One thing after another has conspired to keep Gemmie on a lovely vacation since Biltmore. Between rain every night I am free to ride, family events, work, getting sick etc...the only real mileage she has seen was the trip to Sumter 2 weeks ago. Barefoot Shine and Wine 50 is looming ever closer in the future and we aren't getting any fitter this way.
This past weekend I decided to change all of that and buckle back down. The weather was going to be nice and I debated between trailering out or just staying on property. In the end, we had family day at the barn Saturday and the hubby/W/Bones hiked while I rode.
I was up, out the door, tacked up and mounted by 9:1 5am which is no small feat with a 2 year old and living 35 minutes from the barn. I was also caked in sweat just by the effort of tacking Miss Thang up. It was humid!
I went back to the tried and true and used the Reinsman pad and left her bare. She was so unhappy at Sumter and I wanted to make sure it truly wasn't something else bothering her. End result: a happy (tired and sweaty) mare, so I am blaming it al on the Coolback pad.
I headed out to the pond and she was being a snot about the whole thing, so up the hill we went. There must have been a least a dozen massive spider webs crossing the trail that all ended up on me. Yuck! I made her walk back down the other side and then back up we went! We did a full 30 minutes of trot, canter and some gallop work up the hill and walking down the backside for recovery. She wasn't too impressed with the repetitive nature of the ride, but it was a good work out and she was puffing by the end of it.
At 30 minutes I let her leave the pond hill and we worked our way behind the barn and into the hay field. I really wish it had a path mowed in it. Just a simple perimeter with a big old X across the middle would leave me with some pretty awesome riding. You could do the entire 20 acre perimeter, then gallop down the straightway in the middle, make a figure 8, circle, all sorts of fun. In fact, the hubby is going to ask BO if we can borrow her tractor to do this and then I am going to get some flood lights to put out there so I can still ride in the evenings.
Anyway....she was being a big snot and wanted to be done, but we had another 30 minutes to go so I forced her to walk down the field to the trail at the back and did that. Then we galloped in a lovely controlled fashion back up the field and hit the other set of trails. When we popped back out by her pasture, we still had 15 minutes, so my plan was to head down the gravel road and hit the power lines. Her hooves are still awesome, but with the reduced miles and use of boots I am worried they are as strong and prepared for a barefoot 50 miles as I would like. Some light work on the gravel road would really help.
We crossed over onto the road and were doing fine until two dogs came charging, snarling and barking from a house behind some bushes. I saw them coming and they were definitely not being friendly or curious. I could see blood and teeth and gashes and a lame horse in my future, so I spun her around and we charge doff back to our property.
We still had 7 minutes left of the hour ride I wanted and she was now way past being a good mare and just wanted to be done. She was dripping with sweat and breathing hard from our most recent gallop. I asked her to just walk back down the hill and around the backside of the barn to be finished and then we untacked. She got a good hose down and her breakfast.
I am really trying to work on getting her to eat. She has been doing really well at eating after a ride at home, but she ignores it at ridecamp or even at the trail head. This is my biggest concern about doing a 50. She can get through a 25 no problem without eating, but it will catch up to her on a 50. Hopefully this helps some.
September 8, 2014
September 4, 2014
Wordless Wednesday (A Day Late And With Words :)
I tried to upload these yesterday, but work was slamming busy (yay!! slamming busy = I might actually pay my bills this month :) and my computer was acting stupid and so it just never got done.
But here is Miss Thang in all her glory. One of the barn mates loves photography and she went out to take some photos of her handsome gelding in the pasture next to the Dynamic Duo. Apparently Gem didn't want to be left out of the fun and started carrying on making a fool of herself for some attention. She would throw a hissy fit then pause to look and make sure she was being watched then throw another one. Eventually the lady caved and took some fun pics of Gemmie as well and sent them to me. I love them because they show her sassy side versus the "I'm half dead, why are you trying to kill me" side she always plays up for me when I have my camera.
September 2, 2014
Musings On The Endurance World Equestrian Games
In an age where technology can bring you front row seats to events you never had access to before, where complete strangers can make comments and state opinions openly and freely with the world, and where misinformation gets disseminated quicker than the facts, I sometimes wish I was offline.
Its not that I want to have my head buried in the sand, but sometimes I believe we create our own environment of perpetual stress by involving ourselves in things that at then end of the day we would have been better not knowing about in the first place.
Had I not known that the World Equestrian Games (WEG) were going on last week and had I not been getting facebook updates/pictures from a lady who stayed up all night to post them then I would have happily continued on without a care. But instead I did know and I did pay attention to the flurry of posts and so I did react and my reaction was frustration, anger and barely wanting to stay in this sport.
I don't care that team USA lost. I care that team USA didn't even finish. In a sport where "To Finish Is To Win" only 1 of our 5 riders even made it through the finish lines and placed 32nd. From the little I saw it seemed pretty clear that we had no chance of keeping up with the front runners who finished the 100 mile race in something like just over 8 hours. So why not slow down and finish the darn race?
But then I realized something very, very important. What I was watching/reading wasn't my beloved sport of endurance. It wasn't a group of people tackling the trail and bonding with their horse. It truly wasn't "To Finish Is To Win". It was "Win At All Costs" It was a race to the finish and to not complete was apparently being viewed as better than finishing in a poor position. So that's what we did. We ran the horses until they got pulled. If it happened to be before the finish line, chalk it up to strict rules, bad luck or the footing. But don't question the strategy.
Fine. I could come to terms with that. Approve of it or support it? Not really, but then again I'm not of that mindset. But that's fine if that is what that level of riding entails. At least our horses were all healthy and happy the next day.
But then the other shoe dropped and now I am 100% completely and entirely against all things International Endurance/FEI/WEG.
Only 2 of our horses are actually coming home. The others have been sold and will be added to the string of horses being run into the ground, worked as slaves and eventually die a premature death.
Now from a personal standpoint I am strongly opposed to this. You are not working with a machine. You are not driving a car. You are working with another being who feels pain, sadness, loneliness, happiness and bonds to the partner chosen for them. You have just asked the world of this animal. Worked them hard to prepare, flew them across the pond, beat them into the ground over difficult terrain in poor conditions and they stepped up for you and gave you their all. And how to you thank them? By leaving them behind.
But even if you take a step back from personal feelings and opinions, this decision to sell the horse immediately after the WEG makes no sense. These horses supposedly represented the top 5 horses we had in this sport in the USA. No horses were deemed to be better. And they are all young and fit still with many, many miles ahead of them. The next WEG is in 4 years. Why on earth would you sell the team off just to start fresh? Why not keep them, return home to keep working, and return in 4 years with veterans? Why give our top horses to our competition??
So...with this news I am done. Finished. I will never watch/support/or have anything to do with this level of whatever you call this sport. I already contacted AERC to make sure that none of my dues go to fund the international level. They assured me that it is separate. Had they said yes, I would not renew my membership and instead pay the extra fee at each ride to avoid any money of mine going to AERC-I. I will also avoid all rides that coexist with FEI. There are two that I know of here in SC and they were on my radar due to the proximity and timing, but nope. Not a single cent of my money will go there.
But I will continue to love going down the trail on my mare. I will continue to fight for my miles, learn as I go and grow. I will continue to add up the time and miles and even the fates allow maybe Gem and I will make it 1000 miles. Maybe we will even make the decade team list. I will support AERC for what it stands for:
TO FINISH IS TO WIN
Its not that I want to have my head buried in the sand, but sometimes I believe we create our own environment of perpetual stress by involving ourselves in things that at then end of the day we would have been better not knowing about in the first place.
Had I not known that the World Equestrian Games (WEG) were going on last week and had I not been getting facebook updates/pictures from a lady who stayed up all night to post them then I would have happily continued on without a care. But instead I did know and I did pay attention to the flurry of posts and so I did react and my reaction was frustration, anger and barely wanting to stay in this sport.
I don't care that team USA lost. I care that team USA didn't even finish. In a sport where "To Finish Is To Win" only 1 of our 5 riders even made it through the finish lines and placed 32nd. From the little I saw it seemed pretty clear that we had no chance of keeping up with the front runners who finished the 100 mile race in something like just over 8 hours. So why not slow down and finish the darn race?
But then I realized something very, very important. What I was watching/reading wasn't my beloved sport of endurance. It wasn't a group of people tackling the trail and bonding with their horse. It truly wasn't "To Finish Is To Win". It was "Win At All Costs" It was a race to the finish and to not complete was apparently being viewed as better than finishing in a poor position. So that's what we did. We ran the horses until they got pulled. If it happened to be before the finish line, chalk it up to strict rules, bad luck or the footing. But don't question the strategy.
Fine. I could come to terms with that. Approve of it or support it? Not really, but then again I'm not of that mindset. But that's fine if that is what that level of riding entails. At least our horses were all healthy and happy the next day.
But then the other shoe dropped and now I am 100% completely and entirely against all things International Endurance/FEI/WEG.
Only 2 of our horses are actually coming home. The others have been sold and will be added to the string of horses being run into the ground, worked as slaves and eventually die a premature death.
Now from a personal standpoint I am strongly opposed to this. You are not working with a machine. You are not driving a car. You are working with another being who feels pain, sadness, loneliness, happiness and bonds to the partner chosen for them. You have just asked the world of this animal. Worked them hard to prepare, flew them across the pond, beat them into the ground over difficult terrain in poor conditions and they stepped up for you and gave you their all. And how to you thank them? By leaving them behind.
But even if you take a step back from personal feelings and opinions, this decision to sell the horse immediately after the WEG makes no sense. These horses supposedly represented the top 5 horses we had in this sport in the USA. No horses were deemed to be better. And they are all young and fit still with many, many miles ahead of them. The next WEG is in 4 years. Why on earth would you sell the team off just to start fresh? Why not keep them, return home to keep working, and return in 4 years with veterans? Why give our top horses to our competition??
So...with this news I am done. Finished. I will never watch/support/or have anything to do with this level of whatever you call this sport. I already contacted AERC to make sure that none of my dues go to fund the international level. They assured me that it is separate. Had they said yes, I would not renew my membership and instead pay the extra fee at each ride to avoid any money of mine going to AERC-I. I will also avoid all rides that coexist with FEI. There are two that I know of here in SC and they were on my radar due to the proximity and timing, but nope. Not a single cent of my money will go there.
But I will continue to love going down the trail on my mare. I will continue to fight for my miles, learn as I go and grow. I will continue to add up the time and miles and even the fates allow maybe Gem and I will make it 1000 miles. Maybe we will even make the decade team list. I will support AERC for what it stands for:
TO FINISH IS TO WIN
August 25, 2014
Coolback Epic Fail
After lamenting about my new pad woes, S graciously offered to let me try her Coolback pad. She has two in black (yay!) - one with foam inserts and one without. Her mare didn't like the pad much and so if things worked out for Gemmie we would just swap my new wool one for the Coolback and both be happy. I was glad to get to try it out prior to purchasing to avoid yet more wasted money.
We headed off to Sumter National Forest and had the entire park to ourselves. We both wanted to get some serious miles on the mares and after a brief discussion decided to start on the gravel roads to get some speed work in then hit the purple 16 mile loop and head back to the trail head. I booted Gemmie up knowing that we would be on gravel for quite a ways.
I grabbed the Coolback from S and immediately liked the feel of it. The synthetic fleece is a little rough to the touch, but that would solve the slipping issue with the wool pad. It was also much larger than I was used to and once on Gem it came down her sides almost to the stirrups. At first I was worried about this, but after we rode for a bit it was super nice. It not only cushioned my legs but also provided more support for me. I definitely fell in love with the feeling of the fleece under my leg! I tacked her up and I must admit she looked a bit silly with such a low profile saddle and large pad, but it fit her well and I was very optimistic.
Last time we went to Sumter my Garmin was dead and I didn't get a read on how far we went. This time after I mounted up and hit the on button I got the same message: battery low. Then the darn thing shut off completely. I mention this because a) I yet again have no real clue how far we actually went and b) it is the reason I have no pictures. I used my phone as my GPS to get to the park from the new barn and wanted to preserve some battery for the way home. I also tried to download Edomondo while riding to use that as the GPS, but couldn't get the stupid thing to work at all. Anyway...all that meant no pictures.
We rode out down the gravel road at a brisk pace. Gem seemed happy enough and moved out keeping up with S no problem. We turned down a side road and Gem started acting funny. Not lame or bad, but funny. She started to canter instead of trot. I don't mind that one bit especially on nice open trail, but I knew she didn't need to canter to keep up. It was like she was avoiding fully extending her front legs to get the speed needed out of her trot. At one point I thought maybe a fly was bothering her, but couldn't see anything. Then she started just stopping in the middle of the trail. She would hang her head down and then look back at me. This was really odd behavior for her, so I jumped off and looked her over. Maybe the boots twisted? Nope. Maybe her feet were tender even with the boots on the gravel? Nope. The saddle hadn't budged an inch and the pad was not bunched up or anything. I got back on and asked her to move out again.
As long as the trot was kept slow she was fine. If I asked her to extend it at all she would pick up a canter instead. As we moved along she started stopping and looking back at me more and more frequently and then canter to catch up. After a short time I asked S if we could just turn around. Gem was not happy. We made it to the 16 mile loop through the woods and we ducked onto the trail to see if the softer ground would make a difference. Maybe it really was just the gravel? S saw her behavior though and knew something was up too. Once we crossed over the gravel road again we called it quits and just headed back to the parking lot. I hopped off, loosened the girth and hand walked her the 2-3 miles back.
After we got back, I untacked her and she was super sore right by her shoulders on both sides. I've made it a habit to always palpate her to check fit but also to simulate a vet check. She has never even twitched a minor amount before but this time she flinched and glared at me. When I looked at the pad it had deep impressions at those spots and I knew it was the whole problem. Poor Gem! I apologized again and again and felt horrible, but I knew I had turned around once I had figured out it wasn't something simple that I could correct out on trail.
Afterward S said her mare had behaved similarly with that pad as well but has been fine in everything else. Odd. I think the fleece just compresses too much under pressure areas and provides no real support. I briefly thought about grabbing the one with foam inserts, but worry the 3/4" would make the saddle perch too much. I'm glad I tried it though and now that is off my potential list.
On the positive side of things, S and I had a great time chatting it up and the weather was perfect. Gem basically cantered for 2 straight hours and I think we probably did around 12 miles or around there and heck that's a fantastic workout for her. Other than her back issues from the pad, she dried out quickly on the walk back and looked great. I also got a good hike in as well ;)
I don't think I'm going to try the Woolback version. I worry it will be too thick for the saddle. I have a potential buyer for my wool pad and my next step is to just contact Reinsman and see if they can just make me a pad that is a little larger. I need to measure mine to see the dimension, but I really just need it about 2" longer from front to back. If they can't do it, then I am going to try to save up for a custom Skito pad.
We headed off to Sumter National Forest and had the entire park to ourselves. We both wanted to get some serious miles on the mares and after a brief discussion decided to start on the gravel roads to get some speed work in then hit the purple 16 mile loop and head back to the trail head. I booted Gemmie up knowing that we would be on gravel for quite a ways.
I grabbed the Coolback from S and immediately liked the feel of it. The synthetic fleece is a little rough to the touch, but that would solve the slipping issue with the wool pad. It was also much larger than I was used to and once on Gem it came down her sides almost to the stirrups. At first I was worried about this, but after we rode for a bit it was super nice. It not only cushioned my legs but also provided more support for me. I definitely fell in love with the feeling of the fleece under my leg! I tacked her up and I must admit she looked a bit silly with such a low profile saddle and large pad, but it fit her well and I was very optimistic.
Last time we went to Sumter my Garmin was dead and I didn't get a read on how far we went. This time after I mounted up and hit the on button I got the same message: battery low. Then the darn thing shut off completely. I mention this because a) I yet again have no real clue how far we actually went and b) it is the reason I have no pictures. I used my phone as my GPS to get to the park from the new barn and wanted to preserve some battery for the way home. I also tried to download Edomondo while riding to use that as the GPS, but couldn't get the stupid thing to work at all. Anyway...all that meant no pictures.
We rode out down the gravel road at a brisk pace. Gem seemed happy enough and moved out keeping up with S no problem. We turned down a side road and Gem started acting funny. Not lame or bad, but funny. She started to canter instead of trot. I don't mind that one bit especially on nice open trail, but I knew she didn't need to canter to keep up. It was like she was avoiding fully extending her front legs to get the speed needed out of her trot. At one point I thought maybe a fly was bothering her, but couldn't see anything. Then she started just stopping in the middle of the trail. She would hang her head down and then look back at me. This was really odd behavior for her, so I jumped off and looked her over. Maybe the boots twisted? Nope. Maybe her feet were tender even with the boots on the gravel? Nope. The saddle hadn't budged an inch and the pad was not bunched up or anything. I got back on and asked her to move out again.
As long as the trot was kept slow she was fine. If I asked her to extend it at all she would pick up a canter instead. As we moved along she started stopping and looking back at me more and more frequently and then canter to catch up. After a short time I asked S if we could just turn around. Gem was not happy. We made it to the 16 mile loop through the woods and we ducked onto the trail to see if the softer ground would make a difference. Maybe it really was just the gravel? S saw her behavior though and knew something was up too. Once we crossed over the gravel road again we called it quits and just headed back to the parking lot. I hopped off, loosened the girth and hand walked her the 2-3 miles back.
After we got back, I untacked her and she was super sore right by her shoulders on both sides. I've made it a habit to always palpate her to check fit but also to simulate a vet check. She has never even twitched a minor amount before but this time she flinched and glared at me. When I looked at the pad it had deep impressions at those spots and I knew it was the whole problem. Poor Gem! I apologized again and again and felt horrible, but I knew I had turned around once I had figured out it wasn't something simple that I could correct out on trail.
Afterward S said her mare had behaved similarly with that pad as well but has been fine in everything else. Odd. I think the fleece just compresses too much under pressure areas and provides no real support. I briefly thought about grabbing the one with foam inserts, but worry the 3/4" would make the saddle perch too much. I'm glad I tried it though and now that is off my potential list.
On the positive side of things, S and I had a great time chatting it up and the weather was perfect. Gem basically cantered for 2 straight hours and I think we probably did around 12 miles or around there and heck that's a fantastic workout for her. Other than her back issues from the pad, she dried out quickly on the walk back and looked great. I also got a good hike in as well ;)
I don't think I'm going to try the Woolback version. I worry it will be too thick for the saddle. I have a potential buyer for my wool pad and my next step is to just contact Reinsman and see if they can just make me a pad that is a little larger. I need to measure mine to see the dimension, but I really just need it about 2" longer from front to back. If they can't do it, then I am going to try to save up for a custom Skito pad.
August 18, 2014
The Dynamic Duo Rides Again!
First - thanks for the advice and recommendations on pads. It seems everyone out there loves the Toklat Woolback and Coolback pads. I will definitely be looking into these. A friend has a Coolback she isn't using and said I can try it out to see if it would work. Worth a shot. The current Reinsman pad works just fine, stays put and produces an even sweat pattern and no sore spots, but it is a bit too short for the saddle. Hopefully I can sell the pad I have so I can buy a new one.
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Saturday was a day of ill preparation, bad timing and the Universe telling us to just go back home. Despite all of that we still managed to squeak in 6 miles of new trails and some fun.
When Gem saw me pull in with the truck Saturday morning after working her both Tuesday and Thursday she definitely gave me the stink eye. She stayed at the gate though to watch me down at the barn. By the time the hubby pulled in, about a half an hour later, she knew something was up and gave us the horse equivalent of the middle finger: tail flagged high galloping to the far end of her pasture.
The hubby went to get Pete (my rents watched W for us Saturday morning so we could ride together for the first time since last fall), but Gem was being such a snot running around bucking and snorting that there was no way he was going to get caught. After 20 minutes of her making a fool of herself, she let me walk up to her and put her halter on. She was soaked with sweat and breathing hard. Oh well...she had a 45 minute trailer ride to cool down.
Unfortunately, these shenanigans in addition to a host of other unrelated and annoying things that held us up at home, put us a full hour behind schedule. My rents agreed to watch him from 8-12 and we didn't even drop W off until just after 9. It wasn't a good start to the day. But we were finally off.
We pulled into Croft State Park to find a horse show going on. We had forgotten to snag the park pass out of the van, so we had to stop at the gate to pay. I had on my typical riding attire: stained breeches, old t-shirt and a baseball hat (I adore hats). The old man at the gate asked the hubby "How old is he?" Umm....he who? Turns out he thought I was his son. Oh great. Guess I need to rethink my wardrobe a little :(
Since we were on such a time crunch we hadn't eaten anything yet and our bag of snacks/drinks was left on the counter at home. The hubs went to find the restroom and came back to report that there was a concession stand! I looked at my watch and it was already pushing 10, so we tacked up and prepared to get on as quickly as possible. Food would have to wait.
S and her hubby L pulled in a few minutes behind us. We had spoken the day before and planned to attempt to ride as a group, but knew we would most likely split off at some point. Pete is fast and furious on the trails and his idea of the perfect trail to run on doesn't really match up with S and L's thoughts. We waited around for them to get tacked up and finally hit the trail much, much later than anticipated.
We entered at the first trail head we came across and Pete wound up in the lead. The trail was single track, but muddy and slick so we kept it to a sedate pace and stuck together for a while. Once it dried up, we started trotting and then the hubby let Pete have his head a bit and we were off. When Pete does his "super trot" as we call it, Gem has to canter to keep up. I really wish I knew Pete's breeding. I am sure he isn't actually trotting at this speed - he is just too fast and too smooth. We ducked and dodged along the single track trail with trees close on both sides. I know Pete and the hubby were grinning and so I was. Gem, I'm not so sure, but her ears were forward and she was willing the entire time. I really miss riding with my boys. We have such a blast flying through the trees together.
S and L weren't enjoying the pace on that type of trail, so they backed off and told us to go ahead without them. We kept it up quite a ways until we came to a fork in the trail. We hadn't been there before so both ways seemed ok to us and we went left. There were some pretty nice climbs and descents and the trail had excellent footing the majority of the way. Eventually we came to a spot where the trail went pretty much straight vertical down about 20ft then immediately back up on the same incline with a ditch on either side. I really didn't like the looks of it and since we had no clue where we were or if we would have to double back through it, I vetoed the idea and we turned around.
Heading back we ran across S and L again. We described the trail and she suggested we take the other trail which led to the road and then cross over to the other side of the park. Along the way we ran across a mariachi band playing at a family picnic. S's mare was very much not enjoying the music, but Gem and Pete just glanced over there way and continued on. You would think that a horse that spooks at a stupid stick on the ground would mind the mariachi band, but no. Silly mare!
We crossed over and I looked at my watch. Since we had dropped W off late, we bought ourselves until 1 pm, but it was now 11:15 and we had to be on our way out of the park by 12:15. We decided to follow S and L out a ways and then at 11:45 we turned around. The trail was absolutely gorgeous too, so I was da to part way, but Pete was dripping with sweat and falling behind which is very unusual for him. He was very tired. On the way back we decided to follow the road instead of the trail to save time and a mile later we were back at the trailer.
The horses were sweaty and hot, so we untacked quickly and hosed them down. The concession food smelled too good to pass up so once we loaded them on the trailer we headed on over. I got a cheeseburger with the most delicious hand squeezed lemonade ever. I was so dehydrated and thirsty anything would have tasted good, but I love hand squeezed fair style lemonade. It was worth the $5. Hubby got a hash sandwich (still unclear what hash is, but the lady said something about beef, pork and spices) and a coke and we headed back home.
We arrived only 15 minutes late (sorry, mum we had to get food!!) and picked up a tired W who had had a great morning with his grandparents. Hubby took the horses back to the barn and I took W home for a nap.
All in all it was a great time out on the trails and I really missed riding with the boys. Pete needs to get into better shape which will help him overall in life. next time we will have to go into it better prepared, leave on time and have less stress with the ticking clock. There are 17 scheduled hunter paces for the 2014-2015 calendar year and I am hoping to hit at least a few of the ones we missed last year which Pete excels at and enjoys. They are the right distance for him to enjoy (he hated the LD we took him on which is another story for another day) but these are right up his alley, so hopefully we can get him out and about this fall.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday was a day of ill preparation, bad timing and the Universe telling us to just go back home. Despite all of that we still managed to squeak in 6 miles of new trails and some fun.
When Gem saw me pull in with the truck Saturday morning after working her both Tuesday and Thursday she definitely gave me the stink eye. She stayed at the gate though to watch me down at the barn. By the time the hubby pulled in, about a half an hour later, she knew something was up and gave us the horse equivalent of the middle finger: tail flagged high galloping to the far end of her pasture.
The hubby went to get Pete (my rents watched W for us Saturday morning so we could ride together for the first time since last fall), but Gem was being such a snot running around bucking and snorting that there was no way he was going to get caught. After 20 minutes of her making a fool of herself, she let me walk up to her and put her halter on. She was soaked with sweat and breathing hard. Oh well...she had a 45 minute trailer ride to cool down.
Unfortunately, these shenanigans in addition to a host of other unrelated and annoying things that held us up at home, put us a full hour behind schedule. My rents agreed to watch him from 8-12 and we didn't even drop W off until just after 9. It wasn't a good start to the day. But we were finally off.
 |
| The Hubs |
Since we were on such a time crunch we hadn't eaten anything yet and our bag of snacks/drinks was left on the counter at home. The hubs went to find the restroom and came back to report that there was a concession stand! I looked at my watch and it was already pushing 10, so we tacked up and prepared to get on as quickly as possible. Food would have to wait.
S and her hubby L pulled in a few minutes behind us. We had spoken the day before and planned to attempt to ride as a group, but knew we would most likely split off at some point. Pete is fast and furious on the trails and his idea of the perfect trail to run on doesn't really match up with S and L's thoughts. We waited around for them to get tacked up and finally hit the trail much, much later than anticipated.
We entered at the first trail head we came across and Pete wound up in the lead. The trail was single track, but muddy and slick so we kept it to a sedate pace and stuck together for a while. Once it dried up, we started trotting and then the hubby let Pete have his head a bit and we were off. When Pete does his "super trot" as we call it, Gem has to canter to keep up. I really wish I knew Pete's breeding. I am sure he isn't actually trotting at this speed - he is just too fast and too smooth. We ducked and dodged along the single track trail with trees close on both sides. I know Pete and the hubby were grinning and so I was. Gem, I'm not so sure, but her ears were forward and she was willing the entire time. I really miss riding with my boys. We have such a blast flying through the trees together.
S and L weren't enjoying the pace on that type of trail, so they backed off and told us to go ahead without them. We kept it up quite a ways until we came to a fork in the trail. We hadn't been there before so both ways seemed ok to us and we went left. There were some pretty nice climbs and descents and the trail had excellent footing the majority of the way. Eventually we came to a spot where the trail went pretty much straight vertical down about 20ft then immediately back up on the same incline with a ditch on either side. I really didn't like the looks of it and since we had no clue where we were or if we would have to double back through it, I vetoed the idea and we turned around.
Heading back we ran across S and L again. We described the trail and she suggested we take the other trail which led to the road and then cross over to the other side of the park. Along the way we ran across a mariachi band playing at a family picnic. S's mare was very much not enjoying the music, but Gem and Pete just glanced over there way and continued on. You would think that a horse that spooks at a stupid stick on the ground would mind the mariachi band, but no. Silly mare!
We crossed over and I looked at my watch. Since we had dropped W off late, we bought ourselves until 1 pm, but it was now 11:15 and we had to be on our way out of the park by 12:15. We decided to follow S and L out a ways and then at 11:45 we turned around. The trail was absolutely gorgeous too, so I was da to part way, but Pete was dripping with sweat and falling behind which is very unusual for him. He was very tired. On the way back we decided to follow the road instead of the trail to save time and a mile later we were back at the trailer.
The horses were sweaty and hot, so we untacked quickly and hosed them down. The concession food smelled too good to pass up so once we loaded them on the trailer we headed on over. I got a cheeseburger with the most delicious hand squeezed lemonade ever. I was so dehydrated and thirsty anything would have tasted good, but I love hand squeezed fair style lemonade. It was worth the $5. Hubby got a hash sandwich (still unclear what hash is, but the lady said something about beef, pork and spices) and a coke and we headed back home.
We arrived only 15 minutes late (sorry, mum we had to get food!!) and picked up a tired W who had had a great morning with his grandparents. Hubby took the horses back to the barn and I took W home for a nap.
All in all it was a great time out on the trails and I really missed riding with the boys. Pete needs to get into better shape which will help him overall in life. next time we will have to go into it better prepared, leave on time and have less stress with the ticking clock. There are 17 scheduled hunter paces for the 2014-2015 calendar year and I am hoping to hit at least a few of the ones we missed last year which Pete excels at and enjoys. They are the right distance for him to enjoy (he hated the LD we took him on which is another story for another day) but these are right up his alley, so hopefully we can get him out and about this fall.
August 15, 2014
My Love/Hate Affair With Tack
High quality, durable riding equipment is my Achilles heel. I love it. I skimp on my wardrobe, as my last post definitely pointed out, but love to pamper Gem with great tack. I adore my new saddle, so there isn't much to monkey with there and at this point I'm not even thinking about tempting fate on that. Finding a saddle that fit Gem was so insanely difficult, I was near the point of breaking her to drive instead. Now that I have the Advantage I am finally at peace with that.
Having purchased the used demo saddle instead of a new one, I had some money to play around with. The Fusion Jogging boots, new red mohair cinch and red sheepskin seat cover were acquired and have been working out great. She looks fantastic in her new get up.
I also purchased a wool saddle pad and it finally arrived this week. The quality is amazing. Thick and luxurious with no seam on the underside and pockets on top for shims if needed. I was drooling over the ability to ride in something so soft and couldn't wait to get out on it.
(Side note: I currently use a Reinsman Tacky Too pad and it is a great utility pad. No frills or fluff, but also no pain. The only issue is that it is slightly too short for the saddle and the back of the saddle sits off the pad a smidge)
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| Hard to see, but the back of the saddle sits off the pad a bit |
Thursday came with the opportunity to head back to the barn and this time I remembered to grab the new pad. I was running low on daylight with W staying up later (until close to 7 pm now) and the sun giving up on us earlier, but I could get a little bit in. She wasn't too pleased to see me so soon.
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| I'm eating...come back later |
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| Seriously....leave me alone! |
Very classy with her nice bay coloring and the brown/black saddle. I swung my leg over and really could feel the difference in the saddle. It felt way more cushioned and I hoped Gem could feel the difference too.
I wanted to get in a lot of down hill work since in the past that has always been my tack nemesis. We headed up to her pasture then down the long hill to the hay field and down the hay field to the woods. Through the woods, back to the hay field and on up. We trotted or cantered the majority of it. I was really enjoying the feel of the new pad and Gem was moving out well in the beginning. Coming up the hay field at the end she started really acting funny. Almost like she used to in her old saddles where she just didn't move out quite as freely and was holding back. I looked down and then immediately jumped off her.
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| The pad is squeegeeing out the back |
The saddle has slid a little forward although not nearly as bad as in the past with other saddles, but the bigger problem was the pad creeping out the back under the saddle.
I was disappointed to say the least. There are no loos/girth savers on the pad and I tightened the girth like always. It wasn't loose when I took it off. I shot off a quick email to Katee at Advantage saddles asking her for suggestions. I really don't know what to do to fix it. Anyone with a wool pad and experiences like this?
I don't know if she would take it back. I only rode 12 minutes, but with horses everything gets dirty after only a millisecond on them. It is washable and I plan to wash it if I return it or have to sell it.
Since this isn't working I will need to be on the search for a new pad. Any suggestions? Anyone want to buy this one?
August 14, 2014
Blog Hop: Equestrian Wardrobe
I love blog hops and now Equestrian At Heart has taken over, so I am looking forward to some new topics. Go ahead and shoot over to her site and get acquainted with her too :)
She posts:
I want to know about what you ride in and why? Show us your Equestrian Fashion choices and tell us why you wear them!
I scavenged what pictures I could off my phone to show off my lovely wardrobe. I dislike shopping, so I rarely ever go and most of my riding apparel is either scrounged up from my regular closet or was a gift. But here goes:
I grew up riding miles and miles of trails in the summer with my Aunt and Uncle. I wore whatever was comfortable and I believe that ended up being cotton breeches and a t shirt. I wore knee high black rubber riding boots (stylish - I know!) to prevent ticks as well as for those afternoons when we inevitably ended up in the creek. A helmet was also mandatory.
As I got older and branched out on my own I basically just stuck with that except I exchanged the rubber boots for Ariat riding shoes. They no longer make them anymore and I still have mine in good working condition after many miles and 5 years of use, but have switched footgear options out.
Endurance is all about color and comfort and so I go with anything that matches Gem's red and black and is comfortable. Currently my set up includes a brown Troxel Sierra helmet which is always, always on my head. I never ride without it although I do run with Gem without it on. It is comfortable enough and I honestly doubt any helmet is really very cooling, but it works. It is not flattering to my head/face shape one bit, but until it is ready to be replaced I'm sticking with it.
Moving on down my shirt is generally whatever t-shirt I have at hand and don't mind getting stained with Gem grime. On conditioning rides I don't care the color or the make. In the winter I am usually wearing at least 3 layers - t shirt, long sleeve shirt, fleece vest. Up north in the arctic I would ride to -5 Fahrenheit and so would usually also add a fleece coat to the mix.
For actual endurance rides, I must match and I have my favorite Irideon red and black t shirt that is some awesome tech fabric. It is cool, comfortable and lightweight. Unfortunately, it is also no longer available. When it comes time to retire it (or if I ever have time to venture into multi day rides) I won't be buying actual riding shirts, but instead will gravitate to running/hiking gear. It holds up well and is very comfortable. The only issue with tech material is that it smells. Quickly and permanently.
Moving farther down the line: I keep my cotton breeches for conditioning. I think they are Tuff Rider brand with suede knee patches and used to be beige. Now they are a mixture of beige, brown, black and green. They are 5 years old as well and are starting to disintegrate. Little runs by the knee patches have turned into big holes. They are ok for conditioning, but I rode 15 miles in them once and nearly cried from the chafing.
My mostest favoritest piece of clothing used to be my Irideon Issentials tights in black with a small red pin stripe. They were amazingly comfortable, didn't chafe at all anywhere and matched! But then I had a bit of a problem at Biltmore and they were ruined. (Actually in the TMI category they weren't really ruined at Biltmore, just sort of gross, but then they got left in the laundry pile outside the laundry room by the hubs and the dog came by and ate out the crotch so they had to be pitched) I can still buy the Issentials, but they don't have the red and black anymore. I don't really need them until October, so I am weighing my options.
And last, but not least I use Just Chaps neoprene mesh half chaps. I have a review on the blog here somewhere. They are comfortable, but seem flimsy and after not that many rides they are already showing signs of wear. I doubt I would shell out $75 for them again. My original half chaps are pictured above - Ovation leather and suede and they have lasted many years and many miles. I think they cost like $35 too. The knee patches are pulling off the rest of the chap, but I think I can find someone to restitch it for me. I will go back to these in the future.
Shoe wise I began in ariats of some sort. They are tennis shoe style and again no longer available. They are pretty comfy, but after awhile I ditched them for my Brooks Glycerin running shoes and won't go back. The Brooks are just plain comfy and are nice when I get off to run some miles.
And that's just about it. I always wear my Garmin (when I remember it) and if I am out for a long time or it is particularly hot out I will throw my Camelbak on as well for hydration. Nothing fancy, but it is all comfortable and works well.
She posts:
I want to know about what you ride in and why? Show us your Equestrian Fashion choices and tell us why you wear them!
I scavenged what pictures I could off my phone to show off my lovely wardrobe. I dislike shopping, so I rarely ever go and most of my riding apparel is either scrounged up from my regular closet or was a gift. But here goes:
I grew up riding miles and miles of trails in the summer with my Aunt and Uncle. I wore whatever was comfortable and I believe that ended up being cotton breeches and a t shirt. I wore knee high black rubber riding boots (stylish - I know!) to prevent ticks as well as for those afternoons when we inevitably ended up in the creek. A helmet was also mandatory.
As I got older and branched out on my own I basically just stuck with that except I exchanged the rubber boots for Ariat riding shoes. They no longer make them anymore and I still have mine in good working condition after many miles and 5 years of use, but have switched footgear options out.
Endurance is all about color and comfort and so I go with anything that matches Gem's red and black and is comfortable. Currently my set up includes a brown Troxel Sierra helmet which is always, always on my head. I never ride without it although I do run with Gem without it on. It is comfortable enough and I honestly doubt any helmet is really very cooling, but it works. It is not flattering to my head/face shape one bit, but until it is ready to be replaced I'm sticking with it.
Moving on down my shirt is generally whatever t-shirt I have at hand and don't mind getting stained with Gem grime. On conditioning rides I don't care the color or the make. In the winter I am usually wearing at least 3 layers - t shirt, long sleeve shirt, fleece vest. Up north in the arctic I would ride to -5 Fahrenheit and so would usually also add a fleece coat to the mix.
For actual endurance rides, I must match and I have my favorite Irideon red and black t shirt that is some awesome tech fabric. It is cool, comfortable and lightweight. Unfortunately, it is also no longer available. When it comes time to retire it (or if I ever have time to venture into multi day rides) I won't be buying actual riding shirts, but instead will gravitate to running/hiking gear. It holds up well and is very comfortable. The only issue with tech material is that it smells. Quickly and permanently.
Moving farther down the line: I keep my cotton breeches for conditioning. I think they are Tuff Rider brand with suede knee patches and used to be beige. Now they are a mixture of beige, brown, black and green. They are 5 years old as well and are starting to disintegrate. Little runs by the knee patches have turned into big holes. They are ok for conditioning, but I rode 15 miles in them once and nearly cried from the chafing.
My mostest favoritest piece of clothing used to be my Irideon Issentials tights in black with a small red pin stripe. They were amazingly comfortable, didn't chafe at all anywhere and matched! But then I had a bit of a problem at Biltmore and they were ruined. (Actually in the TMI category they weren't really ruined at Biltmore, just sort of gross, but then they got left in the laundry pile outside the laundry room by the hubs and the dog came by and ate out the crotch so they had to be pitched) I can still buy the Issentials, but they don't have the red and black anymore. I don't really need them until October, so I am weighing my options.
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| The whole get up was so nice, comfy and pretty. Please ignore chubby Gemmie. This was over a year ago. |
And last, but not least I use Just Chaps neoprene mesh half chaps. I have a review on the blog here somewhere. They are comfortable, but seem flimsy and after not that many rides they are already showing signs of wear. I doubt I would shell out $75 for them again. My original half chaps are pictured above - Ovation leather and suede and they have lasted many years and many miles. I think they cost like $35 too. The knee patches are pulling off the rest of the chap, but I think I can find someone to restitch it for me. I will go back to these in the future.
Shoe wise I began in ariats of some sort. They are tennis shoe style and again no longer available. They are pretty comfy, but after awhile I ditched them for my Brooks Glycerin running shoes and won't go back. The Brooks are just plain comfy and are nice when I get off to run some miles.
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| Irideone tights, Just Chaps, Brooks running shoes |
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