Emails to the PFHA Executive Committee

 I wanted to log my correspondence with the PFHA executive committee because I believe clarity is important, and because I feel that my breed organization places more emphasis on the show horses, while the pleasure horses are the ones truly getting the word out about how versatile our equine friends are.

On August 27, 2021 at 2:29pm, after ANOTHER email from the PFHA National Office reminding all the members, AGAIN, that the National Show was coming, I confess I lost my patience and sent off an email I had been working on for a few days (I had started this email after an email from a few days ago ALSO reminding everyone to reserve their tables at the National Show).

This is the email as I sent it:

Dear PFHA Executive Committee,

                I am sending this to you as a PFHA Recreational Rider member.  I am grateful that PFHA offers this form of membership, however, the reason I dropped to this level of membership is because the PFHA magazine is crammed full of information about the show horses, while the recreational horses aren’t touted as loudly or as proudly.  The few articles in there were rare, and the Trail Horse Standings were never current as of the time of printing; or worse, they weren’t included at all.

                So imagine my annoyance when, once again, the Paso Fino Horse Association sends out an email last week, and then again today (emails all year long, in fact) that ONLY mention the shows across the country.  A glance at the website; no mention there either.  So, when will PFHA be mentioning the PFHA Distance Horse of the Year competition that is occurring on September 11^th in Tennessee?  Lindsay Campbell has done an amazing job coordinating this event, and recreational events such as these put the Paso Fino horse in front of fellow equestrians who are under the false impression that Paso Finos ONLY fino, so are useless as anything but an arena horse.  The number of times I have heard “That’s a Paso Fino?!  I thought they only did that little tiny gait thing?”  Or in endurance/distance rider groups on social media, people are looking for a gaited horse, and IMMEDIATELY people rule out the Paso Fino because they think they aren’t capable of doing distance riding because they mistakenly believe all Paso Finos ONLY fino.

                PFHA is doing a great disservice to every Paso Fino horse owner who is out there enjoying the trails or competing at non-PFHA events on their Paso Finos. 

                And perhaps I feel this upset as my Paso Fino is the 2019 PFHA Distance Horse/Best Conditioned horse of the year, currently is designated as the 2020 Competitive Trail Horse of the Year, is in the running for the 2021 Pleasure Long Distance Horse of the Year AND we are going to the 2021 Distance Horse competition this year to compete for the title again.  I am out there campaigning my horses in a MULTITUDE of events and locations in front of people from across the states, and even at FEI events when they are co-sanctioned with our endurance events.

Yet once again, here we are where the Distance National Championship ride isn’t mentioned at ALL in the emails that PFHA sends out.  And, while you have to be qualified to ride in the competition, it does NOT preclude other Paso Fino owners from coming out and riding in the offered Competitive Trail Ride, Introductory Rides, Limited Distance Rides, as well as the Endurance distances.  Because the fact is, our horses ARE capable of doing 50/75/100 mile distances.  Melissa Margetts with Cabo.  Ross Carrie with Diamante and Tivio.  These riders have DONE the 100 mile distances on their Paso Finos.

                But the only way for other Paso Fino riders to get their horses qualified for Distance Horse Nationals is if they know well in advance before this event so that they can qualify for it.  And how can they know about this event if PFHA doesn’t ever let them know until AFTER the fact?  Why can’t PFHA make a brief mention of these events in the multiple emails that are sent out?  The emails we get remind people to buy their tables for Nationals well in advance, to make sure that they’re qualified for Mundial and Nationals; yet never once do you mention getting your horse qualified for Distance Nationals.

                Why isn’t the PFHA screaming as loudly and proudly about THESE horses?  Why isn’t the PFHA encouraging riders to attend their local endurance, competitive trail rides or other PFHA sanctioned events?  Or reminding them to make sure to log their Pasos for Pleasure hours as they enjoy their trail rides?

                The National show, according to today’s email is still 3 weeks away.  Distance Horse Nationals is 15 days away.  But, complete and utter silence about it in any communications from our President and from the PFHA’s Website.

                Besides other Paso Fino enthusiasts at a Paso Fino show, how do shows  demonstrate our very versatile breed to non-enthusiasts or non-Paso Fino owners?  Are other breed enthusiasts coming to the PFHA shows so that they are seeing the versatility of our horses? 

It is we weekend warriors conditioning our horses on local trails as non-Paso Fino owners riding their horses seeing us rolling down the trail at a smooth gait that are getting the message out that these horses do more than just fino.  It is the riders taking their horses to their local multi-breed shows or weekend speed events getting the message out that these horses can do barrels, bend poles and with flair and panache that are opening the eyes of other riders.

I hope to eventually see PFHA turn things around and drum up enthusiasm for the Trail Horse Competitions, the Sport Horse Competitions, and the Pasos for Pleasure riders.  Every single time I open the email sent by the current president and past presidents, I am always disappointed and let down by the fact that, once again, while PFHA is a part of the Distance Horse competition, there is NEVER any mention of it in any emails sent out.  The only way to get more Paso Finos involved is to LET THEM KNOW that this is happening. 

I am so grateful that Lindsay Campbell has worked as hard as she has to get PFHA included with the Arabian Horse Association’s Distance Nationals competition.  She is such an asset and a truly wonderful person.  And I am proud to own one Paso Fino and be leasing another Paso Fino who ARE capable of doing the 50 mile endurance distance.  That I have Paso Finos versatile enough to attend the North American Trail Ride Competition (NATRC) events and hold their own against Arabians.

But mostly, I am grateful that I have had other riders, owners, veterinarians and judges who don’t own or ride Paso Finos tell me “You are always smiling when you’re riding your horse.”  Or “That sure looks like a smooth ride” as they’re evaluating my horse on a “trot out” (lameness assessment), or as they’re riding the posting a trot or two-pointing down a trail, while I can just sit and enjoy the ride. 

Please, I beg the Board to start including we recreational riders in your emails, and in the magazine that goes out monthly.  We should be considered...no, we ARE just as important and just as valuable as the show horses are.  Please start treating us like we are. 

Thank you,

Erin Hurley

PFHA Member 42176

Owner of MGA's Fuerte del Energia (Strider)

Leasing Primadonna de Vez (Karma) from Jonelle McCoy

I then got a response from Andrea Lord at 3:31pm which read this:

Hello Erin! 

As a member of the Executive Committee and a rider who uses my Paso Fino in some of the "alternate disciplines" (Western Dressage currently) and  Competitive Trail in the past, I applaud your well written and thought provoking letter.

I share your thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams.

I think that the current state of staffing flux in the PFHA office  may have caused some events to be overlooked, but your words should help refocus intentions and perhaps guide task assignments.

Can you share the best ways to get schedules of your events into the hands of the office staff so that the Information can be incorporated into the weekly e-news?

Congratulations on your accomplishments! And thank you for both promoting our very cool breed and for being willing to call our attention to this issue.

I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you in the near future.

Andrea Lord

I needed a few days to mull some ideas over, think them through, discard bad ideas, ruminate on good ones and try to streamline them and then put it down into something cohesive.  

So on Monday, August 30th at 7:40 pm, I responded to Ms. Lord directly, and included the entire Executive Committee as well. Here is my email:

Dear Ms. Lord,

            I wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond to my email; it truly means a lot to me.

             I had some ideas, although I am unsure how viable they would be due to finances for our small breed organization.

             To start with, perhaps an update to the main page on the PFHA website with links to the various recreational rider/sport horse organizations that are already PFHA sanctioned groups/organizations?  Speaking from a place of truly only knowing the Trail Horse Competition venues (as I don’t compete in the Sport Horse Competition), why not a link to AERC, NATRC, SEDRA, OCTRA, ECTRA etc.?  In fact, if available, a direct link to their calendars could help. 

             Another idea would be to lean in on the regions to submit events that are happening where Paso Fino riders can go and show off our talented horse within their region.  Submit, for example 3 events, monthly, to the office and the President could include them in an email once or twice a month; it doesn’t need to be something from every region, but with as many emails as are sent out, a few from each region in the email could easily be done. 

 These events could be anything from an organized trail ride (I know SWPFHA was doing a wonderful job in 2019 and 2020 to offer trail rides that were open to any breed), to a regional multi-breed show, charity/fund-raising trail ride or anything that is offered in their region where the Paso Fino breed can go and show off its skills and talents.  And a reminder, even just once a month, for any sort of national event that PFHA is involved in, to make sure to get qualified (and include what has to be done to be qualified).  It seems that if PFHA can send out a reminder to make sure you are qualified for Nationals and Mundial, then a once monthly reminder to get qualified for other events PFHA is sanctioning for National recognition could be done as well.  A reminder to make sure to track your Pasos for Pleasure hours.  And to not forget the submit the Ticket to Ride forms.  PFHA has all of these wonderful recreational rider incentives, but most PFHA members are unaware, forget about them or just need a reminder to submit the completed forms!

             Spring-boarding off of that, if the ability is there, post those events to the PFHA website, broken down into region. 

             It’s possible that the Recreation Rider committee would have additional or better ideas that I haven’t thought of either.  These are just ones that I came up with off the top of my head.

             I am aware that not all of these ideas may be viable due to man-hours or finances, but it seems like the regions should, and could, be tapped in to help get their versatile horses out there and look for those things within their regions.  That would take some of the burden off the office employees, and isn’t something burdensome to do (social media is a great resource to utilize to find regional events!).

             And speaking of social media, a glance through the PFHA’s Instagram account is disappointing.  Show fliers, reminders for Nationals, etc.  There’s another untapped resource to get the word out about the recreational events.

             Facebook, is more of the same.  And I understand the stallion service auction is important, but it seems like PFHA could feature recreational riders on any of the social media platforms.  Again, have the regions submit a member for recognition, or open it up for any member to submit something about them and their horse!  I have yet to meet a Paso Fino owner who cannot speak at length about their amazing mount(s).

             And no Twitter account?  While I myself don’t use Twitter that often, I know that the younger generation does, and truthfully, that’s the demographic PFHA should be targeting as they’re the future of the breed. 

             Once again, I wish to thank you so very much for taking the time to respond to me and to thank you for doing Western Dressage.  It is such a beautiful sport, and I love the fact that you are doing it with our breed, which truly demonstrates just how versatile they are! 

             I thank the Executive Committee for everything that they do; I know being a volunteer is often a thankless job filled with criticisms, and I hope I have not come across that way.  I truly am proud of my horses, and I am hopeful that our breed organization will take a moment to celebrate the non-show horses as well.

 

            Sincerely,

            Erin Hurley

Andrea Lord graciously replied to me the same evening at 8:00 pm with this:

Thank you again, Erin. These are great ideas. It is always appreciated when members give constructive ideas to help us improve and grow our association. 

I will make an effort to get some of these discussed and put into play.

Keep up all you do!

Andrea Lord

Tuesday, August 31st at 1:23, the PFHA President, Jose Colon, responded to me with this.  Note, I have redacted his phone number.  His email address is publicly available on the PFHA website so I have left that intact:

Dear Erin,

 

First, I would like to thank you for your membership and support of the Paso Fino Horse Association and the Rec Rider program.  Your support and membership are greatly valued by our Executive Committee and Board of Directors. 

 

I want to thank you for reaching out to us and expressing your areas of concern.  Our member’s feedback is very important as we continue to move forward and improve on the services and programs we offer to our members.  It is my policy as President of the Association to listen to the concerns of our members and develop solutions with our BOD, Executive Committee, and relevant functional committees to address the concerns.  I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of the PFHA for not having sufficient advertisement on the E-Newsletter for the Rec Rider events.  I have been working closely over the last few months with the Rec Rider Committee Chair, Judi Bradbury, and Rec Rider Committee Members including Lindsay Campbell, Patti Blichmann, Vivian Ashcraft, etc. on a few areas including awards, points and determining ways for announcement of these.  I also recently worked with Lindsey to provide a PFHA President’s message for the 2021 Distance Nationals Booklet organized by the Arabian Horse Association.  I am fully committed to making the Rec Riders experience and membership a valuable one.  

 

Having said that, I will contact Judi Bradbury to discuss with her your areas of concern and work with the Committee to develop a plan and advertisement calendar of Rec Rider events in our newsletter.  I would like this to be a coordinated effort through the Rec Rider Committee to ensure that we track it and implement it.  I am confident that we can develop a communications plan that will help the PFHA office, the EC, the BOD and our members stay more informed about Rec Rider events.  I also like your ideas and if I can get your Ok, I would like to provide your contact information to Judi Bradbury.  This way we can have these ideas lead through the Committee.

 

In the meantime, I want to provide you some mechanisms to provide information for Rec Rider events:

 

-       Newsletter Advertising:  Email to socialmedia@pfha.org.

-       Request to Add an Event to the Calendar: info@pfha.org or socialmedia@pfha.org 

-       Magazine Advertising and Editorial Content– info@pfha.org or stunningsteeds@yahoo.com

 

Finally, I would like to reiterate my personal commitment, as well as our Executive Committee, our PFHA Board of Directors and the Rec Rider Committee’s commitment to the Rec Rider program.  Below please find some of the initiatives that our BOD has promoted most recently:

 

-       Renewed the Trail Horse Test Program on 7/17/2021:  The BOD unanimously approved the renewal of the Trail Horse Test Program policy on 7/17/2021.

 

-       Developed a section in MyPasoKey (Members Portal) to track and manage Rec Rider program results and points: Under the leadership of our Immediate Past President, Sharon Londoño and the Rec Rider Committee Chair, Judi Bradbury and Rec Rider Committee, the MyPasoKey system was significantly enhanced to include all of the Rec Rider programs and points.  Efforts are currently in progress with the Committee and the IT team to review these areas and continue to improve the reporting available.

 

  

 

-       Incorporated Articles in the PFHW about Rec Rider interests:  We have been working with members to identify articles that can be published on the PFHW magazine including rec rider articles.  2021 Volume 3 (PFHW most recent edition) of the magazine included an Article by a PFHA member titled “So Much More than Just a Show Horse”, 2021 Volume 2 included an article called PFHA Paso for Pleasures of 2020 that included the High Points for 2020.  The 2021 Volume 2 also included an article about the National Distance Championship.  We rely a lot on our members to get the information for the articles.  Would you be willing to work with us to develop an article about you, your horse, your experience, any of the events that you have attended/ will attend or about another rec rider? I think it would be a great story from one of our members to our membership.  I can have our editor contact you to discuss how to best accomplish this.   We can feature a great article on one of the upcoming volumes.   The magazine is also available online through www.pfha.org

 

Thanks again for your communication.  I look forward to meeting you and talking to you soon.  In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.  My cell phone is (XXX) XXX-XXXX or email at joscolon@gmail.com .  I am always happy to talk with our members and receive feedback and ideas.  We would not be able to do the things we do without the support of our members, volunteers, and committees.

 

Sincerely,

 

José M. Colón

President

Paso Fino Horse Association

Mobile: (XXX) XXX-XXXX

Email:  joscolon@gmail.com

I finally had time this evening to sit down and pen my response as I was a little busy at Distance Nationals, work, being sick (allergies I think?) and just life in general.  Here is my most recent response:

To begin, my apologies for the delayed response time.  I’ve been mired in work, prepping and attending Distance Nationals, etc., so was unable to sit down and respond until this evening.

To begin, thank you so much for the emails that were sent to everyone on September 3rd and September 10th.  They brought a smile to my face to see a more expanded email to the members; and I am hoping at some point the winner, Ross Carrie, and his 19-year-old Paso Fino Tivio IXL (who also crossed 2,000 endurance miles at that ride, which is a HUGE milestone!) will be mentioned. 

Also, I sincerely appreciate you mentioning, not just Distance Nationals, but reminding everyone to participate in a Trail Horse Test and to go out and enjoy their Pasos was so gratifying to me.  Thank you very much.

I know that the Rec Rider committee works hard, and again, I wish to thank them ALL for the generally thankless work that they do.  It is a labor of love to donate your time to such a large organization, and they grind away behind the scenes.  As always, I made sure to thank Lindsay sincerely for making sure the Paso Fino was included for the Arabian Horse Association’s hosting of the Distance Nationals.  She is a gem of a person and a wonderful advocate for our breed.  I am pleased to know that you are all working together in tandem.  I know that this is a good thing and a wonderful step forward to getting our breed "out there“

If there is any way at all I can help, I am more than happy to be tapped in to assist; although I know our Rec Rider committee is doing a wonderful job, and of course any ideas I have can be forwarded along. 

 

I will certainly utilize the email addresses included to add events to the calendar.  For the others (newsletter advertising and magazine advertising/editorial content), is there a fee entailed?  If not, I will happily email them as well in order to get the information out as best as I can for any events I know of, both in my own region as well as across the USA for fellow Paso Fino enthusiasts.  While I primarily ride AERC endurance and NATRC, I also can get information for Equine Trail Sports, and some of the other national organizations if others may find that useful. 

My most sincere hope is to see more people mounted on a Paso Fino.  My 7-year-old daughter has enjoyed riding my endurance horse; a true testament to their versatility and "family friendliness".  I hope to someday bring her and he to a show to allow her to ride him (so far, the show schedule hasn't aligned well with my competition schedule!  I am hoping perhaps in December to make the SWPHFA show).  I have also put people who have never ridden before (my older father and friends of the family) as well as people who have ridden other breeds; all have enjoyed the ride.  This is the pleasure I wish to share with others, but on their own Paso Finos.

Another thing I would like to drop on the Executive Committee’s plate; the rescue Paso Fino.  I know this can be a hot-button topic, but I mention this as I was given a weanling Paso Fino that someone had rescued from an auction barn.  I was able to pay the DNA fee to confirm sire/dam of the foal (both are registered Paso Finos).  However, due to the long delay, to register this horse now is over $300.  This is not the fault of the horse’s, and the now-owner is saddled with the burden of attempting to do right by this horse as the person who dumped the mare and foal at auction didn’t.

Is there some reason PFHA, with some kind of proof (proof of sale from the auction barn?) could not offer a discount or some form of amnesty for these horses?  Assuming, of course, both sire and dam are registered?

I believe every horse deserves its heritage and pedigree.  And this horse’s current owner has frequently indicated that they would become a PFHA member and participate in PFHA events with their horse if they could just get it registered.

I suspect this would require rule changes and the like, but it is something I hope PFHA holds close to its heart as you have purebred Paso Finos missing their papers, their history, their heritage because they have the terrible misfortune of being dumped at an auction for whatever reason.  And the person who saves them then has to jump through hurdles to not only prove who the horse is, but then has to pay the fees to register the horse in order to give it back its name and heritage. 

Just additional food for thought.  😊

Thank you for letting me know that the PFHA magazine is available through the website.  I will go and take a look at it!  Especially if there was an article about Distance Nationals!    Personally, while I think my horse is amazing (considering he wasn't bred to do this, but his heart is happy to give me 50 miles if I ask), I know there are even better ones out there to showcase.  I would have loved for Melissa Margetts to write about her experiences at Tevis with Cabo.  Ross Carrie has vast experience with the 100 mile Paso Fino, although I am unsure if he has the free time to submit an article.  He and his wife Dawn Carrie have the ability to help spot an endurance Paso Fino, as does Lindsay Campbell; perhaps an article on what to look for if one is searching for a distance Paso Fino?  Between Lindsay, Ed Casillas and Maria Phillips, I think there is plenty of knowledge for a useful article for someone who wants a horse that could go down the trail and go for long distances.  Between the 5 of them, those are the brains I pick and ask the questions of as I consider my next endurance/distance horse (my main horse is 15 and my backup is 19; I know time is inevitable so already I am considering the replacement).  

I frequently use the MyPasoKey to track my points, see my standings (will there be an announcement for the 2020/2021 Trail Horse winners?) and see how my friends and fellow competitors are doing.  I am glad for this tool as it is better at helping me keep up to date; although I know Lindsay frequently has to audit and make fixes as there are often errors in points and misunderstandings in how people are submitting their points, etc.  Human error happens!

Once again, thank you for taking the time to respond to me, and again, I apologize for my delayed response.

-Erin Hurley

My purpose in sending these emails is NOT to bash or complain; but to try and bring light to the fact that the PFHA blatantly leans towards the show horse, and I keep hoping for a change to occur.  But I suspect this will be a grass-roots movement IF it ever can, or will, happen.

I do not believe in complaining without trying to offer a solution.  

I encourage all of my friends who are PFHA members to email our entire Executive Committee.

These are the email addresses that I was able to harvest from the PFHA website.  Not all members of the Executive Committee have their email addresses published.

joscolon@gmail.com
sofiapassariello@gmail.com
andyjlord@gmail.com
sinpar@nettally.com
b.ljr@aol.com
cedarlane@prtcnet.com

Again, please email your Executive Committee and make your voices heard if you want to see change. 

I will update with the response and any other correspondence.

LONG time, no post!

 The number of drafts I have...laughable.

So, let me see if I can summarize the past few years.

2019 saw Karma get through her first 50 at Shanghai Trails in March.

Karma crossing the finish line of her first 50!

2019 saw my husband buy me a very old (1999) Trails West with Living Quarters in order to make my ride life better.  Once we ironed out the issues (and got a ball installed in the truck), I have loved Loved LOVED hauling my trailer AND having air conditioning, a big fridge, microwave, cook top, toilet and a shower!  LUXURY!!

New photo, familiar rig. 
The truck is Hannibal, the trailer, Clarice.

2019 saw Strider win the PFHA Distance Horse and Best Conditioned horse in Oklahoma at one of the wettest rides I've ever done.  If it wasn't a National ride, I would have rolled over and gone back to bed.

Strider crossing the finish line, taking the 
championship.

Karma went as well, and after I took a day off from riding, she and I rode on Sunday, where she both Top 10'd AND won the turtle award.

Karma chugging down the trail!

I've continued to do some other rides here and there; some endurance, some NATRC.  

Currently my AERC stats:
300 endurance miles / 550 limited distance miles

Strider's stats:
300 endurance miles / 340 limited distance miles

Karma's stats:
50 endurance miles / 125 limited distance miles

I cannot find my NATRC mileage stats, but Strider and I have done a handful of Open rides.

However, in March of 2020, after doing a NATRC ride, I had a moment of stupidity.

I thought it would be fun to get on Strider, bareback (no halter or leadrope) to just sit on him for a moment.

So I had him come over to the stairs on my porch, and went to slide my leg over, and something made him step sideways, and as I tried to get my leg back, he moved further, and I was pulled off the stairs.

Hit the ground on my left leg and felt something "snap".

The final call; tore my ACL.

Then in April of 2020, I was hobbling out to the trailer, and as I came back to the house, I saw Strider was badly hurt on his right rear.  Which made sense; a few days prior I had found the dog's tie out cable catapulted into a tree and Kaylee's swing set knocked over.  What I now believe happened is Strider got tangled in the tie out, got it wrapped around the swing set, and ultimately severed his tendon sheath.

And with COVID ramping up, my surgery was considered elective, so I wasn't able to have it fixed until the end of May in 2020.

My orthopedic surgeon told Joe as I was coming out of surgery, I couldn't ride for 18 months.

Joe told the doctor to tell me that or else I would kill him.

Doctor said "12 months."

Joe said "Yeah, that still seems long."

I am touched he was negotiating the time until I could ride again!

But, Strider and I spent months healing up together.  Joe had to help take care of Strider as he had to convalece in a stall with frequent bandage changes.

Suffice to say, at 6 months post-op, the doc said I could ride if I wished, but to be very careful as on the dismount I could ruin things by landing wrong and I should wear my brace.

I opted to wait.  At 9 months I had Joe help me get on Strider.  My PTSD was pretty bad.  I made him lead Strider and I around the round pen as I trembled and shook for a few minutes.  Finally I told Joe to unhook the lead rope; I needed to ride on my own. 

And we did for about 20 minutes.

Then the next challenge; getting off my horse.  Swinging off meant putting all my weight on my left (bad) leg and swinging over.  It was NOT easy.  Full disclosure, it's September of 2021 and it's STILL not easy and I look awful dismounting.

But I had goals and dreams, and in March of 2021, almost 1 year to the day, Strider and I returned to the last ride we had done together and we did the Competitive Pleasure division for NATRC (we weren't ready for Open).

After a P&R Stop, and feeling good!

From here, we've been going back to rides.

Earlier this month, we went to go defend our Distance Championship title.  I hauled 1,000 miles from Texas to Big South Fork, Tennessee to ride.

Sadly, we only got 17 miles in before we were pulled for a hind end tightness.  

But it meant I got to help crew for my friends D.C. and R.C. on their Paso Finos!

Ultimately R.C. finished on his amazing 19 year old Paso Fino, Tivio!  And with that completion they hit 2,000 miles!  It was WONDERFUL to cheer them in!

I share all of this because I am planning to make a separate post that is specific to the Paso Fino horse and the Paso Fino horse Executive Committee.

So...how have YOU been?  :)

Sometimes the smartest plan is to know your limitations...or "Welcome to a Texas summer!"

The plan was to have this update with photos, stats, information on our first week of our workout. 

We were DILIGENT about our workouts.  We stuck to my workout plan.  I was even getting in a good workout lunging them.  I was learning about how Karma moves.  Watching Strider who's already on to me, but tolerating my crap.

I built in rest days around my own life schedule. 

And then Sunday happened (103 degrees at 7:30 pm).

And then Monday happened (107 degrees at 7:30 pm).

*sigh*

So, 4 workouts in, and already my calendar is shot.

Monday-Workout
Tuesday-Workout
Wednesday-Rest day
Thursday-Workout
Friday-Workout
Saturday-Rest day

So, at least THAT went according to plan.

It was THEN supposed to read:

Sunday-Workout
Monday-Workout
Tuesday-Workout
Wednesday-Rest day
Thursday-Workout
Friday-Workout
Saturday-Rest day

Instead it is now reading:
Sunday-Rest day
Monday- Rest day
Tuesday-Workout
Wednesday-Workout
Thursday-Workout
Friday-Rest day
Saturday-Workout
Sunday-Rest day

I'm frustrated at the situation.  But, this is part of living in Texas I guess.  And tonight might be a scratch depending on the temperature at 7:30pm.  I topped off every single water trough last night and put out 3 buckets full of rice bran water to continue to encourage drinking.

Here's our stats from the first week.

Karma                                                                        Strider
Week 1 - Day 1                                                          Week 1 - Day 1
Distance: 3.06 miles                                                  Distance:  2.43 miles
Time:  24:58                                                              Time:  23:05
Average Speed:  7.3 mph                                          Average Speed:  6.3 mph
Max Speed:  13.5 mph                                              Max Speed:  13.5 mph
Temperature:  95 degrees                                          Temperature:  91 degrees

Karma                                                                       Strider
Week 1 - Day 2                                                         Week 1 - Day 2
Distance:  3.74 miles                                                 Distance:  2.53 miles
Time:  28:14                                                              Time:  25:22
Average Speed:  8.0 mph                                          Average Speed:  6.0 mph
Max Speed:  11.4 mph                                              Max Speed:  7.6 mph
Temperature:  91 degrees                                          Temperature:  91 degrees

Karma                                                                       Strider
Week 1 - Day 3                                                         Week 1 - Day 3
Distance:  3.78 miles                                                 Distance:  3.14 miles
Time:  27:35                                                              Time:  31:07
Average Speed:  8.2 mph                                          Average Speed:  6.1 mph 
Max Speed:  15.6 mph                                              Max Speed:  9.1 mph
Temperature:  93 degrees                                          Temperature:  93 degrees

Karma                                                                       Strider
Week 1 - Day 4                                                         Week 1 - Day 4
Distance:  3.07 miles                                                 Distance:  2.78 miles
Time:  27:19                                                              Time:  26:52
Average Speed:  6.7 mph                                           Average Speed:  6.2 mph
Max Speed:  8.7 mph                                                Max Speed:  7.8 mph
Temperature:  97 degrees                                          Temperature:  93 degrees


And, while I don't have any photos of the horses after their week of working out, I'm relatively pleased with these stats.  Day 4, Karma started slowing down.  I never once in the previous 3 days had to ask for her to go.  Day 4, I "kissed" at her twice, and she voluntarily took 2 brief walk breaks (5 steps or so) within the 27 minutes of working out.

Strider who understands what is going on, is conserving his energy.  Day 4, he was barely moist on his neck.  Not that Karma was ever lathered or dripping sweat, but he is bored, and he's doing his "gym" workout simply because I'm making him.

I am hoping that the temperatures drop enough for me to get back to work again.

Summer vacation is over....or "Back to work kids!"

Let me assure you, I am NOT a fan of this "lunging for fitness" for my horses.  Not because there's anything inherently wrong with it, per se, but because I can see how we're ALL going to get bored with it. 

Things went smoothly though, so for that I am grateful.  Karma is 'sticky' when asked to go to the right, but she quickly figured it out.

I attached my Garmin to the halter last night to just get an idea of how far they went, and their overall average speed.

Now, the PLAN was to lunge Strider first, let Karma have her dinner, then pull her and work her.

Except, our cow turned into an escape artist and went visiting next door.  She came to the gate that separates our properties, and followed me through for dinner, but that kind of threw things off kilter. 

So, instead, it was work Karma first and Strider second.

I went out with the target goal of a 25 minute workout for each horse.  I was pretty much on the money for Karma, but about 2 minutes short for Strider.

Also, I remembered to take pictures last night of each horse so that I can make a weekly comparison and see how things are tightening up on them.

Initial observations before I post the Garmin's results?

Karma is just, naturally, faster than Strider.  What seemed to be her "traveling speed" is about 1 mph faster than Strider's traveling speed last night.  Strider, though, to his credit, knew what was up, and I feel he knew he needed to conserve his energy.  So, that might have been a factor that played in to this whole thing.

So, here we go.

The link to Karma's work out is here.

Here's the stats breakdown

	Time	Cumulative Time	Moving Time				Avg Speed	Avg Moving Speed	Max Speed
1	7:04.6	7:04.6	6:45				8.5	8.9	13.5
2	6:05.6	13:10	6:04				9.8	9.9	13.3
3	10:27	23:38	10:10				5.7	5.9	9.1
4	1:20.6	24:58	1:10				2.5	2.8	3.0

And, just for a starting point of reference; pictures of her from last night pre-workout.

Don't look at me.

If I don't look at you, are you really here?

Did you just take a picture of my butt?!!

Initial thoughts regarding Karma?

Her working gait is just faster than Strider's.  There's no getting around that.  Once I can figure out how to attach my heart-rate monitor to her when she's not tacked up, I'll start tracking that as well.  I'm dying to know what it is (was).  Based on the physical response, she could probably rock a LD right now as she is.  She was a little sweaty, but her breathing wasn't hard or labored. 

Once she hit her stride and settled in after squirting around some, her gait is big and ground covering.  And, I was just looking at the picture of Dez and I from River Run, and I can see the familial similarities in them.  And, with that being the case, she's going to be a powerhouse.  Now to make sure she's a powerhouse who can take good care of herself!!!

Now, on to Strider.

The link to his workout is here.

Strider's workout breakdown stats.

I tried to get him squared up.  He refused my instance.  So, fine.  I'll work with what he gave me.

Why?  Just, why Mom.

I already know what's up mom, and this is bullshit.

I refuse to stand squarely.  Kiss my Paso ass.

Time	Cumulative Time	Moving Time				Avg Speed	Avg Moving Speed	Max Speed
5:59.7	5:59.7	5:59				10.0	10.0	13.5
10:46	16:45	10:31				5.6	5.7	7.6
6:19.5	23:05	6:15				4.0	4.1	5.4
23:05	23:05	22:49				6.3	6.4	13.5

Thoughts?

He knows what's up.  He was doing his best to conserve his energy through this entire exercise.  Smart of him.  Very smart.  He was utterly disgusted with it.  He HATES mindless work and circles.  So do I.  But...I don't really have much choice.  First ride is in October.  I LITERALLY have 79 days from today to get them both legged up and ready to rock and roll.  They will be lunged 5 days a week (or 4 if life interferes).  Once my truck is back up and running, I plan to ride once a week and then maybe drop the lunging to 3 or 4 days a week. 

I understand the value of rest, which is why I'm fluctuating between the days of lunging and work I'll be doing.