Last Hoorah!!!....or "Sometimes it's just nice to go ride with no pressure"

Really no excuses to not have this done sooner.  Well, I've been busy....and it just keeps getting busier!!!

Anyway...

I woke up Friday morning, trailer and truck were already packed.  I'd looked at the map, and I was only about 2.5 hours from the ride site.

Not going to lie, I lounged around.  Slept in.  Took a leisurely shower.  Basically I fiddle-farted around at home until it was about 11, and I realized that I needed to get moving. 

Grabbed my horse, put him in the trailer, and away we went.

This is my 3rd time doing "Last Hoorah!", but I got to take a new route this time since the move, so I got to see an entirely new part of Texas as I drove through Lampasas, Hamilton, etc. until I got to Cleburne.

When I see the sign for the Six O Ranch, I just start smiling like an idiot.  This is a place where I feel so at peace and just so damn happy.

Sign to the Six O Ranch.
Credit to Jim Edmondson with Optical Harmonics, 12/2010.

I followed a larger rig in, waited while they manuvered around in the big field...and I almost parked close to where I was last year...but realized I was kind of in the road there, so I just "Eff this", pulled over behind some other larger rigs near the fence, and called it good.

Quickly got Strider set up, and then I just went back in to lazy mode.

Home sweet temporary home!!!

"MAAAAA!!!  Whuzzat?!!!"

Time to take a nap.  It's hard being so sexy.

What's happening over there?

Nothing THAT important.  MORE ALFALA MA!!!

A few days prior to Last Hoorah, Zurkh inadvertently stepped on my foot (I wasn't exactly wearing appropriate shoes), and it realllly screwed my foot up.  Swollen, hurt to walk...

So, I knew trotting my horse out was going to be...well..impossible.  But I was NOT missing this ride!!!  Hurt foot or no, I'm getting on and RIDING!!!!

I begged one of the hardcore riders (K.L.; Takoda's owner) to please trot him out...and, as she's just such a sweet and cheerful kind lady, she did.  Of course.

More food stuffing for Strider after...and waiting for my friend C.B. and her TWH, Decker, to show up.

I really just enjoyed relaxing, reading, listening to some music and enjoying being in ride camp.  

View from my trailer into one of the many pastures at the Six O Ranch.

This is ultimately where C.B. would park, but this is behind my trailer at ride camp.

Look at all that space!

Have I mentioned how lovely I find this view?

I waited for her until about 10ish, and finally gave up after relaxing outside with Strider and listening to some music.

As usual, I couldn't sleep in, so when I got up around 7, there was C.B!  She had come in very late, tried to find us by looking for my flashing lights, but she couldn't see them on the off side of my trailer, so she bunked where she landed for the night, and once the sun came up, moved right near where I was.

The advantage of doing the Intro, again, is ALLLLLLLLLLLL that time in the morning to slowly get ready.  Which we did.

We got her vetted in, and then we got tacked up, and then headed over and went on out for our 12 mile loop.

We had no goals except to survive.  I opted to keep Strider completely barefoot as this loop is pretty forgiving (except towards the end, and then I let him pick his path).  We stopped a few times while C adjusted her saddle.  We got lapped by the front running 50s, so we stopped for a bit to set up a pocket again, and briefly hooked up with a lady on a green Arab until finally she felt confident enough to chug on ahead.

Really, we just wanted to have fun and get a completion for the Intro.

We ended up hooking up with a lady coming back to endurance who's done Tevis (!!!), but she's on a green horse as well, so we all finished off the last 6 or 7 miles together.  We had so much fun together.  We didn't see the ride photographer, so there's no pictures of us on the ride (we all jokingly teased him about that...he apologized and said he really thought he'd stayed out long enough to get all the Intros).

Strider, of course, did FABULOUS in his new purple rope halter!!!  I'm a complete convert to the rope halter for riding for him.

After we finished, we headed back to our trailers and lounged around some.  We helped crew here and there for friends as we saw them coming in off whatever distance they were riding.  We had one friend who ended up pulling around mile 30 with his MFT, Dan.  The rider needed electrolytes, and the horse had had booting issues, so they RO'd to do their 50 mile attempt at another ride.

So, we kind of "babysat" him until his wife came in off her loop of the 50 and we knew that both he and his horse were going to be okay. 

Then back to the trailers to talk, play with our ponies, relax and just enjoy being there.

Heaven.  A good horse.  A weekend of riding.  I love these experiences.

Okay Ma, let's get back out and do it again!

Really, it was just a very laid back ride this time for Strider and I. 

C.B. and I went to bed late Saturday night.  We slept in on Sunday morning, and this was the first thing I saw looking out of my door.

I'll never EVER get tired of this horse.

Get up Ma.  BREAKFAST!!!  I STARVED!!!

We tossed some of the saddles my friend H.D. lent to me on Strider.  Nothing was a great fit.  C.B. gave me one of her English saddles that she felt was a pretty good fit, it just needs to be reflocked.

We puttered around as ride camp quickly thinned out, and we finally got on the road around 1ish.

I was home in time for dinner.

May was just a good month...and there was more excitement waiting on the horizon for me....

Change is a lesson to be learned...or "Bend like a willow...it's good practice for life."

This weekend was spent in preparation for Last Hoorah.

Beet pulp is soaked, triple rinsed, and then put in the freezer so I need only pull it out, add a little water and grain and give it to Strider for pre-hydration.

The kaolin-pectin, CMPK and Enduramax are all in the house, ready to be mixed for electrolyting Strider.

I pulled out all my tack and power washed and cleaned EVERYTHING (saddle pad, cinches, seat cover, breast collar and even my Da Brim with the mud dried on it).

I got out my Hoof Armor gun and made sure to pack extra gloves and the wax paper.

Sunday evening, I did the grocery shopping for the ride.  I Googled the closest "Twice the Ice" location I could drive up to for ice for my coolers on Friday morning. 

Except for throwing my bag of clothes, and my blankets into the truck and trailer, I'm....I'm actually ready and packed for the ride.

HOWEVER....

I was nervous over something with Strider, I had his accupressurist come out BEFORE Last Hoorah instead of the day after team penning in two weeks.  I could feel what I THOUGHT were splints on his fronts.  But, were they new or old?  I ran my hands down his legs; cold and tight.  I've been watching him like a hawk for weeks.  Never a single step that wasn't sound.  I made Joe trot him out for me.  Sound.  I lunged him on a circle both directions.  Sound.

In my mind, I remember (or I've created a false memory) of my trimmer saying that at one point, he has PROBABLY popped his splints, but, they've healed cold and tight.  He's fine.

But I was driving myself insane; had she REALLY said that, or had I made that memory up?

Better to change my appointment, have another set of eyes/hands on him that knows him and to either tell me he's injured, or that he's okay and I'm a freaking lunatic.  So, with all that in my mind, I had Jodi come and do a session on him. 

I mean, he'd done the Intro (16 miles) and the LD (25 miles) for a total of 41 miles 3 weeks prior. 

He was being an absolute turd-asshead about not standing still.  Usually he stands and lets Jodi work on him. 

We eventually went and grabbed Zurkh for company, and he immediately settled down.  *sigh*

As Jodi touched him all over, she said he felt great.  Not a single red flag.  She said every single thing about him was a horse who was the picture of health and who definitely had the energy to do his job.

THAT all said...she said, knowing his history and KNOWING about that soft tissue injury and that we're only about 8 months out from it...she said, sure, he could do the LD...and he'd probably be GREAT at it and he'd sail through without an issue...-but-....

And that's all I needed.

"Would he be okay for an Intro or should I pull him completely?  12 to 15 miles?  I'm good either way, but be honest with me."

So, we're dropping to the Intro. 

Yes, he's fine.  And I'm sure he is.  BUT, right now, why risk it?  The Six 0 Ranch has some challenging terrain. And, he's my long-term riding buddy.  Why push for 25 miles? 

And...while I won't earn as many PFHA points...well...I'll earn some points towards this:

PFHA's Pleasure Long Distance Trail Horse standings

I'm playfully working towards it this year.  However, the first place horse currently racked up 50-odd points last season, so, if she does again...not a chance.  But, I'm having fun with this too.  I'll earn another 6 points, and we'll then take the summer off.  We'll go team pen, he'll get to rest and finish healing, and come about last July/early August, he and I will get back to work and prep for legging up for our 50 attempt.

My "Bargain Bin" Easy Boot Gloves showed up yesterday.  They're brand new in so far as I can tell.  Frankly, I'll never buy them at full price if I can order out of the BB again.  It -LOOKS- like they MIGHT fit his fronts once I trim them up and get the toes pushed back.  If not, they will PROBABLY fit his rears (they're more oval than round). 

And, we're currently in a competition to win a pair of Scoot Boots.  Which would be AWESOME and AMAZING if he did!!!  Not holding my breath (I never win anything....except that one time I won tickets to the opening season of  Sherwood Foreset Faire off the radio), but it sure would help my wallet!!

If not...I'll keep stalking the Easy Boot Bargain Bin and hope a pair of #0's pop up.  Blue would be amazing...but the red ones I got yesterday (I think that's why they're BB boots; they're an older/discontinued model) are going to be VERY visible on his feet!!!

So, that's the current plan right now.  We'll skip the LD and drop down to the Intro (extra bonuses are it's a little cheaper, and I get to ride with my friend C.B. and her horse Decker). 

It would be a lie to say I still sometimes consider just doing the LD anyway.  Who doesn't always do the "Well...what if...?" dance?  I'm human. 

And then I remind myself my horse isn't.  He doesn't understand what we're doing.  He does it simply because I ASK it of him.  He doesn't give two shits about points (PFHA, AERC or Green Bean).  He isn't asking me to go 15, 25 or 50 miles.  He does those things because, again, I am asking it of him.

So, here is where I'm learning to bend like the willow.  Because it's not about ME.  Endurance isn't, per se, about me.  It's about my team of 2.  Him and I. 

Maybe I asked too much for 41 miles.  He told me about 3 miles out of camp he was getting a little tired on day 2.  I heard him.  I listened to him.  I didn't push hard.  I'd ask nicely, and if he gave it, great.  If not, I didn't ask again. 

So, instead, we're going to go have fun at one of my favorite ride venues, and we're going to go and completely enjoy ourselves.

And then he'll get a break...and we'll come back better for it this fall.

Gearing up for the "Last Hoorah!"...or "Final ride of the spring season is coming"

And, just like that, my spring ride season is winding down again. 

1 day of a NATRC ride done.
1 intro.
1 LD.
1 LD left to go.

I'm feeling semi-confident that we can tackle the LD at Last Hoorah.  I admit to SOME anxiety because I have YET to finish a ride at the Six 0 Ranch.  But, I had promised the RM last year, after my stomach fought against me, I wouldn't try another 50 this year.

Didn't say anything about next year though! 

He isn't ready for a 50 right now anyway.

But, my current plan is to apply Hoof Armor to his feet, make time up at the beginning of the ride as it's pretty barefoot friendly there, and then take it easy over the gravel and rocks.

I did order a pair of EasyBoot Gloves from their bargain bin (hard to resist getting 2 boots for the price of 1!), but, based off the fitting kit I'd ordered, I'm not sure if this size is going to work on his fronts.  I also don't have a lot of time to trial them before the ride, so, I'm currently not planning to use them for a ride until we can do some conditioning in them.

However, I'm a little anxious about getting ready for the ride.  This weekend is currently jam packed with things I need to do, and I'm going to go ahead and pack my trailer for next weekend.  I'll pull everything out, and get my tack cleaned up and loaded up.

Speaking of tack, look what showed up in the mail yesterday!!!

My new Michael Gascon halter!!!  I reached out to Sophie (Michael's girlfriend) and asked about the possibility of getting a halter in purple.  She checked, and said that it was possible to get one tied in purple.  So, got one ordered, and it happened to arrive last night!! 

So, with our Hoof Armor, and our new halter, and all of our tack loaded up, we'll be ready to rock and roll for our Last Hoorah!

And then the weekend after that, Team Penning...and then after that...another big surprise....:) 

May is shaping up to be a busy, albeit FUN, month!!

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.

My awesome "fairy" lights!

Hey.  What you doing Ma?

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!!!