Did someone say they wanted to Dance?

FLYING HIGH

……Toothbrush….toothpaste…check… contact lens solution.. check…. Warm clothes…check….good book..got it

No, I am not packing for an endurance ride, although I wish I was. I am not even packing for anything horse related.

Instead, I am headed to Connecticut to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her husband. Before the sun even rises on sunday I will be boarded and blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube. With any luck I will make both connections with out any difficulties.

I am excited for the trip, but as any horse crazy person knows, leaving the farm is always difficult.

As a result, going on an extended trip like I am this time, is not something I choose to do very often unless it’s work related. If Tom and I do happen to travel, one of us usually winds up staying behind to “tend the rabbits”. Finding someone to take on 3 dogs, a cat and 5 horses is usually expensive and that’s only if you can even find someone crazy enough to agree!

This trip, unfortunately, will leave my very understanding husband behind. .. and all my beloved animals. My mom and I will travel back to Connecticut together, also leaving my dad behind. (I guess the boys are going to have to figure out Thanksgiving dinner this year)

I am one of the worlds worst worrier’s when it comes to my animals, especially the horses. Even though I know Tom is perfectly capable of managing things, there is just something about being there everyday to lay eyes on the horses and run down my mental checklist; morning and night….“ all horses accounted for, upright and walking fine, everyone is eagerly eating, things are ok” . Tom depends on my acute sense for when one of the critters "just not right". He going to have to be on his own and after Sunday, a nightly phone call from the home base will have to suffice and lay my worries to rest.

All things considered, this trip will be bittersweet. We have plans to get together with cousins that I haven’t seen in years. These are cousins that we used to spend every Thanksgiving and Christmas with. I am looking forward to catching up with everyone. They all have kids now that I have never even met. Not a single family member is "horsey" in the least so no horse talk for me.

We also have a trip into NYC planned, it’s been years since I have visited and I am really looking forward to that. I am not much of a city goer but NYC is worth a trip to every now and then. With all the plans, and the visiting with family and friends of long ago, I am certain I won’t have time to worry about what is going on at home ( yeah , right!)

I know when I return, I will be greeted with meows, woofs and nickers and that will be music to my ears!

Happy Trails everyone and maybe I will get time to send an update while I am still on vaca!

Just Right Night

I arrived home just before dusk this evening. A undeniable bite in the air as arctic front is about to bear down upon us. The chance of snow with rain according to the weather forecast beginning tomorrow. We have been enjoying mild November weather so far.

I tossed the heals and blouse and changed into crummy jeans, a warm hat and gloves , and headed out to feed horses. We use round bales to feed from, simply because we have not been able to build a hay barn yet. Round bales , when tarped, seem to shed water much better than squares. We end up losing a lot less to mold this way. Typically people who feed rounds also use the feeders. We don’t have those either. Instead we fork off hay from the bale morning and night. Personally, I would prefer feeders but that’s one of those things that I haven’t convinced Tom of yet. He thinks there would be too much waste and Rebel and Roman would tend to attach themselves to it like woodticks.

I loaded up the ‘rickshaw” with enough for 5 generous hay piles. The sun had set but it was not quite dark. As I approached the gate, I was greeted by 4 galloping , frisky geldings, obviously feeling the change in weather as well.

There is no sweeter sound to my ears than that of thundering hooves, no greater joy than being able to see my horses run and play.

I paused and watched as Cassidy and Brego romped about, leaving me in awe with their effortless rollbacks and airs above ground. Rebel and Roman were more interested in the hay but they did get caught up in all the excitement and joined the other two for a run about the pasture at a high speed, down to the other end of the pasture, around the outside of the round corral, and back towards me. What a thrill to see 4 geldings running right at me, almost full speed!

I doled out the piles and nattered greetings to them all, a scratch or two here and there, as they sorted out which pile tasted the best and settled in for a long chilly night. It occurred to me that it’s the small things in my life that I am so thankful for. How many of us get to experience that of running horses, cheeks bitten by fresh crisp air and soft fuzzy muzzles? All things at this moment are just right .

New Year, New Goals....

Settling into a season of less ride time, (forced due to darkness and weather), I shift focus a bit to thoughts about the upcoming ride season. I have been thinking about goals next season. Obviously I would like to stat next year off with completing a LD ride with JB early in the season .That’s a big one for me. It eluded me for the 2008 year due to JB’s bruised sole. I don’t intend to let it pass by for 2009.

Before I look ahead to far, I had to ponder where I have been. Ok 2008 was a rough year…not going to dwell on that.

Where did this desire to do endurance come from anyways? Why, more than anything has it motivated me ? When was the first time the thought of riding a horse for 50 or 100 miles over varied terrain begin to sound like fun????

It’s been hiding there in the back of my mind for a long time and it started with a special horse named Rebel. I can remember as clear as day the first time the idea of competing in endurance first entered my thoughts. It was during the first year I owned Rebel , after we sorted out some of his behavior issues he had. Rebel came to me as a rescue from an abuse situation. He had been mistreated and as a result , built in some pretty good defense mechanisms. I was told that all he knew how to do was rear or back up when a rider was on him. I had been warned that he was a renegade and I had better be careful.

At the time, I was about 17 years old and pretty much fearless. I hadn’t even heard of Natural horsemanship yet. But this was my first “horse of my own” that I had. It wasn’t a lesson horse, he wasn’t my sisters horse, he was mine. I had to make this horse right.

The first few rides out were a little rough. He had a couple of blow ups with me that included the aforementioned rearing and backing up. He bolted, he spooked, he tried to run away. He threw it all at me. Somehow, I managed to stay in the saddle during all of this , and maintained my composure (young and fearless) and just kept on about our ride.

Looking back on how I handled that, I never really got after Rebel for reacting like he was. At the time, knowing his past history of abuse, I was so fearful of doing anything he might perceive as me hurting him. I just went along with it and hoped for the best. I wanted him to realize that no matter what he did, I was still going to be right there with him. I didn’t really know what else to do. Just coming off of the last 8 years of riding Thoroughbreds retired from the track, over cross country courses, I was used to runaways.

Of course, when a horse rears like Trigger from the famed Roy Rogers show, I naturally threw the reins forward, clung to his neck and prayed to the heavens above we wouldn’t go over.

I just hoped that eventually he would realize I wasn’t going to try to hurt him and that he would eventually decide he didn’t need to do all those things. It must have worked.

After some time, I must have gained his trust on some level. He proved to be a decent riding horse. He was always a bit of a spooky, hot headed mount but over time it did lessen. THe rearing, bolting episodes lessened with each ride out and I got to see some great country atop his back as he swiftly carried us for miles and miles along the back roads of Stevensville, MT and into the Sapphire hills that shadowed the east side of the Bitterroot valley. On these rides, he astounded me with his ability for speed and it seemed I never could tire him. I rode with various people on various trail rides and ultimately would end up riding alone. No one could keep up with him. Rebel was my only riding horse for several years. I can’t tell you how many Montana sunsets I saw atop Rebels back.


… Thus the beginning of my quest to someday compete in endurance.



Since those early days, Rebel ended up having to be a bit of road warrior for me. While I floundered around through my twenties, Rebel made several moves with me from Stevensville, MT to Kalispell, MT to Helena, MT , back to Kalispell and a variety of moves around the Flathead valley at various boarding stables. It wasn’t until Tom and I married that Rebel was in any one place for any length of time. And yet, he was the one constant in a period of my life that seemed to be always changing.

In the last few years, Rebel has not been used very much. That has been eating on me. It’s easy to use his age and some of his quirks as an excuse to leave him behind as I drive off doing things with JB or any of the others at Acer Farm. It seems that there is always a youngster to work or some other project I have taken on. For a long time, I fooled myself into believing that Rebel was happier being ridden only once in a while and otherwise left to his own devices, grazing and loafing in the pasture but in my heart, I know better. Rebel has always loved getting out on the trail This past summer, I was so concerned about Rebel’s state of mind from not getting much use that Tom started him in Horseback archery, which he took too fairly quickly but if there is one thing Rebel loves to do, that is go…. and go fast.

All those years ago when it was just Rebel and I enjoying a Montana sunset, I promised him that someday we would make use of his speed and compete in an endurance ride together.

For the 2009 ride season, I intend to make good on that promise once and for all. Albeit, 14 years later and Rebel is approx 18 years old now. I might not consider it if he wasn’t in such good condition. I don’t think it’s too much to ask but it’s never too late to atleast try, right?

I realize he is older and maybe he won’t be quite as fast. Maybe I won’t find the fire he once had and I have to live with having missed making good on a promise, but my heart tells me that he has been patiently waiting all these years for me to finally give him a chance. After all, if it weren’t for Rebel, I likely would have never had the endurance bug.

Wouldn’t it be something if, after all this time, we finally get to accomplish what we intended to so many years ago?

Hoof Beats

Saturdays ride was bittersweet for me. I knew it would be my last time for a while that I would be able to take a jaunt up the gravel road with JB.

As a result, his conditioning will be limited going forward, atleast for a few months. Today , his EDSS shoes and pads finally do come off for the winter. I made Tom hold off until the very last possible minute, not wanting my riding to be limited to soft footing.

His EDSS shoes and pads have been on since September 15th. It is highly likely that once they are off, his sole has likely softened and he will be tender once again but only for a few days until he adjusts.I am keeping my fingers crossed that the pads did their job and gave him the time needed for the sole bruise to heal once and for all.

Over the next several months, Tom will trim JB using natural balance hoof care methods taught by Gene Ovnicek. Tom learned these methods years ago (Gene is from this very part of the contry in fact) and has followed these trimming methods for his own horses all this time. With JB, atleast initially the focus will be on getting his sole callus re-developed after his stint with pads.

In addition, we hope to help JB to develop thicker sole depth using these methods. This will be one piece of the hoof anatomy that will help keep him from becoming sore. JB has a bit of deformity in his front right hoof and it tends to to want to shape out like platters with under slung heels. With frequent trimming, getting the callus back, increasing his sole depth, and working to keep his hoof proportions correct, we hope to get JB's feet backto the point where he no longer has to be so sensitive. It will be a bit of an uphill battle since the footing he lives in is soft. We have very few rocks , if any, and when it rains, we get instant mud. We typically have a fairly wet weather pattern. If only for the desert!!

No hoof , no horse as they say. If I obsess over JB's feet for the next several months, just ignore me. We have to get his feet in top condition.

This endurance career I have embarked upon with him depends on it.

IN RIDING A HORSE, WE BORROW FREEDOM ; Helen Thomspon.

… Enjoying a steamy cup of coffee, I watched the first sunlight peek over the snowcapped Swan mountains , and I thought …


….Freedom is exactly what I needed a dose of today. A way to free my thoughts of deadlines, deliverables, meetings and conference calls.

I had a few household chores that I wanted to get out of the way (yuck) and then, I was headed out the door to get a dose of my freedom.

Vaccuming and 3 loads of laundry done, phonecalls from family wanting a piece of my time politely dodged, I was out the door and saddled in no time. I knew at some point, I would pay later for choosing horse activities over taking time with family. Nothing new, I was used to it.

I would have to settle for a ride today that would follow one of the two same routes we usually condition on. It gets a little boring but I am limited to where I can ride from home without trailering somewhere. It didn't matter much. I was happy to be out in the fresh air , on my horse. I thought we might plan for an 8 mile ride today. With the darkness beating me home most days of the week , I have been limited to saving longer rides for the weekend.

JB moved along at a steady, average pace for him. I let him pick the speed but had to encourage him to keep a steady rhythm. Occasionally, his mind would wander back to his herd at home and he would slow his pace, trying to look back towards home. I don’t know that he was enjoying the time out as much as I but he carried on at my suggestion. After 2.5 miles, he decided to walk and I let him. We walked along for about a half mile. I was distracted by the two redtail hawks performing some impressive aeronautical tricks, screeching and diving. We stirred up a clutch of pheasants and interrupted the path of three deer who stopped and watched us pass by. It seemed everyone was out enjoying the sunny mid November day.

As we picked up a trot again, we hit the 3.5 mile point and turned around to head back, only to detour and headed up another road that offered new scenery we hadn’t visited recently. I had hoped it might offer more interesting distractions for JB, like cattle and other residences with horses. The horses seemed to interest him, reviving him with a bit of speed as they trotted along their fence line with us for while. The cattle were too far off in the distance to be of much interest. At the 4.5 mile mark we had to turn around again and join back up to our main road that headed back towards home, 3 miles left. Initially I had planned to go on and take the other road that would give us our 8 miles but feeling JB’s energy and pace wain just a bit, decided to let him choose to see what he would do. Besides, today was about freedom. I didn’t want to make any more decisions that needed and once in a while I allow him to have a bit of say so in what happens on our rides. He chose to turn the corner to head home…of course…as any horse might. We joined back up to the main road that would take us home and JB offered a nice canter, which he maintained for about ¾ of a mile and then down to what I would guess to be about a 6.5 mph trot. JB has one of the nicest , smoothest trots I have ever ridden in a horse.

We happily clipped along at this rate until we were a ½ mile from home, when I reluctantly asked for a down transition into a walk. I was enjoying the pace and wished we could go on forever but JB was showing some sign of feeling a bit tired and was more than willing to walk.

When we arrived back , I decided as further cool down I would work on some lateral work, hind end releases, shoulder-n, leg yields. Occasionally I like to end a ride and use some of these exercises as a post exercises stretching routine.

We completed 7.5 miles in 1 hr and 12 minutes. Not the fastest, not the slowest but no less, the best time I had had all week. It was food for my soul.

Thoughts of next ride season are constantly on my mind these days. I can only hope that with ongoing conditioning and getting his sore feet squared away, JB will increase his willingness to move along at the speeds I know he is capable of.

Thoughts

" The Psychology of the horse hold the key to the Emotive Patterns, they lead to physical

order and that leads to trust. Trust is inherant to lightness as is knowledge and self awareness.

To be aware is to live fully."

- Bettina Drummond