it hadn't overheated, although I had added nearly a gallon of coolant in the previous twenty-four hours. I hung out while they checked it out. It turned out to be a bad radiator cap. $8.00 later I was on my way.

My daughter needed her car back, and I wanted the Jeep back, so we met for lunch and performed the Great Vehicle Exchange. By the time all was said and done, I got home a little after 2:00pm.

I really wanted to try out the new saddle. I changed into a pair of riding tights, then got Hoss out to try the saddle on. It appeared to fit him quite nicely, but I needed to ride him in it.

I was thinking I had plenty of time. I needed to leave for bell choir rehearsal by 6:00pm, so that left me with a good two hours to ride. I got Hoss loaded up, and the dogs in the truck, and we headed down to Hollenbeck Canyon to try out the new saddle.

It took a little longer than usual to get saddled up. I had to set up the new saddle with a girth and fiddle with things. The stirrups are a bit on the long side for me, but they're as high as they go. If I commit to this saddle, I'll have to have more holes punched in the fenders. It is a little on the larger side for me, being a 17 inch seat, but it's comfortable.

We headed out on the trail, and the first thing I noticed was Hoss carrying his head lower than usual. That's a good sign. He felt relaxed and comfortable, aside from being a bit foot sore. He was really trippy on his left front, and I got off to check the foot. I didn't find anything obvious, but after clearing his frog, he walked better for a time.

We did some trotting, and it was the most relaxed and forward I've felt him in some time. Again, I could tell he was foot sore, but his head position told me a lot.

When we reached the top of the single track trail it dawned on me I'm an idiot. I need to be at bell choir at 6:00. Oh, dear. I didn't have enough time to go as far as I'd like!

With this realization, I headed Hoss along the ridge line trail to cut out much of the trails. I didn't have my GPS (it was just a saddle trial ride; I wasn't considering it a conditioning ride, so the data was irrelevant) so I don't know how many miles I cut out by making this choice, but it was enough to get us back to the trailer in just enough time for me to get home.

Along the ridge line trail, Hoss stepped out nicely. This trail is very soft and forgiving. On the downhill side, he went down much more aggressively and confidently than I've had him go in a long time. Recently it seemed like going downhill, he would use every evasion he could think of not to have to go straight down the hill. This is yet another clue that I had missed that the saddle was creating issues.

When we got back to the harder trails, Hoss slowed down and I felt him being touchy about his feet. I'm thinking he's getting too much grain. Carbohydrates and sugars can increase foot soreness. So I will be cutting back on his grain and see how that changes things.

We got back to the trailer and I untacked him. Aside of evidence of the saddle slipping forward, he had no sore or dry spots. The slipping forward can be easily explained by not being able to get the saddle as tight as I would have liked. The off-side billet is too long for Hoss, so I couldn't tighten the girth enough. Unlike the other saddle when not on tight enough, it did not roll on me, but stayed in the middle of his back.

I drove home as quickly as I could, and didn't bother to back the trailer in properly. After all, we need to do a nice long trail ride to test out that saddle, so I didn't need to unhitch the truck. And since I have the Jeep back, I don't need my truck to go to bell choir. After asking my roommate to feed the animals, I got in the Jeep and rushed to bells, where, while I was late, I wasn't as late as usual.

For our next trick, we'll take that saddle out for a nice long ride!

Conditioning Ride 5-5-11

I finally made it up to Laguna Mountain Recreational Area! It was the first time I've ever been there. I have always heard wonderful things about the area, but had never had the opportunity to get up there.

I loaded Hoss up early in the morning, along with his breakfast. Being a Thursday, I had to first go to my physical therapy appointment. Parking there is entertaining. There are several shady spaces, but they are highly sought after. On this particular day, there was but one shady area left. I had to pull in and back up to put Hoss under the tree.

I got through my physical therapy appointment. My physical therapist is very happy with my progress. She says I'm farther along than she would expect at this point. From my own perspective, if this is as far as I got in terms of range, it would be satisfactory. Yes, it would be great to get better than this, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't get further.

The Laguna Mountain Recreation Area requires a pass. I stopped at a store to pick up a pass and a map. I'd been told the map for the area is pretty poor, but I figured a map with basic identifiers was better than nothing. I asked the guy running the store where was a good place to park, and he indicated a place on the map.

I parked in a turnout at the trail head for Penny Pines. Once I saddled up and put Hoss's front boots on, I led him across the highway and onto the trails.

We started on Noble Canyon Trail. My plan after looking over the map was to head down Noble Canyon to Big Laguna Trail. Unfortunately I missed the turnoff. I wound up riding quite a way down Noble Canyon before I realized I must have missed the turn. Looking at the map, I thought it must be far longer than it was. So I wound up turning around and heading back until I found the turnoff I was looking for.

While I was riding along, I was making a point of marking waypoints. I even remembered to mark the trailhead where the trailer was parked. It would certainly have made finding my way back had I gotten lost quite a bit easier. I really need to get in the habit of marking waypoints on the GPS.

We found the junction to a trail to Big Laguna. Coming along this trail, we came to a gate. What I would think usually would be a cowboy gate (a short gate at the top with a low bar across the bottom to prevent motorized vehicles from entering the trail) was placed a small bridge. It was obviously not suited to horses. Aside from being made from far to light wood, the planks were spaced, which would fool Hoss's eye into seeing a hole rather than a bridge. It's the same principle as cattle guards.

Next to the mini-bridge is a different type of gate. It is constructed of wire. This one uses a T-post to close the gate to the stud. There is a wire wrapped around the T-post at the bottom and top of the post. In order to open the gate, I have to squeeze the top end of the T-post to the stud to remove the top wire, then pull the post out of the bottom loop, releasing the post. Then I get to move the "gate" aside far enough to lead Hoss through. Once he's through, I had to reverse the procedure to close the gate.

We came around a corner into the meadow. What a spectacular area! The pictures really don't do it justice. Big Laguna Trail circumnavigates the two lakes and the meadow. I decided to ride around the meadow and back. I took the turn off to the right to head around the meadow.

The trail is largely flat and rock free, lending itself to good trotting. As much as possible, we trotted, but that darned tripping!

We made it around to a water crossing. Hoss had been in the trailer for some time, so I expected him to be thirsty. When we got to the water, he was being weird about it. Of course, the last water crossing he'd made probably felt a little threatening, having been at the steel bridge and quite deep that day. He stopped at the water's edge and dropped his head for a drink. What a ridiculous position he put himself in! He refused to step into the water before drinking, and the banks were quite steep. I tried to encourage him to step into the water to get a better position, but he wouldn't do it. I could feel one of his front legs shaking. Once he was done drinking, he crossed the water, but gave me a bit of a problem about it. He kept trying to step off into areas that were not good for crossing. He did finally do it my way.

Most of the trail was uneventful, other than trying to help Hoss through the tripping.

We reached another water crossing, and Hoss was giving me a particularly hard time about it. I knew he wasn't afraid of crossing the water, he just didn't want to. He would stand there and tell me he wanted a drink, then try for a bite of grass. I finally managed to boot him through the crossing. He's such a pill sometimes. I know he knows what is expected of him, he just chooses to sandbag me about it.

Once through that crossing, the trail was a little hard to discern. By watching for old bicycle tire tracks and hoofprints, I found our way through. It was clear it went along the fence line.

There were several places where trails headed off Big Laguna that were not on the map. I began to understand why I was told the map was poor. I didn't mark the turns, figuring I'll do it when I'm up there to check out where the trails go. The trails are reasonably well marked with posts identifying where they go. It's not much help considering they're not on the map. Makes it a bit difficult to determine where they are in relation to the trails that are marked. Still, it'll be fun to figure it out.

We arrived at another water crossing. Once again Hoss was being a pill about it. I spent quite some time convincing him to cross what is really a very straightforward water crossing.

After crossing, I got Hoss back up to a trot. The whole left hind tripping thing was really bothering me. The last time I'd ridden, he hadn't had the problem at all, despite being on the steel bridge trails, which are far rockier and trickier than what we were on. I noticed that he did okay if I sat the trot, but as soon as I started rising, he started tripping.

On our previous ride, I had slipped my fingers between the saddle gullet at Hoss's withers. While the gap wasn't awesome, it was enough. Even at the trot I wasn't getting my fingers pinched. It would be nice if the gap was larger, but it was acceptable. On a hunch, I tried to slip my fingers through again. I could barely slip a finger in there, and at the trot, there was no getting a finger in there.

Now I think I know what the problem is. If I don't get the saddle placement exactly right, every time I come down in the post, I'm slamming the gullet into Hoss's withers, causing him to trip on the hind. So next time I ride, I'll have to make sure I get the saddle farther forward and see if it makes a difference. If it does, I'll adjust my breast collar to fit, so I can't get the saddle too far back anymore.

We were headed back toward the trail head we'd entered on. The rest of the ride was uneventful. I did stop and let Hoss graze while I switched out my empty water bottles for full ones. I like to let him eat from time to time on a ride. After I let him rest and eat for about five minutes, I mounted back up and we made our way back to the trailer.

It was a nice ride. In the end we got just under 12 miles at an average 3.6mph. Considering the tripping problem, that's not a bad average. I was pleased with the ride.

Additionally, Hoss's boots stayed on throughout this ride. I had put them on opposite of how I had last time. These boots are supposed to be switched from side to side (end to end, if the horse's feet are all the same size) in order to extend their wear, much like tires on a car. It appears that won't be possible with Hoss. Considering how toed in he is on his fronts, I'm not surprised I can't switch them easily. If he were straighter, it would be easier. Because of the toe-in he has, though, he wears a heavy breakover to the outside. When I switch the boots, he has to wear them the opposite direction when they've already been worn. With the wear already in place in one direction, it makes it harder to wear in a different breakover. So it's really no surprise that his heels wanted to pop out. Due to the wear being in the "wrong" direction when I had the boots switched, the boots tried to force him to break over that way, resulting in his heels popping out. I now know he has distinct right and left front boots, and that's just all there is to it.

Conditioning Ride 5-3-11

It was hot and windy today, and the dogs were a little batty, so instead of heading out to explore new trails, I took Hoss and Team Fluffy back out to Hollenbeck Canyon. Since we've been there so often lately, I decided we'd do the trails in reverse order to keep us all a little fresher.

Hoss was feeling the barefoot thing today. I did not put his boots on today. I figure he's got to get out there barefoot to build his feet up. Since I trimmed his feet so recently, though, he's more apt to be touchy. I probably shouldn't let him go so long between trims! I really need to get on ordering him a pair of hind boots. Had I had them on hand, it's likely I would've booted him once I realized he was having so much trouble.

It was hot, so I didn't push too much for speed. We did get some good trotting in on the better sections of trail. I took a lot of opportunities to take pictures. It's a really beautiful place if you take the time to look around.

When we came around to the back side of what is left of the original Rancho Jamul, a Border Patrol officer was driving very slowly along the trails. This was the flat area we are usually inclined to canter on. Hoss was really not feeling the canter today. In general, he's not inclined to sandbag me, so I only pushed for a trot. The Border Patrol officer turned around, and I pushed Hoss off the trail to let him by. I let Hoss walk some to breathe, then made him trot some more, until we reached the single track. By this point, he was starting to feel like trotting, so of course we'd reached the area where we'd need to go slower.

Team Fluffy was feeling the heat. Mac kept running ahead and finding shade to wait in. Ash and Jazz were mostly content to stay behind Hoss. When we finally made it to a water crossing, Mac had run ahead, so we found him lying in the water waiting for us. All the dogs got a good drink before Hoss crossed the water and we continued on our way.

We made it up to the top, at the old olive groves. A pair of riders were coming down the trail out of the Rancho Jamul Estates. Hoss got a little excited about other horses. By the time we made it to the trail they were on, they were ahead of us. Once we were down the hill and started uphill, I kicked Hoss into a trot to pass the other horses. I did not want him deciding to get attached to the new horses. We trotted about halfway up the hill before I let Hoss drop back to a walk.

When we topped the hill, I realized I was missing Jazz. I stopped and called her, but after a period of time she hadn't shown back up. I turned Hoss back down the way we came, hoping to find her. The other pair of riders came up the rise, looking back. Jazz was behind them! I guess she decided they were going at a better pace than I was. Once they caught up a bit, though, she passed them and rejoined her normal "pack."

Walking down the hill was tough. Hoss was really having a hard time with his tender feet. I helped him out as much as I could, by keeping his reins a little short and trying to help him stay on his hinds. He tripped on his left front several times, but when I checked his feet later, I couldn't find anything obvious.

After we made it down the hill and back to the single track to the front of the area, Hoss felt he could pick up the pace. Whether it was knowing we were nearing the trailer and the end of our ride, or the improvement of the trails is hard to say. The dogs were happy to make it back to this area. There's water all over the place!

We walked most of the rest of the way back to the trailer. I wasn't really wanting to push too hard under the conditions. In the end, we got in just over eight miles and averaged 3.6 mph. Not too shabby!

Conditioning Ride 4-30-11

Hoss and I and Team Fluffy headed out to the Steel Bridge today for a little change of scenery and more of a challenge. Since this area is rather abrasive and rocky, I trimmed Hoss's feet and put his boots on his fronts. I haven't done anything about getting him boots for his hinds yet, but that is in the works.

Not long ago, a client asked why I don't just shoe Hoss. Well, I think I've figured it out. I'm LAZY! It's been two months since I've done more than pick his feet out, and I don't even do that very often. Today was the first time I trimmed them since Eastern Mojave. Just thinking about setting up the truck to shoe my own horse wears me out. So we'll boot instead. Since he really is pretty comfortable in most situations barefoot, this works out just fine.

I wanted this to be a somewhat faster ride, but I knew it would be more of a challenge with only front boots on. I know from experience Hoss's hind feet are just as sensitive as – if not more than – his front feet.

While brushing Hoss, I found several ticks from our last ride. I went over him carefully, idly wishing I had a flea comb. The little blood-suckers are so tiny right now, I can't see them unless they create a swelling on Hoss's skin. I ran my fingers over every inch of skin, hoping to find them all.

I got Hoss all saddled up and ready to go, started to put my foot in the stirrup, and my phone started to ring. It was my husband. Well, can't ignore that. Unfortunately, he has absolutely impeccable timing. He almost always calls me when I don't have time to talk. He's called me while I'm driving in an area where I'll have to stop in order to talk to him. He'll call me and I'll be in the middle of shoeing some uncooperative, impatient horse I can't just leave waiting while I talk. He's even awakened me out of a dead sleep. So I took a moment to talk to him. Once we got past the important stuff, I told him I was getting ready to head out on Hoss. We said goodbye and I got on the horse.

I settled myself in the saddle, and oh yeah, that last ride? Oh my goodness, the butt calluses are not back yet. I am saddle sore! I'm really feeling it now. It's not horrible. I will get past this.

Hoss was happy to have yet another change of scenery. We crossed the bridge and headed out on the trails. Hoss was feeling good, and was stepping out nicely. Once we crossed the stream, we headed out at a trot, until we reached the banks of the river, where there's more rocks and the ground can be a little uncertain. I have had a horse's foot fall through the top crust of the trail and drop several inches. It is not a good feeling, and not something I want to experience at a speed more than a walk.

Once across the rocky areas, we headed up the switchbacks. Most of this area is untrottable. It's just too rocky, too steep, or too hairball. Hoss knows the area well, so he knows when he can trot and when he can't.

I noticed that Hoss was tripping a lot on his left hind foot. I suspect there's a reason it's more sensitive than the other, either that or his natural "handedness" lends itself to him noticing more on his left hind than his right hind. When I trimmed him, I noticed a suspicious spot on his frog, but it turned out to be nothing. He's also got quite a bit of wall separation in his quarters on that foot. It could be creating a situation where, because the wall is weak and he doesn't have as much to spread the weight around on, the foot is more sensitive than it otherwise would be.

There is a rock face that must be negotiated on this trail. While in shoes, Hoss, learned he'd better stay on the left side of it, where there's more dirt. The time he tried to climb the rock face straight over the middle in shoes, he slipped quite a bit. Knowing he was no longer in shoes, and has better traction, especially with his bare hind feet, I tried to direct him up the middle. He wasn't having it. He knew what happens if he goes up that way! I'm really going to have to work on him going the way I tell him to. This situation did not lend itself to a lesson. I couldn't turn him around and try again. I am not going back down that particular obstacle!

Once we got to the flat area, I pushed Hoss up to a trot. It was rough going. Where there were loose rocks, he needed to slow down, tripping on that left hind foot. I was beginning to think he maybe had more of a problem than I had originally thought.

Most of the rest of the trail is like this, with loose rock on the surface making it difficult to work at any kind of speed. We did what we could, trotting any time it was clear enough to do so, even if it was only three or four strides. I have been to endurance rides where the trail conditions are such that you can trot about 20 paces, then walk about 20 paces, then trot about 20 paces, and so on. The lesson is, you trot or canter absolutely as much as possible, only walking when forced to do so.

Some parts of the trail along the fence line between the trail and the Sweetwater Reservoir are in good enough condition to trot, so when we were in those areas, I'd ask Hoss to trot. He really prefers to trot everywhere he goes, if he can, so I don't usually feel like he's sandbagging me if he doesn't want to trot. Of course, when we were first coming off the layoff, he was certainly less able to get going as well as I'm used to, but it's pretty clear he's gotten most of that lost condition back.

Hoss has a snack at the gazebo

When we reached the gazebo, we all stopped for a rest. At some point on the climb up the hill, Hoss had popped off his left front shoe, and it was hanging by its gaiter on his pastern. I hopped off and reapplied it, checking its mate while I was at it. I let everybody have about five minutes to rest, then got back on and we were on our way. I am happy to say that I can, once again, mount from the ground without difficulty.

View from gazebo, up the trail back

The trail back down doesn't have many good spots to trot through. It's pretty exclusively a walking trail. Usually we run up a short section of hill, and this was the one place I noticed Hoss's loss of condition is still limiting him. This is a hill that has always been a challenge for him. It is not long, but it is steep. This day, I discovered a hive of bees has set up shop right along the trail. That's not my favorite idea, to ride through bees. So I asked Hoss to pick it up, and it really felt like he couldn't. It seemed to be a combination of loss of condition and lack of hind hoof protection. Once we got over the steepest part and the trail started to level out, he was able to pick up the trot for a little while.

We headed back through the flat area, trotting as often as possible. We got back to the river crossing, and headed down to cross.

If ever there was a moment I wanted to be able to not cross the water, this was it. The river was deep! The last time I tried to cross the river like this, my horse unexpectedly lost four inches of height halfway across. It made me very nervous. However, I really felt crossing was safer than trying to negotiate the trails we had come up. Hoping we weren't in for a huge adventure, and trusting the dogs were strong enough to make the swim, we headed into the river.

It turns out that time – or trail work parties; it could be that -- has been kind to this crossing. Rather than trying to negotiate around fallen branches, rocks, and finding a deep rill in the river, we crossed a relatively flat, even area. It got deep enough to nearly dunk my feet, and the dogs were definitely swimming, but it was surely safer than the last time we were through it.

Once we successfully crossed, Hoss started tossing his head in anticipation. He wanted to run! We typically have ourselves a nice gallop on the access road at this point. We got up to the road, and I gave Hoss his head and a light kick. He took off! Boy, was he happy to have a run.

Somewhat short of where we would typically slow down, Hoss started to back off. Thinking he was starting to feel his workout, I pushed him just a little bit, wanting to get him up to the top of the hill. Once we got there, I started to notice the sound of one of his feet wasn't right. I looked down, and sure enough, that left front boot was flapping around on his pastern again. I got off and fixed it again, feeling a little uneasy. He hadn't lost a well-fit boot before, and now he lost the same one twice in a single ride.

Wooden bridge

Crossing the wooden bridge and heading back was uneventful until we got back to the stream crossing. Coming the other direction, we must enter the water, then power up a short, steep bank. There's nothing to be done to improve the embankment; it suffers every year from some erosion, and it's just a matter of negotiating it in the best manner possible. Coming into it from the bridge is easy. Coming back at it, down that steep embankment, is a different story.

Trail back after crossing bridge

Some wise person has placed pallets across the water to create a foot bridge. It's really only suitable for human traffic. If Hoss stepped on it, he'd find himself wearing a lovely pallet anklet, and I doubt he'd be happy about it. Since the wooden bridge went in, Hoss has discovered crossing bridges. It makes things easier! He looked down and said, "Hey, a bridge!" I said, no, that won't work, you have to go under the tree. The tree, however, has dropped enough that it's in my face, ready to swipe me right off my horse's back. Hoss has figured out this whole plants-too-low-for-Mom thing. He knew I wouldn't be able to go under it. Since I wasn't leaning forward to go under, he figured I couldn't go that way, so he wanted to cross the bridge. After several attempts, I realized the only way he was going under that tree was if I hugged his neck.

The embankment is really steep. Hugging my horse's neck under these conditions felt more like I was deliberately trying to do a somersault over his shoulder. Once he felt me wrap my arms around him, though, Hoss headed quietly and appropriately down the embankment and crossed the water. I was very proud of him, and made sure he knew it.

We did just over 9 miles, averaging 3.7 mph.


Once we reached the trailer, I gave him an extra pat before dismounting and unsaddling him. When I pulled his saddle pad, I was horrified to discover that, despite my meticulous grooming, there were yet more ticks I'd missed! The sweat-soaked hair under his saddle pad revealed a good dozen of the little nasties. I brushed him and pulled off all the ticks I could find, then sprayed him wet with fly spray. I'd've dunked him in a tank of fly spray if it were possible. We loaded up and headed for home – after hitting the grocery store and the gas station.

The next day, I gave Hoss a bath. I found even more ticks, fortunately very few that had managed to actually bite. The bath seems to have done the trick. I haven't found any more ticks since.

A Nice Long Ride!

We got a bit of a change for this ride. It was the same day as my regular physical therapy appointment, so I loaded Hoss in the trailer and took him with me. After my appointment, we went up to the mountains for a real ride.

I've been feeling a little nervous about the next ride coming up. Having had such a long period out of the saddle, I've been more than a little concerned that I won't be fit enough when it comes around to do it without being crippled the next day. I really need to get in some long rides to re-establish those "butt calluses" that I've lost over the past eight weeks. Every time I've ridden up to now, I've been much sorer than I would expect to be.

It was time to get some real mileage in. I packed plenty of water and Gatorade, knowing it was supposed to be a particularly warm day. We arrived at the parking area a little after 11. I got Hoss saddled up and we hit the trail about 11:45.

Hoss was feeling good. He seemed to be happy to be getting a little different view. Once again, I was planning to try to re-create the second and third loops of the Descanso ride. I even sat down with the map and tried to plan it out. I think I got closer this time, but I still managed to get it wrong.

I was planning this to be a primarily walking trail ride. First long one back after a lay off should be, and it fits in with our general conditioning routine. In a couple of places, I let Hoss trot, and once or twice I made him trot when he was looking around for something to spook about.

For the first four or five miles, I'm confident I covered the right trail. After that, it sort of fell apart. The fire road we ended up on I'm pretty sure was not on the Descanso ride. It was rocky but otherwise mostly okay. Hoss handled it quite well.

We headed around to the horse camps, which was not quite where I expected to end up. We rode on past the camps, and on down to another trail that I knew would take us back where we had parked. Unfortunately, we found that trail was closed. So we back tracked to the horse camp.

We stopped at the horse camp for a rest. I ate a couple of snacks and let Hoss graze on the grass in the camp area. We rested for about ten minutes, then headed back on out.

We got to another familiar fire road, and headed on down it. Not wanting to end up back tracking on the same trail, I took another trail off the fire road. It started out well enough. Then we ended up at a fork I didn't remember, and I headed us up a trail I'd not ridden before, but I knew where it came out.

This turned out to be less of a trail than stream and rocks. The only reason I knew it was meant to be trail was the sections of fallen trees that had been removed from it. I have a sneaking suspicion it was supposed to be closed, but the signage was missing. Hoss made his way up the trail cautiously and quite well. He wanted to stop in a couple of places, but it turned out he had seen something yummy, not that he couldn't figure out what to do next. In more than one place, I had to hug his neck and put my head down while he climbed up under over grown plants. Mostly they were low enough for him to get under, but not me.

When we got to the end of this trail, I found we had ended up in a rather untenable situation. The trail I had intended to use was closed. The only other trail out of there is closed to horses. Well, crap. Now what?

There is a camp ground across the highway at this point. I reasoned that the camp ground must have trails heading out of it. We crossed the road, and walked around the camp until I found a trail head. Whew. We were back on track.

The trail from the camp to meet up with the trail I was headed to has a lot of trees down on it. We had to negotiate around one, and I lost the trail. I had to back track to the down tree to find the trail. Again, in some places the trail was only obvious because of the cleared sections of the fallen trees.

Once we made it to the main trail, we were beset with more problems. The ceonthus has so heavily overgrown the trail in many places that I was literally hugging Hoss's neck. He had to drop his head low enough to see where the trail was. I was very glad I had gotten him that riding fly mask. It really protected his face and I think it made it easier for him to negotiate by letting him keep his eyes open more. I, on the other hand, was neck-hugging with my eyes closed and helmet pointed at the overhanging branches. I got really scraped up, too.

We finally made our way to a place to re-cross the highway and a trail that would take us back to the trailer. Once we were on this trail, it was smooth sailing. The only challenge was a water crossing where the trail was unclear. It took me a moment to decide which way we were supposed to go, and luckily guessed right the first time.

Despite all the challenges, it was a truly beautiful ride. I took quite a few pictures at various points. The flowers growing in the meadows add a splash of color that is very pleasing to the eye.

In the end, we rode 21.5 miles, averaging about 3.3 mph. It took us about 7 hours. I was sunburned, scraped up, and covered in ticks (EEEK!), but what a great day! I had a head cold as well. In the morning, I had dithered a bit about going. I decided to go, figuring I could either be miserable at home or miserable on my horse. If I had to be sick, I might as well have a distraction.

When we got home, I checked Hoss over, but was unable to find any ticks on him (since then, I've been plucking the little boogers off of him; fortunately only one so far has actually been attached). Then I went in the house and showered in the hopes that any ticks I hadn't already disposed of would find their way down the drain!

Another Ride and a Vet Visit

The vet came out and gave Hoss his semi-annual exam and treatment. He got his teeth done and the swelling on his lower left eyelid taken care of. It turned out to be a cyst accompanied by a blocked up tear duct. There is nothing quite so especially gross as watching pus squirt out of my horse's eye. Fortunately he doesn't seem particularly bothered by it. The vet was going to leave me Bute, but forgot. I thought I was going to have to head out and pick some up, but after observing Hoss for a while, I realized he doesn't seem to be suffering any discomfort at all. I was fortunate to have some eye ointment on hand, and even more fortunate to find that Hoss is very good about letting me apply it. I bought him a riding fly mask on the theory that a quarter inch slice in one's eyelid can't be the most comfortable thing, and should be protected as much as possible.

I had originally planned to ride that afternoon, but after the eye thing, I decided to put it off until Saturday. So on Saturday morning I loaded up the dogs and the horse and we went back to Hollenbeck Canyon. I was still feeling like I needed to be doing reasonably short rides for my sake as well as Hoss's. It was pretty clear after our last ride that he's lost a little condition, too.

Riding in the same place over and over makes it hard to come up with original material. We both know the trail so well, it doesn't seem that interesting to us. It becomes a matter of focusing on what we did.

I decided it was time to start pushing Hoss just a bit more than I had on our previous ride. It's time to step it up in preparation for the Descanso Endurance ride on June 18. On this ride, I started expecting a bit more of the speed work we typically do at Hollenbeck. He was sandbagging me a bit, just telling me he couldn't do it. I pushed him a few strides farther than he wanted to go before I'd let him drop back down to a walk.

On the big uphill, he cantered halfway up and petered out. I let him fall back to a walk, and we walked all the way back around to the flat area. Once on the flat, I pushed him into a canter. It was time to start breezing again. Boy, did I ever have to push him! He really wanted to just fall back to at least a trot, a walk if he could get away with it. I just kept pushing, pushing, pushing, keeping him going in a canter until we reached the end of the area. After that, I let him walk the rest of the way back to the trailer.

It was a good ride, and two days later, I was still sore from pushing him so hard, but it was a good sore!

A week later, we went back to ride at Hollenbeck again. This time, Hoss started to show more interest in going faster. I was able to get him to canter all the way up the hill, and he cantered reasonably willingly over the entire flat area. At least I didn't have to push him as hard as I had to the previous week. But he sure dropped out of the canter quickly enough when I asked him to.



I feel like we're back on track now. The last couple of rides, my shoulder really didn't give me any grief.

Physical therapy is going well. My regular physical therapist is not the least concerned about me going ahead and riding, unlike the gal I had a couple of weeks ago, who seemed to think riding my horse was akin to riding a powder keg while smoking. I saw this therapist, not my regular, after my first ride back. She asked how I was doing, and I told her I'd been doing great until I tried to chase a goat off the porch with a stick. I told her I rode and cleaned on Saturday, and felt great on Sunday until trying to discipline the goat. I tell you what, she hung on to the housecleaning and horse riding as if those were the only possible source of any soreness I was feeling. Did I ever get the lecture! Didn't matter that I told her I felt fine until I went after the goat. In her mind, she knew better than I did what was going on. I was relieved a few days later when my regular therapist was back, and she was completely unconcerned by my activities. If I have to go back and see that other lady, she and I are gonna go around. A lot! This week we started on strengthening exercises. My range still isn't great, but it's acceptable at this point. I didn't have perfect range before the surgery, so expecting it to suddenly become perfect now is a little unrealistic. My physical therapist wants it to be perfect, and I keep having to remind her just how long I went from the initial injury to the surgery. That affects how quickly I get range back, and really how much I ultimately will be able to get back. I'm not hung up on perfect. I'm hung up on satisfactory. If I can't raise my arm all the way up above my head, it's not the end of the world. I think the physical therapist is beginning to accept that perfect is probably not possible.