This is going to be a record setting short post, though I have things to say. Go figure, right?
Tomorrow I make the drive to my first, and it's final, Llano Estacado endurance ride. This is north of Amarillo. I'm looking forward to going. Except for the drive. THAT intimidates me.
However, there's some....issues.
I noticed on Thursday when I went to pick up Kaylee that the truck's front passenger side tire was a little bald on the outside. So, I knew it needed a rotation.
Scheduled that for Saturday afternoon (we had obligations Saturday morning).
Well, so actually, it needed a new tire. I always buy in pairs, so two new tires, the nice rear tires rotated to the front and my best front tire as my new spare (the guy at Discount Tire was pretty sure it was the original spare with the truck based on the age).
GREAT!! In and out in an hour. READY TO GO!!
I run into the WalMart right next door to start getting supplies and head for home around 6ish.
The instant I get on IH35, it feels like the entire rear end of the truck is fishtailing all over the place. It's just all over the lane, and I'm white knuckle driving to get it to the gas station (needed fuel). I KNOW I'm not hallucinating, so tell Joe I need him to test drive it because there is something VERY VERY VERY wrong!!!
He can't drive it Saturday night (well, it's a long weekend, so he's already kicked back a few drinks). So, he takes it out Sunday morning and says "Yeah, suspension is shot."
Which, we had been told when we did the oil change/transmission flush earlier in the month, but...we thought we could wait a month or two before doing it.
Nope. It needs to be done NOW. Joe's words "The truck isn't even safe to drive."
So, we drive it down the street to the mechanic who did the oil change/transmission flush. I check online, doesn't say they're closed on Monday, so I make an online appointment for it first thing Monday.
Kind of shoots my plans to get hay on Monday...but...whatever, I'll get the truck back and I can at least PACK it Monday night and have it ready.
I drive to the mechanic Monday morning to drop off the keys....and...they're closed.
Cue my screaming and swearing and wailing.
Suffice to say, I left a key hidden on the truck this morning about an hour and half before they open. And, fingers crossed, they'll get him fixed up today!!! If not, well then...guess I'm leaving late tomorrow.
To add insult to injury, I managed to LOSE my bloody debit card on Saturday. So, I have to fly out of work today and run to the bank to get a new one.
The horses won't get their smushes and electrolytes today, but they got them Sunday and Monday.
The way I see it, if all the disasters happen to ME and they happen PRIOR to the ride, maybe things will go my way this time?
Maybe?
See you all post-Llano Estacado!!
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Online Endurance 101 Clinic...or "How Can I Improve on What I Know?"
If you are in AERC (or even if you're not!) and are living under and rock and are unaware, Patti Stedman has an online "Endurance 101" course for about $30. I've been meaning to take it for a month or two now, and recently it was just time for me to get signed up to take it.
If you go to "Horse Learning Online" it takes you to the page you need to go to to sign up.
Direct from the webpage:
"In short, Endurance Essentials is for aspiring and new (and maybe not so new) distance riders who prefer to take a self-paced online course, or who do not have a live local Endurance 101 clinic happening in their neighborhood, it would provide an opportunity get both INSPIRED and EDUCATED about what it takes to successfully prepare for that first competition.
As anyone knows in our sport, there can be a steep learning curve to success.
Our vision for the course was to keep the content fundamental, to focus on the basics for assisting you in preparing to make it to your first competition — whether it be an AERC ride, or a Competitive Trail Ride, or a Ride and Tie — with the building blocks in place to have a successful ride.
But we also know that sometimes learners like to delve deeper, so along with the training comes a Resources PDF, with links to in-depth information — everything from blogs to books to endurance tack websites to more information about balanced hooves and electrolytes."
There are 5 Modules:
Endurance Essentials Module 1
Duration: 46 minutes
If you go to "Horse Learning Online" it takes you to the page you need to go to to sign up.
Direct from the webpage:
"In short, Endurance Essentials is for aspiring and new (and maybe not so new) distance riders who prefer to take a self-paced online course, or who do not have a live local Endurance 101 clinic happening in their neighborhood, it would provide an opportunity get both INSPIRED and EDUCATED about what it takes to successfully prepare for that first competition.
As anyone knows in our sport, there can be a steep learning curve to success.
Our vision for the course was to keep the content fundamental, to focus on the basics for assisting you in preparing to make it to your first competition — whether it be an AERC ride, or a Competitive Trail Ride, or a Ride and Tie — with the building blocks in place to have a successful ride.
But we also know that sometimes learners like to delve deeper, so along with the training comes a Resources PDF, with links to in-depth information — everything from blogs to books to endurance tack websites to more information about balanced hooves and electrolytes."
There are 5 Modules:
Endurance Essentials Module 1
Duration: 46 minutes
This module contains:
You Can Do This, The Different Distance Riding Sports and The Horse
Duration: 52 minutes
This module contains: The Feed, The Conditioning and Camping
Duration: 42 minutes
This module contains: The First Competition, Getting to Ride Camp and Vetting In
Duration: 53 minutes
This module contains: On Ride Day, After the Ride and Mentors and Resources
I do not plan on giving any more details than this (maybe a brief mention of each module, but we'll see). There is a great resource Patti has included with URLs related to each module.
If you haven't already read Patti's blog, I HIGHLY recommend it. It shouldn't take you very long to go through the entire blog itself (I believe it took me a week and a half).
In fact, here you go, just start here; Endurance Introspection
That takes you to the very first page of Patti's blog posts. You can glean a LOT of useful information from there, but I am very optimistic that I will learn even more from her online resource as well.
I am looking forward to getting started, and with the length of each module being about the length of my lunch hour, I plan on going through them during that period of time each day.
If you haven't already read Patti's blog, I HIGHLY recommend it. It shouldn't take you very long to go through the entire blog itself (I believe it took me a week and a half).
In fact, here you go, just start here; Endurance Introspection
That takes you to the very first page of Patti's blog posts. You can glean a LOT of useful information from there, but I am very optimistic that I will learn even more from her online resource as well.
I am looking forward to getting started, and with the length of each module being about the length of my lunch hour, I plan on going through them during that period of time each day.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Work it girl!!!...or "How all the ponies modeled new tack"
Forewarning.
Photo heavy post.
So, a week or so before our endurance ride, I ordered a trail halter/bridle, breast collar and hackamore noseband for Dakini from Janet Grimes Stoltz of Trail Blazer Tack. Earlier this year (maybe late last year?) she had posted this gorgeous set of wine/reflective silver and I saved it because I KNEW it would look good on Dakini.
I finally took the plunge and went all out on this set. I upgraded everything and did what I wanted. Because, how often do I order such things for my horses?
Padded noseband and breast collar. Diamond cut. Bling! Upgraded hardware.
And the final result looks FANTASTIC!!
I put just the halter/bridle and breastcollar on all 3 horses. Really, looks the best on Dakini, is okay on Strider and just isn't my thing on Socks. But, push comes to shove and someone needs to wear it, they'll wear it!!
(PS-Sorry she's so filthy!!)
And then, I tossed it on Socks!!
He didn't look over impressed with the whole thing. And is so chill that he didn't care that I was jumping up and down and hollaring in an attempt to get his ears forward. Crazy Arab? No. Not even close.
And then, Strider's turn!!
In his, I snapped more photos of the detail that Janet does which, for me, puts her stuff over the top.
Bling on the keeper loops. Beautiful buckles. Bling on the strap that attaches to the cinch for goodness sake!!
And she was easy to work with. I had the set in my hands in a little over a week from the day I ordered it to delivery to my box.
HIGHLY recommend Trail Blazers Tack (Janet Grimes Stoltz) on Facebook!!
Photo heavy post.
So, a week or so before our endurance ride, I ordered a trail halter/bridle, breast collar and hackamore noseband for Dakini from Janet Grimes Stoltz of Trail Blazer Tack. Earlier this year (maybe late last year?) she had posted this gorgeous set of wine/reflective silver and I saved it because I KNEW it would look good on Dakini.
I finally took the plunge and went all out on this set. I upgraded everything and did what I wanted. Because, how often do I order such things for my horses?
Padded noseband and breast collar. Diamond cut. Bling! Upgraded hardware.
And the final result looks FANTASTIC!!
I put just the halter/bridle and breastcollar on all 3 horses. Really, looks the best on Dakini, is okay on Strider and just isn't my thing on Socks. But, push comes to shove and someone needs to wear it, they'll wear it!!
And then, I tossed it on Socks!!
He didn't look over impressed with the whole thing. And is so chill that he didn't care that I was jumping up and down and hollaring in an attempt to get his ears forward. Crazy Arab? No. Not even close.
And then, Strider's turn!!
In his, I snapped more photos of the detail that Janet does which, for me, puts her stuff over the top.
Bling on the keeper loops. Beautiful buckles. Bling on the strap that attaches to the cinch for goodness sake!!
And she was easy to work with. I had the set in my hands in a little over a week from the day I ordered it to delivery to my box.
HIGHLY recommend Trail Blazers Tack (Janet Grimes Stoltz) on Facebook!!
Thursday, May 18, 2017
So, what's next....or "Let's Keep on Riding Because...WHY NOT?!"
At this point in this season, all I can do is laugh about the mishaps and non-completions.
I have learned.
I have learned shoes are NOT a failure as I once posted.
I have learned a Rider Option of ANY type is not a failure.
I have learned a new method of hydration for my horse.
This season has been about learning, for me. It has humbled me. Beaten me down. Scared me half to death. And taught me to never EVER say "Never will I ever...." Because, those endurance gremlins will have the last laugh.
Anyway, what's next on the horizon?
I was slated to take Dakini and Socks to "Old Glory". I've signed up. Mailed my check. Except, my heart isn't REALLY in that ride. The heat. A trotting horse. And then having to load up in a day or two to drive up to Amarillo. I was going to go, but I wasn't exactly "WAHOO LET'S DO THIS THING!" enthusiastic.
Joe asked if I would stay home. I know he didn't believe I would, but I said "Sure! I'll stay home."
So, I'm staying home.
I'm going to TRY and get in a ride that weekend. But, if I don't...then I just don't.
So, that just leaves Llano Estacado left to do. I'm sticking with the original plan; Strider/Dakini/Strider. LDs.
Both are completely capable. Both are good ponies.
I just...might seek to leave more middle of the pack with each of them on their respective days.
Just in case. ;)
I have learned.
I have learned shoes are NOT a failure as I once posted.
I have learned a Rider Option of ANY type is not a failure.
I have learned a new method of hydration for my horse.
This season has been about learning, for me. It has humbled me. Beaten me down. Scared me half to death. And taught me to never EVER say "Never will I ever...." Because, those endurance gremlins will have the last laugh.
Anyway, what's next on the horizon?
I was slated to take Dakini and Socks to "Old Glory". I've signed up. Mailed my check. Except, my heart isn't REALLY in that ride. The heat. A trotting horse. And then having to load up in a day or two to drive up to Amarillo. I was going to go, but I wasn't exactly "WAHOO LET'S DO THIS THING!" enthusiastic.
Joe asked if I would stay home. I know he didn't believe I would, but I said "Sure! I'll stay home."
So, I'm staying home.
I'm going to TRY and get in a ride that weekend. But, if I don't...then I just don't.
So, that just leaves Llano Estacado left to do. I'm sticking with the original plan; Strider/Dakini/Strider. LDs.
Both are completely capable. Both are good ponies.
I just...might seek to leave more middle of the pack with each of them on their respective days.
Just in case. ;)
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Last Hoorah!....or "My Last Hoorah at Attempting a 50 at this ride..."
Well, it was a Rider Option kind of Saturday.
And, honestly, had NOTHING to do with my horse (well, he had the afternoon doldrums because he was COMPLETELY alone, though, when I would ask it of him [firmly with a waved crop by his head] he had energy to give...and he gave it) and EVERYTHING to do with my stomach.
Strider did 30 miles, and while he looked a little tired when we came back to the vet check area, down his vet card, all A's, except B on gut sounds.
I have a very VERY solid LD horse in him. 25 miles, even 30 miles, isn't a struggle for him any longer.
Let me back this all up.
Thursday night, everything normal except for the brief storm that hit while I was feeding. Strider didn't eat all of his smush. Dakini, my wonderful little rock star, DID though. And took her electrolytes. Strider gets a little fussy about the syringe shoved into his mouth and he slings it around as best as he can, but I know most of it's going into his belly (as evidenced by his vet card I feel).
So, I hustled through and raced home after a hug and a kiss on his nose. A warning to behave, don't hurt himself, and I'd see him in the morning.
I had the truck (except for the food and what Kaylee needed) loaded up and I was ready for bed by 10:30. This worries me. Makes me think I've forgotten something. But, as always, if I forget something, SOMEONE at ride camp will help me out. So, I went to bed later than planned (hard to make my mind stop racing). And, while I gave myself permission to sleep in until 6:30...that wasn't to be. Apparently one of my dogs got left in the back yard after their morning ablations, so he kept barking at the back door to come back inside. *sigh*
Okay, okay...fine...I shouldn't sleep in anyway.
Got up, loaded everything I possibly could into the truck, hitch up to the trailer, got Kaylee up and loaded, then off to WalMart to buy her diapers to take to my parents house, get me chapstick (I'm neurotic about this..I have tubes stashed EVERYWHERE) and get us hash browns for breakfast. She and I then hit the road to the barn.
We're chit chatting...she's telling the sun to "Stoppit Sun!" (it kept shining in her eyes). So, I told her to put on her sunglasses, and, amazingly, the sun stopped doing that!
Took some time at the barn to get ALL of the water I wanted to take. I filled up my 35 gallon tank and then filled up both 18 gallon totes with water. Spoiler alert; I think that the totes are going to work GREAT for me to haul water. They do take up more room in the bed of the truck, but, they're low profile and I can use them for other stuff if I need to.
Anyway, get Strider in the trailer (after a dose of electrolytes and his smush prepped in the trailer) and away we go to my parent's house so I can drop Kaylee off.
Hung out for a while (about 30 or 40 minutes). I checked, Strider hadn't finished his morning smush in the trailer, so we hit the road again.
The drive up was really very pleasant. Traffic was light on the roads, and the directions I had printed were flawless. Not sure what time I pulled into ride camp (early afternoon?), but quickly found a place in the open field to park that was near the potties (hey, strategic parking is EVERYTHING!), but not TOOOOOO far from where vet check was. Got him unloaded and put his (still left over) smush back in front of him and a big bucket of water while I got his pen set up. And, gave him more electrolytes (I was committed to making sure he got them!) before putting him in his pen and starting to get my own camp set up.
My one-person easy up IS easier to set up alone, but figuring out the location as it needs to be relative to my trailer is a little baffling for me still. Ultimately where it ended up was PERFECT because I could open and close my trailer door, but it still provided me some shade. I didn't scatter myself all over the place with QUITE as much chaos as normal. I kept it MOSTLY contained. Baby steps forward, right? :)
Let me say, I LOVE rides where when it's time to get your registration packet, it's in a box if you've completed it. I don't need to bother anyone or wait. I can just grab my stuff and go. Any ride managers out there, for ME, it seems like this is a great way to go!!
Anyway, back to the trailer after I grab my ride packet, gave him a good brush down and then off to go vet in.
All A's down the board!! The boy didn't dance around as much as normal (he was still rude, don't misunderstand, but NOT as horrible as he CAN be; my guess? No other horse for him to panic and fret about). I'm grateful because I always worry when Doc Baldwin is vetting in my horse that he's going to hurt the vet (he's a very wonderful older gentleman who has NEVER said anything harsh to me about my horse, even when he's acting up. He just gently asks me to please "Can you do *this*?" And every time, without fail when he has us do our trot out, always tells me it must be a smooth ride. I love this guy!).
Anyway, get all that done, head back and relax for a little while. Shift my saddle pack on my saddle. Pack it. Prepare the next day's electrolytes, haul over hay and alfalfa and water buckets and my saddle stand to the vet check area. Go and talk to TC and her awesome husband and super star horse Leo. Help MM get her fence set up after she arrives. Go to the ride meeting. And when that was done, realized I needed to get him braided up before I lost all of the sun light.
That all went normal. Got him in his pen and took a few quick photos of his pen lit up.
At this point I was starting to get tired. I still had a few last minute things to get done, but got that all quickly squared away and settled into bed with a wine cooler, a bottle of water and a few handfuls of chips.
I had my alarm set for 2:30 am to give him another dose of electrolytes and toss some fresh hay. That went smoothly. And then up again at 5:30.
Well, the alarm went OFF at 5:30, I didn't exactly leap out of bed. I was operating on a sleep deficit, and while eager to get going, I'm always either saddled up to early and he gets impatient, or I wait too long and then am scrambling at the last moment.
But for Last Hoorah, I found my happy medium. He was saddled in time, got another dose of electrolytes, I mounted up, and we started to slowly warm up. He was relaxed. Calm. Listening. NOT bucking around or acting dumb. He felt fantastic. I felt fantastic. The day offered hope and good feelings.
I saw TC on Leo and asked if we could ride out with her. She said that was fine.
Finally, one of the happiest of phrases; "Trails Open!" And away the group charges. We leave at a more sedate walk before picking up the pace. It's exactly as I remember from last year. I pointed out to TC where I had to leave her and JL because of my boot issues. We passed by the same place where Strider zigged right and I went left. I couldn't stop smiling. He wasn't racing. He was easily rateable and listening to me and just overall a dream to ride. People around us were polite and asking for permission to pass. And the terrain....have I mentioned how much I enjoy riding at this ranch?
At about 6 or 7 miles in we come to the watermill tank and Strider takes a good, long drink. I was VERY proud of him. Usually it takes 10 or more miles for him to drink. Back of my mind; "Electrolytes I bet!"
We handily get through the first 12 miles (only missed 1 turn, but thankfully we didn't go TOO far past it), see the vets sitting at the gate for our trot by, so we both hop off. TC's husband is there with water for her.
Now, at this moment I realize I was foolish because I had assumed the trot by was back in camp. So, I'd left my small container of electrolytes and syringe with my hay and water buckets. Crap. Not life ending, but, a lesson for me to remember to carry some in my saddle packs with me.
Trotted him out and back. Just fine. Got back on. Let TC finish some water and then we headed on down the trail. Somehow while on this trail, we totally blow a turn, go a little further than we should, but we backtrack, see where we missed it, and then get back to it.
We go around this good sized lake and as we're coming up to the "dam" portion, we see a rider on foot being followed by 2 trucks. Not good.
So, we fall in behind them. Realize as one of the trucks leaves that one of the trucks carries the RM's husband and TC's husband. And I recognize the rider and horse as MM's new-to-her horse and NaughtyPony's mom who was riding Luna. TC and I tell her we'll wait. I take the opportunity to go pee and take off my long sleeve shirt. TC's husband says he'll take it back to camp for me, what a godsend!! We wait a few minutes for Luna to try and calm down, but realize we can't hold forever. NaughtyPony's mommy says for us to go on, so we do, and head down the trail, feeling guilty at leaving her behind.
The miles go by. Strider acts weird a few times. Paws the ground and, while he'll eat grass, he's just a little funky. I realize, I'm sure he needs to pee. He actually had pee'd more than I'd ever seen before. Twice in camp that I noticed. Once when he got off the trailer. So, I knew the pawing was him trying to find a fluffy patch of grass to pee on. But, I wasn't going to stop and wait. Told TC what was going on, and said let's keep going. He'll either learn to take the opportunity or he won't.
We're less than 3 miles from vet check, so we kept on going, rather than standing around waiting.
We come in to vet check, and, here's where the minor mistakes started adding up. I left the tack on, just loosened the cinch.
Lesson learned; I can get away with that in cooler temps. Temps were probably already in the 80's by this point (it was around 11:30ish when we finished the first two loops). So, suffice to say, it was warm. I knew my horse had to pee. But I left the tack on.
Bo Parrish pulsed my horse, but he hung at 18. Dangit. I saw TC was already through. I took him over to our hay, stripped tack, tried to make a pile of hay for him to pee on. Sponged him and scraped him, then took him back.
Pulse down. Took 6 minutes.
Got him through and then took him back to the trailer where he promptly pee'd. Yep. I knew he had to go. Diva.
But, that 6 minutes cost us our riding partner, thus our motivation, and I knew it.
I relaxed for a few moments after making sure he had hay and water and everything he needed. Went back to vet check and grabbed our tack and headed back to camp. Realized at this point that all I've eaten since yesterday morning was 2 hash browns, 1 Clif Bar and a few chips that I'd had last night. Mentally run through what's in my cooler, realize I'm just hot and not very hungry, so I slam more water and electrolytes. Realize time is running out, so I start tacking back up again.
Get him ready and head over to the out timer where I have 30 seconds to wait. And not a single horse in sight.
And he begins the "Quarter Horse death march" out of camp. I cannot get him to move out to save my soul. So we do the long and slow trudge down the side of the road. Make the turn. Loop around the lake. And keep slogging. I know he's faking me out. Flick the crop by his head and he takes off. Then I have to slow him over the rocks. An LD rider comes out and he briefly chases them, but he realizes he can't keep up (and I won't allow him to even try). We get to a large hill and he finally does what he did at River Run and just stops. I can't get him to take another step to save my life.
So I hop off, and it happens. My intestines say "Lady, we need to pull off trail." For the next 15 minutes we pull off trail. And I realize "I can't ask him to make this up. He's already not motivated. I don't feel well. This is awful. My fault for not actually EATING. UGHHHHHH...."
I decide then and there, I'm going to rider option. I finally manage to get back in the saddle and onwards we trudge until we get to the windmill water tank. Some 50's on their last loop come up and mention if I just turn and follow the orange ribbons and keep them to my left, I can be back in camp in a mile. I thank them, and away we plod.
I'm falling asleep in the saddle and it's a struggle for me to stay awake. I am continued to be assured that this is the right decision as we do so.
When we get in, I see TC right in front of us, and I tell the volunteers and the RM I'm RO'ing. I didn't feel well, which they all understood.
I manage to trot him out (he looks and acts great) and then we head back to our camp. I get him settled in as quickly as possible as I'm feeling so awful. I fill up my little camp shower (which I normally don't bring, but remembered to toss in this time), crawl into the back of my trailer and sluice off the worst of the grime, change into clean clothes and then, I pass out in my trailer for about 2 or so hours.
So, here's my take aways:
I feel that the new system of 3 days prior to ride with beet pulp and electrolytes helped immensely. Strider drank sooner into this ride than normal. Usually it takes us 10+ miles. This time, he drank from the first tank we came upon (5 or 6 miles in?). And he took a good, long drink.
Shoes and pads are NOT magic. Strider is still flinchy over large rocks. Still great, but I need to slow him down.
I have GOT to eat. I have NEVER had that problem EVER on trail. Usually there's a dinner or I eat something the night before, but I was so focused on him, I didn't make myself eat. I MUST EAT!!!
Pack toilet paper in your saddle bag. Seriously.
Next year; LD. While I enjoy seeing as much of this ranch as I possibly can, I can see a GOOD portion of it in 25 miles. And, the heat starts to come in to play here. Mid-May temps in Texas start to rise and we're just not hot weather riders. End of story. May rides=LD rides for us.
So, we're 0 for 2 at the Six O Ranch. But, I had a fantastic time. My horse did great. I feel confident in the new protocol. We'll get the LD next year!!!
And, honestly, had NOTHING to do with my horse (well, he had the afternoon doldrums because he was COMPLETELY alone, though, when I would ask it of him [firmly with a waved crop by his head] he had energy to give...and he gave it) and EVERYTHING to do with my stomach.
Strider did 30 miles, and while he looked a little tired when we came back to the vet check area, down his vet card, all A's, except B on gut sounds.
I have a very VERY solid LD horse in him. 25 miles, even 30 miles, isn't a struggle for him any longer.
Let me back this all up.
Thursday night, everything normal except for the brief storm that hit while I was feeding. Strider didn't eat all of his smush. Dakini, my wonderful little rock star, DID though. And took her electrolytes. Strider gets a little fussy about the syringe shoved into his mouth and he slings it around as best as he can, but I know most of it's going into his belly (as evidenced by his vet card I feel).
So, I hustled through and raced home after a hug and a kiss on his nose. A warning to behave, don't hurt himself, and I'd see him in the morning.
I had the truck (except for the food and what Kaylee needed) loaded up and I was ready for bed by 10:30. This worries me. Makes me think I've forgotten something. But, as always, if I forget something, SOMEONE at ride camp will help me out. So, I went to bed later than planned (hard to make my mind stop racing). And, while I gave myself permission to sleep in until 6:30...that wasn't to be. Apparently one of my dogs got left in the back yard after their morning ablations, so he kept barking at the back door to come back inside. *sigh*
Okay, okay...fine...I shouldn't sleep in anyway.
Got up, loaded everything I possibly could into the truck, hitch up to the trailer, got Kaylee up and loaded, then off to WalMart to buy her diapers to take to my parents house, get me chapstick (I'm neurotic about this..I have tubes stashed EVERYWHERE) and get us hash browns for breakfast. She and I then hit the road to the barn.
We're chit chatting...she's telling the sun to "Stoppit Sun!" (it kept shining in her eyes). So, I told her to put on her sunglasses, and, amazingly, the sun stopped doing that!
Took some time at the barn to get ALL of the water I wanted to take. I filled up my 35 gallon tank and then filled up both 18 gallon totes with water. Spoiler alert; I think that the totes are going to work GREAT for me to haul water. They do take up more room in the bed of the truck, but, they're low profile and I can use them for other stuff if I need to.
Anyway, get Strider in the trailer (after a dose of electrolytes and his smush prepped in the trailer) and away we go to my parent's house so I can drop Kaylee off.
Hung out for a while (about 30 or 40 minutes). I checked, Strider hadn't finished his morning smush in the trailer, so we hit the road again.
The drive up was really very pleasant. Traffic was light on the roads, and the directions I had printed were flawless. Not sure what time I pulled into ride camp (early afternoon?), but quickly found a place in the open field to park that was near the potties (hey, strategic parking is EVERYTHING!), but not TOOOOOO far from where vet check was. Got him unloaded and put his (still left over) smush back in front of him and a big bucket of water while I got his pen set up. And, gave him more electrolytes (I was committed to making sure he got them!) before putting him in his pen and starting to get my own camp set up.
My one-person easy up IS easier to set up alone, but figuring out the location as it needs to be relative to my trailer is a little baffling for me still. Ultimately where it ended up was PERFECT because I could open and close my trailer door, but it still provided me some shade. I didn't scatter myself all over the place with QUITE as much chaos as normal. I kept it MOSTLY contained. Baby steps forward, right? :)
Let me say, I LOVE rides where when it's time to get your registration packet, it's in a box if you've completed it. I don't need to bother anyone or wait. I can just grab my stuff and go. Any ride managers out there, for ME, it seems like this is a great way to go!!
Anyway, back to the trailer after I grab my ride packet, gave him a good brush down and then off to go vet in.
All A's down the board!! The boy didn't dance around as much as normal (he was still rude, don't misunderstand, but NOT as horrible as he CAN be; my guess? No other horse for him to panic and fret about). I'm grateful because I always worry when Doc Baldwin is vetting in my horse that he's going to hurt the vet (he's a very wonderful older gentleman who has NEVER said anything harsh to me about my horse, even when he's acting up. He just gently asks me to please "Can you do *this*?" And every time, without fail when he has us do our trot out, always tells me it must be a smooth ride. I love this guy!).
Anyway, get all that done, head back and relax for a little while. Shift my saddle pack on my saddle. Pack it. Prepare the next day's electrolytes, haul over hay and alfalfa and water buckets and my saddle stand to the vet check area. Go and talk to TC and her awesome husband and super star horse Leo. Help MM get her fence set up after she arrives. Go to the ride meeting. And when that was done, realized I needed to get him braided up before I lost all of the sun light.
That all went normal. Got him in his pen and took a few quick photos of his pen lit up.
 |
| My awesome "fairy" lights! |
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| Hey. What you doing Ma? |
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| Look at the lights!! So pretty! Also, for the record, look at just how GOOD he looks! |
 |
| People are always asking about how to do a red ribbon in a horses tail. Simple. Stockpile the day after Christmas. I do a small braid and then twist tie this BIG ribbon to his tail. People NEVER miss it. Do they still charge up on us? Yes. But they usually back off quickly. |
At this point I was starting to get tired. I still had a few last minute things to get done, but got that all quickly squared away and settled into bed with a wine cooler, a bottle of water and a few handfuls of chips.
I had my alarm set for 2:30 am to give him another dose of electrolytes and toss some fresh hay. That went smoothly. And then up again at 5:30.
Well, the alarm went OFF at 5:30, I didn't exactly leap out of bed. I was operating on a sleep deficit, and while eager to get going, I'm always either saddled up to early and he gets impatient, or I wait too long and then am scrambling at the last moment.
But for Last Hoorah, I found my happy medium. He was saddled in time, got another dose of electrolytes, I mounted up, and we started to slowly warm up. He was relaxed. Calm. Listening. NOT bucking around or acting dumb. He felt fantastic. I felt fantastic. The day offered hope and good feelings.
I saw TC on Leo and asked if we could ride out with her. She said that was fine.
Finally, one of the happiest of phrases; "Trails Open!" And away the group charges. We leave at a more sedate walk before picking up the pace. It's exactly as I remember from last year. I pointed out to TC where I had to leave her and JL because of my boot issues. We passed by the same place where Strider zigged right and I went left. I couldn't stop smiling. He wasn't racing. He was easily rateable and listening to me and just overall a dream to ride. People around us were polite and asking for permission to pass. And the terrain....have I mentioned how much I enjoy riding at this ranch?
At about 6 or 7 miles in we come to the watermill tank and Strider takes a good, long drink. I was VERY proud of him. Usually it takes 10 or more miles for him to drink. Back of my mind; "Electrolytes I bet!"
We handily get through the first 12 miles (only missed 1 turn, but thankfully we didn't go TOO far past it), see the vets sitting at the gate for our trot by, so we both hop off. TC's husband is there with water for her.
Now, at this moment I realize I was foolish because I had assumed the trot by was back in camp. So, I'd left my small container of electrolytes and syringe with my hay and water buckets. Crap. Not life ending, but, a lesson for me to remember to carry some in my saddle packs with me.
Trotted him out and back. Just fine. Got back on. Let TC finish some water and then we headed on down the trail. Somehow while on this trail, we totally blow a turn, go a little further than we should, but we backtrack, see where we missed it, and then get back to it.
We go around this good sized lake and as we're coming up to the "dam" portion, we see a rider on foot being followed by 2 trucks. Not good.
So, we fall in behind them. Realize as one of the trucks leaves that one of the trucks carries the RM's husband and TC's husband. And I recognize the rider and horse as MM's new-to-her horse and NaughtyPony's mom who was riding Luna. TC and I tell her we'll wait. I take the opportunity to go pee and take off my long sleeve shirt. TC's husband says he'll take it back to camp for me, what a godsend!! We wait a few minutes for Luna to try and calm down, but realize we can't hold forever. NaughtyPony's mommy says for us to go on, so we do, and head down the trail, feeling guilty at leaving her behind.
The miles go by. Strider acts weird a few times. Paws the ground and, while he'll eat grass, he's just a little funky. I realize, I'm sure he needs to pee. He actually had pee'd more than I'd ever seen before. Twice in camp that I noticed. Once when he got off the trailer. So, I knew the pawing was him trying to find a fluffy patch of grass to pee on. But, I wasn't going to stop and wait. Told TC what was going on, and said let's keep going. He'll either learn to take the opportunity or he won't.
We're less than 3 miles from vet check, so we kept on going, rather than standing around waiting.
We come in to vet check, and, here's where the minor mistakes started adding up. I left the tack on, just loosened the cinch.
Lesson learned; I can get away with that in cooler temps. Temps were probably already in the 80's by this point (it was around 11:30ish when we finished the first two loops). So, suffice to say, it was warm. I knew my horse had to pee. But I left the tack on.
Bo Parrish pulsed my horse, but he hung at 18. Dangit. I saw TC was already through. I took him over to our hay, stripped tack, tried to make a pile of hay for him to pee on. Sponged him and scraped him, then took him back.
Pulse down. Took 6 minutes.
Got him through and then took him back to the trailer where he promptly pee'd. Yep. I knew he had to go. Diva.
But, that 6 minutes cost us our riding partner, thus our motivation, and I knew it.
I relaxed for a few moments after making sure he had hay and water and everything he needed. Went back to vet check and grabbed our tack and headed back to camp. Realized at this point that all I've eaten since yesterday morning was 2 hash browns, 1 Clif Bar and a few chips that I'd had last night. Mentally run through what's in my cooler, realize I'm just hot and not very hungry, so I slam more water and electrolytes. Realize time is running out, so I start tacking back up again.
Get him ready and head over to the out timer where I have 30 seconds to wait. And not a single horse in sight.
And he begins the "Quarter Horse death march" out of camp. I cannot get him to move out to save my soul. So we do the long and slow trudge down the side of the road. Make the turn. Loop around the lake. And keep slogging. I know he's faking me out. Flick the crop by his head and he takes off. Then I have to slow him over the rocks. An LD rider comes out and he briefly chases them, but he realizes he can't keep up (and I won't allow him to even try). We get to a large hill and he finally does what he did at River Run and just stops. I can't get him to take another step to save my life.
So I hop off, and it happens. My intestines say "Lady, we need to pull off trail." For the next 15 minutes we pull off trail. And I realize "I can't ask him to make this up. He's already not motivated. I don't feel well. This is awful. My fault for not actually EATING. UGHHHHHH...."
I decide then and there, I'm going to rider option. I finally manage to get back in the saddle and onwards we trudge until we get to the windmill water tank. Some 50's on their last loop come up and mention if I just turn and follow the orange ribbons and keep them to my left, I can be back in camp in a mile. I thank them, and away we plod.
I'm falling asleep in the saddle and it's a struggle for me to stay awake. I am continued to be assured that this is the right decision as we do so.
When we get in, I see TC right in front of us, and I tell the volunteers and the RM I'm RO'ing. I didn't feel well, which they all understood.
I manage to trot him out (he looks and acts great) and then we head back to our camp. I get him settled in as quickly as possible as I'm feeling so awful. I fill up my little camp shower (which I normally don't bring, but remembered to toss in this time), crawl into the back of my trailer and sluice off the worst of the grime, change into clean clothes and then, I pass out in my trailer for about 2 or so hours.
So, here's my take aways:
I feel that the new system of 3 days prior to ride with beet pulp and electrolytes helped immensely. Strider drank sooner into this ride than normal. Usually it takes us 10+ miles. This time, he drank from the first tank we came upon (5 or 6 miles in?). And he took a good, long drink.
Shoes and pads are NOT magic. Strider is still flinchy over large rocks. Still great, but I need to slow him down.
I have GOT to eat. I have NEVER had that problem EVER on trail. Usually there's a dinner or I eat something the night before, but I was so focused on him, I didn't make myself eat. I MUST EAT!!!
Pack toilet paper in your saddle bag. Seriously.
Next year; LD. While I enjoy seeing as much of this ranch as I possibly can, I can see a GOOD portion of it in 25 miles. And, the heat starts to come in to play here. Mid-May temps in Texas start to rise and we're just not hot weather riders. End of story. May rides=LD rides for us.
So, we're 0 for 2 at the Six O Ranch. But, I had a fantastic time. My horse did great. I feel confident in the new protocol. We'll get the LD next year!!!
Thursday, May 11, 2017
All the Other Ponies With the Pumped Up Kicks...or "How Strider Got Shoes; Round 2"
So, shoes and pads are set. I was a little later than I wanted to get to the barn, but I got there around 4:30. I'm supposed to have the horse off all food for an hour, but I gave him 40 minutes as the shoer was supposed to be there at 5:30. And he was pawing and pawing his impatience, so I finally just gave him his dose of Dormosedan gel and let it do it's thing.
Actually took him longer to settle down on it than previously. Maybe the remnants of food in his tummy? Or that I kept telling him to "STOPPIT!" when he'd start pawing. Not sure.
Anyway, we got our shoes and pads set on with relative ease. I forgot to take pictures at all last night. The setting seemed to go smoothly, and the shoer says I should be able to re-use these pads another time or two. Good to know. And as I'm new to shoes and pads, I asked what, if anything, should I squirt in there to prevent problems. "Thrush Buster". Okay then. I can do that.
Strider on Dormosedan is a funny creature. He gets real relaxed (note to self, give him some so we can get that sheath cleaned sometime in the near future!). I noticed at one point when he coughed, he kind of lost a little control of his bladder and splattered the mats beneath him.
And then, as the shoer was working on his left rear, Strider just couldn't hold it anymore.
So he peed. And peed. And kept on peeing. It was a river of pee and the shoer just kept doing his thing, despite the splash back (sorry, but he's a better man that I. I would have let the horse have his foot so I could get away from the stream of piss).
He, of course, had to wipe off the right rear foot to get it done.
So, once most of the dope wore off, I started walking him back to his pen, letting him get used to his new kicks.
Now, I will say as I was walking up the alley towards my pen I had an "Oh SHIT!" moment.
I had spaced out on the drug list for AERC. Now, I BELIEVE I had looked it up in the past, and my brain seemed to recall that Dormosedan has a 48 hour (Australia/FEI) to 72 hour withdrawal period (Canada). I did verify that this morning, so we should be in the clear Saturday afternoon, even with the 72 hour period in play.
I also noticed he had a small (about a dime size) bare spot on his back. It's scabbed and not raw or irritated, but it caused another moment of "Oh come ON please don't be hurt."
But, the more I looked at it, the more I realized, the saddle won't make any contact with it. I verified this with MM from the barn this morning. Sometimes just hearing it from someone else sets your mildly spiraling panic at ease.
Day 2 of electrolytes and smush went smoothly. I had left the big baggies of beet pulp out in the bed of the truck from when I left work all through the shoeing appointment. Still big blocks of ice. I think that because it's such a LARGE bag it does a great job staying cold thus doesn't melt well.
So, I prepped up both buckets, worked on catching Dakini again (approach, rub, retreat...she actually took off once, so I just kept my energy up and followed her and kept her feet moving until she finally stopped, then I stopped...and retreated). We were much quicker to get caught tonight, even with Socks loose in the pen.
Electrolytes went down smoothly again (well, as always, as smoothly as cramming a tube into a horses mouth and plunging down the contents can go). Withheld water and promptly placed their buckets of smush before them both.
Dakini went to town on hers again. She literally licked the bucket clean. And that's after I drizzled what little bit from my electrolyte container that I couldn't syringe up onto her feed. Mareface is amazing.
Strider also did very well. He left much less last night (maybe a handful and a half) which I split between him and Socks. Strider gets greedy if you go to share his food, and it renews his interest in eating. So, Socks got 3 fist sized servings of smush from my hand and Strider ate the rest.
Also of interesting note. When I went out Tuesday, they had filled both large water troughs to the tippy top. Actually, overflowing them some.
When I went out yesterday, one of the tanks was over half empty. I am going with my gut suspicion and saying that the electrolytes are really encouraging Strider and Dakini to tank up on water.
Tonight I head out again (I remembered my change of clothes!) and it will be a quick trip. I have to stop on the way to get a bale of hay. Feed. Make sure he's still looking good. I BADLY want to give him a bath. A large part of me wants to quickly bathe him before I throw him in the trailer tomorrow so I can clip his neck and rump. But, I'll have Kaylee in the truck. Maybe I can distract her with a video while I give him a fast bath before his electrolytes and bucket of smush in the trailer.
I have one last quick stop at a store to make (which I can actually do once I've dropped Kaylee off tomorrow).
Once I get home, it's a quick load and pack the truck, make sure both coolers are ready to go (one for food and one for beet pulp [it's extra water when the ice melts]).
I'm anxious. I'm nervous. I'm scared. And yet, I feel confident. If we don't get it done, it's not for lack of preparation, that's for sure.
T-Minus 1 day.
Actually took him longer to settle down on it than previously. Maybe the remnants of food in his tummy? Or that I kept telling him to "STOPPIT!" when he'd start pawing. Not sure.
Anyway, we got our shoes and pads set on with relative ease. I forgot to take pictures at all last night. The setting seemed to go smoothly, and the shoer says I should be able to re-use these pads another time or two. Good to know. And as I'm new to shoes and pads, I asked what, if anything, should I squirt in there to prevent problems. "Thrush Buster". Okay then. I can do that.
Strider on Dormosedan is a funny creature. He gets real relaxed (note to self, give him some so we can get that sheath cleaned sometime in the near future!). I noticed at one point when he coughed, he kind of lost a little control of his bladder and splattered the mats beneath him.
And then, as the shoer was working on his left rear, Strider just couldn't hold it anymore.
So he peed. And peed. And kept on peeing. It was a river of pee and the shoer just kept doing his thing, despite the splash back (sorry, but he's a better man that I. I would have let the horse have his foot so I could get away from the stream of piss).
He, of course, had to wipe off the right rear foot to get it done.
So, once most of the dope wore off, I started walking him back to his pen, letting him get used to his new kicks.
Now, I will say as I was walking up the alley towards my pen I had an "Oh SHIT!" moment.
I had spaced out on the drug list for AERC. Now, I BELIEVE I had looked it up in the past, and my brain seemed to recall that Dormosedan has a 48 hour (Australia/FEI) to 72 hour withdrawal period (Canada). I did verify that this morning, so we should be in the clear Saturday afternoon, even with the 72 hour period in play.
I also noticed he had a small (about a dime size) bare spot on his back. It's scabbed and not raw or irritated, but it caused another moment of "Oh come ON please don't be hurt."
But, the more I looked at it, the more I realized, the saddle won't make any contact with it. I verified this with MM from the barn this morning. Sometimes just hearing it from someone else sets your mildly spiraling panic at ease.
Day 2 of electrolytes and smush went smoothly. I had left the big baggies of beet pulp out in the bed of the truck from when I left work all through the shoeing appointment. Still big blocks of ice. I think that because it's such a LARGE bag it does a great job staying cold thus doesn't melt well.
So, I prepped up both buckets, worked on catching Dakini again (approach, rub, retreat...she actually took off once, so I just kept my energy up and followed her and kept her feet moving until she finally stopped, then I stopped...and retreated). We were much quicker to get caught tonight, even with Socks loose in the pen.
Electrolytes went down smoothly again (well, as always, as smoothly as cramming a tube into a horses mouth and plunging down the contents can go). Withheld water and promptly placed their buckets of smush before them both.
Dakini went to town on hers again. She literally licked the bucket clean. And that's after I drizzled what little bit from my electrolyte container that I couldn't syringe up onto her feed. Mareface is amazing.
Strider also did very well. He left much less last night (maybe a handful and a half) which I split between him and Socks. Strider gets greedy if you go to share his food, and it renews his interest in eating. So, Socks got 3 fist sized servings of smush from my hand and Strider ate the rest.
Also of interesting note. When I went out Tuesday, they had filled both large water troughs to the tippy top. Actually, overflowing them some.
When I went out yesterday, one of the tanks was over half empty. I am going with my gut suspicion and saying that the electrolytes are really encouraging Strider and Dakini to tank up on water.
Tonight I head out again (I remembered my change of clothes!) and it will be a quick trip. I have to stop on the way to get a bale of hay. Feed. Make sure he's still looking good. I BADLY want to give him a bath. A large part of me wants to quickly bathe him before I throw him in the trailer tomorrow so I can clip his neck and rump. But, I'll have Kaylee in the truck. Maybe I can distract her with a video while I give him a fast bath before his electrolytes and bucket of smush in the trailer.
I have one last quick stop at a store to make (which I can actually do once I've dropped Kaylee off tomorrow).
Once I get home, it's a quick load and pack the truck, make sure both coolers are ready to go (one for food and one for beet pulp [it's extra water when the ice melts]).
I'm anxious. I'm nervous. I'm scared. And yet, I feel confident. If we don't get it done, it's not for lack of preparation, that's for sure.
T-Minus 1 day.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Well, that went smoothly....or "How easy was that?! Almost TOO easy."
So, while I have a few hiccups to work out with frozen beet pulp (namely, getting it out of the freezer with enough time for it to thaw when I get to the barn), overall I would say the beet pulp/grain smush is a success! As is the kaolin pectin/enduramax mix.
As I left work, I grabbed my 2 baggies of beet pulp and my Rubbermaid container of electrolytes and headed out. Threw the baggies into the bed of the truck in the hopes any sun might help melt and thaw the ice.
Well, since there was a massive clap of thunder as I exited the building at work and a few scattered sprinkles as I drove to the barn, guess how well THAT plan worked? *sigh*
Pull into the barn, change into my barn clothes, and into Strider's bucket goes a scoop of his grain and his hoof supplement. And into Dakini's bucket, just a single scoop of grain.
I had texted the gentleman who feeds the horses to please skip the afternoon feed this week for my horse as I'd be taking care of it this week. So, when I pulled up to the pen, Strider assumed (correctly) I was there to stuff his face with food.
Now, lately I've been having some issues catching Dakini. So, I put Socks and Strider into the feeding pen in an attempt to catch Dakini.
After having her scramble away from me 4 different times, I left the halter on the fence and with just the rope wandered around. I would weave, pause, look at ANYTHING but her. Made sure to keep my energy low. Get near her and then leave (as long as she stood still and didn't move her feet). Go up, pet Strider, and then repeat the process, getting closer and closer to her.
After about the 3rd time, I was able to step up to her and pet her without her moving her feet. Retreat again, go pet Strider. And weave my way back to her. Repeat. Retreat.
I did this a few times until I finally looped the lead rope around her neck and led her to the front of the pen, haltered her and lead her out.
I got this feeling from her when I did that of "Dammit, I've been fooled. Now I'm going to have to work."
So, I'd had her bucket soaking in water and the massive frozen chunk of beet pulp. Poured some water over it, which helped to thaw some of the ice. Spent about 5 minutes breaking it up. Honestly, I think on a hot day, a frozen beet pulp/grain smush would probably taste divine to a horse.
Time for the electrolytes!
I actually LOVE this blend. It's smooth and flows easily AND doesn't gunk up my syringe like the applesauce/enduramax blend does. Neither was super impressed, but, I got it done.
Haltered and tied Socks off (so he wouldn't try and steal food) and then gave them both their buckets.
Dakini DIVED into hers and wolfed it down like a champ. And THEN she licked the bucket CLEAN!!
Now, I hadn't gotten ALL of her beet pulp melted and into her original smush (maybe 2 or 3 handfuls didn't make it in there?), so I tossed some water on it and put just straight beet pulp in front of her, which she worked on with a little less gusto, but still ate a good quantity of. I swear, she makes a better endurance horse than Strider does. EDPP on trail and devours anything I put in front of her. Really need to start working her up the distances as I'd planned. And then find a light or middleweight rider to pilot her.
Strider actually seemed to enjoy this combo with beet pulp in as compared to times in the past where he wouldn't eat if I dared foul his grain with beet pulp. I'm not sure if the rinsing helped (just seeing the amount of grit and dirt that comes off my SpeediBeet, that would perhaps explain his disdain for the regular beet pulp that I didn't rinse, just soaked) or if it was because he wanted to clear his palate of the electrolytes (I didn't rinse their mouths, just put their smush in front of them almost immediately). Either way, he didn't leave much smush in his bucket. What little was left I gave to Socks. And what little was left of Dakini's beet pulp he also got.
My overall impressions were that if it's always this way, I'm VERY happy with the end result. Both horses ate very well (truth be told, in one sitting, that was an entire DAYS worth of beet pulp, which they recommend be stretched out into 2 or 3 feedings; so I anticipated there being some left) and both horses took their electrolytes pretty well.
After I was done at the barn, I headed home and got started up on making up more baggies of frozen beet pulp.
I'm planning on taking 10 servings of beet pulp with me for this weekend, broken up.
I've broken down the current 1 gallon baggies I'm taking to the barn into 3 quart sized baggies. So, I'll be stretching out a single day's (actually, he'll be getting more than a single day's feeding) and then some over the course of one day.
1 stepping on the trailer.
1 at a stop.
1 when he gets off the trailer.
1 as a late afternoon meal.
1 as a bedtime meal.
At holds.
Post-ride.
1 stepping on the trailer.
1 at a stop.
So, with all of that in mind, I got to serious work last night. And got 24 quart sized baggies ready and labeled (1/3, 2/3, 3/3) and tossed them into the freezer last night. I got started at about quarter to 8 and wrapped up around 10:30 or so. Grateful that this SpeediBeet soaks so quickly!!
While soaking and rinsing, I quickly, again, made up today's batch of electrolytes and tossed it into the fridge. I'm not sure I need to refrigerate it, but, no harm in doing it, right?
Had a mild freak out that I should just keep working on rinsing and prepping since, in about 2 weeks after I get home, I'll need to have prepped enough beet pulp to run 2 on. And then I'll literally have 2 nights to wash and clean everything and get repacked to head out again and maintain 2. Might as well just rinse and prep this entire bag of beet pulp! And, while I'm at it, go ahead and order more kaolin pectin since each horse is getting about 8-9 oz of it a day right now to pre-load. And I'll be going through it quickly and won't have the time to wait for it. Also should just go ahead and order more Enduramax too. Because it would be AWFUL to run out. And, while I'm not running dangerously low, I think it'll go pretty quick.
Actually...*scampers off and just orders off Amazon* Done and done!! One less thing to fret over.
Tonight Strider's shoes and pads go on. I had laid out my jeans and sneakers to wear to the barn; and then realized I left them at home when I was halfway to work. ARGH!! Thankfully I keep a pair of sneakers in my desk at work, so I'll dart into Dollar General and look for a pair of pants and a shirt I can wear to the barn tonight.
Glad his feet are getting done. We've got some ugly toes and chipping happening. So, hoping that this shoeing goes well for him. I need them to last through this trim cycle. Douglas is free to pull them off when Strider shows up for training, but I need at LEAST a GOOD 4 weeks out of them.
T-Minus 2 days.
As I left work, I grabbed my 2 baggies of beet pulp and my Rubbermaid container of electrolytes and headed out. Threw the baggies into the bed of the truck in the hopes any sun might help melt and thaw the ice.
Well, since there was a massive clap of thunder as I exited the building at work and a few scattered sprinkles as I drove to the barn, guess how well THAT plan worked? *sigh*
Pull into the barn, change into my barn clothes, and into Strider's bucket goes a scoop of his grain and his hoof supplement. And into Dakini's bucket, just a single scoop of grain.
I had texted the gentleman who feeds the horses to please skip the afternoon feed this week for my horse as I'd be taking care of it this week. So, when I pulled up to the pen, Strider assumed (correctly) I was there to stuff his face with food.
Now, lately I've been having some issues catching Dakini. So, I put Socks and Strider into the feeding pen in an attempt to catch Dakini.
After having her scramble away from me 4 different times, I left the halter on the fence and with just the rope wandered around. I would weave, pause, look at ANYTHING but her. Made sure to keep my energy low. Get near her and then leave (as long as she stood still and didn't move her feet). Go up, pet Strider, and then repeat the process, getting closer and closer to her.
After about the 3rd time, I was able to step up to her and pet her without her moving her feet. Retreat again, go pet Strider. And weave my way back to her. Repeat. Retreat.
I did this a few times until I finally looped the lead rope around her neck and led her to the front of the pen, haltered her and lead her out.
I got this feeling from her when I did that of "Dammit, I've been fooled. Now I'm going to have to work."
So, I'd had her bucket soaking in water and the massive frozen chunk of beet pulp. Poured some water over it, which helped to thaw some of the ice. Spent about 5 minutes breaking it up. Honestly, I think on a hot day, a frozen beet pulp/grain smush would probably taste divine to a horse.
Time for the electrolytes!
I actually LOVE this blend. It's smooth and flows easily AND doesn't gunk up my syringe like the applesauce/enduramax blend does. Neither was super impressed, but, I got it done.
Haltered and tied Socks off (so he wouldn't try and steal food) and then gave them both their buckets.
Dakini DIVED into hers and wolfed it down like a champ. And THEN she licked the bucket CLEAN!!
Now, I hadn't gotten ALL of her beet pulp melted and into her original smush (maybe 2 or 3 handfuls didn't make it in there?), so I tossed some water on it and put just straight beet pulp in front of her, which she worked on with a little less gusto, but still ate a good quantity of. I swear, she makes a better endurance horse than Strider does. EDPP on trail and devours anything I put in front of her. Really need to start working her up the distances as I'd planned. And then find a light or middleweight rider to pilot her.
Strider actually seemed to enjoy this combo with beet pulp in as compared to times in the past where he wouldn't eat if I dared foul his grain with beet pulp. I'm not sure if the rinsing helped (just seeing the amount of grit and dirt that comes off my SpeediBeet, that would perhaps explain his disdain for the regular beet pulp that I didn't rinse, just soaked) or if it was because he wanted to clear his palate of the electrolytes (I didn't rinse their mouths, just put their smush in front of them almost immediately). Either way, he didn't leave much smush in his bucket. What little was left I gave to Socks. And what little was left of Dakini's beet pulp he also got.
My overall impressions were that if it's always this way, I'm VERY happy with the end result. Both horses ate very well (truth be told, in one sitting, that was an entire DAYS worth of beet pulp, which they recommend be stretched out into 2 or 3 feedings; so I anticipated there being some left) and both horses took their electrolytes pretty well.
After I was done at the barn, I headed home and got started up on making up more baggies of frozen beet pulp.
I'm planning on taking 10 servings of beet pulp with me for this weekend, broken up.
I've broken down the current 1 gallon baggies I'm taking to the barn into 3 quart sized baggies. So, I'll be stretching out a single day's (actually, he'll be getting more than a single day's feeding) and then some over the course of one day.
1 stepping on the trailer.
1 at a stop.
1 when he gets off the trailer.
1 as a late afternoon meal.
1 as a bedtime meal.
At holds.
Post-ride.
1 stepping on the trailer.
1 at a stop.
So, with all of that in mind, I got to serious work last night. And got 24 quart sized baggies ready and labeled (1/3, 2/3, 3/3) and tossed them into the freezer last night. I got started at about quarter to 8 and wrapped up around 10:30 or so. Grateful that this SpeediBeet soaks so quickly!!
While soaking and rinsing, I quickly, again, made up today's batch of electrolytes and tossed it into the fridge. I'm not sure I need to refrigerate it, but, no harm in doing it, right?
Had a mild freak out that I should just keep working on rinsing and prepping since, in about 2 weeks after I get home, I'll need to have prepped enough beet pulp to run 2 on. And then I'll literally have 2 nights to wash and clean everything and get repacked to head out again and maintain 2. Might as well just rinse and prep this entire bag of beet pulp! And, while I'm at it, go ahead and order more kaolin pectin since each horse is getting about 8-9 oz of it a day right now to pre-load. And I'll be going through it quickly and won't have the time to wait for it. Also should just go ahead and order more Enduramax too. Because it would be AWFUL to run out. And, while I'm not running dangerously low, I think it'll go pretty quick.
Actually...*scampers off and just orders off Amazon* Done and done!! One less thing to fret over.
Tonight Strider's shoes and pads go on. I had laid out my jeans and sneakers to wear to the barn; and then realized I left them at home when I was halfway to work. ARGH!! Thankfully I keep a pair of sneakers in my desk at work, so I'll dart into Dollar General and look for a pair of pants and a shirt I can wear to the barn tonight.
Glad his feet are getting done. We've got some ugly toes and chipping happening. So, hoping that this shoeing goes well for him. I need them to last through this trim cycle. Douglas is free to pull them off when Strider shows up for training, but I need at LEAST a GOOD 4 weeks out of them.
T-Minus 2 days.
Tuesday, May 09, 2017
Rains...Pours...Torrential Floods....or "Can't I Catch a Break?"
So, I stopped last night on the way home to grab a few things for this weekend.
Two totes to haul water in (we'll see how this goes. I opted to skip the trash can for this option...for half the price I can haul more water...I guess we'll see!).
Some quick links to hang my bucket from (should have taken a picture. Again, looks like this will work...but time will tell!)
A few snacks.
Stencils to get his glittery number on his butt (this was a pure vanity move).
Cheesecloth to help squeeze excess water from the beet pulp.
A large container to carry electrolytes in and smaller ones to throw in the saddle packs.
I grabbed all of that, then ran to go get money to pay the lady who watches Kaylee. Was heading home when "POP!" beneath the hood of my car. And...no acceleration. *sigh*
I manage to strong arm the car into a parking lot and call Joe to come get me. Again.
We're hoping it's the starter. And, if it is, that's something Joe can fix in our driveway. As I'm out of town this weekend, and he has to work at his volunteer gig and it's Josh's birthday on Monday, car isn't getting fixed this weekend. Hopefully next weekend though.
So, I had to drive the truck into town. I genuinely hate driving it into downtown Austin. Lanes feel narrow and people ride the lines. UGH!!
But, on the flipside, grateful we have a spare vehicle for me to drive.
Anyway, Joe rescued me from the parking lot where we left my car, Sparky (oh yeah...I name vehicles too). Thankfully, the lady who watches Kaylee, her husband works for a repo company, so they have a tow truck 24/7. So, within the hour he had grabbed Sparky from the parking lot and dropped him off in our driveway. They frequently save us this way. Eternally grateful for friends like that.
So, with disgust and annoyance, I decide I need to attempt to hang the bucket, straighten up my tack room, attempt to set up my new awning and then get to work on soaking out more beet pulp and prepping some electrolytes for Strider and Dakini.
I get the bucket figured out.
I pull out the necessary items from my tack compartment to restore some semblance of organization. Realize I still have a full bucket of grain in there (yay!) and my rice bran. I then just straighten those things up and call that "Good enough".
Then I wrestle with my new awning. It IS easy to put up for one person. Once you really and truly stake down the opposite foot. So, I've practiced setting that up.
With all of the outside things handled, I head inside and begin with the beet pulp.
I had gotten through probably two bags when I realized that I had the ability to soak 2 bundles at a time. So, in about an hour and 45 minutes, I got 5 bags done (with breaks for other things).
I quickly mixed up electrolytes and my kaolin-pectin with a splash of CMPK. Tossed that in the fridge.
And at this point it was about 9:45. I'd been busy.
Tonight begins my jaunts to the barn to electrolyte the two horses then put their beet pulp smushes in front of them so they'll eat it up. I have big buckets, brought my beet pulp baggies to work (sorry co-workers for the 2 weird bags in the freezer here!! Oh, and the Rubbermaid container with the pink stuff in it!), remembered to pack syringes and a change of clothes for the barn.
Since I'm now in the truck, I'll stop for hay on Thursday on the way to the barn.
Tonight begins the laundry so that's one less thing I'll have to get done on Sunday when I get home.
I was feeling really stressed out yesterday and Sunday. Honestly, I'm feeling better now.
Now that I am starting to get a rhythm down to prepping my beet pulp, I know I can get it done faster. Now that I see how simple the electrolytes are to get ready, I'm feeling better. Trailer is basically ready to go.
So, while my car is broken...I refuse to feel freaked out any more.
T-Minus 3 day.
Two totes to haul water in (we'll see how this goes. I opted to skip the trash can for this option...for half the price I can haul more water...I guess we'll see!).
Some quick links to hang my bucket from (should have taken a picture. Again, looks like this will work...but time will tell!)
A few snacks.
Stencils to get his glittery number on his butt (this was a pure vanity move).
Cheesecloth to help squeeze excess water from the beet pulp.
A large container to carry electrolytes in and smaller ones to throw in the saddle packs.
I grabbed all of that, then ran to go get money to pay the lady who watches Kaylee. Was heading home when "POP!" beneath the hood of my car. And...no acceleration. *sigh*
I manage to strong arm the car into a parking lot and call Joe to come get me. Again.
We're hoping it's the starter. And, if it is, that's something Joe can fix in our driveway. As I'm out of town this weekend, and he has to work at his volunteer gig and it's Josh's birthday on Monday, car isn't getting fixed this weekend. Hopefully next weekend though.
So, I had to drive the truck into town. I genuinely hate driving it into downtown Austin. Lanes feel narrow and people ride the lines. UGH!!
But, on the flipside, grateful we have a spare vehicle for me to drive.
Anyway, Joe rescued me from the parking lot where we left my car, Sparky (oh yeah...I name vehicles too). Thankfully, the lady who watches Kaylee, her husband works for a repo company, so they have a tow truck 24/7. So, within the hour he had grabbed Sparky from the parking lot and dropped him off in our driveway. They frequently save us this way. Eternally grateful for friends like that.
So, with disgust and annoyance, I decide I need to attempt to hang the bucket, straighten up my tack room, attempt to set up my new awning and then get to work on soaking out more beet pulp and prepping some electrolytes for Strider and Dakini.
I get the bucket figured out.
I pull out the necessary items from my tack compartment to restore some semblance of organization. Realize I still have a full bucket of grain in there (yay!) and my rice bran. I then just straighten those things up and call that "Good enough".
Then I wrestle with my new awning. It IS easy to put up for one person. Once you really and truly stake down the opposite foot. So, I've practiced setting that up.
With all of the outside things handled, I head inside and begin with the beet pulp.
I had gotten through probably two bags when I realized that I had the ability to soak 2 bundles at a time. So, in about an hour and 45 minutes, I got 5 bags done (with breaks for other things).
I quickly mixed up electrolytes and my kaolin-pectin with a splash of CMPK. Tossed that in the fridge.
And at this point it was about 9:45. I'd been busy.
Tonight begins my jaunts to the barn to electrolyte the two horses then put their beet pulp smushes in front of them so they'll eat it up. I have big buckets, brought my beet pulp baggies to work (sorry co-workers for the 2 weird bags in the freezer here!! Oh, and the Rubbermaid container with the pink stuff in it!), remembered to pack syringes and a change of clothes for the barn.
Since I'm now in the truck, I'll stop for hay on Thursday on the way to the barn.
Tonight begins the laundry so that's one less thing I'll have to get done on Sunday when I get home.
I was feeling really stressed out yesterday and Sunday. Honestly, I'm feeling better now.
Now that I am starting to get a rhythm down to prepping my beet pulp, I know I can get it done faster. Now that I see how simple the electrolytes are to get ready, I'm feeling better. Trailer is basically ready to go.
So, while my car is broken...I refuse to feel freaked out any more.
T-Minus 3 day.
Monday, May 08, 2017
Hiccups, SpeedBumps, Minor Issues....or "The Theme of the Endurance Season"
I'm feeling behind the curve at the moment to prep everything for this weekend. Realistically, I know I'm not, but I'm certainly feeling that way.
As an example, I grabbed my first "ready to go" bag of SpeediBeet last night to triple rinse it and get it ready to go to the barn on Tuesday evening. Not a big deal. I did the first rinse in cold water, then did the second two in hot (don't ask me why I did that, I just did). All together, after squeezing out the excess water and getting through all the rinses, it probably took me about 45 minutes to get it done.
As I was working, I had to stop to consider how many bags of it I was going to need through this week.
Thought process goes like this:
Strider will need 3 bags (1 for each night [Tue/Wed/Thur])
Dakini will need 3 bags (1 for each night [Tue/Wed/Thur]) - prepping her just in case she needs to go
So, there's 6 bags before we even step on the trailer.
Then I want to have a bucket in the trailer for him to eat on the way. Stop once and let him eat/refill his bucket. Eat again in the late afternoon/early evening. Once more before bed. All the hay he can eat all night long. Fresh hay in the morning. And then plan for him to have food breaks at holds, post-ride, and again on the trailer ride home.
So, just to be safe, I'm going to prep 14-15 bags in the next few days. Assembly line style I imagine!
And then there's the electrolytes I need to get ready.
Again, 6 tubes of elytes for the two horses.
And, based off the notes my friend took at the convention, I'll want another 5 before we even start the ride (1 before he gets in to the trailer, 1 when he gets off the trailer, 1 at bedtime, 1 after I get up early and then 1 before I get into the saddle). And then I need to plan out how many more to use while on the trail. Thinking another 6 at my disposal.
My plan (we'll see how this works) is to pre-mix the electrolytes into a few different jars (some large ones to put into my cooler, and then a few smaller jars to carry on trail along with syringes) so I can just plunge and go.
Last night I got my garden cart put together. It's small enough and light enough I'll put it in the bed of the truck to haul my buckets and gear back and forth from the vet check area. It's not great, but I couldn't beat the price.
Then I had to get the 50 bricks out of the bed of the truck so I wasn't hauling them along to the ride and so I could move my water tank around. My hands are raw this morning. They're rough. But, grateful for my garden cart so I was able to haul them a few at a time.
So, my HiTie has been in for the week. I grabbed the trailer on Friday because I was HOPING to get it installed prior to the ride as well as installing a few bucket hangers in the manger area of the trailer.
Well, after looking at the trailer, where I -WANTED- it to go isn't advisable by people who have installed them. So, I'm going to need to cut some of the rubber on the outside of the trailer off to give the mounting plate a flat surface and to bite through the "ribs" of the trailer. So, that won't be done anytime soon as I'll need to find someone to do that for me.
So, just lots of hiccups and things slowing me down. I was awake for far later than I needed to be last night thinking and my mind churning. It's almost like I've never done this before. I have, but I'm being more diligent about making sure he's tanked up on water and electrolytes than I ever have before. So, for me, it's new protocols I'm not yet sure how to maneuver. But, I'll need to puzzle it out quickly as 2 weeks after this ride, I'm heading off again to take 2. And then a few days after THAT, I'm heading out yet again with 2.
The next few days are going to be busy. Wednesday we have our shoe appointment. Somewhere in there I need to straighten up the tack compartment of my trailer. It got scattered post-surgery when I had to ask someone to get in there to get some grain out, and it was towards the back beneath a lot of things. I need to pack my new items in there. Buy a few groceries.
I'm sensing some late nights between now and Friday morning.
But, I refuse to back down. I WILL get everything done.
And I'll have fun prepping for it. Because, why wouldn't I? :)
As an example, I grabbed my first "ready to go" bag of SpeediBeet last night to triple rinse it and get it ready to go to the barn on Tuesday evening. Not a big deal. I did the first rinse in cold water, then did the second two in hot (don't ask me why I did that, I just did). All together, after squeezing out the excess water and getting through all the rinses, it probably took me about 45 minutes to get it done.
As I was working, I had to stop to consider how many bags of it I was going to need through this week.
Thought process goes like this:
Strider will need 3 bags (1 for each night [Tue/Wed/Thur])
Dakini will need 3 bags (1 for each night [Tue/Wed/Thur]) - prepping her just in case she needs to go
So, there's 6 bags before we even step on the trailer.
Then I want to have a bucket in the trailer for him to eat on the way. Stop once and let him eat/refill his bucket. Eat again in the late afternoon/early evening. Once more before bed. All the hay he can eat all night long. Fresh hay in the morning. And then plan for him to have food breaks at holds, post-ride, and again on the trailer ride home.
So, just to be safe, I'm going to prep 14-15 bags in the next few days. Assembly line style I imagine!
And then there's the electrolytes I need to get ready.
Again, 6 tubes of elytes for the two horses.
And, based off the notes my friend took at the convention, I'll want another 5 before we even start the ride (1 before he gets in to the trailer, 1 when he gets off the trailer, 1 at bedtime, 1 after I get up early and then 1 before I get into the saddle). And then I need to plan out how many more to use while on the trail. Thinking another 6 at my disposal.
My plan (we'll see how this works) is to pre-mix the electrolytes into a few different jars (some large ones to put into my cooler, and then a few smaller jars to carry on trail along with syringes) so I can just plunge and go.
Last night I got my garden cart put together. It's small enough and light enough I'll put it in the bed of the truck to haul my buckets and gear back and forth from the vet check area. It's not great, but I couldn't beat the price.
Then I had to get the 50 bricks out of the bed of the truck so I wasn't hauling them along to the ride and so I could move my water tank around. My hands are raw this morning. They're rough. But, grateful for my garden cart so I was able to haul them a few at a time.
So, my HiTie has been in for the week. I grabbed the trailer on Friday because I was HOPING to get it installed prior to the ride as well as installing a few bucket hangers in the manger area of the trailer.
Well, after looking at the trailer, where I -WANTED- it to go isn't advisable by people who have installed them. So, I'm going to need to cut some of the rubber on the outside of the trailer off to give the mounting plate a flat surface and to bite through the "ribs" of the trailer. So, that won't be done anytime soon as I'll need to find someone to do that for me.
So, just lots of hiccups and things slowing me down. I was awake for far later than I needed to be last night thinking and my mind churning. It's almost like I've never done this before. I have, but I'm being more diligent about making sure he's tanked up on water and electrolytes than I ever have before. So, for me, it's new protocols I'm not yet sure how to maneuver. But, I'll need to puzzle it out quickly as 2 weeks after this ride, I'm heading off again to take 2. And then a few days after THAT, I'm heading out yet again with 2.
The next few days are going to be busy. Wednesday we have our shoe appointment. Somewhere in there I need to straighten up the tack compartment of my trailer. It got scattered post-surgery when I had to ask someone to get in there to get some grain out, and it was towards the back beneath a lot of things. I need to pack my new items in there. Buy a few groceries.
I'm sensing some late nights between now and Friday morning.
But, I refuse to back down. I WILL get everything done.
And I'll have fun prepping for it. Because, why wouldn't I? :)
Friday, May 05, 2017
Dakini Scoot Boot Thoughts and Troubleshooting
So, I've had some time to mull over the problems I had. They're not massive problems, and honestly, the boots so far are great for me. I am constantly pushing them to see what we've got.
The reality is 98% of the time on trail, I can avoid mud and water. Mostly. I will say at some rides, if the footing is mucky, we can get into some deep, sucking mud and filth. So, that's why I keep pushing these boots the way I do. I want to see what their limitations are.
So, with my recent rubs, I turned again to my Scoot Boot fitter and asked for ideas.
Some of my ideas were to:
Spray a little ShowSheen/Body Glide/Desitin on her heels to try and ease the problem
She came back and said to try the Mueller tape, very loose. Also, put the gaiters back on. Keep playing with it. Try it with the tape and without. Try it with the gaiters and without.
Ideally, yes, I'd like boots I need NEVER fiddle with. Wouldn't we all? And if I was "just" a trail rider (not denigrating trail riders! I sometimes enjoy a good casual trail ride with good friends!), I wouldn't be pushing these boots to their extremes when I'm out on my home trails, but trying to trouble shoot problems before they become problems at an endurance ride.
So, up next, we'll try a light wrap of Mueller tape and see what happens. Might be next week before I can get to the experiment as I've got to get some in, and go see what happens.
Will continue to track and update our Scoot Boot adventure. Still, so far, I find them quite a good boot for Dakini and myself!
The reality is 98% of the time on trail, I can avoid mud and water. Mostly. I will say at some rides, if the footing is mucky, we can get into some deep, sucking mud and filth. So, that's why I keep pushing these boots the way I do. I want to see what their limitations are.
So, with my recent rubs, I turned again to my Scoot Boot fitter and asked for ideas.
Some of my ideas were to:
Spray a little ShowSheen/Body Glide/Desitin on her heels to try and ease the problem
She came back and said to try the Mueller tape, very loose. Also, put the gaiters back on. Keep playing with it. Try it with the tape and without. Try it with the gaiters and without.
Ideally, yes, I'd like boots I need NEVER fiddle with. Wouldn't we all? And if I was "just" a trail rider (not denigrating trail riders! I sometimes enjoy a good casual trail ride with good friends!), I wouldn't be pushing these boots to their extremes when I'm out on my home trails, but trying to trouble shoot problems before they become problems at an endurance ride.
So, up next, we'll try a light wrap of Mueller tape and see what happens. Might be next week before I can get to the experiment as I've got to get some in, and go see what happens.
Will continue to track and update our Scoot Boot adventure. Still, so far, I find them quite a good boot for Dakini and myself!
Thursday, May 04, 2017
Gearing up for another Last Hoorah!...or "Please, PLEASE let me beat these trails this time!"
Outwardly, I am calm. I am cool. I am zen. I project a self-assured "We've got this" je ne sais quoi.
Inside, I'm quaking.
I know my horse is ready. I'm uncomfortable with his shoes going on next week so close to the ride, but I'm going to take a deep breath and roll with that. We will go slowly. We will come to the ride well hydrated. We will stop on the trail and electrolyte. And have a little snack. We will leave behind the front runners.
We will ride our own ride.
I have already started preparing to prepare him.
Tuesday night I ran to "The Feed Station" here in Austin and picked up some SpeediBeet.
Then I went home (my HiTie has arrived, which is a mixed blessing! HiTie, YAY! But...nothing to use with it. Boo! I may quickly order accessories though and just order the customized tie later) and started prepping after doing the math.
So, for Strider's weight (give or take, I upped it to 900 lbs), he needs 13.5 oz of SpeediBeet (well, for maintenance, but I'm running with it). 0.84 lbs of it.
So, I got out my scale and started weighing it out in the kitchen into sandwich baggies.
My original thinking was "How simple this shall be! I can grab a baggie, take it to the barn with me, soak it, mix it in with his grain and let him slurp it all down!"
Except, as my friend who went to the Dr. Garlinghouse seminar at the AERC convention told me, despite it saying it has no molasses in it, it still does. Doc G suggests triple rinsing it. So I'm still going to have to rinse it. My friend says she rinses it, freezes it, and then sets it out and uses it.
On the plus side, since it only takes 10 minutes to soak in cool water, I can soak it, and do the triple rinse quickly. On the down side, I'm still having to rinse it.
Anyway, I got 29 baggies made.
I'll stop by the store, get more sandwich baggies (maybe something a little larger. These baggies are straining at the seams!) and attempt to finish this project.
The plan, at least leading up to Last Hoorah;
Electrolyte BOTH Strider and Dakini for the ride. Should something happen (endurance gremlin), I can take Dakini and drop to an LD with her. But I need and want her prepared for it. So, I shall prep her as if she's going. Actually, I outta do Socks as well, just to get him used to this process too, but, he's a good eater and so mellow about everything I do with him, that I think he'll take it all in stride. And the fact is, if somehow both Strider and Dakini end up unable to go, I'm not taking Socks. He has no hoof protection.
By this time next week, Strider will have his shoes and pads on (I'll be taking pictures again of that process).
I believe I've already stated it, but, I'm going to give up on composites for now. For STRIDER they do not work. Or, at least, the ones I tried didn't work. I think they are an EXCELLENT product if they are suitable for your horse. I just feel they're not suitable for mine.
So, we're padding up and putting on steel shoes. And we shall "Never hurry, never tarry" on the 13th. I am grateful that this ride is only "open" for the first 1/4 mile, then we dive into the woods where riders can spread out.
My plan is to ride alone for the whole thing unless we find someone who isn't going super fast and who we can pace well with. Otherwise, we stay at the back, I put in one ear bud and we spend our day together. I shall stop every hour to hour and a half to let him have a quick snack (I got in my collapsible bowl yesterday that will go on my saddle pack for him along with some grain). And my syringes. We'll electrolyte, nosh on some carrots and apples, have a slurp of soupy water grain for a few moments, then get moving again.
Well, that's the plan. I know I can feed him carrots from the saddle. And, I can afford to throw away 5 to 10 minutes per loop [depending on the length of the loop] to let him eat something wet.
Well, that's the plan. We will electrolyte more than normal because, I expect it will be warm. I haven't yet started compulsively checking the forecast yet....although, next Friday in Cleburne shows a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms and a high of 79 and a low of 59. Mostly clear sky Friday night.
Fingers crossed that the rains help keep the temps down on Saturday. That would be ideal. But, in the week leading up to Friday, temps in the mid to upper 80's.
So, should you see me in the next week or so, while I may APPEAR calm, don't be fooled.
Inside, I'm really anxious. This ride season's been wonky for me with a MASSIVE curve and some scary hiccups at our last ride.
I just feel like, if we can get this 50 done, and NOT OverTime again, that I will have gotten rid of the ill-luck which has been plaguing me this season and be able to move forward again.
Inside, I'm quaking.
I know my horse is ready. I'm uncomfortable with his shoes going on next week so close to the ride, but I'm going to take a deep breath and roll with that. We will go slowly. We will come to the ride well hydrated. We will stop on the trail and electrolyte. And have a little snack. We will leave behind the front runners.
We will ride our own ride.
I have already started preparing to prepare him.
Tuesday night I ran to "The Feed Station" here in Austin and picked up some SpeediBeet.
 |
| In case you're curious about the nutritional value. |
So, for Strider's weight (give or take, I upped it to 900 lbs), he needs 13.5 oz of SpeediBeet (well, for maintenance, but I'm running with it). 0.84 lbs of it.
So, I got out my scale and started weighing it out in the kitchen into sandwich baggies.
 |
| This looks like the start of some drug cartel movie, doesn't it? I assure you, it isn't. |
Except, as my friend who went to the Dr. Garlinghouse seminar at the AERC convention told me, despite it saying it has no molasses in it, it still does. Doc G suggests triple rinsing it. So I'm still going to have to rinse it. My friend says she rinses it, freezes it, and then sets it out and uses it.
On the plus side, since it only takes 10 minutes to soak in cool water, I can soak it, and do the triple rinse quickly. On the down side, I'm still having to rinse it.
Anyway, I got 29 baggies made.
 |
| 29. Yes, 29 "dime baggies" of SpeediBeet. |
I'll stop by the store, get more sandwich baggies (maybe something a little larger. These baggies are straining at the seams!) and attempt to finish this project.
The plan, at least leading up to Last Hoorah;
Electrolyte BOTH Strider and Dakini for the ride. Should something happen (endurance gremlin), I can take Dakini and drop to an LD with her. But I need and want her prepared for it. So, I shall prep her as if she's going. Actually, I outta do Socks as well, just to get him used to this process too, but, he's a good eater and so mellow about everything I do with him, that I think he'll take it all in stride. And the fact is, if somehow both Strider and Dakini end up unable to go, I'm not taking Socks. He has no hoof protection.
By this time next week, Strider will have his shoes and pads on (I'll be taking pictures again of that process).
I believe I've already stated it, but, I'm going to give up on composites for now. For STRIDER they do not work. Or, at least, the ones I tried didn't work. I think they are an EXCELLENT product if they are suitable for your horse. I just feel they're not suitable for mine.
So, we're padding up and putting on steel shoes. And we shall "Never hurry, never tarry" on the 13th. I am grateful that this ride is only "open" for the first 1/4 mile, then we dive into the woods where riders can spread out.
My plan is to ride alone for the whole thing unless we find someone who isn't going super fast and who we can pace well with. Otherwise, we stay at the back, I put in one ear bud and we spend our day together. I shall stop every hour to hour and a half to let him have a quick snack (I got in my collapsible bowl yesterday that will go on my saddle pack for him along with some grain). And my syringes. We'll electrolyte, nosh on some carrots and apples, have a slurp of soupy water grain for a few moments, then get moving again.
Well, that's the plan. I know I can feed him carrots from the saddle. And, I can afford to throw away 5 to 10 minutes per loop [depending on the length of the loop] to let him eat something wet.
Well, that's the plan. We will electrolyte more than normal because, I expect it will be warm. I haven't yet started compulsively checking the forecast yet....although, next Friday in Cleburne shows a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms and a high of 79 and a low of 59. Mostly clear sky Friday night.
Fingers crossed that the rains help keep the temps down on Saturday. That would be ideal. But, in the week leading up to Friday, temps in the mid to upper 80's.
So, should you see me in the next week or so, while I may APPEAR calm, don't be fooled.
Inside, I'm really anxious. This ride season's been wonky for me with a MASSIVE curve and some scary hiccups at our last ride.
I just feel like, if we can get this 50 done, and NOT OverTime again, that I will have gotten rid of the ill-luck which has been plaguing me this season and be able to move forward again.
Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Dakini in her Scoot Boots; Round 3
So, there was a fundraising trail ride at the barn on Saturday. How could I NOT go? I mean, I didn't need to haul ANYWHERE, some friends were going to be coming, and Joe was able to join in the fun.
Took it as a chance to continue to test out my Scoot Boots.
And as such, you're warned, PHOTO HEAVY POST!!!
This ride, we had some bobbles, but I will, currently, say that the bobbles I had were 100% user error on my part! Having it in my head to keep the pastern straps loose, I made them as LOOSE as possible, and I feel this was the issue.
Anyway, I popped them all on, no problems. I do love how much easier these are to get on.
After a little bit of excitement (fellow Paso Fino rider's mare took off and ran off the property. THANKFULLY she was quickly recovered and didn't seem to suffer any ill effects!), we all saddled up and headed out.
Strider and Dakini were happy to go. Dakini actually didn't pitch a fit about her boots (I think having Strider there helped) and she set a nice and snappy leading pace for a while. VERY proud of the little girl!!
There's even a brief video where you can hear me whooping for Strider to "GO STRIDER GO!" while he and Joe tore up the trail, and then Dakini and I are behind them, as more of the group comes along.
Now, while out on trail, I had, at different points, both of Dakini's front boots come off. Remember when I mentioned that front pastern strap was too loose? PRETTY sure that's the culprit, but not 100% just as of yet.
So, the first one came off in a puddle (THANKFULLY at the end as we were exiting so it was easy to find!). I quick swished it off, popped it back on, tightened it and got back on my horse and kept on going.
We looped around and around, and I made her go through another puddle, where the OTHER front one came off as she went in.
Ugh. So, quick swished it off, popped it back on and tightened up all her others.
That one that was slightly twisted I mentioned HAD done almost a 180 turn, so I removed it, popped it back on and she was fine for the rest of the ride.
I believe we covered about 7 miles in an hour and 45 minutes (give or take).
Took the horses back to their pen, stripped tack and left them tied in case we decided to ride after lunch and a cold beer. No big deal.
However, as we were eating, someone mentioned a line of storms was coming, so that kind of broke up the fun.
Not that I was complaining. We were SUPPOSED to get rain and scattered thunderstorms all day. Instead the day was hot, sunny with a good breeze. PERFECT riding weather!!!
So, with that in mind, I went to go remove her boots and put her and Strider away.
As you have surmised, I'm sure, yes, she had some rubs. But really ONLY on her front two feet. Now, most of where we ride is sandy at this property, and those puddles are sandy muck. So I suspect that's what irritated her.
Anyway, post ride feetie pictures!!!
And now, the removal of the boots.
FRONTS FIRST!
Moving to the Right Front.
Moving to the rears!
Right rear now.
And, since you've made it through all of that, how about some full body shots of Strider and Dakini?
And of course...Strider.
Took it as a chance to continue to test out my Scoot Boots.
And as such, you're warned, PHOTO HEAVY POST!!!
This ride, we had some bobbles, but I will, currently, say that the bobbles I had were 100% user error on my part! Having it in my head to keep the pastern straps loose, I made them as LOOSE as possible, and I feel this was the issue.
Anyway, I popped them all on, no problems. I do love how much easier these are to get on.
 |
| Front view. Notice (if you're able) how loose I have those pastern straps!) |
 | |
| Rear view of front boots. From this angle I feel you're better able to see how LOOSE the straps on. But seated well on her feet. |
 |
| Rear front view of boots. Those are the exact same wraps as I used last time. They washed up VERY clean with JUST water. Notice that they straps don't appear QUITE as loose DUE to the wraps? |
 |
| Rear view of rear feet. I will say that I feel that right boot is off center (obviously). It DID end up twisting later (like 180 degree twist), but didn't seem to cause her an issue. Pulled it off, popped it back on, no big deal for her. |
Strider and Dakini were happy to go. Dakini actually didn't pitch a fit about her boots (I think having Strider there helped) and she set a nice and snappy leading pace for a while. VERY proud of the little girl!!
There's even a brief video where you can hear me whooping for Strider to "GO STRIDER GO!" while he and Joe tore up the trail, and then Dakini and I are behind them, as more of the group comes along.
Now, while out on trail, I had, at different points, both of Dakini's front boots come off. Remember when I mentioned that front pastern strap was too loose? PRETTY sure that's the culprit, but not 100% just as of yet.
So, the first one came off in a puddle (THANKFULLY at the end as we were exiting so it was easy to find!). I quick swished it off, popped it back on, tightened it and got back on my horse and kept on going.
We looped around and around, and I made her go through another puddle, where the OTHER front one came off as she went in.
Ugh. So, quick swished it off, popped it back on and tightened up all her others.
That one that was slightly twisted I mentioned HAD done almost a 180 turn, so I removed it, popped it back on and she was fine for the rest of the ride.
I believe we covered about 7 miles in an hour and 45 minutes (give or take).
Took the horses back to their pen, stripped tack and left them tied in case we decided to ride after lunch and a cold beer. No big deal.
However, as we were eating, someone mentioned a line of storms was coming, so that kind of broke up the fun.
Not that I was complaining. We were SUPPOSED to get rain and scattered thunderstorms all day. Instead the day was hot, sunny with a good breeze. PERFECT riding weather!!!
So, with that in mind, I went to go remove her boots and put her and Strider away.
As you have surmised, I'm sure, yes, she had some rubs. But really ONLY on her front two feet. Now, most of where we ride is sandy at this property, and those puddles are sandy muck. So I suspect that's what irritated her.
Anyway, post ride feetie pictures!!!
 |
| Both front feet, front view. |
 |
| Right front, rear view. |
 |
| Right front, rear view. |
 |
| Rear feet, front. |
 |
| Off-center shot of the rear left. |
FRONTS FIRST!
 |
| Straps all undone. |
 |
| Left front off. Some hair scuffing that I initially noticed. |
 |
| Much more visible here. Left side of left foot. That is, indeed, a raw and sore spot. |
 |
| Left front, right side. Little less visible owwie here. |
 |
| The rocks weren't in there for the ride; it's because the alley is a little gravelly. I just thought this was cool though how you could see the impression from the inside of the Scoot Boots in the filth in her foot. |
 |
| Rub is more visible here. *sigh* |
 |
| You can see where the hair got all scuffed up. |
Moving to the rears!
 |
| Left rear first. |
Right rear now.
And, since you've made it through all of that, how about some full body shots of Strider and Dakini?
And of course...Strider.
 |
| "Hey, Dakini, get outta my picture! My adoring public needs to see MY face!" |
 |
| Make sure you got a picture of my good side, ok? |
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