AAAAHHHHHHH.....

Thats the sound of me finally sitting down in my recliner, laptop in hand.  It has been a whirlwind of activity  since last Friday am!

Milwaukee Road Trip:

Was awesome!!!!!  I had such a good time. 

Glen and Flo picked me up at about 10 am and we headed out North.  We were running a little behind schedule, as we had to make a quick trip to Les Scwhab due to a flat tire on the truck.  Todd filled it up with air before we left the house and we made it to Chehalis just fine.

Les Schwab came thru again, fixing the flat tire (due to an errant screw), then checking and topping off the tire pressure as needed on truck and trailer.  They didn't even charge for it either. I am always surprised to get such good customer service, its refreshing!

As we crossed over to the east side of the mountains, the clouds started to disappear and we were into blue sky.  Yeah.

We pulled into ride camp about 4pm and set up camp next to fellow Renegaiters Shannon and Alex and their daughter Andreana.

I decided to let Dazzby stretch her legs a little on the lunge line, hoping that this would help her maintain her composure at the start of the ride this time.  We vetted in just as the wind was starting to pick up and headed back to the trailer for some fried chicken!!   Yes, real fried chicken!  I bet if anything can get my husband Todd to attend a ride some day, it might be the prospect of getting fried chicken.  Flo is a great cook and I eat better at ride camp that at home most of the time :)

It was Shannon's birthday and Alex actually baked a cake for the occasion.  Spice cake, mmmmm! 

So, the 50 milers were set to go out at 7am.  That meant that all of Dazzby's "herdmates" would be leaving her behind.  I decided to take her out for a walk/trot on the lunge again, in hopes of heading off the panic of getting left behind.  It worked.  As I saw Glen, Flo, and Shannon head up an over the hill I snuck the mare back into camp and she didn't turn a hair.

Finally it was our turn, we warmed up for about 1/2 hour prior to the start and Dazzby was like another horse for the start of this ride.  Good thing too, because a nice lady on a big bay Arab actually commented,
"She's doing a lot better this time, than at Home on the Range!"  Eeek, we must have made quite and impression at the start of that ride.

I let her go out right at the front of the pack, but we were quickly passed by riders trotting on the asphalt road leading to the real trail.  I just can't do it.  I think I've spent too much time fretting over those delicate Thoroughbred legs.

The trail was wide, flat and pretty soft and we hit her big trot and the first couple of miles flew by.  At one point I let her lope for about a mile.  She seemed to be really enjoying herself and I was too.

One section of the trail was pretty rocky, it is a new road made to bypass a large tunnel that used to be part of the ride trail.   We slowed down and walked through that section of trail but otherwise it was go go go!  Before I could believe it we were at the turn around.  It was about 8.5 miles out and Dazzby didn't have much interest in drinking water.  I wasn't surprised, she has gotten where she really doesn't want to drink until about mile 15.  I'm not sure if I should be worried about this or not, she usually drinks really well in the last half of the rides and gets A- or sometimes B for skin tenting at most rides.

We cruised back into camp and she pulsed down immediately, thank you AareneX- blogger, photographer, and pulse taker, a woman of many talents! 

For the second loop I actually remembered to take my camera.  This loop was on the other side of the freeway and headed into a little green valley.  It was a windy single track for the first half of the loop and was really pretty.

We saw some interesting things, I'm not sure what this is, but it was big.

The sky is so pretty on the dry side.

Once again, Dazzby was all business and we did most of this loop and the jog and lope, in just over an hour we were back to camp.

Here is my girl kickin' it by the trailer after her 25 miles.

Here are Glen and his mare Dixie getting ready to do the last loop.

Glen and Shannon finished up the 50 a short while later.  Unfortunately Flo's horse Hotshot hit some rocks on that section of trail over the tunnel and Flo decided to take a rider option at the out vet check.  It was disappointing for Flo, but its too early in the season to risk bruised or sore feet!  They will be back in action at the beautiful Mt. Adams ride later this month.

Shannon's horse Mojo just completed his second 50 and barely looked like he'd broken a sweat!  Here he is prior to vetting out, with still enough energy to spend a few minutes bobbing for apples in the big trough.

There are actually some small apple pieces floating in the water, they just don't show up well in the photo.

Potluck was great, lots of different foods, some particularly yummy brownies, and even lasagna.  I got a nice grey t-shirt too!  Another great ride, I just can't believe how incredibly SORE I was for three days post ride.  Ugh, I am obviously the weak link in this partnership.  If I ever want to try a 50 I'm going to have to find a way to do longer rides when training.  No excuses! 

Almost Ready to Roll

WHEEEEEEE!


Dazzby and I had the most delightful ride tonite.

We just ran down to the trail by the river to get a quick 5 miles in.  We are leaving for the Milwaukee Road Rail Trail on Friday, so it was just an easy ride this evening.

Backtracking a bit. 

Last Wednesday we went out for a similar ride and Dazzby was a spooky nut.  We'd finished the 5 mile trail and she was just full of herself, still.  So, we went off trail into the sand and did a little cantering.  We'd been going for about a mile or two and she was just getting stronger and stronger on the bit. She was galloping and I felt like I was back galloping racehorses!   Finally I pulled her up, and she was a blowin'.

Dazz was covered in sweat from head to toe, and we walked and walked to cool out.  I thought we might have over done it just a  tad.

Two days later we went out for a slow ride with Michelle and Coco.  Coco is Michelle's awesome trail mare, she goes anywhere!  And is sure footed too.  Coco is a big QH, and doesn't have as fast a gait at Dazzby, usually.  Well that day Dazzby was just lagging behind, ears kinda flat, gait kinda flat.  We did a little bit of jogging and smidge of canter but mostly walked the five mile loop.

Well, today I had my usual mare back, ears pricked, on the bit and forward!  Yeah.

Now, I just gotta pack, go grocery shopping, do laundry, figure out something for the potluck (eeek), and, oh yeah, I gotta find some plain old grass hay!  Apparently the 450 bales we put up last summer wasn't quite enough this year. 

Almost ready!

Dazzby at Ft. Stevens 2009

Planning

I'm getting ready to send in my pre-entry for the Milwaukee Road Rail Trail ride on April 30.  I haven't been to this ride before but I hear it can get pretty windy some years.  Hope this isn't one of them!

I've been contemplating what went wrong, and right, at HTTR.  Given Dazzby's frustration and acting out at the beginning of the ride, (well I guess it did go on for 15 miles)  I think I will try a different tactic this time out.

For starters I will try to get to ridecamp in time to take a short leg stretcher on Friday before the ride.  I think my girl needs to blow off a little steam after the trailer ride and to help her settle in and relax the nite before.

Second, I will try to get saddled and warmed up for 1/2 or so before our ride starts this time.  If we're able to do that, then we will be able to implement step three of the plan.

Third, we will head out at a little quicker pace that I tried at HTTR.  She seems to settle in quicker if she can move out.

I realized the other day that I train her to want to move out.  Since I tend to work so many hours and have to squeeze training in sometimes, I tend to rush home, groom, saddle, trailer to the trailhead, walk a 1/4 or 1/2 mile or so and then trot, trot, trot.....canter..... trot, trot, trot........ and so on and so on.  We don't tend to dawdle around.  So, I don't now why I've been expecting her to behave differently at rides!

I will say that Dazzby spends all day turned out, so it's not like I'm taking her out of a stall and running her straight off or anything.  We do warm up-  we just do it pretty quickly.

So, that will be the strategy for ride two!

And, I will try to be more conscious of what I'm training my horse to do, in relation to how I want them to behave at rides, especially when I start in with Cartman.

Speaking of Cartman, after all the wierd skin/fungal/bacterial stuff he's had going on, yesterday he developed hives all over the left side of his neck.  I brought him and Dazzby in about 6pm and fed them their nightly alfalfa.  By the time I was done doing chores and feeding the others Cartman had gotten hives.  I watched him for the next few hours and they didn't get worse.  This morning they were completely gone. 

WTH?????

Indulging Anti-Establishment Tendencies?

No, seriously.

I stumbled upon this on the internet tonite, I found it fascinating- and scarey.  If you can spare 10 minutes or so I think its worth watching:

http://hartkeisonline.com/food-politics/the-unhealthy-truth-about-our-modern-processed-foods/
So, what's safe to eat?????

I had the good fortune to have been raised in a family where my Mom actually cooked all of our meals from scratch!  We even had a garden.  Thank heavens for growing up in the 1970's!

 I realize that's pretty much an impossibility for most people today. 

At our house we are lucky to get real "cooked" food three or four days a week, and that just might include some tasty Idahoan dried mashed potatoes from a foil bag.  Eeek.

It's no wonder Americans are getting so fat (as a nation), and I don't believe for one minute those commercials about HFCS being the same as sugar. 

Sugar (Succrose) is a disaccharide, made up of a glucose and fructose ring attatched  together. Our bodies have to cleave the two saccharides with an enzyme in order to digest the sugar.

HFCS is also a disaccharide with the same molecular formula as Sugar C12H22O11.  However, the two rings are not attatched in HFCS.  Our body doesn't have to break the bond to digest it-our bodies can send it straight to the hips, and thighs, etc., etc.

Not the same thing.....

Oh, one more big difference between the two, HFCS is cheaper to put in our food than sugar from sugar beets. 

Once again, wanna know what's going on?  Follow the money trail.

Close Call

Today Cartman almost gave me a heart attack!  I was performing the evening ritual of bringing him and Dazzby into the barn from the paddock.  Due to the current regimine of Scratches eradication (foot washing and drying of both horses), I stuck Cartman in his stall with his halter and rope still attatched and ran over to grab Dazzby and placed her in the stall next door to Cartman.

As I was walking back over to Cartman's stall I noticed he was messing with the stall door.  Before I could reach him he hooked the bottom of the rope halter over the bolt that latches the door shut.  This is a swinging stall door that will go either direction, into or out of the stall.  He than pulled the door backwards and was hooked, basically pulling himself into the door. 

He started to thrash and I thought, this is it, he's going to break his neck right here.  Then he froze, still pulled tight against the door.

By this time I had a closer look at how he was caught, I could easily slip that loop back off the bolt if he would pull his head forward.  I was too scared that if I tried to get him to move he would either pull back again, or might even pull my fingers into the halter as I tried to slip the loop free.

I ran over to the feed room and grabbed my old kitchen knife that I use to cut hay bales open with. 

He was still frozen and was looking at me with a very scared eye as I slipped the knife under the halter and cut it free. 

A small cut on his muzzle and some severe ruffled hair on his poll area are the only visible marks on him, but he was standing there shaking his head for a minute or so.

As luck would have it, my horse chiro called to schedule an appointment for Dazzby this evening, so he will be checking out Cartman's head and neck for any problems on Saturday morning.

I will definately get a leatherman into my saddle pack and make sure I have a good knife easily accesible in both areas of the barn from now on.

Edited to add:  I might also go back to leather halters, I've been using the rope halter on him because he tend to get a little "heavy" on the lead rope.  Perhaps a nice rolled leather halter would work.

Ack, Scratches...

Yup, they've got it. 

After we got home from the Las Vegas trip Cartman had a slight case of scratches on his hind pasterns.    He had been out in the back field with Dazzby, Girlie, and Draol for six days.  It is very wet here in Western Washington, but he has, what we call, the the largest run-in shed in Cowlitz County  (a 60 x 100 arena) to get out of the weather under.  Apparently he spent the whole time out in the wet grass and muddy spots.

I treated him with Eqyss Microtec spray for about a week and it appeared to be gone.  Then, two days ago Dazzby comes down with it!  Ugh.  These horses come in every night, and have their feet sprayed off religiously. 

We have a ride in three weeks! 

Today everyone got all four feet throroughly scrubbed with Chlorhexadine shampoo.  Hopefully that will do the trick and we can get back to business.

Anyone tried the Q-shot stuff for scratches?  I'm thinking of getting some for future use.

                                                                          

Imelda Marcos Moment

It happened again.  I was casually perusing the Smartpak website after ordering Cartman's SmartHoof supplement, I had fleetingly considered getting Dazz a new halter when I spotted a closeout.

There is was, a closeout deal on a red Horseware of Ireland Amigo halter.  She has the red Amigo blanket and this halter is made to match it.  At $18 it was cheaper than the halters they have down the street at the feedstore, and it came with a matching lead!   Whew, into the shopping cart it went.

Then, before I could stop it, the demon shopper had inhabited my body.  I was once again in the blanket section of the website. 

Another closeout beckoned.   A red Amigo Lite blanket, it matches the halter I just ordered and would look so stunning on my dark mare!  Her red blanket is awesome, it doesn't shift or rub at all and is on its second year completely waterproof.  The only problem, it is now really too warm around here for the thick winter blanket.

Surely Dazzby deserved a new matching sheet, halter, and lead set to wear at her next ride???

Ugh. 

I. Will.  Stay.  Off.  The.  Smartpak.  Site.