Secret Trail from Home

When people ask if I ride from home, generally the answer I give is, "No."  Although our house in on a 1.1 ac. plot, Diego only has a small corral out back, and we're pretty much surrounded by other homes and subdivisions

However, I'm not being entirely honest.  While I do trailer out for 95+% of my rides, I DO have a "secret" little trail that I can access from home.  However, I certainly do not consider it green horse friendly.  Thus, while I could trot along merrily with my experienced horse Sinatra, Diego has only been hiked along portions of the trail, and I've never tried to ride him on it.  But we're a one-truck family now, and I don't always want to hitch up the trailer and drive anytime I want to get out, so I've decided it's time to rediscover my little hidden gem.

Please excuse phone-quality crappy pictures.

From my house, I walk down the road past the neighbors and then catch a gravel easement road that runs a couple of blocks up to the main street in and out of our neighborhood.  Dogs go on the lease and we all scamper across the street and over a bit to access another gravel road that runs behind a group for about 6 houses, and has a couple of tight squeezes between fire-access emergency gates, before accessing the lower (southern-most) portion of the Upper Reach for Thomas Creek.

Upper Thomas Creek - At about 9,000 feet, the headwaters of Thomas Creek originate in a lush alpine bowl about two miles north of Mount Rose peak. Flows from fifteen or more springs come together in a large meadow and form a meandering channel. Then the stream flows east down a steep, rocky canyon filled with aspen trees, willows, service berries, choke cherries, wood rose, alder and other woody plants. The area is alive with dense carpets of native grasses, sedges, and rushes.

The upper reach of Thomas Creek is relatively undisturbed with the exception of a dirt road and multiple use trails. The creek emerges from the canyon near Timberline Road and flows down through low density housing developments (this is the bit I've been riding).

When we first arrive at the creek, there's a small shallow crossing where the dogs like to lie in the water and get cooled off and drink.  I then stay on foot for the worst part of the single-track trail, which all occurs in the first 1/2 mile or so after reaching the creek.  Here are some photos:

Mud Puddle in the Aspens




Jess shows the way

 

Sketchy bit of single-track uphill,
this is steeper than it looks




More narrow bits,
this is dropping off sharply on the right



Along the canyon wall,
views of the golf course



Views of Arrowcreek Golf Course,
I think this is the end of the front 9

  



From a prior day, Diego trying to figure out
the sound of golfers teeing off



We can follow along the creek for quite a ways, actually all the way to access the main Thomas Creek, Jones Creek, and Whites Creek trail heads near the base of Mt. Rose, all of which go up further into the wilderness area.  For now, we've only been going two miles or so up to where Arrowcreek Pkwy crosses the trail, and heading back home from there.  I've been taking my pruning shears and clipping off the overhanging bits here and there as we go.  For now, I'm probably riding about 1/2 the trail and walking the other 1/2.  Diego obviously isn't very physically challenged by these excursions, they simply don't qualify as conditioning rides, but they're very mentally challenging and stimulating for him.  Last night we had "discussions" regarding which grass clumps he was allowed to stop and munch on.  He thought that ALL grass clumps should be allowed, as soon as his mouth was empty.  I had to kick him and argue a bit to advise him that NO, he could only be stopping when *I* said so!  He's also learning to be brave and be out on his own.  To look before he startles at something, because it's probably just the (stupid - per Diego) dogs yet again, and to watch where he's putting his feet.

We did have one incident last night that caught us both by surprise.  Where we've been stopping to turn around is a more open "meadow" portion of the trail.  I generally let him graze a bit and then we turn around and go back the way we came.  Last night, he made the turn, and then for whatever reason, stepped off the edge of the trail, up the small embankment that was covered in grass - so much you couldn't really see it.  Poor boy, his left front foot slid on the edge, across his body, and we both ended up laying on the ground on the side of the trail!  He simply had collapsed down onto his shoulder and rolled onto his side before I quite realized what was happening!  Thankfully my shoe was tied loose and I pulled my foot out from under him without any effort.  We both got up a bit startled and shaken, but no worse from the wear (although my foot at the time was feeling a bit squashed, and my knees were knocking).  I walked and trotted him down the trail just a bit to access that he was okay, and then mounted back up to continue home. 

I'm hoping to continue these excursions on a more frequent basis.  As we both build up our confidence, we can traverse further in a lesser amount of time.  For now, it's a lovely little "secret" trail that we're able to enjoy, right from home!

Photographic evidence of my poor, abused, starved horse:

Diego gives the restaurant accomodations
4 stars!





NASTR Ride Musings

Well, Diego and I got pulled.  Bummer.  =(  However, we did 36 miles and he's not broken, just footsore, as confirmed by the head vet, Jay Mero.  In looking back, we had several very good things happen at this ride:

• I mounted up in camp and rode out of camp with a happy horse at a walk.  He was a bit "up" when I first got on, but settled nicely and went on down the road like a big boy.
• I got to ride with some very fabulous ride partners, Nancy Upham and Gretchen Montgomery.  Both of them are fabulous ladies who I love to share the trail with, so it was a very, very fun ride for the entire time I was out there.
• It was a tough ride, very technical and rocky terrain, with a lot of climbing.  Diego did all the "hard" parts since the last 14 miles we didn't do was mostly all the downhill back to camp.  =)
• Since Gretchen and Nan's horses are both seasoned mares, Dig got to work on his big boy endurance trot, i.e. going along at 9 mph rather than 6-7 mph.
• There was a TON of grass along the trail.  Diego learned the art of "grab-and-go" eating.
• We both did a great job taking care of ourselves, eating and drinking, both on the trail and in the vetcheck. 

I have a few theories on why Diego came up footsore.  Mainly, he's continuing to land toe first.  With horses, ideally you want a heel first landing.  In looking at the pictures from the ride photographers, you can clearly see him spiking his feet into the ground toe first, and the dirt being kicked up by how he's driving his foot in.  I've been working to bring his toes back each time he's trimmed.  However, I last trimmed him the Thursday before the ride.  And I trimmed way too much off to expect him to do a ride two days later.  I should have been more cognizant of the timing of the trim.  When I had my other horse in shoes, I would ideally have him shod about two weeks before the ride.  That's what I should have done with Dig.  A good balanced, make-them-shorter trim two weeks to a week and a half before the ride, and then just a quick touch up if need be to ensure the boots fit correctly.

Enlarge to see the dirt poofs from his "spiking" his toes

The other item I'm going to look into is the possibility of some deep seated thrush that may be causing heel sensitivitiy.  Things have been pretty wet this year and there's a good chance he could have something brewing in there that isn't overly obvious.  I was dealing with some thrush off and on all winter, so it's possible that it's more deep seated and not being resolved with just some standard over the counter topical treatments.

My other concern for why he's landing toe first is saddle fit.  He has a long laid back shoulder, and I need to ensure that nothing is pinching and causing him to restrict his stride.  I noticed that he was having to take about 1 1/2 steps to the other horses' one stride this weekend.  He's just not truly reaching out and using himself.  He may be doing it because his feet hurt, or because the saddle fit isn't ideal (I'm still playing around with fit and padding).  It may be a combination of all of the above.

At least the cure for sore feet is relatively easy - some time off and easy light riding.  He should be all better in a couple of weeks hopefully. However, getting to the root cause of the issue, and resolving whatever the problem may be, is my main concern now.

Glorious

So if you were going to take your horse out on his first true solo trail ride, would you:

Option 1:

• Plan it for a quiet time of day when you have plenty of time
• Use the same secure saddle you've been using and are comfortable with
• Do your best to limit the number of distractions

Or Option 2:

• Rush out after work, which means you'll pretty much be returning to the trailer in the dark
• Use a different saddle, that's only done a couple of quick arena rides (and isn't as secure)
• Bring two dogs, one of which hasn't even been on a ride before

Yeah, Option 2 sounded way more fun to me too!  =)  And guess what??  Diego was PERFECT!!!

I took him out to Washoe after work last night (Thursday).  They recently completed their arena, amongst other very nice improvements and additions to the equestrian area.  I turned him loose and let him run around while I searched for an additional article of clothing since it was a bit windy and kind of cool.  After running for a bit, we went back to the trailer and saddled up with my Solstice english saddle.  I rode a TON of miles with this saddle on my other horse Sinatra, but haven't used it much on Diego. The Bob Marshall I've been using is *much, much* more secure, but it's a loaner and, even being treeless, not the perfect fit for either Diego or I.  Thus I need to start giving MY saddle a more through trial so I can decide for sure if I'm going to sell it or not.

I also brought the dogs, Molly and Jess.  Diego's not overly fond of the dogs, but they all hang out in the yard together every day, and frankly - he can just get used to them.  Riding with dogs has helped him be less reactive to stuff.  Molly's been going on rides with us off and on for the past year or so.  Jess (aka Pea Brain or Franks & Beans - to give you an idea of her personality), hasn't been on a ride before.  But she listens well and tends to hang around with me pretty naturally anyways, or she's attached to Molly, so I figured that she could come as well.

Once we were all tacked up, I led him over on foot around and through the gate to the trail.  Debated for a bit on if I wanted to take the fun single track, or just stay on the road, and opted for the road due to time.  You HAVE to go further down on the single track if you want to make a loop, while the road has a few shorter options.  I actually walked on foot way less than normal, only a couple hundred yards before mounting up.  Diego was very relaxed and calm and stayed that way even after mounting.  He just put on his big walk and cruised on down the road.  In only a couple of minutes, we were trotting down the trail, nice and forward on a loose rein.  =)

Other than stopping to look at some of the signage and one sagebrush that looked odd in the falling light, he didn't even balk at anything.  At one point, there were two very large puddles that some ducks where hanging out in next to the trail.  The dogs were having a ton of fun dashing through the puddles sending up sparkles of light.  Diego turned to watch them, and edged closer.  He seemed to be enjoying watching them splash and play.  I actually had to get off here and lead him away, because he kept trying to turn and go back.  =)  So I jogged on foot down the trail for a bit, then mounted up and rode the rest of the way back to the trailer with no issues.  We finished just as it was getting to be truly dark.

It was an awesome ride on an awesome horse.  Love my boy!

Incredible Journey - Rides of March 2011

Wow, where to start...  What a ride, and what a ride it's been.

This past Saturday, 3/19, Diego and I completed his very first 50 mile endurance ride.  I find it especially fitting that it happened at Rides of March (ROM), as this ride as had special significance to me over the years.  In 2003, in its debut year, this is where Sinatra and I had our introduction to the sport of endurance and completed in our very first limited distance (30 mile) ride.  In 2008, it was where I (unknowingly) rode Sinatra on his very last completion, a 50 mile finish on their brand new trail and location.  He passed that December from cancer.  Sinatra's ashes are scattered on the trail behind the hunt facility where the ride now passes by.  So it seems extra appropriate that ROM would also become a huge part of the history of Diego and I as well.

The weather forecast leading up to the ride was a bit... um... interesting.  It was supposed to be blowing a gale on Friday, and then snow overnight and into Saturday morning.  On the plus side, the snow and wind were both supposed to stop sometime on Saturday, and the forecast high of the low 40's would be perfect for the horses with their winter coats.  Hubby helped me get the camper all loaded up on Thursday and on Friday, amid gusts up to 50 mph, I loaded Diego in the trailer and SAILED over to Funder's house to pick up Dixie and her.  We crammed everything in and then, as I was leaving her house, I realized it was after 3 pm and I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast, so we hopped in and grabbed something to eat at Qdoba, which was MOST EXCELLENT.



Dixie and Diego in camp



Arrived at ridecamp with no issues and got the horses all settled in and camp set-up.  I tested poor Diego by pulling a rookie move with my blanket.  It's a closed front, which means I have to put it on OVER his head; it doesn't have buckles on the chest.  That was fine, except I had it inside out.  Realizing my error, I unclipped his lead rope from his halter in order to pull the blanket back off.  He backed up as I started to pull it off, bumped into the fence behind him and then jumped forward in surprise, taking a few steps around the corner of the trailer, with the blanket still around his neck and now hanging on the ground in front of him.  Bless his heart he just stood there and let me come "rescue" him!  Good boy!  Got everything all figured out and stuffed on correctly. 



Boots On

 Both horses vetted through just fine.  About 15 of us huddled around the campfire for the pre-ride meeting and to hear about the layout of the trail for tomorrow.  Whiteout conditions over I-80 had the interstate closed, so only a few riders from California braved the trip over the mountain.  It was already starting to snow off and on, but wasn't really sticking yet.  Sanne and Diego's BFF Taz showed up during the ride meeting.  After the meeting, Dave Rabe helped me with applying Diego's Easycare Glove hoof boots.  This was to be our first 50 using Gloves.  We've done several long training rides in them, but nothing of this distance so far (obviously).   Since it was supposed to snow (more) overnight, it was best to get the athletic tape and boots on his hooves now, while things were still somewhat dry.  Between Dave and I, the job went very quick and smooth.  I left the gaiters loose, and it was super easy to just tighten them up in the morning.

Sanne, Funder and I had an excellent dinner in the camper and chatted for a while.  After dinner, we took the horses for a quick walk around camp, where I panicked poor Funder by taking Dixie without telling her!  Actually, I thought she was in the camper and yelled out "I'm stealing your horse" as we went by, but it turns out she WASN'T in the camper, and had a mild panic attack when she came back and her horse wasn't tied to the trailer.  =)  Luckily she found us fairly quickly.  SORRY!!!  LOL

I didn't sleep very well overnight.  Part of that is normal for me.  Oh well.  Got up and it had snowed overnight, but was still mostly just a light dusting on the ground.  Put on about 20 layers of clothes, I actually was NEVER cold at all during the day, rather I was too warm at times.  Saddled up and put on my rump rug, a first for Diego.  I tightened up the gaiters on the boots and lunged him for a bit in camp.  Soon I could see the first riders heading off down the trail, so went back over and finished some last minute checking of items, hooked up my heart rate monitor, and we headed over to the start.



Ready to go at the start



Funder got on Dixie and left pretty much right away.  Sanne and I chose to stay on foot and walk the boys for a while down the trail.  Dig was excited and prancing a bit, but was being good and staying out of my space and not pulling on me.  We figured it was easier to just go along on foot than to try to fight with them to stay at a walk at this point, and we knew they needed to WALK to get their heads' on straight for a bit first thing in the morning.  It was probably only a couple of miles until we mounted up.  Both horses actually did well and continued walking down the trail after we were mounted, in fact we didn't trot until we ran across the ride photographer.  Unfortunately, it was snowing a bit too hard at this point and none of my pictures turned out. =(  The camera was confused about where to focus and they're all a bit blurry. 

The first loop was 20 miles, after passing the photographer and a volunteer taking numbers, we went through a gate and continued up a dirt road.  Sanne and I both were watching the ground, looking to see if there were slip marks to indicate how icy it might be.  We both had boots on (I had on Gloves while Sanne had on Glue-ons), and neither of our horses slipped at all, however we decided that a moderate trot was the best gait of choice.  After a mile or two we dropped down into a sandy twisty wash, which was super fun and a great place to let the horses get a little power trot in.  Once out of the wash, we headed up a long road into the foothills, and it started to snow, and snow, and snow.  Soon we had almost a 1/2 inch accumulated in their manes and along the pommels of our saddles and packs.  Since we were both tucked into our jackets, it actually was kind of fun.  Certainly makes other rides seem much easier in comparison.  =)  This loop led us up and around through the foothills, making sort of a counter-clockwise rectangle.  Diego drank at the first main cow tanks.  He was all business all day about drinking.  We'd arrive at water, he'd walk up and drink as much as he wanted, then scratch his head or look around for stuff to nibble on.



Sanne and Taz on the first loop



As we crested the highest part of this loop, we headed back toward the valley and it stopped snowing and the sun even tried to peak out.  It was beautiful out!  We headed down, down, down and back to Bedell Flats.  At this point it was warm enough to peel of a layer, which I managed to wiggle out of as we continued walking down the trail.  Right before we hit the main road on the valley floor, another rider came up behind us!  Diego noticed her first.  Both Sanne and I were surprised that anyone was behind us, but she mentioned that she'd missed a turn and had been off trail.  She was shocked to even catch up to anyone.  Turtles R Us was the motto for the day though!  ;) 

We followed along behind her for a bit, until we turned off the main road and began to climb through the foothills for the final few miles back into camp.  At one point, Diego put his head down really low, like he was sniffing the trail while trotting along.  I figured he was maybe stretching his back and let him cruise along like that for a bit.  Suddenly, BUCK BUCK BUCK!  I don't know what prompted that (I'm thinking the rump rug might have something to do with it, it had been pulled up but was down afterwards).  Thankfully I didn't even lose my seat and he only did a few.  He does NOT buck as well as Sinatra - who could always unload me at will.  And he went right back to trotting on a loose rein.  Dork. 

We came across a gate, and when I hopped off to open the gate, I did my first boot check of the ride (about 15 miles in) and dumped some sand and one small rock out of the gaiters on all 4 boots.  I actually was SHOCKED there were no rubs or any issues, considering the boots had been covered in wet sand throughout the entire ride so far.  Dig has what I term "delicate" legs, so not having any signs of rubbing was most excellent.  After going through the gate, we arrived at a set of cow tanks that all 3 loops would come to.  The first 4 riders for the 50 arrived on their second loop at the same time as us, and all 6 horses shared politely.  We had common trail for about a mile or so, where the front runners turned off to continue on their second loop, while Sanne and I headed the last 3 miles or so back to camp.  One more water stop along the way, and soon we had arrived at 20 miles.  The ride started at 7:00 and we came in off that 20 mile loop and pulsed in at 10:58, so it took us about 4 hours total (including starting late and walking on foot).


Checking in at 20 miles



The hold here was only 15 minutes, but both Sanne and I wanted to give the boys a chance to eat something and grab a bite for ourselves.  Both horses vetted through well, Diego's CRI was a 48(!!!) and he had all A's on his vetcard as I can recall.  I also took the time to get rid of my light jacket for an even lighter windbreaker.  I went to send out a text update as to how things were going with the ride, and realized my iPhone was missing!!!  I wear it in a Cashel ankle safe, and the entire pouch was NOT on my leg!  Ack!  Thankfully Sanne remembered seeing it when we went through the gate right before the common water troughs, so it was somewhere out there on shared trail.  I notified management that if any riders came in with an extra phone, it was mine.  Exchanged my empty water bottle for a full one, and about 30 minutes after our arrival we were all set and headed out on the next loop, which was 15 miles.

Both horses left camp quite cheerfully and we repeated the same trail as the morning up to the point where the photographer had been.  We made MUCH better time on this loop, being able to trot along where in the morning we were walking on foot.  We didn't go through the fence this time, instead turning left through the low foothills, parallel to the fenceline, back to the cow troughs were we saw the front running 50's on the last loop.  I hopped off here to shed another layer on top (now down to 4 instead of 5) ;) and we set off again. Not 200 yards up the trail - THERE'S MY PHONE!!!  Rejoice!!!  I've ridden probably 2,000 miles with an ankle safe and NEVER had it come off before, but I also don't generally have on that many layers.  My guess is the velcro was lined up just right with my stirrup leather that it caused it to pop off.  I put it back on and it stayed where it should the rest of the ride.

This was a new loop for the ride this year, and it was called Scenic for a reason.  Gorgeous views as we climbed up into, over, and through the hills.  After negotiating past a water tower and a horse-eating tanker car of death (how in the HECK did THAT get out here?!?!?), we followed along a side-hill trail on the backside of the mountains.  As we rounded one curve, I realized I had ridden this trail years and years ago on Sinatra, on a training ride with the ride managers, from the opposite direction.  Sinatra was with me in spirit a lot on this ride, but especially on this loop.  Sanne and I talked a lot about Tevis on this loop, since there were some narrow sections of side-hill.  Diego crossed his "farthest to ever be ridden" after the 25 mile point on this loop.  He was cute, he was so happy and perky - just giving off such a "I'm having fun!" vibe that I laughed out loud several times and commented to Sanne on it.  =)  We also did a fair amount of climbing, especially toward the end of the loop where we went down, down, down one canyon, followed a couple miles of trail overlooking some homes and the hunt facility in Red Rock, to then climb back up, and up, and up to a water stop at the top of the climb.  We let the boys have a break for some water and the hay provided at the top, then continued on knowing camp shouldn't be too much farther.  Sure enough, I happened to look over my right shoulder and a bit behind me after we were out of the hills, and could see the trailers about 1/4 mile away.


Arriving at 35 miles



Eating at the trailer



We arrived back in camp, at 35 miles for our 1 hour hold, right around 2:30, again averaging around 5 mph overall pace for the loop.  I was STARVING and I'm sure the horses were too.  We vetted through quickly and headed back to the trailers.  Got the horses going on lunch and ate something ourselves.  Refilled bottles, sent out some Facebook updates on how things were going (got to love the connected electronic age), and suddenly I realized I was TIRED sitting there with nothing to do and at least 10 more minutes before I needed to get ready to head back out.  I gulped down the last of my, now cold, morning coffee and decided to walk over to the vet area to hang out and let Diego eat over there.  Sanne was on board with the same plan so we spent the last few minutes of our hold chatting with everyone.  On a sad note, Funder, who we hadn't seen since that morning, didn't quite like how Dixie was doing, so elected to pull here.  =(  Better luck next time to them and I'm SURE they'll get everything figured out eventually.

So off we went on the last 15 mile loop.  Both boys happily trotted right out of camp and down the trail.  I knew we were going "up and over that mountain in front of us" from doing this same loop back in 2008, but I forgot the exact details.  Needless to say, I firmly believe that this loop should be renamed CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT.  ;)  Ugh!  You start out on a gradual uphill climb, which gets continually steeper, and you climb, and climb, and climb.  Then when you think you're at the top, you go around a corner, down a little bit, and then climb some MORE!  Repeat about 3 times!  We trotted anytime it was flat or a bit downhill and let the boys just continue to climb up at about a 3 mph walk.  Finally, **finally** you crest the top and start down.  And down, and down, and down, and down.  But it's a nice sandy wash and easy to just cruise down at a walk.  We stopped at one point and I fished out some ibuprofen from my saddle packs for Sanne, who choked on water while trying to take them, poor thing.  But we got all situated and finally hit the bottom of the climb.  At the bottom of the climb is a main dirt road, the same one we were on the first loop in the morning, which runs along the valley floor.  You could REALLY make time on this road, especially with a fresh horse.  Instead we had horses (and riders) with 40 miles on them, but who were still game to trot and canter off and on, so onward we went.  We joked off and on that this was the hardest we'd worked the horses all day, here at the end of the ride, and it's probably true - Negative Splits R Us, or at least a consistent average.  We took a few walking breaks as needed (mainly for us RIDERS!) and finally, FINALLY met up with the first loop trail.  Then the mind plays tricks on you.  What went by fairly quickly in the morning was somehow at least twice as long this time around.  We were doing fine on time, right on track, but at this point, I certainly was ready for it to be over!  =)  Eventually we came to the gate, and then the common cow tanks for water.  Both horses were all business.  Diego would drink and as we'd leave, Taz would stay and wait until he was *certain* that Diego was indeed heading down the trail before opting to join us.  He'd started that back at the end of the second loop and it brought some chuckles for sure.  Taz actually prefers to be in front, and lead most of the day, but he wasn't opposed to taking a break and making it for as long as possible.  ;)

Not too much longer now!  Just a bit more off and on trotting, and we hit the "crossroads" water tanks right as John with management was showing up, knowing we were the last riders and he could pick them up after us.  We visited for a while and let the horses eat, then continued on, knowing camp was only about 5 minutes down the trail.


FINISHED!!!



And we finished!!!  Right around 6:30, which had been the plan all along (5 mph).  Both horses did great all day.  Diego vetted out with A's and some B's.  He had a B on gait with a note of a very slight inconsistent something on his right front.  At first I told the vet, "Yeah, if it's any foot, it would be that one," thinking of his LEFT front, which is the only leg he's actually ever had any issues on (including getting it caught in a rope about 8 months ago), but then I realized I was thinking of the wrong leg.  Honestly, I think he was a bit off because he has a STRONG preference to have me on that diagonal, and even though I tried to be very diligent in changing, I *know* I rode WAY more miles on his right front/left rear diagonal than I did on the other side.  So add that to the list of things to practice more, for sure.

Diego was a hungry boy when we finished and happily snarfed up his food in camp and munched hay all the way home.  Funder had done an excellent job getting us mostly ready to leave, so it didn't take long to strip tack, blanket, vet out, remove boots (NO RUBS!), and get the people side of the equation packed up and ready to leave.  Since it was only a little over an hour to get home (including stopping to drop Funder and Dixie off), I didn't feel too guilty about loading up and getting on the road fairly quickly.

The next day, it rained or snowed pretty much all day at home. In the evening things finally let up for a bit and I took Diego on a little walk around the neighborhood.  He was moving very free and forward, out-walking me and looking around with interest.  It's been a long road to get here, but I can hardly wait to see what adventures lie ahead for us!  Just the beginning of my incredible journey with this awesome horse.

Fear

This has been a post I've been working on in bits for several months now. I hope this helps anyone else out there that may be going through the same thing.

I ended up in the hospital twice in 2009 as a result of injuries from Diego. Thankfully, while both my injuries (kicked in the face while leading him, and a broken arm as a result of being bucked off) required a trip to the hospital, and a lot of time and rehab, neither one was overly serious or required an overnight stay. However, the bruises and scars I was left with externally, were nothing compared to the rehab and time I would need mentally in order to be able to once again enjoy the love of my life, riding horses.

I went from being a cautious, but not truly fearful rider, to REALLY having to face with and deal with my fear. My past experiences with horses were not without incident. I have come off more times than I can remember, but chalked that up to just being "a part of riding." I do still believe in that sentiment. When riding horses, you ARE going to come off at some point. You may go years and years without issue, you may have a very minor incident that results in no injuries, but you cannot delude yourself into thinking that it will never happen. It's never a matter of "if", but "when". I've had times where I literally landed on my feet, and have also had a few injuries, from bumps and bruises to a fracture here or there that didn't require any sort of medical treatment (i.e. cracked tailbone). In the past, although perhaps a bit anxious, I've always been able to get right back on, or very shortly thereafter, with no lingering effects other than perhaps a bit of nervousness for the first few minutes or while the horse was acting up. However, things were much, much different for me now.

At first, I found I had little desire to get back on a horse, any horse. However, riding is such a huge part of my life, such a huge part of what defines me, that those sentiments did not last for long. I knew that eventually, I would be back in the saddle again. I was able to use my broken arm as an excuse, both to myself and to others, for several months. I truly didn't want to risk riding again while my range of motion and strength in that limb were still so limited.  I need that time to begin to heal mentally as well.  I needed to come to terms with what had happened, and remind myself that what happened (being injured that badly) was more of an exception, not a common occurrence. 

Once I was ready to start riding again, some things that really helped me were riding other "steady eddy" horses, watching someone else successfully work with my horse, and just doing the small things that I could manage. At first, even climbing up on my friend's dead-broke gelding was enough to make my knees shake.  I felt like a first time rider as I insisted we walk for nearly an hour before I felt more comfortable going any faster. I was still prone to random panic attacks (something I've never had to deal with) at just the thought of riding my boy. It was shocking to be sitting at my desk at work on day, and find myself shaking with fear and on the verge of tears at the thought of riding Diego again. 

But, I started doing it, and bit by bit it got better. When I first got back on him, I had him stand next to the panels in the corral at home and I just barely slid a leg over, still keeping one foot and a hand on the fence, and would pull myself off his back onto "safety" at the slightest shift on his part.  Eventually I got where I could sit on him without hanging onto the fence, and then we progressed to teeny bits of walking around the corral.  It was a slow process that took me a couple of weeks to work up to in stages.

When I finally was feeling comfortable at home, I made plans with Bob and Dovie to bring Diego over to their house where they had a round pen.  The plan was to do a nice easy little baby trail ride.  Instead I found that I was so anxious just in the round pen, and Diego was tense and nervous as well, we were just feeding off each other and nothing good was coming of it.  Bob offered to ride Diego for me, which I was very thankful for.  I tried to get on Caramel, a horse belonging to a young girl who Dovie gives lessons to.  I found that I was just getting frustrated and more fearful, since she was a mare used to getting her way and I wasn't up to arguing.  I watched on foot as Bob took Diego out and around the small lot at the end of their street for an easy ride. 

The blessings of having good friends, I was able to leave Diego with Bob and Dovie for about a month, where Bob rode him nearly every day and would send me updates on how things were going.  I made a point of going over there a few times and riding Diego at their house.  I was not at the point where I looked forward to riding him, nor did I ENJOY riding him very much, but it was something I needed to do.  I either needed to come to terms with my fear, or try to sell the horse.  Watching him succeed under another rider was helpful, as well as having a ton of reinforcing emails about how good he was, etc.  As a celebration to the end of training, Diego and I completed in a 10-mile 4-H "Endurance" trail ride.  I had to walk on foot for quite a while to get up the nerve to get on, and also got off and walked periodically during the ride as my nerves needed.  Bob rode one of their horses with me and provided reassurance.  However, we did accomplish our goal of the 10 miles.

From there, things slowly got better.  I found I was able to more successfully manage my fear, and use getting off to walk as an outlet when I needed to.  I tried to put Diego into new situations, riding with various people, doing ground work bomb-proofing, going to a Formation riding clinic, and various despooking and obstacle clinics.  As we successfully completed each of these scenarios, I found myself starting to trust both in my abilities and Diego more and more. 

Perhaps one of the biggest turning points was actually coming off again.  On Friday before the Washoe Valley endurance ride, where Diego and I did 25 miles, I was pre-riding with a friend when a dad and his two children came bombing through the sand-dunes on their horses.  It was a bit too much for Dig to cope with and he spun and set to bucking, and I came off over his shoulder.  I landed in the soft sand and was totally fine, a bit sore, a bit shaken, but overall okay.  Diego galloped laps around us for about 5 minutes before allowing himself to be caught.  The next day we did the ride with no behavioral issues.

This last month, I've discovered something very special:  I LOVE RIDING MY HORSE AGAIN!  He can be a dork, he will still jump and buck, he's still like a coiled spring for the first few minutes when I get on, but I'm okay.  I'm not longer nervous and fearful.  I no longer need to get off and walk after any slight issue.  The more I regain my confidence and reassert myself, the better he does.  Now, his antics are more of an annoyance than a concern; they're a training issue we're working on, not the center of my focus.  Now, instead of dreading the ride, I find myself looking forward to each one, and reveling in the glory of being out with my horse for days afterward.

For this, I am so very truly thankful.

Big Boy Blog Buddy Ride

Whew!  What a ride!!!!  We've been so fortunate in that our glorious "spring like" weather has continued to hold.  Today was forecast to be in the mid-50's.  I've been doing my best to enjoy it, but also to realize that it's not truly Spring yet, so I won't be disappointed when we switch back to more seasonal temperatures.

Today I trailered out to where Zach boards his horses.  It's the exact same ranch where I used to board over 10 years ago, when I was conditioning my first mare to start in endurance.  I also worked a dude string that was based out of here, giving rides to people and lessons for children on the weekends.  Needless to say I'm pretty familiar with the trails in the area.  After debating with myself for quite a bit, I also decided to bring Molly dog, mainly because she was a Cling-on and wouldn't leave my side from the moment I put my "riding clothes" on.  =)  Met Zach out there, got all tacked and booted up.  I've been riding barefoot a lot lately, but since we were planning on a longer ride, over 20 miles, I decided to put regular Easyboots on the fronts and Easyboot Gloves on the rears, mainly because I only have one pair of Gloves right now and Diego will interfere if he has a buckle on a rear boot.  LOVE THE GLOVES!!!  Need to get some more before our true ride season starts.

Since we have to go along a somewhat busy road where people are going 50+ mph, we all started out on foot and I had Molly on a leash as well.  We had no sooner left the gate when there was some shooting up on the hillside behind us.  Very loud and very close!  All of us jumped and turned to look.  There were some kids up there yelling and running around, continuing to shoot off and on.  That got everyone nice and excited, wonderful way to start.  We continued to lead the horses for almost 2 miles, until we got off the main road and the subsequent side dirt roads.  Once in the sandy wash we mounted up and headed out.  The plan was to ride into Lemmon Valley where Funder would meet us and then ride back with us, so that we'd all get a nice long conditioning ride in.  Diego was pretty goosey to start but settled fairly quickly with just some growling and telling him to "knock it off!"  About 2 or 3 miles in, he stopped to drink from a puddle, and kind of slipped in the mud, but recovered just fine and after a quick boot check (all accounted for), we were off and able to start some serious trotting. 

Riding out here is pretty much flat dirt/sandy roads.  Very easy to just put the horses on auto-pilot and churn out some miles.  We did have to stop periodically for quads, dirt bikes, or to pass by people out shooting.  Everyone was very courteous.  After a bit, I looked down and noticed that both Diego's front boots where missing.  =(  We turned around and back-tracked to where he had done some sort of exciting leaping maneuver, but no boots to be seen.  Poor Molly, when we turned around and continued back, I forgot to call her and alert her to the change of direction, and she didn't notice.  After a bit I turned around to check on her and she was hauling ass down the road toward us as fast as she could go, ears back in greyhound mode!  LOL!  She didn't seem any worse for the wear though and continued to run parallel to us hunting for rabbits and checking stuff out.

It was a beautiful day to be out.  Warm with just a long-sleeved t-shirt on and one of my favorite pairs of tights, which are too thick for the summer, but being only thick cotton-blend, too cold for winter temps, so I pretty much only get to wear them in the Spring and Fall.  There were a lot of nice big puddles for the horses and Molly to drink out of.  I had brought a water bottle for her just in case, but as it was there was a ton of water to drink out of.  And pee in.  =P  Molly has to pee in EVERY puddle!!!  She got fairly warm (long black coat) and was laying down in the puddles to cool off as well.  The horses, Bo and Diego, paced really well together.  They were both very relaxed and forward, moving at an easy 7-8 mph trot.  Zach and I were talking about upcoming and past rides.  I'll probably sponsor him on some rides this year, if he's willing to ride slow enough to go with me!  =)  He has been very fortunate to train with and ride with some of the top elite riders in the sport.  Talking about finishing 50 mile rides by noon, he was lamenting about how we'll probably do close to a 10-hour ride for our first 50 this season.  I had to remind him that his eventual goal was 100-milers, so he might as well learn to suck it up and be in the saddle forever!  ;)  I also think that for the horses, if they're mentally used to being ridden for long hours, that when you transition up to the longer distances, it's easier for them as well.  Zach's a great sport and we had a lot of fun.

Eventually we made it over to LV, after calling Funder and letting her know we were getting close and where we'd meet her.  We ran into Dovie and friend Tammy on our way in, and rode over to where the paved road started with them, where we waited for Funder (E) to join us.  Once Dixie joined the little group, it was like the race was on!!!  All three horses were hyper and ready to go!  Two is company, three is a competition.  ;)  It took a bit before everyone's head was on straight again, and once more we were off at a nice steady trot.  We headed back across the valley on slightly different roads (Moonshine Trail this time) and enjoyed less traveled paths.  We rode at a pretty steady consistent pace.  Only stopped off and on at the puddles to see if anyone wanted a drink, etc.  One puddle, Zach and Bo went to ride through and across, and it turns out that it must be a popular mud-bogging puddle because what looked innocuous and only a couple inches deep, ended up going up over Bo's hocks out in the middle!  I think we all were quite surprised.  Molly though they were lovely and laid down so only her head was above water.  =)

A funny thing on the way back, after we had crossed over into Hungry Valley and were headed north toward the cattle corrals, is that E looked over and mentioned that there were 3 or 4 cows hauling ass down the canyon toward us (in a wide wash).  As it was, we had finally rediscovered the first of the lost boots, so I hopped off to retrieve it (for those keeping score, Diego did almost 20 miles bare in front, and we had NO issues what so ever with the Gloves).  Just after I had attached the boot to my saddle, around the corner came the rest of the entire HERD of cattle!  Overall there were probably close to 20 cows or so, all appeared to be a corriente-cross of some sort (the ones with horns like they use for roping).  Zach whipped out his phone real quick and got a picture.

Moo!

After the horses' got done being bug-eyed, I walked Diego over and started pushing the cows down the canyon ahead of us.  Turns out they were going across and up the trail on the other side, where there's a spring-fed trough.  Molly remembered she has Border Collie roots (somewhere, we're guessing) and helped to herd them along; they didn't take much persuading.  Ironically, this is nearly the exact location where friend Lucy and I felt like the pied-piper as we herded and followed a large group of cattle into the Rides of March vet check in 2007.

Pretty quickly I got back on and we all set off again.  Diego was a bit more excited after that.  I think we were less than a mile or so down the trail when he suddenly did a full on 360 bucking spin.  I thought I was a gonner for a second and then realized that I was still centered, good, and had both legs on firmly.  Got him stopped pretty easily and scolded him quite a bit.  I'm **so thankful** that I FINALLY HAVE MY CONFIDENCE/MOJO BACK!!!!!  It has taken me well over a year to recover from coming off and having my arm broke.  I finally feel like I'm back to where I was, and am full capable and able to deal with any and all shit he wants to dish out, both physically, but *more importantly* mentally as well. 

Around this point, E decided that if she was going to make it home before dark, she needed to get headed back, so she turned around and left.  I was jealous watching Dixie blithely and happily turn around and take off away from her buddies, although E did use the magic word "Home."  =)  Good mare!

As we were nearing the end of the wash, a lady was out with her Border Collie.  The dog was friendly and wanting to play with Molly.  Normally Molly LOVES to play with other dogs, but at this point the horses had done over 20 miles and Molly had probably almost doubled that with her extra running around before we left and during the ride.  Needless to say, she wasn't very interested.  We stopped and talked with the lady, and I asked her if she wanted to grab her dog before we left, and she said "Oh no, she'll come back after just a bit."  Or not.....  she had to finally get in her car and come get the damn dog, not before Diego tried to kick it at least once.  He'll tolerate Molly (and part of why I bring her is for him to get over it), but he's not a dog fan.

We rode the dirt roads this time and only got off to walk along the busy paved road.  What seemed to go by pretty quickly in the morning took FOREVER to walk on foot on the way back.  But all made it back happy, safe, and sound!

Zach's version of the ride can be found here.

Funder's is here.

Final stats per Zach's GPS: 
DATE: 1/22/2011

LOCATION: Big Dog Road to Lemon Valley and back
DURATION: 5 HOUR 7 MINUTES
DISTANCE: 24.02 MILES
WEATHER: 55º F
DETAILS: AVERAGE SPEED=4.7; Average Heart Rate= 95; Ascent=1406 feet; Descent=1397

Pretty darn good.  Our average speed has all the walking on foot we did starting out and coming back (probably 4 miles total) as well as the various stops, waiting, etc.  I left the front boots off for the remainder of the ride, and pulled the Gloves when we were done.  No rubs, no problems, even going in and out of all the puddles, they looked great!  This was a great "endurance pace" overall and I'm SO PROUD of how Diego did!

Pant, Pant

Whew!  What an unseasonably warm ride.  It's the MIDDLE OF JANUARY and we were riding in t-shirts and tank tops today!!!  Highs were easily in the mid-60's and the poor fuzzy horses were certainly feeling it.

S and I took Taz and Dig over to "the gym" today near Fort Churchill.  LOVE winter riding out here.  The gym is a series of long sandy hills.  All the trails intersect and connect together, so it's pretty easy to make as many loops and circles as you may want to get in a killer workout.  There's no water, so you either need to loop back to the trailer (a bit of one-way repeat), or just plan on a shorter ride.  For now, 10 miles is a butt-kicking workout for the boys and we're all pretty much ready to be done after a few hours.

S has a GPS, so here's the link to the ride.  We did 10.8 miles with 2,000 feet elevation change in 2:45.  This is Taz's heart-rate data, since I don't have a GPS.  I *DID* get my HRM batteries all replaced though so Dig was also "wired for sound" as I like to call it.  Overall, his pulses are higher while working, but only by about 10-12 bpm or so.  While riding, we trot (or slow canter) all the uphills, which is HARD WORK for the horses, and then walk the ridgetops and downhills to get back to the next uphill pull.  Sort of long interval boughts.  Our overall average pace would be a bit higher, but we went exploring a bit at the end, and ended up having to get off and walk on foot down a rocky hillside that was too steep to try to ride down.  There was also a bit of standing around to figure out exactly how we were going to get from here-to-there.  ;)

I've ridden out here over 20 times now, this was a favorite spot to bring Sinatra, and I have never seen dirt bikes before.  I've heard some, but never ran across them.  Today we had trail encounters with no less than 10 motorized vehicles.  The first was the worst, along the ridgetop without much room to get off trail, along comes an OLD dirtbike (aluminum fenders/body) ridden by an even older guy, grey beard flying in the wind.  In an effort to be nice, he turned the bike off and was coasting downhill toward us.  This actually probably made the whole thing scarier for the horses, since now it was more or less silent except for some odd whirring noises.  I felt Dig bunch beneath me and asked him to stop, which he graciously did.  After talking a bit, he was able to put his feet down on either side and walk the bike past with no issues.  The next set was a group of 5 that came over a hilltop onto the adjoining trail.  Here we had a nice wide area to sit and wait as they all went by.  After the last one had passed, I asked Dig to "chase" them down the trail.  The next set, we let by and were turning onto the trail to follow when Dig under his own accord spun around and took off trotting after them.  =)  Good boy!