We schooled in the arena today and picked up both canter leads very nicely. Have we passed over the hump in regards to cantering?
The rump rug performed wonderfully today. I put it down for our warm up - walk, trot, and canter - and it stayed absolutely put. No shifting to the side. After the warm up I was able to pull it up, one handed in gloves, at a walk.
I started rinsing beet pulp today. Number one reason I know it had a lot of sugar in it - Farley no longer likes her beet pulp mashes......The rinse water was QUITE dark. It looks like rinsing/soaking 3x is the key for this particular batch. I rinsed and soaked for ~1-2 hours today, until the water was clear. Tonight, I put a batch to soak for tomorrow. I changed the water out until it ran clear, so I'll see whether it stays clear by tomorrow. If it does, I will conclude that soaking 1-2 hours is as good as soaking overnight to get rid of the molasses. To rinse the molasses, I bought a wire waste basket from Walmart. It was a bit pricey (~$9), but it is the PERFECT size to fit in a 5 gallon bucket, with a lip that pokes above for easy grabbing. The lip is flush with the top of the bucket, which means the lid for the 5 gallon bucket fits on top of the soaking beetpulp. I'll pay a bit more for perfection....
I finally bought a slicker brush (from the pet store) to clean my woolback pad. I've been getting away with occasionally spraying it down and scrubbing with a plastic brush. The slicker brush does and EXCELLENT job of getting the hair out and fluffing the pad.
And lastly....I confirmed with Action Rider Tack that I need a new Haf pad :( Mine is worn out. Good for short rides, but probably shouldn't do a 100 in it....And I finally figured out what to ask Matt for, for Christmas. A snap on bridle that will snap to my rope halter, with side pieces short enough to put clips on, so I can clip the gazzillion different bits/hackamore I have for endurance on it, depending on Farley's mood. He is to chose the color if he decides to get one for me.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Random thoughts
I have some great posts coming up, including a book review and a product review on a dead animal cart. However, at work I've been in crisis mode this week so in my unable-to-focus-state-of-mind, I don't feel like posting a comprehensive post on ANY subject. I'm also feeling remarkably uncreative and un-funny.
Random Thought #1 - I love National Velvet
Last night I watched National Velvet. For the very first time. It was WONDERFUL. This was probably the only horse book I did not read as a child. I tried once, in elementary school (4th or 5th grade) and could not get into it. I went back to my Zane Grey, Black Stallion, and Black Beauty and haven't thought of it since. I also, as a rule do NOT watch horse movies based on books. I've never seen Black Beauty, I've never seen Black Stallion. I picked it up on impulse from the library and sat down for a movie and knitting last night. I don't even know what to say - the believable characters, how it's free of contrived romances, how I put down my knitting to watch one of the most realistic/raw/incredible horse performance scenes I've ever seen in a film production......if you haven't seen it, it is a must see.
I even gave myself permission to cry from happiness/elation if my little heart so desired during the horse competition scenes (what is it with horses and how they can play with my emotions so?). THAT'S how good this movie was (and no - I was not moved to tears).
Random Thought #2 - Doing my homework
My trainer always remarks every week how much Farley improves from the previous week. She'll usually ask me to do something we worked on last week and then says "Wow - that was really good!" My response is always "I do my homework!". Because seriously, when you pay a lot of $$$ for weekly lessons for anything, you should PRACTICE. I taught beginner violin lessons for a while in college. Trust me - I can tell when you practice or not, even if you are talented and improve without it. I promised myself that if I ever took lessons for anything, I would put in the time.
Maybe it's rare thing to be able to put in as much time during the week to practice dressage as I do? Because my trainer always seems so surprised at the improvement. Seriously - if you work on trot-walk-trot transitions in the lesson, it only makes sense to practice it during the next week. Because I don't want to spend 3 straight lessons on the same thing. I want to progress! My horse wants to progress!
Random Thought #3 - Cantering lessons
This is related to thought #2. Last week at the lesson, we worked a bit on the canter. Farley had a very difficult time with picking up the left lead, and the transitions both up and down on both leads was VERY rough. I was told practice makes perfect.
I decided during the week that the arena was NOT the place to get both of us comfortable. For a horse that's trying to learn balance at the canter, having to turn all the time in an arena seemed like a cruel joke. So I started doing 5 mile canters on the canal banks. Twice during the week we set out. After warming up at the walk, I asked for the canter. After a quarter mile, I asked for the other lead. And repeated for 5 miles. The canals are straightaways, so she had to learn to read my cues for what lead I wanted. Five miles was just enough to get her warm, but not sweaty.
When I arrived at my lesson today, I told my trainer what I had done. She seemed a bit dubious. But I know my horse! After working at the trot, my trainer asked for a right lead canter. Usually the first transition to a gait is complete crap. I took a deep breath, set up my cues for the right lead. Farley flicked a ear, and rose into the canter. I think my trainer was a bit shocked. :) She said it was beautiful 6 (mean judge) or 7 (nice judge) canter transition. Uphill, round, obedient, were her exact words. :) Then we tried the left lead. My trainer was saying something about grabbing the saddle blanket so that I did not push my weight the wrong way, when I gave a small smile and asked for the canter. Not as beautiful, a bit rushed, not round, but gosh-darn-it! We did it! Left lead on the very first try. She broke gait/we repeated 3 times. Each time she picked up the correct lead.
Good Pony! :)
My trainer was a bit ecstatic. Another month of work on that canter and I'll be at show-ready training level. (My trainer doesn't let her student show until they are doing solid 70's in schooling, and will probably show in the solid 60's).
Random Thought #4 - a Cantering tip
I'm going to be working on canter halt transitions to improve the canter-trot downward transition. I thought I would share! To do a canter-halt effectively, I'm suppose to drop my stirrups at the exact time I ask for the halt. That will bring my leg down, instead of forward and make the cue very clear. Just thought I would share in case it helps anyone else.
Random Thought #5 - Toklat woolback
On a whim I dragged out my woolback pad this week for the first time since I purchased my skito and haf pad. I've been using it for the canal rides. It's still too thick to school or do dressage in, but it's OK for trail work. I think it works better with the Solstice saddle, than it did with the wide-twist Duett. I think I wouldn't buy a new one, but I would buy another used one, if it was a good deal. I like the skito for arena work because it's close contact while still providing more protection than a square pad, but I probably wouldn't purchase one for endurance again. I would buy my haf pad a million time over. I'm strictly using it for trail work and I LOVE it. I think it wears out faster than the wool underside pads, but it's still worth it. I'm trying to decide if flat bumps underneath the saddle area means I need to replace it???? (the underside of haf pads are little synthetic bumps....) At the very least I would like a newer haf pad for rides and to use this one for conditioning...
Random Thought #1 - I love National Velvet
Last night I watched National Velvet. For the very first time. It was WONDERFUL. This was probably the only horse book I did not read as a child. I tried once, in elementary school (4th or 5th grade) and could not get into it. I went back to my Zane Grey, Black Stallion, and Black Beauty and haven't thought of it since. I also, as a rule do NOT watch horse movies based on books. I've never seen Black Beauty, I've never seen Black Stallion. I picked it up on impulse from the library and sat down for a movie and knitting last night. I don't even know what to say - the believable characters, how it's free of contrived romances, how I put down my knitting to watch one of the most realistic/raw/incredible horse performance scenes I've ever seen in a film production......if you haven't seen it, it is a must see.
I even gave myself permission to cry from happiness/elation if my little heart so desired during the horse competition scenes (what is it with horses and how they can play with my emotions so?). THAT'S how good this movie was (and no - I was not moved to tears).
Random Thought #2 - Doing my homework
My trainer always remarks every week how much Farley improves from the previous week. She'll usually ask me to do something we worked on last week and then says "Wow - that was really good!" My response is always "I do my homework!". Because seriously, when you pay a lot of $$$ for weekly lessons for anything, you should PRACTICE. I taught beginner violin lessons for a while in college. Trust me - I can tell when you practice or not, even if you are talented and improve without it. I promised myself that if I ever took lessons for anything, I would put in the time.
Maybe it's rare thing to be able to put in as much time during the week to practice dressage as I do? Because my trainer always seems so surprised at the improvement. Seriously - if you work on trot-walk-trot transitions in the lesson, it only makes sense to practice it during the next week. Because I don't want to spend 3 straight lessons on the same thing. I want to progress! My horse wants to progress!
Random Thought #3 - Cantering lessons
This is related to thought #2. Last week at the lesson, we worked a bit on the canter. Farley had a very difficult time with picking up the left lead, and the transitions both up and down on both leads was VERY rough. I was told practice makes perfect.
I decided during the week that the arena was NOT the place to get both of us comfortable. For a horse that's trying to learn balance at the canter, having to turn all the time in an arena seemed like a cruel joke. So I started doing 5 mile canters on the canal banks. Twice during the week we set out. After warming up at the walk, I asked for the canter. After a quarter mile, I asked for the other lead. And repeated for 5 miles. The canals are straightaways, so she had to learn to read my cues for what lead I wanted. Five miles was just enough to get her warm, but not sweaty.
When I arrived at my lesson today, I told my trainer what I had done. She seemed a bit dubious. But I know my horse! After working at the trot, my trainer asked for a right lead canter. Usually the first transition to a gait is complete crap. I took a deep breath, set up my cues for the right lead. Farley flicked a ear, and rose into the canter. I think my trainer was a bit shocked. :) She said it was beautiful 6 (mean judge) or 7 (nice judge) canter transition. Uphill, round, obedient, were her exact words. :) Then we tried the left lead. My trainer was saying something about grabbing the saddle blanket so that I did not push my weight the wrong way, when I gave a small smile and asked for the canter. Not as beautiful, a bit rushed, not round, but gosh-darn-it! We did it! Left lead on the very first try. She broke gait/we repeated 3 times. Each time she picked up the correct lead.
Good Pony! :)
My trainer was a bit ecstatic. Another month of work on that canter and I'll be at show-ready training level. (My trainer doesn't let her student show until they are doing solid 70's in schooling, and will probably show in the solid 60's).
Random Thought #4 - a Cantering tip
I'm going to be working on canter halt transitions to improve the canter-trot downward transition. I thought I would share! To do a canter-halt effectively, I'm suppose to drop my stirrups at the exact time I ask for the halt. That will bring my leg down, instead of forward and make the cue very clear. Just thought I would share in case it helps anyone else.
Random Thought #5 - Toklat woolback
On a whim I dragged out my woolback pad this week for the first time since I purchased my skito and haf pad. I've been using it for the canal rides. It's still too thick to school or do dressage in, but it's OK for trail work. I think it works better with the Solstice saddle, than it did with the wide-twist Duett. I think I wouldn't buy a new one, but I would buy another used one, if it was a good deal. I like the skito for arena work because it's close contact while still providing more protection than a square pad, but I probably wouldn't purchase one for endurance again. I would buy my haf pad a million time over. I'm strictly using it for trail work and I LOVE it. I think it wears out faster than the wool underside pads, but it's still worth it. I'm trying to decide if flat bumps underneath the saddle area means I need to replace it???? (the underside of haf pads are little synthetic bumps....) At the very least I would like a newer haf pad for rides and to use this one for conditioning...
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Rump rugs
For the last eighteen months I have been "meaning" to make a rump rug.
New definition of word "meaning to". Def. Will not get done, or at least will be procrastinated to the point where the item is no longer needed.
While in my obstinate quest to find the "perfect" model to pattern my rump rug after (see that's why it was taking so long - research!), Adventure's on Arabee posted her version of a rump rug. It had a few interesting details that I liked, such as a button and loop system for tying up. This week I got around to making my own!
It was perfect timing. We have had very very very cold weather here this week. It actually SNOWED on Monday. Very rare. The last time it snowed in the Sacramento area was 2002. Before that it was in the 1970's.
It mostly rained in my area and after flying to the stable from work (even though we were in the middle of a "crisis" my impassioned pleas to check on my poor cold horsey were granted....) I ran to poor Farley's pen with a cart full of blankets and coolers. She was underneath her shelter for once, but she was still wet and cold....but not shivering yet.
I put a cooler and a rain sheet on her, and left her with a big bucket of hot mash. I was concerned that the rain sheet would trap moisture - that has been my experience at rides, even with a cooler underneath. But, I had no choice. Work was an absolute, non-negotiable priority for the day.
When I returned after work, she was dry! and warm! It worked! On to finishing the rump rug. While Farley grazed nearby (see above - it was still FREEZING so while the blankets aired out on the fence, she was decked out with my irish knit/cooler combo) I did the finishing touches - velcro fasteners.
Pictured below is the (almost) finished rump rug. There are 2 velcro loops attaching it to the back of the saddle. The edging is yellow, but the camera has bleached it out to match button and saddle pad.
I don't have a sewing machine right now so everything had to be hand stitched. Every. single. little. stitch.
Below is a close up of the back/rear. See the seam? I wanted 2 different colors, so I ordered 1/2 yard of each color. Unfortunately this means a seam. If I had wanted a solid colored rug, I could have ordered 1 yard of fabric and there would have been no seam - the rug would have a fold at the saddle. I could have gotten around this by ordering 1 full yard of each color, and having extra, but I'm cheap. So I stitched. and stitched. and stitched.
Instead of tying the fleece together, I decided to do a blanket stitch all the way around.
For loops to tie up the rug, I crocheted red yarn and fastened underneath.
The loops come back up and go to the buttons to tie up the rug. It should be easy to do one-handed. My buttons are set forward of the saddle a few inches because I usually ride with cantle packs during rides and wanted to be able to access the button easily with the packs on.
Basic directions for making a rump rug (Adventures on Arabee does it better...):
New definition of word "meaning to". Def. Will not get done, or at least will be procrastinated to the point where the item is no longer needed.
While in my obstinate quest to find the "perfect" model to pattern my rump rug after (see that's why it was taking so long - research!), Adventure's on Arabee posted her version of a rump rug. It had a few interesting details that I liked, such as a button and loop system for tying up. This week I got around to making my own!
It was perfect timing. We have had very very very cold weather here this week. It actually SNOWED on Monday. Very rare. The last time it snowed in the Sacramento area was 2002. Before that it was in the 1970's.
It mostly rained in my area and after flying to the stable from work (even though we were in the middle of a "crisis" my impassioned pleas to check on my poor cold horsey were granted....) I ran to poor Farley's pen with a cart full of blankets and coolers. She was underneath her shelter for once, but she was still wet and cold....but not shivering yet.
I put a cooler and a rain sheet on her, and left her with a big bucket of hot mash. I was concerned that the rain sheet would trap moisture - that has been my experience at rides, even with a cooler underneath. But, I had no choice. Work was an absolute, non-negotiable priority for the day.
When I returned after work, she was dry! and warm! It worked! On to finishing the rump rug. While Farley grazed nearby (see above - it was still FREEZING so while the blankets aired out on the fence, she was decked out with my irish knit/cooler combo) I did the finishing touches - velcro fasteners.
Pictured below is the (almost) finished rump rug. There are 2 velcro loops attaching it to the back of the saddle. The edging is yellow, but the camera has bleached it out to match button and saddle pad.
I don't have a sewing machine right now so everything had to be hand stitched. Every. single. little. stitch.
Below is a close up of the back/rear. See the seam? I wanted 2 different colors, so I ordered 1/2 yard of each color. Unfortunately this means a seam. If I had wanted a solid colored rug, I could have ordered 1 yard of fabric and there would have been no seam - the rug would have a fold at the saddle. I could have gotten around this by ordering 1 full yard of each color, and having extra, but I'm cheap. So I stitched. and stitched. and stitched.
Instead of tying the fleece together, I decided to do a blanket stitch all the way around.
For loops to tie up the rug, I crocheted red yarn and fastened underneath.
The loops come back up and go to the buttons to tie up the rug. It should be easy to do one-handed. My buttons are set forward of the saddle a few inches because I usually ride with cantle packs during rides and wanted to be able to access the button easily with the packs on.
I decided that I wanted two more velcro loops to attach to the side D's. It will give the blanket more stability. See that little piece of thread in the edging? This is where the velcro will go.
Basic directions for making a rump rug (Adventures on Arabee does it better...):
Buy one yard of fabric. Fold in half. Using some sort of edging material (I used double fold quilting edging), sew on the side you want the saddle to attach to. Sew velcro to edging to attach to saddle. Finish edges of blanket to your liking (knot or sew. If you are going to knot, you might want to purchase more fabric so you have a longer overhang). Sew big buttons on the front of the blanket, where you want it gathered to. Either buy or make loops. Fasten to the back side of the blanket, to the edging. Make sure loops are big enough to go around the blanket and to the buttons. Voila!
Total cost of Project:
Less than $5
Further modifications
I have an idea to attach a top sheet to the rump rug of gortex or other water proof material, using buttons. I just need to find a jacket or tent at the thrift store to sacrifice. I would weight the corners with fishing weights to make it less likely to blow around in inclement weather.
Stay warm everyone!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Shameless plug
In a shameless plug to win a $25 Target gift card, I'm linking this blog. I think she's funny AND I love how she is willing to resort to bribery to get more followers.
BTW - I don't have the gadget/widget/whachamacallit on my blog, but I have 18(!) followers. Maybe I need to boost through shameless promotion and outright bribery? Mmmmm.....All in the spirit of Xmas of course.
So my question is this: How many of you have promoted your blog through bribery to get readers? :) What was the result? What did you do? I do contests because they are fun and I need to get rid of my little knitted pests and I actually LIKE you guys, but not necessarily to get more readers. Probably because if you'all went away tomorrow (and please don't!) I would still be here writing. Because in some small way this is so very fulfilling.
BTW - I don't have the gadget/widget/whachamacallit on my blog, but I have 18(!) followers. Maybe I need to boost through shameless promotion and outright bribery? Mmmmm.....All in the spirit of Xmas of course.
So my question is this: How many of you have promoted your blog through bribery to get readers? :) What was the result? What did you do? I do contests because they are fun and I need to get rid of my little knitted pests and I actually LIKE you guys, but not necessarily to get more readers. Probably because if you'all went away tomorrow (and please don't!) I would still be here writing. Because in some small way this is so very fulfilling.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Rinsing Beet pulp
In which my younger sister realizes I have passed all bounds of "normal" when it comes to horses.
The conversation went like this (approximately):
Loreleigh: I've decided I don't want crap for Christmas this year and I finally figured out that people just didn't know what to get me
Me: Duh.
Loreleigh: So I'm sending out a Christmas List.
Me: My, aren't we greedy this year?
Loreleigh: So what do YOU want for Christmas
Me: Ummm... (In truth I don't even have a list. I think I've even convinced my beloved Matt not to get me anything)
Loreleigh: If you don't get me a list I will give you something like a useless trinket or figurine.
Me: I know! I need one of those dollar store wire waste baskets!!!!
Loreleigh: *silence*
Me: For soaking beet bulp and rinsing it.
Loreleigh: *more silence and quite possibly the blinking sound you hear from cartoons*
Loreleigh: You are way more obsessed with horses than I ever gave you credit for.
Considering this is coming from another horse person (and one who reads my blog), I am considering this a high compliment.
Things that I once considered when I first started endurance, as "too much", I am now embracing whole-heartedly. Barefoot, boots etc. About 8-12 months ago (and ongoing) after reading Karen's posts about sugar I re-evaluated Farley's diet to make sure I didn't have any un-needed sugars. She's never shown any indication that she's sensitive to the sugar, but better safe than to have a insulin resistant, lamanitic horse right?
Two things I did NOT do was rinse my beet pulp and test my hay - that was just too much. Last night I got to thinking that it was time to start rinsing. Testing my hay is impratical because of boarding and how they buy their grass hay (in small quantities). But I can control her beet pulp and other supplemental feeds. I'm doing so much to insure her health and well-being, I may as well take one more little step. So I'm adding "rinsing beet pulp" to the growing list of things I thought I would never do.
Remember Karen - being copied is the highest form of flattery!
And if you haven't checked out Karen's website, here it is. The last couple of days I've referenced it often, because it's my first resource for endurance related questions. She has years and miles and experience, and even if you don't agree or don't want the "bother" of doing all the *little* things, her protocols are great to stick in the back of your mind and come back to and mull over. There are many many things I do now, that I didn't used to, because I read it on her blog, thought it over for 6 months, and decided that yes, it was a good idea.
The conversation went like this (approximately):
Loreleigh: I've decided I don't want crap for Christmas this year and I finally figured out that people just didn't know what to get me
Me: Duh.
Loreleigh: So I'm sending out a Christmas List.
Me: My, aren't we greedy this year?
Loreleigh: So what do YOU want for Christmas
Me: Ummm... (In truth I don't even have a list. I think I've even convinced my beloved Matt not to get me anything)
Loreleigh: If you don't get me a list I will give you something like a useless trinket or figurine.
Me: I know! I need one of those dollar store wire waste baskets!!!!
Loreleigh: *silence*
Me: For soaking beet bulp and rinsing it.
Loreleigh: *more silence and quite possibly the blinking sound you hear from cartoons*
Loreleigh: You are way more obsessed with horses than I ever gave you credit for.
Considering this is coming from another horse person (and one who reads my blog), I am considering this a high compliment.
Things that I once considered when I first started endurance, as "too much", I am now embracing whole-heartedly. Barefoot, boots etc. About 8-12 months ago (and ongoing) after reading Karen's posts about sugar I re-evaluated Farley's diet to make sure I didn't have any un-needed sugars. She's never shown any indication that she's sensitive to the sugar, but better safe than to have a insulin resistant, lamanitic horse right?
Two things I did NOT do was rinse my beet pulp and test my hay - that was just too much. Last night I got to thinking that it was time to start rinsing. Testing my hay is impratical because of boarding and how they buy their grass hay (in small quantities). But I can control her beet pulp and other supplemental feeds. I'm doing so much to insure her health and well-being, I may as well take one more little step. So I'm adding "rinsing beet pulp" to the growing list of things I thought I would never do.
Remember Karen - being copied is the highest form of flattery!
And if you haven't checked out Karen's website, here it is. The last couple of days I've referenced it often, because it's my first resource for endurance related questions. She has years and miles and experience, and even if you don't agree or don't want the "bother" of doing all the *little* things, her protocols are great to stick in the back of your mind and come back to and mull over. There are many many things I do now, that I didn't used to, because I read it on her blog, thought it over for 6 months, and decided that yes, it was a good idea.
The iron free hoof Part 2
So today, as I was evaluating her feet and touching them up with the rasp, it really sunk in that her hooves are these adapting, ever changing structures that react to the environment and the work put upon them.
I mean, I knew that. But I didn't know that.
Watching her hinds develop cute little cupped soles was literally a miracle to me. I've always assumed that horses hind feet were flat.
Her fronts have lots of dead sole still, but I can see subtle changes - the white line has gotten tighter, her quarters are no longer chipping. It's a simple thing to clean up her feet and give her a nice strong mustang roll.
When I watched her walk after the trim, her LF is breaking over cleanly, right in the middle. The RF seems to be break over slightly to side. Or is it my imagination? Or the dirt? I stop, pick up the RF and evaluate the shape of the foot. What clues do I see that might hint at the cause? Is there a flare? a bulge? and uneven toe? I found none of the above, but it doesn't worry me (much) because I know if I'm patient and I wait 2 weeks, I'll be able to evaluate the growth and wear and I'll hopefully be able to see something - if there's something to see.
How does a horse's hoof change and adapt in an iron shoe? I'm still not opposed to shoeing if it comes to that this season, but I'm going to try my best to keep her barefoot. Every time I gaze at her feet and notice the little changes I'm more convinced of the "correctness" of barefoot. If I do shoe, it will be for as little time as possible.
Hooves don't lie. I'm still trying to totally convince myself of that. I'm rasping to the landmarks of her foot - the white line, the water line, the live sole. It's a different philosophy - instead of shaping the foot to conform to a certain "image" or angle, I'm instead helping the foot to maintain certain characteristics and letting it do the work of shedding the sole. I'm blessed with a horse with strong feet, bars that don't lay over, and a healthy frog. Hopefully this makes up for my shortcomings?
I'm sure one of you will come up with some concise, beautifully worded statement that expresses everything this wordy post does. If you do, I'll feature your comment on my sidebar!
I mean, I knew that. But I didn't know that.
Watching her hinds develop cute little cupped soles was literally a miracle to me. I've always assumed that horses hind feet were flat.
Her fronts have lots of dead sole still, but I can see subtle changes - the white line has gotten tighter, her quarters are no longer chipping. It's a simple thing to clean up her feet and give her a nice strong mustang roll.
When I watched her walk after the trim, her LF is breaking over cleanly, right in the middle. The RF seems to be break over slightly to side. Or is it my imagination? Or the dirt? I stop, pick up the RF and evaluate the shape of the foot. What clues do I see that might hint at the cause? Is there a flare? a bulge? and uneven toe? I found none of the above, but it doesn't worry me (much) because I know if I'm patient and I wait 2 weeks, I'll be able to evaluate the growth and wear and I'll hopefully be able to see something - if there's something to see.
How does a horse's hoof change and adapt in an iron shoe? I'm still not opposed to shoeing if it comes to that this season, but I'm going to try my best to keep her barefoot. Every time I gaze at her feet and notice the little changes I'm more convinced of the "correctness" of barefoot. If I do shoe, it will be for as little time as possible.
Hooves don't lie. I'm still trying to totally convince myself of that. I'm rasping to the landmarks of her foot - the white line, the water line, the live sole. It's a different philosophy - instead of shaping the foot to conform to a certain "image" or angle, I'm instead helping the foot to maintain certain characteristics and letting it do the work of shedding the sole. I'm blessed with a horse with strong feet, bars that don't lay over, and a healthy frog. Hopefully this makes up for my shortcomings?
I'm sure one of you will come up with some concise, beautifully worded statement that expresses everything this wordy post does. If you do, I'll feature your comment on my sidebar!
The iron free hoof Part 1
This is in 2 parts, because after writing the first part, I realized I hadn't said anything I meant to say - which was that after trimming I realized how much the hoof is a changing, adapting structure. Bear with me as I first get through probably the least entertaining thing you will read - a description of Farley's hooves.
On Thursday afternoon I trimmed/rasped Farley's hooves again. I've limited myself to only touching up her feet NO MORE OFTEN than every 2 weeks. In the meantime I can gaze at them for long periods of time, watch her move, and contemplate what I want to do, but I will NOT touch that rasp.
Since I'm still learning I want to give her feet a chance to get some growth between raspings so I can see how her hoof is changing and *think* about it.
Here's the conversation that happens whenever I contemplate my trimming and her front feet:
Part of me says: "Leave it alone. You are employing the white-line/maintenance trim strategy and the hoof will evolve. Everything is starting to look picture perfect on the underside so you are on the right track. Just wait it out. So what if the toe looks a bit long? After the sole sorts itself, you'll be able to see if you can shorten the toe - in the meantime the white line looks GREAT there!"
The other (less thinking) part of me says: "Fool! you have ruined everything! Her angles are whacked! What did you think you were doing? Playing farrier? In 6 short weeks since the farrier saw her you have meddled and you have screwed up. So what if the farrier will cut off sole? Schedule her for an appointment TOMORROW."
The hinds are different story.
So far I'm pleased. The white line in her hinds is tight all the way around and both have cute little concave "cupped" soles. :) I never have to do anything but roll the walls back to the water line.
Let's talk about the fronts.
*sigh*
The fronts are why I put down my tools for 2 weeks at a time. Better to leave too much on than to do something drastic and regret it.
Both fronts have a tight white line, except for a slight separation at the quarters. I re-read my online sources (check out Karen Chaton's blog for a great list of barefoot trimming links) and decide the way to handle this is to rasp through the (non-existent) white line, so the edge of the sole where the line is separated, and then to the water mark where the line is tight.
That's what I did and I'm happy with the result. Hopefully this keeps the wall from continuing to flare and I'll start to see the line tightening at the quarters.
Here comes the hard part - the heels and the toes.
The toe on both has a tight white line, and the wall keeps itself rolled back to the water line, so I usually don't touch the toe on either. So what's the problem?
The LF is clubbed and always looks toe short and heel high to me. The RF is "normal" but while the heel looks fine, the toe looks long....but maybe it's only by comparison?
My strategy is to take as much heel off as I can of the LF- which means taking down the heel until until the "triangle" is clean and not flaky. I usually leave the RF heels alone, just swiping a rasp a couple of times so that I can see that, yes, the heels are the right height.
And since I'm trimming and rolling to the white line, and the other landmarks in the hoof itself, I'm thinking that the toe is where the toe is, until the hooves start to adapt more? Manage the heel on the club foot and get the white line tight all the way around before worrying about anything else? Mmmm....
Onto the real point of the post: In which I realize that hooves are changing, adapting structures....(stay tuned)
On Thursday afternoon I trimmed/rasped Farley's hooves again. I've limited myself to only touching up her feet NO MORE OFTEN than every 2 weeks. In the meantime I can gaze at them for long periods of time, watch her move, and contemplate what I want to do, but I will NOT touch that rasp.
Since I'm still learning I want to give her feet a chance to get some growth between raspings so I can see how her hoof is changing and *think* about it.
Here's the conversation that happens whenever I contemplate my trimming and her front feet:
Part of me says: "Leave it alone. You are employing the white-line/maintenance trim strategy and the hoof will evolve. Everything is starting to look picture perfect on the underside so you are on the right track. Just wait it out. So what if the toe looks a bit long? After the sole sorts itself, you'll be able to see if you can shorten the toe - in the meantime the white line looks GREAT there!"
The other (less thinking) part of me says: "Fool! you have ruined everything! Her angles are whacked! What did you think you were doing? Playing farrier? In 6 short weeks since the farrier saw her you have meddled and you have screwed up. So what if the farrier will cut off sole? Schedule her for an appointment TOMORROW."
The hinds are different story.
So far I'm pleased. The white line in her hinds is tight all the way around and both have cute little concave "cupped" soles. :) I never have to do anything but roll the walls back to the water line.
Let's talk about the fronts.
*sigh*
The fronts are why I put down my tools for 2 weeks at a time. Better to leave too much on than to do something drastic and regret it.
Both fronts have a tight white line, except for a slight separation at the quarters. I re-read my online sources (check out Karen Chaton's blog for a great list of barefoot trimming links) and decide the way to handle this is to rasp through the (non-existent) white line, so the edge of the sole where the line is separated, and then to the water mark where the line is tight.
That's what I did and I'm happy with the result. Hopefully this keeps the wall from continuing to flare and I'll start to see the line tightening at the quarters.
Here comes the hard part - the heels and the toes.
The toe on both has a tight white line, and the wall keeps itself rolled back to the water line, so I usually don't touch the toe on either. So what's the problem?
The LF is clubbed and always looks toe short and heel high to me. The RF is "normal" but while the heel looks fine, the toe looks long....but maybe it's only by comparison?
My strategy is to take as much heel off as I can of the LF- which means taking down the heel until until the "triangle" is clean and not flaky. I usually leave the RF heels alone, just swiping a rasp a couple of times so that I can see that, yes, the heels are the right height.
And since I'm trimming and rolling to the white line, and the other landmarks in the hoof itself, I'm thinking that the toe is where the toe is, until the hooves start to adapt more? Manage the heel on the club foot and get the white line tight all the way around before worrying about anything else? Mmmm....
Onto the real point of the post: In which I realize that hooves are changing, adapting structures....(stay tuned)
Dressage Influences
I don't usually like to link stories about stories that already have "legs". However, I must give credit where credit is due. Elmer is still going strong and is a testament to good genes, a little luck, careful management, and....could it possibly be dressage?
My interest in Dressage started when a close acquaintance, Jessica Post mentioned that she did "dressage". What the heck was *that*? I don't think she did it formally at the time (it's been ~4 years since I've talked to her so that might have changed), but I was intrigued by the levels, and the amount of communication, and I was hooked when she showed me a pic of her riding a horse across a field. So quiet, so perfect, so relaxed.
My next exposure to dressage was my aunt Sharlene. Minx came up lame after a trailer ride to her house so I decided not to ride. Once I had made the decision, Sharlene pulled the rabbit out of her hat announced we were off to a dressage show. She had already known what we were going to do if we didn't ride, but in typical fashion let me make the mature choice to put my horse's welfare first, on my own. :) It was a recognized, very fancy show. We (of course) sat in the covered arena and watched the grand prix level riders (OntheBit - I'm sure you will correct me if I got this wrong!). I was excited - here were horses with trots as big as my Standardbred and the riders were sitting! I intently studied the rides and looked past my first reservations that being on the bit was just about pulling. There are 3 rides in particular that I remember.
Elmer Bandit is who pushed me over the edge....Repeatedly throughout the articles published about him, his owner gives continual credit to dressage, for keeping Elmer fit and flexible in his old age.
Of course the last straw for finally scheduling lessons was my inability to productively school her canter....
My interest in Dressage started when a close acquaintance, Jessica Post mentioned that she did "dressage". What the heck was *that*? I don't think she did it formally at the time (it's been ~4 years since I've talked to her so that might have changed), but I was intrigued by the levels, and the amount of communication, and I was hooked when she showed me a pic of her riding a horse across a field. So quiet, so perfect, so relaxed.
My next exposure to dressage was my aunt Sharlene. Minx came up lame after a trailer ride to her house so I decided not to ride. Once I had made the decision, Sharlene pulled the rabbit out of her hat announced we were off to a dressage show. She had already known what we were going to do if we didn't ride, but in typical fashion let me make the mature choice to put my horse's welfare first, on my own. :) It was a recognized, very fancy show. We (of course) sat in the covered arena and watched the grand prix level riders (OntheBit - I'm sure you will correct me if I got this wrong!). I was excited - here were horses with trots as big as my Standardbred and the riders were sitting! I intently studied the rides and looked past my first reservations that being on the bit was just about pulling. There are 3 rides in particular that I remember.
Elmer Bandit is who pushed me over the edge....Repeatedly throughout the articles published about him, his owner gives continual credit to dressage, for keeping Elmer fit and flexible in his old age.
Of course the last straw for finally scheduling lessons was my inability to productively school her canter....
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A send off
Gundiva - your fabulous prize will be mailed tomorrow (was going to be today, but by virtue of being sick AND lazy, it will be tomorrow).
Trust me everyone - the adorableness of this bunny - the cream colored body and upturned pink mouth - is sadly underexpressed in the photo. This is Melinda's Fabulous Creation #3
Periodically when boredom strikes and I turn to knitting to relieve the doldrums of winter, I birth these adorable little animals. What to do? Give them away of course - because heaven knows I enough unwanted knick knacks laying around. So really you are doing ME a favor by reading and participating in my blog contests. Otherwise I would be compelled to fill them with catnip and become my kitty cat's dealer.
Trust me everyone - the adorableness of this bunny - the cream colored body and upturned pink mouth - is sadly underexpressed in the photo. This is Melinda's Fabulous Creation #3
Periodically when boredom strikes and I turn to knitting to relieve the doldrums of winter, I birth these adorable little animals. What to do? Give them away of course - because heaven knows I enough unwanted knick knacks laying around. So really you are doing ME a favor by reading and participating in my blog contests. Otherwise I would be compelled to fill them with catnip and become my kitty cat's dealer.
More thoughts on Desert Gold
FYI - I changed the side bar info a bit (you know - new year and all that....at least that's a good excuse for my continual tinkering!).
As I reviewed the Desert Gold ride-recap I realized I had more thoughts I wanted to add. In my head-cold fog, I wrote down the 3 thoughts on a piece of scrap paper, so I wouldn't forget. Upon reviewing said scrap paper several days later, I cannot for the life of me decipher the first thought. So I present you with the TWO further thoughts from Desert Gold.
(Pictured: The one and only pic from Desert Gold. This was at the lunch check. It was rainy and she was STRONG. Not condusive to picture taking)
Race Strategy
I kept pace with a very nice women from England trying qualifying for FEI. This was a prep ride for her horse and she had a very specific strategy: Canter the flats, trot the uphills, walk the downhills. And she stuck with this program the entire race. Her horse had a very cute canter and jog, which means they were traveling at a similar pace to me…..speaking of, what is my race stategy?
In general, I trot the flats and gradual hills, walk steeper hills and down hills. Or at least, that’s how it is SUPPOSE to go. In reality, if Farley isn’t relaxed, she doesn’t get to trot very fast. Once she is relaxed she can go like a bat out of hell if she wants, as long as it is a trot and she is RELAXED. Occasionally we both have some fun and I let her charge up a hill or go really fast on a straight flat part.
So we walk a lot, we speed trot a lot.
We DON’T do a lot of slow trotting or jogging.
We DON'T do extended periods of cantering.
Normally we do NOT charge up or down hills at unreasonable speeds (are you listening Farley?).
(Pictured: drying everything out on Matt's front lawn).
As long as she’s relaxed and has great attitude we book it on down the trail. However, we’ve also been on the trail a LONG time at a SLOW pace because that is what was needed for her to screw her brain back on.
I could formulate a plan and stick with it during a ride….But I love adjusting to what I feel like, what Farley feels like, and the terrain of the ride. After all, we are both there to have fun. As long as we are riding MY ride and I have general guidelines, why not scream like a banshee and let ‘r rip sometimes, dashing along on single track with the intensity of a Olympic skier doing the schloam? (is this even a sport? I'm envisioning hunkering down and skiing down a hill, avoiding flags at TOP speed. But as I don't ski, I could have just made this up). Other times we go painfully slow, stopping to snap a picture of a picturesque pond, or walking slowly to enjoy the scent of pines and muffled hoofboots on the forest floor.
I was impressed with the English women’s dedication to her plan, she was riding someone else’s horse and was trying to qualify for a specific thing, so it probably served her well. I don’t think it’s for me, right now – my life is too structured and planned. I need spontaneity in endurance.
(Pictured: Left hind boot. See how the velcro folds up from the bottom? I think it happens because the boot slides against the front boot. This was much worse at the Oroville ride, so I think that the improvement in her movement, as evidenced by the velcro on the boot may be one reason we didn't have any boot malfunctions. Also, this is the only boot whose velcro showed wear - it's starting to fray at the top - probably because of the sand.)
A pulse back into camp
Last year, Friday was a single loop out of camp. To my dismay, this year it was 2 loops out of camp….that meant I was going to have to pulse into camp…..
I’ve only had to do this once with Farley. It was a nightmare. The pulse down area was right outside of camp and she was HIGH. She knew where camp was and wanted to get there and didn’t understand why she couldn’t go and eat when her trailer was right there across the road.
I was nervous and stressed about the pulse down for lunch for the entire first loop. It TOTALLY a non-issue…..ride management had set up the pulse box right in the middle of camp. Farley was relaxed because she was in camp and it was a no-stress situation. Yeah! I wish the other rides would do this instead of setting up the pulse area outside of camp. I’m sure this will get better as she does it more. I'm am very lucky to be in the west where most of the rides are single loops or point-to-point.
(Pictured: After finding sores on her hind inside fetlocks after Oroville, the hind boots went back on for the Desert Gold ride. I'm glad I did! That sand is abrasive....do you see how the bottom strap is worn away? That wasn't like that before the ride!)
Last of all I have pics of Matt's "puppy" that kept me company on his lawn while I scrubbed and dried everything from the ride.
Just 10 months ago she fit in my lap!
As I reviewed the Desert Gold ride-recap I realized I had more thoughts I wanted to add. In my head-cold fog, I wrote down the 3 thoughts on a piece of scrap paper, so I wouldn't forget. Upon reviewing said scrap paper several days later, I cannot for the life of me decipher the first thought. So I present you with the TWO further thoughts from Desert Gold.
(Pictured: The one and only pic from Desert Gold. This was at the lunch check. It was rainy and she was STRONG. Not condusive to picture taking)
Race Strategy
I kept pace with a very nice women from England trying qualifying for FEI. This was a prep ride for her horse and she had a very specific strategy: Canter the flats, trot the uphills, walk the downhills. And she stuck with this program the entire race. Her horse had a very cute canter and jog, which means they were traveling at a similar pace to me…..speaking of, what is my race stategy?
In general, I trot the flats and gradual hills, walk steeper hills and down hills. Or at least, that’s how it is SUPPOSE to go. In reality, if Farley isn’t relaxed, she doesn’t get to trot very fast. Once she is relaxed she can go like a bat out of hell if she wants, as long as it is a trot and she is RELAXED. Occasionally we both have some fun and I let her charge up a hill or go really fast on a straight flat part.
So we walk a lot, we speed trot a lot.
We DON’T do a lot of slow trotting or jogging.
We DON'T do extended periods of cantering.
Normally we do NOT charge up or down hills at unreasonable speeds (are you listening Farley?).
(Pictured: drying everything out on Matt's front lawn).
As long as she’s relaxed and has great attitude we book it on down the trail. However, we’ve also been on the trail a LONG time at a SLOW pace because that is what was needed for her to screw her brain back on.
I could formulate a plan and stick with it during a ride….But I love adjusting to what I feel like, what Farley feels like, and the terrain of the ride. After all, we are both there to have fun. As long as we are riding MY ride and I have general guidelines, why not scream like a banshee and let ‘r rip sometimes, dashing along on single track with the intensity of a Olympic skier doing the schloam? (is this even a sport? I'm envisioning hunkering down and skiing down a hill, avoiding flags at TOP speed. But as I don't ski, I could have just made this up). Other times we go painfully slow, stopping to snap a picture of a picturesque pond, or walking slowly to enjoy the scent of pines and muffled hoofboots on the forest floor.
I was impressed with the English women’s dedication to her plan, she was riding someone else’s horse and was trying to qualify for a specific thing, so it probably served her well. I don’t think it’s for me, right now – my life is too structured and planned. I need spontaneity in endurance.
(Pictured: Left hind boot. See how the velcro folds up from the bottom? I think it happens because the boot slides against the front boot. This was much worse at the Oroville ride, so I think that the improvement in her movement, as evidenced by the velcro on the boot may be one reason we didn't have any boot malfunctions. Also, this is the only boot whose velcro showed wear - it's starting to fray at the top - probably because of the sand.)
A pulse back into camp
Last year, Friday was a single loop out of camp. To my dismay, this year it was 2 loops out of camp….that meant I was going to have to pulse into camp…..
I’ve only had to do this once with Farley. It was a nightmare. The pulse down area was right outside of camp and she was HIGH. She knew where camp was and wanted to get there and didn’t understand why she couldn’t go and eat when her trailer was right there across the road.
I was nervous and stressed about the pulse down for lunch for the entire first loop. It TOTALLY a non-issue…..ride management had set up the pulse box right in the middle of camp. Farley was relaxed because she was in camp and it was a no-stress situation. Yeah! I wish the other rides would do this instead of setting up the pulse area outside of camp. I’m sure this will get better as she does it more. I'm am very lucky to be in the west where most of the rides are single loops or point-to-point.
(Pictured: After finding sores on her hind inside fetlocks after Oroville, the hind boots went back on for the Desert Gold ride. I'm glad I did! That sand is abrasive....do you see how the bottom strap is worn away? That wasn't like that before the ride!)
Last of all I have pics of Matt's "puppy" that kept me company on his lawn while I scrubbed and dried everything from the ride.
Just 10 months ago she fit in my lap!
Product Review – Dead animal cart
I was told in no uncertain terms by my tevis crew that next year I WILL have a folding cart, similar to the aluminum folding carts that were seen at the ride….After pricing the carts at $220-350 (although they do come cheaper if you search for “marine folding aluminum cart” and buy from a non-horsey retailer), I decided to see if I could find something similar for cheaper.
A dead animal cart. Just the thing.
What I like about it:
I've used it at 2 rides, as well as around the stable. So far I'm very happy with it, even with not getting around to the customizations I want. Here's what I've done with it.
Anyone else have an alternative cart they love?
A dead animal cart. Just the thing.
What I like about it:
- Cheap
- Fully collapsible
- Strong! (Dad and I played around, giving each other rides when I first put it together).
- GREAT over rough terrain.
- Solid tires that won't pop
- Easy to push OR pull
- A big muck bucket fits perfectly.
- Not level when resting on the group
- Gaps in supports encourage stuff to fall through to the ground.....
- The balance point is very much over the axle. As a result, depending on how the cart is loaded, it will easily tip either direction
I've used it at 2 rides, as well as around the stable. So far I'm very happy with it, even with not getting around to the customizations I want. Here's what I've done with it.
- Hauled bags of feed from truck to barn (easy!)
- Hauled 5 gallon buckets, hoof stands, buckets etc. from barn to trailer to load up for a ride. (hauling (5) 5 gallon buckets+stand+buckets did not go as smoothly as I would have liked.....)
- Muck bucket to paddock for cleaning (Good - had to load up muck bucket while it was on ground so it was level, then put bucket on cart. Hauled well).
- Crew bag to staging area and back (easy!)
- Water in bucket and container from tank to trailer during ride (bucket was half full by the time I was done, but the water container did well!)
- Hay bag (full bale) from barn to trailer (easy!)
- Manure from trailer to bin at ride (easy!)
Anyone else have an alternative cart they love?
2009 - a look behind
Darn it! This was scheduled to be posted on 11/30, the last day of the AERC 2009 season....followed dramatically by the 2010 goal post yesterday. *Sigh*. Somehow the status on this one got changed from "scheduled" to "draft". The best laid plans........
No sense in wasting a perfectly good post, especially as I am sick, so here it is! Recap of 2009.....2 days late.
The AERC 2009 Season is officially done! Which means I have no qualms about doing my 2009 goal review, and then moving on to 2010. (AERC seasons technically start Dec 1)
Here were my goals for 2009:
1. Sound horses all year
2. Complete a multi-day ride
3. Complete a ride between 50 and 100 miles in length
4. Complete a multi-day ride with a distance of more than 50 miles per day
5. Complete my first 100 miler
6. Complete Tevis
7. Keep Minx happy
No sense in wasting a perfectly good post, especially as I am sick, so here it is! Recap of 2009.....2 days late.
The AERC 2009 Season is officially done! Which means I have no qualms about doing my 2009 goal review, and then moving on to 2010. (AERC seasons technically start Dec 1)
Here were my goals for 2009:
1. Sound horses all year
- I'm not sure whether to count this as succesful or not. At 20 mule team 65 miler, I was not pulled, but felt she was borderline lame. She was given a month of easy work, with my vet telling me it was very minor. Do I count this lameness even though I was not pulled? At Tevis I was pulled lame - there was no lasting effects, nothing long term. Does this technically count as "lame" even though I was pulled?
- Bottom line - I did well this year, but I could do even better next year. I'm estatic that I got through the year with no major injuries or rehab, but a solid year with sound mount IS possible and that's my goal.
2. Complete a multi-day ride
- Did this at Death Valley. Exhilerating!
3. Complete a ride between 50 and 100 miles in length
- Completed 20 mule team 65.
4. Complete a multi-day ride with a distance of more than 50 miles per day
5. Complete my first 100 miler
- This didn't happen this year, but I tried! It's a shame that there isn't any fall 100 milers. I feel like I could have done well (as in finish....) on in October or November.
6. Complete Tevis
- I started but did not complete. (see story linked earlier)
7. Keep Minx happy
- Well, we all know what happened with this one. It actually makes me feel very warm and fuzzy to see this goal - it reminds me how much I really did care about her attitude and feelings most of all, not whether she could perform in a certain sport for me. I still miss her so very much.
I think my goals were realistic and there was a good mix of achievement and failure (failure is important! Keeps me humble and grateful). Onto 2010!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
2010 Goals - Finally!
For 2010 I will divide my goals into 2 sections -
Realistic goals (or "unfun" goals):
1. Complete first 100 mile ride
3. Earn my 750 mile AERC patch
4. Get Farley to 500 AERC endurance miles
5. Complete a 3-day 155 endurance ride
6. Compete at a recognized dressage show.
8. Don't get lost at a ride (this should be a fun one)
Super secret, unrealistic goals........
3. Start schooling first level dressage in the fall.
4. Go barefoot all year
5. FINISH Tevis
- Those goals that I should reasonable attain, and...
- Those goals that are so far out there, even my sisters (who apparently believe I'm capable of anything - and I mean anything) are going to avert their eyes in shame.
Realistic goals (or "unfun" goals):
1. Complete first 100 mile ride
- Trust me - this doable. If I don't get this one knocked off the list I need to do some serious self-evaluation.
- This will be accomplished because I cannot imagine it being any other way. If I have to compete at intro level for an entire year...I just might snap and murder myself in my sleep.
3. Earn my 750 mile AERC patch
- For the readers not familiar with endurance: Mileage patches are awarded to riders at 250 mile intervals (races over 50 miles only) for the first 1000 miles, than at 500 mile intervals after that.
- Starting the season I am at 475 total miles. Which means I'm not even going to dignify getting my 500 mile patch as a separate goal.
- This should be a no brainer if everything goes well.
4. Get Farley to 500 AERC endurance miles
- Farley is at 325 endurance miles (same program as the riders described above, except horse mileage patches are awarded at 1000 mile intervals). Farley will be halfway to her first medellion
5. Complete a 3-day 155 endurance ride
- I have Wild West in mind. She completed 2 days there no problem, so picking up a 3rd day shouldn't be a big deal.
6. Compete at a recognized dressage show.
- Again - a no brainer. The harder goal would be to break 60% on every test I do......we'll call that a "sub-goal". A 60% or better on a training level test will get me a cool little certificate thingy from CDS (California Dressage Society).
- Very Doable. I just need to NOT be a dingbat during my tests.
8. Don't get lost at a ride (this should be a fun one)
- Every year I get seriously lost at an endurance ride at least once. As in, must ask directions from the biker dudes camping in the desert, lost. NEVERMORE for the next season. Again, not behaving like a dingbat should get me this goal.
9. Help mark or take down ribbons on a ride. On horseback. Karen makes it look/sound so glamorous!
Super secret, unrealistic goals........
1. Earn my 1000 mile AERC patch
- Ha! like that is going to happen. When was the last time my ride season went as planned....that's right...NEVER.
- Yeah....I think I'll just keep my head down, try not to think about it, and nail a 60% + on ever test this year....then I'll CONSIDER taking this goal seriously.
3. Start schooling first level dressage in the fall.
- That would require either a) a miracle in which Farley discovers her "inner" dressage self or b) a lot of hard, consistent work. Not sure either of those two things are going to happen. Let me revise - NEITHER of those things are going to happen....but I can at least shoot high right?
4. Go barefoot all year
- This goal scares me to death. Yep, the paperbag is making it's appearance again....I'll take it ride by ride and see what happens.
5. FINISH Tevis
- By putting it on paper, I instantly drop my chances of completing from 50% to ~0.5%. That's why it goes into this category.
6. Get Farley to the bronze level of the 100 mile incentive program
- AERC is launching a 100 mile incentive program this year.
- The bronze level is the first level and requires that a horse completes 3 100-milers in it's lifetime.
- I think Farley and I could do 2 next season. I'm unsure of the that third one....
Monday, November 30, 2009
Revelation # ?
OK - I am officially sick. As in call-into-work-sleep-until-noon sick. And of course ride the pony. Because let's face it, unless I'm on my death bed, paralyzed from the waist down, I AM going to go see the pony.
Which led to yet another (lost count of which # this is....) Revelation.
#??. Reins pull AND push.
Which led to yet another (lost count of which # this is....) Revelation.
#??. Reins pull AND push.
So in my post here I mentioned that I was suppose to work on pushing Farley into the connection as my homework.
Today I played with that connection and it was amazing. I can pull on the reins....and I can "push" with the reins. "Pushing" is different from the horse pulling.
Within a very short amount of time Farley was going "long and low" around the arena. I experimented with how far she could stretch down over the bit.
Playing with the connection for 50 minutes was probably the most fun I've had in the arena for a while.
Which is ironic - because to someone watching it looked like I was *just* wandering around for 50 minutes.
In reality - I was communicating with my horse on a level that we've never communicated at before.
Lovely.
Because I was sick, the session went like this. Work for 15-20 minutes. Walk past the rail where hot tea was waiting. Walk around arena on loose rein while Melinda sips tea. Put tea back on rail and continue working. I liked it so well I think I will incorporate tea breaks into all of my sessions.....
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Desert Gold 2009 ride
Desert Gold Day 1 2009 - another 55 miles under my belt and under Farley's girth. I end the 2009 season with 475 miles.
Some of you may remember my mother's (Carolyn) comment on an earlier post about my old blog layout resembling a comfortable pair of jeans that are ready to be thrown out....I decided to wear *those* jeans to the ride. The entire seat of the pants ripped out when I stepped into the truck for the last time. Oops. Apparently the 2010 season will start with a new blog look AND a new pair of pants. Upon arriving to ridecamp I discovered the ever so pleasant fact that apparently I had not forseen the need to pack anything but riding tights. I am not overly modest, but even considering the fact that ripped jeans are in, for me the whole cheek hanging out for everyone to see was a bit much. On went the riding tights for the entire weekend.
Not totally socially inept
I spent Thursday night talking to Jaime and eating her homemade apple and blackberry cobbler. It was the best pre-ride night I've ever had. If Jaime has decided not to do endurance for the time being (see her latest blog entry) I definately need to step outside my comfort zone and meet someone at ridecamp to talk to and have fun with. It really does make a difference in how much I enjoy a ride.
It might not be as hard to meet new people as I think. As I was standing around the campfire, a women said hi to me that I did not recognize....it turns out she reads my blog and recognized me. This is the first time I've had someone whom I did not know previously introduce themselves based on the blog. We talked briefly about the risks of posting on the internet. I'm really careful about what I post - I try to be entirely truthful (I really dislike hypocrites) without being hurtful to anyone. I try not to post anything I wouldn't say to someone in person. I'm under no illusions how nasty something can get by just one mis-worded post.
Boot report
I'm really really REALLY glad I have 2 drastic different colors for her front (yellow) and back (black) boots. No guessing which ones go where in the dark! I didn't have a single problem with the boots. I made two changes to the boots at this ride.
1. I tightened the cable on the left front (the one that comes off). I kept the toe strap tension the same, but I had less "tail".
2. I left more growth on her hooves.
It's also possible that I didn't have any boot malfuntions because the boots have finally "broken in". She also wasn't stepping on her front boot as much with her left hind (possibly because of the growth I left on the hoof?). I can tell because of how the velcro gets "folded up" on the bottom (I have pics, will post tomorrow). After this ride, the velcro on the hind was only slightly folded. After Oroville LOVE ride the velcro was folded up ~halfway.
The boots performed very very well. There was less deep sand this year, but there were still some patches of deep footing. There was more pavement this year and I was very glad I was wearing boots, especially because she was being a bit "jiggy". I am 100% satisfied with the boots and highly reccomended them to people that asked. I strongly feel that the reason for the boot malfunctions so far have been a function of break-in period and just really odd circumstances (thrashing around in the cut bank).
Hackamore.....or not?
Farley is getting very professional at rides. The sweet, cute pony dissapears and is replaced by a all-business, focused horse. She drinks and eats at the trailer, marches to the water tank, strides over the vet check, and waits patiently for pulses with the left front leg slightly ahead to give the vet better access. When tacking in the morning she stands rock still.
I had lots and lots and LOTS of horse. Controllable horse, but lots of horse. Switching back to the french-link baucher for the ride really helped. She still pulled more than she should have. I learned that instead of giving her constant pressure when I asked for slower, working the bit in her mouth back and forth really improved her response. She couldn't get tense and pull against me. I sang, and hummed, and lalala'ed almost the entire ride. It kept me from clenching my jaw when I pulled on her and kept me more relaxed. As a result, even though we was extremely strong 'til the end, I never actually lost it and got frustrated, and didnt' get as sore and actually rode well until the end.
Farley did not go into the hackamore because she was so strong. We finished the race WAY too fast....55 miles in 7:15. I'm glad she has 2 months to recover before our next ride. She looked great after the ride, but I worry about cumulative stress on her delicate little legs. I'm still hopefully that in a 100 I can switch her to the hackamore about half way through. I'm 85% sure I could have ridden her in a hackamore if we had continued on after the 55 miles......
An Aha! moment
Diagonals. They are important. I'm really good at picking up the correct diagonal in the arena. I'm really good at switching diagonals throughout the ride. I've never, on purpose, changed diagonals to match the turns on a ride, such as when riding singletrack. It had never occurred to me. On the first loop (35 miles) she was pulling hard near camp and I noticed that she wasn't balancing around turns, instead motorcycling in and putting a lot of stress on her forelegs. I starting switching diagonals for ever turn, sometimes it was every 2 - 3 strides on the winding trail. It made a huge difference in her balance and coordination. Aha!
Rain - what to wear?
I have been planning a post focused on riding in the rain and keeping comfortable. In 2008 I rode one day at Wild West in pouring, cold rain. It did not go well. I FROZE and could not ride effectively. I was so -ill prepared. I swore I would never be that miserable again and have gradually been collecting rain-riding gear in case it happened again.
It rained/misted/sprinkled (depends on where you are from and what you call "rain"!) the last half of the ride. I was absolutely comfortable the ENTIRE way. I was wearing a full set of silk underware, regular weight tights, and a dry quick long sleeve shirt. Gloves and wool-blend socks completed the ensemble. I cannot stress enough about having a decent base layer. It made the difference and it didnt' matter that I was damp, I was still warm.
Last year, because of the high humidity on the coast, I had a very difficult time getting Farley dry after the race. She ended up with rain rot because of the extended time wet, and me trying to curry off sweat while she was still damp. The trick is to have lots and lots of coolers and to replace them when they get damp. She was much more comfortable this year because of the blanket and cooler options I had to chose from this year.
The best moment of the ride? Returning to camp and finding that my neighbor and good Samaritan had put most of my equipment out of the rain, into the back of my horse trailer.
Because of the wind, my allergies are absolutely killing me and this may not be as cognizant as I think it is.... :) In summary, it was a fabulous ride and I'm overall very happy with Farley. With Dressage comes great rides, as well as fabulous muscles and better relationship! I know I harp and harp and harp on this.....but if you've never had lessons, even if you ride well, consider dressage lessons for a better endurance experience!
EDITED(~5:30pm): I'm definitely sick and it comes with overall crappy feeling and achiness.....I don't think this is allergies......Please excuse the quality of this post - wanted to get the ride story posted.
Some of you may remember my mother's (Carolyn) comment on an earlier post about my old blog layout resembling a comfortable pair of jeans that are ready to be thrown out....I decided to wear *those* jeans to the ride. The entire seat of the pants ripped out when I stepped into the truck for the last time. Oops. Apparently the 2010 season will start with a new blog look AND a new pair of pants. Upon arriving to ridecamp I discovered the ever so pleasant fact that apparently I had not forseen the need to pack anything but riding tights. I am not overly modest, but even considering the fact that ripped jeans are in, for me the whole cheek hanging out for everyone to see was a bit much. On went the riding tights for the entire weekend.
Not totally socially inept
I spent Thursday night talking to Jaime and eating her homemade apple and blackberry cobbler. It was the best pre-ride night I've ever had. If Jaime has decided not to do endurance for the time being (see her latest blog entry) I definately need to step outside my comfort zone and meet someone at ridecamp to talk to and have fun with. It really does make a difference in how much I enjoy a ride.
It might not be as hard to meet new people as I think. As I was standing around the campfire, a women said hi to me that I did not recognize....it turns out she reads my blog and recognized me. This is the first time I've had someone whom I did not know previously introduce themselves based on the blog. We talked briefly about the risks of posting on the internet. I'm really careful about what I post - I try to be entirely truthful (I really dislike hypocrites) without being hurtful to anyone. I try not to post anything I wouldn't say to someone in person. I'm under no illusions how nasty something can get by just one mis-worded post.
Boot report
I'm really really REALLY glad I have 2 drastic different colors for her front (yellow) and back (black) boots. No guessing which ones go where in the dark! I didn't have a single problem with the boots. I made two changes to the boots at this ride.
1. I tightened the cable on the left front (the one that comes off). I kept the toe strap tension the same, but I had less "tail".
2. I left more growth on her hooves.
It's also possible that I didn't have any boot malfuntions because the boots have finally "broken in". She also wasn't stepping on her front boot as much with her left hind (possibly because of the growth I left on the hoof?). I can tell because of how the velcro gets "folded up" on the bottom (I have pics, will post tomorrow). After this ride, the velcro on the hind was only slightly folded. After Oroville LOVE ride the velcro was folded up ~halfway.
The boots performed very very well. There was less deep sand this year, but there were still some patches of deep footing. There was more pavement this year and I was very glad I was wearing boots, especially because she was being a bit "jiggy". I am 100% satisfied with the boots and highly reccomended them to people that asked. I strongly feel that the reason for the boot malfunctions so far have been a function of break-in period and just really odd circumstances (thrashing around in the cut bank).
Hackamore.....or not?
Farley is getting very professional at rides. The sweet, cute pony dissapears and is replaced by a all-business, focused horse. She drinks and eats at the trailer, marches to the water tank, strides over the vet check, and waits patiently for pulses with the left front leg slightly ahead to give the vet better access. When tacking in the morning she stands rock still.
I had lots and lots and LOTS of horse. Controllable horse, but lots of horse. Switching back to the french-link baucher for the ride really helped. She still pulled more than she should have. I learned that instead of giving her constant pressure when I asked for slower, working the bit in her mouth back and forth really improved her response. She couldn't get tense and pull against me. I sang, and hummed, and lalala'ed almost the entire ride. It kept me from clenching my jaw when I pulled on her and kept me more relaxed. As a result, even though we was extremely strong 'til the end, I never actually lost it and got frustrated, and didnt' get as sore and actually rode well until the end.
Farley did not go into the hackamore because she was so strong. We finished the race WAY too fast....55 miles in 7:15. I'm glad she has 2 months to recover before our next ride. She looked great after the ride, but I worry about cumulative stress on her delicate little legs. I'm still hopefully that in a 100 I can switch her to the hackamore about half way through. I'm 85% sure I could have ridden her in a hackamore if we had continued on after the 55 miles......
An Aha! moment
Diagonals. They are important. I'm really good at picking up the correct diagonal in the arena. I'm really good at switching diagonals throughout the ride. I've never, on purpose, changed diagonals to match the turns on a ride, such as when riding singletrack. It had never occurred to me. On the first loop (35 miles) she was pulling hard near camp and I noticed that she wasn't balancing around turns, instead motorcycling in and putting a lot of stress on her forelegs. I starting switching diagonals for ever turn, sometimes it was every 2 - 3 strides on the winding trail. It made a huge difference in her balance and coordination. Aha!
Rain - what to wear?
I have been planning a post focused on riding in the rain and keeping comfortable. In 2008 I rode one day at Wild West in pouring, cold rain. It did not go well. I FROZE and could not ride effectively. I was so -ill prepared. I swore I would never be that miserable again and have gradually been collecting rain-riding gear in case it happened again.
It rained/misted/sprinkled (depends on where you are from and what you call "rain"!) the last half of the ride. I was absolutely comfortable the ENTIRE way. I was wearing a full set of silk underware, regular weight tights, and a dry quick long sleeve shirt. Gloves and wool-blend socks completed the ensemble. I cannot stress enough about having a decent base layer. It made the difference and it didnt' matter that I was damp, I was still warm.
Last year, because of the high humidity on the coast, I had a very difficult time getting Farley dry after the race. She ended up with rain rot because of the extended time wet, and me trying to curry off sweat while she was still damp. The trick is to have lots and lots of coolers and to replace them when they get damp. She was much more comfortable this year because of the blanket and cooler options I had to chose from this year.
The best moment of the ride? Returning to camp and finding that my neighbor and good Samaritan had put most of my equipment out of the rain, into the back of my horse trailer.
Because of the wind, my allergies are absolutely killing me and this may not be as cognizant as I think it is.... :) In summary, it was a fabulous ride and I'm overall very happy with Farley. With Dressage comes great rides, as well as fabulous muscles and better relationship! I know I harp and harp and harp on this.....but if you've never had lessons, even if you ride well, consider dressage lessons for a better endurance experience!
EDITED(~5:30pm): I'm definitely sick and it comes with overall crappy feeling and achiness.....I don't think this is allergies......Please excuse the quality of this post - wanted to get the ride story posted.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
A lesson and musings Part 2
I was very entertained at my lesson today.
My instructor rode Farley.
Let me revise that.
My very tall instructor rode Farley.
Who sticks at 14.2 ONLY because she has super high withers. Is more like an honest 14.1 or 14.0.
Hehehehehe.
Today we worked on connection and stretching that connection. My instructor hopped on because she was trying to show me something specific. She rode her around and then did things like shoulder in etc. I got to hear her say such nice things to Farley like "good girl!" "such a smart mare!". The best thing was to watch her being ridden - no one else has ridden Farley is ~2 years. What a difference! She's all "muscle-ly" now, tracking up and through at the trot etc. We are definitely on the right track.
My trainer said that she had to keep reminding herself that Farley is an intro horse, because she's riding a lot more broke than that. :) *self-preening*
So how did we stretch the connection? Farley is (finally!) accepting contact at the walk and trot consistently. Today we focused on softening the connection when she takes it and asking her to really stretch over the top. It goes something like this: (this isn't a revelation yet because I haven't had an aha! moment. Give me some time...).
My instructor rode Farley.
Let me revise that.
My very tall instructor rode Farley.
Who sticks at 14.2 ONLY because she has super high withers. Is more like an honest 14.1 or 14.0.
Hehehehehe.
Today we worked on connection and stretching that connection. My instructor hopped on because she was trying to show me something specific. She rode her around and then did things like shoulder in etc. I got to hear her say such nice things to Farley like "good girl!" "such a smart mare!". The best thing was to watch her being ridden - no one else has ridden Farley is ~2 years. What a difference! She's all "muscle-ly" now, tracking up and through at the trot etc. We are definitely on the right track.
My trainer said that she had to keep reminding herself that Farley is an intro horse, because she's riding a lot more broke than that. :) *self-preening*
So how did we stretch the connection? Farley is (finally!) accepting contact at the walk and trot consistently. Today we focused on softening the connection when she takes it and asking her to really stretch over the top. It goes something like this: (this isn't a revelation yet because I haven't had an aha! moment. Give me some time...).
- I ask for flexion and drive her into the bit.
- She takes contact
- I push my hands forward and ask her to stretch (basically as far as she wants right now as long as she's seeking contact and still giving me an honest forward).
- If she goes off the contact I drive her forward into the bit and repeat.
I'm excited. I'm on the cusp of realizing something fundamental, but I just haven't internalized it completely yet. Expect a major aha! moment soon.
A lesson and more musings Part 1
Karen has a GREAT post up today, talking about your horses biggest bad habits. Definitely check it out. I'm sure there will be an interesting and entertaining discussion over there...
I am SERIOUSLY considering riding Farley in a hackamore for the second half of the Desert Gold ride, her attitude permitting. She's been doing SO well - usually after the first vet check I can ride on a totally loose rein for the rest of the ride. I will still throw the bit into the saddle bags just in case, but I think she's ready.
I've mentioned this is the comments, but I can only giggle at the thought of me in boots AND a hackamore. One or the other, but not BOTH! When I first started in endurance I looked upon the people doing the barefoot/bitless thing as truly dedicated endurance riders who were also perhaps a bit manic in their dedication.....Now it seems I join the ranks! I haven't even reached my first 1000 mile mark and I've discovered that riding in boots seems to make a HUGE difference in the health and condition of her legs. I absolutely need the control of a bit right now in the beginning, but why not take it out when she stops needing it?
Of course, this comes on the heels of buying the most expensive bit I have EVER purchased. I wanted my french-link baucher back for endurance, so I needed another bit for the dressage work. I have searched the internet and knew generally what I was looking for, but nothing is like holding prospective bits in my hand to judge balance, weight etc. so I headed to the only tack store in the area. Farley is very picky and I want her to be comfortable and happy. I walked out of the tack store with an $80 bit......Made by Stubben, it's a egg butt snaffle with a copper "lozenge" in the middle. The center is a bit thicker and rounder than the traditional french link. There was similar one for half the price by Korsteel, but the bars were shaped a bit different and it was a bit thicker. I agonized and debated for an hour before going with the Stubben. I just knew she would like it better. And you know what? She loves it. She takes contact with out fear and is really soft. Worth every penny to have her happy.
Who would have thought my first 1000 miles would be so exciting? :) I alternate between really REALLY wanting that 1000 mile patch because it means I'm not *such* a newbie, and wanting to go slow and savor these miles that will probably teach me more faster than any other set of future 1000 miles.
Two horses, boots, considering bitless, dressage lessons, starting a blog, and a Tevis attempt. Wow!
This is getting a bit long so the lesson will go to part 2.
I am SERIOUSLY considering riding Farley in a hackamore for the second half of the Desert Gold ride, her attitude permitting. She's been doing SO well - usually after the first vet check I can ride on a totally loose rein for the rest of the ride. I will still throw the bit into the saddle bags just in case, but I think she's ready.
I've mentioned this is the comments, but I can only giggle at the thought of me in boots AND a hackamore. One or the other, but not BOTH! When I first started in endurance I looked upon the people doing the barefoot/bitless thing as truly dedicated endurance riders who were also perhaps a bit manic in their dedication.....Now it seems I join the ranks! I haven't even reached my first 1000 mile mark and I've discovered that riding in boots seems to make a HUGE difference in the health and condition of her legs. I absolutely need the control of a bit right now in the beginning, but why not take it out when she stops needing it?
Of course, this comes on the heels of buying the most expensive bit I have EVER purchased. I wanted my french-link baucher back for endurance, so I needed another bit for the dressage work. I have searched the internet and knew generally what I was looking for, but nothing is like holding prospective bits in my hand to judge balance, weight etc. so I headed to the only tack store in the area. Farley is very picky and I want her to be comfortable and happy. I walked out of the tack store with an $80 bit......Made by Stubben, it's a egg butt snaffle with a copper "lozenge" in the middle. The center is a bit thicker and rounder than the traditional french link. There was similar one for half the price by Korsteel, but the bars were shaped a bit different and it was a bit thicker. I agonized and debated for an hour before going with the Stubben. I just knew she would like it better. And you know what? She loves it. She takes contact with out fear and is really soft. Worth every penny to have her happy.
Who would have thought my first 1000 miles would be so exciting? :) I alternate between really REALLY wanting that 1000 mile patch because it means I'm not *such* a newbie, and wanting to go slow and savor these miles that will probably teach me more faster than any other set of future 1000 miles.
Two horses, boots, considering bitless, dressage lessons, starting a blog, and a Tevis attempt. Wow!
This is getting a bit long so the lesson will go to part 2.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Desert Gold Prep!
First things first.
Gundivvvvaaaa.......where are yoooouuuuuu? The cuteness that is to be yours will not arrive without an address.....as in physical address of your home! Or work. or PO box. Or neighbors house if you have decided I cannot be trusted. :) The e-mail to send it to is mnfaubel@gmail.com
I leave for Desert Gold on Thursday. Instead of leaving everything for the last minute, I have a PLAN! Yeah, like you didn't see that coming. Me? Have a plan? Nah......
I use the same basic time lines and guidelines when preparing for all my rides:
Monday: Change the toe straps on the renegades.
Gundivvvvaaaa.......where are yoooouuuuuu? The cuteness that is to be yours will not arrive without an address.....as in physical address of your home! Or work. or PO box. Or neighbors house if you have decided I cannot be trusted. :) The e-mail to send it to is mnfaubel@gmail.com
I leave for Desert Gold on Thursday. Instead of leaving everything for the last minute, I have a PLAN! Yeah, like you didn't see that coming. Me? Have a plan? Nah......
I use the same basic time lines and guidelines when preparing for all my rides:
Monday: Change the toe straps on the renegades.
- So now I have a bag full of perfectly decent toe straps, that were changed only because I wanted new straps for the ride. I guess I'll just keep them?
Tuesday:
- Start Electrolyting in her daily mash. Yes, I know that they don't store up electrolytes, but I do want to make sure she is nice and hydrated before loading her in that trailer.
- Make sure the pad and girth I want to use is clean.
- Confirm I have the essentials in my ride box (which is kept in my trailer) - spare stirrups, saddle cover, crew bag, crew bag contents etc.
- My trailer also functions as my every day tack room so I don't have to worry about packing my tack.
Wednesday:
- Clean Farley's pen
- Load up the trailer with feed (hay and beet pulp) and electrolyte supplies (syringes, caps, etc.)
- Do dishes
- Take out trash
- Vacuum and sweep (it's so nice to come home to a clean and organized house!)
- Pack clothes
- Pack camping stuff
- Confirm I have batteries for camera and GPS
Thursday: Leave for the ride (don't forget horse)
I'm excited! I did this ride for the first time last year and it was a great ride. I did break a stirrup half way through with no spare in the crew bag....
Work is extremely busy so my next post will probably be a report on the fun and wonderful time I had, how well my boots performed, what an incredible pony I have, and how sore I am from the ride because I have chosen to sleep in for the past 2 weeks instead of getting up and walking/running/anything physical.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Henry Coe and Internet People
In which I check out a new riding place, meet a fellow blogger, score a pair of sunglasses, have another boot malfunction (and deduce the cause), and finish another bunny.
BTW - the first person to comment on this post gets the bunny.... :) It's not quite finished yet - it has temporary stuffing and it drying, but I promise cuteness when it is done!
Jaime and I have been trying to get together and ride since the beginning of the year, since we first met on the horse grooming forums.
So, on Saturday, off I went to ride with someone that I had never actually talked to. I kept reassuring people that she couldn't be a green 2-headed monster because we both had a HUGE internet trail.
Henry Coe park is absolutely amazing. There's a little bit of everything (except rocks). Flats, jeep roads, single tracks, single tracks on ridges with incredible views, water crossings, horse overnight camps with bathrooms. If you are an endurance rider (or a pleasure trail rider) and you are within 2 hours of the park, it is worth your while to go check it out. I will add it as a place to condition on my side bar.
DO follow the directions to get to the park. Do NOT decide that your GPS knows best, and it will be faster to follow an "alternative" route. I navigating through the narrowest road to ever sport a center line. Beautiful and historic, but absolutely white knuckle induced driving (and I don't say that lightly). I did manage to NOT hit a flock of turkeys in the middle of the road, but I think a squirrel sacrificed its existence.
Jamie has owned "Ocean" for exactly one week. This is one, very nice horse. He does have some quirks that Jaime is doing an admirable job of retraining....such as not trotting. He prefers to canter. He may be the only arab I know that doesn't jig - instead he canters in place with flying lead changes. Jaime has the patience of a saint and a seat to match!
I did warn Jaime that my conditioning rides NEVER go the way planned. I never do the time or mileage planned. I usually end up just doing whatever "feels" right for the day. Here were the beforehand agreed "rules".
1. It was going to be an "easy" ride since both of us are riding Desert Gold next weekend.
2. No trotting up hills
3. Between 2-3 hours, closer to 2 hours
4. Back home before dark.
What actually happened:
1. It was an easy ride - we did a lot of walking, we dismounted for periods of time to walk downhill, let them graze etc. The trotting we did was very slow.
2. Ummmm......technically we did not trot up hills. We galloped. Once or twice. The horses wanted to. It was fun. I have no other defense except those 2 reasons.
3. 3 hours and 11 miles
4. Absolutely! Goal accomplished.
I think we were both happy with the way the ride went.
It was SO NICE to ride with another endurance rider who is also independent and just rides. We didn't micro manage each other's ride to have a good ride for ourselves. It was WONDERFUL not to have to worry about the other person getting over their head and getting hurt. The only time I asked her to stop was when I had a boot malfunction on a single track along a ridge.......
We were on a single track much like the one in the above picture. We alternated walk and slow trot (because Ocean was trubo walking). All of a sudden Farley's LF book was off and around her pastern. She reacted by walking faster, but none of that silly bolting, spooking stuff. So I think we are over that particular reaction?
So I'm almost positive that her boot is coming off because the hind is pulling it off. Her LF is her club foot so it may not fit into the boot the same way as her RF (which has never come off). I'm going to try tightening the cables on her LF boot and see if that helps, the straps seem kind of long. The LF is also the only boot that I have cut back because the length of that foot is less.
What's very very odd is that there seems to be no pattern of the boot coming off. It also never happens more than once per ride, which is very "deal-able."
As long as it happens fairly infrequently, I will probably just shorten the cables and take a "wait and see" approach. I think she is still transitioning. Even though she isn't uncomfortable barefoot, there's still a transition going on where the shape of her foot is changing, the white line is getting tighter etc. This problem may go away on it's own, as the transition continues and her foot changes.
This was the first ride that I felt she really moved well in the boots. I no longer feel like we are going down the trail in galoshes.
About halfway through the ride I spied a pair of sunglasses in the dirt. I shouted in glee as Jaime looked at me as if I had sprouted a second head (maybe there is something to the whole "met on the internet" thing after all). I haven't had sunglasses in since Oroville LOVE ride when they broke on the plane. The sunglasses in the dirt were literally a God send and well worth a dismount. They had been there long enough that I didn't feel guilty not putting them on the trail head with a note saying "found".
I've also "donated" enough sunglasses to various local trails, that I feel like the trail is paying me back finally! :)
The absolute coolest thing about this weekend was meeting Jaime in person. I don't think I've every met someone so much like me! :) She's the same age I was when I started endurance. We are both OCD, data-mining affectionados, independent, over-analyzers. We even got into blogging for the same reason. We both carry on full, out-loud conversations with our horses. We have a very similar horse training philosophy. There aren't that many people my age doing endurance. They are all too busy being in school, getting married, or having kids. The fact we are both in our 20's doing this crazy sport is very very cool. :)
Watching Jaime deal with Ocean's over-exuberance made me realize what the best part of endurance is - the relationship that you develop with your horse. In my opinion, nothing can match the the relationship that develops over 50 or 100 miles.
BTW - this was a much more entertaining post last night, but in order for my boyfriend to feel valued, I have agreed no e-mail or blogging the night I arrive at his house.....*sigh*. The sacrifices we make....
BTW - the first person to comment on this post gets the bunny.... :) It's not quite finished yet - it has temporary stuffing and it drying, but I promise cuteness when it is done!
Jaime and I have been trying to get together and ride since the beginning of the year, since we first met on the horse grooming forums.
So, on Saturday, off I went to ride with someone that I had never actually talked to. I kept reassuring people that she couldn't be a green 2-headed monster because we both had a HUGE internet trail.
Henry Coe park is absolutely amazing. There's a little bit of everything (except rocks). Flats, jeep roads, single tracks, single tracks on ridges with incredible views, water crossings, horse overnight camps with bathrooms. If you are an endurance rider (or a pleasure trail rider) and you are within 2 hours of the park, it is worth your while to go check it out. I will add it as a place to condition on my side bar.
DO follow the directions to get to the park. Do NOT decide that your GPS knows best, and it will be faster to follow an "alternative" route. I navigating through the narrowest road to ever sport a center line. Beautiful and historic, but absolutely white knuckle induced driving (and I don't say that lightly). I did manage to NOT hit a flock of turkeys in the middle of the road, but I think a squirrel sacrificed its existence.
Jamie has owned "Ocean" for exactly one week. This is one, very nice horse. He does have some quirks that Jaime is doing an admirable job of retraining....such as not trotting. He prefers to canter. He may be the only arab I know that doesn't jig - instead he canters in place with flying lead changes. Jaime has the patience of a saint and a seat to match!
I did warn Jaime that my conditioning rides NEVER go the way planned. I never do the time or mileage planned. I usually end up just doing whatever "feels" right for the day. Here were the beforehand agreed "rules".
1. It was going to be an "easy" ride since both of us are riding Desert Gold next weekend.
2. No trotting up hills
3. Between 2-3 hours, closer to 2 hours
4. Back home before dark.
What actually happened:
1. It was an easy ride - we did a lot of walking, we dismounted for periods of time to walk downhill, let them graze etc. The trotting we did was very slow.
2. Ummmm......technically we did not trot up hills. We galloped. Once or twice. The horses wanted to. It was fun. I have no other defense except those 2 reasons.
3. 3 hours and 11 miles
4. Absolutely! Goal accomplished.
I think we were both happy with the way the ride went.
It was SO NICE to ride with another endurance rider who is also independent and just rides. We didn't micro manage each other's ride to have a good ride for ourselves. It was WONDERFUL not to have to worry about the other person getting over their head and getting hurt. The only time I asked her to stop was when I had a boot malfunction on a single track along a ridge.......
We were on a single track much like the one in the above picture. We alternated walk and slow trot (because Ocean was trubo walking). All of a sudden Farley's LF book was off and around her pastern. She reacted by walking faster, but none of that silly bolting, spooking stuff. So I think we are over that particular reaction?
So I'm almost positive that her boot is coming off because the hind is pulling it off. Her LF is her club foot so it may not fit into the boot the same way as her RF (which has never come off). I'm going to try tightening the cables on her LF boot and see if that helps, the straps seem kind of long. The LF is also the only boot that I have cut back because the length of that foot is less.
What's very very odd is that there seems to be no pattern of the boot coming off. It also never happens more than once per ride, which is very "deal-able."
- The first set of malfunctions came during a huge spook in a cut bank and was the RH hind (almost positive that the other hind pulled it). The second set of malfunctions came during the first hour of a ride, during a HUGE extended trot, with some rocks in the path. This malfunction occurred on a smooth single track at a walk and slow trot.
As long as it happens fairly infrequently, I will probably just shorten the cables and take a "wait and see" approach. I think she is still transitioning. Even though she isn't uncomfortable barefoot, there's still a transition going on where the shape of her foot is changing, the white line is getting tighter etc. This problem may go away on it's own, as the transition continues and her foot changes.
This was the first ride that I felt she really moved well in the boots. I no longer feel like we are going down the trail in galoshes.
About halfway through the ride I spied a pair of sunglasses in the dirt. I shouted in glee as Jaime looked at me as if I had sprouted a second head (maybe there is something to the whole "met on the internet" thing after all). I haven't had sunglasses in since Oroville LOVE ride when they broke on the plane. The sunglasses in the dirt were literally a God send and well worth a dismount. They had been there long enough that I didn't feel guilty not putting them on the trail head with a note saying "found".
I've also "donated" enough sunglasses to various local trails, that I feel like the trail is paying me back finally! :)
The absolute coolest thing about this weekend was meeting Jaime in person. I don't think I've every met someone so much like me! :) She's the same age I was when I started endurance. We are both OCD, data-mining affectionados, independent, over-analyzers. We even got into blogging for the same reason. We both carry on full, out-loud conversations with our horses. We have a very similar horse training philosophy. There aren't that many people my age doing endurance. They are all too busy being in school, getting married, or having kids. The fact we are both in our 20's doing this crazy sport is very very cool. :)
Watching Jaime deal with Ocean's over-exuberance made me realize what the best part of endurance is - the relationship that you develop with your horse. In my opinion, nothing can match the the relationship that develops over 50 or 100 miles.
- Is it a particular feature of the endurance sport, that we think it's funny when a horse has the attention span of a bunny rabbit and the enthusiasm of a chickadee when going down the trail? Is there anything better than watching that enthusiastic relationship develop into a deep trust between partners?
BTW - this was a much more entertaining post last night, but in order for my boyfriend to feel valued, I have agreed no e-mail or blogging the night I arrive at his house.....*sigh*. The sacrifices we make....
Friday, November 20, 2009
What I do at Work
Currently I'm sitting in a meeting and supposedly thinking about things like "certifying bodies", "accreditation" bodies", "scope of certification", etc.
So what topic could possibly take away from the fascination of implementing a British Retail Consortium system? I am of course, thinking about what I usually think about during work - horses, endurance, and how I can get better with both.
I'm also thinking about a chocolate cupcake - masquerading as a muffin - that was sitting in front of me. It (of course) won the battle and only the crumbs remain to chortle in glee at the lack of my willpower.
So, under the guise of "taking notes", here I am tap tap tappiting on the computer. Really, is this much different then those who are scrolling away on their blackberries? Like all that scrolling and intense "mmm...'s" are really work related.
So what AM I doing?
Last night I received a wonderful thing - a copy of my Tevis vet card and a data spreadsheet of all in/out times and pulses of all riders. How wonderful!
Here are some of my observations.
So what topic could possibly take away from the fascination of implementing a British Retail Consortium system? I am of course, thinking about what I usually think about during work - horses, endurance, and how I can get better with both.
I'm also thinking about a chocolate cupcake - masquerading as a muffin - that was sitting in front of me. It (of course) won the battle and only the crumbs remain to chortle in glee at the lack of my willpower.
So, under the guise of "taking notes", here I am tap tap tappiting on the computer. Really, is this much different then those who are scrolling away on their blackberries? Like all that scrolling and intense "mmm...'s" are really work related.
So what AM I doing?
Last night I received a wonderful thing - a copy of my Tevis vet card and a data spreadsheet of all in/out times and pulses of all riders. How wonderful!
Here are some of my observations.
- Confirmed that she was a grade 1 at Foresthill on the RF (intermittent lameness)
- At Deadwood, where the lameness was identified, was also the first place she started getting B's. I did much of the trail on foot between Deadwood and the next check. It made a difference at the next check.
- She almost certainly bruised her leg during the first canyon. Even though at the time she seemed very strong in and out of the canyons, next year, I will ride this section of the trail more cautiously.
Specific pace and time data
If you are considering riding Tevis, this might be useful.
- I calculated the pace from check to check and tried to correlate that to the pulse downs at each check. There is no correlation. This is probably due to the fact that the pulse down times entirely depended on the length of the line....I would arrive at a check and immediately get into line. The vets would take the pulse at the same time as doing the vet check. Since it's a gate and GO, there's no advantage of getting your pulse taken the minute you arrive, versus waiting until you are ready to leave. Do it the way that makes sense logically for the check, let's your horse relax and eat and drink, and gets you out in a timely manner. If I had a choice, I did my pulse and vet-in at the same time - I think that was faster way than waiting for a pulse taker, recording the pulse drop, and then getting into line.
- I spent a total of 47 minutes in gate and holds not accounted for in the official one hour holds. I lost 1 minutes pulsing down for the one hour hold at Robinson flat and 2 minutes leaving. My "official" pace at Tevis was 5.1mph overall. When you take out this additional hold time, my average "real" pace on the trail was 5.6mph. I looked at the time spent at each gate and go, and my time management and none of the times looked excessive to me. As I was not "riding the clock" during the race, I feel my pace and time spent at holds was reasonable.
- I plotted my Tevis overall pace, along with the pace for each separate section, against the overall pace for all other endurance races. The good news is that my pace for each Tevis section matched very well to my preparation races. At no point did a Tevis section pace exceed a pace that I had been able to complete a 50 mile race in. For example, the faster Tevis sections were done slightly over 7mph. Farley has completed a strong 50 at this pace. I think that this will be a good rule of thumb for developing my plan for next year - the average pace of Tevis will be slower than my othe races, but the individual, faster sections should not be completed in a faster pace than a known 50 mile pace for that horse. What do you think?
My manager, sitting beside me is now frowning and looking suspicious, so I must contain my data-mining urges for now. Back to the fascinating world of regulation, 3rd party audits, and office politics.
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