Miracle.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

The last post Against the odds I said I was looking forward to a miracle or a lesson. In fact I got both. The lessons can wait a day or so until I collect my thoughts but a shorter review on the big question of the hoof boots seemed like a great post to get up right away.

The boots worked 100%.

I am blown away actually. I didn’t lose one boot the entire 50 miles.

The were two separate incidents of a front twist – both times the left front. The first at mile 18 coming into the first vet check. It was a long gravel downhill then pavement. Not certain when it happened but it wasn’t twisted long. It was so close to the vet check I walked the rest of the way in once I got off to fix. The second around mile 42 on grass between some trotting and cantering. I felt something off and began to panic no no not lame now!!!! And looked down to see the boot had twisted. Hopped off to fix and back in business.

The fronts I used the Scoot Boots that have been working for us since spring.

The rear ended up a combination. I began with the Scoot Slims and they stayed on the entire first loop as well. When I vetted in there was very slight questionable gait issue. The vet held the card and suggested we come back in a few- this isn’t unusual for a something questionable in a check.

I pulled the boots and a couple of us checked her feet and legs- all looked fine. I trotted her barefoot for a ‘wandering’ vet who knows us — actually he’s the first vet I met at my very first endurance ride when I vetted in Faygo… and asked an informal opinion. He checked her over and thought she was sound.

Went back barefoot and trotted her again for a re-check and the vets decided it was a little ‘odd’ but not truly ‘off’.

I’m not afraid to bail on a ride if it’s best for my horse but my gut told me to keep going. I also thought: if something is wrong I need to see it to help fix it. Mystery potential lameness doesn’t give me much to work with. I’d either see her do fine or I’d make it worse to help me pinpoint what’s going wrong.

Also- her heart rate was stellar which told me that she wasn’t likely in pain. When I pulled at the OD her heart rate was running high and this was before she was lame (in fact she never went lame because I didn’t continue with a pulled shoe and a boot rub from an incorrect pad).

This didn’t seem like that. No heat, no elevated heart rate, she was eating and drinking like mad… to me she seemed fine.

However: as the original vet first thought it was a hind that was off I decided to try going back to the renegades on the hind just to be safe. I had three loops so could rotate between hind boots with whatever worked best

The Scoot Slims didn’t cause an issue that I’m aware of- I just haven’t had the time with them to really put them to the test. They are too new as they just released the slims weeks ago.

As the next vet check Khaleesi looked sound without question so I opted to stick with the renegades on hind for the third loop.

I never had a hind boot issue on trail in either boot style. Not with twisting and never coming off- we navigated some rough terrain and went in every speed and gait through the almost 12 hours.

So I took on some pretty long odds and I feel got the miracle I’d hoped for.

Quick disclaimer– I finished very last on Friday with only about 5 minutes to spare. This tells you the speeds I was traveling overall were very conservative comparatively. Early in the day she was ‘flying’ (for us) through the rocks like I’ve never seen- but that changed over the day as the rocky trail continued there is fatigue and also some sensitivity that can build up. Still she moved through the rocks better than she has in the past without question.

I don’t push her anymore on rough trail. I learned my lesson once when I just about destroyed her feet in my ignorance at Iron Mountain 2016. I would rather not finish than put her there again. I only ask that she keep moving and she does.

A a few things I’ve learned in my boot journey:

  1. Trim is vital, key, and necessary. Without a good barefoot trim you cannot keep boots on reliably. People used to say this to me and I did not really understand. For some reason farriers are leaving a lot of toe on horses. I’m not saying they’re wrong but I am saying I don’t really understand it now that I’ve learned what I know now. When you look at a balanced foot having a midpoint and then half the foot in front and half behind it should be somewhat clear where the toe is supposed to be. I had x-rays in the winter after spending some time filing her toes back myself over weeks – and the x ray showed still a LOT of toe left out in front. Boots are not simple with a good trim but they are about impossible in varied gaits/terrain without one. If someone with an experienced eye tells you your heels are too high and your toes are too long they are probably right if you want to use boots.
  2. Nutrition is imperative. I’m not saying go for every hoof supplement (I am in a less is more approach) but try to feed smart. Grass is great but it can also be the enemy if it’s too rich and creating sub-clinical hoof issues. In my case we also had a hind gut absorption issue that I think probiotics helped fix. It’s very individual and also takes some trial and error. Shocks to the system can screw up healthy hoof growth from vaccines to chemical wormers to periods where the gras is too rich. Just be aware.
  3. Find the boots whose design you like and start there. I’ve seen that not every horse works every boot style. Trying them out can be expensive and takes time. If one doesn’t work consider trying another. I think it’s worth it.
  4. Your horse might need some time to figure out how to move in them. If you have a ride where a canter or some hard terrain pulls them off- consider a few more rides in them to see if your horse might get better at moving better in the boots.
  5. Modifications are awesome. They can take a good thing and tweak it so it works even better for your needs. Small things like a pad, layer of vet wrap or athletic tape on the hoof, custom fitting with adhere in a too wide boot or in my case the duct tape collar on the boot can be just the touch to go from mostly good to true success. Check in with groups who are hoof boot savvy for creative ideas.
  6. If you ride on trail do SOMETHING to make the boots HIGHLY visible. Spray paint, bright duct tape, anything. This makes it very quick to see if the boots are on while riding and if one comes off you’d be shocked at how sometimes you KNOW it’s RIGHT AROUND HERE- but you sill can’t find that black boot in the leaves. The process to get started is already costly- it’s more expensive when you lose them!
  7. When you find what works get a spare or two. Always carry at least one along – laws of life say if you’re prepared you won’t need it. 😁

Making boots work takes patience and some ‘longsuffering’. I had given up on the process already once before when it just wasn’t working for me and was frustrating enough to just ask for metal shoes to make life easier.

<<<
only reason I really dedicated myself to this was from necessity. I knew my horse's feet were not doing well in metal shoes and they continued to decline. This horse has been great for letting me know what doesn't work. She does not suffer quietly. That's a good thing- it may take me some time to sort out what makes her comfortable, but I'd rather learn that than get by and have her just fill in and work through it only to have her break down later on.

Also though initially it can be costly to try and lose boots, in the end it's getting less expensive for me: I now maintain my own trimming every couple of weeks doing a little here and there instead of waiting a whole cycle then making big changes to the hoof. My knowledge will save me money on trim visits and only have my trim mentor come out at certain intervals to check how they look. Also metal shoes and pads can get expensive too. If my boots hold up and I don't lose them they are more cost effective.

This is the long range view and have a decade plus horse for me. And though some have been smart to find a horse bred or naturally suited to this sport, I've got a genetic mutant that I think can be a solid endurance horse and will eventually get through a 100 safe and sane but she needs some extra attention to detail that others may not. I love everything about her but she's not tearing up the rock mountain trails on rock crusher hooves. Yet…..

I am thrilled (and a little surprised) that my boots are becoming truly viable especially for training miles and even in competition.

I love my Scoot Boots and though I may play around with renegades on the hind at the moment as I sort out if she needs a little more heel protection on the hinds on the worst of terrain- I'm still going with the Scoots to see if they end up doing the job just as well as they are a simpler boot and I love the no Velcro and no wires.

I cannot see the future yet and it's possible I may end up using shoes on some of the hardest rides then pulling them right after.

I saw a few metal shoes out there on the trail discarded on the rocky passes. One thing I really appreciate is that I was able to make a change on this ride without a farrier. It's much easier to throw on a replacement boot than get a new shoe at a vet check or especially on trail. I don't think metal on 3 and a boot on 1 is going to end up good for the horse over long miles so I appreciate the ability to have control with a strap on boot.

If that system can get working well it's actually a big advantage.

Thanks Scoot Boots! It's really changed the options for me and my mare. The blog they put out has very interesting information about going and staying barefoot along with hoof health insights. It was a blog entry by a thoroughbred owner who’d been told her horse would never be sound barefoot that truly inspired me to try something very different and I love how great her feet are looking now!

Against the odds

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Early registration and deposit for the Fort Valley 50 next Friday in mail: check.

Last 26 mile ride to be sure my girl is still holding up: check.

Tack cleaning and pre-packing started: check check.

At the moment I am on target to head out in less than a week for the last ride of the season and the first ride for us since early June.

The last long (26 mile) ride was postponed later than I’d planned but at least it was rescheduled for a beautiful fall day and I was able to relay the ride between two friends (each did half) for company. My trusted endurance buddy Susan rode the morning 13 with Levi who is healthy, sound and also doing great now barefoot in boots! (For the record it wasn’t THAT long ago that I passed on the sentiment I’d believed based on my experience: that horse will never be able to go barefoot…… he used to tear hoof up just living in the pasture if he wasn’t shoed… live and learn!)

Then Claudia met me for the afternoon 13 with her lovely mare Willow. Willow is gaining miles and fitness and won ‘miss suitability’ in a local multi-day high mileage ride last year. I am pleased to say I think she’ll make it out to an LD next season and I suspect Claudia might be an endurance rider at heart ❤️she may come to the dark side sooner than one might think…

Willow finished the afternoon still strong with plenty of horse left. I have no doubt she could have made the whole 26 if Claudia hadn’t been tied up with work in the morning.

Fall riding is my favorite- everything about fall is my favorite actually!

It was good to see Khaleesi finish the 26 with plenty of horse left as well. The mare is pretty fit for a minimal riding summer and I believe ready to come back finally for a slow 50.

So the mare is good to go….

…however my hoof protection plan is going to need some supernatural intervention!

I am heading into another technical rough & rocky Old Dominion ride like the one that cost me a metal shoe in mile 4 last June… this time with hoof boots. 😬 And I’m not even glueing them on.

Any number of experienced people whose opinion I trust completely would unquestionably tell me to come up with a better plan for success.

They aren’t wrong.

But this is where I am – so I’ll go with it.

We do the best we can- and either get a miracle or a lesson. Those are the kind of adventures I hope define my life.

Though my plan is against the odds, I have at least a few things going for me.

First I’ve heard Karen Chaton talk (she has an endurance blog and co-hosts the endurance day podcast at horses in the morning) and she rides many endurance rides including Tevis with her boots successfully and not glued. I’m hoping to have some of her luck.

Second, one benefit to ‘strap on’ boots is that as long as I have spares I can put a boot back on and go- no need for farrier and hopefully (no nails and no glue) still have an intact hoof!

I have a bucketful of magic boots coming along on this trip! Third and hopefully the most important: my front Scoot Boots have a solid training track record.

They have stayed on for over 100 training miles at this point and though I have occasionally lost one it’s been obvious (a mud sink, a rock slide) and I knew it immediately and they are quick to replace. Even those moments are rare and my Scoots just survived the full 26 mile ride with 100% success. I’m not expecting to get 50 rough miles without having to hop off and replace a boot- but my hope is that it will be rare and these Scoots will hold up to the terrain.

My rear boots are unfortunately still in ‘beta’ testing mode and this is because the slims took so long to release I haven’t had the time I need to play with options over miles.

The slims fit great on her bare hoof but I’m using sole padding and wrapping mostly due to the extreme nature of the mileage and terrain.

I used the thinnest sole padding and a pretty thick collar wrap on the 26 mile ride and they stayed on perfectly – however at the end of the day there was a very slight spot on the side of the coronet on the back half of the hoof that had rubbed. It wasn’t sensitive for her and I don’t think it is a true problem (completely normal by the next day) but it’s enough to make me pull the padded endurance gaiters off the slims and do a much thinner vet-wrap & tape modification for the collar.

I won’t have the ability to try it out over miles before ride day but I will put them on to see how they’re fitting.

I may be better in a regular size 2 with a more padded collar to help keep the foot snug without being too tight. I could have a thicker pad in a regular size 2 as well. I’ll have this option available in my kit as well if I begin to see rubbing at the band over the 50.

Last- before the slims came I was having decent luck with my old renegades on the hind feet. They stayed on pretty reliably but they won’t hold a pad which isn’t preferable. (I have learned through this process that using a boot without a pad keeps the hoof from being able to be supported fully on giving surfaces like grass, soft trail or mud. The 1000 pound horse sinks into these surfaces enough to distribute the weight/pressure over more of the hoof. If the boot doesn’t allow this over a ride it’s in essence like staying on a hard surface (concrete, hard pack, asphalt) the entire ride with all the pressure/impact on the outside contact surfaces only (hoof wall and laminae). It’s harder on their joints and their feet this way). It’s true that the hinds seem to tolerate this better than the front feet- but I want my horse to power from her hinds not pull heavy on her front legs so getting padding back there so she is comfortable seems like the best practice if possible.

Regardless I have 3 possible hind boot scenarios if one or two fail.

The other part of the plan is to ride alone. I may need to stop and deal with a boot and I don’t want to feel pressure of holding anyone up as I do what I need to do- conversely there may be places I can make up time that may be different from needs other horses have (this has happened to me on past rides where K was super slow on rocky places but had plenty in the tank to canter on the good footing- but the team we’d hooked up with ‘didn’t canter’ … it ended up ok but made me nervous with the clock...)

One thing I have begun to notice is that Khaleesi is moving through rocky sections easier than ever before since I’ve been riding her! It’s been so subtle a change over time I almost didn’t notice until this week when she kept moving in places she used to slow WAY down to navigate rocky sections. This is huge. It will be interesting to see how she does on a really rocky trail compared to metal shoes and pads at the No Frills ride in April.

The more I learn the more it makes sense that we saw some evidence of impact damage in X-rays last winter in the right foot (coffin bone) – foremost I’m naturally super-right sided and likely weighted to that side more heavily over time- but secondly I was either in metal shoes, then with impact pads that wouldn’t have allowed surfaces to help support the hoof- or boots without pads which also didn’t really support the whole hoof over hard riding.

<

I’ve been working as constantly as I can to on getting more balanced OUT of the saddle to help me get more balanced IN the saddle to minimize one-sided damage I’m causing in my horse.

I’ve asked my fantastic gym coach to forgo some of the muscle building work for balance and feel exercises. He’s always trying to understand what I’m doing and work on new routines to help me improve what I’m lacking. Since I have somewhat odd requests, he does research each week to come up with new ways to help me improve.

Now hopefully the hoof solutions will lessen impact and make a difference as well.

Yet after the 26 miles I think I found I am the one in worse riding shape! You can jog, squat and work out but nothing duplicates spending an entire day in the saddle. My legs were tired and my body stiff from that ‘easy’ ride as I haven’t been out on the trail long distances this year.

Hopefully I’ll hold up as well as my horse!

A betting person would be smart to pick another team this ride- but I’ll take my long odds, my barefoot horse in strap on boots and a little prayer to the staring line and see what we can do!

Pony

Wednesday, October 10, 2017

I’ve been getting Wild Heart back on the trails by ponying her from Khaleesi at least once a week and though it began as a bit of a chore, I’m beginning to really look forward to those rides!

First I’ve begun to expect Khaleesi to be more responsive to exactly what I’m asking on a higher level than usual. This means I am very specific as to what side of the trail I want her and how to go over obstacles, exactly the speed I want and to be faster to respond when I need to stop quickly (because Heart does sometimes and I don’t really want to drop the lead due to lame response time from my good horse).

This higher level of expectation began from necessity in trying to handle two mares on the trail together but it has really produced some of my favorite rides. She’s completely stepped up and been that horse. This includes not wanting to have to use my hands if possible so really focusing on steering from my body first. It’s been fun by the end of the ride to be able to be as subtle as turning my head and having her move to the other side of the trail or just think about stopping as I feel the slightest change in my pinkie on the lead rope and have Khaleesi stop right with me.

The other product has come from truly walking at a slow to moderate pace for 45-60 minutes (Wild Heart is not in great shape for the mountain climbing so I’m bringing her up gradually building muscle and cardio without going too fast and damaging her body or mind.)

At that walk I found I was able to tune in more acutely to my body and better feel between my right/left balance and also tension. I’m holding the lead rope with one hand and I want to stay balanced in both my upper and lower body. I have made it a point to lead from both sides as well!

I’m also working on letting go of all tension and I think I’m doing better each ride but I noticed if I saw a log ahead, a dip in the trail, a hill coming up I would feel some small part of me tense in anticipation! Very subtle but tension nonetheless.

The last thing that’s been interesting to observe is that the first few rides Wild Heart would stop often. I would allow her a moment and eventually ask her to continue forward with us. She would. But she would still stop pretty regularly. On one of the first rides back after she stopped she went right down on trail and rolled.

I waited patiently. Let her do what she needed to do and we moved on without a second thought. Sometimes she hesitated going down hills. I watched her move as she’s had some issues with discomfort before but she has a clear bill of health to get started so I wondered if it was fear of pain or actual pain- or weakness.

The most recent ride this week she stopped a total of 3 times early in the ride then not again. Not uphill and not downhill. The rest of the walk she stuck right at our side and even walked a little faster a few times going head-to-head momentarily. (Pictured below Khaleesi takes a pee break and heart stays clear of the stream!)

I think she’s building up fitness and hope she’s finding it doesn’t hurt.

It’ll be a while before I make her carry a rider again as I’m in no hurry. I would rather see her come around physically and mentally in her own time and I’m enjoying the process of starting over with her right now.

But I like even more how that has influenced my relationship with Khaleesi – both from the ponying and also just the things I’m learning about myself as I slow down and work from scratch with her trying to do it from the equine perspective.

And sometimes I get it right… sometimes I still struggle! But it’s a great journey to be on.

Slims

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Well they’re here! After the original intended release in June I ordered them as soon as I saw they were not ‘backordered’ and ready to ship from Australia.

Took a pretty hairy first ride to try them out- sort of accidentally.

Drove to a nearby friend’s place for a short-ish but great climbing ride up a ridge trail and back. I think we both decided it was such a short ride maybe a little exploration off the backside of the mountain would be a good diversion and.. well once you get going sometimes it’s hard to know when to stop… and then you realize you’ve hit that point where you really don’t want to turn back so you might as well just keep on bushwacking on foot with the hopes you end up somewhere better than where you came from!

It ended up being a fun jaunt with only a few worrisome sections that were too rocky for my comfort. That is where I get off and walk because it lessens the chance of injury if at least she isn’t dealing with my weight and hers navigating rock slides.

After clearing the ravine we found some deer trails (pictured above)and truly enjoyed the early fall woods in sections that had likely been burned at some point as the brushy matter was just a year or two old – maybe three.

The new back boots were 100% and never came off through even the worst of it. However in one low area I chose the swampy path which was a mistake- we sunk in at least 8 inches every step and it was when I turned her around in that bog that I sucked off one front (the twisting did it) I knew it as it happened – pulled the boot out of the deep mud, put it back on and away we went.

When we eventually popped back into familiar trails in our local state park I was completely shocked where we were (hadn’t bothered to bring my GPS since we were planning such a short predictable ride originally). In fact my friend knew before I did and tried to explain it to me- I have ridden those trails a million times and still as she tried to tell me where I was the foreign way we dropped in – basically off the moon for all intents and purposes – I tried to tell her I’d never ridden that trail before.

So the quick little ridge climb ended up being almost 5 hours first exploring then taking the much longer way home but along the roads to make it easy on the horses (and us!!).

Having the entire day free it was nice not to hurry and to just enjoy a fantastic early fall day as it warmed up… grab an apple from a roadside tree and chat about whatever came to mind.

All in all a fantastic day- but also a win for my scoot boot slims. They’ll get a ‘fast’ ride Friday then a long test Sunday as I plan to do the 26 mile loop as the long prep for the Fort Valley 50.

Khaleesi was in great form today- mentally and physically. She handled the terrible terrain like a champ- scrambling from one spot to the next careful not to step on me as we both slipped and slid at points- she was willing and in good spirits to ride, and has been really enjoying my friend’s mare the more we ride. Considering K can be a bit of a bossy female it’s been interesting to see her mellow out and relax walking side-by-side with this nice mare without ugly ears or her occasional pushy antics for me to stay ahead of.

I’d almost say she likes her.

(Foggy fall morning at the farm today)

Discomfort.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Friday brought a beautiful mild early Fall day and a long overdue ride with some friends.

Khaleesi seems to be coming back all around so this ‘fast and far’ ride seemed a good testing ground to see where she is.

My friend’s son in from NYC had only one birthday wish this year- to get out with the horses and have fun on the beautiful trails. A natural horse-guy comfortable on a horse, physically fit with no equine inhibition- he created a perfect training opportunity for me in all realms at once!

Somehow the saying:

Ride em like you stole em

Comes to mind. 😳😁

There were a few occasions where he let that horse fly and literally ended up completely out of sight for a while!

I enjoyed his carefree abandon from a distance and insisted that Khaleesi take my version of a ‘footing-safe’ speed and not just running with the ‘herd’ (if one horse plus yours constitutes a herd…) and that was great training for us both.

No darlin- I set the speed. Yes. Really. When the footing and circumstances allowed (when she was checking in with me and not assuming take off) I occasionally did encourage her to run – and as fast as she could get her legs to go! Try as she might she is just not as fast as the old gelding but we had fun. It’s good to push the limits once in a while physically.

There was also a section of the ride where the other two cut through the beautiful field. I decided to stay on the path along the edge in part because Khaleesi wanted so badly to go with the others that I decided it was yet another opportunity to train something different from the herd.

I am aware that for the most part we are on the same page on the trails- however that is not the same as leadership. I don’t like to ‘pick a fight’ just for the sake of doing so, but taking an opportunity to do something different can be helpful in establishing that long term goal of us both agreeing that I am the brains of the operation.

It develops patience, character and faith.

There are many things my horse cannot know because I cannot explain them to her. She is a being with thoughts and intellect. I give horses a lot of credit. However I cannot completely explain to her when she steps on that trailer if we are driving 10 minutes for a short ride or 6 hours to the Biltmore for her first 50 miler. I can’t tell her if we’re going to play in the manicured arena or have a rough trail cutting ride through briars and overgrown brush that will make little scratches on her sensitive legs and get caught in her tail. I cannot completely assure her she will EVER return home again. (Honestly we can never promise such things anyway in life).

The horse has to put her faith in me that I will put her well being first. She may ask not to have to go through the discomfort of a long hard ride, but she has a job and I insist she stays fit. In return I’ll do my best to meet her needs and give her the best life I can.

We all build this with our horses one example at a time and with every interaction like it or not – so eventually the relationship gets to a point where the horse says: ok! What do you need me to do today and how can I help? Now zoom out a level.

I also need to have some faith.

The decisions I made in the spring when I had that nagging feeling that things were passable… but that we could do better… went against some expert opinions. There was that voice I’m learning to hear and learning to trust and I was sure by then it was the right thing and at the right time.

Then things got uncomfortable:

  • My horse struggled to stay sound.
  • I had to pay a lot in travel costs early on to get a barefoot trimmer I trusted to come this far.
  • My horse started hanging out at the far end of the field making me go get her instead of running to the gate to greet me.
  • I held off on my summer conditioning rides because she didn’t seem 100%.
  • My riding seemed to be getting worse as I tried to improve.
  • I started to question my own leadership ability.
  • My leadership suffered as I reexamined and overthought trying to sort out what to do and how to do it and if I was doing it right.
  • I made a few interaction mistakes including a trailer loading one that was significant because fixing the mistake I created brought a surface injury when she fought against herself trying to back off during loading. (That issue is now gone- the fix worked- but I’d have never had to fix if I hadn’t made the mistake to begin with).

This week of getting back to riding has given me a glimpse that the vision of what I saw could be possible is coming closer. I still need to get some conditioning miles back on her but the boots are staying on [the scoot narrows have arrived at NY customs and should be at my door within days- but meanwhile the old renegades are doing pretty well- only lost one at a crazy canter last ride- having her feet actually trimmed properly HAS made a difference!] and her feet are getting stronger. I’m learning more about how the feet affect the entire body. I believe she’s coming through that detox period and her guts are starting to wake up getting essential nutrients through her body and hair and feet are benefitting.

I’m feeling her back lift underneath me more often on her own while riding in the new saddle. My riding balance is improving. I’m continuing to build new layers of leadership and trust and my confidence is coming back. My horses are beginning to follow me in the field again from time to time.

It is exciting to see the light. However I don’t want to lose sight of the lesson that it’s during that uncomfortable waiting period where you grow. It’s where you stay the course or bail out.

I’ve pondered recently the classic stories of the greats who waited through the discomfort I think wow:Noah was told to build a boat and wait for rain (which had never happened previously). It was 120 years in between and I’m sure everyone thought he was a looney toon. He didn’t even know what rain was. That would be uncomfortable.

  • Sarah was told her son would be the father of a great nation… only she was barren and waited until she was 90 to have her first child. THAT would be uncomfortable!!
  • David went through many years as a servant for the current king (and passing by a few opportunities to kill him and take over) and then hiding for his life toward the end of the 10+ years after he was ‘anointed’ to be king. That would be uncomfortable.
  • The people of Israel were in slavery 400 years after being promised they’d be delivered. Slavery would be the extreme example of uncomfortable.

It so happens the Bible generally has more stories of faith through discomfort than literature of our more recent history. I think one reason for that that most humans are discomfort-adverse. I certainly am.

At some point I’ve finally grown up enough to realize that discomfort is actually my friend. Sometimes it comes from bad choices and lack of personal boundaries. Then it’s a warning to pay more attention.

Sometimes it’s there to encourage growth.

I have been chewing on the concept a friend recently mentioned to me:

Sometimes God comforts the afflicted… but sometimes He afflicts the comfortable.

Living in America in the present time I found it easy to live day-to-day in the uninvestigated belief that the goal of life is to be comfortable. To make enough money to eventually not have to work (or work so much), to have friends that like me, leisure time and ways to enjoy it and above all have fun and be happy. But there is always something missing.

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard the phrase: as long as she’s (he’s) happy. It never sat right with me.

Yet that is exactly what I’ve been spending 40 years in pursuit of. Basic comfort and happiness.

Yes- I volunteer in my community, I give to non-profit groups that are doing good work, and I even started a strings program that reaches young people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to learn music. I care about my friends and do my best to help where I can… I do good things- but there is more. A shift in perspective that I sense changes the reason you get out of bed each day.

Challenge me today. Give me something to work out… not only do I accept that I may have a tough problem to solve- but I embrace them! Instead of ‘why me’ maybe ‘why not me?’

Maybe that’s my version of: what are we doing today and how can I help that I want from my horse?

If I hadn’t been born in the US, things might have been different – I might have been in pursuit of clean water. Or shelter from the elements. Or freedom from being trapped in the current human trafficking systems worldwide. Maybe safety in a war ravaged country.

I found it pretty fascinating one day a couple years ago listening it a Freakonomics podcast that suicide rates in America are basically double the homicide rate… and in the Amazon jungle the native cultures don’t even have a word for suicide and when asked about it laughed at the concept that someone would kill themselves.

First world problems? Is comfort literally killing us?

I digress. 😐

It seems there is a law of the universe as real as gravity that one must put in some discomfort in order to grow. Growing appears to be a necessary step in being prepared for a greater purpose… (I can help others better if I’ve gone through enough myself to be of use!) and being part of a deeper purpose seems likely to lead to more depth of satisfaction than the pursuit of comfort and happiness …

Then logically if I were able to live that comfortable life I was aimlessly seeking and never get stretched, I would never have the opportunity to mature, grow personally and have a more positive impact on the world around me.

And developing faith and growing through the discomfort of waiting means that I am able to be ok with circumstances that create difficulty and instead of wishing for the discomfort to disappear I can dig in and allow it to mold me and still have peace about the process.

Byron Katie suggests we make friends with the situations that create discomfort. They are opportunities. In her ‘Work’ after many series of questions she encourages participants to say the “are willing to experience (insert uncomfortable thing here)” and you are really getting it when you can honestly go to the next level of “I look forward to experiencing (insert uncomfortable situation here)!”

I have to admit I’ve spent some time working through some things ‘getting it’ in my head but thinking: I look forward to being ignored by my husband… annoyed by my mother… let down by a friend? Seriously. Who are those people?

Now I see those things show me weaknesses and places I can still grow. Places I can ask: how can I help someone else instead of being bothered about how it made me feel? Maybe my husband is overworked trying to support our family. Maybe my mom could use a little understanding today. Maybe my friend is going through something personally.

To the initial point- my equine example is basically trivial. My horse rebuilding from the inside out and missing some riding days as I worry if it’ll take two years for her feet to grow in right isn’t even close to significant in the world as human trafficking or war refugees. But going through the process has been a reminder.

Maybe I can change my view on life that the things that challenge my comfort could be strengthening my character that will allow me to do more good- and then start looking for the open doors, the way to use those strengths. Not just the things that seem easy but the ones that seem … maybe even impossible.

I’ll admit it- I’ve grown weary of the noise especially on social media of folks complaining about politics and about being offended or protesting or resisting or making loud public statements that lead those who agree with you to applaud and those who don’t to entrench themselves deeper into the belief they are right. Even those who are active politically seem sometimes to miss the point. We cannot legislate love and tolerances can only live it every day. Governments are notoriously bad at helping the world be a better place when compared to motivated people coming together. No current president is stopping me from opening my wallet or donating some time toward disaster relief, persecution or world hunger. And there is one positive side to

America: we are as a whole more generous with our finances than most other countries! ❤️

however still we get more divided each year. I don’t see any slowing down either. We fight hate with hate now completely unveiled. My tolerant friends are completely intolerant of those who disagree.

While we stay distracted by our arguments and being right or being offended, make snide or sometimes truly hateful remarks about those we feel justified (because they behave the same way), the true enemy wins: hunger continues; human trafficking continues; children are turned into soldiers; people are tortured for their faith; women are beaten for various reason in areas of the world they don’t have unequal rights- they truly have NO rights; people die of curable and preventable diseases…

I want to zoom out a level or two – see something bigger than comfort (having a government leader I like… being offended by someone else’s words or behavior that don’t even truly affect my life today) that is part of the comfort.

If nothing else all the fighting has embarrassed me enough to look for ways to take action and realize it could take me out of my American comfort zone.

And that honestly gets me a little excited.

Maybe the hunger for challenge- leaving the comfort zone or attempting the impossible is a little why endurance riding appeals to many of us…

Because don’t get me wrong- it’s all about the horses, but at the end of the day I think we’ll find that it really wasn’t about the horses at all.

Identity Crisis

Monday, September 25, 2017

Three weeks since a blog post!

I’ve been at the barn but not riding so much.

For a few weeks my horse program has felt on the fritz and my real work has been ramping up and needing extra attention. So I gave my mares some time to be horses and the time I had with them was directed toward to finding new ideas to learn together … like backing over pool noodles … mostly to continue communication and do something out of the ordinary.

One day a couple weeks ago I went to bring K in for a quick check and to treat a cut – something was wrong. Just walking was a struggle. I wondered if she’d gotten kicked, slipped and had pulled something in her hind… developed an internal infection…. in sending a quick video text to my vet (what did we do before video texting??) she said her first reaction was early lamanitic pain 😳😬 and her first suggestion was to get her off the grass then see how she does.

It was right in that cold spell where temps were dipping into the low 40s at night but still warm in the day. When the fall grasses begin to go into desperation mode and increase sugars again.

The electric fence went up immediately and now the mares are super restricted until the first hard frost. They can eat what grass they have access to and I’ve started throwing hay too so they are transitioning.

If they get thin (no evidence this is a concern anytime soon) they’ll get more coolstance which adds fats and protein.

Whatever the issue was it was gone by the next day and she was back to… almost normal.

Still- she hasn’t seemed quite right most of this summer. Occasionally lethargic, less interested in working. Off and on. Not off enough to do anything but pay attention. But off enough that I didn’t push the riding I would normally be doing this time of year.

In the back of my mind I remembered I’d heard the nutrition change can come with a detox period and that it can cycle over time getting better or worse in phases until their system changes over.

So there could be a detox factor potentially at play.

When it comes to her feet I’ve been really happy with the changes but it takes time to come back from being in shoes the majority of the year (for a few years) and not being trimmed to optimally support her movement and structures.

She is growing more (faster) and healthier hoof this year and the soles are really starting to look good! Her hoof tends to grow out instead of underneath her (conical) genetically which (if I over simplify) stretches the sole out instead of holding natural concavity.

The two things I’m working on the most with her front feet are constantly keeping the toe from getting long (every cm creates hundreds of pounds of additional pressure on the leg’s suspensory system) and helping remove any dead sole underneath that may create sole pressure without taking too much that she needs to develop healthy hard sole.

She hasn’t been completely sound if I ride her barefoot (like in the grass in the yard) but she’s also not lame. She’s fine… then she’s not fine… then she’s ok then she’s not quite ok… sometimes I’m certain I’ve turned into a lameness hypochondriac and am creating issues that don’t exist!

Either way she wasn’t doing well in shoes and pads earlier this year so we are still moving forward and at least building better hoof now.

The scoot boots are doing a terrific job and I’ve added easycare pads and modified the back and rear sides per a cool video I saw recently on Facebook.

I didn’t have rubbing issues but this can only help- especially as I begin to take them over longer distances when the rubbing could present even if my shorter rides haven’t created issues.

Anyone using scoots who wants to check out the modified design can see it here: Padded collar mod As time went on I took her out on some less intense rides and she seemed ok… but sometimes she’d be practically falling apart underneath me… then she’s fine.

I’d feel her landing wrong in a trot… taking bad steps and then be fine. I’d ask my friends: does she seem off to you? No… she’s fine now… then off then fine… then off then fine. A couple miles trotting on a dirt road no problem after seeming like she couldn’t get her feet underneath her 10 minutes earlier.

Ay-ya-yay.my mind I’ve reflected on the number of pretty significant changes that have come at that mare this year and try to put it into perspective.

  • Removed shoes and aggressively changed her angles and toe/heel to better support her.
  • Switched from traditional saddle to a constructive saddle with the Balance.
  • Changed her bit (I don’t always use a bit but I picked up a simple D ring French link snaffle for her especially when working on specific training as opposed to long mileage conditioning).
  • Changed her nutrition removing her from all grain based commercial feeds and added a probiotic when I found her hindgut wasn’t digesting nutrients properly.
  • Herd change: Faygo moved to Reno this summer. They’ll be fine, but it’s still a major adjustment.
  • Me. My riding, my balance – using my body more equally in day-to-day life, my internal fitness both in mind and spirit all play a part of my equine-human team. I’m paying attention to all these parts more and more.

Though all for the good, these factor in to the whole chaotic system that is my horse’s universe. I tend to overthink as most of you already know. So I watched, I wondered, I analyzed, I had a CST visit and one more follow up trim with my hoof mentor from WV to be certain all was on track. Hoof testers negative and no current laminitc evidence present it was time to move on.

I decided to get out and ride through whatever it was that seemed to be nagging at me. Stop overthinking. Throw on those boots and pads and get back on the trails.

What I learned.

What was brewing in a little corner of my mind since the clinic last month….

My horse is not lame. She is not falling apart. My Arab-TNWalker-Saddlebred-Rackinghorse is trying to gait. But she’s not sure how exactly.

She’s going through an identity crisis.

She’s half past 7, I’ve now helped sort out the tack and health/feet issues that were functional but not ideal in the past. I increased her fitness and got my riding sorted out.

I’ve opened the door and now all systems are go and she’s got this new gear to try out. And I think she’s starting to have some fun with it!

Today we took a short ride but I trailered her off to some nearby trails that are grassy, easy footing, and far enough away from the new boys that have her attention (yes she’s in heat!) and the mustang who calls for her out of temporary desperation and loneliness… so we could focus.

Right off the trailer she was ready to go- and I let her move on out to warm up. We hit some overgrown connector trails that she was raring to fly through yet I wanted a sensible speed : she fell right into a running walk compromise. I went from an up and down trot to that back and forth you only get when you ride a gaited horse.

In the video it’s hard to see (and hard to help her one-handed) but it’s when her head is more still and then starts going side-to-side.

We spent the next couple hours experimenting and had a lot of fun. She was trying out new gears and I did my best to help her. This was what she’d been doing in rides this past month when she felt a mess underneath me- she was trying to figure out how to move in this new gear.

Yes I’ve ridden gaited horses before. Faygo is a foxtrotter, I’ve ridden TN walkers, Paso finos, Rocky Mountain horses and saddlebreds… I get it. But none of the ones I rode were sorting it out. They already gaited.

This is new territory for me- but was a blast all the same. I’m glad I didn’t push for her to do it before she was physically ready. Who knew that when I left the gaited horse saddle and bit (not that they were bad) and got her toes pulled back underneath her (often the opposite of what you hear gaited horses need) she’d be able to open up that box. The Balance has allowed her back to really come up and she’s in a simple D ring French link snaffle now- no leverage or poll pressure, she’s finding it all on her own! When I help her I only fix my hands on a short rein to my saddle (I don’t purposely collect her per se) and she finds what she needs there.

I’m thrilled for her to have an extra gear to use especially heading toward a 100 mile ride at some point. I’ll take every advantage I can get and having more ways for her to use her body is just that.

For the moment we’ll play around and experiment- but at some point I will be able to decide what gear/gait we use and how to help navigate terrain and trails. I have no intention of giving up her beautiful trot or canter. And we did walk-gait-trot-canter all in the ride today.

It was a nice breakthrough from feeling things were not working right to exploration together. The ride was fun! She was forward the entire time eager to get down the trail.

I hope to start working her more physically to get her in shape for Fort Valley in October. She’s been in great shape not long ago so hopefully a couple weeks will bring her back in the game.

My only worry at the moment is passing her trot out in the vet check! Lately she does strange things trotting on lead so that will be something to work on… keeping her trot out at a TROT!!

What can I say?

Friday, September 1, 2017

I haven't written recently not because my mind is blank or because I haven't been active with my horses.

I just don't know what exactly to say.

So in discussion with the 4am voices in my head that often turn into a blog post all I could think was I might as well start with that.

I don't know what to say. I'm not sure where to begin.

Big South Fork is next week and I've been wavering about going. What is best for me, what is best for my horse?

On the scale is the crazy amount of work that presents itself at the beginning of a new school year… that I have a lot of music to learn… that it's a hard time for me to put in added expense (especially with the mileage there and back – a long haul)… there's still the fact that I don't have reliable back boots (still waiting since June on the Scoot folks to release the slims)… I'm rebuilding my horse from the inside out and ground up- literally– this summer… and I just went through another mind-blowing clinic that has my head still reeling about how to proceed with my horses that could take a little time for me to settle into.

But trail miles are a positive thing for both me and her. Our partnership has been formed around competing (I use that term loosely) in endurance rides and she likes it. She understands the trail. We have a great job! And as long as it's possible while rebuilding we need to keep working together. On the trails and in endurance!

As long as it's possible.

Yesterday when doing some arena work she was off at the trot on the grass. It's hoof sensitivity from the massive changes that are in progress. She may be starting an abscess… either way.

Decision made easy.

She may be ok in boots and pads- I would trail ride her that way around here bailing out and going home if she presented issues- but I'm not hauling her to TN compromised. Not even a question.

No BSF for us this year.

When I consider the decision I'd been wavering with I found some interesting self-reflection about myself.

I consider myself one who doesn't care about what others think of me. I try to decide what is right and move forward and if others don't understand that is not
my business .

But this decision was harder for me because I felt this imagined pressure to get out there and ride my horse (in events). No one is doing this to me. It's the voices in my head.

I have a mare whose gone through a successful season of 50 mile rides. We even attempted a 100… what happened? What on Earth am I doing? I imagine it looks from the outside I've gone off course.

I can understand how someone might ask:

She had things working and now they're falling apart… where did she go wrong? Why couldn't she just stick with what was working?

Thing is it was working …. kind of… but I knew we were capable of better. I have this vision of what I want my endurance horse to look like and the direction I was going wasn't improving it was weakening.

I believe the directions I'm headed will build a better horse and a better team, however, it turns out in the re-building stage sometimes fixing problems for the future costs something from the present.

I find myself in the 4am conversations hearing my gut say: You're on the right track. You know it deep down. Have faith and stay the course.

It will be worth it in the end.

I'm thrilled with the improvements coming from changing to a Balance Saddle. I didn't have any issues with my Phoenix Rising saddle. It fit her, not a touch of back soreness, gave support yet ability to move and I would highly recommend one as a consideration to anyone searching. I will probably always keep one on hand because it's a fabulous saddle. However when I heard about the concept of constructive saddling vs. traditional saddles it struck a chord with me.

The muscling that's developed in just a month of riding in this saddle is astounding to me. Also- she wasn't exactly difficult to saddle before but she is a dream now. She stands relaxed and calm and I can saddle her with the rope draped around my arm loosely and she won't move a hoof. She loves it.

This decision to go from acceptable to inspiring is a small view of what I envision is possible with this mare if I provide her with optimum instead of adequate.

There's a saying: if it ain't broke… but what if all I ever knew was slightly substandard… would I even recognize broke?

I also made a nutrition switch that I've been publicly quiet about. I took her off any grain, pellet or balancer as of end of April. I have her on forage of course which in VA I am blessed with in spades – and she gets coolstance and some free choice minerals to supplement her that can be mixed in food but I find she eats it free choice as she needs. I took this advice from some people who have a long history of incredibly healthy horses that look fantastic and are high level performing… over many years.

I am watching carefully to see the affects- and after 4 months her coat and hair look the best I've seen and after years of my farrier letting me know that her hooves grow slowly on the scale of his experience (even with a year of extra biotin supplementing) – her hooves have been growing faster this summer (also since I pulled her shoes) than I've ever seen. So far I like what I see overall.

As for her feet- that's my biggest hang up in the process. I've had a trusted second opinion say that the trim from my hoof school day is well on its way to better hoof health but it isn't there yet. These changes take time as the hoof gets shaped and regrows. This is one reason I had to take the best part of riding season to do this- it's when the hoof is really growing.

It's taken a couple months to get here and there's still a ways to go- but now that I'm becoming more educated about what the angles mean and what that does gradually over a lifetime of stress on the suspensory system in the legs it's important to me to get this sorted out now and as quickly as she can handle so we can have a long career without issues ten year from now over it.

Endurance has definitely helped educate me about the feet, shape, angles etc because it is so important to that community over so many miles. Many endurance riders I know do a lot of their own hoof care because they know so much about it from having to!

Meanwhile to get these changes moving quickly I have been getting as much as I can done without crippling her and then continuing the process so she has some sensitivity on and off – it is in the hooves.

She's just not ready yet and was perfectly clear about it to me.

On another note I am inspired after the weekend clinic to continue to improve my communication and relationship. What I noticed is that she fills in for me. She helps me out a lot. But as I'm working on myself and getting better- she is starting to demand I take on more and she fills in less.

It's been fascinating to watch that shift and it's wonderful and a little scary at the same time. My horse is asking me to step up my game. She deserves a better and more knowledgeable leader so I'm doing my best to take on the challenge.

The horses are the best teachers.

It's caused me to rethink some of the things I do or the way I do them and that is tiring and time consuming in itself.

That is my part of the re-building process. Exciting and exhausting!

So as for Big South Fork… it's sadly just not going to happen this year.

Endurance riding is our work together and horses need and love to have a job. I'm not backing away from the sport I love and am challenged by. I'm not going to disappear into a fenced in green arena obsessively building 10m circles and working on better side passes…


I'll be back as soon as this re-building process allows and hopefully that means Fort Valley in October.

Some of the non-physical things I'm learning and working are getting more difficult to talk about in this kind of setting… and quite honestly some of it I just don't understand well enough to even try.

But I'm still here and I'll keep you updated best I can as the journey which I wondered last spring if a chapter might be closing (attempting my first 100) is actually in many ways barely begun.

I'm just beginning to understand- just beginning to glimpse what it's all about.

The headline photo at the top of the post was taken after I'd spent 45 minutes in the field communicating with K in a way I hadn't taken the time to previously doing a couple very simple things (including approach and halter). When I walked away she followed at a distance shaking her head occasionally and watching me. She stood there a good while before walking off to eat. It was the way she watched me that day that caught me as different. I lightened the photo below to make it a little easier to see her posture, ears and eyes….

No Regrets…

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

I have a mantra here that the only ride I regret is the one I didn't take… even on those days where I just don't feel it… once out there on the horse something wonderful comes of it. Right?

So finally a ride where I almost take it back.

Almost.

It began in the field. The mares were half way down the multi-acre pasture and when I came into the field they gradually migrated all the way to the farthest corner. Though so often my beloved steed greets me at the gate with nickers and drops her head into the halter- something about late summer changes up their routine each year to hanging around at the far end until evening. I think it's the shady tree line. She wasn't hard to catch- didn't run away but she was NOT enthusiastic.

Sorry to say- you need some exercise. Between the 26 mile ride last weekend and getting a somewhat invasive hoof trim early in the week- you've had enough time off and we need to climb the mountain today…. get some miles.

Whatever. She seemed to reply.

** one major thing I'm sorting out after the barefoot class and some personal research is that horses in boots really need to be padded. On a giving surface, the entire sole should be able to help support bearing the massive weight of the horse. First the soft-tissue part of the heel makes contact which is what does the most impact softening, then the inner wall and laminae and outer parts of the sole as the movement follows through the frog getting contact with earth helping move the blood like an auxiliary pump back up the leg- and on a giving surface the hoof will sink in enough to momentarily distribute all the weight onto the full sole before finishing the movement on the hardest-bone structured toe that drives the power of the stride forward.

When using hoof boots, the earth cannot meet the full sole and give that momentary full weight distribution which ends up acting a lot like a non-giving (hard) surface. In essence using hoof boots and no pads is a little like my horse walking on hard pack or pavement for those miles because it demands the hoof walls and laminae (and possibly the frog) to always bear all the weight.

Hm. So I'm experimenting with pads at the moment to see if I can use them without rubbing on the heels and if they'll stay put etc.

Once booted, padded and saddled up, the walk out was a dilly-dally that I had to use every bit of mental energy to Jedi-power her forward and then occasionally a little tap from my crop when she thought we might be camping at a nice grass clump for the night. Add to that the terrible horse flies that we often just had to pause, wait to land, and slap slap slap until stunning or death.

This isn't so fun….

A couple miles up the mountain we both hear a lot of crashing noise and too near for my taste a young bear cub comes hot-tailing down a tree and scampers loudly off.

Khaleesi is certain we should turn and run home – she spins around but I convince her to face forward and wait. She stands her ground and I'm left wondering where mama is. After a few minutes we calmly walk on.

This is Khaleesi's first bear that I'm aware of. I'd run into a fair amount of them in years past with Faygo but just haven't seen a bear on trail in about 3 years now. She did great. And don't get me wrong – I love to see bears!

We make it up the mountain and begin to descend into Little Valley – yes, its steep, but that's why I like this route. Great training. Man alive she is going even slower than down this mountain than she did climbing up!

Apparently the grass and road is a little slick. She decides to try the tiny swell on the off side of the wash-out bordering a decent incline to the wooded mountainside on our right, and as I'm suggesting it doesn't seem like the best choice to me she slips right back down into the wash-out four legs down onto her side with me trying to decide if I should get off or hang tight. She is good enough to wait for my decision and I adjust myself better into the saddle and she gets up with me still in tow. I feel like I'm riding an elephant today.

I start to ask if she's ok when she sees a juicy grass patch and the change of focus into relaxed eating as if nothing had happened answers my question and I ask her to move along.

Another couple of miles we go through a particularly overgrown section where the grasses are knee high and she begins to panic and kick and dance. I know exactly what's happening and attempt to kick her forward out of the worst of it. She keeps trying to put her head down to bite and itch her leg (just what will make it worse!) and I'm popping her with my crop to MOVE JUST GO!! Go!!!!!

It's what I call the Velcro peas and they were all over her legs, side, and now ears and head. They aren't painful but extremely annoying. She was being attacked by the plants. I got her to stop dancing enough to dismount and began removal which also meant they were getting all over me. This process took about 10 minutes between her and me and then I had to look ahead to see if I could avoid more of these hidden green monsters until we hit the next trail that would likely be free of it.

Between that and sawing a log on my friend's property trail that was just close enough to their impossible to open gate it wasn't worth getting back on… I spent a decent amount of that section on foot.

Finally in their yard with some huge mounting boulders (the balance saddle is awesome but it will slip if I mount from the ground- especially when K's sweaty) I got back on my horse and decided to have a good attitude and enjoy some calm relaxed walking through the quiet (practically ghost) town of Bolar.

We ride the road through here- often actually- and most times don't see any vehicles. The speed limit is 25 – the road goes nowhere and is curvy so drivers are not usually in a hurry and not often going very fast.

Khaleesi and I ducked into Bolar Run for a quick drink and upon popping back out onto the road- the wrong side of the road for the direction we were moving- I heard a vehicle. I stayed put because it was moving at a decent speed and I had a little extra grass at the side of the road to tuck into and the vehicle wouldn't see us until it made the turn – not very far, but far enough to slow down if I stayed where I was.

It was the mail jeep and headed both too fast and also too close for my comfort. I tried the universal 'slow down' arm wave but apparently he thought I was waving at him and waved back. I couldn't believe he would drive so fast so close to us- it almost felt like a game of chicken but we had no where to go- Khaleesi began to panic and spin looking for somewhere to run as I yelled (so he could hear me) SLOW DOWN! PLEASE CAN YOU SLOW DOWN!?

He did finally and said he was sorry he didn't know 'the horse would do that'.

Sheesh.

I thanked him and got K to settle as he drove on and looked back to see she'd thrown a back boot in the spinning dance. Not surprising. At least I wasn't in metal shoes on the pavement.

Then I realized that postman might have done me a huge favor because as I was on the ground picking up the discarded boot I heard it.

A really really big rumbling. Far enough out for me to get us over to the other side of the road (where I belonged) and set myself up for what I knew was going to be much worse that the postal jeep. And to stay on the ground.

When the massive dump truck came sailing around the corner I got his attention and he slowed right to a stop. It's the kind of truck that makes big scary noises even with it isn't moving. When it does move even slowly, the bed seems to jump around slamming metal and the engine is deafening.

I motioned him to come on past and he did so slowly. Khaleesi was in considerate fear for her life and was looking everywhere for an exit but behind us was a rock wall so she just cowered behind me in this strange stance I think I've seen my cat do once or twice with her front legs out in front of her and her back legs shaking underneath.

I just kept my breath even because I knew the giant truck wasn't coming to get us. Khaleesi could spin and dance on my short lead as much as she needed but would not get away and it would pass. As long as I stayed calm we'd be fine.

The driver was doing his best to move past us nice and easy. As he passed she bobbed on my lead back and forth behind me until we were able to move on with the truck safely behind us.

Boot in hand I wasn't even considering trying to put it on there on the road. We had less than a mile to the red gate back to private trails and I just needed to hand walk her and regain my own composure.

We are generally fine with cars, trucks, even motorcycles. And this little stretch of road in the middle of nowhere is hardly traveled yet I just had two decently frightening vehicle experiences. Maybe the worst ones I've had to deal with in my riding till now- all in a few minutes.

Where is that flask when you need it?!

Back on the ground yet again I unlocked and got onto the other side of the gate without further incident and replaced the hoof boot. Problem is – this area is so flat. I really cannot mount from the ground with this saddle 😐

I start walking looking around and realize I'd just passed a decent dirt ledge- I only need a foot or two to make the difference and that could do it.

So I turn around and ask K to follow. She says NO WAY JOSE. I move the reins over her head (my lead rope) and try to start maneuvering her so I can get on and she bites me!!!!

I AM NOT GOING BACK THERE!!

I had to laugh at this point. Bite is a little exaggerated but it technically was her teeth to my arm so I will call it that. But it was like she scraped my arm so gently I barely knew what had happened (so no bruise or pain) – it was a cry for help.

Khaleesi: PLEEEAAAAASSSSEEEE!

Me: Ok – no – listen – we are not going back to the road, to Bolar, and over the mountain again. I do know this is the best way home- I just need to back up to this ledge to get on… work with me ok?

She seemed to understand and cooperated to lining up for me to mount.

Trust me- we both want to go home!

Ok- only 4 more miles to go. What more could happen?

We finally relax into a nice trot on some flatter trail parallel to the river valley when she stops short. Ears go up and every muscle tenses… I put my heels down, melt into the saddle and breathe-

Ok… now what is it girl?

A large adult black bear crosses the trail a handful of yards in front of us.

Seriously. It's a two bear kind of day I suppose.

I again ask her to just wait. Let's see if anyone else is following before we move on. But you can relax. She does. A little.

And someone else is following. A very large doe jumps across the trail at the very same spot.

Ok.

Anything else?

Just two snapping turtles getting it on. Yes. At least that's what I assume is going on when one is angled on top of the other. At this point they'd both pulled into their shells… I think we were ruining their moment.

Let's walk a bit and see how it goes. Easy like.

Only 3 miles to go and I notice a cloud seems to be darkening the woods. I try to see the direction our weather comes in figuring the way my luck has been today we're about to be drenched in a full on thunderstorm.

Funny – I don't hear any thunder… and there doesn't seem to be wind either.

Oh. Right. This is eclipse day!

This must be that time. So for a little while the ride from hell turned a little bit magical as I wondered what would happen… I knew we weren't in full eclipse zone, but how dark would it get… and how long I couldn't remember – just a few minutes I was pretty sure.

It was neat to see the shadows on the ground and the pretty dim light mid-day. I didn't sense Khaleesi was concerned about it and we finally settled into a relaxed trot again after spooking one last deer right off the trail. At this point jumping a deer was barely enough for a twitch and though I caught my breath (it's a little startling) it is after all only a deer.

Finally arriving back at the barn the drama began to fade and the positives surfaces.

  • We got in the climbing miles I wanted.
  • Boots and pads worked pretty well- no rubbing and they all stayed on (except the rodeo moment on the road)
  • We developed deeper trust getting through a few dicey moments together.
  • I saw 2 black bears!! (And 2 turtles…)
  • I ended up riding in the woods during the eclipse even though I hadn't planned it.

The saddle is great and there's not a hint of sensitivity in her back right now.


Boots made the entire ride. Due to her back feet being even smaller after the trim I tried an old pair of Faygo' renegades and they did well. I'm still waiting on the Scoot Boot Narrows to release!

Pads after ride.

Gave her a shower-rinse and put her in the field where she of course rolled in the grass and took a big drink.

It may have been my least favorite ride and too dramatic for my taste, but it was still a ride.

No regrets.

Hoof school

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Last Blog was the cliffhanger that I'd be taking a day-long workshop on hooves in order to better educate myself.

Ok cliffhanger is a little over dramatized 🙂

For any new readers jumping in here I'll do a hoof synopsis:

my weak link at the moment is Khaleesi's feet. They've always seemed sensitive on rocky surfaces (yes- most horses will be sensitive on rocky surfaces, but she is more sensitive than any horse I've had experience with or ridden with). Boots didn't stay on reliably so I moved into shoes. That seemed to improve things then she became sensitive with shoes. We moved to shoes and pads… this seemed to help a while- then this spring the two of us 'turtled' through a rocky ride coming in second to last and picking a snail's pace through everything rocky. I had this feeling it wasn't right. The next ride she actually lost a shoe just a few miles in and I decided to go with my gut.

Start over.

I needed a whole new approach to her feet.

I pulled the shoes first fronts then hinds later in June.

Cranial Sacral Therapist suggested her nutrition was off because her hind gut wasn't functioning- add probiotics so her body can use the nutrition she's getting.

Now at 6 weeks of probiotics her mane and coat are looking healthier and I believe her feet are starting to improve as well.

Meanwhile she's been barefoot and my Scoot Boots seem to be reliable- last weekend they did well through a pretty grueling 26 mile ride.

Keeping her barefoot meant I could constantly work on the toes and not have to grow out a shoeing cycle then cut back all at once. What I needed to see (as my vet had mentioned late winter) was better quality hoof and more directed growth – not long in the toe but more underneath to support her. Like sculpting a bush or tree: it works better if you can do it over time and help train the growth gradually- trimming the hoof can help encourage more new growth as well. There is also more blood getting through to the hoof without shoes and that can't hurt the entire process of rebuilding.

I filed on her feet regularly- small changes- to get a more supportive angle over time.

I also began asking around to see if there were any good barefoot trimmers who could help me.

I got a suggestion from Sherry in WV (endurance rider vet friend) for someone she trusts who does mentoring. She would come and do an education day so I could learn do more myself in between.

Perfect.

It took a little time to work out a date and details but this week I finally held a mini hoof school at the barn!

A member of the AHA (American Hoof Association) education committee and a mentor through the Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners group- she spent 8 hours at the barn the first part classroom style complete with freeze dried bisected hoofs (more than one) and bones to show how the structures and suspensory apparatuses operate.

After a break we went to work and she did a trim on Khaleesi while we talked over what I had been doing, what worked and what still needed to be done. Kelly had mentioned on Sunday- her toes were looking pretty good but her heels needed to be brought back underneath her more.

This was exactly the case. I learned some fixed points to look for to understand the heels better and to know if they are even without just trying to eyeball. Her toes also came back a little more after measuring the hoof looking for 50/50 balance on either side of the line marking the widest part of the hoof with a tool- we marked her hoof up with red sharpie to be able to understand from the outside what was going on the inside.

She thought the shape of her hoof was pretty good especially when trimmed to balance where the widest part of the hoof falls- and her soles were not too flat either. Khaleesi has decent concavity as well. She cleaned out only what was dead taking no live sole, and did some minor sculpting that would distribute the pressure on the parts that are best suited to share the weight load.

Overall she thought her hooves were going to be fine and we went over what I needed to look for and do to maintain them myself.

Then we worked on a barn horse that had some other issues that had evolved over time and learned a lot from her talking through how she helped him with the trim become more comfortable in his whole body.

What I loved seeing the most was when she would make a change and set the hoof down- she'd watch the horse to see how they rebalanced, how they reacted (often sighing or licking and chewing) and then sometimes she'd move to a different hoof to come back and see how something in the soft tissue was able to drop back to level with the other side or even allow the bone structure to adjust a small amount before continuing to work in small degrees on the hoof.

She seemed to be listening to the horse as she went.


Khaleesi looking super relaxed as her feet were worked on.

After those two learning examples I brought in Wild Heart for me to trim with her guidance.

It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but it was a success and I learned a lot more having to do it myself.

Heart for the most part was willing and patient but I was slow and clumsy with tools. Sometimes she'd jump in and finish something up so it would go quicker and was always patient, kind and supportive while saying: this isn't exactly the best horse to learn these skills on… she won't be so patient with you!

Yep. That I know. But Wild Heart is the horse I have to be able to work on… so I did my best- and the mare did well with the process.

Heart didn't seem to mind this stranger helping out. And the one time she got antsy and began to refuse to cooperate we seemed to simultaneously realize she may need a break and walked her outside.

Yes. She peed.

And returned to the barn calm and relaxed to finish up like a whole new horse.

So is this barefoot direction going to 'work'?

Time will tell.

Neither the trimmer nor I am anti-shoe. Please don't take this post the wrong way. Every horse, handler, rider has a path for many reasons and I have no idea today if I'll ever put shoes on Khaleesi again. I know better than to rule anything out completely!

Right now this is what my horse needs.

I love seeing her feet doing so well right now. So I'll follow it along as the road twists and turns and hopefully learn as much as possible in each step.

Knowledge is never a waste of time and I will do my best to sort out what works from what doesn't.

Physical.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Mental building is important but to get to 100 so is physical building… which includes hoof care, nutrition and riding. My miles have been unimpressive this summer.

Most weeks I've gotten in a 12-15 mi ride and true, any ride around here isn't a walk in the park, but I am hoping to get through the Big South Fork 50 in September and the mare needs to be stretched a little more to truly be ready for that.

The rides I have done were more social than training (though our social rides still move along pretty good) and also I'd actively looked for decent footing trails as her hooves are still in rebuild transition mode and I really didn't need to tear them down while I'm trying to build them up.

Now I needed to put it all to the test. See where we stood.

I asked around to see if anyone was due for a good ride and Kelly (who is also my vet) was planning a mileage ride Sunday- so I dropped her a line to see if she wanted company.

Turns out she welcomed us to join however the location is about a 90 minute drive for me (minimum) and they had a start time of 7am to be done early enough for another rider who had later in the day plans.

The ride was 20+ miles.

That means leaving the barn by 5:30… which means if I am ready to pull out the night before at best arriving at barn at 5am to pull a horse out of the field in the still dark morning… meaning out of bed at 4:30….

No problem. I'm in.

The ride is exactly what I'd needed for K. And I was so grateful not to have to ride 26 miles up here alone that I was willing to go it in the dark to have the company!

I showed up for a tough 26 mile ride with hoof boots in tow. I was practically holding my breath as I said.

I'm crossing my fingers — SO for these have been staying on but they haven't had a test quite like this…

The last thing I wanted to do was ruin a training ride for Kelly with constant boot drama. As it was we were tagging along with Hope- a tested 100 mile horse heading to another 100 in Maine in the next couple of weeks. We were with the big kids now.

Even more present in my mind was the fact that though my front boots were going A+ strong the hind boots didn't fit so great. (As of now I'm still waiting on the narrow boots to release.) She has narrow feet to begin with- and right in the middle of growing out nail holes so even more so.

The last ride was about 13 miles of varied terrain and with the exception of a hind boot twisting completely in a dry creek rock pile early on they stayed put the whole ride through walk-trot-canter.

The other hoof question is potential sensitivity. Will she move through the rocks? Up till now I've avoided rocky rides to allow her to build some callous- I prayed she wouldn't hold Hope up too badly.

Worst case scenario. I'd brought my gps. We could separate if we had to- she could go on and me home if it got too unbearable.

This was also the longest ride for my Balance saddle (if you're curious about constructive saddling do check out their webpage… tons of fascinating information!!)

I have my best go at the pad and shims. The sweat patterns are perfect, the saddle isn't falling onto her withers or spine, she's moving great- I'm actually super comfortable now that I'm used to it. However there is an occasional slight tweak around the loins that I can't decide is just a funny-bone type spot of if there's a little pressure.

She is not at all sensitive to pressing on it- but in running something down her back she'll twitch just a little… then sometimes if I do it over a couple times she won't… like it was more unexpected than painful.

The saddle is much more stable than I'd thought it would be and through the serious climbs (I believe at least 2,000 feet of elevation change- much more if you go by the GPS cumulative ups and downs – closer to 4,000 feet!!) I didn't have any shifting either forward or backward. That being said I'm still LOVING my Two Horse Tack breast collar (I just can't say breastplate… that sounds like a piece of war armor!) it's easy to attach, stays in place nicely, is great weight and thickness (not too thick). It still looks new and just needs a wipe down to stay that way (love love love biothane!). I thought I wouldn't like the English style with the extra strap on top of the neck- but I found I do like it.

We had a fabulous ride and the two mares even seemed to get along (for my horse that's saying something- she has a lot of confidence and can be intolerant of any horse not respecting her space bubble).

Hope is a move down the trail horse and most of the ride she set the pace. Occasionally we'd fall a little behind on some of the tough rocky climbs and I allowed her to do what she needed to manage the footing without hurting herself and we'd catch up on a trot when the trail allowed. Much of the ride they paced nicely- especially the flatter river sections.

One of my favorite things about this mare is she will take care of herself and doesn't care too much about the other horses. She picked her way through rocky sections never getting worried even as Hope and Kelly got out of sight. There were a few times K wanted more time at a river crossing to cool her legs and feet, a few times she stopped longer at a drinking hole, and a few times she wanted a couple extra bites of grass.

Hope was impatient and ready to move so we just went with it- like in my blog The Work on Rider Etiquette I practiced what I believe as I told Kelly to let Hope go ahead- Khaleesi will do what she needs and we'll catch up. It is great training for K to focus on herself regardless of what the other horse was doing. That is important someday- riders will ride off while your horse is drinking… and other riders may be going to fast for my horse's best ride. And in 6+ hours – a little time 'alone' on the trail is really ok!

The front boots were once again A+ not one problem. Yeah Scoot!!

The hind boots hung in there pretty well. I had to stop once in the 26 miles for each hind boot (so twice altogether). This included the 2 mile canter up the fire road at the tail end of the ride with no issues!

And I was impressed at how well she took on that canter around mile 22 of a tough ride!!

She was forward till the end and looked great at the trailer. She munched on grass and hydrated hay pellets with a little coolstance in water while I rubbed and poulticed her legs.

Next day her legs were tight and cool and I did a trot out video for myself barefoot on the pavement. Certainly would pass a vet check!

Maybe upon close inspection a slight mis-step here and there but from where we've been it's a great success! Her feet are not tender right now and I think finally getting to the shape they can better support her body and movement and I've taken the advice I read in various ScootBoot Blogs to hand walk her on a 'tarred surface' for a few minutes a day. Thankfully the driveway is paved and I make an effort to hand walk her every day I can out there barefoot. This is supposed to help develop sole calluses and toughen the hoof. I've also been told it's good for her ligaments and tendons.

I've also taken the advice of a couple farriers I've talked to to try pine tar. It is supposed to condition and help harden the sole. I only use it on the sole. I've used it about 4 times in two weeks with 2 of those being before and after the 26 mile ride.

The biggest factor I believe for her has been the probiotic regime the CST recommended. If her guts aren't working properly the nutrition just is not getting to the hoof (or hair or teeth etc). She's been on regular probiotics for about a month and I believe it's making a difference. Sandy (CST) said in her opinion within 45 days I should see changes for the better in those hooves and I believe her mane – which has always been a little dried and brittle is feeling softer and healthier already as well.

I also think her muscling and body looks great right now and her coat is shinier even though I'm not a grooming fanatic.

So this is the physical building and her feet for those asking!

I'm taking a class on 'reading the hoof' and will finally get an expert barefoot trimmer to look at what I've been doing the past 2 months and help me learn how to better care for and shape her feet!!

THAT will another blog entirely… soon!

PS: if you're looking for tack- two horse tack has a discount if you sign up for their newsletter!! Here's the link:

Two horse tack newsletter coupon