EnduranceRider

Hoof Cast

2009-11-11T16:45:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-10-21T07:44:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-19T20:42:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-03T22:00:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-07T13:37:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-23T20:43:00.002-05:00

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.

Jealousy

2009-08-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, I took Tanna to the trails at Natchez Trace Parkway and we did about 21 miles in long slow distance (LSD). Tanna did great as usual.

Today, it was Serts' turn for a ride out from the house. Tanna likes to play games when I go out to catch him for a ride, but this time he only made a lazy half circle and then came to me. I touched his nose with the halter, patted his neck, and turned to get Serts. Curious, Tanna followed me and watched while I saddled Serts. I debated bringing Tanna along with us, but decided it would be better for me to concentrate on Serts, so left Tanna staring after us as we headed down the road.

After a good solid ride with Serts (during which we were rained on), I returned to the house and proceeded to pull tack and sponge Serts down. Tanna followed close on Serts' heels from the moment we got back in the gate and stood very close during the ending procedures.

Feels good to have Tanna be so companionable the day after a 20 mile ride. Sometimes I wonder if he really does enjoy training. Seems he does. :)

We are getting prepped for the Big South Fork Endurance Ride the week after Labor Day. Last week, I sent in my entry for the boys. Tanna is scheduled for a 50 mile ride and Serts for a 30 mile ride.

Now if I can just figure out why my stirrup leathers are pinching and FIX the problem!

Clearing trail

2009-07-29T19:36:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week, I rode Tanna and went up our usual hill and discovered that the house they've been threatening to build for years is finally being started. How dare they mess up my training hill. ;)

So tonight, with a storm looming, I hopped on Serts with my handy dandy brush clippers and headed up into our back 3 wooded acres. The horses have trails all through there, but they're not extremely conducive to riding. I spent an hour clipping small branches, vines and thorns from horseback until I finally ended up with a somewhat acceptable 0.15 mile trail up the back hill. I barely beat the rain back into the house.

Still need to spend some more time out there clipping more trails. And I need to get Daniel to get some larger limbs out of the way, but now I can do some riding back there.

Riding Lessons

2009-07-20T18:58:00.001-05:00

A week ago Sunday, Daniel and I had Rinnah and Lillie come stay with us Saturday night so the girls could have a horseback riding lesson on Sunday morning.

After breakfast, I started Rinnah's lesson first while Lillie hung out with Uncle Daniel and our new kitten, George.

Rinnah learned about a rope halter and how to tell which hole to put Serts' nose through. Then she learned to tie the knot to hold the halter on. I took it out and had her tie it three times before we moved on. She snapped the lead rope to the halter and led Serts to the trailer while I kept Tanna at bay.

Rinnah climbed up on the fender of the trailer and learned to tie a horseman's quick release knot. It took several tries, but she did it! The rope was tied to the trailer for a week until I trailered out for a training ride and then I had to remove it. I was proud of her. :)

Next, Rinnah and I brushed Serts. Rinnah brushed one side and I brushed the other. That tall mounting block I got last year to help me after I began to ride again came in quite handy!

I put the bareback pad on Serts and showed Rinnah how to buckle up the girth. English girths are quite good for that!

Rinnah then put the breast collar on. She struggled quite a bit with the snaps, but I encouraged her to keep at it and she did do it all herself.

Then it was time for the bridle and Rinnah snapped the bridle to the rope halter and the reins to the bridle.

After all that, Rinnah mounted up with a little assistance from me. She grabbed mane and I just gave her a leg up like they do for jockeys and up she went!

I led Serts into the round pen and Rinnah learned to start and stop Serts. She was doing so well, I went ahead and taught her how to neck rein Serts. Finally, we went outside the round pen. Serts decided it was time to go to the house and wouldn't heed Rinnah's cues to turn around, so I taught Rinnah how to straight rein as well.

What a fun, full lesson! It was about an hour and a half in length!

Next it was Lillie's turn. She hopped right on and I led Serts into the round pen again. She was sitting so well, I decided Lillie could learn to stop and start Serts, too. She learned that quite well! And only days before her 5th birthday!

Then Lillie wanted to go for a little ride down the road, so I hopped on behind her and we headed down the road. We found my friend, Cindy and another friend of hers out for a ride, so we hooked up together and rode for about an hour. Lillie learned to slow Serts from a trot to a walk and how to neck rein. She seemed to have a lot of fun since she kept declaring how much fun it was! We finished her lesson by her leading Serts up to the house while I rode! So I got a pony ride, too! :-)

They both did so well and I'm so proud of them! I can't wait to have them out for another ride!

Skito Bareback Pad Review

2009-07-13T05:55:00.003-05:00

I received my bareback pad a while ago and have used it several times now.

It looks to be well-constructed, with crupper and breast collar rings and a nice grip seat. I ordered the high profile pad in petra brown, which is a soft upholestry fabric. Serts doesn't have high withers, but I figured I might as well get the high profile as who knows who I'll put this on in the future.

The first thing I did was remove the inserts. I wanted to try out the pad without those first.

I decided I didn't need to use a crupper with Serts, but I did use the breastcollar, because it keeps the pad from slipping too far back on a hill and if something untoward happened, it should keep the pad from slipping completely underneath Serts.

I rode in shorts and was very pleased with the softness of the fabric against my legs. The grippy seat on the pad is a nice touch.

The inserts were still out of the pad, so after the 75 minute ride in 95 degree heat, Serts' sweat did manage to seep through to my legs. But without the pad, I'd have been sliding around in sweat after 5 minutes, so I was plenty pleased! The wet part was immediately under my thighs and probably some of that came from me. Also, there was no sliding in slippery sweat as it wasn't that bad.

Later on, I put the inserts back in and went for more rides. The inserts really do make a difference. It was very nice. I could still feel Serts, but I didn't have to feel his backbone. I gave lessons to my nieces in this pad and they didn't have a single complaint, where without the pad, they were complaining Serts' back bone was hurting them. One of my nieces rode in shorts and she didn't have a single complaint.

(That's Lillie riding. This was a few days before her 5th birthday. Isn't she cute???)

The not so good. Everything has down sides, right?

The handle on the pad is pretty useless on Serts. There is just nothing to grip against. It is a handy carrying handle, though! One can grab mane or the breast collar strap if it's need, so no big deal.

That's the only downside I can think of!

I've washed the pad a few times in my front loader washing machine and it cleans up well. Of course, I take out the inserts to wash it. Now to watch it and see how well it holds up to repeated washings.

Verdict so far is that I really like this pad and am very happy with it.

A few more pictures can be found on my Flickr account.

Which Bareback Pad

2009-06-04T21:08:00.004-05:00

I rode Serts bareback last week during an hour long interval training session. While bareback is a lot of fun, Serts sweats a lot during the summer. And I was swimming in sweat quite soon. Also, with his distance training, he has dropped some weight and is a little less comfortable to ride than when he was fat and sassy.

So I went on a quest to find a bareback pad. There are a couple things I look for in a bareback pad. Must be able to use a regular girth (english or western). NO stirrups. I think they're dangerous on a bareback pad and refuse to have them. No strap that goes over the top of the pad to rub my legs.

I did some research on my own, then asked the good folks on Ridecamp for some suggestions.

Here is what I looked at.

Cashel Bareback Pad: Around $100. This is just a big piece of foam you sit on. Heat build up concerns me greatly. (This is not the soft saddle. I had one of those and while it was super comfy for walking, the flaps bunched if we trotted any.)

Best Friend Comfort Plus Bareback pad: Around $75. Looks comfy, but I wonder about the spot where the girth comes into the pad. Also found some indication that this pad bunches up and doesn't lay nicely on the horse.

Stacy Westfall Gel Ultrasuede Bareback Pad. Around $140. Pricey, but looks very interesting and comfortable, but no mention of rings to attach a breast collar.

Little Joe Bareback Saddle ($230): Looks interesting, but I didn't like the look straps over the top of the pad. The same complaint I have about the $30 pad I have in my tack room. Maybe it wouldn't bother most people, but I want to ride in shorts and I'm delicate. ;-D

Natural Ride ($150): I like that this has a bit of stabilization, but it didn't really appeal to me.

Skito bareback pad ($250): Really like this one. Uses the same foam pads their other pads use, hopefully creating a spine channel. Uses an English/dressage girth and has crupper/breast collar rings. Can get a high profile version. Pads can be removed for a closer feel. Easily washed in the washing machine as the pads can be removed for cleaning.

There were some others I looked at briefly, but kept coming back to the Skito.

I'm in the process of getting one from Naomi Preston of www.TTeamforendurance.com. I did a special order to get the right color, fabric and high profile version, so it might take a couple or three weeks to get to me.

The price was a bit higher than I initially wanted to pay, but this pad should last for years.

I hope to be able to use this for some short training rides over the summer and to use with my nieces when they come to ride. Allowing the benefits of bareback without the slippery sweat issues!

Time to train again

2009-05-25T21:23:00.001-05:00

Tanna has been out of training for about 4 weeks now. I gave him some time off after Chicken Chase and then just before Race the Trace, he came up lame. Somehow he tangled his front right pastern with something that gave him a deep wire/rope cut on the back of his pastern. He was lame for 4 - 5 days.

Tonight, I've finally deemed him fit enough to return to work. We've got our eye on heading to the GERA Fundraiser ride in Georgia in June.

Serts has been on rest since he helped me mark and unmark trail for the Race the Trace ride in early May. He did about 38 miles in 2 days, so I gave him some rest time. But it's time for him to get back to work, too. As soon as my farrier comes out tomorrow to reshoe him. :)

Chicken Chase 2009

2009-04-28T23:58:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite times: Time to go to the Chicken Chase Endurance Ride! This would be our 7th year to attend this 3-day ride near Henryville, IN, the birthplace of Colonel Sanders.

This year, Serts joined us for the trip as I had hopes of riding him in his first 25 mile ride. Tanna was entered in the 55 mile ride on Friday.

Wednesday morning, we finished the packing, loaded up the horses and headed north. After 4.5 hours (including 30 minutes worth of stops), we arrived at Bill Wilson's farm on the edge of Clark State Forest.

We parked in our usual spot along the fence-line. This was our first time to bring Serts to this ride and Daniel and I discussed at length how to arrange the panels to get the best layout for the horses. We finally settled on a layout that worked for us at Yellowhammer and Daniel proceeded to assemble the pen.

The weather was uncomfortably cool (low 40s), so Daniel and I brought Sib, our cat, into the slide-in camper with us for the evening. We fashioned a crate out of a cabinet and the divider from her wire crate. It worked quite well and at least kept her out of the trailer for the night.

The next day, Daniel and I enjoyed a leisurely morning with pancakes and oatmeal for breakfast. Then I saddled up Serts and went for a ride. Serts wasn't due to have his ride until Sunday and I wanted to give him a little exercise and allow him to see the trails. I headed out along the ridge for a couple miles and then allowed him a canter (he loves to canter) along the way back towards camp. I passed camp and headed to ride the last 1/2 mile of the trail that Serts would be doing so he could see where he was. His HR was good and I kept it largely to under 135 for the ride.

As I approached the entrance to the trail, I came on Amy Whelan and her daughter Annie out for a ride. Annie is in training for her first Competitive Trail ride and later this year, hopefully, an LD ride! As they were headed back to camp, I invited them to come along with me for the little jaunt along the trail. They accepted and I had a wonderful time chatting with Amy and Annie.

The weather was warming up somewhat, although it was still cloudy and a little cool. After returning to camp, I settled Serts in his pen next to Tanna (who had not stopped moving the entire hour we were gone, I was told). I put my ankle brace on and headed out for a run.

This was my first run outdoors run since I broke my ankle last July. I had a Cardio Coach workout on my iPod, so I headed down the road to hit the trail for a good heart-pumping run. Now, let me abuse you of any notions of how fast I am. I am quite slow. I was slow before I broke my ankle. And now, I was watching snails pass me. But I did get my heart rate up there, per Coach Sean's directions, and I had a wonderful time, so I'm still going to call it a run, even though most anybody else could have walked past me without any problem. :)

I so enjoyed being back out running on the trails. I had run some on my treadmill at home, but I truly love the trails, especially the day before an endurance ride. Something so soothing about being out on my own two feet in God's nature. It also teaches me to appreciate my horses more as I run the trails they traverse!

Back at the trailer, I set up our shower to wash the sweat and grime away. Daniel set up our trailer very nicely with a tarp to make a large shower area and our Zodiac propane water heat. Ah, the comforts of camping. :)

Then it was time to head to registration. I hung out with Amy and Susan Vuturo as they checked people in. I also bought a year's worth of Girl Scout cookies. :) It's another tradition to buy them from Amy and take them home and put them in my freezer. Periodically through the year, I'll pull a box out and we'll enjoy some cookies.

I finally decided it was time to get Tanna and take him to the pre-ride vet check. But Tanna had other ideas. I made it back to our trailer in time to see Tanna lowering himself to the ground with a sigh for a sunning and a rest. Serts quickly followed suit. Well, well. I didn't want to disturb them (aren't they spoiled??) so I headed back to hang out at the registration desk for another 30 minutes or so.

While watching people register for the next day, I was introduced to Sabine. This lovely lady was planning to do her first 50 mile ride the next day. She had many limited distance (25 - 35 mile) rides, but this would be her first longer ride. I was happy to tell her she could ride with me if she would like to as her friends had decided to ride the 25 mile ride the next day.

When I returned, Tanna was standing, so I haltered him and we went to the vet for a look-over.

Tanna bounced through his trot-out with his usual enthusiasm and we were cleared to ride the 55 mile endurance ride the next day.

I spent the next hour or so getting my vet check bag ready for the away vet checks the next day. We would ride a 20 mile loop to the vet check, then do a 20 mile loop back to the same vet check before heading the last 15 miles for camp and the finish. So I needed to pack enough stuff for 2 vet checks. Bottled water, bags of feed, granola bars, feed pan, hay, apples, carrots, hoof pick, fly spray, Forerunner 305 travel charger, wool blanket to use as a cooler, syringe, Lyte Now, jars of probiotic/applesauce mixture, hand-held heart rate monitor. Check, check, check, check. Finally the bag was ready.

Back to the garage for the ride meeting to go over all the things we needed to know for the next day. The horses must meet a 60 bpm pulse before the hold time started. Hold times would be 40 minutes long after pulsing down. Tack on or off, rider's choice (I tend to prefer tack off).

Friday morning, Daniel and I saddled up in the chill and I headed to the start to warm Tanna up. I saw Sabine and Leon, her horse, warming up as well and we continued to warm up together while chatting merrily.

When the ride started, we walked calmly down the road to the trail. The horses seemed to get along ok and were walking beautifully. We began trotting after reaching the trail. I kept Tanna to a moderate trot. He prefers to go all out, but I don't. :-) Before the first turn, we were overtaken by a group and we allowed them to pass. Over the hills and through the woods we went, Sabine and I chatting. I kept Tanna down to a dull roar, determined to keep the pace slow and controlled.

We reached the first vet check in decent time. I located my vet check stuff brought out by the ride management and pulled Tanna's saddle off. My hand held HRM didn't want to tell me his HR, so I just took him straight to the vet in. He was down and vetted in ok, although his muscle tone was down a bit.

Back to our stuff for the rest of the hold. I plugged my Forerunner 305 into the travel charger and fed Tanna. I stood holding his feed pan so he would eat. He ate pretty well (for him) for the first vet check.

Before long, it was time to head back on trail. This next loop would be tough and slow going with lots of hills and switchbacks. We met several riders as part of the loop was an out and back. We saw a few riders that had missed some trail and had to be sent back out to complete the trail. They still passed us. ;) We took over 4 hours to do that 20 mile loop. It was long and warm and a very tough loop.

Back into the vet check again. Tanna was doing ok, but not as well as I like to see. I began to think I had neglected his conditioning somewhat while getting Serts ready. Still nothing really said don't keep going, so after the hold we saddled up again and headed out. I packed all my things together for the return trip in Amy's truck and Sabine and I headed back to camp for the last 15 miles of the journey.

Sabine's horse, Leon, has a very nice long trot that he can do pretty effortlessly. Tanna, on the other hand, was fighting to keep up at a trot and I didn't want him to canter overly much as I was worried about his muscle tone. So it was a struggle for the last loop until Tanna and I took the lead. Leon seemed to do well at shortening his stride to stay behind us. I encouraged Sabine to head out on her own if she wanted, but she stayed with us. I enjoyed her company and we had a good time chatting all day long.

Finally, we made it to the top of the last hill and came out on a gravel road on the ridge. Only 2 miles to camp! Whoohooo! I still insisted on a slow trot. I didn't want the horses to blow themselves out and have a hard time pulsing down at the finish. Tanna danced and snorted and blew, but stayed at an 8 mph trot. I laughed as Leon spooked at something and told Sabine she should be happy he had the energy left for such antics. Tanna's energy was not in doubt as he pranced like an idiot.

I got my finish time and headed back to the trailer to pull Tanna's tack. (Serts was quite enthusiastic to see us!) I found his hamstrings pretty tight, especially his left one that seemed to be knotted some. I massaged it for a few minutes before heading up to pulse and vet in. Tanna's back was sore at the loins, also the left. I was not too happy about that. I could be riding off due to my leg injury. Or the saddle might need to be tweaked some.

I took Tanna into the pulse box and got his finish pulse. Sabine and Leon were at the other end of the box, so I kept Tanna nearby so as not to undully excite him. I continued to massage Tanna's hamstring to keep him from knotting up. We'd done the miles and I wanted that completion!

When Leon pulsed in, I headed to the vet. Dr. Maureen vetted us out. Tanna wasn't lame from his hamstring, just a bit short-strided. I was happy to get the completion, but irritated about the muscle tightness. Leon and Sabine also completed! Yay! Their first endurance ride! What a tough one they chose. Leon looked wonderful! :)

When I got Tanna back to the trailer, I found a large rock wedged in his front left hoof. Hmmm, wonder if that had anything to do with it? I walked Tanna and gave him periodic massages until the ride meeting/awards, keeping him covered with his cooler to keep him from getting chilled. The weather was warm, but it was late in the day, cooling off and a breeze was prone to come up.

After a nice shower, awards and dinner, I was ready for some sleep!

Sabbath was a nice day, but warm. I woke up as the riders were preparing for their rides. I walked Tanna around, allowing him to graze and look around. I was pleased that his hamstrings were no longer tight and knotted. :) His back was still tender, but better than the evening before. After all the riders left, I headed back to the trailer and crawled in bed for another hour or two of sleep.

Sabbath was leisurely, spent walking the horses and enjoying the warm weather while dreading the weather of Sunday. Rain and thunderstorms were on tap.

Serts vetted in for his LD ok. He wasn't as well behaved as Tanna, but certainly not bad. He'll get used to it. :) He trotted out nicely. We've been practicing that alot. He has a slow start, so I have to ask him to trot while I'm still walking and then I start jogging. It's interesting as with Tanna I have to jump into a jog/run right away or he'll leave me behind! Serts trots nicely, but he takes a couple steps to get up to speed.

The ride meeting for the Sunday LD revealed we would go out on the longer 15 mile blue loop first and do the shorter 10 mile pink loop last. I was very happy. I figured if I got Serts through the 15 mile loop and he happened to be a little tired, I could still baby him through a 10 mile loop. But I wouldn't want to baby him through a 15 mile loop. Pulse was 60 again with a single 40 minute hold time.

All through the night, I listened for the rain. It finally came and I tacked up in the dark and wet. Lovely. But it was better for Serts. He still had a lot of winter hair and the 75+ degree sunny weather that Tanna had on Friday would have been more difficult for him. I put Serts' rump rug on him and covered the saddle with his rain sheet to keep the saddle dry for as long as possible and keep Serts from getting chilled.

When I mounted up and headed for the start, Serts was interested in the activity, but not unduly concerned. Tanna was not happy that we were leaving him, but Serts didn't pay him much attention.

At the start, I just walked out with the rest of the group. There were only 13 riders and I wanted to see how Serts would handle being with all the other horses. The front runners left us pretty quickly, but Patty De Mott tucked in behind us for awhile. She was riding a new, young horse and while this was Serts' first ride, he is not extremely young at 20 years old!

We went along in companionable silence, occasionally making a comment here and there. After a few miles, Patty decided we were going too slow and her horse was doing well, so she headed on down the trail. Another group of riders passed us.

At this point, Serts became concerned. Surely something was wrong here! When you ride out on a trail ride, you all stay together! He wasn't too bad, but he was a bit upset.

Headed down a hill, I decided to pull off trail and take a short...break. Another group of 3 riders were just behind us. I exchanged pleasantries with them and proceeded with my business after they got out of sight. Well, Serts just fell apart. That was so not right. To allow so many horses to get so far ahead of us. What was I thinking?? He spun around me in a wide arc as I attempted to position him to mount. I finally managed to lunge into the saddle and we headed down the hill after the other riders.

We stayed a decent distance behind for awhile, but caught up to the last group of 3 riders as they were about to ascend the hill to the Pekin Saddle club. I insisted on a walk up the hill and the riders pulled away again.

At some point Serts' HRM was reading very high. Almost 200 bpm. I though the girth had loosened, so I stopped to see if I could fix that. It took about 5 minutes for me to remount because Serts would not stand still. We went side-passing down the trail. He does a very nice side pass. Silly horse.

We managed to stay behind the other riders until we were about a mile from camp. I hung back a minute, but it became clear they weren't moving right away, so I eased on past them. They fell into line behind me. Apparently the mare that had been leading decided she didn't want to lead right then, but was perfectly happy following Serts. Ok by us.

Serts' HRM was still reading quite high. I had long since abandoned relying on it and was riding to speed (slow speed) and terrain rather than HR. At the pavement, I hopped off and walked in. By the time I got to my vet check stuff set out, Serts was at 53. Ok. Straight to the vet. I had thought I would pull the saddle, but with the rain, it was just easier not to, especially since he was down.

Serts vetted in well and trotted out nicely. 40 minutes and we'd be on trail again.

Daniel graciously followed me back to our vet check area and offered to hold Serts for me. We tossed the rain sheet over him to keep the saddle a little drier and to keep Serts warm and dry. I opened up the hay and dumped some food in his dish and headed off to find a warm, dry sweatshirt as well as a porta potty.

At the trailer, Tanna looked cold and pathetic, so I quickly switched out his rain jacket for his warm winter coat and gave him some dry hay. Then I found a dry sweat shirt for me and drank some protein drink. I grabbed a small bag of cheetos and headed back to the vet check area.

Serts had eaten all his food and was grazing. I thanked Daniel and asked him to yell at me (from the dryness of the porch) when I had 5 minutes left in my hold. I continued to let Serts graze until the end of the hold. I removed the rain sheet, tightened up the girth and mounted up. The 3 riders that had come in with me were not out yet, so we headed out on our own.

Serts was sedate and trotted along at a sane speed. He kept listening behind him for the other riders, but they never caught up with us. I urged him to keep moving, keeping him interested by throwing in a canter every now and again. The pink loop repeated much of the blue loop, so Serts had already seen the trail. The loop was uneventful. When I reached the pavement again, I hopped off to walk the last bit.

Again, Serts' pulse was down below 60 by the time I got him to the vet check area. So I pulled his tack and threw his rain sheet over him.

He vetted in in fine style, looking like he could go do it all again.

But with the rain, I was thankful we didn't have to!! :-) After we finished with the vet, Amy told me our ride time was 4 hours 34 minutes (not bad for an old man) and we were tenth place! :-) So he top tenned his first LD out. :-) I was very happy to hear that!

I headed back to the trailer, leaving all my stuff up by the house.

I stopped at the water hose and sprayed the mud off Serts' legs and belly. That stuff is hard to remove after it dries!! Serts and Tanna could see each other at this point and kept calling to each other. I turned Serts into the pen (it was configured so it could be larger for one horse or split into 2 smaller pens. I left them together in the larger pen. Tanna hadn't eaten all his breakfast, so Serts attacked it. Tanna of course decided he wanted some then, so the pair of them were eating out of Tanna's large flat pan.

Happy to see them together and eating, I got our wheeled cart and headed back to get all my stuff. No point in getting clean and dry and then having to deal with dirty/wet saddle stuff! Daniel helped me load the stuff into the cart and came back to the trailer with me. We packed up the trailer and camper except for the horse pen and then I cleaned up.

We visited with Bill, Amy and Drs. Mike and Maureen for a good hour or more while allowing the horses to rest up. Finally, we headed back into the rain. I walked the horses around, grazing and trotting them a little, while Daniel hung the corral panels on the side of the trailer and secured them. Then we loaded up the horses and headed for home.

Tanna's back was no longer tender by Monday afternoon and Serts showed no issues from his LD. Another successful weekend. Although I now have some work to see if Tanna's saddle needs to be tweaked or my riding corrected or maybe it was just a combination of things that led to his soreness.

Chicken Chase is always so much fun. Even in the rain! :-) I am proud of the horses and so happy to be riding Serts. Now I have an LD horse and an endurance horse!

Training Progress

2009-04-07T20:27:00.000-05:00

Sunday, I had a good training ride on Serts. We went 19 miles in 3 hours 40 minutes. Slow, but steady. Serts did great. I kept his HR under 135 for the most part. He did really well. His post-ride trot out was energetic and his CRI was good. When I turned him loose in the paddock and took Tanna out, Serts took several fast turns around the paddock, protesting me taking Tanna. Very nice to see him have lots of energy left. So next week, we will head for Chicken Chase and Serts will be entered in the 25 mile distance on Sunday, April 19.

Tanna and I did a quick 2 hour ride, also. He is ready and will be entered in the 55 mile distance on Friday, April 17.

Both horses get new shoes tomorrow and camper packing will commence this coming Sunday. What fun!

How to saddle with a Horse HRM

2009-04-06T21:03:00.002-05:00

Ok, so earlier, I showed how to convert a human chest heart rate transmitter into one to use with a horse under saddle. But how to actually get that to work?

The supplies you need before you get started:

Converted HRM Transmitter
Flat electrode with long black coiled wire
Flat electrode with shorter white straight wire
Electrode Gel (you should have gotten a small tube when you bought the transmitter adapter kit) or a water bottle
Girth
Saddle
Horse with a heart rate
Optional: Thick felt rectangle
Optional: small bungee cable

I use 2 different types of girth. This post will focus on using a neoprene girth. Smooth neoprene is hands down my favorite girth material. Unfortunately, Tanna does not like it, so I have to use a fleece-covered mohair girth for him. What a prima donna! ;-) So Serts will be my model for this post.

Ok, let's get started on the steps.

Attach the converted transmitter to the saddle. I attach it to the D rings on the front of the saddle.

Put a dollup of gel on the electrode attached to the white wire. (You can wet the hair down really well with water if you don't have gel.) Place the electrode on the horse's back on the right hand side. You want the electrode far enough back from the shoulder that the electrode will not drop into the hollow behind the shoulder when the horse is moving. Position the electrode down from the spine along the back muscles. You want the bars of the saddle to firmly press the electrode against the horse's skin during work. Don't worry, these electrodes are wide and flat and my horses have never had any discomfort from having one there. Just make sure it's on the muscle, not the spine.

Put your saddle pad on, making sure the wire from the electrode comes out under the pad at the withers. I use Toklat woolback pads. The electrodes have velcro on the back of them, so once I position the electrode and place the saddle pad on the horse, the electrode sticks to the pad. So after placing the pad on, I peek underneath to be sure the electrode is still where I put it. If so, I can put the saddle on.

Snap the wire from the electrode to the pig-tail of the converted transmitter.

Loosely girth up your horse, leaving plenty of room between the girth and the horse so you can work easily.

I use a neoprene girth and I don't like to crank down the girth tight (Serts doesn't like it either!). But the girth electrode does need snug contact with the skin in order to work properly. So I use a large felt rectangle. It's actually a girth buckle guard I bought from Running Bear.com. Since the electrode has a velcro backing, I can place the electrode on the felt and it will stick there.

Put a dollop of gel on the electrode (or again, wet down the skin where the electrode will be). Place the felt piece on the girth on the horse's left side. When the girth is done up, you want the electrode to end up along the side of the horse where you'd take his HR with a stethescope.

Tighten the girth up just enough to hold the electrode against the horse's body, but don't tighten it yet.

Take the coiled wire and wrap it around the girth buckle, leaving a little slack between the electrode and the buckle of the girth. Then further up, take a turn around another d-ring, maybe even the one the HRM is snapped to. I like to do this to have some stability so there won't be tugging on the electrode side or the snap side.

Snap the snap to the other pig-tail.

Snug up the girth to where you want it.

Take the bungee and thread it through the loops of the felt rectangle, criss-cross it and hook to the girth buckle. This keeps the felt piece from sliding down or falling off altogether if the girth loosens up during the ride.

Turn on your Garmin Forerunner. Your horse's HR should show up. :)

Convert Human Chest Heart Rate Monitor For a Horse

2009-04-04T20:59:00.003-05:00

So how do I get a Garmin chest heart rate monitor to work on my horse?? (Btw, this works with any chest HRM, but of course I use Garmin's so I can have an integrated HRM and GPS solution!)

Well, hold on to your saddle, because I'm about to show you.

First off, gather your supplies:

Garmin Chest HRM Transmitter
V-MAX Strip Transmitter Adapter Kit which can be purchased from The Distance Depot
2 small pieces of closed-cell foam or similar material
Waterproof first-aid tape
Scissors (optional)
2 small carbingers

Peel a sticky electrode off the plastic backing and position it near the end of the underside (ridged) of the HRM. Make sure the electrode is fully on the ridged part.

Do this to the other side, too.

Take one of the short pig-tail wires and tie it around the hole in the transmitter on one side.

Snap one side of the pig-tail wire to the stick snap electrode. Do this to the other side, too.

Slide a piece of foam between the wire and the transmitter on each side. This will keep the wire from getting pushed down right there and possibly popping the snap off or separating the sticky part from the transmitter. You want to be sure there is a very good connection there at all times or the HRM won't work properly.

Take the waterproof first aid tape and carefully wrap one side. Be sure to cover the entire ridged part of the transmitter and enough to the outer edge to protect the sticky electrode from water or drying out from air. But don't completely cover the hole at the edge of the transmitter. And make sure the end of the pig-tail wire is sticking out. Tear the tape or use the scissors.

Now do the other side.

Take the transmitter sleeve pouch and unvelcro it. Lay the transmitter face down in the pouch and velcro it closed with the velcro on the back side of the transmitter. Putting the transmitter face down allows you to change the battery quickly without taking the pouch completely off.

Flip the transmitter over so the velcro side of the pouch is facing down.

Take one of the carbingers with the open side facing up. Slide the carbinger through the hole in the transmitter.

Then slide the carbinger through the clip of the transmitter pouch.

Rotate the carbinger so the opening faces down.

Attach the carbinger on the other side.

The carbingers keep the transmitter pouch in place and allows me to quickly move the transmitter from one saddle to another.

The longer lead wires snap into the pig-tails to provide a complete transition from a human HRM to a horse one.

Training with Serts

2009-03-29T21:07:00.004-05:00

Today I took Serts out for a training ride. I have been riding him without a HRM, but decided it was time to do that. My plan was to do an 18 mile training to gauge his readiness for an LD at Chicken Chase. Additional goals were to keep his HR under 135 (except for short stints uphill) and to keep the average speed between 5 and 6 mph.

Daniel suggested I stay close to home so that if Serts got too sour or I got too frustrated, we could stop early and not be several miles from home. I figured that was good advice. Besides, the hills are right next to the house and I wanted to be sure to get some hill work during the ride.

So we headed off down the street for a ride. Serts was doing pretty well. I gave him short breaks often and allowed him to eat some grass along the way. I am working with him on eating. He wants to stop from a trot to grab a nice bite of grass, but I don't like that, so I am working on training him to only eat when I allow it. So even when we walk, I don't allow him to eat at will like I do with Tanna. Not that Serts didn't get plenty of grass on the ride, just only when I dictated since he's so piggish about it.

We were right on schedule, ranging out a couple miles from the house and then doubling back to climb a hill and repeating. I was pleased and Serts seemed to be doing well.

But then the HRM started to read too high. At first, the readings weren't too bad. About 150. I thought maybe Serts was getting tired, so I dropped back to a walk for a minute or two, then asked for a trot again. The HR reading degraded to the point it was 230 even while walking. I hopped off several times to adjust the girth electrode, but couldn't get the reading to be consistent again.

Since Serts is hard for me to read about whether he's really tired vs just bored, I decided to nix the rest of the ride and headed back home.

Serts' long hair had balled up and clumped around the girth electrode, so I wonder if that had something to do with it. It's also possible the HRM battery needs to be changed again.

We ended up with 10.7 miles instead of 18. Serts didn't seem stressed at all. His HR was 46 when I pulled the saddle (after the 10 minute cool down) and he trotted out readily for his post-workout trot out. I put a wool blanket on under his wind-breaker (it was rather chilly out with a stiff breeze) and turned him in the paddock with Tanna and some hay.

After he dried, I brushed him well and got rid of the clumps of shedding hair. All seemed good.

Still haven't made the final go-no-go decision for doing the LD at Chicken Chase. I'd still like to get an 18 mile ride on him before making that decision. Time is fast disappearing for that opportunity!

Spring Training

2009-03-18T21:56:00.002-05:00

Spring training is going well. I've been able to get some decent mileage in on Serts and Tanna. Sunday didn't go so well as I was ponying Serts off Tanna. Serts got bored or tired or both and we had a "fun" time getting back home in a decent amount of time.

So on Tuesday, I saddled up Serts and we went out all by ourselves. We did interval work of trotting a mile, then walking for 5 minutes. We did this 5 times. With warm-up and cool-down we got in 7.5 miles. Good enough. Serts was in good spirits. He tends to get bored quite fast. I need to get him out to a trail instead of riding from the house, but it's going to be a couple weeks. I was hoping to take him this coming Sunday, but I have to work Saturday night and will likely not be up to trailering out on Sunday. He will have to just grit his teeth and get through it. I'm still hoping his first LD (limited distance, 25 mile ride) might be at Chicken Chase next month.

My horses are getting older! Serts is now 20 years old and Tanna is 15! Seems hard to believe 8 years have passed since I got them. Tanna is definitely a mature, fun, riding buddy. His personality is very much the same, but he's no longer the flighty creature I brought home! He's still spirited, but much more reliable. Serts has gone through all sorts of changes since I got him, but he, too, is a good horse at a good place. If I can keep his interest, hopefully, he will make a good LD horse.

Last week, Daniel and I took the horses to the vet for their yearly shots, etc. Both horses are in good health. Tanna required dental work this year, but Serts is still good to go.

Neither horse is anemic this year! Yay! Ever since we discovered they were anemic in 2007, they have been getting Mega Dose vitamins along with salt in their meals and they've been good every time we've checked them since. Now the blood work is part of their yearly check-up. It's not expensive and the peace of mind is worth it.

Spring is coming!!

2009-03-12T06:26:00.002-05:00

Hard to tell right this minute as it's 35 degrees and rainy outside. But earlier this week, the weather was upwards of 70 degrees and very nice for training rides.

After the National Championships last October, I took a long time off from riding to recharge. A couple weeks ago, I began riding more often and training with a purpose.

Our next endurance ride is scheduled for mid-April. Chicken Chase is a tradition. We often start the ride season with this 3 day ride near Henryville, Indiana.

This year, we are taking both horses with us for the duration. So both horses are getting training time. Serts is doing well with his shorter rides and Tanna seemed to have benefited from the time off as he is taking his conditioning rides in stride and asking for more.

I can't wait until the weather turns nice again.

First Training Ride of 2009

2009-02-06T16:30:00.001-06:00

Yes, after weeks of slacking, I finally decided the 55+ degree sunny weather was perfect for a training ride on Sunday, February 1.

Tanna wasn't so sure, as he was sunning himself!

But I insisted and after awhile, we were saddled, helmeted and ready to ride! (He really wasn't too bad. He seemed eager for training to begin again.)

We headed down the road for a nice training ride at a relaxing pace.

After 2 hours and 12 miles, we returned. Our communication was slightly off, but it was so nice to have a quiet ride with my buddy.

Serts was also quite happy to have Tanna return!

This weekend promises more beautiful weather and I'm planning to get some horse time in on Sunday.

Not an update

2009-01-07T20:37:00.002-06:00

Not much has been going on since the National Championships. Serena and I both recovered well from our surgeries.

Tanna has been running barefoot in the pasture for a couple months. He gets another 5 weeks or so before the shoes go back on.

Serts is shod and happy. I haven't ridden him much. Just a couple rides. So he's fat and sassy.

My ankle is still stiff and I limp some occasionally until my leg gets warmed up. But I do walk on the treadmill and even am doing some basic step aerobics with my ankle brace on. There are little victories almost every week. I'm not running yet, but I hope to be running before too many more weeks. Just depends on when it doesn't hurt!

Surgeries

2008-10-31T06:45:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, Daniel noticed a mass on Serena's tummy. I took her into get checked and we decided to have it removed. We scheduled her surgery for the day before mine so I'd be here to keep an eye on her for a couple days after her surgery.

Serena's surgery went well. She was naturally sleepy and groggy when I picked her up Wednesday afternoon and until yesterday morning. She's been pretty good, but she pulled out one of her staples yesterday so Daniel went to get her one of those cone collars.

I put red coat spray on the area to keep it from drying out too much. The vet sent a piece of the tumor off to see if it's cancer. They were only going to do that if they were concerned, so we'll see how that goes.

My surgery was yesterday. My appointed time to get there was 9 AM. We got there at 8:45. It was an hour before they took me back to the hospital ward type room. There were several beds separated by curtains. They wouldn't let Daniel go back with me initially. Not sure why because when I was undressed and in that silly gown, they let him come back for an hour.

When I had to use the restroom, they sent him back to the waiting room. Finally, after another hour, the anesthetist came and gave me something to relax me. I was out in 5 minutes. And that wasn't even the stuff that was supposed to make me sleep. Either that or I just don't remember.

When I woke up, I was in another little cube room. I have a bandage and an ace bandage over that. I'm to leave that on until Sabbath afternoon/evening. Then I can remove the bandage and take a quick shower and put band aids on instead.

I woke up pretty quickly. They got Daniel, let me get dressed, gave me my after surgery orders and wheeled me out to the truck.

I am to take my pain pills as needed (as long as it's been 6 hours since my last dose). Non-weight bearing until tomorrow. I have a follow-up visit on the 10th and I'm to wear my big boot until then.

The doc took out the long screw he was intending to. There were two other screws that were bothering me, so he pulled those out and another one for good measure. I've attached my pre and post op x-rays so you can see, if you're interested. I still have the plate and 8 pins.

I thought I'd sleep more yesterday, but I didn't. I did sleep well last night. :-)

NC Completion Award

2008-10-27T20:06:00.001-05:00

My National Championship completion award was a very nice zippered fleece jacket with the NC 2008 logo on it. I really liked it, but wanted to add an additional touch. So I took my jacket to Sew What?, a local sewing shop and asked them to add a couple lines.

I got the jacket today and I think it turned out great! A bargain at $13.

National Championships 2008

2008-10-21T18:55:00.002-05:00

Ride Recap

I saddled up Thursday morning in the rain. Daniel was very helpful from the very beginning, helping to get the saddle straight and the girth tight enough (but not too tight). I mounted up and Tanna was a good boy. No hunching or threatening to buck. A very good start to the day.

We walked to the front of the property where other riders were starting to gather. I gave my number (101) to Nancy Gooch, the legendary Southeast timer. I picked Joe and Kit out of the horses pretty quickly as Joe was on the ground walking and had his headlamp set to red. I followed suit and turned my headlamp on red as well. I kept Tanna walking to keep his mind engaged and his muscles warming up. His rump rug was securely over his hindquarters, keeping them warm and dry.

After Joe mounted, the two of us walked around together and Joe found Laura and her mare, Mo. Our little group was complete. Now to wait for the controlled start.

When Nancy called out the trail was open, the 44 horses slowly began making their way to the end of Bill Wilson's property and down the short stretch of pavement to the trails. Joe, Laura and I tucked in near the back and followed.

Once the horses were safely on trail and off pavement, the speed increased as the horses began to trot. I kept Tanna down to a dull roar. The darkness certainly helped his brain as he couldn't see all the other horses, just the ones right in front of him. I still had a good fight on my hands to keep him off those horses. I settled into the front position of our little group.

My little 14 year old grade Arab had no idea what I would ask of him in the next 24 hours. Not only would I ask him to go 100 miles, almost twice as far as we'd ever been before, but I would ask him to carry me up and down all the hills. Normally, I dismount and give him breaks on the steeper hills, but with my ankle only 3.5 months from being broken and the pins and plates still in place, that would not be happening on this ride.

After about 2 miles, we popped out on more pavement and I insisted on a walk. The best I got was a slow trot. He could have walked faster. Goofy boy. I did not want him or the other two horses slipping on the wet pavement. Shortly after reaching the pavement, a rider blazed past at a faster than safe (imo) speed. Right in the middle of our little group without a single word to any of us. Lovely trail manners (read the sarcasm).

When we reached good trail again, we again moved out at about a 9 or 10 mph trot. Soon we dropped off the ridge and down in the valleys for hills and climbs and single track trail. Somehow we all three separated here. Laura moved on out ahead, I hung out in the middle and Joe came along behind. Playing to the horses's strengths. Tanna was very strong and very insistent that he could go much faster than I was allowing.

After we popped back on the ridge, I paused to electrolyte Tanna. Sometime last season, I thought it would be fun to teach Tanna to electrolyte from the saddle. I only dose about 10 cc of LyteNow at a time. LyteNow is a thick paste and such a small amount is easy to syringe from the saddle and keep it in his mouth. I did it for fun before, but at this ride, I was so thankful that I didn't have to get off or bother Joe to get off and electrolyte my horse for me. I always follow up the electrolytes with a homemade concoction of Neigh-lox and Fastrack in an applesauce base. This last thing Tanna thinks is a treat and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I give it to him.

Back on the move, I kept Tanna to an 8 - 9 mph trot. Very hard with an open trail and an eager horse. But I know this horse and I knew he could not go as fast as he thought he could and still finish. We dropped down off the ridge again to follow the trails out to the new horsecamp. We fought a lot. My leg was bothering me quite a bit as Tanna fought and pitched a fit down a hill. Down hill is the worst for my injured leg. I was unhappy and in pain and spinning Tanna down the trail in an effort to get his brain back. At this point, Joe and Kit appeared behind us.

Somehow it was better with company. Joe was having issues getting Kit to settle down, too. At least I wasn't the only one!! We had both hoped the boys would settle down together, but no luck. They seemed to egg each other on and try to out-do each other.

We came in for the first vet check in last place just after 10 AM. Exactly where we wanted to be. My motto is "get out back early and stay there all day."

I walked Tanna over to our vet check area and carefully dismounted using the mounting block. Daniel immediately began unsaddling Tanna. It was cold and we were wet from the rain. Seems the rain had let up by this point, but I was still wet and cold. As soon as the saddle was off, I put a wool blanket over Tanna. I hobbled after Daniel to the pulse line and the vets. Tanna vetted in fine. The grass was slick and Tanna slid at the far end of the trot out. I caught my breath, but he was ok. He vetted in ok and back to our area for the 40 minute hold time.

I sat down, removed my shoe and brace and propped up my leg with an ice bag while Daniel settled Tanna with hay and feed. After about 15 minutes he ran back to the trailer and returned with a wind breaker for Tanna and another wool blanket for me. While on trail, I wasn't that cold, but stopping, boy, was I freezing!! I dutifully ate the meal I had planned for this check. An egg, a yogurt and a cheese stick. Protein, fat and carbs.

Before I knew it, Tamra, Joe's wife, crew and keeper of the time, called out the 10 minute warning and we moved to prepare to go back on trail. I replaced my brace and my shoe while Daniel began resaddling. I stopped by the porta potty, mounted up and headed out after Joe on our second loop for 16.5 miles. Laura had left out earlier since she had made it into the check earlier than us.

This was our pattern in the vet checks. Tamra was very good about keeping an eye on the time all day long. Anytime I called out "time check" she would respond how long we had left in the hold. Very handy when trying to determine if Daniel had time to run here or there to do this or that.

This time, the horses were moving along nicely. Still asking to move faster, but behaving themselves for the most part. We were on a ridge for about 2 miles and after a walking warm-up down a short stretch of pavement, we allowed the pace to be quick at 10 - 11 mph. Soon enough, we'd drop off the ridge and slow up. Both Joe and I commented on how well the horses were working together. We made good time, even after dropping down the ridge. We caught up with Laura and her mare and the three of us continued on together into the away vet check a bit after 1 PM.

When we came into that check, the sun was out and it was pleasant although not what I would call warm. There was lots to look at though, and Tanna's heart rate was not down to 64 bpm by the time we got the saddle off. Tamra graciously helped check his HR while Daniel held Tanna and I sponged his neck and cleaned his legs to get him to relax. Doug Sandlin and Roger Barrett (crewing for Ed who was out on trail) were helping Joe get Kit down to criteria. Finally down and to the vet. Tanna vetted in well and we returned to our crewing area. Kit also was vetted in and back.

Unfortunately, Laura pulled her mare at this check. Just wasn't their trail or their day.

A third of our ride over already! I ate the Subway sandwich Daniel had retrieved for me from the lunch table and a couple of cookies baked by Nina Barnett (yummy!). Tamra and I discussed the upcoming loop. It was a tough loop. 15.5 miles and lots of hills. It would be a slow loop. Tamra stressed not getting complacent, but to move out when we could to make time. I told her and Daniel to expect us in 3 hours. We would do our best to keep to that time frame.

Off we went on our tough loop. We were truly the turtles, moving at a slow, steady pace. I know management was concerned that we would be too slow, but we had a good plan and were so far working to the plan. Our goal was slow and steady all day and all night until the job was done.

The 3rd loop was pleasant. Some of the tough hills I was expecting were not in the actual loop! I was happy to discover a whole section of switchbacks were by-passed. Whew! And some of the tough hills on the Shaw Lake loop were broken up by the Wildlife loop in the middle. I had never ridden the wildlife loop and quite enjoyed it. Mike Caudill met us on that loop with some water and then met us again on the way out of the Shaw Lake loop. Thanks, Mike!!

Headed back to the vet check, we passed by the way to the switchbacks that were not in the loop. Those switchbacks led to the other horse camp which is often used as an away vet check for Chicken Chase (the spring ride run from Bill's place). Tanna wanted to head to that horse camp for our next away check. He was unhappy with me and convinced I was steering him wrong to send him past and back toward Wilcox Lake and the actual vet check. It took at least 1/2 mile to convince him before he settled down and moved out properly.

We came in from the 3rd loop at 4:30. We'd done that loop in 2 1/2 hours. Yay!! Our toughest loop down in good time, half the ride over and our horses in good shape. Our plan was working.

After vetting in, we evaluated where we were and our time. Our next loop was 13.5 miles back to base camp. We would arrive there after dark. I knew that this loop was not glow-sticked, but I wasn't worried. Joe and I both had headlamps and I knew the trail very well. I told Joe to tell management not to bother with trying to get out to glow-stick any part of this loop. We'd get there ok.

Tanna was beginning to eat well at this check. I ate some potato salad and drank some protein drink. I had no idea at this check what I had planned to eat.

Dr. Otis and Becky hung out with us, waiting for our hold to be over. I was surprised to see Ron Chapman still in the check, too. I hoped he hadn't been pulled. He hadn't. His out time was 18 minutes before ours.

When we left the check, everybody else left, too. Back to camp we went. This loop wasn't very exciting or memorable. While headed down a long stretch of pavement, we commented on the many long skid marks we saw and kept our horses to a slow trot or a walk to make sure we didn't add any skid marks. Back on dirt trail, we trotted and even did a bit of cantering where we could. On the hills, Joe dismounted to walk and I passed him a backpack I wore that held alfalfa hay. Joe would hand-feed the horses while stopped for a breather. Those hills are tough stuff!! I silently thanked my Tanna for carrying me up them. I definitely had the easiest job on the hills. Just sit there and be a cheering section for the other three (Joe, Kit and Tanna).

We made it back to camp by 7:45 in the dark. I had no trouble finding the trail and keeping us on the right track. No anxiety from riding in the dark. I had a very nice headlamp that Daniel picked out and then attached firmly to my helmet.

Tanna vetted in fine and began eating everything he could reach. The only thing he wasn't allowed to eat was Kit's mash. Until Tamra gave him that, too. ;-) Kit preferred Tanna's. Joe and I had both been worried that the horses would quit at this point. They had done almost 65 miles and were back in camp. Tanna showed no sign of quitting. I didn't hear Joe mention anything about Kit quitting either.

I was freezing at this check and added a sweatshirt, a skull cap under my helmet and some SSG Wind Stopper Riding Gloves I'd purchased from a vendor on-site. I know, don't use stuff at a ride that you haven't used in training. But my hands were numb. My regular gloves are SSG, so I figured I'd be ok and I was. I was SO grateful for those gloves!!!! I ate next to nothing at this check. About 5 minutes before time to tack up, Tamra mentioned there was hot soup around somewhere for me. I said I'd wait till next check to eat it.

Out on trail again. This 5th loop I'd been looking forward to all day. It was a 15.5 mile out and back loop along the ridge. No hills to speak of and time to move out some, even in the dark. My plan (and thus our plan as Joe was strangely agreeable to my plans all day long) was to keep to an 8 mph trot and go steady the whole loop. I hoped to come off that loop with a 7 mph average, allowing for some time to stop for grass/water, etc.

We fell into a steady rhythm with the horses. Kit has a bigger trot than Tanna, so often would move up along-side and then pass slightly. Still along side, but ahead. Tanna would begin to fight to speed up, but I would back him off. Kit and Joe would slow, also, Joe sometimes moving Kit back directly behind Tanna to slow him down.

At some point, we caught up with Ron and he fell into line behind us. We had a comfortable silence as we all concentrated on our horses and our own thoughts.

During one of the times that Kit pulled ahead, I pulled Tanna back to a reasonable trot and Kit and Joe just motored on ahead. Tanna got mad and I was unwilling to break my plan to stay with Kit and Joe, so just slowed to a walk. I let Ron go around me, then picked up the steady 8 mph trot again, with my fussing, mad horse. After all, the last one in the dark is the one that gets eaten, right? I was pleased that he still had the umph to fuss and fight at 70+ miles, though. ;-)

After several minutes, I caught back up with Joe and Ron walking. Joe commented, "I suddenly looked around and no one was there!" He'd been in his own little world and hadn't realized he'd left us. Hehe. We tucked back into line, Tanna, Kit and Barukah and continued on to the turn-around spot. Here we paused for various issues and I headed back toward camp at a walk to give the guys a chance to take care of business.

I was worried about getting grass for Tanna on this loop. Often on trail, I will scout out good places for Tanna to grab a bite and send him to those spots. But in the dark, with my headlamp, I couldn't tell what was good grass and what wasn't!! I kept getting it wrong and was getting frustrated.

As the loop progressed, I became aware that Tanna need to pee. He just wouldn't do it. When we reached the water buckets out on trail, we all paused and let the horses drink. Also, praise God, there was a good bit of grass for the horses to munch on. I hoped Tanna would pee there, but he decided to be shy. I sent the guys on ahead and carefully dismounted. Tanna will generally pee when I do and this time was no exception. It took a bit of doing to get Tanna situated on a downhill and to stay still while I carefully mounted. I had to reposition him several times before he figured out I could not get on until he stayed put.

I caught back up with the guys and we headed back into camp at 10 till 11. This loop had taken a little longer than I'd planned, but we were still doing well. We were at 80 miles. Only the 2 10 mile loops left to go and plenty of time to get those done before the cut off at 7 AM.

After following Tanna through the vet line, I sat down back at our vet area. I pulled off my shoe and brace as normal and propped my leg up. I became aware that I didn't feel well at all. I was suddenly very nauseas, light-headed and my stomach and abdomen (both) began cramping. I felt horrible. I was also freezing. I had no idea what to do to make it better. Die, maybe?

As soon as Tamra became aware of what was going on, she heaped blankets over my head and passed me saltines and ginger ale. Our out time was 11:36, but I would not make that, if I made it at all. Tamra assured me that was ok. We could go out 30 minutes late and still have plenty of time to finish.

Finish? Ride a horse? I could hardly walk (and not just from the leg pain) and just wanted to sleep. I alternately dozed and continued to force saltines and ginger ale down my throat. Finally, I realized I had to try it. I couldn't Rider Option out of this yet. I had to go out and try to do one more loop. If I couldn't ride, I could come back and go to sleep. But I had to try. Had to. So I gave the word and the horses were resaddled. Joe had waited through with me rather than go out with Ron on time. Tanna had taken full advantage of the extra time to eat. Daniel, Tamra and at least one more person helped me get on Tanna who patiently waited for me to get on. We left out just after midnight.

Joe opted to walk Kit until we reached the short stretch of pavement. I couldn't believe the pain that shot through my body as it protested being bounced around on the saddle. I struggled to sit upright and properly and not impede Tanna. I knew that after my muscles warmed up, they would be more pliable and wouldn't hurt as much. Joe mounted and we walked to the trail. We walked a little further and I asked Tanna to pick up a slow trot. I gritted my teeth as the pain intensified, but after a mile or two, my muscles did warm up and the pain returned to a "normal" level with just my leg hurting the most. Amazingly enough, the nausea and light-headedness disappeared while on horseback. I felt pretty good, although very sleepy. We walked and trotted and caught up with Ron. When he pulled off trail to take care of something, Joe and I just kept moving. I didn't want to prolong this ride any longer than necessary and Tanna was doing well. Joe kept backing off and I didn't quite understand what was going on. I sang some on this loop. Quietly to my horse. Sorry, Joe. ;-) Maybe that's what kept him backing off!

We moved out when we could, but kept a relaxed pace. I kept looking for grass for the horses to eat. When I did find some, Kit would often only take a bite or refuse altogether. That was worrisome, but we kept moving on. We passed Nancy waiting at the finish line. Once more around and we would be done!!

We came into the vet check around 1:45 AM. There was only a 30 minute hold for this check and the saddles did not have to be off for the vets to look at the horses. I dismounted at the in-timers and stumbled off toward a porta potty while Daniel took Tanna directly to the pulse in and vets. Amy Whelan graciously ignored my protests and made sure I made it to the porta potty without falling down, then to my vet check area. I collapsed in my chair, sick again. Amazing how I wasn't sick on the horse, but completely helpless on the ground. Tamra again heaped blankets over me and gave me ginger ale and saltines.

We left out of the vet check only about 5 minutes late this time. The last loop is a bit of a blur. I had the adjustment period of letting my muscles warm up again and again the nausea abated while on horseback. Thank God for that. Otherwise, I don't think I could have made it. Finally, not too long before the finish, it occurred to me that Joe kept dropping back to use his headlamp so Kit could see better. Duh!!! I assured him the light did not bother me and to just leave it on when he was near me. Took me a good long time to catch on to that one.

I was SO happy to see the finish line!!! Nancy was there! What a lovely sight! Daniel and Tamra were also there with hay for the horses and to take our vet cards. I asked Tanna to canter the last few steps across the finish line as is our custom. We walked back into camp, although Eric Reuter was out there with Nancy and graciously offered to drive me back to camp. I declined and chose to ride my trusty steed back into camp.

Back at camp for one last trot out. I determinedly followed Tanna to the vet and was pleased to see Dr. Ken Marcella. He has been there for many of our accomplishments and it was fitting that he be the one to do Tanna's final check of the ride. Even before he did the official check, Dr. Ken commented that Joe and I both had 100 mile horses! Sure enough, a final check and a final trot out resulted in good grades and a completion!! We had done it!!!

Forty-five minutes after crossing the finish line, Tanna was safely in his corral with his winter coat on, munching on hay and his breakfast and sleeping. I tried to get my blackberry to send out a blog post, but gave up when the service would not come in. I snuggled under many blankets in my sweats and went to sleep.

The Aftermath

My sleep was not restful. Apparently, I moaned and groaned and sighed and generally was not a good sleeping mate. I drove my poor sleep-deprived husband out of bed at the crack of dawn. I tossed and turned and hurt and was nauseas and light-headed and the cramping was relentless.

At 9:30 AM, Daniel came and got me up. He said to come have a massage before the awards banquet. The massage was very lovely and helped my back and shoulder muscles tremendously. At the awards banquet, I picked at my food and ate very little. Nothing tasted good or sounded good, although I'm sure the food was wonderful.

I was very happy to receive my completion award. A nice fleece zippered jacket with the AERC NC logo on it.

After the awards, I returned to crash in bed. My rest continued to be fitful. Daniel managed to sleep some during the day. I got up and walked Tanna around some and went back to bed.

Finally around dark, Daniel insisted I see some medical professionals that happened to be on site. They recommended IV treatment and I gave in. I was embarrassed and not the best patient, but still grateful for the help. I received a liter of fluids and reportedly my color improved as did my attitude, although I still felt sore and crampy and not very good. After receiving the fluids, we returned to our camper. Earlier in the day, Daniel had gone out and gotten Subway sandwiches and I managed to eat half a 6-inch of mine. I also managed to drink some Propel water.

I went back to sleep and this time I slept quite well. I woke up around 3 AM and felt not too bad although still sore and a little crampy. So I walked Tanna around to let him stretch his legs and grab some grass. Then I ate the rest of my 6-inch sub, drank some more and went back to bed.

The next morning, I felt pretty good. So we packed up to head home. Daniel wanted to hang out some more, so I headed out driving the big truck with the horse trailer, leaving the smaller Tacoma for Daniel to drive home when he got ready.

When I got home, Serts (horse) and Serena (dog) were ecstatic to see us. I had to curb Serena's excitement as she was whining loudly. After she calmed down, I gave her a lot of affection. She was so happy to see us. I let Tanna out and watched him run around. Serena joyfully ran with him and stood watch while he rolled. Serts, on the other hand, decided it was better to hang out with me!! That was a switch and I gave him lots of pats and some handfuls of yummy hay before finally driving up to the house and then Serts went to join Tanna in some enthusiastic races and bucking fits.

Rider treatment is not discussed a lot. I did not want to be treated, but did it for my husband. I did not feel 100% better right away, but I was able to eat and drink on my own after the treatment and began to recover on my own. On Friday I was so sore I could hardly walk. By Sunday, I was moving much more freely. It seems dehydration has a lot to do with soreness, for me, at least. The cramping did get further apart, but did not go completely away until Sunday.

I figure my treatment was a lot like a horse might go through. Before treatment, I knew I should eat, but did not want to. Did not feel like it. In fact, I felt like I'd return the food and water if I did get it down. I just wanted to sleep. The cramps were painful. I looked like death warmed over. In fact, on Friday, whenever I did venture out, I jokingly told friends I was colicking. Not so far from the truth, really. During treatment, I began to feel a bit better, but the cramps and muscle soreness was still there. Everybody who saw me said I looked a lot better. But I didn't "feel" a lot better. I wonder if our horses also look much better after treatment, but don't feel as good as they look? All the next day, the cramps continued, even as I was eating and drinking and finally felt much better. I guess part of my point is, even after a horse is treated and begins to look and even act better, there still might be lingering effects that make the horse uncomfortable and a little extra love and consideration is definitely in order.

On analyzing what went wrong with me and why I got so sick, three things settled out that seem most likely for the problems. First (and maybe foremost), I was concentrating so much on taking care of my injured ankle, I neglected to take as good care of the rest of me. Second, I set myself up for dehydration because I didn't want to stop on trail to pee. This goes back to my ankle and the fact that it's hard on me to mount and dismount without the high mounting block we have. I drank about 140 ounces throughout the day and night. While that seems like a lot, I'm used to drinking about that during the course of a 3 loop 50. And the third factor was that I stopped eating after 50 miles. I should have eaten at the 64.5 mile vet check. When soup was mentioned, I should have taken the extra time to eat the soup instead of brushing it off in favor of leaving at our out time.

Tanna definitely looked and felt better than I did. I would much rather me be sick and him be well than the other way around! All day Thursday and Friday, he had a bright, kind look in his eye, perky ears and seemed much less sore than I was. Of course, he took much better care of himself than I did! I am so proud of my horse!

Many Thanks

There are so many people that contributed to our first 100 mile completion. I will try to remember everybody, but if I forget somebody, please, please accept my apologies.

These are in no particular order, except the first one is paramount.

God blessed so much. First our accident back in July that broke my left ankle and left thumb. I thought our chances were gone right there. But God blessed and healed and I was able to be on a horse again by September, albeit at a walk. God continued to bless and things went right to allow us to make our attempt. God continued to be there through it all. I was so worried and focused on the ride that about 10 days before the ride, I had to just pray and give it to God. I was holding it back and it was mine. But all things are God's and if it wasn't God's will for me to do this ride or to not complete, then so be it. Not my will, but His. Such peace when I let that go. And God rewarded with success. Praise God.

Daniel, my husband. I could not have contemplated doing this without him. He has been supportive (enabling?) of my entire endurance career (addiction?) and he was all on board to assist me in the 100. It meant he would have to put down the camera and crew for me, but he willingly did it. We spent so much money to get the tack just right, the shoeing just right and to get us there (not to mention the hefty entry fee). He had to put up with my non-stop chatter about the ride and the plans and the repeated instructions on how to do the trot-outs. I'm sure he was relieved that we drove different vehicles to the ride. He got some peace for a few hours! LOL. But seriously, I could not have and would not have tried this without him. He is a wonderful husband and crew and I thank him very much.

Angie Fura. She is a great endurance buddy. She was very supportive and encouraging. Telling me that I could do this. Helping me plan my ride strategy and my meals and encouraging me through my recovery. She gave me the idea to keep Tanna fit by putting him in the round pen twice a week, even when I was non-weight-bearing. So I hopped on my trusty riding lawn mower and proceeded to round pen my horse. She also did so many little encouraging emails and phone calls that I can't even count. And Tanna was proudly wearing a small balance "charm" that Angie made for his bridle. Thanks, Angie!

Amy Whelan. Lots of email support and encouraging me from the moment she knew that the 100 was on Thursday and that I was interested in trying it. Also, the small matter of managing the ride and all the hosts of details. And keeping me upright during that last vet check while Tanna was being vetted!

Roger Barrett. Definitely one of my mentors and a great endurance pal. One of the most encouraging things he said to me 2 weeks before the ride. I was expressing concern about riding balanced to avoid hurting my horse over the course of 100 miles. He glanced at me and said, you don't weigh enough to hurt your horse by being off-balance! That really put to rest one of my fears. I did concentrate on my form during the ride, but no longer worried about it. (Not to mention a nice ego boost. ;-))

Eva de Paulis. Another one of my endurance pals and mentors. I can't count the emails and conversations we've had about horses in general and her unwavering faith that I could do this was very inspiring.

Debra and Ted LaComette. Thanks for the peanut m&ms. Thanks for being there and giving me support. When I got sick in the vet check, Ted miraculously appeared and the fact that Debra had to deal with similar issues on her 100s made me think, I can do it, too! So thanks for support you might not have known you gave.

All my other Middle TN endurance pals. I'm sure you all thought I was crazy. Maybe I was, but thanks for the support and all the training rides through the years. (Good grief, sounds like I'm dying or retiring or something!!!)

Tamra Schoech. Tamra was such a great help! She was a good crew mentor for Daniel and I know neither of us knew what to do when I got sick. But Tamra was right there, knowing what to do and what to say. I don't think it even entered her mind that I would quit, although it certainly did mine. I'm glad I didn't have to. She and Daniel were always right there as soon as Joe and I came off trail. Ready to help and take care of horse and rider.

Joe Schoech. Thanks so much for the phone call just after my accident. Thanks for the offer to go first in the dark and the encouragement that I'd have company if I made it to Nationals. You have no idea how much that meant to me and how motivating that was at a time when I thought I'd blown my chance to ride the 100. I always enjoy our endurance adventures together. Thank you for being there for this one. I'm so happy to have been a part of Kit's first 100, as well. Tanna and Kit get along well (when they're not scheming together!) and I know Tanna was very happy to always have Kit for company and I was happy to have your company.

Ride management, vets and the countless volunteers. None of it could happen without all of you. I know many of you from other rides and was thrilled to have so many people I know and respect at the ride pulling for me and rooting for me.

And last, but not least, my Tanna. What a good horse he is! He's my buddy and my constant companion in my endurance adventures. He never said no. Never quit on me. Always ready to go out again and eager to see what's down the trail. He unquestioningly and uncomplainingly carried me up and down hills all day and most of the night. And came out looking great. I'm in awe of his heart and athleticism and can't wait to ride again. Of course, he gets a very well-deserved rest for the next month. But I'm grateful to him for being my pal.

One final note: To the ones who bet against me and my horse, I'm happy you lost! :-P