Mel writes the columns...

...so you don't have to buy the magazines!

I don't currently subscribe to any horse magazines, (AERC excluded) because with the exception of one (Equus) I find them rather repetitive, trivial, and simplistic.

While waiting in line to buy cat food (at TSC, taste of the wild, if you most know) I observed the following headlines:

Gear you need for your new horse


Getting your  own horse - Make it happen!


5 ways to be a better rider

Here's what I'm going to do.  As much as these titles make you want to run to your nearest horse store and grab this issue off the shelf, we are all busy people.  So, without actually reading a word of these magazines I'm going to give you a summary of what the magazine probably did not say - but they should have.

5 ways to be a better rider

Ummm...take riding lessons? This seems an obvious one, but hey- if spending the big bucks on a magazine to learn this sage advice makes it sink in a bit better, then that's money well spent!

Ride anything (that you can safely) get your hands on.

Watch good riding.  It's amazing how visualization transfers to the saddle.

Chose suitable mounts.  While a hint of desperation helps, fear isn't generally a state where cognizant learning occurs - especially considering that riding often entails doing the OPPOSITE of what your body thinks it needs to do for survival.

Watch National Velvet.  Just to remind you why you started riding in the first place.

OK - that wasn't too bad.  Let's move on to the next one shall we?

Getting your own horse - Make it happen!

First off - if you need to look towards a magazine for your inspiration to get your own horse, I'm not sure I want you owning a horse.

Why aren't you leasing or borrowing?  I did that for YEARS before ever getting my own horse.  And when I got my own horse, let's review what I had:

1.  A job.  That paid my bills in full, BEFORE getting a horse.
2.  A place to keep the horse
3.  A way to transport the horse
4.  The time to ride, caress, and care for the horse.
5.  The time to educate myself about the horse.
6.  A health insurance plan for myself.

You want to get a horse?  Get a job.  Do your homework.  Arrange your life to make it possible.  Then, go talk to the 3 best horse people you know for advice.


Gear you need for your new horse


I'll give you a hint - you don't need half the crap you think you need, and you'll pay twice what you budgeted for the crap you do need. 

Let's leave the typical "grooming, blanket, and that-fancy-saddle-pad" lists behind and take a look at what you REALLY need.

• 2 halters, 2 leadropes.  I'm not kidding.  And let's make sure the leadropes are cotton so we end the day with all our fingers OK?
• A hoof pick.  A really good one.  
• A good brush.  Medium stiff that doesn't annoy the horse, that still gets dried dirt off the coat.  
• A fly mask - because when your horse needs that mask, he needs it.  Don't make him wait miserably while you remember to go by the tack store on your way home from work.  
• A thermometer.  Trying to find one you like when your stable is having an infectious outbreak and you want to do BID temps.......is not fun.  Keep one handy.  
• Proper foot wear.  Do as I say, not as I do.
• A helmet - it's not just for riding.

Now we'll assume you want to actually DO something with the pony.  Here are your priorities.

• A bit that doesn't annoy your horse.  Rule out your hands and riding first, and then put something on the horse's head that they don't hate.  That is YOUR responsibility as a rider.  
• If you can't afford a decent saddle that fits your horse well enough to not cause sores and pressure points, don't use one.  Borrow one or ride bareback while you save your pennies. 
• Reins you don't hate
• A saddle pad that doesn't slip, bunch, or annoy you.
• A blanket that will fix a shivering horse.  I suggest having several on hand.  
• A couple of grooming tools you really like, so are likely to use.  

Here's some general guidelines I would follow if I was starting over with a new horse

• Figure out what you want the first time, and buy it - even if it's expensive.  Buy quality.
• Borrow gear to test first if you can.  I hate doing it - you probably hate doing it, but it will keep you from buying unnecessary stuff you will take a loss on later.  
• Once I have the basics, make purchases that will help me have experiences with my horse - not look pretty.  
• Spend money where it counts - a perfect item that does exactly what I want, while saving time. 

What do you guys think?  Did I miss something by not reading the articles?  Do you have anything to add?

More notable vetmed wisdom

How to have happy clients - prep them for failure.  Then they are happy!  Better NOT to suprise them with bad news right?
 -I'm a little unsure how I feel about this - stress and worry on the clients part isn't exactly comforting from their point of view...


Funniest thing heard today "sometimes you can either save them slowly, or kill them fast"
-Student:"But if I give the drug intermuscularly, it works slower!"  
-Clinician's response - "Or you can quickly kill the patient by over-stressing them getting that vein for IV administration...."

Fair Warning

I'm giving you fair warning.  This post rapidly disintegrates into a whiny bitchy moaning post.

First the good news.

Good news 1:  I aced the test on Tuesday.  Yeah!  Another test this afternoon. (update - did well, but I'm not sure I did as well as the first one.)

Good news 2: I finally feel like a "real" vet student after staying at school past 10:30p and getting home at midnight.  Finally!  I've been practically keeping banker's hours.  Had a blast with two friends, putting together a presentation designed to test our knowledge of cells of the blood and marrow and what stage of maturation the cells are in..... (update:  I totally would have failed the test if it hadn't been for me and my friends getting together and reviewing those pictures to create a photo atlas.  Yeah collaborative effort!)

Now I get to commence with the bitchy and whining.

You will find that I regularly sing the praises of this new, integrated curriculum.  It's incredible to immerse myself in a single subject without juggling other courses, and to be in lectures a fraction of the time as my collegues in the class years ahead of me.  The PBL part of the curriculum is primarilythe small group work has been really really really fun.  An INCREDIBLY rewarding.  The small group sessions are less-informed version of what I see in the teaching vet hospital during my rotations through the hospital - a group of students around a table that creating problem lists, describing disease mechanisms, and creating a differential diagnosis list.  We have a facilitator whose job is to make sure we don't get too far off track in our problem lists and direct discussion as necessary.  He is there as an observer and because (of course) there has to be a grade....to evaluate and grade us as a group.

Now onto the bitching.

Now - my group was fairly upset when we saw our scores post for the PBL section of the first foundations block.  A low B for us all.  We were confused.  Only good feedback was received about our group dynamics and our group process.  Nothing except praise was heaped upon our expectant heads - expecting, I might say, some sort of constructive criticism since in the intro block (first 2 weeks of school) we had HOURS of lecture on receiving and giving constructive feedback. 

Other groups with different facilitators got perfect scores with constructive criticism - including groups that had some less than desirable dynamics going on.....Our group was ASSURED that all would be cleared up when we got our individual WRITTEN feedback, from our facilitators.

Right.

There are 5 categories from "poor" to "outstanding", with bubbles to be filled in across several "categories" of performance.

On my evaluation down each category the same bubble was filled in.  The middle one.  "Satisfactory".

And that "constructive critism" we were all waiting for?

Here were the only comments on my review, I quote:

"Good job.  Your organizational skills showed well when you were the leader and you remained engaged throughout.  I have no doubt you will do well."

Right.

How very helpful. And while I appreciate the compliment, it's not exactly something I can take to my next PBL and improve that score.   

Now, as someone who has WRITTEN COMPREHENSIVE reviews for a department, and recieved VERY honest reviews for the past 5 years - I feel I have a good handle on reviews in general - both writing and receiving.

Thank goodness the first foundations block was pass/fail.  Yes, it was obstinately to encourage collaboration between students, but obviously it gives the faculty a chance to figure out how to grade this new curriculum.  Honestly, I can't see how they are going to get consistency between the facilitators and it may just be a case of it all averaging out in the end - irritating nevertheless.  I'm fine with deflating grades - it's about time and a new curriculum is a perfect place to do so - BUT can we at least make sure all the facilitators are on the same page?

It's like going to an endurance ride and being pulled for a grade 1 inconsistent lameness, while the vet next to you is vetting through grade 3 consistent ones. 
 

You know you are a vet....

...when the first thing you do when your animal is sick or injured is to take a picture of it for a future lecture, blog, or project. 

This goes along with the other fact of vet school:  Now that you are a vet, your animal will get all sorts of exotic diseases.  Best to sell all your animals ASAP to a friend for $1. 

And while we are on the subject of things only at vet school:  overheard at an 8am microscope lab - "my microscope smells like sweat". 

Ah yes, the joys of being in vet school. 

Change is in the air

Hello my devoted readers.

And yes, by "devoted" I mean YOU.

Since it's not like I've posted anything of interest since starting school, I'm assuming all I have LEFT is you, the devoted reader, who is probably subscribed to this in Google reader, since heaven knows all those who come here directly have given up on seeing any new content!

As most of you know, it's been my intention to keep this a horse and endurance oriented blog and while I might mention other happenin's in passing, I've always strived to keep this focused on Farley, my endurance journey, and the horse-related in general.

Life is a series of new chapters, and as I told my sister who is starting out on one of her own new chapters, they don't happen very often. 

I'm not sure that going off to college straight out of high school is a new chapter - it wasn't for me - it was much of the same ole' same ole'.

Starting my first career was definitely a new chapter in my life - one that included endurance.

I imagine my first child, getting married, my parents passing away, and retiring are other significant events that have yet to happen might be viewed as significant.  Graduating as a "Dr. Mel" and starting my second career as a DVM maybe another.

After 3 months in school, it's time to evaluate the blog and my choices.

This new chapter in my life doesn't allow for much endurance commentary, riding, or copious amounts of time spent staring at the computer with nothing to do beyond composing witty blog posts about riding while I'm waiting until it's time to go to the stable.

As I see it, these are my choices:

1.  Continue to keep the Boots and Saddles blog as a horse/endurance-focused blog, sporadically post, and watch as it as it dies a slow death into inactivity, perhaps to be revitalized later when I'm a more active endurance rider.  

2.  Officially end this blog and start a new one that addresses the more prominent topics in my life (medicine, animal health, etc.)

3.  Change the premise of Boots and Saddles and expand it to include vet school and medicine, along with keeping my readers updated on what little endurance I am managing to sqeeze in.

I'm very attached to this blog.  I LIKE this blog.  I like the people that come here, the people the comment, and what this blog represents - my endurance journey, as it happened in real time, during my first 1000 miles.  Every blog has a particular "feel" to it - and even if I started a new blog with the intention of having the same "flavor", it's just not the same. 

Endurance is so intertwined into my thought processes, what I'm choosing to learn, and how I view new experiences that it seems silly to start a new blog where I'll end up related all the posts to riding and horses anyways, even if it's not overtly horse-y.  But, it's undeniable that there needs to be a change so that this blog can continue to meet MY needs as a creative writing outlet, and my READERS needs as a blog that is regularly updated with new content.

So, I've decided to adopt option 3.  I will be telling vet school stories, reflecting on vet school life, and squeezing in the occasional endurance ride.  I'll post on whatever fancy biology thing catches my fancy, and there will probably be a fair bit of bitching and whining.  But it will be fun, I'll learn a lot, and perhaps my readers will too - or at least be entertained over a morning cup of coffee.

Consider this the end of Book 1 - "The First 1000 Miles" - and the beginning of Book 2 - "The Vet School Years".  Now starting chapter 1.....

'tis the season

For snuggling under comforters

And down coats

And rain

And bottles of vitamin D

And colds.

The ones that, like alien invaders, get into your head and make it all fuzzy.

Remember that I told you that there was nothing like establishing a new routine and new goals to bring all sorts of misfortunes?  Like lame horses, colds, and other tradegies.

I don't get sick often - but I'm not often stuck in a room with a bunch of other people that insist on coming to school sick.  Uggh. 

I managed to stumble out to the pony, confirm that yes indeed she has 4 legs and she doesn't appear to be freezing to death in this most *terrible* California winter. 

I've spent the rest of the weekend whining about being sick, sulking, and catching up on the current block in school - blood and coagulation. 

I've decreed that with Farley's legs confirmed as cold and tight, today shall be my last sick day (which means I snuggled under the covers until I had to go to school, didn't run, didn't train my dog, and are allowed to eat whatever junk food my poor little body happens to desire). 

There wasn't any real point to this post.  Just whining.  And pretending I still have a pony life. 

From the underpaid feeder's mouth

Per my sister (and incredibly underpaid horse feeder/monitorer/feeder and apples/fixer of flymasks) - 

Our new neighbor moved his horses in yesterday and Farley ran around like a crazy horse whinnnying and swishing her tail and making sure that everybody knows that despite all evidence to the contrary she is indeed an arab. Mom: "Are those bumps on Farley's side?"
Me: "No, she's just fuzzy"
Mom: "Are you sure?"
Me: "grumble"
It took me three minature apples (about the size of an apricot) to get her to stand still and see that all it was was a furry fluffy horse who in growing in her winter coat and rolling in the dirt.
The new horses are rather pretty, white with black spots and black with white spots. Farley seems to enjoy her across the fence screaming at them, though she has calmed down a bit by now.

As a side note, someone has hired my adorable and EXTREMELY reliable horse feeder as an ACCOUNTANT (really, I think dumping a feeding job for an accounting job is a HORRIBLE career move - what were you thinking dear sister?) and now I am faced with having to annoy and micromanage a different non-horsey family member.  *sigh*. 

Pony Day Success!

Yesterday was pony day!!!! And the day before that!

It feels GREAT to be back in the saddle. 

Of course....there's a problem.  There's ALWAYS a problem that comes up ANYTIME you finally get around summoning up the motivation and time to do something you want to do. 

Planning on running a marathon?  Plan on getting the flu in week 1 of your training.

Planning on training for an LD?  Plan on a lame horse before you even start.

OK - I'm extraggerating.  She's not lame.  Both her fronts are equally filled. 

"Has she been lame?" I asked.  "Oh no!", my family members rushed to reassure me.  They then regaled me the tale of Farley dashing around the pasture like a CRAZY horse the night before.  My Dad actually walked out of the house with a (unspecified weapon...) and a spot light ready to defend the honor (and hide) of his daughter's precious Tevis horse.  But there was nothing.  The family decided that the CCCRRRRAAAAZZZZYYYYY arab brain had finally emerged. 

She trots out sound, isn't ouchy on palpation and it's equally filled on both fronts.  The ground in the pasture is VERY hard right now and it's plausible she over did it on her nighttime gallop.  It happens.  I've decided that it's HIGHLY unlikely that my ass on her back, asking her to walk/trot on good footing is going to matter one way or another since she insists on being a moron, and as long as the filling goes away nicely in a couple of days, she stays sound I'm not going to worry about it. 

Day 1 I rode....dressage.

Farley has evidently is tiring of being called fat and Hallejuiah!, the dressage girth fits.

Once I got over the initial shock of "Farley is a chia pet" (where did that winter coat come from?), we saddled up and mounted up.  I didn't spend a lot of time on mounting games - but she evidently gets the concept and it didn't take long to explain my expectations and enforce the criteria before we could get started.

I'm a much better rider than the last time I formally (meaning, tacked up and actually DOING something) rode Farley.  That fat little bay mare is going to have to come up with a whole 'nother list of evasion tactics because I got her number!  Ha!!!! Get in front of my leg, go to the connection, and stop curling behind the bit.

Day 2 I did a REAL trail ride.

A whole 20 minutes of real trail riding!  With TROTTING.  I marveled at my stable lower leg.  My independent seat.  My flexible, elastic elbows. 

And of course there were mounting games - both in the beginning and on the trail. WHOOOHOOO!!!!!

I'm really bummed I didn't keep better notes during my dressage lessons.  I guess I never considered I might be starting from the beginning again and I might need them to help me restart Farley or another horse.  The training records I do have deal mostly with time and effort - not outlining specific exercises and goals and progression.  I'm setting up and organizing a better training journal for Farley now, based on what I'm seeing in the agility world.  It might be too late to take advantage of my improved "system" for what I learned in my lessons - but at least I won't make the same mistake twice! 

The truth, without guilt

Honesty is the policy right?

This is me being totally honest. 

I haven't done any riding

I haven't done any mounting exercises

I haven't done any pony cuddling

I paid my sister to pick up manure for me last week.

I pay someone else to feed.

I paid someone else to come up with a solution to keep Farley from killing a tree that's in her pasture.

It's been a week since I saw my horse from a distance of closer than 50 feet.

It's been a week since I touched my horse. 

The truth is that I have been having a hard time taking care of myself.  The problem isn't time, or ability, or motivation. 

I thought that I had handled the transition from being single-my-time-and-money-is-my-own to most-definitely-committed rather well.  From a salaried part of the work force to a full time graduate student.  From no commute to a 1 hour 10 minute commute.  From a full time endurance rider, to an endurance rider of uncertain status. 

But the truth is that I have a lot of mental housekeeping and clean up to do. 

It's nothing new, but it's been exacerbated by the major changes.......

So, I wiped the slate clean.  Obviously my mental and physical health comes first, and while ponies and blogging are important to that mental health....there are some more basic needs that need to be cemented first.

You could call them my "foundations".  (remember how much I love foundation work?).

My foundation work is based in running.  Recently I was formally diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder.  Medication, which I tried, is not an option.  Running is the ONLY activity, besides sleeping, that my brain turns off.  Thus, when I realized I having a lot of trouble focusing in school and following through, as well as a very low frusteration threshold with Tess, I asked the question - how good is my foundation?  Where did my running go?  Why can't I manage this disorder as successfully now as I have in the past? 

The answer was it had somehow the most important foundation in my life, running and physical exercise, had disappeared in my life transitions. 

For the last 2 weeks I have focused on my physical well-being - specifically running.  With regular exercise, other parts of my foundation have clicked into place - nutrition, sleep, other physical activities and there has been a dramatic difference in my tolerance towards puppy behavior and significant others, and my focus in school.

With running now consistently a habit (the 'ole 14 day rule), I'm ready to add back the pony piece to my little "Mel's sanity pyramid".

Just like when I added the running piece - it doesn't matter WHAT I do as long as I do it and reestablish the habit of ponies.  Here's my plan.  Pony days (defined as any day I get out of school before 3pm) will include a ride.  A ride is defined as getting on Farley's back and actually exiting the gate on my parent's property.  Riding in any form seems to be the foundation piece of my pony time - so I fully expect that my mounting exercises and hoof care will fall into place when my riding does.  Just like my other "physical care" activities fell into place once I was regularly running. 

As usual, I will continue to blog the journey and continue to relate with honesty my endurance journey.  Blogging is important - feeling guilty because I've put ponies on hold for a relatively short time is unnecessary and not helpful.  So, I'm resisting the urge to fill the blog with contorted tales of woe and guilt.  I know what the issue is.  I know how to "fix" it.  I'm doing my best to do so.  I write of these struggles not to garner sympathy - but to share a very real part of my endurance journey -  Balancing my endurance riding with the other needs in my life, including the need to keep myself healthy and sane. 

I know that the stages of my endurance "journey" are not unique and it is my hope that by "keepin' it real" here at Boots and Saddles, inspires and comforts those readers and friends that are going through similar "valley". 

I'll see you at the top!  :)

Crawling out from underneath my rock....

I am almost officially done with my first block of vet school!

Almost, because even though I had the final for the block on Friday, there is a week of population health, and then a population health exam this Friday that is still technically part of the VET 401 block.

Being a pass/fail block that didn't affect my class standings I *may* not have put my best foot forward in studying. I went into the final with a mid to high B, and just didn't get around to studying for the final, with rather predictable results - I think I probably passed, but not with any great fan fare or a score I'll be particularly proud of.

So there you have it - I didn't post for a week, supposedly "studying" for this exam, only to confess my readers know that I somehow got distracted with puppies, birdwatching, and sleeping in...... :).

A much more entertaining (and hopefully horse-related) update soon. It's time for a bit of Tess play-time. We are working on backing up today - one of the last foundation behaviors I haven't started yet.

It's a perfect fall day, perfect for riding, napping, puppy play, or anything else I could possible wish to do! Ah the possibilities, considering that for the first time since school started I don't have anything officially I *should* be studying for!

Hi!

With a big final coming up Friday, I have a feeling I probably won't get to write as many blog posts here as I would like.  Wish me luck on my final (our "foundations" block ends this week) and if you need entertainment, check out these posts:

Merri posts about an endurance horse that is a legend. 

A new blog - a local central valley rider is going barefoot

A well written post by Go Pony on the great debate that comes up EVERY year when people are stuck in front of their computers instead of riding because of the weather.  

And of course - more entertainment from Mrs Mom (and of course the entertainment value goes up, because what she writes is TRUE). 

Only 205 posts in Google reader to go.  And a bazillion things to study for Friday's exam.  And a puppy to play with.  And a pony to ride.  And naps.  *sigh*.  It's going to be a very long week.

Stand - lesson 1

Wednesday was Pony Day!

In the new spirit of taking care of myself, I have declared any day that I get out of school before 3pm to be a pony day.

This week, that meant that there was a singular pony day, and I looked forward to it all week.

Isn't it's amazing how a little anticipation can add drive and excitement?  I felt a little thrill in the pit of my stomach as I drove over to the parents (checking out Chicken Man's place curiously as I drove by).

Of course, I had limited time and a whole lot of things I wanted to get done - which meant that Farley was invited to my sister's "rustic tea party".  Loreleigh paced around our upturned wicker basket and teapot, and waved her hands as she related her latest job hunting drama (somebody please hire her OK?  She's sweet, cute, and has a degree and managed to survive as a Walmart checker putting herself through school) as I trimmed feet.

We've had some wet weather and I was reminded how FUN trimming feet is in the spring and fall.  CHUNKS of sole were crumbling out of Farley's feet, exposing nice walls and sole and bars that my hoof knife sliced off and I was able to get a good roll of them without power tools for the first time since the spring.  WHOO HOO!  I ruthlessly took down the heels, backed up the toe, and held a conversation without a drop of sweat and zero swearing.  Amazing. 

Good thing because the next thing on my agenda was a workout.

Normally one doesn't consider mounting a horse the workout of the day.

Normally, one doesn't mount 50 times from each side, bareback, from a 2 step mounting block.

As I walked away from our session, legs trembling and more than a little sore, I was glad I had skipped my morning swim in favor of sleeping in.   (I know - what a bum!)

I approached session 1 as a test of Farley's understanding that she should stand while mounting.  We worked just outside the pasture gate, in a halter, bareback.  I asked her to stand and stood on the mounting block.  I ran my hands over her, swung my leg over, and flopped around.  Then I started vaulting on.  I switched sides often, completing approximately 50 bareback mounts from each side.

She attempted to move off 3 times - once before I started mounting, and then twice after I had vaulted on.  All the "failures" were early in the session. 

Each time I corrected her by moving her back into position, and then repeated the exercise.

Thoughts on session 1

Based on Farley's performance, I think I can assume that she understands the concept of standing while being mounted.  The next step will be to expose her to more and more distracting situations, while asking for the same behavior.

I'm learning in dog training that it's important to maintain a high success rate during the entire session - not just near the end.  In its entirety, this session had a 94% success rate - a rate high enough I'm comfortable moving to the next stage.  Once I reach a situation where the success rate in a session drops below 80%, even if I get many successful attempts near the end of the session, I will stay at that "distraction level" until I'm getting a compliance rate above 90% for the entire session. 

I'm first working the "stand" as an exercise in mounting because I think it's the situation that Farley understands the best in conjunction with stand, and it's the one that's the clearest for me to enforce. 

The plan

At the next session I will start adding tack.  If everything goes well, the next session after that will be new locations - the road (private, dirt) in front of my parents property, on the trail etc.  I'll continue using the mounting block for now, since in the beginning I want to do lots of repetitions and mounting from the ground puts a greater strain on her back.  So far, I don't feel the need for additional "tools" to teach the concept like clickers or treats etc. - she seems to know the concept (after all - this isn't the first time I've tried working on this concept with her) so I'll focus on being consistent and progressive for now.  I foresee using other reinforcements, such as the clicker, when I start working on our pulse check stand. 

As always - feedback is welcomed! [and if you want to head over to Tess's blog and give advice there - it would be greatly appreciated too!  What little I know about horses, I know even less about dogs.... :)]

Clicker training the stand?

I was sitting in class today, day dreaming (as usual) about endurance, blogs, puppies.

I've been toying with the idea of doing some clicker training with Farley.  Specifically, the stand. 

The one issue that continues to frusterate the hell out of me is that she won't consistently stand.  MOST of the time she does, but when it counts - likely she'll keep moving her feet.  Getting frusterated doesn't help.  Jerking on the halter doesn't help. Me yelling, whispering, pleading, doesn't help.  Being consistent kinda helps.....but she ignores the cue as often as she obeys it, and from my dog training lessons I know I am diluted the cue by using it when she doesn't obey it....so I need to get the behavior first.

I'm learning from Tess that if something is hitting my (unfortunately too low) frustration threshold, it's because I'm missing a foundation piece.

Which brings me back to my Bingo moment.

BINGO!!!!!!!

The Stand I'm trying to teach Farley is identical in principle to the Recall I'm trying to install in Tess.

Today, I started playing a very structured "recall" game which includes a very structured progression from less distractions (rated as a 1), up to distractions that are HIGHLY fixating for Tess.  It's all about repetition, enforcing the command, and moving through more and more distracting situations in a very progressive way.  The post on Tess's blog was initially suppose to publish on Thursday, but I've moved it to Wednesday (today) so that you can take a look at the method I'm using for the recall. 

At the end of my "program" I want Tess to come to me no matter what. 

I want Farley to "stand" whenever I ask, no matter what.

Currently, I'm asking Farley to stand before I have really solidified that behavior in a variety of situations.  I have to first teach the behavior in a comprehensive way and "bank" lots and lots of successes.

So - could teaching the stand with the clicker and a progressive, structured program be beneficial for Farley?   I'm not interested in doing "full blown" clicker training with Farley - it's great with Tess, but it's just not what I want to do with my horse - but I'd be wiling to try it for the "stand" just so I can train it in a different way (and perhaps get a different result - remember the definition of insanity?  doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result?). 

Farley is very food motivated, but doesn't have any pushy dominant behaviors that I'm worried about making worse.  The personal space boundaries would remain the same and I won't tolerate "mugging" so I'm not worried about that "side effect".  I don't think trying this would make it worse, and it might make it better.

Here's the plan so far:

For the first "trick", teach her to look away from the treat with her head down, or something similar - a trick I don't mind being repeated over and over and over....in every possible situation.  Similar to what AareneX has done with her Standardbred mare. 

After Farley gets the concept, start asking for a stand, and rewarding it in low distraction situations for longer and longer duration (probably going up to 2 or 3 minutes - enough time to get through a line in a pulse check or replace a boot).  Eventually ask for the same behavior in more and more distracting situations.  A rating system of distractions might look like (less distracting to more):

in pasture
pulse check
mounting at home
mounting from an object NOT a mounting block (like a truck or fence)
on trail turned away from home
on trail turned towards home
tying or removing ribbons
mounting on trail
mounting during gunfire
horses leaving or passing
food on the ground
water tank (when thirsty)
During a race start with horses milling around

A key to this approach is to recognize situations that are above your ability to ask for a stand and NOT ASK, or don't put your horse in that situation where you are forced to ask until you are ready for that level, but working through "lesser" distractions first.  By working through these levels and layering success upon success in a variety of situations, I'm hoping that at the end of 2 months, I have a horse that will stand, even in the most distracting of circumstances!

Using this approach gives me a "path" to a horse that has a proven ability to stand during a variety of situations and help me recognize situations I haven't sought out, and forces me to seek them out!

If anyone has any online resources that would point me in the right direction, feel free to comment (or write a post on your blog!)

I'll let you know how it goes!

Article recommendation

Remember this post here?   During my foundation post, I talked about not being a victim and accepting my failures as a training and becoming better. 

If you are interested on where I got the concept of "playing the victim", read this article here.

It also inspired an article over on Tess's blog. 

Dear Mel

Dear human who buys my hay,

Did you know that it is raining? Right now.  And you seem to have forgotten something.  Like a blanket, or a shelter, or a nice covered barn.  Do you really expect me to use my copious amounts of fat and a few pitiful trees to shelter me from the ferocious California winter?  Effective immediately you will feed me alfalfa when it is raining.  I have plans for this fat and it does NOT involve shivering it off because you don't care.  I'll need it when you drag me out in the middle of nowhere in something you call "an endurance ride" where I will have to live off the land and avoid hungry predators. 

Also.  I have another complaint.  Location location location.  I no longer feel safe and demand an immediate relocation back to my barn that came with blanket services and friends.  First was that grassfire, complete with fire trucks and sirens.  I forgot to put on my arab act and just stood there because I was in shock - I had done MY job of created a firebreak in my pasture but obviously the horses in THAT pasture are second rate citizens and didn't bother to PROPERLY prepare for disaster. 

I'm pretty sure the mucous membranes of my lungs are permanently damaged *cough* and should (effectively immediately) be put on permanent retirement with an increase in hay ration. 

This morning was the last straw.  My morning routine consists of naps, galloping before dawn, and then sunning myself in the early morning rays.  Needless to say these self care activities are INTEGRAL for my mental (and physical) well being of a recovering endurance horse (unless you decide to retire me with extra hay? *hint* *hint* *hint*). 

Shortly before dawn, I heard rifle shots.  As you foolishly attempted to do silly cavarly stunts including pistols, I DO KNOW what gunfire sounds like.  So don't tell me I am overacting. 

I immediately sent my minions to access the situation and as near as I can figure, this is what happened.

My neighbor that I shall call "the chicken man", grows weed.  (you didn't think that all those fences and shelters were just for his fighting cock population did you?).  Someone came to steal the weed in big bags they attempted to throw over the fence.  "The chicken man", not content with illegal acts of fighting cocks and growing weed, has decided to add "discharging a fire arm" and "shooting the thief" to the long list of infractions.

Needless to say, the cops, K-9 units, and helicopter hovering around the area are extremely distracting. 

I do believe that I'm feeling ulcers - or anxiety - or PTSD - or Arab-Brain - coming on.  Quick!  You must DO SOMETHING.  I do believe extra hay would head off inevitable diasaster.

Sincerely,

Farley

PS - We can stop focusing on my weight anytime - have you even LOOKED at yourself in the mirror lately?  Don't think I haven't noticed that you aren't wearing your riding tights to come see me.  Teeee hehehehehe. 

Tevis 2011 - Seizing Life's opportunities

Did you hear!!!!!??????

From the Tevis website:  

NEW START TIME AND LOCATION:  Due to snow in the high country the 2011 Tevis Cup start has been moved to 6:30am at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn on Saturday 10/8. Rider Check-In begins at 10am at the Fairgrounds on Friday 10/7. More details coming soon.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the ride or the trail, the fairgrounds is 100 miles away from the start.  The fairgrounds in the traditional finish.  Nothing is official on the website, but from the riders I know that are riding this year, it is rumored that in addition to vetting and starting at the fairgrounds (Not Robie):

• No Robie
• No Squaw Valley
• No Cougar Rock
• No Bogs (not that they have been there substantially since we started getting heavier snowfall over the years.
• No Pucker Point
• No Elephants Trunk
• No Devils Thumb
• No Volcano Canyon
• No rivers at the bottom of the canyon
• No Swinging bridge
• No counting the 33 switchbacks out of the canyon
• No Michigan Bluffs
• Possibly crossing the American river 2x. 

Honestly, it sounds like a different ride.  The month is different, the temps will be different (mud, snow, cold, cramping issues).  No full moon, completely different route.

I'm sure that it will still be the ride of the lifetime for many of the riders.  Some for whom it IS the ride of the lifetime - traveling across country, saving up vacation and money, carefully preparing their horse and having the stars align.

It's easy for me to take the ride for granted because I live so close, but this is a BIG DEAL for endurance riders in other parts of the country who have a dream to ride Tevis.

Even though I think ride management is doing their best to put on a ride that is safe and lives up to the Tevis name amid circumstances no one has control over, all I can think as I sit here is I am SO GLAD I took the opportunity to ride in 2009 and 2010.

In life, there is rarely a perfect time to do anything - there is only the "best time".  You long-time readers know I harp on this constantly.  If you have a dream and you can possibly make it work RIGHT now, then do it.  You don't know what life will look like next year or next week.  I see many many people around me that have dreams, and after years of talking, dreaming, and hoping they are discouraged, unmotivated, and sad because the time was never right. 

In hindsight, 2009 was probably too soon to attempt Tevis.  I had that inkling as I signed up and I rode it.  But the lessons learned that year is what made it possible for me to finish in 2010.  *Ideally* I probably would have spent another year in preparation and may have tried for 2011, assuming that the injury that did happen, didn't happen in this alternative universe.  Can you imagine if I had counted on 2011 as "the" year?  Instead of a summer ride, I would have been faced trying to do it in the middle of my school term.  Not to mention that as great as I think this ride will end up being, I wanted to ride THE Tevis and have the experience of Robie, Squaw Valley etc.

Please keep the Tevis 2011 riders in your thoughts tomorrow and tomorrow night.  Although the trail will be different, it will not be any less difficult.  The soil here has a very high clay content and gets EXTREMELY slick after rain.  The trails are not well drained and while the granite helps with the drainage, in mud it can make things worse.  I rode American River 2010 after a similar weather pattern and it was awful.

I will be tweeting as I hear news about Tevis and posting under the hash of #tevis11.


Recommended Reading

Ashley reflected on her Go Pony journey and makes some EXCELLENT points about riding and training endurance. 


Endurance Granny reminds us what progress really looks like.

New blog introduction!!!!!!  Check out Princess WitchFace.  Not your average backyard horse owner has some delightful, entertaining articles and I've been enjoying looking through her posts.  She's a new blogger and is off to a great start. 

The first rain

On Monday we had the first rain of the season.

This does not bode well for my conditioning this fall.  As I've probably mentioned a hundred times, where I live in California, the jet stream changes approximately every 3 months.  The weather we have in the first 2 weeks of the "new" jet stream at the beginning of that time period is indicative of the weather you will have for the rest of the quarter.

So putting on our thinking caps.....a major storm, resulting in special weather warnings in the first two weeks of October means what for my hopes for a nice mild fall and early winter, with plenty of good riding weather?

That's right.  It means I need to stop planning for my spring LD and start worrying about either building a shelter, or committing to blanketing for the winter. 

Whatever.  It's not like I've ridden in weeks and taken advantage of good weather.

Wait a minute...."good weather"?  That's right - I didn't get any good riding weather!!!!!  It has been 100 degrees, or close to that for a couple of weeks.  And now it's raining.  I was cheated out of my fall. 

Of course, I'm fooling myself - yes I used weather as an excuse not to ride the last few weeks, BUT we all know that weather is not a barrier if I REALLY wanted to ride. 

Yesterday, under the threat of an afternoon rain I went to see Farley after 2 weeks of abandonment.  I covered the hay, took off her fly mask and then checked her feet for rocks.  I found a small in the heel of her right front.  Then I just stood there and put my arms around her neck near the wither and buried my nose in her shoulder and just breathed in the scent of HORSE.  As I drove away, she took a couple of laps around the pasture at a trot and canter and whinnied for her dinner. 

I'm so glad I have a horse in vet school.  I may not be riding or making steady progress towards a goal, but it is enough to be able to smear horse scent on me, and know that she has a good pasture life in the interludes.  Do I wish I was riding more?  Of course.  Am I feeling guilty or anxious about it?  Suprisingly, no.  She still makes me happy, and giving her time off to run around the pasture isn't a bad thing - and may be what allows us many more years on the endurance trail together. 

Blogging - just do it

This is a shameless post to encourage you to start blogging.

Blogging is incredibly rewarding.  It will develop skills such as writing, communication, planning, layout, visual design.  You will learn far more than your readers, even if your intent is to educate.  It will make you a better thinker, analyst, communicator, and planner.   It will develop skills such as layout and visual design.  It will force you to consider opinions and views that are contrary to your own world view and might lead to some very interesting revelations about yourself and how you view your world.

I've barely even scratched the surface and haven't even gotten to the best part.

It's free.

Oh sure - you can buy a domain name, build your own blog design from the ground up, but it doesn't have to be that complicated.  There are many platforms out there that are free and only take moments to set up - later you might decide to spend a little money and get a domain name and apply it to one of those platforms (to take "blogger" out of the URL, for example), or you might be more ambitious and do domain hosting for a bit more money.

But all that's really beside the point - because the majority of the blogs I read either are free through Blogger or Wordpress, or started that way.

"I journal, I don't need a blog".  This is the most common thing I hear from others, when I talk about blogging.

I think the most common misconception is that blogging = journaling.  I journal on a regular basis too.  One is not like the other.  The most successful and interesting blogs I read are those where someone has picked a certain aspect of their life and explores it - and while sometimes things come up that are painful and intensively emotional, the point of the blog isn't to discuss Mel's life, it's to discuss her horse life.  While someone may not be able to relate to me in all aspects - fiddler, student, vet, runner, puppy owner, anxiety disorder (yep - got in formally diagnosised) - that doesn't matter because all they have to share is their love (or interest) in horses and BANG! - there's a connection.

A connection, I will point out, that would not have been made without the blog.  Oh, the people you will meet, the friends you will make, and the opportunities you will have.

Unless you ARE blogging with the intention of making it like your journal (and perhaps have the privacy settings set so only you, or select readers can see it), likely you are writing for an audience.

I will admit that it's awfully lonely and feels very "fake" in the beginning.  After starting 2 more blogs recently (one of which is public right now) I got re-introduced to that feeling.  No one is reading and you are desperately pretending that you aren't talking to yourself.....But the concept of an audience is an important distinction between blogging and journaling.  An audience makes me look more critically at my ideas.  I develop my ideas more fully and evaluate more critically than if I was writing strictly for myself.  The assumption is that you are blogging about something that you are passionate about, and perhaps are trying to do well - as such it matters that you critically think about concepts related to that passion.  In journaling, when talking about great-aunt Agatha and her annoying habit of blowing her nose at the dinner table, there's no need to critically evaluate (except perhaps, as an exercise in empathy and personal relations) and you are free to complain away to your little heart's content.  In blogging, what's the point about great aunt Agatha's rather disgusting habit (not to mention it involves using a cloth hanky that is put back into her pocket)?  Did it inspire your new 100 mile strategy? Give you a novel idea?

I have exactly 5 minutes to publish this and then get ready for school, so don't have time to fully explore why you should start your blog today but I think you get the point!  I'll end with a few bullet points of how blogging has impacted my life.

• I am a much better, and more confident writer.  Blogging has allowed me practice using different "devices" and play with formatting while watching it's impact on my audience in "real time".  
• I credit blogging for the quality of my personal statement for vet school.  Blogging about events in real time preserves the emotions of an event much better - even better than journaling, since you are forced to write in a way that is coherent to others, not just put some blubbering on a piece of paper (oh yes, sometimes I journal in lines and pictures and incoherent sentences...).  Thus, when I had to explain why I wanted to be a vet and make some sort of interesting narrative story about it, it was relatively easy to both recall events, and then WRITE the essay using techniques I had learned in bullet point 1.
• I've made friends.  This is HUGE.  I've always been a loner and rather anti-social for most of my life, even though, paradoxially I crave companionship and personal connections.  I have very few friends (more, now that I'm in vet school, but that's a different post) and the friends I've made blogging are very dear to me.  
• It was instrumental in helping me to achieve my goals.  I'm a 100 mile rider with 1,000 competition miles.  I'm very proud of this fact - I consider this one of my most prized accomplishments of my life - even considering getting into the UC Davis vetmed program.  I could not have done this without blogging - both for the support I received, the connections I made with other blogs and groups, and how it FORCED me to critically evaluate my program and plans.  
• It keeps me motivated to continue to pursue my passions.  It's normal to have periods of time when you are more and less motivated - but blogging is a way of both sharing those high points, and keeping me going during the low points.  Blogging keeps me accountable - without the guilt.  If I'm not doing the activity, it's difficult to blog about it!  It's a positive reinforcement to continue. 
• Blogging is my part time job - it's a lot like being self employed.  It's almost impossible to hold a job in vet school, not because of the time commitment, but because my schedule is so variable from day to day.  I've ALWAYS had a job and I'm better for it - so I've decided that for the next 3 1/2 years my part time job is blogging, which is why I'm starting some additional blogs.  
• It gives you business practice.  Branding, design, publicity, how to get readers, how can I use social media.  It's not for "real" for most of us - but it's a learning experience unto itself and important.  Who knows what I will do in the future? - and I might be very happy I took the time now to learn the ins and outs of all that "other stuff" besides the mechanics of writing posts. 
• It forces you to learn "other" stuff that you would never never never pursued on purpose - but you should have.  things like HTML coding, and twitter and social media, compressing photos, the ins and outs of website design, domain hosting, and how to hyperlink stuff. I was literate with the computer before blogging, but my eyes glazed over once you got into any jargon whatsoever.  Now I can actually write some basic HTML, and edit existing HTML.  Amazing!
• You can take it as far as you want, and invest as much or as little time as you want. As your life changes, your blogging can change - but I firmly believe that it can always be a positive influence. 

If you are starting a blog, have a blog, or are thinking of starting a blog - please comment.  Feel free to include links.  Why did you start blogging?  Has it impacted your life in a positive or negative way?  Any personal significant growth because you blog?  How many blogs do you have?

Fantasies

What if....

I had a personal assistant? 

What would I choose to "contract" out of my life?  

This one is easy.  Phone calls and listening to messages.  And handwashing dishes.  And washing my vehicles.

But let's face it - that's a boring way to look at a rather fanciful question.  

"What do I want to accomplish that I am not accomplishing?"

Before school, it seemed straightforward - what I needed was a housekeeper to do my housework and laundry, and to cook and to make up my lunches.  Then I could continue to ride and run, but have a dwelling that wasn't embarrassing-ly dirty and unsanitary.

It seemed like a darn fine idea to have a personal assistant tie up the loose ends of my life.  

Now in school, I have more time than I while working - but somehow I'm getting less done.

Here's the sad thing - having a personal assistant wouldn't do a darn thing.

The same old things that I detest are still present - talking on the phone, listening to message, returning phone calls - but I've realized the time I spend doing those things is minimal and having someone else do them wouldn't gain me more than 10 minutes a week.   I still do a minimum of housework, but with a dishwasher and another person around it's more than reasonable.  I'm enjoying my school work too much to even consider having someone else study for me - even if that was possible in some magic universe.  If I wanted to ride, I have the time.  If I wanted to run or get in better shape, I have the time.  I have the time to play with Tess and do as much training as we can both handle.  I have the time to blog.  I have the time to commute an average of 2 1/2 hours a day.

In reality, I'm accomplishing a fraction of what I want and as gaining more time in the day does me absolutely no good; the premise that having a personal assistant would help me accomplish more  is rather depressing. 

So let's throw reality out the window.

*toss*

Let's take a different approach to the question.  A much less practical way of looking at the questions.

And infinitely more fun.

"How could I make my life more fabulous by having someone else do stuff for me?"

I like this question much better.

Instead of fantasizing what more I could ACCOMPLISH with the personal assistant (and implied extra time), now we are talking about standard of living change....

For example-

Someone to bring me hot drinks on command.  This definitely tops the list.

Someone to coordinate my social life and my calendar.  And to tell people "no" when I'm invited to an event that threatens to "overbook" my calendar.

Someone to decide what the menu will look like for the week and to draw up shopping lists.

Someone to prepackage little salads for me, on demand.

Someone who would keep my tackroom/trailer in impeccible order.


Someone to beautifully groom Tess.

Someone that will do Farley's feet for me, every 2 weeks, that will let me watch and ask a million questions and do it when I'm available - weekends and evenings.


Someone to ride my horse 5 days a week on a strict rehab program, for the next 6 months.  Exactly the way I want it done. And except for the days I actually feel like riding.

Someone that could ultrasound my horses leg after every ride and tell me exactly how whether I'm making progress or not. 

Someone that could take showers for me. 


We can all dream right? 

In which I compare Farley to vehicle maintenance

As you will shortly find out, I really have nothing to talk about - blah blah blah blah.  But since this sounds very much like my current lecturing professor, I'm going to make a valiant effort. 

Oh - and BTW, most of the posts for this blog are scheduled now.  It's in an effort to make the posts a little more consistent and help me manage my time between school, writing, Farley, and self-care easier.  You may even notice a certain pattern here - Mon, Wed, Fri anyone?  Of course, that assumes that I don't screw up and just post, or if I write an awesome post and can't WAIT to share it. 

Thus "yesterday" and "today" are figurative, not literal terms. Deal with it.  I'm about to whip out the "but I'm a vet student..." card and nobody wants that right? 

Yesterday I did the weekly maintenance on my car - I checked the oil and the tire pressure, found that (probably due to recent weather changed) that my tires were ~5 pounds too low and dragged out the air compressor.  The low tire pressure corresponded with a drop in gas mileage I had observed during the week - which was a relief - tire pressure was the simple answer.

The car gets a lot of use - I fill up my car ~3x a week, each time checking the gas mileage,  and travel almost 900 miles a week in my commute. 

Competing an endurance horse, specifically a 100 mile endurance horse, is a lot like my routine car maintenance.  I keep close tabs on it, do the weekly mileage, and keep an eye on anything that might signal that I have a problem starting.  Sometimes a problem is as simple as changing a management practice.  Catching a problem early while its still fixable (or manageable) prevents getting stranded on the side of the road, late to a midterm and (just guessing here) on the edge of hysterics, since that WILL be the day that you wore heels and a skirt and were supposed to do a million errands after an 8a-5p day at school. 

We can contrast that to my truck.  I never check my oil.  Tires may get checked before a long trip that involves a horse trailer.  I'm not an entirely irresponsible vehicle owner - the periodic maintenance (oil changes, transmission fluid etc.) is all performed.  The difference lies in how often, and to what detail I monitor the small details.  I could maintain my truck the same as my car - but it doesn't make sense from a time management point of view - the truck gets very few miles on in relative to the car, is less likely to have an issue considering the age, mileage and use.  Sure, if I had unlimited time and energy I could do it - but we are talking about reality, not lalalala land.

Of course, if the truck ever became my main commuter, then my management practices would change.

Let's talk about Farley.  A year ago she was a well oiled machine, in fact, a Tevis machine.  I carefully managed every aspect of her care - from monitoring selenium levels, stuffing vit E capsules down her gullet, and coordinating a complex schedule of conditioning rides, lessons, dressage, jumping, and off days.  Nowadays, her routine looks a little more like my truck.  She sits, fat and happy in her pasture 90% of the time.  When I tear myself away from studying and the puppy, we go on a walk.  She's fat, so we go out bareback.  Sometimes, because I'm mean, I make her trot for 10 yards or so before we take it back down to a walk, both of us sweaty and out of breath.

Now, I could rack myself with guilt on how much she is ignored and force myself through the routine I've kept up over the last couple of years - but what's the point?  If I'm not asking much from the horse, any gain I might receive from such a routine would be minimal - and not a good use of my time (or $$, although right now, time is more precious than my dollars).  She's a generally healthy animal, and if I'm not doing 100's or 50's, why bother?  If I DID have to intensively manage her now, I would be SERIOUSLY reconsidering her ability to be a successful endurance horse.  In my experience, the "management committment" goes up as mileage goes up and if you START with a hard to manage horse....it ain't pretty when you get to 100, or even 50 miles.  Can anyone spell M-I-N-X?  (Bless her heart.....).

So, for now, Farley is a GMC (in more than size....), not a Corolla.

Other School Update Stuff

I'm toying with the idea of a new blog for vet stories called "Chick n' Boots", but until I have REAL stories that don't consist of "today I sat in a lecture and...." or "today I took a test and...." it will be kept in reserve and I'll continue to post little updates here.  (and yes, I already have the name reserved.  I've learned that if I have an idea for a blog, it might come in useful in the future so I take it)

School is going GREAT.  I totally rocked the exam last Friday (grades yet to be posted - but trust me on this) and I opened up the take home (open book) pharmacology exam and realized that the open book was a moot point because, I tell you, I GOT this!

Yeah, I may be getting a little cocky.

But seriously - I have no job except to play with my puppy, study, and sit in class and after experiencing the world of salaried management, I can tell you that I do NOT take this for granted.

90% of the "trick" of vet school (if there is such a thing) is to figure out how to learn the material.  I'll save my suggestions for a more vet school-oriented forum, unless someone comments that they want to know more.  It took me through the first test to orient myself, but now I have a routine that works, and still leaves me time to play.

At least theoretically.  Who knew puppies could be so much fun?   Me and Farley will be a matching pair soon (in the "shape" category) unless I can get my act together.

Although, I think I'm coming to the conclusion that life is too short to spend it in any other way than having fun.  So assuming my fun is NOT doing awful, unhealthy things (horses excluded of course - don't look at the statistics!!!!!) I can barely bring myself to care too much.

Oh and by the way - one of your fellow bloggers broke the ice and asked me a vet related question for one of her animals.  And guess what?  It was fun.  So if you have a vet med, animal, or biology related question and want a not-so-professional, not-too-serious, heavily-based-in-conjuncture answer, ask away!!!!!!!!

OK.  I'm done.  I swear.  Back to learning about artifacts in ultrasound.  After all, it seems like I'll be a vet someday. 

100 mile completion rates

Every so often on the 'net, someone asks why 100 mile rides have completion rates that are so much lower than 50's.

I think in general it's common sense .  I do think the specific factors are different for each horse/rider team.  I've listed my top 3 reasons my completion rates for 100's are lower than 50's (specifically, with Farley), and I think it might actually be interesting to hear from you folks of what you think is YOUR reason you don't complete the same amount of 100's as 50's.  Or, the same amount of 50's as LD's. 

With Farley I have 3/5 100 completions, and 100% 50 mile (with a 65 and 55's and multi days thrown in) completions.

Here's the top 3 reasons I think my 100 mile completion rate is worse....

1.  Sheer distance.  At each 100 that I was pulled in, I finished more than 50 miles (65 miles at one, 92 at the other), thus if they had been standard 50 mile endurance rides, I would have finished.

2.  I'm more likely to take a horse to a 100 that doesn't work out perfectly weather or timing wise, because there's not as many of them.  For example, a 100 in the middle of July/beginning of August in California?  Insane!!!!!!  Riding 100 miles in the rain because your next chance isn't until July?  Insane!!!!!!!  In both of those cases, I probably wouldn't have done the ride if it was a 50 - there's too many of them to risk my horse in crappy weather or footing.  But a 100.....I have maybe 3 chances a year to ride a 100, IF my horse doesn't manage to kill herself before the next one. (But in my new philosophy of "I want to ride endurance until I'm 80", I would be more likely to give the ride - even a 100 - a pass, as a "fair weather rider").

3.  I think the 2 factors above are my major ones.  If I had to put a third, I would probably cite fatigue on the riders (my) part.  I've been having a tough time physically at the end of 100's, which just doesn't happen at a 50. There's not a good way of training for that, unless perhaps I was a medical resident in the ER, military stuff or something (hey!!!  maybe vet school will be excellent 100's trainig!!!  GREAT - $200K for 100's training!) like that.  I think that definitely takes the toll on the horse, whether it's how I'm riding, that fact I'm NOT getting off to run, or the things that I forgot to do for my horse during the last hold.  (one reason a crew is super importatnt for me at a 100).  I continue to figure out better ways to care for myself, just as I continue to figure out better ways to manage my horse, so I expect this to be less and less of a negative factor for my 100 mile rides. 

I know that other factors such as can impact 100 mile completions -  your tack has to fit even better, little things add up after 100 miles that were never a concern at 50, etc.  What's YOUR reason?

Update - for those of you not following me in Twitter, Thehorse.com has an article on endurance horse pulls at rides here.  It's VERY general, but could be interesting to keep an eye on.  

New Trail Reviews and Maps - Website update

A new website update published today.

I added another California trail review.

Additionally, I have added google maps of all trailheads, and linked to pdf trail maps for all the California trails that were authored by me!

Please check out the trail reviews and submit your own review for your favorite trail riding in your area. It's difficult to find trails that are suitable for endurance conditioning and it's my goal to provide a comprehensive resource to endurance riders all over the country. Reviews can be as detailed (or not) as you would like. You will be given credit for the review!

Foundations

Much like the realstate agent that harps "location, location, location", I would argue that endurance is a product of foundation, foundation, foundation.

Here is what I want in my "finished" product. 

• I don’t want to have to continually “talk” Farley through a behavior step by step. 
• I want her to choose correctly in a novel circumstance
• I want her to be mentally happy - ie she is in a happy place because she is doing what her “nature” is in a constructive way
• I want her to practice self restraint - in the absence of me talking or physically holding her in place.  I consider this a subcategory of "making good choices".  
• I want a willing partner - which is the culmination of all the behavior above - offering choices, having her chose the "right" choice, having her in a happy mental place.  

Here's what's interesting - It wasn't by contemplating endurance that I was able to articulate these goals. As I sat down and begin to formulate the kind of agility dog I wanted, I realize it very closely matched what I want in an endurance horse.

Foundation work is foundation work and strikingly similar whether I'm doing endurance or agility. 

Currently I'm in a "foundation" block at school.  Yes, that's actually what it's called.  :) .  I was taken aback for the first couple of weeks.  For some reason, foundation = easy or simple in my mind.   I sat in dismay during my first week as classes, as I thought the expectation was that I had previously learned these concepts - when in fact I have never taken a cell biology class, and had studiously avoided molecular biology.  I felt lost until I realized the foundations block wasn't intended as a review of the material that I had as an undergraduate, or as a "easy start" into school.  The block is intended to impart a HUGE amount of information that encompasses a WIDE range of subjects that will provide the foundation for the next 4 years, and for my career as a veterinarian.  Whether I learn the intricacies of oncology or the canine eye is less important than that I understand the material being presented right now, in foundations.

Although I love biology and medicine and thus I AM enjoying the material I'm learning, I will confess that foundation material is rarely sexy or exciting....much like laying the foundation of an endurance horse or an agility dog.  Foundation work is not done during an endurance ride or while on a course.  And while we are on the subject, I want to make clear - "Foundation" is not the conditioning miles you put on your endurance horse.  Foundation is everything you do with your endurance horse EXCEPT actually physically conditioning it for the trail.  

Here's the thing about foundations - they follow you wherever you go.  Lack of attention or dedication to proper foundations is the reason why failure follows people who "sport hop".  A common thread in their continuing frustration of not being able to accomplish their goals is often related to a lack of foundation.

Here's where my thought process gets complicated.

Nature versus nurture.  I used to think that nurture made up a LARGE part of how an animal "turned out".  However, after working with horses and trainers and dogs and purebreds....I'm not so sure anymore.  Nature matters.  A lot.  Pedigrees, something I held in disdain ("that's nice if you are breeding or selling...") actually matter to me now and I think can say something about the innate tendencies of the horse.  But the whole philosophy of training is that we can mold and shape behavior into something useful and positive.

This is where I stand now on the issue - my comments below relate to those animals that are being used for a purpose that they are suited for.  The trainer doesn't get all the credit for the success, for if they have chosen wisely, then they have set themselves up for success.  Farley is really nice endurance horse.  She excels because she is suited to the sport, but there is also a part of that success that I can claim credit to as well.  I think the trick is not to over or under estimate the impact you can have an animal and try to always have perspective.

So, assuming that I am talking about that piece that the trainer can take credit for.....

In general, an unwanted behavior, is a missing foundation piece.  There are exceptions (like were discussed above), but my horse or dog, is a product of ME.  I think this is more true of dogs than horses, since horses have usually been handled by more people and seem to act more on conditioned response while the dog seems to have a greater ability to "think through" something, but it's important for me to remember that even thought there is ingrained response or conditioned response, how I respond to the behavior will determine how the behavior will proceed in the future.

When I evaluate my horse or dog's behavior I remind myself -

"Do not be the victim.  It’s unlikely that MY dog or horse, (especially if the behavior is a pattern in ALL my animals) defies all the normal modes of learning that everyone else’s dog/horse seems to be able to learn by.  I may not have been able to overcome the natural tendency of an animal to do something - but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be done.  It means I didn’t have the tools or time to do so."

It’s OK to admit that.  It’s OK to not have a perfectly behaved animal, but i think it’s a mistake to say that it’s impossible to fix....and if I can look at my shortcomings and critically evaluate them, it makes me a stronger trainer.  (and it's important to remember that every interaction with a dog or a horse is a training lesson!).  If I have to explain and make excuses for the behavior, then I am playing victim.  The biggest success story is getting compliments on how well behaved the animal is - and then dragging out the story of what a little terror it was and how far we've come - not the other way around. 

Thursday question post

Check out Many Muddy Paws blog and join me in a Thursday Question post. 

A benefit of being a vet student is that I can pull the “but I was really busy and stressed and that’s why...” card and everyone seems to nod in understanding.  So....you might notice that not only is it NOT Thursday, but it’s been a while Many Muddy Paws even published the post.  Ummm...yeah....Totally pulling the “vet student” card....



This week in questions:

1. What is the biggest thing that grossed you out over the past week?
Pus really disgusts me.  In pathology I had to stare at a picture of a cow liver with an abscess that was leaking runny yellow pus all over the liver.  Gross.  Didn’t make me feel any better knowing that pus is “liquafactive necrosis” and that’s it’s liquified tissue.  Ew.  However, pus is definitely preferable to the biosecurity presentation that we had to watch in the class a few weeks ago.  It was based in human medicine and had all sorts of pictures of human wounds and nastiness.  We all agreed that animals are much perferrable to human patients and that humans smell funny. 


2. What do you feed your dogs? (And horses)
Tess gets the fish formula of Taste of the Wild.  She does really well on it.   Her diet is supplemented with the occasional dog appropriate human food - egg, vegetables, whole chicken cut up left overs and giblets, etc.

Farley is getting orchard grass.  It has a wee bit of Alfalfa in it - which is fine with me.  She’s no longer free feeding since she’s decided to take on a blimp shape.  Still supplementing with vitamin E and selenium (from Platinum Performance) in a WEE bit of Elk Groves Stable Mix Senior (less than 1/2 pound - ~1 cup).  She looks great and I’m comfortable with the amount of sugar in her diet. 


3. If you could move anywhere where would you live?
It’s hard to beat California weather.  And living in the heart of endurance country doesn’t hurt either.  If I could live there in the summer only, I like Wyoming.  If I could be guaranteed year ‘round riding and an indoor arena, Colorado would be incredible.  It’s hard to beat Nevada for wide open spaces to ride right out your back door.  At this point it would be nice to live closer to school (1 hour 10 minute commute currently), but not at the sacrifice of having to put Farley in a paddock or being further away than I am now (20 minutes from Farley).


4. What is the funniest thought that occurred to you (or thing that happened to you) this week?
Joy?  Happiness? Laughter?  Those things don’t happen to vet students who are over worked, over stressed and generally miserable.  :)  What?  you don’t believe me?  I wouldn’t either.  It wasn’t FUNNY, but one of the things that put a smile on my face was watching Tess swim in a ditch at the bluegrass festival I attended this weekend.  It was over her head and she was chasing butterflies through weeds 3x her height, taking flying leaps across the ditch, and paddling her way through the water.  What could be more enjoyable to watch, as I contemplate how her PNS and CNS are working together to make sure that cellular signaling occurs using a variety of pathways utilizing GABAergic and cholinergic receptors among others make her function and if she ever gets seizures I would have to put her on phenobarbital and how scary would THAT be considering the liver disease, and when she did that belly flop was that ventrally or dorsally? 

5. If you couldn't have your breed of choice what would be next on your list?I definitely see another Standardbred on my list.  I’m not sure if Arab is my breed of choice, and if they aren’t than what is on the top of my list.  The different breeds all have their strengths and weaknesses and it totally depends on what I’m using the horse for.  I think that both arabs and standardbreds are good “all ‘round” horses.  My childhood dream horse is a chestnut fox trottin’ mare with a flaxen mane and tail.  I’m not sure if that will ever be a reality, but it’s always in the back of my mind. 

Life update (things that you may be interested in, but that are too "life journal-like" to be a real post) -

Farley
Checked the Farrier's work last night.  He doesn't take off as much hoof as my other farrier, but I'd rather him be conservative than too go crazy.  He left a lot of sole - which I like - and took down the heels to the seat of the corn.  My only complaint about my previous farrier was that he tended to take a wee bit more sole and frog than I would have ideally wanted, and sometimes on the hinds didn't take the heels as far down as they needed.  I did see some issues with this trim.  The new farrier doesn't do ANY roll, and I felt like he left the toe on the RF WAY too long - it really needs to be backed up.  In summary, it looks more like a foot that has been prepped for a shoe than a barefoot trim.  However - Since he's leaving sole, balancing the foot well, and leaving me enough hoof to work with, I'll just do the rolling and the backing up that RF after his trims.  At some point (probably when I start serious conditioning again) I will probably have to find a different farrier who's trimming style compliments a barefoot performance better, but for now I think I'll be fine.

School
Almost passed out during my sheep handling lab yesterday.  It was really hot - which I'm usually fine with.  I made sure I ate (something that's been a problem lately), but for some reason, sometimes when I have to stand in one place without moving I get very dizzy.  It's happened in cold and hot environments.  I have low blood pressure, so thinking that is was because I wasn't moving around I started fidgeting and moving around (while trying not to be rude).  I drank some water, took off the undershirt I was wearing underneath my scrub top to try and cool down.  I was fine once they stopped lecturing and I was able to move around and handling my sheep.  I've never been able to conclusively link this to anything specific.  Probably happens every 2 years or so?  Never the same situation twice, but always involving me standing in one place for a while.  This was the first food animal handling lab (which is what I want to do) and my first time meeting some of the professors I hoped to work with in the future, so I was desperately trying not to do anything silly like pass out or flash anyone (remember having to remove my undershirt??????....).   I got through it OK, but it was a close thing.  I'm learning some REALLY interesting things in Pharmacology that have a direct impact on endurance - as soon as I get my head wrapped around it I'll put down some of my thoughts here regarding bioavailability, generics, loading doses, and species differences. 

How Endurance will look different pt. 4

This is the end of my musings on how endurance is going to look different for Team Faubel.

Thank goodness.

There’s nothing like getting in the car for the morning commute and looking at the full moon and feeling a sudden impulse to whip through the pre-dawn streets without headlights to let you know that there’s been too much TALKING about endurance and not enough RIDING. 

Driving through the darkness in a little Corolla, with a fiendish look over my face as I hunch over the steering wheel, is the closest I’ll be to riding a 100 for quite some time.  Considering that “endurance” is currently ...30 minutes at a walk on good footing on level ground.  I admit that I did urge my fat lazy pony into a little western jog near the end of our ride the other day.  Evidently anything over a 0.000001mph trot is beyond her imagination at this point.  A year ago we were Tevis material.  Now, I’m explaining to passerby’s that yes, this IS an arab - even though her ears are too big, her eyes too soft, her head held too low, and her belly too fat.  Maybe it would be more believable to call her a Welsh Pony?  I don’t even try to explain that this is my Tevis pony.  THAT would be more than what any reasonable person would be expected to believe. 

Last year I had a Tevis Buckle.  This year I have “Perspective”, which could be defined as putting your itty-bitty puppy into the one-person tent, and after they stop richotetching around and lay down, realize that they may actually be getting bigger....as they seem to be taking up quite a large proportion of the (very) limited foot print.


5.  Longer and slower conditioning rides.  Rarely did I do over 15 miles or so during a conditioning ride.  Occasionally I did a 20-23 mile ride a couple times a year.  Most of my mileage was made up in shorter rides more often.  Because I’ll be riding less days a week, I can ride more mileage when I do ride, and not feel like I’m taking my horse too close to the edge of “fit or broke”. The mileage I do will count and I’ll do one or 2 slow 30’s (or LD’s) before asking for a ride effort.  It’s shocking how little real conditioning I did for endurance rides.  I do believe that some of the biggest problems in endurance come from over conditioning and I was always conscious of how much time I was putting in the saddle - however, now I’ll be making that time count better.  She’s on pasture and doesn’t have to get out every day in order to keep moving. 

6.  Fair weather only.  I’m done doing rides in crappy weather just to prove how tough me and my horse are.  It’s not fun for me, it’s rarely fun for the horse, an it heightens the risk of injury for horse and rider to a level that’s unacceptable for me right now.  I have an IT band issue an an achilles injury that REALLY doesn’t like cold weather and Farley has issues with getting a bit tight in the hind end and it becomes difficult to manage in cold rainy weather.  I’m doing this sport because it’s FUN, and I want to take care of me and my horse so we are still doing this in 10 years.  There’s always another ride. 

7.  Chose rides carefully - stay away from the ones that have a reputation for being “too hard”.  There are a couple rides in my region that are extremely difficult.  One that makes no secret of that is the American River ride.  Truly, finishing the 50 at American River was harder than finishing any of my 100’s, including Tevis.  Yes it was beautiful, and yes, I feel like it was a significant accomplishment to just finish.  However, my overwhelming feeling after finishing was disgust.  Disgust that I had the guts to ask that much from my horse and put her at risk for a career ending injury.  I realize that every time we ask for an endurance effort we are asking a lot and accepting a level of risk, but in my opinion, there are some rides that are “over the top” and I still can’t look back at finishing American River without feeling foolish for it. 

8.  More time off more often.   There is an ‘oft spoken truth that you can either give the horse time off voluntarily, or you can wait and give that time off after they get injured.  Active rest is still an important part of the recovery process, however I will give Farley more prolonged blocks of time off - in terms of months rather than a week here and there - going forward.  It was hard to balance the need of rest and time off with not being able to keep her on pasture.  That’s one thing that’s nice about major life changes - sometimes it’s easier to make the other changes beyond the specific scope of a career change or location change!

And that concludes how my picture-perfect-next-endurance season is going to go.  30 minutes walking is awfully close to an endurance ride, right?  At least that’s what I’m told by trail riders who assure me that their horse is Tevis material since they’ve finished 30 minutes looking so “fresh”. 

IF everything goes well, I’m shooting for an LD during my spring break, if I can find a suitable one in the March/April time frame.  Farley is seeing a new farrier on today - the first time since I moved, and I admit I’m apprehensive.  I can’t be there during the trim so I’m having a sister stand in for me (a horsey one).  I just have to remember that if I get home and her feet look (*&*&%^&$&*)(* awful that they WILL grow back and she CAN go barefoot and I’m NOT totally incompetent when it comes to evaluating trims. 

A quick school update -

I passed my first midterm - barely.  The Rabies vaccination series made preparing for the exam difficult.  This first block is pass/fail so I’m not worried - if zero studying = a passing grade than I’ll be fine for the exams that I’m able to prepare for.  I’m loving school - I’m living, dreaming, breathing medicine and biology.  When I wake up suddenly, there’s always a thought of annoyed “where was I” because I was going through some physicological process.  Yes, I love animals and that is part of what makes a good veterinarian, however  I can’t imagine that my love of animals would get me through school.  If you are considering being a vet, I think it’s more important to love science, biology, and the process of medicine.

Endurance - a different look pt. 3

Continuing from where we left off - more ways that endurance season 2012 and beyond will look different.  Tess is being a terrorist this morning and I slept in, in a desprete attempt to make some physical issues go away (didn't work).  If you thought eating salad as finger food was difficult - just try typing a blog post with a ricocheting puppy who is brining you toys to throw (which I am doing because it took me MONTHS to foster her retrieval instincts), who completely "gets" when she has your full attention or not - and would much prefer to HAVE your full attention. 

3.  I will be more consistent and will riding MY ride.  It isn't necessarily other people that get me in trouble - it's Farley.  She'll want to go a little bit faster through a section and I'll go "OK" because it would be a lot of work to school her through half halts and insist that we do things exactly my way.  I probably compromised more than I should have.  I've always had the philosophy of not micro managing an endurance horse on the trail, and I believe fighting a horse for 50 miles makes for a worse ride than if I compromised on some points.  Now - I'm not talking about compromising to the point where we were riding faster than we conditioned, or doing something at a speed or gait that was unsafe.  It was smaller and more subtle than that.  Farley would offer something and I would shrug and go "why not"?  That's OK to do some of the time - but I did it too often and I think the accumulation of letting her go through the rocky sections a bit faster than I would like (She's amazingly "catty" and just floats through the most technical sections), or we trotted down one too many hills (again - she just floats downhill so it's hard to resist).  Those little things add up over the seasons, and if I want her to stay sound and healthy through the next seasons, and retire a sound and healthy horse at the end of her career, I need to be better about riding MY ride and being consistent.  Twenty Mule Team 2010 is an example of a ride where I thought I did an excellent job at riding MY ride - but not the point where I compromised Farley being able to do her job.  

4.  More listening to my gut.  I did several rides with Farley that in my gut I was uncertain about - but I plowed ahead.  In fact, I stated as much at the beginning of my 2009 Tevis video.  Twenty mule team was no exception.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but I was a little apprehensive about it.  I did things like replace the tires on my truck at the last minute because they needed replacing and unconsciously I was probably trying to erase some nagging doubt that something was going to happen.  When I talked to people about the upcoming ride, I talked about how statistically it was time for a pull, considering how many 100's Farley and I had done successfully.  I kept looking for a clear sign that I should pull, or that I was asking too much.  In the dressage lesson ~ 2 weeks prior to the ride, Farley took a couple of "funny" steps.  It wasn't real obvious, and it wasn't repeated during the remainder of the lesson (~30 minutes).  I did a couple more rides on her (short hacks on the canal bank) and couldn't find anything.  I trailered to the ride knowing that I would probably pull because of the weather, but the morning dawned cold but clear.  There was no reason not to ride. 


My point is, that in the future, instead of looking for clear reasons NOT to go, I will be looking for clear signs that I SHOULD go.  I've never regretted not riding a ride. 

Stay tuned for pt. 4.  It's 8:15 and I'm off to school.  Today's topics?  Channelopathies, radiology positioning and a histo lab concerning nerve tissue! 

Endurance - a different look pt.2

Wanna know a fabulous idea? 

White puppy + black marker = An anatomy lesson I'll probably retain.  Tess will "retain" it too!  Probably a lot longer than I would care to explain it....

I believe we were discussing how endurance this time around be ever more fabulous than my other restarts?

Now that we've gotten mental aspects and long term goals out of the way, now we can focus on the fun stuff!

"Why Melinda can look forward to the endurance 2012 season and beyond"


1.  Less multitasking, more focusing and living in the moment.







It is extraordinarily difficult NOT to multitask.  For so many years, that is *how* I got things accomplished.  I threw 3 or 4 plates in the air, kept half an eye on all of them, three quarters of an eye on another one, switching as needed between priorities.  I'm GOOD at multi-tasking, but....multi-tasking is not good for me.  I've noticed that I have a LOT more stress in my life the more multi-tasking I do.  Nothing gets done well, and I'm always vaguely anxious that the plates will come crashing down.  Multitasking is a useful skill - but so is the ability to focus.  I'm unable to focus for even 50 minutes on one thing - which became readily apparent as I started to sit through lectures.  It was impossible for me not to fiddle with emails, write posts, check my calendar, and glance at the clock.  If I don't focus in lecture, I end up having to spend LOADS of time learning it on my own, so the efficient thing is the FOCUS.  Unlearning unconcious multitasking is as hard as learning how to juggle all those plates in the first place. 




Of course this relates to endurance - I spent so much time multitasking in all aspects of endurance - including the day of the ride, I didn't enjoy it half as much I as should have.  Only on my last ride, which I thought every mile I rode might be my last, was I able to quiet myself and live in the moment.  If I have to ride LD's to achieve this "zen", then that's where I will stay until I can do it for 100 miles. 

2.  Less days per week of riding - pasture for Farley at all costs (or no endurance competitions)


The situation pre-school (did you notice?  There was life BEFORE vet school, and there's life IN vet school....) was less than ideal for an endurance horse - boarded in a paddock with no other turn out or exercise than what I personally gave her.  No hills, and a trailer ride every weekend.  I made it work and I learned a lot and I'm glad I did it....however, in the future I will either find pasture or I will not ask my horse to do 100 - or possibly even 50 - miles.  To decrease my chances of injury and pulls, riding less days per week is critical.  Unfortunately, without room for the horse to "self exercise", it's hard to get the horse fit enough, AND working "hard" 2-3 days a week....and letting them sit in a paddock the rest of the week is a recipe for DISASTER....


I also won't chose to compete more than one sport with a horse, if I'm trying to do something over LD's.  Dressage schooling will still have its place during the routine on a regular basis, however the number of riding days needed to prepare a dressage-competition-ready horse, show improvement in a weekly lesson, and condition for a 100 miler, requires too many hours on horse back.  Better to integrate an occasional lesson (1-2 month max), or ride a school horse than risk burning myself or my endurance horse out. 

Gotta run - this wasn't originally intended as a series, but in my commitment to focus with less multi-tasking, I just don't have big time blocks I can dedicate to writing posts.  Check back soon for pt.3!