Croft State Park 6/5/15

Friday I played hooky at work. I don't talk about work on the blog, but I had to fire an employee on Thursday and it gave me a migraine and made me nauseous. I really didn't like doing it, but man was this person a terrible employee. It just had to be done. In fact, I hadn't even realized how stressed I had become in the month this person worked for me and ever since Thursday I have been in a much better mood with less fatigue. It is amazing what stress does to a body.

I decided that it was time for a day off, so I took Gemmie to Croft State Park for a ride Friday.



Obligatory pre ride pic. I put the fleece leather covers back on and really liked them this time. I think the problem the first time around was my frozen legs at Pow Wow and not the covers.  She is almost looking like a real endurance horse. I just need to figure out the breast collar and she will be all set.



 Took a new to us trail that began alongside the river. Recent rains have filled it back up. The trail  was really soft and squishy and I let Gem just walk along on a loose rein to ease into things.

Single track trail through the trees.  Gem just wanted feeling it this day and I just let her keep walking. I can't remember the last time I just let her walk in the woods with me. Probably over 2 years ago.

The recent rains had caused a lot of fallen trees over the trail too. At one point I had to get off her because the second chunk of the tree was so low I was worried I would get scraped off. She was a really good girl through it all though. Eventually we left the river and dove deeper into the woods and then crossed a paved road to the other side of the state park.



As we moved along I saw this offshoot to a rocky creek. I saw hoof prints and thought that it didn't look very friendly given the rock shelf across it and went on by. About 50 feet later I saw a NO HORSES sign and had to turn around. The riding trail went across the creek.

The creek crossing. Gem was being level headed the entire time and didn't give me any reason to believe she wouldn't cross, but I was alone and didn't know 100% where I was in relation to the quickest way back to the parking lot. If Dusty had been hiking there I would have asked her to cross with me on board, but when I am completely alone I tend to be more cautious. I got off and led her across. She didn't balk one time unlike our last outing where she flat out refused to cross by that black anti erosion material.

2 hours into the ride I got off to give her back a break. We had basically walked the entire time and I was getting sore from it. I swear walking is way harder on me than trotting.  Gem enjoyed the break and moseyed along behind me.

While I was on foot I happened to look down and see this guy. He was very long and thankfully heading the opposite direction. I should probably learn my snake species because there are black snakes that I think are poisonous. He seemed unconcerned with us and we walked on by.

I got back on her and we trotted a little to get moving a bit. The trail plopped us out at this little beauty. This is Lake Johnson and was really pretty. I looked around for a place to get Gem wet, but the banks were all super steep and the water dropped off quickly.

More Lake Johnson

The trail along Lake Johnson was pretty perfect. I asked Gem to move out here and she refused. It wasn't in a pig headed cranky way, but in an odd way for her. Typically she will move off my leg well and be all fidgety or spooky if she isn't feeling it, but this day she just plumb wouldn't get going. It wasn't hot out. She had peed three times already so maybe she was in heat and just didn't have the energy? Either way, since she was being polite about it I didn't push it and we continued to enjoy the scenery at a walk.

I had wanted 10 miles and studied the map prior to getting on. There are several smaller loops that interconnect and by the time we left Lake Johnson to head into the woods again I thought we were about 1-2 miles away. The trail came across an intersection and I looked to my right to see this sign. I laughed and apologized to Gemmie telling her that I must have missed something and we were actually doing 15.

Before I turned right I looked down the trail towards and left and saw this sign. Gem lucked out that I did!

There were quite a few climbs on this trail that were very rocky. By this point we were 9 miles in and she continued to not be herself. I began to worry that she was foot sore. I hopped off and hand walked her up this gravel hill to give her a break. She seemed to appreciate it and I watched her legs closely. Nothing was off and she was heel first landing, but wasn't walking off with as much confidence as usual.

This is Lake Craig. This is the normal trail we hike on with the dogs and Wyatt. I often times will see boats out on this lake.

The sandy lane that goes along the lake. To the left of the picture is the lake and to the right is a creek. Both sides are super steep and while I am tempted to gallop down it, a single spook could take us head over heels over the edge.

At the far end of the lane is this. Gem hates this. It is a large drain that empties the lake to the creek on the other side of the lane. It is super loud and hidden around the bend. She walked past it this time without too much of an issue, but the first time I tried she was a mess.

We ended up back at the barn. I believe the barn has 30+ stalls and can be rented out for use daily or overnight. There is a camp ground area for rigs too that is about 1/4 mile or less down the road. As far as I know you can't personally camp outside the camp area, so no primitive camping with your horse. There are three large grassy day parking areas that would be excellent for camping, but I am not sure if they would allow overnight use of those or not. I would love to put on an endurance ride here.

10 miles and 3 hours 45 minutes later we arrived back at the trailer. It was very slow going and I can't remember the last time we walked that much. At the end I think she was either in heat, foot sore or bored of going out alone. I contacted a local endurance friend and made plans to ride next weekend together so I can see how Gem moves then. 

Ummmm...

So while the hubby is out running for 24 hours I may have volunteered us to become ride managers.  Or to be more exact for me to be ride manager and him to be ride vet. It wpuld save us money for him to vet it after all.

He will be too exhausted to protest later, right?

Lady Farrier Take 2

Please step inside my world for a minute. Many people don't understand how important it is to be on time. How running late can mess a lot of things up. It is not just about being rude keeping others waiting. Sometimes a time is scheduled because it really needs to occur at that very time.

Lady Farrier and I had agreed to meet at 6:30 am today to do both Gem and Pete.  A farrier appointment used to be a simple matter, but nothing is simple these days. There were a lot of factors to take into consideration:

1) Pete only fully trusts Dusty. Whenever he meets someone knew he gets extremely nervous and really relies on Dusty to help him through it. Dusty has to be present.

2) While I don't start until 11:30 Wed, Dusty still starts at 8 and that means Wyatt needs to go to school by 7:30. Thankfully school is a 5 minute drive from the barn.

3) I haven't fixed the trailer yet, so there is only 1 tie spot. There are no lights in the cross tie area of the barn and it is too dark to work in there before 7:30.

4) It is next to impossible to work around the horses solo with Wyatt.

We had it planned out the best we could. Dusty would get up at 5:30 and leave for the barn by 6 to get Pete ready. I would get myself and Wyatt around and head out to be there by 7 when she should be finishing up with Pete. Dusty would play with Wyatt while I got Gem and put her in the crossties and then he could return Pete to the pasture and leave to take Wyatt to school while I worked with Gem and Lady Farrier. A little complicated, yes, but it would work.

Except Lady Farrier showed up a half an hour late. Again. She was 20 minutes late last time, but had some excuse or another and I let it go. She didn't even apologize for being late when she showed up. Unfortunately, being this late screwed everything completely up. I was irritated. Add to it the fact that she opened her car and laughed when her dog ran out saying "I'm breaking the rules..hahahah" and I just about lost it.

** Our barn has a no dogs on property rule. I don't know the history behind the rule, but it was plainly stated when we moved in. I am fine with it and actually prefer it having had some bad experiences with dogs on boarding property in the past. At our first meeting I explained that her dog was not allowed out of the car and especially not running amock as it was. She was angry about it, but it isn't my rule. I told her she could talk to the BO but that was all I could do.**

She set to work on Pete and he was fidgety, but being a good guy. I don't know why she refuses to use a nipper, but she takes all the stuff off with the knife and then rasps until the cows come home. I get it when there is little growth, but Pete had a ton of hoof wall to come off and it took her forever. Eventually we just plumb ran out of time. Dusty had to go and I had to get Gem, so before he left I got her and put her in the cross ties in the barn. I didn't like not being able to keep an eye on her though, so I went back and asked if we could just move Pete to the barn aisle and I would hold him while she worked.

Lady Farrier did not like Pete one bit which is odd. Yes he is a bit fidgety but no other farrier has had trouble with him. I think she just took too long for him, plus Dusty had to leave which made him unhappy. He didn't do anything bad, but did keep taking his foot off the stand. She made some comment about it and I shot back that had she shown up on time Dusty could have been with him the entire time and things would have been easier. She mumbled an apology.

Poor Pete had to pee too. She had been working for about an hour already and still wasn't done. He had his right hind leg on the stand and just let loose. I have never seen a horse pee with one leg off the ground before! It was impressive.

After about  an hour and fifteen minutes she finished with Pete. I have to admit his feet looked amazing. She does good work. I took him out to his pasture while she started with Gem.

Gem was a good girl as usual and stood there although when it came to the immense rasping she does on the toe and hoof wall even Gem pulled off the stand. She never does that. I am wondering if the rasp was heating up or pulling too hard?

She had grown a lot of toe on the hinds and her fronts were creeping up tall a bit again, but overall the shape was very good. She remarked at how amazing the hoof was as she worked. She took the heels down a little more this time and recommended that I rasp them in 2 weeks. It took her no time at all with Gem.

She was there about 2 hours when it was all said and done. I asked her to take measurements for boots for Gem and she said no. Huh? You are a barefoot trimmer. She said she doesn't know anything about boots and to do it myself. Strike 3 Lady Farrier. Strike 3.



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A Fire Has Been Lit

I have been in a big, major funk since Pow Wow. Probably the worst riding slump since I've had Gem.

I would make some riding goals/plans and then watch them slip away as I chose to sit on the couch instead of go to the barn yet another night. All my "real" goals were so far off in the future that riding this spring didn't seem a priority. Add on to that a lot of work stress, the hubby picking up extra weekend shifts and losing his week day off, Wyatt growing up and wanting me around a lot plus going to bed much later, my local riding friend having a now non rideable mare due to a really bad case of Lyme, and a sad hangover from Christy and things just were not working out for Gem and me this spring.

I had really thought/hoped that the Equathon would be the catalyst to a better training routine once again, but it didn't change my mood at all. It was fun, but I missed the camaraderie that the R&T brought with it and once it was over things just went back to the new normal.

Until now.

A group of you wonderful bloggers added me into an invite to attend a ride this summer in WV. The ride itself was on my "bucket list" of rides to hit, so that was a big draw already. Outside of that though, the ability to meet some wonderful horse people in real life and hopefully make some real life connections and friends has made a huge difference. I am thankful for the invite and will be doing my best to make the trip happen.

This means, however, that Gem and I must get ourselves back into the game. There are 8 weekends standing between now and the ride and if I am going to ask her to do a 50 in the hills of WV, I better be doing my darnedest to have her in the best shape possible for it. Plus, I need to get her footwear figured out as this is not a barefoot course. Farrier Lady comes back out for a second trim this Wednesday and I am going to grab some immediate pics and get her to help with measurements to decide on boots. Her hinds look like they would probably fit the regular Renegades now, but I am not so sure on the fronts. I will get pics and email them to Renegade for their opinion as well as ask Easy Care. I would much prefer to have the same brand on all 4.

As for training, this is a very tricky time. Dusty has picked up those extra shifts due to a lot of unexpected and expensive happenings this spring. He already works every other Saturday morning at his regular job, but has now picked up the extra Saturdays and picked up all day tomorrow (Sunday). I am going to have to throw away my preferred early morning ride times and make some changes in order to fit in those needed miles.

Knowing that he will be gone all day tomorrow, I forced myself to head out to the barn at 3 pm today. Typically I avoid heading to the barn when the sun is up and blazing hot, but I can't avoid it so off I went. The BO was there and I haven't seen him in forever. We ended up standing in the barn while Gemmie snoozed in the shade and slight breeze for nearly an hour. Dusty had taken the dogs and Wyatt to the park to play, so I wasn't in a hurry and could just enjoy the afternoon.

By the time I got on her it was nearly 5 pm and thankfully the sun wasn't quite as high as before. I wanted to ride a full hour and had originally wanted a faster ride - aiming to keep 8-10 mph overall. However, it was really hot and the trails at the barn offer little shade. I knew it wasn't in her best interests to plow ahead with that plan. Instead I worked on intervals. I would get her up and working in the wanted range and keep her there for a short period and then let her walk and graze to cool down.  Once I was comfortable with how she was again, I would ask her to move out.

Gem did super well. She didn't spook one time even when a rabbit jumped out on the trail right in front of her and she moved out as I asked and came back down without much of a discussion. Near the end, I opened her up a bit and we did a fun little 14 mph hand gallop. She was sweaty at the end, but not breathing hard at all and she got a much deserved wash down and a soaking wet mash.

It was a really great ride and I am so happy that I made myself head to the barn in the heat of the day. Thanks once again for the invite and I really can't wait to meet everyone!

Are We Really Living Or Just Documenting Life?

Things are so different now then when I grew up and I am only 33. It wasn't all that long ago that I was hanging out with my friends and exploring the world and its boundaries sans parents for the first time. My summers were spent camping, kayaking, driving around, and having a ton of fun. Do you know the one thing that was missing? Physical evidence of our escapades.

We didn't use cameras back then all that much. Especially not at 16. I didn't even have a cell phone until I was 20 and then it was only a flip phone without any camera or internet on it. Those didn't come out until way later. We lived in each and every moment for what it was worth. We didn't worry about who knew what we were doing. We didn't care what other people thought. We just laughed and squeezed the best out of every last second we had. When we got together again we would talk about the things we had done while making new memories. Those who weren't involved in previous shenanigans had to catch up quickly and suffer through inside jokes and pointed jabs.  Looking back now it was freeing in a way. There was no "keeping up" with other friend groups. No worries about besting someone online or having to show off your exploits. You just lived them and cherished them as they were occurring.

There are some downsides to that though. I have basically no pictures at all from my youth outside my family. Everything I did exists only in the memories of those who participated beyond a few rare photos here and there. For the most part, I am ok with that. I can relive summer nights beside the camp fire with good friends in my mind and I know others out there share the same memories as I do. There is one glaring hole though. All my days and many nights spent cruising around with my best friend, Christy, are now solely mine to bear. She is gone and the only other person who knew the things we did, the laughter we shared, the memories we made, is now gone and it feels as though I could easily have made them all up. Without any physical proof and now nobody else to claim those same memories, who else can I share them with? Who else is out there that can relate?

I love blogging and I love sharing pictures online with my friends and family. It is a great way to have physical proof of the things you have accomplished in life, the times spent with friends and yes sometimes even your failures. It is good to get feedback from others and I look forward to looking through my blog reel every morning for updates from my fellow bloggers. I've connected with people I never would have otherwise and I am so glad for that.

I think, though, that there is a fine line between sharing on social media and living for that ability.

I'm sure everyone out there knows that person, and hopefully it isn't you, who spend every moment videoing or snapping pictures of everything they do without actually every experiencing those very activities they captured. The people who can't even grab a hamburger from Wendy's without checking in on FB. (As an aside I have never checked in anywhere because I find it very creepy) It seems like their entire life is defined by everyone else out there knowing they are living it without ever fully allowing the full exposure to the event to seep into their bodies and minds. . What would happen to them if social media shut down?  How would they be able to define themselves?

The point I'm trying to make is that we should all be out there living life. We should be fully soaking in every moment and making memories that are real and full of all the senses f the experience - the sights, sounds, feeling and smells that go along with it. We should do these things and document them as they merit for later review, but make the documenting a quick aside to the experience of living through it. Put the phone aside and take it all in. Grab a quick pic or video to share and make others happy, but then put it away and allow yourself to be fully engrossed once again. Go live life.

I guess part of this post is stemming from my sense of loss of a great friend. I thought of a question in bed the other night and caught myself thinking "I'll ask Christy, she will remember the name of that bar we went to!" Only I couldn't ask her and nobody else was there so there isn't anyone to ask. I miss those days of just living.

New Goal for Fall 2015/Spring 2016

I think I have mentioned in the past how much I really enjoy the local Hunter pace series. I only made it to one or two this year for various reasons, but really wish I had gone to a lot more of them.

There are only two left on the calendar for this year with one being this weekend and the last on June 21st. I can't make it this weekend, but I will be hitting the June 21st one come hell or high water. Why?

Let me lead up to that answer.

I received an email from the group Tuesday morning and it caught my eye. The Year End Awards are being held on the 21st and I thought it was going to be a party only type thing that I wasn't interested in. Well, it turns out that it is actually the last Pace of the year and the awards follow the end of the ride.

Each Pace you complete grants you two points. If you get 1-6th place you get extra points per placing. The points are tracked throughout the year and you get something at the end for your standings. I knew this before and since I don't attend many it wasn't a big deal to me. Ok...so if I don't qualify for an award what makes this so special?

Ah...

The email went on to list those people who needed to attend these last two rides to earn their Supporter award. That intrigued me. Those participants who make every single pace during the season get a plaque with a professional 8x10 picture of them and their horse on it. A Junior Supporter (or something along those lines) gets a plaque with a 5x7 professional picture on it.

The little raccoon in me screamed with glee over the thought of a shiny plaque with a nice picture of Gemmie and me on it. I must have.

I scoured the website to look for what constitutes a lesser plaque supporter, but couldn't find anything. I know you can miss some rides and still earn that one, but can't figure out how many you have to make.

But to answer the question as to why I would need to attend this one specific ride...

If you complete this ride you get a "Wild Card". This magical card grants you a completion at a ride you didn't attend in the upcoming season. I need this card.

This wonderful card will give me a chance to get my Supporter award even if a ride falls too close to or on the same weekend as an endurance ride.

I am actually pretty excited about this. The new ride season starts in September 2015 and ends May 2016. I hope to attend enough to at least get the smaller plaque if not the larger one. I worry about September though and hope not to kill off my entire season the first month. It will all depend on how the rides get scheduled around the TN trip I already have planned for that month. I need to check and see if it has to be on the same horse or not. If it doesn't, I may have to recruit Pete to fill in for Gem one weekend.

These Paces make life a whole lot simpler too. They are all within 2 hours of me and take about 2 hours to complete. Dusty and Wyatt can come and hang out in camp while I ride and then we all chow down on the provided lunch. They are mostly on Sundays too which doesn't conflict with Dusty's work schedule and they run between $30-45 only. Most of them are on private trails that I couldn't ride on outside of this and make for excellent conditioning rides. Gem and I really enjoy them a lot.

If I am talking goals, and sorry this post is getting long and a bit random, here is what my perfect set up would be:

- A minimum of one 50 mile e-ride a season working toward our decade team award - 8 years to go!
- In perfect world I would go to one spring and one fall multi day ride getting in two 50s each time. 
 - Add in the fall and spring Ride and Tie/Equathon at Clemson to support the local club
- Twice monthly Hunter Paces

That is a pretty full calendar for Gem and me and I am looking forward to trying to implement it. First up though is getting her ready for the multi day in Sept!

Reviews: Endurance Caged Stirrups and Garmin 310xt

First, the stirrups:

For the last year and a half I have been using the black, plastic EZ Ride stirrups that a lot of endurance riders use. I have been wanting cages though, so when these popped up on Facebook (in many colors and in a western version too) for only $50 I thought why not? I had some money left over from the sale of my Fusion Jogging Boots that wasn't book marked for the new boots anyway. They came quickly and Monday was the first time I tried them out.

Before purchasing I researched the aluminum versus plastic stirrup debates and came away with this: plastic will become a million sharp shards piercing the horse's lungs and killing them and aluminum with flatten trapping our foot and dragging you to your doom if your horse should fall and land on its side with you aboard. It really seemed 50/50 on who liked which best. I decided to take the chance on these aluminum stirrups.

They are well made and probably weigh 1 lb each, so heavier than the plastic ones but really not heavy. I am not close to a weight division line, so adding some weight to my tack isn't a big deal to me, but if you hover between two divisions you may want to consider the added weight. The cages themselves are a thick material and hold their shape really well.

I like the cut of these versus the classic western shaped ones and they sat on my leathers facing forward without any convincing. The foot bed is 5" with a thinner but denser foam than the EZ ride ones. I was worried that my feet would start burning and go numb like in my regular irons, but I think the denser foam prevented this. The foam is just glued on and I have a ton of materials and super awesome contact cement at work to make orthotics, so I could easily change out the foam if need be down the road. Overall they were really comfortable and I didn't notice much of a difference from my EZ ones. If you are looking to spruce up your tack colors or want cages, for $50 I think they are a good buy. I'd recommend the seller too since she got them to me quickly and without hassle.

Second, the Garmin 310xt:
The Garmin Forerunner 410 has been on my wrist for most of my rides and runs for the last 4 years and I really liked it. The only reason for upgrading was the 8 hour battery life. It shut down on me at the last 50 mile ride with a few miles left to go and that was with shutting it down at the holds. I had plenty of time to spare and it was on a loop I had done twice already on that ride so I knew exactly how far I was from camp without it, but had it been on a new loop or close to running over time I really would have needed it. The 310xt has a 20 hour life.

Dusty got me the Garmin 310xt for my birthday and I took it out on a ride wearing it on my left wrist and the Forerunner on my right. I also used the new one during the Equathon on very familiar trails and on Monday on the new trails. I have to say that I really like it.

In general, the fit is much like the Forerunner. The band is much softer and more flexible, but the face is larger.

It is easy to read and will show up to 4 different data points at one time. I have mine set for the current time, ride time, distance and average speed for that lap. It can show any number of things from current elevation, elevation gain or loss, heart rate if used with a monitor, overall speed/pace, current speed/pace, and a host of others. Lots of options.

The thing I like the best though is the lack of the stupid touch bezel to control it. It actually has buttons! Turing it on/off, starting it, pausing, stopping and resetting all occurs through buttons instead of attempting to use your fingertip around the bezel and scrolling endlessly through options.

It grabs the gps signal faster and maintains it better versus the Forerunner as well. When I wore them both the 310xt was much closer to the real life measured distance than the Forerunner. I think some of that has to do with elevation as well. It doesn't have an altimeter which gives the best elevation readings (you have to jump up in series for that and get a super large watch for big bucks) but it records more accurately and therefor loses less trail distance.

What don't I like about it? Two things:

1.) It uses a heart rate monitor, but even though I told it I wasn't using one and supposedly turned it off, when I came across a runner who was wearing one it picked up his data. It was very odd downloading my data to see a random heart rate reading. I  have been told that I can't fully turn this feature off.

2) The Forerunner defaults to just being a watch when it is on but not connected to satellites for a work out. The 310xt does not. I miss using the watch feature when wearing it which is why I set the 4th data point to the time of day. It takes up space that could be better used for something cool like elevation data or left open to allow the other points to be larger.

So all in all the two buys have worked out so far. If you are looking into getting a wrist GPS for riding, the 310xt provides a lot of good features and has a great battery life for the price point.