Hoof Cast

While we were at Yellowhammer, Daniel learned a new temporary hoof protection strategy from Guy Buck, an endurance farrier here in the Southeast.

When I saw the pictures and heard about this, I was excited and decided to play with that this winter while my horses are barefoot. I usually play with Easyboots (which are misnamed in my opinion), but this seemed a much better use of my time and money.

So, what is it? Fiberglass casting tape. If you can wrap your horse's hoof with vet wrap, you can wrap with casting tape. There's actually a product out there marketed to horse owners, but there's no need for a special product. Just use the same casting tape your doctor uses to stabilize that broken arm (or thumb or leg or...).

So where do you get such a thing? eBay, of course, where else? You want 2 inch fiberglass casting tape. If you don't care about the color, you get a better price. I paid $2.65 per roll from eBay. One roll is good for one hoof.

So you need to gather your supplies.

• Your horse, with reasonably clean feet (just knock the dirt off). Doesn't need to be dry. You're going to wet the tape anyway.
• 1 roll of casting tape per hoof to wrap
• a pair of disposable gloves
• a bucket of water
• a large sponge
• dog helper is optional (Cammy was visiting while her mom and dad were off on a trip)

Put your gloves on and open the casting tape package.

Take the roll of tape and dunk it in the water. Squeeze it while in the water several times.

Pick up your horse's foot and proceed to wrap. Stay off the heel bulbs and stay below the hair line. Try to keep the thickness even along the bottom of the hoof. I prefer to leave some of the sole exposed rather than close it off completely.

You can use the entire roll but for a smaller hoof, you don't have to use the whole roll.

When you're done wrapping, smooth it all down and set the foot on the sponge on the ground. Doing this will have the sponge push the cast into the foot and form to the horse's foot. Right away make sure the casting tape is off the hair line. If it crept up there, just push it down with your fingers before it hardens. Every minute or so, rotate the sponge and check the firmness of the cast. After it's set up (5 minutes or so), you can remove the sponge.

This is a picture of the first hoof I did after the cast set up. I left the sponge on a little too long. I didn't rotate it as I did the second and some of the sponge stuck to the bottom. It's a cheap sponge, so no worries.



Repeat for each foot.

For our first test, I just wrapped Serts' front hooves. His shoes had just been pulled by my farrier.



I left him to run in the pasture. I checked him every day and didn't see an issue. It was super muddy for the first few days and I thought we'd lose the casts, but that was not a problem. The pink casts actually ended up the color of hoof wall. I couldn't tell until I was right by him if he still had his casts! We finally removed the casts after a week to inspect his soles.

These are his hooves with casts just before we removed the casts.



Removing the casts was a challenge. Daniel actually used a small, dull hand saw, but we'll look for something better. A true cast saw would be a bit expensive for this!

Serts' soles looked great. A little dead sole that hadn't had abrasion to remove it, but that's not a problem. The hoof wall on the front had a minor imprint of the casting material, but again, not an issue at all. Serts' feet looked wonderful.





There was very little wear on the casts. Granted, Serts was in a pasture and not ridden, but he did wear them for a week straight.





The next test will be to do some training rides to see how he moves in them and determine the traction on grass and pavement.

Just to be clear, I'm not looking at this as a replacement for metal shoes. I'm looking at this for a spare tire when riding and for temporary riding protection during winter when I like to let the horses run barefoot.

I certainly do like the advantages that would come from this solution. Cheaper than Easyboots, a custom fit every time, lighter than easyboots, and easier to carry on saddle. (And next time I break my arm, I can have somebody cast it until I get to the hospital!)

I still have several tests, but it's certainly an interesting prospect.

Off to Spook Run!

We are heading to Spook Run to enter Tanna in the 50 mile ride on Friday.

I haven't forgotten my little experiment, but I haven't had time to start it yet! I'm likely going to have the horses' shoes pulled on the 1st, so should have more time to play with it then. Sorry for the tease, but I promise I WILL get to it!

Yellowhammer 2009

I will tell you up front that I had the best time at Yellowhammer this year. Everything just seemed to flow and I can't imagine having a better time.

Sunday, September 27

I'd been working on and off all the week before to get the camper and trailer ready to go to Yellowhammer. Tony, my farrier, came out at 9 AM to shoe the horses. He is going to fire-fighting school during the week, so had to schedule my appointment on Sunday to get us in. We had planned to put new shoes on the horses, but the shoes looked so good, he just did a reset. I figure Tanna is too busy doing airs above ground to actually touch his shoes to the ground and wear them! Daniel and I took turns holding the horse being shod and chatting with Tony. The other one was busy prepping for our trip.

Tony left around 11:30 AM and Daniel and I continued to fly around getting ready to go. We finally left home at 1 PM. I was driving our small Tacoma and Daniel was driving our Chevy 3500 dually pulling the horse trailer. The Tacoma is a welcome addition at Yellowhammer as we can just park our Chevy with the slide in camper and use the Tacoma for running around. We have friends that borrow the small truck as well, so it gets plenty of use during the week and certainly justifies the expense and slight inconvenience of driving separately.

We stopped at the local store to put gas in the trucks, get ice and bread and fuss around. Finally, we got on the way.

The time passed pleasantly as I listened to my audio book and followed my beloved husband and horses down the highway. The rain that had plagued us for 2 weeks had stopped and the weather was perfect. I stopped several times for breaks, but Daniel kept moving right along. I would pull off for a rest stop and then catch up since we only drive 65 mph max with the rig. Worked quite well as I generally am the one pushing for breaks.

We arrived at camp just as it was getting dark. I quickly unloaded Serts and Tanna, hoping to avoid Serts peeing in the trailer, but alas, he already had. Tamra Schoech (ride manager) and Susan Kasemeyer (all-around helper and regional AERC director) came over to help Daniel with the corral panels and invite us to eat with them. When we got the horses and cat settled, we did join them for dinner, bringing our yummy Subway subs over and greeting Sarah Engsberg (TEVIS 2009 WINNER!!!!).



The rest of the evening was spent in pleasant conversation with the small group and hearing all about the Tevis adventure. What a very cool story. Sarah really needs to write that up!

Monday, September 28

We woke up early and had a yummy breakfast before heading over to Susan's trailer (the gathering spot) to find out what the plan for the day was.

I got a couple of trail marking routes assigned by Sarah and headed back to the trailer to saddle up Serts.



Susan K. also headed out to mark trail on her horse, Rushcreek Quantum.



Tanna was not happy that I left him behind, but Serts was ready to go. Unfortunately, he wasn't too understanding when I wanted him to stand still! After a few chats about it, we got into a rhythm. We would trot until I decided it was time to put out a ribbon. Stand still for a few seconds for me to clip the ribbons (different colored flagging tape tied to a clothes pin) to a branch and off we'd go again. While trotting, I would grab my next clothes pin and let the ribbon unravel in the breeze while watching for the next perfect spot to mark.



Sarah has a great system for the trails. Each intersection is assigned a letter...a waypoint. So my instructions for marking the section I had been sent on was simply to change which ribbon colors I was putting out between each waypoint. Every time I came to a waypoint, I consulted my instruction sheet to determine which ribbons to put up to the next waypoint. Each intersection also included additional pie plates to show which loop for which distance on which day went which direction. Those are enough to get you around the trail without any ribbons. But the ribbons went up, too.

Serts and I had a great time and ended up back in camp after a couple hours. I tied Serts to the outside of the corral and gave him some hay and water. Then I ate something, swapped out my ribbons for the next route I was to mark and went off again.

Serts wasn't convinced that we should be going out again, but he didn't need too much urging before we were into our rhythm again, marking trail. This time, we ended up on a ridge and I was able to get a signal on my blackberry to be able to check my email and send a couple. Serts was unhappy about standing still so long, so was happy to be moving again. Funny how this lazy horse has blossomed into a good distance horse.

We headed back to camp where I untacked Serts and took him and Tanna for a walk about camp. Then it was time to set up the shower in the back of the trailer. So nice to have a shower!

The evening was again spent with friends, eating supper and chatting until time for bed.

Tuesday, September 29

I slept a little longer this day and ended up without much time for breakfast. I did get to have a yummy muffin fresh from Susan's oven (what luxury!) and gulped down some milk.

I decided Serts had enough riding since I wanted to ride him in the Friday LD, so Tamra was gracious enough to allow me to ride her horse, Rising, for some more trail marking.



Tamra saddled up Rising in her saddle and Daniel helped me get my kids' safety stirrups set up. The stirrups were from the saddle used by our nieces as they have a 2" neck and home-made cages. Even though the stirrups weren't deep enough for me, I decided it was better than risking my foot going through non-caged stirrups.



Susan Reid arrived Monday night with her mare, Malak. It was great to see them again. Malak used to be owned by the barn owner where I boarded my horses for a couple years. She looked great and I was happy to visit with Susan again.

Susan and Malak were also ready to go trail marking. Rather than go separately, we decided it would be more fun to go together. So we loaded the horses up with parachute ribbons and headed out.



It took us a long while to get into a good groove. As is often the case with the parachute ribbons, it took some trial and error before we could move comfortably down the trail without losing half the ribbons on the ground.

Rising was super good about the ribbons. He never batted an eye at them fluttering all around him. He is a very good horse. He wasn't so sure about standing still while Malak left us, though! It became a good opportunity to work though some separation anxiety in a controlled situation.

A side note about trail marking. Each loop or segment is colored in a different color ribbon. The convention at the rides I've been to and personally marked is to put the ribbons on the right side of the trail. When a turn is approaching, we mark the turn by putting 3 ribbons on the side of the trail the turn is. So if you're make a left-hand turn, the 3 ribbons will be on your left just before the turn. We like to put what we call a "confidence" ribbon just after the turn, visible from the turn (on the right) to give the rider confidence that they are following the correct trail.

When Susan and I came to a turn, she would go ahead and go around the corner to put the confidence ribbon and then wait while I worked with Rising to put up the 3 turn ribbons. He was quite insistent that we should stay with the mare, but I won. It took longer than having Malak stand close, but it was good brain work. Rising was never dangerous, just dancy and didn't like to stand long enough for me to put one ribbon up, much less three. But we managed just fine.

We had been out for about 10 miles when I realized that Rising felt "off" at the trot. Something wasn't right. I asked Susan to watch him trot ahead of her and she agreed that he was a bit lame. I hopped off and felt his legs and checked for rocks in his shoes. I couldn't find anything obvious and I hadn't felt him trip at all. I mounted and we walked the next 2.5 miles into camp, finishing our trail marking. Rising was sound at the walk, so I didn't feel too bad riding him. But I did feel bad I was bringing him back unsound. :( Rising didn't seem to think it was a good reason to walk as he kept asking to trot! Of course, I didn't give in and made him walk the entire way back.

Back at camp, Tamra unsaddled him and trotted him out for me. I didn't see anything going, but definitely could see it when she trotted him back to me. She put him in his pen and iced his left front, where there was now some heat and swelling. Poor Rising. :( I apologized, but Tamra was gracious and didn't blame me for his lameness. Rising was sound by the time they left for home after the ride, but it did put him out of being ridden in any of the competitions later that week.

One note about the trail marking. While out marking, we came across a couple of trail riders. The lady was riding a beautiful pinto Arab (1/8 pinto) gelding. He was about 7 and had been gelded only 6 months before. Even though Malak was right there, he had perfect manners and didn't show any stud-like behavior. He had a nice conformation and I was drooling a lot. He was short and stout and big boned without being too muscly. The lady said I could have him for $6000. Too bad I didn't have it!! I think he would make a wonderful endurance mount! Sigh.

Back to our story!

While Susan and I had been out trail-marking, more rigs had pulled in. Camp was getting fuller by the minute. I got Serts and Tanna out and took them for a walk to stretch their legs and let them look about.

Then Daniel and I went to "town" to get ice and make some phone calls.

The volunteer dinner that night was provided by Holly and Jim Gage. Daniel and I are vegetarians, so we took along our own entree (freeze-dried vegetable lasagna). But the Gages had some wonderful Gouda cheese grits and seasoned green beans as well as bread and cookies that were much appreciated. Yum!!

I was good-naturedly teased when I left around 8 PM to go prepare for bed. I still had to walk the horses and feed them and tend the cat, so it's not like I actually went to sleep at 8!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I had already been out marking trail for 2 days. So I determined that Wednesday I would not mark trail and begin preparations for the 75 mile ride on Thursday. However, when I went out to see what was going on, Sarah asked me to finish marking some sections of trail as she had to go out to mark a far section. Serts was resting up for his LD and Rising was still a bit off, so I was out a horse until Susan Kasemeyer (who'd also been out marking trail during the week) offered up her horse Rushcreek Quantum, affectionately known as Tummy, for me to use.

I immediately accepted as I quite enjoyed riding Rising and jumped at the opportunity to ride another Rushcreek gelding.

This time, I used my own saddle, so I was able to have my own stirrups. My saddle didn't exactly fit Tummy to a T, but it would do the job for an hour and a half session marking trail.

The first thing Tummy did when I got on him was to move off. He's not supposed to move when mounted so I told him to stand still. He was just testing me because when I had to dismount and remount on trail later, he stood rock still until I asked him to move off.

That was the only thing he tried the entire ride. He did very well for me and didn't shy or spook. A good solid horse. I had a great time with him.



I'd be pleased to have Rising or Tummy in my pasture (and I have told their owners that, but neither took me up on it!). These two are definitely making me consider a Rushcreek horse for my next endurance mount.

Back at camp, I turned my attention to pre-ride things. I registered and received my ride card for the 75 as well as the Friday 25 so I wouldn't have to try getting to the registration table during my ride on Thursday. Tanna vetted in well as usual.



Daniel and Joe went off clearing trail using the mule.



After vetting in, I began gathering my vet check items. All vet checks would be in camp, but since Tanna and Serts get agitated when I take one of them away, I wanted to minimize that by having a vet check area away from my trailer. I consulted my list as I placed item after item in our cart to take to our chosen area. Finally, everything was ready and waiting.

I found Michael Beesley and offered up Tanna for his muscle study. Michael came to the trailer and looked Tanna over and asked some questions about his training.



The ride meeting was early the first day, starting at 5 PM. I enjoy having time after the ride meeting to finish getting ready for the ride or just relax and hang out.

The 75 mile ride would have 4 loops. The loop distances were 20 miles, 22 miles, 16 miles and 16 miles. The last 2 loops were exactly the same as some riders would be out after dark and it's nice to already have been through that trail once.



The 75 and 55 mile riders would all start at 6 AM with a controlled start. 75 mile rides have a maximum allowed time (including breaks and holds) of 18 hours. So I had to be done by midnight. My plan was a slow and steady pace which would bring me in around 10 or 10:30 PM.



Hold times were 50 minutes and pulse criteria was 64 bpm before the hold time would start. There were 11 starters in the 75. Enough for all the finishing riders to get full AERC points, which wasn't important to me personally (I don't ride enough to be in the points standings), but I was happy for my friends that did want the points.

The head vet was Dr. Otis Schmitt



supported by Dr. Ken Marcella



and Dr. Alice (sorry, her last name escapes me!).



Dr. Ike Nelson had helped vet in the riders on Wednesday afternoon since Dr. Ken and Dr. Alice were not able to get there in time for vet-in.



After the ride meeting, it was time for dinner. Daniel and I brought along macaroni and cheese and a vegetable and supplemented that with Becky Schmitt's yummy cornbread and some other goodies from the volunteer table.

It was at dinner that my plan for the 75 began to change. Joe Schoech had arrived earlier in the day, but I hadn't had a chance to talk to him all day because we were both super busy. But we had briefly talked about riding together on the 75 as we had done on the 100 last year.

Joe began the conversation by saying he wanted to be done by dark. The second I heard that, I figured we would not be riding together. Sunset was around 6:30. That's only 12.5 hours, including 3 holds, to do a 75? I've done 55s slower than that!! Um, yeah, ok, whatever!! We would have to average 7.5 mph on every loop to do that. I have done some 7.5 mph loops, but for this slow poke, that seemed way too aggressive. And that doesn't count time in the vet check before the hold started.

We discussed these very concerns and Joe conceded that by dark might be a bit aggressive and we could dial it back a little. So we agreed to start the ride together and see how things went. If I got uncomfortable with the speed, I'd back off and he could decide whether to slow down with me or go on.

With that settled, I headed off to do the evening chores and to bed for the big day coming up.

Thursday, October 1 - RIDE DAY

I always get up 2 hours before start time, so this morning I was up by 4 AM. I slipped out to give the horse breakfast and some alfalfa hay, then back to the camper. Breakfast was an egg patty, a fake chicken patty and a hashbrown patty.

Then outside to tack up. Things were going fine until I put the bridle on and realized the chin strap was dangling. The clamp to hold one side on had been open for awhile, but now it was missing completely. Daniel helped me out by trying some different solutions until he managed to find the missing clamp and reattach it. This time closing it so it wouldn't fall off! Whew. This is why I get up 2 hours before the start!!

Once tacked up, I took Tanna to find Dr. Ken to pull his blood for the blood analyzer. Then mounted up and ready for a warm-up. There were around 25 riders in the two distances (75 and 55 milers were starting together). I saw Joe and a few minutes before the start, fell into step beside him until the controlled start.

It was still quite dark when we started, so the controlled start lasted more than a mile to the first paved road. Tanna was mostly controllable as nobody was going anywhere very fast. It was a very nice extended warm-up! :-D There was some trotting, but no run-aways that I heard about, so quite successful. At the road, I bid farewell to Sarah who had started us off and let Tanna settle into a good trot.

Tanna and I have a love-hate relationship the first loop of a ride. I love him, really I do, but most first loops I'm ready to kill him or sell him. He fights to go much faster than I believe we should and this makes for two very mad individuals. However, I was determined to break the cycle of anger and decided that I would still be in control (big brain/little brain!), but I wouldn't get mad at Tanna's antics or insistence to go faster. Getting mad never helped anyway and just made me unhappy.

So we start off from the controlled start and I allowed Tanna to move out with Joe and Kit coming along behind. We come on some riders, of course, and we hang back and wait. When the trail spit us onto another gravel road, I let Tanna canter around the rider in front of us to enter the next section of trail with nobody in his path.

Tanna was amazingly under control and not flipping out. He was focused and business like. Adrenaline was coursing through both of us, but I didn't feel like I was on a run-away. It was a heady, incredible feeling. I noticed Joe did not pass the rider behind, but I let Tanna stretch out into a good trot and knew that Kit and Joe would come along as they had time.

Suddenly, I see an Easyboot Glove in the middle of the trail. I was a bit in front of the other riders, but knew I only had seconds on them. I wasn't racing, but didn't want to slow down either or slow the other riders. I was going to go on by, but at the last second, I asked Tanna to stop. He did, quite quickly, and I dropped to the ground, grabbed the boot and swung back into the saddle and was off at a trot again before the riders caught up with me. What fun!!!

We continued on and I noticed we were 4 riders now. Joe was followed by Don and Nicki Meuten, whom I had never had the pleasure of meeting before. Joe offered to take the boot, but I refused, holding it in my right hand and controlling Tanna with my left.

After a little bit of riding, Tanna stumbled a bit and the reins flew out of my hand and over his head! They were hanging straight down, almost to the ground. Oh, my! I leaned down and grabbed the reins and hollered back over my shoulder "I'm going to STOP now!" I pulled on the reins (both sides going to his left side). Tanna slowed and stopped. I flung the reins back over his head (still one-handed as I had that boot in my right) and we took off again!

What a rush. I has having the best time! This was by far the best first loop I'd had in a very long time. Maybe ever. Tanna seemed very happy, too. We were a well matched team! THIS, THIS is what I do endurance for!

At a drinking spot, I passed the easyboot to Don, electrolyted Tanna, and then we all took off again. We left the easyboot at the next checkpoint we saw.



At many of the waypoints, there were ham radio operators reporting our numbers back to base camp. It's a handy system to be able to keep track of riders and know where to go look if one doesn't show up in a timely manner.

After awhile, we split off from Don and Nicki as they were riding the 55 and had a shorter loop than we did. We continued on for another 4 miles and caught up with Terry Price and Jim Gage just before coming into camp for the vet check.

We took just 2 hours and 25 minutes to do that loop. Tanna's HR had been fine through the entire loop and we entered the pulse box just 5 minutes after reaching the in-timers, which was a little bit of a walk. I didn't have to pull tack for this first vet check, so that helped with my time, but I was quite happy with his recovery.



Kit also recovered quickly and both horses were settled back at their vet check area in short order. We had the horses a bit apart due to layout of the vet check area.



I put a feed bag on Tanna to see if I could convince him to eat that way. He did eat some. Probably more than he would have otherwise, but it wasn't a rousing success. I finally removed the bag and Tamra brought us a flake of very yummy Timothy hay. He picked at that and the alfalfa and took a long drink. Drinking in the vet check is actually a big deal. Usually he waits until we're back on trail on the second loop to drink. All in all, I was pleased with his eating during the first check.

I also ate, remembering 100 last year and the problems I had at the end.

Our out time was 9:20 and off we went again on a 22 mile out and back loop. The horses were alert and energetic. Tanna was not pulling on me. We were by ourselves at this point; the field having spread out as it normally does.

Joe and I chatted. This time Joe was riding in front. After about 4 miles, we began to see other riders coming back on the same trail. All the riders were doing this loop. The LDs would turn around at an earlier spot. I love being able to see all the riders on an out and back. It doesn't bother Tanna at all and he doesn't usually get morose or think he has to go back with them. He's done enough out and backs to realize he has to go to the end before he can turn around.

We saw several more riders before we caught up with Jim and Terry. We rode with them the rest of the loop, chatting about current AERC issues and various other topics. Terry and Jim were both riding mares. Terry's mare was particularly a non-stop mare. She just motored right along.

We got back into the vet check after 4 hours. Our average had definitely taken a hit on this loop! We moved along at a decent speed, but there were more walking breaks on this loops and we lolly-gagged around water, trying to get the horses to drink more.

This time, when I got back to my vet area, I pulled the saddle as the sun was high and the day was a bit warmer. It still only took me 8 minutes to present for a pulse.



But when I pulled the saddle, I was disappointed to find Tanna's back was sore at the loins. Michael came by and checked him for me and said that he thought it wasn't awful. I definitely thought it was awful!



We pulsed in and then had a short wait for a vet. I fed Kit and Tanna hay out of a Yellowhammer bag.



We got to see Dr. Ken for the vet check. Tanna was also a little girthy and had a small lump under one elbow. Other parameters looked ok. Dr. Ken held our card and asked to see Tanna before I tacked up to go back out. I had two loops to go. 32 miles. With a sore back. I was sure we would be pulled. Wasn't sure it'd be a good idea to go back out.



I found out that Kit had the same issues as well as a loose shoe.

Well, this isn't Guy fixing Kit's shoe. But it's a good picture!



During the check, I forced myself to think rationally and not panic. What should I do? Michael worked on him a bit and advised collecting Tanna more and staying off his loins to alleviate the back pain.



I also looked at my Specialized saddle and removed some shims from the back to take the pressure off the loins and at the least move the pressure. I changed out my girth to a different length with a longer woolback cover. Finally, I sat down and forced some food and water down while Tanna ate and drank and rested.

With 10 minutes left in my hold, I presented back to Dr. Ken. He said the back was better and I could go on out if I wanted to.

So with a prayer in my heart and a pat for Tanna, I mounted up.



Joe and Kit were going back out, too. With some changes to their tack as well. We were worried and spent a good deal of the next 30 minutes quiet. I focused on riding balanced and collecting Tanna.

We caught up with Jim and Terry again and rode the rest of the loop with them. Unfortunately, with still 4 or 5 miles left in the loop, Kit pulled a shoe! We held up while Joe slipped an easy boot on. At that point, Jim or I always rode behind Joe to watch the boot to make sure it stayed on.

We arrived back in camp just after 4 PM, passing a few riders completing their 55. We still had miles to go, so trotted on past them into camp. Tanna had done well on that loop, I thought.





Jim and Terry and their mares.



When I pulled tack, Tanna's back was still a little sore. Tanna pulsed in ok and I purposefully went back to Dr. Ken. He said the back wasn't any worse than it had been at the end of the last check! Which is pretty good considering we'd just done 16 miles. His girth was still bothering him enough to make his HR a little high when a stethescope was pressed into it. Jugular HR was fine. We were told we could go out again. Kit also vetted through.

I decided not to change anything in Tanna's tack. Things seemed to be working ok. Nothing was getting worse. So I settled to rest and eat and wait. One more 16 mile loop; some of it in the dark.

I was saddled and ready at our out time, but hung back, waiting for Joe. He had decided to leave the easyboot on Kit, rather than tack another shoe on. Pulling that shoe had done some damage to the hoof, so we'd just keep an eye on the boot.

We checked at the out timer and learned that Terry and Jim had gone out again. Joe went in front so I could watch the easy boot and away we went on our final loop. We did catch up with Terry and Jim and took turns leading.

About half-way through the loop, we stopped at one of the checkpoints for about 10 minutes as the sun set and darkness descended. There was soaked alfalfa hay and water and the horses tanked up. Finally, we had to pull their noses out of the hay and go on. We only had about 8 miles left, but it would be in the dark.

The four of us continued on, our speed slowing some as we were cautious. We were close to our goal. No point in chancing a twisted ankle on rocks. We were all wearing headlamps and being cautious.

A few miles from camp, we realized Kit had lost his boot. Fortunately, Joe had another one along and put that one on.

Tanna led for awhile. We were nearing camp and we all knew it. When we reached the 1/2 mile to Finish markers, we re-arranged ourselves in the order we wanted to finish. Tanna and I would top ten AND turtle this ride if we passed the vet check. Does it get any better?

We were very happy to see Nancy! We all dismounted (some more gracefully than others, which caused a bit of hilarity) and walked back into the vet check area.

I quickly stripped Tanna's tack and presented for a completion. Dr. Otis checked Tanna over and declared him Fit to Continue and Completed! Yay!!!! So proud of my boy! And while it wasn't a 100, I had taken better care of myself. No sickness, so I could enjoy our victory.

The other horses, all 3 completed as well, so we were all thrilled.

Daniel had vetted Serts in for me while I was out on the last loop, so I had some work to do to get ready for the LD. First, I walked both horses for a bit, then settled them with their supper.

Then I cleaned up my vet area of Tanna-specific stuff. Then back to the trailer to prep Serts' tack and prep my stuff. At some point, Daniel brought me some vegetarian lasagna from Tamra. Yum, yum. I scarffed it down between chores.

Just before I went to bed, Dr. Ken came to take Tanna's blood for his follow-up analysis. Then I went to bed. Plenty of time to sleep before the next ride!

Friday, October 2: RIDE DAY

This morning, I got to sleep until 5:30. Wow! What a treat! I actually got up a little earlier than my alarms. So I took both horses for a walk around camp before settling into my normal pre-ride routine.

I saddled Serts without a problem and mounted, ready for the ride. Since we didn't finish the 75 until 8 PM, I had missed the ride meeting. But I knew the important stuff from asking ride management. Start time (7:30), pulse criteria (64 at the check; 60 at the end), hold time (50 minutes), and loops (Pink - 16 miles & Red/White - 9 miles).

I settled Serts in the middle of the pack during the controlled start and waited. When we were released, I let Serts move out. As long as he didn't canter, I left him alone.

A couple miles out, we went through a yellow jacket nest. We were in at the back of a line of 6 horses or so. The ones at the front started hollering bees and the horses were not happy. I felt a sharp sting just above my ankle brace on my left leg. But Serts just motored right through. I don't think he got stung.

I let Serts move out, but kept an eye on his HR and backed him off if he became too high. We were riding by ourselves today. We occasionally were with another group, but that didn't last too long at any one time. The weather was over-cast and even a little drizzly. But that's perfect weather for Serts.



When we reached the vet check, I hopped off and walked to our vet area. We presented for pulse quickly and Serts pulsed in at 52. His HR recoveries amaze me!

Serts and I ate during the check. Serts wasn't so sure about all this. He wanted to go back to the trailer and Tanna and was not entirely happy with me that I was not allowing him to do so. The check seemed quite long to me, but it was fine. When it was time to saddle again, I caught sight of Daniel and called him over to help me. Serts is taller than Tanna, so I welcome a little help getting the saddle on straight.

When I went out on the last loop, Serts pinned his ears and was generally in a bad mood. I let him work it out and we headed back on trail. He perked up as we left camp. His motivation to keep up the speed was much less as he didn't have horses directly in front of him. I encouraged him to keep up the pace. Our pace was slower than the first loop, but still a good solid trot and some cantering.

The middle of the loop had us coming in the back of camp, continuing past the vet check and back out the front of camp. Serts was completely unhappy with me. His ears went back and his mood blackened considerably. I did not let him pause, but kept him moving. It took a bit longer before his mood brightened again. Clearly, I was out of my mind to by-pass camp that way!

Near the end of the loop, I ended up riding in proximity with some other riders. That helped Serts' mood. We followed them into the finish. I hopped off again and took Serts' bridle off.



Then I pulled his tack and quickly worked to get his HR down by putting water on his belly mostly. He pulsed in at 56 in 14th place! Yay! His vet out was good, too, except for his ears back when I trotted him away from Tanna and the trailer. I was happy to get Dr. Otis for the vet out and he gave me some encouraging words about Tanna and his 75 the day before.



The rest of the day went by like a blur.



I settled Serts with Tanna, then showered and hung out around camp, just enjoying being there with nothing to do!





Angie Fura arrived and I snuggled with her new puppy, Reese, and introduced the puppy around while Angie got settled.









Serts remained quite ill-tempered. When I took the horses for a walk later in the day, he even snapped at Tanna, which is unusual. I could not understand his attitude. I definitely didn't like it. He seemed fine physically. His HR was elevated (60) at one point, but I pulled off his cooler and the HR dropped, so I think he was just warm. He did eventually get into a better mood.

That evening, we attended awards and the ride meeting. It was packed. I got a bit claustrophobic, so moved my chair off by myself to enjoy the meeting. The 75 mile awards were first and I received a very cool flexible bucket and lead rope for top 10, a turtle donated by Mrs. Barnett for turtle and a nice green t-shirt for our completion. For Serts' completion in the 25, I chose a waist pack with reflective tape.

We had such a great week! I didn't want it to end. Even though Tanna had some back issues (he was much better by Friday AM, btw), the 75 was wonderful. I had the best connection with Tanna. We were in sync and I haven't had a better first loop! Marking trail earlier in the week, with 2 Rushcreek horses, no less, hanging out with friends every night. Just the best time. God blessed me with a relaxing week. I could do that again. :)

Small update

Went to Yellowhammer last week and had a blast. Will work on my ride story in the next week.

While there, got a great idea to play with. So new experiments coming up over the next few weeks. As soon as the supplies I ordered get here. I'll give you a hint. It's hoof protection, but not boots!

BSF 2009

Days leading up to our vacation were stressful and expensive. We took our truck in for an inspection and to look at why the brakes and steering were not working quite right. Friday afternoon, we picked up the truck, expecting it to be fixed, but Daniel still wasn't happy with it. We were scheduled to leave on Tuesday. Monday was Labor Day and nobody would be open. So Daniel worked on the truck Sunday and finally pronounced it ready.



So we spent a great deal of the afternoon packing the camper and trailer.






Tuesday, September 8

We finally loaded up the horses and got going around 11:30 AM. After a few leisurely stops, we arrived at the BSF camp ground around 4 PM.




Daniel unloaded the panels and we spent a long time trying to arrange the panels in a suitable configuration so that both horses would be in the shade. We were not satisfied. We finally ended up with a nice arrangement. Serts' pen would have some shade in the afternoon. We could move the dividing panel to open up into one larger pen for both horses, so we decided that would work.



We were both quite hungry, so I fired up the camp stove to boil some water. We keep freeze-dried entrees and vegetables in the camper. I chose Vegetable Lasagna, Green Beans and Corn for our dinner. After the water boiled, I poured 1 or 2 cups into each pouch and zipped them back up. I also prepared some Blueberry Cheesecake for dessert.

Ten minutes later, I served up the meal.



It was very yummy! The entire meal (including dessert) cost $20. A little pricey, but so good. Without the dessert, it was only $13 and we could have done without that. The dessert was more like cheesecake pudding in texture, but the taste was quite good.

After visiting awhile with friends, we turned in for the night.

Wednesday, September 9

We woke up leisurely and Daniel headed out to see what he could find going on. I got up a little slower, fussed over the horses and the cat and then hopped on Serts bareback and ponied Tanna for them to stretch their legs.



I ended up near the ride management area and had a great time chatting with friends and meeting Tamra Schoech's new gelding, Rushcreek Rising.



Finally, decided it was time for breakfast, so back to the camper for some pancakes for us and beet pulp for the horses.

After breakfast, Daniel went back wandering and I pulled my running shoes on and headed out for a jog. I so enjoy getting on the trails. I use my iPod and Cardio Coach to motivate me. I tend to get lost in the solitude and was quite startled by a rider out for a look at the trails on horseback. She called several times to me, but I was in my own world and only saw her when I glanced back. I apologized profusely, glad the horse hadn't been startled. I turned the volume down a little and turned back to camp.

Back at camp, Daniel showed up to help me set the shower up. We have a zodiac propane water heater. Daniel rigged up a tarp as a shower curtain. It stays in the trailer all the time, but folds out to make a nice shower stall. A bucket full of water to run through the pump and I was ready for a nice relaxing shower.

Then I walked the horses some more and headed to the ride management area to hang out with those that were there. I had a great time listening to the stories, sharing some of my own and watching folks arrive. I finally decided I had to get ready for the next day, so went to get my registration packet and vet Tanna in.



I spent the next couple hours packing my away vet check bag with hay, apples, carrots, water bottles, grain, granola bars, syringes, hand-held HRM, brushes, gall salve and all the other things on my check list.

Daniel and I had another very nice meal made from our freeze-dried stash and headed back for the ride meeting.

The vet cards at BSF are very nice. All the vet information is on one side and a map is on the back side. Very handy for a rider to have the map right there.

There were around 60 riders for the Thursday ride. Split pretty evenly between the 50 mile and the 30 mile rides. 50 mile ride had 3 loops with 2 50 minute holds. Pulse criteria was 64. Start time at 7 AM.

Back to the camper for last minute details, feed the horses, walk the horses, give Sib (the cat) her pill, and head to bed. 5 AM came early.

Thursday, September 10

At 5 AM, 3 alarms signaled time to get up. I was already awake as I am usually on ride morning. I hopped up and begin my check list. Feed the horses, make breakfast, get dressed, saddle. I dressed carefully in my favorite competition riding tights and the t-shirt I had received for volunteering at Race the Trace in May. Roger Barrett was the ride manager and he died in August from cancer. I wore the shirt to honor and remember him and I thought of him often through the day.

I lunged Tanna in a couple circles to each direction to make sure everything looked good and up I went. Tanna felt the excitement, but was controllable as I walked him to the starters to give them my number (lucky 13!) and then a warm-up waiting for the ride to start.

And then we were off. I headed out at a brisk trot, until I came on a rider trying to mount up. I stopped Tanna and waited for him to get on before continuing into the woods at a good trot.

The first loop was around 16.5 miles long out to the first vet check. Tanna pulled and fidgeted and fussed and complained to go faster. This is quite normal for him. He is convinced that he can run the entire ride. But BSF has lots of elevation change and Tanna is not a mountain horse. We just don't have mountains to train on. So we spent the 2 1/2 hours fighting.

Daniel met me at a couple places on trail and got some nice pictures.







Into the first vet check, pulled off the saddle and set it on the convenient guard rail just perfect for a saddle rack.



Then to the vet. Tanna vetted through ok and then stared at the feed, carrots, hay and apples as if he'd never eaten such things before. He has a very bad habit of not eating at the first vet check and this ride was no exception, much to my irritation. He did nibble some.

Out for our next loop. I took it easy and snapped some pictures along the way.





The scenery was nice and the trails were great. Tanna was a little doggy, but we made it through the loop. We didn't see other horses much. A couple other riders down by the river, but I was not in a mood to ride with others. Not much for Tanna to eat on this loop.

We came into the check and paused waiting for 2 or 3 horses to go out on their last loop back to camp. Tanna vetted right through with a B on gut sounds. Normal for him. Especially since he hadn't eaten much since breakfast.

Tanna did eat this check. He sampled everything he had in front of him, including the neighbor's leftovers. There were few riders left in the check. Most had headed back to camp already. I kept checking Tanna's HR, but it was hanging in the 60s which is not normal for him. Usually he will drop into the 40s after vetting in. I listened to his guts and wasn't happy with those either.

30 minutes after vetting in, Dr. Ken rechecked him. By this time, Tanna's HR had dropped some and he had a decent CRI of 52/52. The CRI is the Cardiac Recovery Index and consists of checking the horse's HR, trotting him 250 feet and then rechecking the HR a minute after the first HR check. If the second number is higher than the first number, the horse could be showing some distress. Tanna's gut sounds had gone down from first vetting in, so that was a concern.

After a discussion with Dr. Ken, I decided to head back to camp on the last loop and carry some hay with me to hand-feed along the way. If I felt Tanna wasn't recovering properly, I would use my Spot Messenger to notify Daniel to come get me. Tamra was a complete lifesaver and provided some yummy alfalfa hay for the loop.

So out we went on our last loop. Hurrying to make time where we could and me hand-feeding Tanna from the saddle. After a few miles, Tanna perked up more and we were in business. He had always been willing to trot when I asked, but now he was trotting on his own. I was watching his HR and was satisfied he was doing ok.

We crossed the river and faced a climb up. Tanna power-walked the hill, our average speed only dropped a little from the effort and he was more than willing to go. I had considered getting off and hiking the hill, but Tanna convinced me he was doing great and we made much better time than if I'd been off.

We caught up with Dixie and Cowboy and rode with them some. When we reached the top and were on the flat, I was mostly letting Tanna do what he wanted. He would canter or power trot. Finally, I had to pull off and have a quick break and Dixie went on. Then Tanna and I continued on to the finish and Nancy. How I love seeing Nancy at the end of my rides! :-)

Back into camp, I pulled Tanna's tack and threw a cooler over him and took him to the vet. He looked good. I took him to Dr. Ken for his completion exam and Dr. Ken said he looked better than he had at the check. Not that he had been really bad before, but his HR and guts were better this time. So yay! Another finish of a tough trail.



I was scheduled to ride Serts in the LD on Friday, but I wasn't sure I was ready or Serts was ready for the ride. I was afraid Serts wouldn't be able to do the tough trail Tanna and I had just done that day. But others who knew the trails better convinced me that the Friday trail was easier and I should go for it. So, thanks to Tamra and Susan Kasemeyer, I finally decided to go ahead and go. However, dinner was already underway, so I couldn't vet in that night.

We had dinner and hung out for the awards and ride meeting. I chose a pretty purple shirt for our completion award. It would be my shirt during the next day's ride. I listened to the instructions for the 30 miler and then headed back to camp to ready my vet check bag for the next day's away vet check.

I finally got to bed after 10:30 PM.

Friday, September 11

I got up at 5:30 AM and took the horses for a walk to limber them up a bit. Then back to the trailer for their breakfast and mine.

As I filled out the date on Serts' vet card, I reflected a bit on September 11, 2001.

Just before 7 AM, I took Serts up to the start area where the 50s were gathering to start their ride. I did not expect the spinning idiot I ended up with. Serts was beside himself with excitement.

After the 50s took off, I asked Dr. Ken to vet Serts in for the 30. Serts would not stand still. He side stepped and jerked his head and was a major pain. I apologized several times. Note to self: vet Serts in the day before the ride at all costs, even if you don't think you're going to ride. Sub-note to self: let Serts watch as many starts as possible. At least he had great impulsion at the trot out.

After the vet in, I hurried back to the trailer to saddle up. I still wasn't sure what the day would hold, but I knew I had a lot of horse to face it with!

Daniel usually helps me mount Tanna at the start of a competition because Tanna has been known to be silly and buck like crazy when I get on. Having somebody at his head helps with that. But this morning he wanted to take off to go a-wandering before I was ready to mount, so I cheerfully told him to go on as Serts is much easier to deal with.

I led Serts out of the pen and tied him to the outside of it. Then I went in and opened the divider so Tanna would have the entire pen while we were gone. Despite the dancing Serts and the snorting Tanna, I mounted quickly and headed for the start to give my number (L14) to the waiting timers.

Serts was a bundle of energy, but he has a completely different feel than Tanna. I always feel like I'm on a powder keg with Tanna. About to explode. But Serts just dances and doesn't really feel scary. More fun than scary.

After giving my number to the timers, I continued to warm Serts up and spotted Tamra and Rising. We chatted for a minute. Rising was quite calm and steady. Like an old hand. Very impressive. I teased Tamra a bit about waking him up. She took it good naturedly and said she quite liked it, thank you!

Since this was only Serts' second LD ride, we hung out near the back of the main pack until trail was open, then I let him trot easily past the vets doing the second day trot out (looking for soundness issues).


And we were off! I found my self tucked behind Tykee and her granddaughter Lily. Lily was riding Mazon, a 25-year-old Arabian gelding with lots of experience. Quite a fun pair to ride with.



We passed a couple of small groups, including Tamra whose horse had quite miraculously awakened. ;)

After awhile, I decided the pace was too fast for Serts and let Tykee and Lily pull away from us. Of course, Serts thought that was awful and snorted and side-passed and did all sorts of fun moves. Still didn't scare me. I laughed at him as his HR kept dropping even with all his antics.

We let a couple more riders pass us and I settled him into a good 8 mph trot. He startled when another group of 3 came up behind us so I quickly pulled him off to the side to let them pass. I was happy to see Tamra and happier still when she pulled off with us and declared she'd hang with us for awhile.

What fun! I've ridden with her husband Joe (National Championship 100 anyone??), but hadn't had the pleasure of riding with Tamra.

We discussed our plan and found we had about the same goal in mind. 5.5 - 6 mph average for the loop.

We rode along and I admired Rising. We came up on another rider at a creek crossing and she fell in behind us.

We fell into a fun pattern of walking and trotting. Sometimes Serts in the lead, sometimes Rising. Our average speed was dropping with each walking stint and our average speed neared our desired 6 mph.

I was a bit concerned about Serts' HR. It was running between 150 and 170 at a trot. Much higher than Tanna's HR. But as I observed his attitude and energy, I began to relax and just enjoy the ride. The walking stints allowed his HR to drop, so as long as he was recovering, I was ok with his HR. I did mention it a lot, though! LOL. However, the trail was gradually climbing for a good portion of the loop and is deceptive about taking energy out of the horses.

Not far from the vet check, I could see Daniel in the distance and dropped back so Tamra could have her picture taken. Daniel was not the official photographer, but I really wanted a good picture of me and Serts on trail as our first LD had been rainy and icky and no trail pictures out of that ride!



After Tamra passed Daniel, I sent Serts on.



He was focused on Rising and didn't see Daniel until we were quite close to him. Serts spooked a little, but I was prepared for it and it wasn't too bad.

On into the vet check we went. I dismounted when I saw the check and walked him in. By the time we found our vet check area, Serts' HR was already down to 54. We quickly stripped the saddle and went into the pulse box.

Serts vetted in quite mannerly (whew!) and quite well with only an A- and the rest all As. Back to our area and Serts went after his hay and grain and apples while barely noticing the other horses around. I was having a blast and chattered like a magpie to Joe and Tamra and Dr. Ike and Rebekah during the check. I ate a granola bar, drank some water and bounced around. I didn't even realize I never sat down that entire check.

Soon it was time to saddle up again and I spent some time cleaning off Serts' neoprene girth, removing the sand. I borrowed a nearby mounting block (thanks Nelia!) and was mounted and ready before my out time. Anybody who knows me at a ride knows that's a feat! Tamra and Rising had pulsed in before us so they headed out on trail. I hung back to give Rising the thought that he was going out all alone and Rising took off like a champ. Wow, what a great horse! Joe tightened my girth for me and then off I went to catch Rising and Tamra.



Serts felt and looked great. No hesitation, no worries. What a fun day we were having. Great weather, great trail, great horse, great company. What more could one ask for???

We caught up with Tamra and Rising and we moseyed on down the trail. We came on Becky Siler-Pearman, the official photographer and she got an awesome shot of Serts and me.



Then the trail dipped and we followed it down, down to the creek crossing. Serts drank and drank and I sponged him off. Then off we went on a flat trail in the valley for awhile. We passed another rider who was having an issue with her horse. We promised to let management know to come get her and after making sure there was nothing else we could do for her, moved on.

Then the climb started. We rode for a bit and then both Tamra and I hopped off and walked for a good while. When we finally thought the trail was leveling out, we mounted up again. Only to find the trail continued to climb! I figured I'd walked enough, so stayed mounted.

Finally the trail did level out and we were headed for camp! The horses were strong and confident, doing well, working well together. Serts' HR was no longer a concern and we just had a great time.

A couple miles from camp, I dropped my sponge in a creek and had to hop off in shin-deep water to grab it. I had just bought a new biothane sponge leash and wasn't about to let it disappear! I took the opportunity to get some of the sand off Serts' belly and then mounted up again.

When I caught up with Tamra and Rising just up the hill a bit, Serts started acting ugly. Just putting his ears back and giving Rising dirty looks. I couldn't figure what his problem was. We'd gone along well all day. Sometimes Serts in front, sometimes Rising. I let Serts pull up along Rising and the second we were level, Serts' ears popped forward. I asked him to back off and when Rising nosed ahead, Serts' ears went back. Goofy horse! I scolded him lightly and backed him off so he had to stay behind Rising.

Before we knew it, we were coming out on the road and the in-timers were not far away! We were done! Serts looked great!

I dropped Serts' saddle on the ground and took him immediately to pulse in for his finish time. He did great in his vet out. All As again! He'd done it! Our second LD together! What a great feeling. I had such a great time with Serts! So proud of that horse!

The rest of the day was spent showering, packing things up for the drive home and attending the awards, dinner and ride meeting. I filled out my Yellowhammer entry form for a 75 for Tanna and a 25 for Serts the following day. I handed it to Tamra with my deposit.

Can hardly wait!

Seems like the curse of BSF is over!! At least for this year. I was so happy to be able to ride both horses and have two completions.

The ride management does a great job at BSF. I hope to be back next year to ride again. :)

More pictures on my Flickr account.

BSF, maybe

Serts' leg is all healed up!

After some expensive and nail-biting drama with the hauling truck, we are finally packing for BSF!

Tanna is scheduled for a 50 on Thursday and Serts for a 30 on Friday!

I have a hard time getting to ride this ride, so we'll have wait and see if I actually get to ride.

When you trip, you fall

Today, I took Serts out from the house for a conditioning ride. I was hoping to take Tanna out with us on a lead rope, but his left hind shoe is quite loose and one of my easyboots busted the cable when I tried to put those on.

So Serts and I headed out alone. We were on our way back, headed for a 15+ mile ride when Serts tripped and went down on his left side. When we both righted ourselves, I was pleased to find my left leg was still intact. But Serts had pulled his left front shoe off (which made him trip in the first place) and scraped up the stifle on his left hind pretty good.



Serts wasn't lame at all. I used some Kleenex to clean the blood off and noticed one cut was still bleeding. It bled slowly for several minutes before finally stopping. I hand-walked Serts for awhile, then mounted and we headed back home at a walk. I finally got ahold of Daniel and he hitched up the truck and met us about 2.5 miles from home.

Serts is still not lame and seems ok. Not stiff, just with that wound. I am treating it with blue wound spray. Hopefully it will clear up nicely without issue in time for Big South Fork.