Very Important and easy to do for us flat-lands riders!!!!
http://globalendurance.typepad.com/global-endurance-blog/2010/08/beyond-dressage---easy-collection-exercises.html
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Garmin Report Ride Between the Rivers
Ride between the Rivers
Hills, rock, mud, rock, and gravel. AWFUL course, Jazz did great though. Finished mid-pack, never gave up, was tired but had all negative CRI's!
Hills, rock, mud, rock, and gravel. AWFUL course, Jazz did great though. Finished mid-pack, never gave up, was tired but had all negative CRI's!
Garmin Report 7/31/10
Training at KY Farms on Jazz 7/31/10
Crazy eventful. Horse fell at mile 3, then reins became disconnected, then ran across some dirtbikes! She was wonderful and took great care of me!
Crazy eventful. Horse fell at mile 3, then reins became disconnected, then ran across some dirtbikes! She was wonderful and took great care of me!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Heather's Tevis Blog
For those of you that think our sport isn't hard enough, here's the Tevis recap from Heather Reynolds with Reynolds Racing:
_____________________________
Jeremy couldn't decide between Bey, Strut and Tiran and Tim would be riding who ever we didn't.
17 days before the race we did a training ride on the Tevis trail. We had planned to ride 22 miles. My ride ended at 3.5 miles when Kutt tripped over some rocks and clearly needed stitches. I turned back while the other 3 horses went on to complete the ride.
I rode back at a walk and then took Kutt to Loomis Basin. It was a bit awkward telling the vets at the clinic that the horse who needed stitches was named Kutt. Oh well.
I drove back up to where the other three horses were waiting for me and we loaded up and headed home.
Jeremy had been riding Bey, Tim was on Strut and Carole was on Tiran. Jeremy felt that Bey wasn't ready for the race that Jeremy wanted to do so he was going to take him out of the equation.
Strut and Tiran had handled the ride well so now Jeremy would be picking between them. I was still going to try with Kutt. He had 5 stitches in his shin but the vet had said that if it healed well it should be fine and he also recommended that I race with the stitches in the leg to help hold things together.
Fast forward and we decided on Thursday before Tevis, that I would ride Kutt, Jeremy would ride Strut and Tim would ride Tiran.
Friday we drove up to the ride. Skip went with us and we picked up Carl at the Auburn airport. We all had Chinese food for lunch and then continued on to Robie Park.
Eric was camping at Robinson so that we would have a spot secured and Peter and Kiki were at Robie as well. Our good friend Shannon also came up to Robie to crew.
Friday morning all three horses were great. They all handled the start well. None of us started together. All three of us were in the first pen. This was by far the biggest crowd any of our horses had ever been in.
By the time I was climbing up Squaw I could see Jeremy and Strut up ahead of me. I caught up and we rode together.
The snow was patchy up on the top of Immigrant Pass. Granite Chief Wilderness Area was not as bad as I thought it might be. We rode through carefully. At one point a horse joined our group. Very shortly after that the rider directly behind us told us that the horse didn't have a rider. Jeremy hopped off and caught the horse and back tracked to the rider, Carl Bruno. He seemed alright and was able to get back on.
As we were almost out of the danger of the bogs and rocks and I was thinking we were in the clear, we hit one final tricky spot. You had to go up on top of a rock pile to the right (while still being on top of the rocks) when Kutt fell down to the left. He was chest deep in rocks and there was nowhere for me to go so he had to figure it out while I stayed on his back. He had a few new scrapes. Luckily Jeremy had put silicone on Kutt's shin over the stitches. The rocks had hit right into the silicone and had dented and ripped it a little but the stitches themselves were ok.
After that we went fine for a while. Then right before Cougar Rock Strut fell onto his knees in a rocky area. He seemed ok. Good.
Over Cougar Rock for Strut. I was going to go over but as I was thinking I would, Kutt almost went down. I went around. I guess as I went around, Diane Woodard saw me go around and thought about doing the same, changed her mind and then fell and either broke her ribs or damaged the cartilage between her ribs. Damn. We found out from Tim that Tiran went up the rock part way and then was not sure what to do and Tim had to jump off and run up it with Tiran lunging up behind him.
We made it through Red Star without a glitch. On to Robinson. (It was somewhere in this stretch that Melissa Ribley had her accident.) Both horses recovered fine and looked good. About 20 min later Tiran arrived. He looked good too. By this time all three horses had fallen. Rocky bastard! At this check Jeremy's mom and her sister Leslie were hand picking grass for the horses. Great crew.
Onwards. Right before Dusty Corners we were riding down the last steep, red dirt hill, before the gravel road and the dust was hanging about 2 feet above the ground when Strut fell down onto his knees and nose. Jeremy was catapulted over his head and knocked the wind out of himself while getting a fair amount of road rash on his right shoulder. After looking at Strut we could see that his knees had small cuts. Within a short time Strut was sore from the fall.
Jeremy pulled Strut at Last Chance. As I was leaving this check after being there for about 20 min, Tim came in with Tiran.
Kutt was feeling great. We did the canyons and he handled it really well. He did think the swinging bridge was really weird. We made it into Chicken Hawk and he still looked really good. We were in the group between 5th -9th, we were in this range pretty much the whole rest of my ride.
Foresthill was a welcome stop. Kutt had a mild right hind and I would have a recheck. Kutt ate and ate. Tiran was there about 20 min later. Jeremy was there too. Strut had been dropped off at the finish and now Jeremy was crewing.
Kutt and Tiran both made it out of Foresthill. I rode with a group of three almost the whole way to Francisco's. Kutt felt really good. He enjoyed the cooler weather and really liked going in the dark, a first for him.
When we got to Francisco's I let Kutt drink and eat for a minute and then went to vet him, in case his right hind got stiff. I trotted him out and he was sore. That would be it for me. About 45 min later Tiran was there. I watched as people came through.
Eventually I walked up the big climb to where the trailer would take us from. Melissa's horse, Monique and Kutt went together.
I got back to camp while trying to stay awake and took care of Kutt and Strut. Then I went to the finish line to wait for Tim and Tiran. The rest of our crew was down on No Hands Bridge waiting for Tim (and maybe me too).
The group of people at the finish line were all tired but having a good time. I visited with a lot of friends while we waited. It started to get chilly sitting there.
I got to see a lot of friends finish.
Finally Jeremy and Eric were there and that is when I knew it would be soon that Tim and Tiran would arrive. Around 3:30 Tim and Tiran crossed the finish line of their first Tevis and Tiran's first 100. It was really cool.
After taking care of everything we all hit the pillow hard.
The next morning it was already extremely hot.
We packed up and went to have breakfast at the stadium and then watched the Haggin Cup. It was clear that Garret's horse looked great. The horse stood out.
Carl left as he had to fly himself back to Montana. Eric and Skip needed to get back as well. Tim, Jeremy and I waited for the awards. While we waited we hit up Starbucks. Nothing like a cold caffeinated pick me up. We got back to the fairgrounds and visited with Garret and Lisa then headed to the awards.
Lunch was good. Barbara White earned her 3000 mile buckle!! Holy moly. I can't even imagine riding that trail that many times. Great job. Heraldic and John Crandel had won and Garret Ford on The Fury was awarded the Haggin Cup, wearing glue ons of course.
I am glad that Tim and Tiran were able to make the trip worthwhile. Maybe next time:) Congratulations to any one who completed.
Now we are off to Iowa (to rest at Jan and Grace's) and Illinois (for the final time trial) and then hopefully Kentucky (for the WEG) with Sam and Smitty.
Heather
_____________________________
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
This year we had a lot of trouble deciding who we would ride who at the Tevis. After loosing Makazin I had decided that I would try to get Kutt ready and see how that might go.Jeremy couldn't decide between Bey, Strut and Tiran and Tim would be riding who ever we didn't.
17 days before the race we did a training ride on the Tevis trail. We had planned to ride 22 miles. My ride ended at 3.5 miles when Kutt tripped over some rocks and clearly needed stitches. I turned back while the other 3 horses went on to complete the ride.
I rode back at a walk and then took Kutt to Loomis Basin. It was a bit awkward telling the vets at the clinic that the horse who needed stitches was named Kutt. Oh well.
I drove back up to where the other three horses were waiting for me and we loaded up and headed home.
Jeremy had been riding Bey, Tim was on Strut and Carole was on Tiran. Jeremy felt that Bey wasn't ready for the race that Jeremy wanted to do so he was going to take him out of the equation.
Strut and Tiran had handled the ride well so now Jeremy would be picking between them. I was still going to try with Kutt. He had 5 stitches in his shin but the vet had said that if it healed well it should be fine and he also recommended that I race with the stitches in the leg to help hold things together.
Fast forward and we decided on Thursday before Tevis, that I would ride Kutt, Jeremy would ride Strut and Tim would ride Tiran.
Friday we drove up to the ride. Skip went with us and we picked up Carl at the Auburn airport. We all had Chinese food for lunch and then continued on to Robie Park.
Eric was camping at Robinson so that we would have a spot secured and Peter and Kiki were at Robie as well. Our good friend Shannon also came up to Robie to crew.
Friday morning all three horses were great. They all handled the start well. None of us started together. All three of us were in the first pen. This was by far the biggest crowd any of our horses had ever been in.
By the time I was climbing up Squaw I could see Jeremy and Strut up ahead of me. I caught up and we rode together.
The snow was patchy up on the top of Immigrant Pass. Granite Chief Wilderness Area was not as bad as I thought it might be. We rode through carefully. At one point a horse joined our group. Very shortly after that the rider directly behind us told us that the horse didn't have a rider. Jeremy hopped off and caught the horse and back tracked to the rider, Carl Bruno. He seemed alright and was able to get back on.
As we were almost out of the danger of the bogs and rocks and I was thinking we were in the clear, we hit one final tricky spot. You had to go up on top of a rock pile to the right (while still being on top of the rocks) when Kutt fell down to the left. He was chest deep in rocks and there was nowhere for me to go so he had to figure it out while I stayed on his back. He had a few new scrapes. Luckily Jeremy had put silicone on Kutt's shin over the stitches. The rocks had hit right into the silicone and had dented and ripped it a little but the stitches themselves were ok.
After that we went fine for a while. Then right before Cougar Rock Strut fell onto his knees in a rocky area. He seemed ok. Good.
Over Cougar Rock for Strut. I was going to go over but as I was thinking I would, Kutt almost went down. I went around. I guess as I went around, Diane Woodard saw me go around and thought about doing the same, changed her mind and then fell and either broke her ribs or damaged the cartilage between her ribs. Damn. We found out from Tim that Tiran went up the rock part way and then was not sure what to do and Tim had to jump off and run up it with Tiran lunging up behind him.
We made it through Red Star without a glitch. On to Robinson. (It was somewhere in this stretch that Melissa Ribley had her accident.) Both horses recovered fine and looked good. About 20 min later Tiran arrived. He looked good too. By this time all three horses had fallen. Rocky bastard! At this check Jeremy's mom and her sister Leslie were hand picking grass for the horses. Great crew.
Onwards. Right before Dusty Corners we were riding down the last steep, red dirt hill, before the gravel road and the dust was hanging about 2 feet above the ground when Strut fell down onto his knees and nose. Jeremy was catapulted over his head and knocked the wind out of himself while getting a fair amount of road rash on his right shoulder. After looking at Strut we could see that his knees had small cuts. Within a short time Strut was sore from the fall.
Jeremy pulled Strut at Last Chance. As I was leaving this check after being there for about 20 min, Tim came in with Tiran.
Kutt was feeling great. We did the canyons and he handled it really well. He did think the swinging bridge was really weird. We made it into Chicken Hawk and he still looked really good. We were in the group between 5th -9th, we were in this range pretty much the whole rest of my ride.
Foresthill was a welcome stop. Kutt had a mild right hind and I would have a recheck. Kutt ate and ate. Tiran was there about 20 min later. Jeremy was there too. Strut had been dropped off at the finish and now Jeremy was crewing.
Kutt and Tiran both made it out of Foresthill. I rode with a group of three almost the whole way to Francisco's. Kutt felt really good. He enjoyed the cooler weather and really liked going in the dark, a first for him.
When we got to Francisco's I let Kutt drink and eat for a minute and then went to vet him, in case his right hind got stiff. I trotted him out and he was sore. That would be it for me. About 45 min later Tiran was there. I watched as people came through.
Eventually I walked up the big climb to where the trailer would take us from. Melissa's horse, Monique and Kutt went together.
I got back to camp while trying to stay awake and took care of Kutt and Strut. Then I went to the finish line to wait for Tim and Tiran. The rest of our crew was down on No Hands Bridge waiting for Tim (and maybe me too).
The group of people at the finish line were all tired but having a good time. I visited with a lot of friends while we waited. It started to get chilly sitting there.
I got to see a lot of friends finish.
Finally Jeremy and Eric were there and that is when I knew it would be soon that Tim and Tiran would arrive. Around 3:30 Tim and Tiran crossed the finish line of their first Tevis and Tiran's first 100. It was really cool.
After taking care of everything we all hit the pillow hard.
The next morning it was already extremely hot.
We packed up and went to have breakfast at the stadium and then watched the Haggin Cup. It was clear that Garret's horse looked great. The horse stood out.
Carl left as he had to fly himself back to Montana. Eric and Skip needed to get back as well. Tim, Jeremy and I waited for the awards. While we waited we hit up Starbucks. Nothing like a cold caffeinated pick me up. We got back to the fairgrounds and visited with Garret and Lisa then headed to the awards.
Lunch was good. Barbara White earned her 3000 mile buckle!! Holy moly. I can't even imagine riding that trail that many times. Great job. Heraldic and John Crandel had won and Garret Ford on The Fury was awarded the Haggin Cup, wearing glue ons of course.
I am glad that Tim and Tiran were able to make the trip worthwhile. Maybe next time:) Congratulations to any one who completed.
Now we are off to Iowa (to rest at Jan and Grace's) and Illinois (for the final time trial) and then hopefully Kentucky (for the WEG) with Sam and Smitty.
Heather
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Garmin Report 7/18/10
Garmin Report 7-18-10
HOT HOT HOT. 100 degrees! 14 miles, got some great canter in along the railroad track. Jazz eats great on trail, wish she would eat more once I put her away. Noticed slight interference in the hind, but she is due in for a farrier appointment. Shoes are worn down, and she a bit trippy. Also possibly getting scratches on the rear right hind, put some stuff on it, going to bring better stuff when I come back up to ride again. Good day!
HOT HOT HOT. 100 degrees! 14 miles, got some great canter in along the railroad track. Jazz eats great on trail, wish she would eat more once I put her away. Noticed slight interference in the hind, but she is due in for a farrier appointment. Shoes are worn down, and she a bit trippy. Also possibly getting scratches on the rear right hind, put some stuff on it, going to bring better stuff when I come back up to ride again. Good day!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Season Update
Hey everyone, though I'd give a quick update to how the season is laying out.
Still working with Jazz and am going to be taking her on the LD at Ride Between the Rivers in West Virginia on August 8. She's definitely ready, we're going just to have fun and finish. I'm really looking forward to it, she's a lot of fun to ride! Gearing up for a 50 in the fall, probably Hallelujah but maybe something different since I might have some personal family stuff that weekend.
Unsure about Moonlight Ride in SC. Plan was originally to ride one of Jonie Brucker's horses, but unfortunately Jonie has since become injured and the horses may not be fit enough to go. Verdict still out on that one.
And may not being riding Legs at Nationals. No final decisions on that, and I don't really want to get too deep into details because I'm trying to be diplomatic. But I will say I'm very disappointed and not happy about the situation. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds..... :-p
That's it for now!
Still working with Jazz and am going to be taking her on the LD at Ride Between the Rivers in West Virginia on August 8. She's definitely ready, we're going just to have fun and finish. I'm really looking forward to it, she's a lot of fun to ride! Gearing up for a 50 in the fall, probably Hallelujah but maybe something different since I might have some personal family stuff that weekend.
Unsure about Moonlight Ride in SC. Plan was originally to ride one of Jonie Brucker's horses, but unfortunately Jonie has since become injured and the horses may not be fit enough to go. Verdict still out on that one.
And may not being riding Legs at Nationals. No final decisions on that, and I don't really want to get too deep into details because I'm trying to be diplomatic. But I will say I'm very disappointed and not happy about the situation. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds..... :-p
That's it for now!
AWESOME PANTS
Hey all you riders out there,
Just purchased a new pair of riding pants. They are AWESOME and I love them almost as much as you can possibly love a pair of pants. Because come on, they're pants.
They're called Fuzzy Logic Equine pants and I purchased them from Amy Cieri at Cadence Farms. Link is below. The pants are boot-cut, no inside seams, and are sewn so they are very flattering. She has both summer and winter weight. I got summer since it's like 100+ degrees outside right now, will order winter when things start to cool off. The pants are EXTREMELY comfortable, which is especially important to me since I spend so much time driving between barns. Here's a link where you can read about them:
LINK TO AWESOME PANTS!!!
Here's some photos, both of the model and how they look on my less-than-model legs. I have the full-seat with brown, thought people like might to see the difference. Enjoy!
Just purchased a new pair of riding pants. They are AWESOME and I love them almost as much as you can possibly love a pair of pants. Because come on, they're pants.
They're called Fuzzy Logic Equine pants and I purchased them from Amy Cieri at Cadence Farms. Link is below. The pants are boot-cut, no inside seams, and are sewn so they are very flattering. She has both summer and winter weight. I got summer since it's like 100+ degrees outside right now, will order winter when things start to cool off. The pants are EXTREMELY comfortable, which is especially important to me since I spend so much time driving between barns. Here's a link where you can read about them:
LINK TO AWESOME PANTS!!!
Here's some photos, both of the model and how they look on my less-than-model legs. I have the full-seat with brown, thought people like might to see the difference. Enjoy!
New Saddle: Freeform vs Ansur
Hey everyone! In the market for a new saddle, thought it would make for an interesting glance...
Typically, I like to ride treeless. The reason for this is because I ride so many different horses, that the treeless is much better at fitting all of them! Poor saddle fit can wreak havoc on a horse's back (as we all well know), so this helps me avoid that problem and continue to be an effective horse-slut. :-p I don't have anything against treed saddles, in fact I really like them. They give great support for both rider and horse. But because I do what I do, it's tough to find a treed saddle that fits 90% of horses out there. :-)
I've been riding in a Freeform classic for the last few years. Freeforms are great, they are a little more structured than your typical treeless. It was Heather and Jeremy's before they moved back to CA, and they gave me a real deal for the entire rig: saddle, girth, stirrups and leathers, and pack. Needless to say, it was very well-loved when I got it and has seen better days. Here's a site where you can learn about the freeform saddles: http://www.freeformusa.com/
Last fall, I got to test-ride some of the new Ansur models that are being designed for endurance, specifically the Excel and Endeavor. I haven't liked the older Ansurs, they really just resemble a slap or leather with stirrups (sorry for all you ansur lovers out there!). You have to be an EXTREMELY balanced rider to use one, or you're going to have a lot of problems. I'm balanced, but I have bum knees and tend to ride some greenies that like to spook now and then. So I need more structure. Well, these new Ansur models are absolutely wonderful! I was able to ride Legalas around the arena without stirrups, something I'm really terrible at normally. They're very structured and have a lot of features where you can customize fit, like different sized knee-rolls in front and behind the leg. They also now have a nice air channel, which gives the horse more structure on their back (a step up from the freeform). Here's a pic of us going around the arena, you can see how structured the cantel is, and it looks nice enough that it could definitely be multi-purpose (like for hunts).
The downside to these new ansurs is the cost. Even getting a used demo-model, the saddles cost $3,500-$4,500. Not an option for me, waaaay out of my budget. Not a lot of people know this, but on top of the riding I'm currently working 2 jobs (a full-time 8AM-5PM plus shifts at a restaurant), so this is a big spend for me. Just can't justify spending that money right now, even with trying to sell my trailer and whatnot.
So, I decided to stick with the Freeform and save up for the ansur for another day. I contacted Christoph and Dian with GETC in UT (www.globalendurance.com), after they got in touch with me to let me know they were dealers. Christoph had some classic seats, but he also had a used Enduro X in stock. Prices ranged from $1,350-$1,700. Much more reasonable. But, I didn't know much about that saddle. So I checked in with some friends, some other dealers, Heather and Jeremy, and got the research I needed (along with the photos).
The Enduro X has more structure than a Classic seat. With the new saddle design, you can actually change seat styles back and forth between the two (they velcro on). It's got a higher pommel and cantle and leg bars for stability. According to Heather, it also is a little bit better for the horse's back (the classic tends to pinch now and then and make them back sore). I also got reports back that the Enduro is a bit more comfortable to ride in than the Classic model. It looks like it is almost a cross-over between a western and english-style seat, which will be better for my knees (in endurance, it's all about comfort! for me, riding with my legs a little more forward, like "Western" style, helps me out a lot. harder to do in a Classic). Heather did mention that the Cutback model tends to come back off of a horse's withers and put some pressure there, so maybe stay away from that feature.
So, after the polls came in, looks like the Enduro X is the winner! Sending in Christoph a deposit by the end of the week, and will hopefully pay it all off in the next month or so with working two jobs (things are good at the moment).
Here are some photos where you can see the difference in the saddles. Enjoy your daily dose of learning! Photos are courtesy of Freeform USA and Chrisoph and Dian at Global Endurance Training Center.
Classic:
Enduro:
Comparisons between seats (note they aren't attached to the
saddle base):
Typically, I like to ride treeless. The reason for this is because I ride so many different horses, that the treeless is much better at fitting all of them! Poor saddle fit can wreak havoc on a horse's back (as we all well know), so this helps me avoid that problem and continue to be an effective horse-slut. :-p I don't have anything against treed saddles, in fact I really like them. They give great support for both rider and horse. But because I do what I do, it's tough to find a treed saddle that fits 90% of horses out there. :-)
I've been riding in a Freeform classic for the last few years. Freeforms are great, they are a little more structured than your typical treeless. It was Heather and Jeremy's before they moved back to CA, and they gave me a real deal for the entire rig: saddle, girth, stirrups and leathers, and pack. Needless to say, it was very well-loved when I got it and has seen better days. Here's a site where you can learn about the freeform saddles: http://www.freeformusa.com/
Last fall, I got to test-ride some of the new Ansur models that are being designed for endurance, specifically the Excel and Endeavor. I haven't liked the older Ansurs, they really just resemble a slap or leather with stirrups (sorry for all you ansur lovers out there!). You have to be an EXTREMELY balanced rider to use one, or you're going to have a lot of problems. I'm balanced, but I have bum knees and tend to ride some greenies that like to spook now and then. So I need more structure. Well, these new Ansur models are absolutely wonderful! I was able to ride Legalas around the arena without stirrups, something I'm really terrible at normally. They're very structured and have a lot of features where you can customize fit, like different sized knee-rolls in front and behind the leg. They also now have a nice air channel, which gives the horse more structure on their back (a step up from the freeform). Here's a pic of us going around the arena, you can see how structured the cantel is, and it looks nice enough that it could definitely be multi-purpose (like for hunts).
The downside to these new ansurs is the cost. Even getting a used demo-model, the saddles cost $3,500-$4,500. Not an option for me, waaaay out of my budget. Not a lot of people know this, but on top of the riding I'm currently working 2 jobs (a full-time 8AM-5PM plus shifts at a restaurant), so this is a big spend for me. Just can't justify spending that money right now, even with trying to sell my trailer and whatnot.
So, I decided to stick with the Freeform and save up for the ansur for another day. I contacted Christoph and Dian with GETC in UT (www.globalendurance.com), after they got in touch with me to let me know they were dealers. Christoph had some classic seats, but he also had a used Enduro X in stock. Prices ranged from $1,350-$1,700. Much more reasonable. But, I didn't know much about that saddle. So I checked in with some friends, some other dealers, Heather and Jeremy, and got the research I needed (along with the photos).
The Enduro X has more structure than a Classic seat. With the new saddle design, you can actually change seat styles back and forth between the two (they velcro on). It's got a higher pommel and cantle and leg bars for stability. According to Heather, it also is a little bit better for the horse's back (the classic tends to pinch now and then and make them back sore). I also got reports back that the Enduro is a bit more comfortable to ride in than the Classic model. It looks like it is almost a cross-over between a western and english-style seat, which will be better for my knees (in endurance, it's all about comfort! for me, riding with my legs a little more forward, like "Western" style, helps me out a lot. harder to do in a Classic). Heather did mention that the Cutback model tends to come back off of a horse's withers and put some pressure there, so maybe stay away from that feature.
So, after the polls came in, looks like the Enduro X is the winner! Sending in Christoph a deposit by the end of the week, and will hopefully pay it all off in the next month or so with working two jobs (things are good at the moment).
Here are some photos where you can see the difference in the saddles. Enjoy your daily dose of learning! Photos are courtesy of Freeform USA and Chrisoph and Dian at Global Endurance Training Center.
Classic:
Enduro:
Comparisons between seats (note they aren't attached to the
saddle base):
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sad News
Awful news from Heather and Jeremy in CA (courtesy of Heather's Blog at www.reynoldsracing.us)
_________________________________
_________________________________
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
I am so sad from this trip. This was the worst trip that Jeremy and I have ever been on and I hope we never top it as far as the "worst" category. We left for the race with Strut, Tiran, Kutt and Makazin. On the way there we stopped at a pasture that we always use. It is in Paradise Valley Montana. In the morning we came out to catch the horses to load up to drive the last 4 hours to the race and Makazin was missing. Three hours later we found him. He had run through 5 fences and then ran off the edge of a cliff and had broken his neck. We are still completely devastated from this. The other 3 horses were totally fine. We really don't know why he did that, he just must have been scared and running.
We continued to the race. It was raining our entire trip. Jeremy rode the 75 on Tiran. The footing and conditions were really poor from all of the weather and probably worse as it was a really wet winter. Tiran won the ride but then was pulled at the finish with a tight hind end. He was off and that was that.
We decided that we had had enough fun for the year so we left and didn't attempt the 100 that would happen the next day.
On Sunday morning as we packed up I thought that maybe we should have done the 100 as it looked like it was clearing up. I then spoke to some friends that were coming off of the first 25 mile loop. One said that her horse had fallen 3 times already, another had her horse fall and roll over the top of her and might have broken her rib. Later in the day another friend got her horse stuck on its side in a bog for a while. I am glad that we left.
It is a huge drag as we had really been looking forward to FT Howes as it can be really fun.
Makazin is sorely missed.
Heather
We continued to the race. It was raining our entire trip. Jeremy rode the 75 on Tiran. The footing and conditions were really poor from all of the weather and probably worse as it was a really wet winter. Tiran won the ride but then was pulled at the finish with a tight hind end. He was off and that was that.
We decided that we had had enough fun for the year so we left and didn't attempt the 100 that would happen the next day.
On Sunday morning as we packed up I thought that maybe we should have done the 100 as it looked like it was clearing up. I then spoke to some friends that were coming off of the first 25 mile loop. One said that her horse had fallen 3 times already, another had her horse fall and roll over the top of her and might have broken her rib. Later in the day another friend got her horse stuck on its side in a bog for a while. I am glad that we left.
It is a huge drag as we had really been looking forward to FT Howes as it can be really fun.
Makazin is sorely missed.
Heather
Monday, June 7, 2010
York River State Park 6/6/10
Went to York River State Park yesterday afternoon to work with Jazz. It was HOT 
HOT HOT! 95 degrees....craziness. Jazz was a bit of a PITA (Pain In The Ass), but she still busted her butt. The flies were awful, she spent most of her time shaking her head or dropping it to rub, then eat grass, but the more she stopped the worse they got! Her feet are long right now, so she was already tripping a lot. The head shaking made it even worse, she took some pretty bad stumbles but was okay. We did just under 16 miles, and it took about 2.5 hours. Would have been a perfect day to sneak Jack, no one else was there!
I love, LOVE this park. You have to pay entry,
but it's totally worth it. The trails are beautifully maintained and there's some great views of the river. Nice grass everywhere for breaks. It's great for barefoot horses, and there's even some hill! A rarity for our area. All of the trails are actually out-and-back, so it's very easy to control your mileage. My only complaint is that there's no water out on trail. It would be great if they put a trough out there at one of the central trailheads, we could have really used it! There is a water spicket at the trailer parking area, though, so I definitely used that to wash Jazz off at the end of the day and offer her a drink. No hose, so if you would like to have more than a bucket dump definitely bring your own.
HOT HOT! 95 degrees....craziness. Jazz was a bit of a PITA (Pain In The Ass), but she still busted her butt. The flies were awful, she spent most of her time shaking her head or dropping it to rub, then eat grass, but the more she stopped the worse they got! Her feet are long right now, so she was already tripping a lot. The head shaking made it even worse, she took some pretty bad stumbles but was okay. We did just under 16 miles, and it took about 2.5 hours. Would have been a perfect day to sneak Jack, no one else was there!I love, LOVE this park. You have to pay entry,
but it's totally worth it. The trails are beautifully maintained and there's some great views of the river. Nice grass everywhere for breaks. It's great for barefoot horses, and there's even some hill! A rarity for our area. All of the trails are actually out-and-back, so it's very easy to control your mileage. My only complaint is that there's no water out on trail. It would be great if they put a trough out there at one of the central trailheads, we could have really used it! There is a water spicket at the trailer parking area, though, so I definitely used that to wash Jazz off at the end of the day and offer her a drink. No hose, so if you would like to have more than a bucket dump definitely bring your own.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Updates
Hey all, sorry it's been a while.
Not too many updates to report. Legs has gone home to Lisa, and from all reports is doing well. He's scheduled to do the Old Dominion 50 with Lisa's husband, Andy (I have a wedding that I'm in that weekend, so I can't do it). If he does well through that, the plan was still to do Virginia Highlands in August, then National Champs in October.
For now, I'm working with Joy's horses, Bad Boy and Winnie. Haven't gotten very far yet, they're not quite trail ready.
I'm also working with Jazz, owned by Kelly Lane. Kelly recently re-injured her knee, and would like me to get Jazz ready for a 50 in the fall. I took Jazz out to Newport News park last weekend and we did 17.5 miles. She was GREAT! She's known to be a bit of a spookster, but we had very few issues. Just the occassional sidestep. She flew right by bikers, strollers, hikers, boy scouts, ets. She has smooth gaits and a great attitude, and should be a blast to get ready. Planning on taking her to Beaverdam soon to ride with friends, and will get a converter for Kelly's Brenderup trailer so I can haul it (in case she doesn't like mine). Also, Kelly should be moving her to board at Joy's in a month or so, so I can work with all the horses in the same place. Awesome!
Well that's all for now. Will post GPS stuff when I get around to uploading it. Currently working two jobs, so just trying to stay sane for now.
Not too many updates to report. Legs has gone home to Lisa, and from all reports is doing well. He's scheduled to do the Old Dominion 50 with Lisa's husband, Andy (I have a wedding that I'm in that weekend, so I can't do it). If he does well through that, the plan was still to do Virginia Highlands in August, then National Champs in October.
For now, I'm working with Joy's horses, Bad Boy and Winnie. Haven't gotten very far yet, they're not quite trail ready.
I'm also working with Jazz, owned by Kelly Lane. Kelly recently re-injured her knee, and would like me to get Jazz ready for a 50 in the fall. I took Jazz out to Newport News park last weekend and we did 17.5 miles. She was GREAT! She's known to be a bit of a spookster, but we had very few issues. Just the occassional sidestep. She flew right by bikers, strollers, hikers, boy scouts, ets. She has smooth gaits and a great attitude, and should be a blast to get ready. Planning on taking her to Beaverdam soon to ride with friends, and will get a converter for Kelly's Brenderup trailer so I can haul it (in case she doesn't like mine). Also, Kelly should be moving her to board at Joy's in a month or so, so I can work with all the horses in the same place. Awesome!
Well that's all for now. Will post GPS stuff when I get around to uploading it. Currently working two jobs, so just trying to stay sane for now.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Global Endurance Blog
Christoph and Dian have joined the blog club! Here's a link to their blog:
http://globalendurance.typepad.com/
Christoph has some great posts up about confirmation for an endurance horse....
http://globalendurance.typepad.com/
Christoph has some great posts up about confirmation for an endurance horse....
Biltmore Recap 5-1-2010
Ah the Biltmore. Well, it didn't turn out so great. But here's the story...
Picked up Legs Friday night after work and headed down to NC with Mary Howell. Great news, he loaded GREAT! Someone was excited to go. Mary brought her horse, Shiloh, just for some company. We drove overnight, stopping to let the horses off the trailer once, and made it into camp around 5AM. After finding a spot waaaaaayyyy in the back of camp (it was SO crowded already!), we set the hors
es up with corrals and hit the sack.Friday we slept in a little bit, then unhooked the truck and ran to Starbucks just outside of the Biltmore gate. Yeah, we were de
sperate. The day was pretty relaxed, I got Legs vetted in and took the horses for a few walks, and also visited with friends. I hung out a lot with Scott and Theresa Carroll from North Carolina, great riders and some overall just good people.Saturday I woke up at 5AM and started the routine. Legs got his big breakfast with electrolytes mixed in, and licked the bowl! We could tell already it was going to be a hot and humid day. Tacked up and hit the start line, trail opened up at 7AM. The first part was a lot of narrow trail or single track up and down the hills. I was towards the front of the pack but we were all kind of getting bottlenecked in. Not a bad thing, since you never want to start the race going super fast. A few miles in I saw Scott and Theresa breaking through the pack, and made my move to join them. I know they ride smart and fast, and win lots of rides. I wasn't missing my shot! :-p They were very gracious to let me tag along too.
We moved out and held between 10-14 miles an hour through the first loop. We were caught by one FEI rider who passed us. We let her go, we were running 2-3-4 and didn't need to push the horses any harder. It was very hot and humid and the ride was definitely tough, the horses were blowing hard. We electrolyted every hour we were out to keep them going, and they all seemed fine.
First vet check went great, Legs' CRI was 64/60. So far so good! Vet said he could tell we were going fast, but he was handling it great. Just to keep up the EDPP (eating drinking peeing pooping, yes I know it's gross but it's a great moniker).
Set out for the second loop with Theresa with Scott 2 minutes behind. He caught us at our first water stop, along with Valerie Kanavy's rider on King Ali Gould. For those who don't know about Valerie or Ali, look up their records on www.aerc.org. She's a former 2 time world champ and Ali is a MONSTER! We let her go again, and off she ran at top speed! No need to chase, we were right where we wanted to be. I even led with Legs when I could, and he did an awesome job. No spooks! The trail was marked iffy in a few places, tough to see the markers, so it was good all three of us were together. Horses were still working and blowing hard, but everyone was doing fine. Legs drank at every water stop, he's so good at taking care of himself!
About 2-3 miles from camp, I noticed something was off with his trot. To me, it seemed off in the hind. Uh oh....We came into the vet check, his heart rate was down to 60. Then the trot out...no good. I could tell running next to him, he was off on every step. My first clue is that it took him a minute to start trotting...he never does that. Art King was my vet, I know him well from other rides, and we all immediately agreed that he was done. They trotted him again for me so I could see it was his front right. We checked for rocks in his shoes, etc, and didn't find anything. Damn! We gave Scott quite a heart attack too; he thought the vets were coming for him! Yikes! His vet was tough, too, and gave him a hard time. But more on that later.
I took Legs to the vet to be looked at (as required by AERC rules). It was Dr. Lynn who brings a lot of her horses to my friend Judie, and who knows Legs pretty well! She was busy with some horses having tie-ups (severe cramps that can lead to colic) and other metabolic issues, definitely more important than Legs who other than his gimp was very healthy. Her assistant palpated his leg, checked for heat, swelling, and tested the hoof with a big pincher. Nothing, no sensitivity ANYWHERE. Weird. But he was definitely still off so there was no way we were getting back in the race. I took him back to the trailer, where he peed, then checked him again for soundness. I dunno, I'm weird and thought it could help. Nope, still off.
I took Mary's truck (she was also riding the 50 for a friend on a first-time youngster) to find some ice for Legs. Just like people, horses need to ice their injuries too! Got my cry out there, texted the right people to let them know what was going on. Then I drowned my sorrows in McDonalds. Hey, don't judge, it was my birthday after all! Got back to the trailer, Legs was fine. He seemed to understand that it was a sad day, he seemed very down and let me hug and cry on him. We attempted to stand with his leg in the bucket of ice; he lasted 5 minutes, and only had a minor freak out. Much better than I was anticipating! I went to Teddy (Running Bear, she's an endurance tack dealer) to get some ice boots. She sold me a self-cooling wrap, since it was cheaper than getting a full boot. It's a pretty cool little thing, kind of gel-like and reusable. And it sticks to itself! I'd like to stick it in the fridge and see if I can get it a little cooler, though. Legs did much better with this method. After icing, I poulticed all four legs. Still hadn't noticed any swelling or sensitivity.
The day went on, Theresa and Scott finished right where we were planning at 3rd and 4th, respectively. Mary finished 9th with her little guy, right behind Steven Hay. All in all, it was a very tough day. The vets were mostly FEI, and were making some questionable pulls. Don't get me wrong, there were also some very correct pulls (especially mine). There were a lot of metabolic issues as well due to the heat and humidity. But listen to this completion rate: 70% on the 50, 50% on the 75, and 50% on the 100. Hmmm....it seemed like at every other trailer the rider had been pulled, some deserved and some not. It seemed like some horses were pulled just because they were tired or stiff. Of course they're going to be tired, it's a race! And they're going to be stiff too, there are hills! All in all, it was just kind of "interesting" to say the least.
After completing and making sure the horses were set, Mary and I went to dinner and got some margaritas while watching the Kentucky Derby. Thanks for the birthday dinner, Mary! Then we stopped off to get some beer for Scott (I drank a bunch of his the night before) and some supplies for those still on the 100. Mary went to crew for her friends, while I celebrated/drowned my sorrows with Scott and Theresa. It was a fun night, despite how the day had gone! Theresa and Scott are really great people, I'd love to ride with them again some day!
The next day, we went to awards and packed up and headed home. I'll say this at least, the awards were pretty blah so I didn't miss out there. I said hey to some friends (including Jeremy who had flown in to crew for a client on the 100), and headed back to the trailer to pack up for the drive home. Mary and I made it back, and other than Legs not wanting to load on his little trailer to go back to Joy's (can you blame him? he'd already been going for 8 hours) we had no issues. It took me 20-30min of the Judie method to get him on the trailer, by the way. I think we've got this thing down now!
I don't really think there was anything I did or Legs did wrong during the race. It was a tough ride, with lots of hills, technicality, and small dips that he hit pretty hard. He also had some bad stumbles, and there was a lot of downhill. He very easily could have done something there. I had Theresa and another vet check him in the morning; he had a little swelling up near a splint by his knee. Hmm...maybe he threw the splint during the race? I hadn't noticed one before...definitely a possibility. The vet also said it might be his "catch" tendon (I think that's what he called it, don't quote me though). Worse case scenario is that it's a suspensory injury, which would mean he needs to be out the rest of the season and bye bye Nationals. He is only 6, though, and it would give him a chance to put on weight and grow. But who knows when we're going to have that race so close again!
So Legs will be going back to his owner, Lisa, for the next few months to get checked by the vet (he needs and ultrasound and maybe xray to make sure he's really fine). Lisa also needs to save some money so that will help on the board. He will hopefully be doing the Old Dominion 50 with Lisa's husband, Andy, if he is deemed well enough. Then I will hop back on him for VA Highlands and hopefully Nationals in October. Don't know if I'll ever get him back full-time, though.
Joy is taking him up next weekend to the Old Dominion Training Ride for Lisa to pick-up. I can't go because I have a wedding shower back home. Sucks, because I really wanted the opportunity to take him up and say goodbye myself, but what can you do. I think I cried the whole way home from the barn on Sunday night when we got back and then some more. Sad sad.
In the meantime, I will be working with Joy's young gelding, Bad Boy. He's not really a Bad Boy, it's just his name. He's a sensitive horse with some head shyness that just needs a quiet but confident leader. I'm very excited to work with him, I've enjoyed playing/bonding with him in the pasture the last few months! I'll also be working with her young paint filly, Winnie, just to get her some schooling. Back to being a "horse slut," as Scott so aptly put it! I think it's a good thing though, I've been really burnt out these last few months and it would be good to take a step back and just ride other people's horses for a while. Heather and Jeremy are also looking for some riders again to come out to CA and help some horses get their CEI* (FEI certs), and since my second job started this week I'll be trying to save money to go do that.
So long, Legs. We had a good run, and you're a great horse. If it were up to me, you'd be mine. Hopefully I'll see you in a few months and we'll push onward towards Nationals...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Questions from Debbie on Training
Glad to see that you were happy with your ride at Foxcatcher. The weather sure turned out to be better than forecasted. I noticed that you were took it easy with Legs on this ride. What is the reason that you don't always compete for a fast time? I pushed Oreo at Sand Hills and I pushed him again at Foxcatcher. The rides were a month apart so I thought that was OK. Am I wrong? People keep talking to me about over conditioning and now I am starting to worry. Plus I have a problem with this upcoming weekend. I signed up for a pleasure ride, a fund raisier, at Massies Mill. It's a beautiful ride in the mountains. I've done it twice before, but on a different horse. Oreo has never been there. There is a long ride, 25 miles, and a short ride, 15 miles on Saturday and a short ride, 15 miles on Sunday. I am taking Oreo and I had planned to do the 25 mile on Sat and the 15 mile on Sunday. It will be at a slow pace, no cantering and little trotting. I was going to use the ride as a relaxing ride to re-introduce him to mountains this season. Do you think 40 miles is too much this weekend? I am giving him the whole week off, from Foxcatcher to next Saturday. Then I have the OD training ride on May 8th and Turkey Creek trot on May 29th. Nothing much in between. Is it too much? Appreciate your thoughts...................... Thanks................ |
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Hey Debbie,
I took it easy this past weekend because I have Biltmore in 2 weeks which is a super-tight turnaround, and i plan on pushing him to top 10 there. The goal was just to get a completion towards the National Championships and finish with plenty of horse left so I don't wear him out. You were fine to push Oreo this weekend, a month apart is good space for that.
Other reasons you would take it easy is if you had a young horse or a horse who is just starting to get into the sport. This is just as hard on their bodies as it is ours (if not harder), so you definitely want to ease them into the whole thing. I've had rides where it took me 8.5 hours to complete (Foxcatcher being one of them)! Also, many riders who just want the completion miles or certifications for FEI will go extra extra slow to ensure they complete and don't get a pull on their record.
I definitely would take it easy this weekend. I know he did great last weekend, but Foxcatcher was a really tough ride between the rock, mud, and hills and you don't want to exhaust him. If I weren't doing Biltmore, I would probably only take Legs on an easy walk-trot trail ride, less than 10 miles. As is, this weekend we're just going to be playing with the trailer, maybe do a little riding in the arena so he's not a total nutjob when I get on at the ride. Oreo is conditioned, he doesn't need to be doing 40-50 miles every weekend. Remember, the more riding you do the more risk to your horse as far as injury or over-training goes. Plus, he may just get burnt out on the whole thing.
You're good for the OD training and Turkey Creek, those are spaced fine. For OD, make sure you have good shoes, and if he has sensitive feet you'll want pads too. It's all rock and gravel road. Since you're doing both of those rides, I would only do light training in-between (10 miles, easy). He won't need much more than that since he's already fit, and like I said earlier, you don't want to burn him out!
Hope that helps!
~Sarah
Monday, April 19, 2010
Foxcatcher 50, Elkton MD
Hey Everyone! Long time, no write. Got a lot of updates for you.....
Last week Legs spent the week with his surrogate Mommy, Judie Ricci at Meadowsprings Training Center in Sumerduck, VA. She was working with him on his trailer loading issues. To get him on to go up, we used the method of loading a buddy first, then it took about 10 minutes to convince him to get on. Worked nicely, and I got him up no problems. I only wish I could have stayed the whole weekend, but I had to go back for some work training and only got to crash overnight. If you are ever looking for some horse help or just need a mini-vacation and some riding tips, go see Mama Judie!
Judie worked with him all week and made some progress. He is still really stubborn, but we have some systems in place now to get around his tricks. The one that really works is to give him an opportunity to load, and if he refuses go lunge him for a few minutes, then try again. The idea is to tell him that trailer = food+rest, no trailer = work. He still has his stubborn moments, but at least we're getting somewhere.
Picked him up on Friday, 4/16 to drive to Foxcatcher. He loaded fine, Judie had an awesome little snack packed for us (strawberries and cheese for me, dog cookies for Jack) and away we went! About halfway up, I felt the truck shaking and noticed a calamity going on in the trailer. I immediately pulled over at the next rest area and found that I had left one of the lighter mats on the floor of the trailer, and he slipped on it. He was ok, but had banged his head and his leg and had a few scratches. But he was calm, not scared, so we continued on (me kicking myself and white-knuckling the whole way). We made it to base camp around 2PM, unloaded beautifully and started to set up camp. Lisa (Legs' owner) had come and brought enough corral for him to have his own pen next to the other two horses she brought (Nino and Amana), so we didn't have to worry about tying him or anything. We went for a little warm-up ride, vetted in, and went through the usual rigamarol that comes with the pre-ride stuff.
Weather that night was pretty crappy. We got rain, rain, rain, and wind. Thankfully, my little truck tent did great! I have a quality air mattress now, and it was definitely worth the investment! My only complaint was that the people next to me (also in a tent) would not SHUT UP and let me sleep. Hello people, tents are not sound proof. Jack was also very happy to have a soft warm bed to snuggle in.
Woke up at 5AM on race day, got dressed, and fed Legs at 5:30. I'm not sure if its me or what, but every ride I've been too thus far that has offered complimentary coffee has not been able to get it up and ready in time. Just FYI, those large percolators take AT LEAST 45 minutes to get the coffee ready. IN case you ever have to use one. Legs was very good thus far, a little excited but easy to manage. We met up with Theresa, who was riding Lisa's other horse Nino and who we were supposed to stick with all day. The race started, and we waited til almost everyone had left before calmly walking out onto the trail.
The plan for the day was to go fairly easy, since we are doing Biltmore in just a few weeks. I wanted to finish with plenty of horse left so that I can let him go fast at the next race. Theresa started picking up the pace and we were going a little faster than I wanted, but i stuck with her thinking we would slow down later. The first loop was 25 miles (yes, it sucked) with a 10 minute hold about halfway through. We got lost at a very poorly marked turn around mile 10, and did an extra mile or so getting back on trail. We also met up with Lisa, who was supposed to be running up front for the win (oh no!). So we all turned around, again taking off since we were frustrated, and kept on trucking until we reached the hold. Legs drank a little and once he realized we were resting for a minute, ate some nice green grass. We took an extra few minutes, posed for a picture with all three horses in the group, and off we went again. Lisa had decided to back off for the day, but it looked like Theresa had decided she was going to try and top ten. Since I wanted to keep Legs safe for Biltmore, I backed him off (telling Lisa my plan) and parked him behind a few other horses going the pace I wanted to go. He wasn't happy about it, but after a few miles he settled in stopped fighting me so hard. I ended up meeting up with Jennifer Smith (a friend of mine from Gloucester), a new rider she had picked up, and Becky Supinger who is up from Judie's area. Together we all went a much more reasonable pace of around 10-12mph with the "just finish today" attitude. MUCH more like it for me!
Legs behaved pretty fantastic from this point on. Just cruised along at his speed and rated very well. He was a little pushy on the ground at the vet checks, wanting me to rub all over him. This got annoying because his heart rates weren't great, but he still pulsed down very quickly and negative split ALL of his CRI's all day. This behavior also got a lot better as the day went on. Overall, his vet scores were very good. I had a couple of acrobatic moments, one when he jumped a gully I wasn't expecting and lost my stirrup while he charged up the next hill. I was very proud of myself for staying on fairly easily and rating him until I got my stirrup back! We also had an almost-down moment when another horse that was with us spooked and dumped his rider. Legs got a little iffy there, but I got him back immediately and we even helped try to catch the loose horse (the rider was fine, just a little shaken up).
We finished the day in 37th place (of around 85 starters) right behind Becky Supinger. Legs looked and felt great, and the whole plan worked out almost perfectly. I feel very confident I'll have a strong healthy horse for Biltmore and will probably try to top ten on the 50 there.
My only grumpy point was that we had to leave on Saturday night instead of staying til Sunday, because Lisa and crew were also leaving thus taking the corral and my additional trailer help. I hate to go home the same day as a ride (especially with a trailer that doesn't have a lot of cushy shock absorption) because I like to give the horse plenty of rest. But we packed up, and after a fight got him on (took Theresa lunging him to get the point across), and headed home. Yes, I remembered to take the bad mat out this time, and drove very slowly and cautiously. We stopped for gas once, and he seemed pretty relaxed, enjoying a rub of his head and butt and eating his hay and grain snack. Thinking back, I should have given him water at this point, but I didn't even think about it.
We got to the farm around 11PM and he unloaded very well, although was very excited. Joy had a stall prepared with water and a snack, and he immediately started an excited pattern of roll, eat, drink. He was rolling a lot, which kind of scared me, so Joy came up to look at him with me. I took his blanket off, and we ended up letting him out of his stall, and he seemed to settle down fine. Just so happy to be home and itchy from the blanket! I got an update on Sunday that he was just fine, eating his favorite clover and playing with his friends. Very little stiffness too!
I should mention, the ride was very muddy due to all the rain, with steep rolling hills and more rock than I remembered. Lots and lots of pulls, mostly lameness. Perfect training for the next ride, which is very similar. Legs only had front shoes, he was completely barefoot in the hind. He did great all day, no tenderness! Friggin feet of cement...he will get hind shoes for Biltmore, the farrier comes this week. My plan is to go up this weekend and give him his shots and bring some more weight supplements (I forgot them at Judie's), and maybe do a little walk to loosen him up and practice with the trailer. Also might give him a nice relaxing bath, he is due. No need to do any conditioning for Biltmore, he is ready to go!
I had my Garmin for this ride, but I forgot to start it in a couple places so it's way off. I might post them later so you can see the speed differences, but don't trust the mileage or trail marking! Also will work on getting pictures; the ride photographer got a few of us but I look pretty fat in most of them (still working on losing those extra 10lbs) and she's charging $25 a piece for them, so we'll see if I can't steal a digital image somehow.
On a happy note, my friend Debbie finished in 7th place with Oreo and also had a great day! Her friend Roberta finished her first 50 too, right in the same group with me and Becky. Jennifer Smith also finished with us. My friend Jennifer Supinger (Becky's daughter) unfortunately got lost on the first loop and decided to option out since she was out for a super-long time and did lots of extra miles. If you ever decide to do this ride, keep your head up for trail markings and bring the map! They are notorious for not marking the trail well....Also helps if you can bring crew. They run the vet check so that you have to return to the timers and get your "out time" after vetting through, which is a pain because unless you have crew it can cost you an extra 5 minutes you could have spent resting/feeding your horse. I hate it when they do it like that.
Tiring but very good weekend!
Last week Legs spent the week with his surrogate Mommy, Judie Ricci at Meadowsprings Training Center in Sumerduck, VA. She was working with him on his trailer loading issues. To get him on to go up, we used the method of loading a buddy first, then it took about 10 minutes to convince him to get on. Worked nicely, and I got him up no problems. I only wish I could have stayed the whole weekend, but I had to go back for some work training and only got to crash overnight. If you are ever looking for some horse help or just need a mini-vacation and some riding tips, go see Mama Judie!
Judie worked with him all week and made some progress. He is still really stubborn, but we have some systems in place now to get around his tricks. The one that really works is to give him an opportunity to load, and if he refuses go lunge him for a few minutes, then try again. The idea is to tell him that trailer = food+rest, no trailer = work. He still has his stubborn moments, but at least we're getting somewhere.
Picked him up on Friday, 4/16 to drive to Foxcatcher. He loaded fine, Judie had an awesome little snack packed for us (strawberries and cheese for me, dog cookies for Jack) and away we went! About halfway up, I felt the truck shaking and noticed a calamity going on in the trailer. I immediately pulled over at the next rest area and found that I had left one of the lighter mats on the floor of the trailer, and he slipped on it. He was ok, but had banged his head and his leg and had a few scratches. But he was calm, not scared, so we continued on (me kicking myself and white-knuckling the whole way). We made it to base camp around 2PM, unloaded beautifully and started to set up camp. Lisa (Legs' owner) had come and brought enough corral for him to have his own pen next to the other two horses she brought (Nino and Amana), so we didn't have to worry about tying him or anything. We went for a little warm-up ride, vetted in, and went through the usual rigamarol that comes with the pre-ride stuff.
Weather that night was pretty crappy. We got rain, rain, rain, and wind. Thankfully, my little truck tent did great! I have a quality air mattress now, and it was definitely worth the investment! My only complaint was that the people next to me (also in a tent) would not SHUT UP and let me sleep. Hello people, tents are not sound proof. Jack was also very happy to have a soft warm bed to snuggle in.
Woke up at 5AM on race day, got dressed, and fed Legs at 5:30. I'm not sure if its me or what, but every ride I've been too thus far that has offered complimentary coffee has not been able to get it up and ready in time. Just FYI, those large percolators take AT LEAST 45 minutes to get the coffee ready. IN case you ever have to use one. Legs was very good thus far, a little excited but easy to manage. We met up with Theresa, who was riding Lisa's other horse Nino and who we were supposed to stick with all day. The race started, and we waited til almost everyone had left before calmly walking out onto the trail.
The plan for the day was to go fairly easy, since we are doing Biltmore in just a few weeks. I wanted to finish with plenty of horse left so that I can let him go fast at the next race. Theresa started picking up the pace and we were going a little faster than I wanted, but i stuck with her thinking we would slow down later. The first loop was 25 miles (yes, it sucked) with a 10 minute hold about halfway through. We got lost at a very poorly marked turn around mile 10, and did an extra mile or so getting back on trail. We also met up with Lisa, who was supposed to be running up front for the win (oh no!). So we all turned around, again taking off since we were frustrated, and kept on trucking until we reached the hold. Legs drank a little and once he realized we were resting for a minute, ate some nice green grass. We took an extra few minutes, posed for a picture with all three horses in the group, and off we went again. Lisa had decided to back off for the day, but it looked like Theresa had decided she was going to try and top ten. Since I wanted to keep Legs safe for Biltmore, I backed him off (telling Lisa my plan) and parked him behind a few other horses going the pace I wanted to go. He wasn't happy about it, but after a few miles he settled in stopped fighting me so hard. I ended up meeting up with Jennifer Smith (a friend of mine from Gloucester), a new rider she had picked up, and Becky Supinger who is up from Judie's area. Together we all went a much more reasonable pace of around 10-12mph with the "just finish today" attitude. MUCH more like it for me!
Legs behaved pretty fantastic from this point on. Just cruised along at his speed and rated very well. He was a little pushy on the ground at the vet checks, wanting me to rub all over him. This got annoying because his heart rates weren't great, but he still pulsed down very quickly and negative split ALL of his CRI's all day. This behavior also got a lot better as the day went on. Overall, his vet scores were very good. I had a couple of acrobatic moments, one when he jumped a gully I wasn't expecting and lost my stirrup while he charged up the next hill. I was very proud of myself for staying on fairly easily and rating him until I got my stirrup back! We also had an almost-down moment when another horse that was with us spooked and dumped his rider. Legs got a little iffy there, but I got him back immediately and we even helped try to catch the loose horse (the rider was fine, just a little shaken up).
We finished the day in 37th place (of around 85 starters) right behind Becky Supinger. Legs looked and felt great, and the whole plan worked out almost perfectly. I feel very confident I'll have a strong healthy horse for Biltmore and will probably try to top ten on the 50 there.
My only grumpy point was that we had to leave on Saturday night instead of staying til Sunday, because Lisa and crew were also leaving thus taking the corral and my additional trailer help. I hate to go home the same day as a ride (especially with a trailer that doesn't have a lot of cushy shock absorption) because I like to give the horse plenty of rest. But we packed up, and after a fight got him on (took Theresa lunging him to get the point across), and headed home. Yes, I remembered to take the bad mat out this time, and drove very slowly and cautiously. We stopped for gas once, and he seemed pretty relaxed, enjoying a rub of his head and butt and eating his hay and grain snack. Thinking back, I should have given him water at this point, but I didn't even think about it.
We got to the farm around 11PM and he unloaded very well, although was very excited. Joy had a stall prepared with water and a snack, and he immediately started an excited pattern of roll, eat, drink. He was rolling a lot, which kind of scared me, so Joy came up to look at him with me. I took his blanket off, and we ended up letting him out of his stall, and he seemed to settle down fine. Just so happy to be home and itchy from the blanket! I got an update on Sunday that he was just fine, eating his favorite clover and playing with his friends. Very little stiffness too!
I should mention, the ride was very muddy due to all the rain, with steep rolling hills and more rock than I remembered. Lots and lots of pulls, mostly lameness. Perfect training for the next ride, which is very similar. Legs only had front shoes, he was completely barefoot in the hind. He did great all day, no tenderness! Friggin feet of cement...he will get hind shoes for Biltmore, the farrier comes this week. My plan is to go up this weekend and give him his shots and bring some more weight supplements (I forgot them at Judie's), and maybe do a little walk to loosen him up and practice with the trailer. Also might give him a nice relaxing bath, he is due. No need to do any conditioning for Biltmore, he is ready to go!
I had my Garmin for this ride, but I forgot to start it in a couple places so it's way off. I might post them later so you can see the speed differences, but don't trust the mileage or trail marking! Also will work on getting pictures; the ride photographer got a few of us but I look pretty fat in most of them (still working on losing those extra 10lbs) and she's charging $25 a piece for them, so we'll see if I can't steal a digital image somehow.
On a happy note, my friend Debbie finished in 7th place with Oreo and also had a great day! Her friend Roberta finished her first 50 too, right in the same group with me and Becky. Jennifer Smith also finished with us. My friend Jennifer Supinger (Becky's daughter) unfortunately got lost on the first loop and decided to option out since she was out for a super-long time and did lots of extra miles. If you ever decide to do this ride, keep your head up for trail markings and bring the map! They are notorious for not marking the trail well....Also helps if you can bring crew. They run the vet check so that you have to return to the timers and get your "out time" after vetting through, which is a pain because unless you have crew it can cost you an extra 5 minutes you could have spent resting/feeding your horse. I hate it when they do it like that.
Tiring but very good weekend!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Another Trailer Update
Went up Wednesday to practice getting Legs on the trailer with Joy and Michael, and to move him back to the farm so that it will be quicker to load him today. It was definitely a battle, he fought us so hard he even put himself on the ground once. Eventually, we ended up putting another horse on the trailer first (Maverick, a pasture mate and my new favorite of the barn) and then Legs got back on with slightly less of a fight. Then we took Maverick off and got Legs out of there! It might be what we have to do tonight to get him to Judie's, but as long as he get on I seriously don't care.
Heading up to Judie's tonight after work and leaving him there with the trailer for the week for her to work on him. Then I'll be picking him up on Friday on my way up to Foxcatcher. Hopefully at this point she will have cured him of his craziness! Definitely owe her a few weekends of labor for this one, planning on putting in that time after Biltmore when things settle down and I have a long break between races.
Sheesh.
Heading up to Judie's tonight after work and leaving him there with the trailer for the week for her to work on him. Then I'll be picking him up on Friday on my way up to Foxcatcher. Hopefully at this point she will have cured him of his craziness! Definitely owe her a few weekends of labor for this one, planning on putting in that time after Biltmore when things settle down and I have a long break between races.
Sheesh.
More Debbie Questions
Two more questions for you.....you are so kind to help me out.............. At Foxcatcher, at the 10 minute hold, should I have Curt meet me there with some beet pulp for Oreo or should I just let Oreo rest and graze on the grass? 10 minutes isn't much time. After Foxcatcher, I need to start training smarter. If my goal is one good conditioning ride a week, what mileage should I try to attain and how should I structure the ride? Meaning should I do equal parts loping and trotting or more of one than the other, or just go out and have fun? Mostly I've always gone out and just had fun. I do want to keep this sport fun, but I'm now starting to worry more about Oreo's condition now that we have lot's of 50 mile rides I'd like to attend this year. Thanks Sarah, Debbie |
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Hey Debbie, no problem.
I haven't looked at the ride map/loops yet. If Kurt can make it easily, I would definitely have him bring a few snacks for Oreo. Let Oreo decide what he wants, but having lots of options there will ensure that he has something to pick from. Another good option is to carry some small bags of treats in your saddle (grain, carrots, etc), then Kurt doesn't have to come out. Also will be important to have water if the ride isn't providing it there, and to electrolyte right before you go back out if that is on a long loop (I'm assuming it is).
Your mileage for your good conditioning ride will depend on both how fast you go and what the terrain is like. I try to do around 15 miles, but down here it's very flat and not very technical and the ground is soft. Our longest training ride is Beaverdam, which is about 18 miles and we have to go slow because it's windy and narrow trail, pretty technical. Since I'm usually by myself, I usually go pretty slow at a moderate trot and barely any canter for most of the time, so a longer distance fits us fine. It's also good because it helps maintain his fitness level without putting too much stress on his body (the whole Long Slow Distance technique). But if you're on hills, rocks, or at a higher speed, you don't need to do as much mileage (keep it 10-15 at most). I think the go-out-and-have-fun technique is probably best, just make sure to keep your speed (whatever it may be) consistent. Nothing drives me more bonkers than riders who gallop for five minutes and then walk for 20. It's usually good to let the horse set the pace, I let Legs do that all the time and just go with how he feels (unless he's over-excited. then i have to rein him in!). A good idea is to find an average speed for your horse, where they're not working too hard but aren't being lazy either, then keep the pace within 2mph of that speed. Legs' relaxed moderate trot speed for training is 8-9mph, so when we go out I try to keep it between 6-10mph.
If you have any friends who are long-distance runners, I would take them to dinner and pick their brain. The training is really, really similar as it would be for our horses! Or, ask your husband about how he trains his distance swimmers. Not quite as close as running but you can get a general idea there.
Also, don't forget that Oreo is already really fit and that the 50's will keep him that way, so you don't need to worry too much about getting him conditioned. It's more of a maintenance factor now, you don't want to over-condition him (yes, it really is possible to do so). So, don't stress if you can only get on him once a week. He's not going to lose that conditioning he already has, it takes months and months of just sitting in pasture for that to happen. The week leading up to the ride, I would only take him out once, and only for a light walk-trot ride that is less than 5 miles. That way, he has a "taper" and is well-rested.
Hope that helps!
~Sarah
Monday, April 5, 2010
Questions on Gate and Hold
Some more Q&A from my friend, Debbie....
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Sarah, I'm not really sure I understand how this gate in hold works? Is that what we did at Sand Hills? Does it mean that your hold time starts when the pulse taker says your horse meets the pulse criteria? Example, you pass the in timer and she takes your card and gives you a time in. Then you mess around for 15 minutes before you go to vet check to get your pulse. So 15 minutes later you get your pulse. Does your 50 minute hold start at that point and you've actually wasted 15 minutes messing around? So far, I always go straight to the pulse taker as soon as I come in. It's been cool weather for my three rides, so I have been fortunate that Oreo has been able to pulse down by the time we walk over. I know that won't always be the case so I want to make sure I understand when my hold time starts. You know, in case I have to cool him off first before going to the pulse taker. Thanks, Debbie |
Correct. your 50 minutes doesn't start until your horse meets pulse criteria. so, here it is step-by-step:
1. give card to timer
2. get horse down, get p&r people to get pulse in. NOW your hold time starts. if you look at past vet cards, you should see this.
So, now you know why you see us all trying to panic and get our horse down as quick as possible! :-)
Tricks to this: races are definitely won by people who get through the pulse down. That's how Jeremy won Tevis twice, and I have passed lots of people too. Walk into vet checks, and get your horse in quick. You're out time might end up being a few minutes faster than the people close to you (especially with Oreo's heart rates) and you could end up having a few minutes lead time on the next loop.
The other reason they do this is so the vets can see how fast the horse recovers. If they take too long, they pull you. I believe you have 30min to get the horse down, or they pull you (it could be an hour, Mary would know
better than me). This applies in FEI too.
Weekend Updates
Had a pretty uneventful/successful weekend. Rode Legs Friday evening for about an hour, got in a very easy 5 miles. Didn't touch the trailer, and he seemed genuinely happy to see me (a nice change after the trauma of last weekend).
Came back up on Sunday, did a very light and easy 15 miles. Again around the summer training grounds, no trailering. He was extremely relaxed, I think we both started falling asleep about 2/3 through. Had two major spooks, both excusable. One when an animal jumped out of the woods at us (I jumped too), and another while we were alongside the road and a jeep pulling a flatbed trailer came up behind us without slowing down. Don't blame him for that one either.
Attempted some trailer loading on Sunday, he refused it. Thus, no reward.
Still not feeling myself, I've lost probably 80% of my confidence because of this trailer crap. Started leading him alongside the road when we go to and from the trail; helps us both relax and provides good bonding time.
Going to try and make it up after work one day this week to work on trailer with Joy and Michael, hopefully that will make this weekend less stressful. Still planning on taking him to Judie's for trailer training all week. Hopefully she gets him through it so we can get through Foxcatcher and Biltmore with no issues.
Sorry guys, no Garmin reports from the weekend.
Came back up on Sunday, did a very light and easy 15 miles. Again around the summer training grounds, no trailering. He was extremely relaxed, I think we both started falling asleep about 2/3 through. Had two major spooks, both excusable. One when an animal jumped out of the woods at us (I jumped too), and another while we were alongside the road and a jeep pulling a flatbed trailer came up behind us without slowing down. Don't blame him for that one either.
Attempted some trailer loading on Sunday, he refused it. Thus, no reward.
Still not feeling myself, I've lost probably 80% of my confidence because of this trailer crap. Started leading him alongside the road when we go to and from the trail; helps us both relax and provides good bonding time.
Going to try and make it up after work one day this week to work on trailer with Joy and Michael, hopefully that will make this weekend less stressful. Still planning on taking him to Judie's for trailer training all week. Hopefully she gets him through it so we can get through Foxcatcher and Biltmore with no issues.
Sorry guys, no Garmin reports from the weekend.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Questions on Rest/Training
Email exchange between me and Debbie this morning. Thought it might be good for those curious, enquiring minds out there. Enjoy!
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Hey, if you don't mind answering a couple of endurance questions, I'll ask them.
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Hey, if you don't mind answering a couple of endurance questions, I'll ask them.
Thinking back to Sand Hills.........that was our first 50 for the season after a rough winter with little riding. Oreo did fine and returned home w/o issue and we rode this past weekend so I guess he is in good shape after all. On the first lap at Sand Hills, I held him back. He wanted to go faster in the beginning and I pulled him back from the first group. I wanted to make sure he made it to the end. Now that I know he is in shape, what are your thoughts about letting him go faster in the beginning?
After the Saturday 50 at Sand Hills, the first week back home, how much time do you give Legs before riding again? What's the routine when you do start riding again after a competition? And in general, what is your workout schedule?
That's it....thanks again for your help at Sand Hills............I owe my 9th place finish to you
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Hey Debbie,
No problem at all! I love answering this stuff. I probably will even end up posting your questions and answers on my blog for fun.
You planned it exactly right with holding him back the first loop. A great way to run these races, especially if you're unsure of your horse's fitness, is to go conservative in the beginning and get faster as the day goes on. Once your horse is fit, you can let them go a bit but it's always good to still build up if you can and "negative split" (go faster on the last loop). That way, if you have to push at the end you've got plenty of horse left.
There are a couple of examples of when it's good to go faster at first, though. If it is going to be a really hot day, it's good to go fast at first while the day is cooler (this might be especially good for Oreo if he tends to get hot). Another reason would be if you had a young horse (like Legs) who was expending more energy fighting you than is worth it; you can let them go until they get the speed out of their system and then settle them down later once they are a little more tired/relaxed. I do this with Legs a lot; one of these days I'm going to see how hard and long I can run him before he's exhausted! :-p
Rest and training are really different for every horse. The general rest rule is 1 day for every 10 miles raced, with a very light stretch-out ride (2-3 miles) around day 3 or 4. For Legs, I actually let him rest a week before I went up and rode him again. I did that for a couple reasons; one is that I board him 45 minutes away so it's not the easiest thing to get up there. The second is because I know he loves to run and play in the pasture with his buddies, so he spends plenty of time keeping loose (it also makes it hard to keep weight on his skinny butt), so I knew he wouldn't need it. I train 2-3 times a week, with only one of those rides being a real workout/conditioning ride. Again, a lot of that is due to my work schedule but also because Legs holds his fitness so well. Our other two rides are usually in the morning, and are either a light ride on trail (no more than 5 miles, mostly trot), or messing around in the arena/round pen or practicing with the trailer. Legs has a terrible loading problem, so that is our focus at the moment.
After their rest period and when you start riding them again, it generally depends on the horse and what your ride schedule is going to be. I have a heavy ride schedule for this first part of the spring/summer, so well be going very light as far as conditioning because he just won't need it. In a way, the races are his conditioning, so most of his downtime will be spent resting up for the next one. To keep conditioning heavily with that many rides is inviting a few problems you can get from over-conditioning, like injuries and not to mention exhausting the horse. If I were doing rides months apart, I would keep a very similar schedule riding him 2-3 times a week, with one of those rides being a serious conditioning ride (10-20 miles).
When I'm getting a horse fit from scratch, I generally keep the same kind of schedule but start very slow and base it more around time in the saddle rather than distance. For example, I took my friend Kelly out this weekend with her horse, Jazz, and we did a 10 mile ride of mostly walk and trot. It took us about 2 hours, and we worked up very little sweat. This is called Long Slow Distance riding (LSD) and I really haven't found any better way to start conditioning an endurance horse. When I first started Legs, I was forced into it because he was so spooky. But because it was lower stress/low impact, it really got him in awesome shape.
Does that help answer your questions? Sorry it's kind of vague. As with most things horse-related, a lot depends on the situation and the horse.
~Sarah
I also forgot to mention, if you have access to the equipment there are a couple of other conditioning things you can do as your "light" workout once a week (Heather and Jeremy love this stuff):
Swimming: just like for people, this is great low-impact and strengthens up ligaments and works muscles that wouldn't otherwise get worked.
Treadmill: No hills, no problem! Stick your horse on an uphill treadmill for 30 minutes at a fast walk. It's low-impact, and really helps develop those hill-climbing endurance skills.
Hot Walker: Just having your horse walk on a hot walker for an hour (30 minutes in each direction) is an amazing way to get them some slow, low-impact work.
Hope that helps too!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Failure's Not Flattering
Just a forewarning, this one will probably be depressing...
Well yesterday was a disaster. Went up to meet my good friend Kelly and go for a nice light right at the summer pasture. It was the first time riding Legs since Sand Hills last weekend. Legs doesn't need much work right now since he is fit and her horse Jazz is just getting back into shape after the long winter. It all started when he wouldn't load. I fought him for an hour, then when he still refused went and picked up Kelly to help me. We got him on in about 15 minutes without too much effort, got to the barn, saddled up, and then went off for a lovely 10 mile ride (I'll post my Garmin report later today). We went very easy, just some trot and lots of walk, which was very relaxing. Legs was a little spooky but not too bad; I attributed it to being fired up from having a week off.
We then went to load up to trailer the 2 miles home. He wouldn't do it. Kelly and I worked him for over 2 hours, using a few different methods and even trying her trailer too. Then finally gave it up since we were both exhausted and he had shut down. For anyone who's had a horse with bad loading problems, I'm sure you can sympathize. But for those who haven't, it is the most depressing awful feeling in the world. I have never felt so defeated in my life. Thankfully, we were at the summer pasture, so I just put him in the corral with his food and left him there (Joy checked on him this morning, he is fine). But it still felt like I was deserting him, though he left me no choice. I literally went home, crawled into bed, and then just cried for 2 hours. Didn't know what else to do.
Judie told me she would work with him for a week if I can just bring his food; I will probably do that. The vet is coming on 4/6 to do a new coggins, so I will look at bringing him up on 4/10. Then I can just leave him there and pick him up for Foxcatcher the following week.
Many thanks to Kelly in all her patience and moral support in sticking around to help me!
Well yesterday was a disaster. Went up to meet my good friend Kelly and go for a nice light right at the summer pasture. It was the first time riding Legs since Sand Hills last weekend. Legs doesn't need much work right now since he is fit and her horse Jazz is just getting back into shape after the long winter. It all started when he wouldn't load. I fought him for an hour, then when he still refused went and picked up Kelly to help me. We got him on in about 15 minutes without too much effort, got to the barn, saddled up, and then went off for a lovely 10 mile ride (I'll post my Garmin report later today). We went very easy, just some trot and lots of walk, which was very relaxing. Legs was a little spooky but not too bad; I attributed it to being fired up from having a week off.
We then went to load up to trailer the 2 miles home. He wouldn't do it. Kelly and I worked him for over 2 hours, using a few different methods and even trying her trailer too. Then finally gave it up since we were both exhausted and he had shut down. For anyone who's had a horse with bad loading problems, I'm sure you can sympathize. But for those who haven't, it is the most depressing awful feeling in the world. I have never felt so defeated in my life. Thankfully, we were at the summer pasture, so I just put him in the corral with his food and left him there (Joy checked on him this morning, he is fine). But it still felt like I was deserting him, though he left me no choice. I literally went home, crawled into bed, and then just cried for 2 hours. Didn't know what else to do.
Judie told me she would work with him for a week if I can just bring his food; I will probably do that. The vet is coming on 4/6 to do a new coggins, so I will look at bringing him up on 4/10. Then I can just leave him there and pick him up for Foxcatcher the following week.
Many thanks to Kelly in all her patience and moral support in sticking around to help me!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Garmin Data for Sand Hills
Here's the Garmin account of the race...started about 5 minutes late, as usual for me. Sorry!
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled
Sand Hills Recap
Yay for a successful weekend! Legs and I got 8th place in a race-off with our friend, Debbie Bader and her horse Oreo. Here's the general recap:
We drove down to South Carolina on Friday, 3/19, starting early in the morning. I got packed up and loaded in about an hour, Legs did okay with the loading part. I didn't take him off the trailer for fear I wouldn't be able to get him back on by myself, but I did stop a few times to offer him water and more hay. He seemed nervous at first but halfway through North Carolina, he really started going to town on his hay so I think he is starting to relax and get used to it. When we arrived at the ride, many people were already there and I had a very tough time finding his corral. It took an hour to finally get the campsite management to help me, only to find that his corral was all the way back in where the RV hookups were across camp. Being that I have a very primitive rig with no electric needs, and that many of the spots were already full, there was no way I could park there. So I got him settled in his pen with plenty of food and water, and went to find a spot near the vet check so I could crew from there. The good part was that his pen was in the shade, at least, so he got some relief from the heat.
After getting Legs and Jack settled, it was time to unload and set up camp. My truck tent, apparently, is a beast. It took me the better part of an hour to get it set up, and was absolutely exhausting. Many thanks to the people parked next to me for helping me get parked and letting me borrow the extra hands/strength! We got it figured out, though, and I will know for next time exactly how to set it up so it goes faster.
After setting up my tent, it was time to vet in. Normally, I go for a little warm up ride to loosen him up first. But because of the fiasco with the corral and tent I simply didn't have time. He vetted in with all A's (an A- in Skin Tenting, which is normal because he had a long trailer ride and was a little dehydrated) and a heart rate of 40. So we were good to go for the next day!
I met up with Carolyn Vavala, Becky Supinger, and Mary Howell to hang out with for the rest of the day, and together with Jack we went to ride meeting. After getting our debriefing I borrowed Carolyn's clippers to clip Legs; he has a nice woolly coat and I knew it was going to be hot hot hot tomorrow afternoon. He did great with the clippers, especially since it was dark. I did his neck and chest and a little on his hidquarters and belly. Then it was off to bed. Lesson learned for next time: get a better air mattress. I had brought plenty of blankets so I was warm, but my air mattress really sucked and I kept waking up to find it deflated and me sleeping on the hard truck bed. Jack didn't like it either. No good.
Race time the next morning was 7AM, so I got up at 5AM. Fed Jack and brought Legs his breakfast (complete with electrolytes), then went to go get some coffee at the ride management office. Unfortunately it wasn't ready yet, so we dropped by Carolyn's rig again to be rescued! Carolyn has a beautiful luxurious trailer and is an incredibly gracious host, she really saved my butt several times this weekend. I then went to grab a granola bar, get Jack set up for the day, finish packing my saddle, and tacked up my horse. He was definitely ready, he was excited to get going. I had someone help me hold him while I mounted up, and then we warmed up by walking around and meeting Carolyn and Becky and their horses on the other side of camp. Then it was time to be off!
The first loop was just over 15 miles and we went a little faster than I originally planned, though we did start in the very back. Legs was fired up and ready, he fought me hard. I think we may try a different bit or a running martingale so he doesn't keep flipping his head up at me. I was worried, but he didn't breathe hard the whole way. We finished the loop, walked right into the vet check with minimal sponging, and got great vet scores. Mary helped me crew all day, she did a great job! Especially since she was also helping our friend Joanie, who had 4 horses out on the LD. Thanks again Mary!
The second loop (14 miles) I went out with a group of 4-5 people (I was a few minutes ahead of Becky and Carolyn since I vetted in faster). I stayed with them through the entire loop and we passed some more people on the way. Again, Legs was going much faster than I intended but he was still pulling and fighting on me, he wasn't breathing hard, and all of his vet scores were great again. Mary trotted him for me so I could see how great he looked, he was sound as a bell! Did I also mention he was barefoot? :-p My little guy has granite feet....He was a little muscle-sore at the end of this loop (he's not used to sand or hills), so we gave him some myoguard and rubbed him out a little. He also didn't eat as much as I would've liked.
The third loop was the hottest and longest of the day. Having vetted in quickly again, I started with my friend Debbie and another rider, we were 16th-18th. Debbie really wanted to make top 10 but wasn't feeling great (her ankle hurt), but our horses were both doing great, so I told her I'd give it my best shot and get her up there. Legs led for the first 10 miles. He drank like a champ at every water stop and ate whatever was available, so I knew we were okay. He really knows the game, chug the water, take a bite and eat on the go! We passed 4-5 people right at the start of the loop, then I set off on a much more reasonable pace (10-12mph). This is what I meant to do today! Halfway through the 20-mile loop, we elecrolyted and shortly after met up with a guy who had gotten lost. This fired Legs up again, and it was off to the races for another fast pace. We passed 4-5 more people, and it was then I knew we were on the back end of top 10 but would probably have to race for it. I knew the last water stop was about a mile from the finish line, so when we got there I whispered to Debbie that as soon as the horses were done drinking we were going to take off fast. She was hurting, but I convinced her to stick to me and go for it!
We got in the lead right afte
r the water, and as soon as I saw the finish it was off at a gallop, Debbie right behind me cheering us on. As we neared the finish line, I felt Legs getting nervous and realized he was going to spook. I kept pushing him and while he did a little jump to the side (see video), he remembered himself and pulled it off at the last second, beating out our little pack. Debbie came in right behind me at 9th. Mary was there with water to help us cool them off (see photo), and I jumped off and walked him the rest of the way back to camp. He was down with a light sponging by the time we got back, and we vetted in. The vet gave him all A's, his CRI was 52/52, and we were encouraged to stand for BC. I didn't think we'd get it, we were 45min behind the leaders, but I thought, why not?
The BC vet was tough. She said Legs moved the best out of all the horses she'd seen so far (Mary trotted him for me, I didn't eat enough and wasn't feeling well). But she gave him low marks on some other areas where the other vets marked him high. But every judge is different, and in any case it's always good to have the vets get one last look at your horse. We ended up placing 6th in the BC judging (right behind Debbie, Oreo's heart rates are CRAZY low!), and won some big engraved plates with the race logo on them.
That night I made sure to feed Legs lots and lots and give him plenty of water. I gave him a nice walk before bed and he seemed to be recovering nicely, a little stiff but who wouldn't be after 50 miles? He still wasn't eating as much as I liked, but he was munching here and there and seemed alert and very happy with himself, so I didn't worry. Jack and I slept in Carolyn's rig (THANKS AGAIN CAROLYN!) to ensure that I got good rest to drive home. Though he kept checking on everyone and patrolling the place, it was a nice restful evening after a long day.
Sunday was basically just the trip home. Chatted with Carolyn over coffee, packed up, loaded Legs (he jumped right on, NO LUNGE WHIP!), stopped and turned Legs around because he untied himself (doh!), then headed out. I stopped twice, getting gas once and offering Legs and Jack water and refilling hay again both times. He was finally hungry, attacking his hay like a MANIAC but also making a total mess. We made it home without incident, other than getting confused and missing the 295 exit, having to drive through Richmond (YIKES!). Legs was very happy to see his friends, and took off trotting to his favorite roll spot, rolled both sides, and then galloped full-speed to the far side of the pasture to play. I also made sure to watch until he got a drink, since he had a long ride.
So, while we went much faster than planned, it was an overall very successful weekend! Enjoy the video of our race-off and Legs' spook, courtesy of Debbie's husband. :-) Also, most of the pictures are all courtesy of Debbie and her husband, too. It's hard to get photos done when you don't have extra pairs of hands....
PS Follow up for the day...Joy reports that Legs looks AWESOME today and even took a nice long nap in his stall with fresh soft bedding. awwww so cute!
We drove down to South Carolina on Friday, 3/19, starting early in the morning. I got packed up and loaded in about an hour, Legs did okay with the loading part. I didn't take him off the trailer for fear I wouldn't be able to get him back on by myself, but I did stop a few times to offer him water and more hay. He seemed nervous at first but halfway through North Carolina, he really started going to town on his hay so I think he is starting to relax and get used to it. When we arrived at the ride, many people were already there and I had a very tough time finding his corral. It took an hour to finally get the campsite management to help me, only to find that his corral was all the way back in where the RV hookups were across camp. Being that I have a very primitive rig with no electric needs, and that many of the spots were already full, there was no way I could park there. So I got him settled in his pen with plenty of food and water, and went to find a spot near the vet check so I could crew from there. The good part was that his pen was in the shade, at least, so he got some relief from the heat.
After getting Legs and Jack settled, it was time to unload and set up camp. My truck tent, apparently, is a beast. It took me the better part of an hour to get it set up, and was absolutely exhausting. Many thanks to the people parked next to me for helping me get parked and letting me borrow the extra hands/strength! We got it figured out, though, and I will know for next time exactly how to set it up so it goes faster.
After setting up my tent, it was time to vet in. Normally, I go for a little warm up ride to loosen him up first. But because of the fiasco with the corral and tent I simply didn't have time. He vetted in with all A's (an A- in Skin Tenting, which is normal because he had a long trailer ride and was a little dehydrated) and a heart rate of 40. So we were good to go for the next day!
I met up with Carolyn Vavala, Becky Supinger, and Mary Howell to hang out with for the rest of the day, and together with Jack we went to ride meeting. After getting our debriefing I borrowed Carolyn's clippers to clip Legs; he has a nice woolly coat and I knew it was going to be hot hot hot tomorrow afternoon. He did great with the clippers, especially since it was dark. I did his neck and chest and a little on his hidquarters and belly. Then it was off to bed. Lesson learned for next time: get a better air mattress. I had brought plenty of blankets so I was warm, but my air mattress really sucked and I kept waking up to find it deflated and me sleeping on the hard truck bed. Jack didn't like it either. No good.
Race time the next morning was 7AM, so I got up at 5AM. Fed Jack and brought Legs his breakfast (complete with electrolytes), then went to go get some coffee at the ride management office. Unfortunately it wasn't ready yet, so we dropped by Carolyn's rig again to be rescued! Carolyn has a beautiful luxurious trailer and is an incredibly gracious host, she really saved my butt several times this weekend. I then went to grab a granola bar, get Jack set up for the day, finish packing my saddle, and tacked up my horse. He was definitely ready, he was excited to get going. I had someone help me hold him while I mounted up, and then we warmed up by walking around and meeting Carolyn and Becky and their horses on the other side of camp. Then it was time to be off!
The first loop was just over 15 miles and we went a little faster than I originally planned, though we did start in the very back. Legs was fired up and ready, he fought me hard. I think we may try a different bit or a running martingale so he doesn't keep flipping his head up at me. I was worried, but he didn't breathe hard the whole way. We finished the loop, walked right into the vet check with minimal sponging, and got great vet scores. Mary helped me crew all day, she did a great job! Especially since she was also helping our friend Joanie, who had 4 horses out on the LD. Thanks again Mary!
The second loop (14 miles) I went out with a group of 4-5 people (I was a few minutes ahead of Becky and Carolyn since I vetted in faster). I stayed with them through the entire loop and we passed some more people on the way. Again, Legs was going much faster than I intended but he was still pulling and fighting on me, he wasn't breathing hard, and all of his vet scores were great again. Mary trotted him for me so I could see how great he looked, he was sound as a bell! Did I also mention he was barefoot? :-p My little guy has granite feet....He was a little muscle-sore at the end of this loop (he's not used to sand or hills), so we gave him some myoguard and rubbed him out a little. He also didn't eat as much as I would've liked.
The third loop was the hottest and longest of the day. Having vetted in quickly again, I started with my friend Debbie and another rider, we were 16th-18th. Debbie really wanted to make top 10 but wasn't feeling great (her ankle hurt), but our horses were both doing great, so I told her I'd give it my best shot and get her up there. Legs led for the first 10 miles. He drank like a champ at every water stop and ate whatever was available, so I knew we were okay. He really knows the game, chug the water, take a bite and eat on the go! We passed 4-5 people right at the start of the loop, then I set off on a much more reasonable pace (10-12mph). This is what I meant to do today! Halfway through the 20-mile loop, we elecrolyted and shortly after met up with a guy who had gotten lost. This fired Legs up again, and it was off to the races for another fast pace. We passed 4-5 more people, and it was then I knew we were on the back end of top 10 but would probably have to race for it. I knew the last water stop was about a mile from the finish line, so when we got there I whispered to Debbie that as soon as the horses were done drinking we were going to take off fast. She was hurting, but I convinced her to stick to me and go for it!
We got in the lead right afte
r the water, and as soon as I saw the finish it was off at a gallop, Debbie right behind me cheering us on. As we neared the finish line, I felt Legs getting nervous and realized he was going to spook. I kept pushing him and while he did a little jump to the side (see video), he remembered himself and pulled it off at the last second, beating out our little pack. Debbie came in right behind me at 9th. Mary was there with water to help us cool them off (see photo), and I jumped off and walked him the rest of the way back to camp. He was down with a light sponging by the time we got back, and we vetted in. The vet gave him all A's, his CRI was 52/52, and we were encouraged to stand for BC. I didn't think we'd get it, we were 45min behind the leaders, but I thought, why not?The BC vet was tough. She said Legs moved the best out of all the horses she'd seen so far (Mary trotted him for me, I didn't eat enough and wasn't feeling well). But she gave him low marks on some other areas where the other vets marked him high. But every judge is different, and in any case it's always good to have the vets get one last look at your horse. We ended up placing 6th in the BC judging (right behind Debbie, Oreo's heart rates are CRAZY low!), and won some big engraved plates with the race logo on them.
That night I made sure to feed Legs lots and lots and give him plenty of water. I gave him a nice walk before bed and he seemed to be recovering nicely, a little stiff but who wouldn't be after 50 miles? He still wasn't eating as much as I liked, but he was munching here and there and seemed alert and very happy with himself, so I didn't worry. Jack and I slept in Carolyn's rig (THANKS AGAIN CAROLYN!) to ensure that I got good rest to drive home. Though he kept checking on everyone and patrolling the place, it was a nice restful evening after a long day.
Sunday was basically just the trip home. Chatted with Carolyn over coffee, packed up, loaded Legs (he jumped right on, NO LUNGE WHIP!), stopped and turned Legs around because he untied himself (doh!), then headed out. I stopped twice, getting gas once and offering Legs and Jack water and refilling hay again both times. He was finally hungry, attacking his hay like a MANIAC but also making a total mess. We made it home without incident, other than getting confused and missing the 295 exit, having to drive through Richmond (YIKES!). Legs was very happy to see his friends, and took off trotting to his favorite roll spot, rolled both sides, and then galloped full-speed to the far side of the pasture to play. I also made sure to watch until he got a drink, since he had a long ride.
So, while we went much faster than planned, it was an overall very successful weekend! Enjoy the video of our race-off and Legs' spook, courtesy of Debbie's husband. :-) Also, most of the pictures are all courtesy of Debbie and her husband, too. It's hard to get photos done when you don't have extra pairs of hands....
PS Follow up for the day...Joy reports that Legs looks AWESOME today and even took a nice long nap in his stall with fresh soft bedding. awwww so cute!
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