Hey guys, this one won't be too long I promise.....
Went to the New Jersey ride Rabbit Run with Amy Smoot and Carolyn Vavala. I took Helo, Amy took Remington and Carolyn was on her mare, Becca. Amy and I planned to ride together and go easy, just trying to get Remington through his first successful 50 in a long time and also get Helo conditioned. I wasn't too concerned because the ride is flat and supposedly easy.
We got to camp with no problems and parked on Friday. Immediately I had concern because the sand on the road in and in the vet area was pretty deep; Carolyn's rig was losing some major traction. This was scary, as we had not prepared or conditioned for deep sand (yikes!). Helo was unfamiliar with using a ramp and bonked his ankle unloading; he was sound it was just a little ouchie to the touch. He also was a little dehydrated; I ended up hitting him with a few doses of electrolytes while we rested on Friday. Everyone vetted through fine, and we had a great ride dinner and fast meeting.
Saturday morning, Amy and I waited until the main pack was out of sight before we headed out to trail. Kelly Lane (riding her horses, Dinero) decided to head out and pace with us. It ended up working out great! Remington calmed down much faster then normal, Helo was energetic but very well-behaved, and it was great experience for everyone. For the first two loops we held about 9-10mph trot, except for on the moguls and deep sand (we slowed down for all of that). Unfortunately, there was a LOT of deep sand. Apparently this is not common for this ride, but because they didn't get a lot of rain the trail wasn't as compressed as normal. Good to know if we come back in future years. There also is almost zero food and very little water on trail, so it's good to bring some horse snacks on the saddle and not take too long out there.
Helo and Remy started to get tired around mile 30, so we backed them off to make sure they finished. Unfortunately Dinero pulled at mile 35 (hind end lameness). Amy and I went VERY slow on the last loop; we were all kind of dead brained and sore from the very flat ride and Helo wasn't eating or drinking as well as I wanted him too. I hit him with Probios and some Balance at the vet check and he perked right back up again, and his vet checks were good all day. Good experience for both of us now, I'll definitely have that handy for future rides!
Amy, Carolyn and I all finished successfully and headed home Saturday night (again a note for this ride, they make you leave Saturday night unless you want to pay extra to stay). Next year, we'll pay the extra. Since we were all very tired it took us a lot of extra time to get home, and the horses took longer to recover over the next few days. Lesson learned.
Next up, Foxcatcher!
About Me
- Schicksa
- I currently live and work and Norfolk, VA. Outside of my job, I train and race a horses where I can find them, mostly from friends in endurance or by other contacts I make in our sport.