green to 100

Communication.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Officially I am on vacation in Southern Oregon and haven’t seen my horses in days, but this post woke me up before light this morning asking to be written.

I did a little more riding at the end of last week I hadn’t written about, but also some horse world intersecting with real life ideas have been mulling around in my head needing some written space to get worked out. So after tossing and turning in the wee morning, I gave in and got up to write it.

I always love visitors and was excited that my first endurance riding friend came to visit. Pascale was my neighbor at the no frills in April and helped me along through my first ride weekend. We’ve kept in touch and she came out and helped me get my girls ridden for a couple days over the weekend.

She arrived early evening and we headed to the barn after a heavy but short rain and took a misty evening ride. The fog sitting on the mountainsides were pretty and she got to know Faygo a bit.

Due to epic boot failure, I had to get up early before our Sunday ride and see if I could get the hoof glue shim removed from my old “back” easy boots. The old back boots are the same size as the current fronts, and after losing 2 fronts on the Alleghany Trail ride, I needed the old back to become a front for the day. My farrier wasn’t sure if the shim would stay in place long term, but it certainly did! In fact I had to get help from Tim with his dremel tool to get the custom shims out. It took some effort, but we did get them out so that previously back boot would fit her front foot for this – last before the farrier comes to shoe her – ride.

The next day the girls headed out to Hidden Valley and took one of my favorite rides along the Jackson River. We had beautiful weather and the terrain is easy and not many mountains to climb so we were able to move out at a good clip for a group of five. We did 13-15 miles in about 3 hours.

It’s one of the nicest rides in our area so I’ll post some pictures.

Meanwhile my husband and I had a conversation about communication. I’ve been mulling this over.

The conversation began about a very specific situation that in his opinion was an example of our poor communication. While I agree we don’t always seem to speak the same language, I went over the same example step by step and thought it represented pretty clear communication (at least from my perspective).

We seemed to agree that it would be good for us to improve our communication, but without any clear plan to do so. I tend to be a step by step problem solver and the vagueness of both the problem and the solution is vexing to me.

One principle I hold fast is that no matter what the problem is, any possible solution must include variables I have some control over. In real life this is a very small set. I have no control over other people’s actions or feelings, the environment (weather, social norms, economy, politics, this list is very long), and I have only partial control over myself- I generally can’t control my feelings (though I have tried!), my actions and reactions are about all I can at least get some control over (on a good day).

How can communication between humans who even speak the same basic language (English in this case) be so complicated? What can I do about it?

I began wondering if verbal language could actually be the enemy.

I try to be straightforward and I like to rely on verbalization. Words. Of course that’s not completely true. We all look at other forms of communication even if subconsciously. Words might even be the least reliable layer of communication for anything except basic data (What does that apple weigh?). Tone is the next layer that usually tells us more information than the words themselves. In fact- tone came into play in our communication discussion. One obvious example is irritation.

When I get a response filled with irritation all around the words- I have much more information than the words themselves gave me.

What about other layers? What about non-verbal body language? What about eyes? posture? movements? These layers are more subtle- but do they tell us more than the other layers if you tune into them? But what are they saying?

These layers are more intimidating to me because they may be more reliable- but there isn’t an answer key. You can get these wrong. How do you find out the answers and get better at understanding these layers reliably? Could these layers be different for different people? Where do we go from understanding non-verbal communication and into “mind reading” (which is too far in my opinion to go). Why can’t people just say what they mean to say and be honest in their words about what they want, expect and feel? That would be so much easier for me.

How on earth am I supposed to learn what these other layers mean- and what am I supposed to do with the information if I did know!?

Wait.

Isn’t this what I expect to do with my horses? Learn their language through nonverbal communication?

Maybe.

This is kind of a big maybe right now in my mind.

Maybe I am capable of trying to observe and learn more about my human communications by paying more attention than I currently do to the nonverbal communication layers.

Maybe it’s a cop-out to say to myself that if someone doesn’t tell me verbally then I am not responsible for the information.

Yes- I believe that it is annoying and less efficient to have to deal with this, but if I return to the fact that I can’t change the way other people function- and most people (even me…?!) function in this way- I am left with ignoring it to my peril, or trying to work within it as a reality of life.

This is where I am today. The concept finally crossing over that if I can learn to communicate with horses in their nonverbal language maybe I can improve my human communications too. Maybe that would help my husband-wife communication.

Maybe……..

The Alleghany Trail

Friday, August 7, 2015

Friday the “gang” did 24 miles on section 2 of the Alleghany Trail from Durbin to Cass/Dunmore. Except for the few grassy ridge trail sections it was muddy, mountainous, rocky and rough. The excessive rain this year not only created deep mud sucks in the valleys and stream beds, but also encouraged wash outs and some downed trees that posed detours and obstacles.

That sounds treacherous but considering it was 24 miles and about 8 hours of riding, just a handful of downs and mud-sucks or washed out creek banks we had to slide down into wasn’t terrible and much of it was beautiful along the way. I was glad to do it on a horse though and not on my own two feet!

The first few hours were the worst in terms of footing and mountain climbing. This was the ride that could truly test the boot system. I thought hard about my boot grade for the day. I’ve been torn.

Boot grade is either D or F.

Case for D: It was super tough terrain for any hoof-wear. We walked through the crappiest muddy mountain trails that were a bit too worn out and churned up. We lost our first rear boot (the white foot) within 30 minutes of starting and I took Khaleesi back down the mountain to get it. That was actually pretty cool because no horse wants to leave the herd to go back down the mountain, but though she questioned me, she went, and calmly as well. I need to know I can have her with other horses, or pull her away too. But aside from that silver lining, I put the muddy boot back on, and it was off again within the hour. Now the boots are muddy and I’m a mess trying to get them back on. One more time and the third time it began to twist we got into some soft trail with no rocks and I just left the boot off for a while.

Then a while of only 3 boots and not a problem with the rest until we got to a washed out creek bank that had deep “quicksand” to cross and when we got through that (as quickly as possible) I looked down to see a front clean gone. We did not go back for it. It was deep in the muck somewhere and I was “DONE” with stopping for them. We were now only 2 out of 4 boots on. I brought a spare but wasn’t ready to put it on yet.

Once the footing began to get rockier I did hop off again and put on the front spare. And at one of the water crossings we stopped to drink I jumped down and washed the back boot and put it on again. I had a good few hours with all 4 boots working fine. The terrain was dryer now and rocky has never been a big issue, I think it’s the muddy sloppy footing where she sometimes will twist her rear feet as she goes, the combination of the sucking mud, the slipping, twisting foot and a narrow back hoof and she just comes clean out of them at times.

With about 7 miles to go I looked down to see her front boot bottom gone and the heel captivator just loosely velcroed around her pastern. I jumped down- again- to take it off as it would get annoying when it moved around on her leg. That was it now- no more spare on the trail, we had lost an entire boot and a boot bottom. Luckily the trail wasn’t terrible and about half way to the trailer I switched off the front boot so that she didn’t only wear out the one side. The footing wasn’t so bad and I do not believe she’ll be lame from it- but I’m sure those feet got some wear and chips. Especially since this wet year none of the hooves are as hard as usual.

Ironically I rode into camp with both back boots on just fine, and two fronts gone (thankfully I’d brought a spare). If you look at the averages, they worked about 80% of the time really well… but…

Case for F: Ironically I rode into camp with both back boots on just fine, and two fronts gone. That is a failure of hoof protection.

Another case for F is that the first half of the ride was not care-free and I was way too distracted by concern over the boots to ride my horse well. I had to get off and deal with them way too many times. Once is acceptable to me- maybe twice on a ride that long, but I lost track the amount of times I had to get up and down or go back to find a boot. It was annoying on a long pleasure ride- to me and those with me, but on an endurance ride, we just do not have time to be screwing around like that.

Finally, the potential of her tearing up her feet or going lame, hoof bruise, abscess at the end of the ride because the boots did not stay on is worse than using metal shoes- in my opinion. The end of the ride was less stressful for me than the beginning – the footing wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible either. Yet I don’t want our riding to end up as constant concern for her feet.

Certainly this trail was the worst possible riding, but I need to know that if I boot- they will work in the worst conditions- because that’s when you need hoof protection the most. I can’t assume that any AERC ride we do will not be exactly like that.

I am a little sad to say that I called my farrier last night and left a “help me” message. Not a ‘drop everything and get over here‘ help me of course- I have way more respect for my farrier’s busy schedule and his time, but a “can you give me a call because I need some advice and to know what you recommend- and what you can do for me” message.

My concern is making a change so late in the season. I originally thought I wouldn’t do that, but I hadn’t had a boot failure of that epic proportion yet and getting off twice in a ride to fix a boot wasn’t enough to give up. In fact, our last 17 mile ride gave them an A- and I thought we’d finally got them figured out. They even stayed on through cantering. As I look forward through through the next couple months, I have a WV ride in a couple weeks, then possibly a TN ride in September if I can make my schedule work, then I’ll be doing LD 25 on the OD course which is known for it’s tough footing in October. I think the time is now to re-group.

I’m disappointed because if boots would just stay on reliably- I prefer them. Not just because it’s nice to avoid keeping metal shoes on their live hooves, but because I think they are better on slippery rocks, pavement (though I don’t like pavement, we do end up on it occasionally) and even really rocky sections of trail because they protect the bottom of the hoof better than a metal shoe and have an easier impact on their legs for long miles. I also really like the renegades as a boot- I like the design, I like how easy they are to clean and use, and I like how tough the materials are. I will absolutely keep using them as spares, and through off-season.

One big downside… while putting on a back boot at the trailer Khaleesi took a bit wet poop – while it cleared me easily to land on the ground, my favorite SPF sun shirt got splattered with the poop and after a wash right when I got home, the stains did not come out. 😦 it appears my bright orange shirt now has a spotted design up one arm.

Aside from the boots, it was a good ride. Really nice group of riding women and though in every group you have faster and slower horses/riders, this one has at least a smaller gap between them. We even went through the town of Cass, right on the highway past the trail station. Lots to see there and she was good in traffic!

Khaleesi is getting a lot of work right now and she is handling it well. We trotted the last few miles (finally on the Greenbrier river trail it was flat and easy footing!) and she still had the energy to give me a nice medium trot even after about 18 miles of mountain climbing.

Easy to trot out the last few miles along the Greenbrier river

I have been giving her days off in between our rides this week – but I know it’s a lot of workload in short time periods. Hopefully she’ll enjoy her 10 day spa vacation to relax before the big week!

But not yet… Pascale is coming to visit and we’ll be riding the weekend- though I plan to give the K a day off today!

Training the athlete

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

I had the whole day and decided to drop myself off on the road to Wilson Mountain and ride home from there along the ridge. It’s a beautiful ride and one that passes through a hunt camp that is off-limits during hunting season so I wanted to ride through there again before fall. Also the trails are well maintained and easy to navigate so it sounded like a stress free fun ride.

Thankfully we have permission- only when there's no hunting in season! — Thankfully we have permission- only when there’s no hunting in season!

I had originally invited a friend who ended up not able to join us- my disappointment was short because I figured you always get the ride you need, and apparently I needed an alone day with Khaleesi.

My goal was to push our limits and get us both out of our comfort zone (how many miles can she trot- but just as important, how many miles can I?). To really train as an athlete and not just a nice day on the trail team. Since we were alone and could pick our own pace, I planned to ride the 17 miles without a true break, and keep a good trot down for as much of it as was reasonable. I believe if she can do a 15-17 mile ride without much break she should be good to go for our 30 mile because no AERC ride loops are longer that 15 miles (at least for the rides I’ve been at). She’s young and has good recovery, so if we could do a strong loop, she’ll get a 45 minute break and should be pretty fresh after that to continue on.

The start of the ride is 3mi uphill on a dirt road, about the most ‘boring’ riding you can do around here, but we practiced some Jedi training. I was so pleased how she would pick up the trot so quickly from my energy now! We did intervals, trotting until a pre-determined spot on the road then walking (transitions, and also some conditioning- trotting uphill) and that was great for both of us. I worked on the rhythm of her foot-falls and rode eyes closed off and on to see if I was correct when I opened my eyes as to what her feet were doing. I’m getting better at feeling it, and relaxing my hips so we move more together.

I wasn’t comfortable at the trot for a long time on this ride. It is a new saddle for me, I tried lowering the stirrups… that was worse, I felt all tossed around, then I put them back and that was better, but she just didn’t seem to have the graceful movement. After a couple miles I checked my pack and it seems the extra hoof boot I carried was in a position to rub her back behind the saddle, that couldn’t be great – so I removed it and just tied it on.

Whether that helped, or just that we found our ‘stride’ or the footing was better as we got onto the ridge grassy trails, eventually we did settle into a good trot rhythm.

My only regret is that I didn’t use our heart rate monitor. That would have been the perfect ride for it!

What I learned today about her speeds and conditioning:

**She has a slow trot that she can maintain pretty well of about 5mph as long as the footing is ok, we can go uphill or slightly downhill with it.

**She has a fast trot that we kept up for about 1/2 mile that is average about 14mph that is REALLY easy for me to ride when she hits it.

**She has a medium trot that seems to be easy for me and sustainable for her of 7-10mph that we rode through Bolar on the flat road for about 3 miles.

**She does like to canter, and even through I KNOW better, I let her a few times because it’s so fun. My graph says we had a short spurt of about 30 mph, but I’m not sure I believe it. That seems awful fast, but I remember that little canter and we were flying for a few seconds for sure. I can tell you it was faster that 15mph which is her fastest trot. Maybe she did hit 30 for a second – but from my experience clocking Faygo (who I’ve ridden in a fast canter around 25mph) I would guess it was closer to 20mph.

Otherwise, as far as my 100-horse training goals:

**We took on some rocky terrain from the flooding that was tricky through some of our trotting passages. A few times I would encourage her:

Me: Go ahead, you can move through this.

Khaleesi: Sure I can, but you’re a mess up there on good footing! I’m not trotting downhill through these rocks with you bouncing all around like an idiot!

Me: Ok… you’re probably right…

(Sometimes she does have the voice of reason- at least she has good horse-sense.)

**She didn’t drink a lot early on, but about half way through the ride she stopped me at every single puddle we passed for a quick sip. She got a decent drink once from a mostly dried up run and at first I couldn’t even tell there was water there at all. I was super impressed with this and glad to see that when she needs water, she’ll drink from a mud puddle or a water hole so small the thirsty dogs had passed it by.

**My worries about her as the slow-poke anchor horse are dissipating with each ride. She had a great forward walk today and was eager to trot out as long as I asked and the footing, incline was ok. She picked up my trot energy quickly and willingly. She isn’t lazy or slow and though she’s not conditioned to extended fast trots yet and won’t be “top tenning” any events this year, she should finish comfortably within time in our LD circuit.

**I had my first fall, and it went very well! I have not come off Khaleesi in all our training and riding until now. It’s kind of like the first dent in the new car. We were almost home, trotting up a long driveway when a baby deer jumped up out of a culvert just next to us but on the other side of the fence. We saw plenty of deer today- some of them ran right across our path just in front of us, she’s not afraid, but this quick little animal movement took her (and me) by surprise and as we were trotting along at a good clip she stopped short and then scooted over about 3 steps. Just like in a cartoon I kept going straight and I felt like I was suspended in air without the horse underneath me in slow motion. It was one of those split second “bail or try to save it” moments and I bailed onto the grass. Wasn’t hurt, landed easy, and the best part, I had let go of the reins (didn’t want her pulled over onto me!) and she was just standing there looking at me like “oops“. She didn’t move an inch until I got up and hopped back on.

Crossing the wooden bridge is no problem now! – just ahead is the spot along the driveway I ‘came off’

I believe it was our longest solo ride thus far and as always I was impressed with her. She did try to turn me around a few times before our half way point, but I didn’t even need the “popper” to tell her to continue on. I noticed her slowing down as we approached our last 2 miles to walk more and not pick up the trot. I asked her to once in a while to see how she was doing and she would trot, but it wasn’t the same easy willing trot. So I gladly let her walk in the last couple miles- she had worked hard for me and I was very pleased with her.

Boots: I give them an A- for the ride today. The back boots finally stayed on 100% without any fuss. One of my front boots needs a cable adjustment. I have to tighten the front velcro too much to get the right tension and I just didn’t do it yet, it still works, it’s just not ideal to have the velcro take such a small surface area in the front and the cables too long. The support of the front of the boot is not ideal this way. Still, the boot never came off- but in our fast trot through Bolar on pavement and right before we turned back onto trail I noticed she was trotting off with a head bob too. I had a quick panic moment hoping I hadn’t made her lame and when I looked down the boot was twisted just enough to have her stepping funny on it. I was able to take the boot off right in the road and put it back on within a minute and hop back on to continue with no other issues. If every ride I just had one quick adjustment like that I would say they are working great.

Thursday is her day off and Faygo will get a good ride. Friday Khaleesi and I will join our friends for a 23 mile ride in West Virginia that should be a bit more leisurely as most group rides are. I’m pretty confident that even with her 10 day vacation before the big ride she will do just fine at the Iron Mountain ride.

Love the one you’re with!

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

I spent the last week in Charleston, SC working with great teachers and students in the American Music System. We had a fantastic time and I enjoyed the sights and tastes of the beautiful historic city. I was inspired by fellow musicians and encouraged by wonderful students.

But it’s always so good to come home!

Considering I gave the girls a week off, will be home just over a week and then gone for over a week before the Iron Mountain event at the end of the month, this week is ride every day – and maybe twice a day to get both horses out – week.

So far we are on a good track. I got home mid-day on Saturday in time for an amazing wine dinner with friends, then Sunday late afternoon Khaleesi and I took a great ride with Laurie and Levi. Levi is a mover and we had a nice pace for a really pretty ride. The flies are horrendous right now, but I do love that time of day as the light changes over to evening. I even got Khaleesi to do some side-by-side riding with Levi which is not always easy for her yet. (Of course Levi is the golden boy though- and both my girls love him)

On the flip side being back in the saddle after a week off I was a riding disaster! I had picked up a new adjustable (Wintec) saddle on my drive home as the other saddle I was using I believe was pinching her in the front- it’s a great saddle, but felt different and a few times I was so off balance when she picked up speed I’m shocked I didn’t fly right out! I had adjusted my stirrups and hadn’t gotten the buckle all the way back in place and that was rubbing my thighs (why on earth did I not just fix it!? – At the time I thought maybe that’s just the way the saddle was…)

We also lost a back boot AGAIN! I was frustrated until I found the boot on the way home and realized that the cables had come clean out. Apparently I hadn’t tightened the screws down enough… so not boot malfunction as much as operator error in fixing the cables.

I keep saying we’re going metal shoes next year… then realizing that the other 3 boots were excellent through all our footing, walk-trot-canter, and the one that came off immediately was not put together properly… can’t exactly say the boots aren’t working from that.

Ok- they continue to get another chance…

Monday was my weekly working day, but I got up early and took Faygo on a quick 2-hour ride to get her on track. I always love riding that mare. In fact, true to the song (Love the one you’re with) I always think the girl I’m riding that day is my favorite. What a nice problem to have… two horses you love so much you can’t figure out which one you like more…

As Laurie and I were talking about the two girls and their different strengths, and how far Khaleesi has come this year she said something that rings so true it has stuck with me:

You have taught Khaleesi, but it was Faygo who taught you.

That explains our relationships so spot on and I had never thought of it that way before.

And speaking of loving the one you’re with- she was convinced we were meeting Levi at “the red gate” and was calling and snorting her way over there… once we got to the gate and no Levi, we continued on the trail. She kept sniffing the ground (of course she smelled him, we’d just rode there last night) and sniffing the air- she called and hollered for him until we’d rode enough to realize the disappointment – there was no Levi today. I was bummed out for her most of the ride. I’ve never seen her so hopeful and then to have her hopes never realized… She looked for that horse around every bend in the trail.

Tuesday was a big horse day as one of the families from Mill Run Farm was visiting and I always love to help them enjoy their horses.

We began in the “garden arena” riding their nice TN Walker- thanks to Pam I’m getting some ideas of what to do with someone in an enclosed space and not only trail riding (which sometimes younger-inexperienced people aren’t ready for), then I took the college-age daughter on a really lovely 3 hour trail ride where she rode Faygo and I rode Khaleesi.

We walked the entire ride (which is why it took 3 hours) and I never do this, but I have to say it was a good thing to do once in a while. I find walking so long a bit tiring on my body- but the horses figured it out quickly and even fast-Faygo seemed to relax into our walk in the woods. She even drank at almost every water crossing (because she wasn’t feeling so amped up and hurried).

I thought again about how I had very little experience when I started riding Faygo, and she always took excellent care of me. She was just as fabulous on that ride and never got hot-headed or tried to push home. Khaleesi seemed to enjoy the walk as well- because we began the morning in the arena, we didn’t get on the trail until late morning, so it was the warmest part of the day and it was nice for them to take a leisurely pace.

Faygo... aka "the camel" actually drinking! — Faygo… aka “the camel” actually drinking!

I also found I was more able to really tune into my horse and ride more intentionally, and feel her footfalls and the rhythm they make- relaxing my lower body to be in better sync with hers. I was a much better rider that day! (AND – all boots stayed put!)

Flying

Week of July 20, 2015

I am heading out of town next week to teach at a wonderful music camp in Charleston, SC so I’ve tried to pack two weeks of riding into one. I’ve made a valiant effort and we had a great week.

Monday I wrote about our anniversary ride, then Tuesday I took Khaleesi in the trailer to Hidden Valley for an easy, fun, fast ride. Hidden Valley is about 20 minutes drive away and is a beautiful underutilized park along the Jackson River – this means no mountains to climb and no jungles to fight, and the footing is great.

Pretty spot along the River trail — Pretty woods along the River trail

We hit the trail alone and she was ready to go. We walked a very short warm up and she begged to trot out- I agreed. [that was a question… which ties in to the end of the blog!] The weather was cool for July and we had a mix of clouds and sun. We had a time limit so I decided on a simple out and back going by time instead of distance. We had about 90 minutes.

About 4 miles in we turned around and the rain finally came through (I knew it was possible). With the cool rain on us and heading back to the trailer she picked up a nice quick trot and we sustained it almost the entire way back. It wasn’t super-fast but we started to get in sync and the extended trotting session helped me to relax into the rhythm and work with her movement.

Wet from the rain on the way home along the Jackson River

The rain didn’t matter at all! Trotting through the light drizzle, it felt like we were flying along together, not because we were going so fast, but because we were moving together along the trail like one being. The title of this blog takes us once again to the music theme as I hummed the “Flying” theme from E.T. as we sailed along together. (I’m humming it right now too).

Unfortunately before this ride I’d noticed some girth sores, I used a different girth for the ride, and it was actually worse. We came in from the ride with worse sores than we went out with.

I did a little asking, a little research, a little treatment and I think we’re on our way out of it as quickly as we went in, but time will tell. I have moved her saddle back slightly (I had it too far forward), lubricated the girth area, pulled her front legs out after tightening the girth, and for now have cut up two extra soft fleece socks and made a quick girth cover to help not irritate the spot.

I gave her Wednesday off and rode Faygo with Kate for a ride & tie practice (I’ll blog more about that too!).

Thursday we were at it again and I took her to Carrington’s barn for a 18 mile beautiful loop.

The day was perfect, the horses were fantastic. Even Khaleesi and Nancy’s mare Mireyah seemed to get along better. The first section of the ride to Nancy’s barn was a bit overgrown, then through a paved ‘urban’ area briefly, then picking through some hunt camp roads up and down the mountain. We weren’t in a big hurry and enjoyed each other’s company and the scenery. The second part of the loop was through Hidden Valley along the Jackson River, through Meadow Lane and Facifern Farm’s (both gorgeous properties along the Jackson River).

Khaleesi and Mireyah make friends finally!

Khaleesi and Tex riding side by side happily!

We picked up speed and trotted much of that stretch for an ending average speed of about 5mph for the entire 19 miles. Her girth sores were no worse for the long ride and that is great news.

BOOT UPDATE: the boots are still doing well overall, but aren’t perfect. On Thursday’s ride I lost a boot twice, but on the positive side I knew it both times. It was cantering, up a decently steep hill, with ‘fancy footwork’ involved- mostly a change of direction as we got started. I’m still on the fence if we’ll consider going to shoes next year, but I won’t change at this point for this season. She has never been shoed and I don’t want to do something so drastically new with our first event a month away and heading into fall when I tend to pull shoes anyway. Upon further reflection I have thought about the fact that we don’t usually canter in endurance rides, and for what I’m trying to do, she still is probably better off with the boots. Iron Mountain will be the true test!

Friday I picked her up early for our third trip to visit Pam and get some riding lessons. Pam offered for us to try her dressage saddle and really helped me work on my own seat today. She is so positive in her comments to us and always makes us feel (ok… makes ME feel) like I am improving.

We were better at walking together and doing circles. Our communication is stronger each time we ride! Stepping over was still a challenge but when I got a small incremental part of her back leg crossing over I felt it huge and it was groundbreaking!

Was that it?? Did she do it? (It felt big to me)

Um, kind of… she started to…

Well… it’s something!

We were even able to trot and go in a circle!

Pam took a turn riding her a bit to see if she could get her to do a few things with more clear instruction- and so I could see what it would look like from the ground. Before getting on, she went to the mounting block and stood on it and patiently helped Khaleesi realize that she was supposed to move herself over so the saddle was lined up with Pam. She clucked a bit and gently pressed or pulled here or there with big rubs when she’d just move a tiny bit in the right direction until Khaleesi had quietly lined up for Pam to get on. Then she stood still while she mounted. She hadn’t even gotten on her and I was blown away by such a simple thing that she got so quickly in one try.

Khaleesi did understand a bit better what Pam was asking and after a couple tries was practically dancing around the arena side stepping with Pam. I was taken aback how beautiful and easy they were. Pam was impressed with how light and sensitive Khaleesi was to her. I have often thought of ring work, dressage, hunter/jumper and other “English” style riding disciplines as almost torture to a horse. Having to do the same boring movement to perfection, double bridles, whips, broken bits… but my horse was obviously loving this work. And so was I.

We finally did some cantering in the ring- great fun!

We also used a dressage whip today. Never to actually “whip” her, but to help answer her question.

That by the way is the lesson of the week for me.

The whip just touches behind the leg if after two tries of communicating she doesn’t respond then it’s a louder tool to make sure she gets the answer. So if she always slows down or tries to stop in one corner she is saying “Can I stop here?” the answer is “No.” I tell her that with pressure from my leg as she starts to slow down in the corner. If she doesn’t listen to my answer “No- keep going, same speed” she gets a tap from the whip by my leg to say a little more clearly “Answer is No. Keep going.”

I used it a couple times, but always to clarify her questions.

“Do you mean…?”

“This is what I mean.”

She is so smart, and so willing to do the right thing. My lesson is that when she does what I don’t want her to do, what she is really doing is asking a question. There are lots of ways to answer- the whip is just one of a million.

Do you want me to pick up my speed in the trot?

No.

Are you asking me to pull in my nose more?

Yes.

Can I look over at what the boys are doing in that field when I’m on this fence?

No.

Do you want me to canter now?

Yes!

This ride is too long, can we turn around here and go home?

Nope.

Can I get a drink at this pool?

Definitely Yes. Take as long as you want.

Can I kick other horses on the trail if I don’t like how closer they are to me?

No WAY.

Are you sure you want me to cross the river here?

Yes.

I don’t like Faygo near me when I come back in the field, can I kick her while you are still holding my lead rope?

DEFINITELY NOT!

All these things she does are a question to me. If I let her do something, I’ve just told her “Yes. That is appropriate.” What I love most about this way of thinking is that it makes issues very easy to solve. Give a clear answer, but one without heightened adrenaline or emotion. No matter what she’s doing, or how stressful it may seem at the time- it is merely a question she is posing to me.

I’ve tried my best to answer her thus far very clearly and always as calmly as possible and I’ve seen her behavior reflect her new understanding.

She doesn’t kick at Faygo now when I have one of them on lead.

She hasn’t kicked at another horse on the trail in many many many miles.

She rarely stops and refuses to move forward on the trail, even on long rides.

Many things she’s asked me over time, and once I’ve answered clearly and she understands that I meant it- she doesn’t ask again.

How can I use this in my everyday life? Would it help my own story if I assumed other people’s behavior toward me sometimes were questions? I could get better at keeping my reactions calmer, and at least try to answer clearly with the belief that others have as good of intentions as my horse does?

There is no doubt few people are as pure of heart as most horses are. Horses don’t have the motivational baggage and self-interest the way humans do.

But trying to at least give people a chance to have that respectful communication can’t hurt. Then there’s the other side of the coin- can I attempt to live with a heart more pure as well? Can I ask respectfully and try to listen to the answers clearly?

I don’t think this week’s lesson is as easy to put into practice in all human to human relationships, but there are nuggets in there that are incredibly valuable to take away.

Meanwhile, I will relish that we flew this week. Together.

Anniversary

Monday, July 20, 2015

Today it has been one year since Khaleesi came home to live at Mill Run Farm. It’s been a great year together and I think we’ve both learned a ton.

Day one... just off the trailer. July 20, 2014 — Day one… just off the trailer. July 20, 2014

I’ve ridden both girls a bit in the past week- nothing particularly new or exciting to report so we waited to enter a blog post.

As for Faygo, she is doing great.

The farrier visited and he’s starting to trim her more like a endurance horse- she has her racing feet on now (because she wasn’t forward moving enough before??) Basically there is more break over on her front toes to help her move more quickly, more smoothly with more ease. It’s a small thing, but I think I can feel a slight difference in her stride.

Racing toes:

I specifically enjoyed my birthday ride last week- when I chose to ride Faygo because she is just a pleasure- and I had been up too late the night before and didn’t have the energy to do a training Khaleesi ride…

Saturday morning however, we got up crack of dawn early and went to visit Pam again. I rode Khaleesi at a walk around her arena trying to communicate and coordinate together enough to walk in a circle or step over as we walked a straight line. I am hugely grateful to Pam for spending time with us because though it sounds boring- even to me- to describe what we spent almost an hour doing, it has been one of the coolest learning experiences I’ve ever had.

I am starting to get better at feeling the beats of my horse’s gaits (1, 2, 3, 4) and as a a musician I love the way it fits into a “4-beat” time signature where the 1st and 3rd beat are the “strong” beats, or front legs, which also are so much easier to feel instinctively- just like a conductor’s beat; and the 2nd and 4th beat are the “weak” beats, the back legs.

I feel that horse walk patterns are instinctively more like folk music however because though the 2 and 4 are “weaker”, those “up” or “off” beats have a lift to them and they give a strong “groove” that folk music exhibits. The front feet step out like a “down” beat, but in the pattern it’s when the back feet lift UP is how you feel the rhythm.

The previous time I went to visit Pam I got the hang of the stronger, front foot rhythm, but this visit she asked me to feel (and tell her) when the back feet (of whichever side we were working on) came up. At first I had to count, but after a while I started to feel it as well. Now when we ride I have a much stronger connection to the rhythm of her feet as we move. It’s not quite as natural as breathing, but it’s getting more that way than I’d ever imagined.

I have always been able to move a horse over – for Faygo with ease and surgical precision… Khaleesi… well, she can do it, but it’s a little hit or miss, and also depends on if she WANTS to move over or if we have an argument over it… (NO! If I move over that over horse could pass us… I am the queen of the trail!).

But on Saturday Pam suggested I try to time my request (my foot to her side) to match up with the best opportunity for her to respond. Touch her WHEN that back foot comes up and could then actually move- in the air- to step over.

WHOH… let me think that one over… Ok…

I absolutely “got it”, but we just barely “got it” together.

Pam is patient and I can’t count the number of times she’s said “It’s ok, she’s just not sure what you’re doing up there- she’s trying to take care of you.”

Today on our anniversary trail ride (I didn’t realize it was our anniversary until after I got home) I tried out my timing by asking her to walk on two separate tracks on the road. We started to the left, then I’d count in my head (1, 2, 3, 4…)

… get ready… aim for the ‘4’… NOW… and NOW… and YES… she moved over.

Here are the play by play pics of us changing lanes:

Of course she could have moved over if I’d have just stuck my leg there and ‘pushed’ her, but the difference in this was that I was making the effort to do it at the appropriate time. I hope that I will get better at communicating purposefully.

There it is. That is the effort. That is the life lesson: Purposeful communication.

I am realizing more and more that I make a lot of “noise” when I ride my horse. My body is constantly doing things to create static. My horses are incredible beings because they sort through the noise and get what I’m asking for really well.

But what if I could get better? What if I could make a cleaner request? Could they have a better response?

I think yes.

What about in life? Can I work on making less ‘noise’ in my important communications, and be more clear? Can I have better timing with my requests?

I hope yes.

On the other hand- it’s nice to be able to ride without so much mental energy. It’s nice to relax into a trail ride and ‘just have fun.’ Some (me at some point previously) would suggest that trail horses do not expect the kind of communication an ‘arena’ horse expects. Trail horses think on their own and need to take care of their footing etc… I sometimes want to look around and not worry my horse might think I’m changing directions when I see a bald eagle to my right… This is all true.

I hope though, that becoming a better, more clear rider can become more of a way of life that doesn’t have to take as much mental energy. I hope that eventually I can feel those back feet when they come up and not have to count “1, 2, 3, 4” to know. I hope when I ask her to move over on the trail to let a horse pass I can instinctively time it to when her back foot steps up and we can become more like one being. A true team. Wouldn’t that be MORE effortless?

And in every day reality, I hope she and I can have a relationship where she knows when I’m looking at a bald eagle vs. when I need her to take a turn! I’m not trying to micromanage her feet, I’m trying to understand how she’s using them so when I ask her something I know the best way.

Today my biggest accomplishment was that we opened AND closed the hardest gate on the farm without getting off. The gate is difficult because it isn’t hung properly and swings heavily open then digs into the ground as it stops, and the latch is one chain with a cheap fastener that is tight to clip back onto the chain once it’s wrapped around the gate itself (that you are holding closed from on your horse) and it absolutely takes two hands. Faygo and I can get this gate together (but we’ve also failed in the past depending on how much patience she has)- and we can’t do it without getting off if we have to let any other horses through.

Recently I’d been opening the gate on Khaleesi (the easy part), then getting off to close it from the ground. I decided this day to at least try to stay on. If it fell and I had to get off then so be it. But we did it! Of course there was no one there to see us- or take video of this feat, but we still celebrated together some pretty amazing teamwork!!

She has to stand next to the closed gate in just the right place for me to reach down and (two handed) get the latch pulled off. Then we have to hold the gate while stepping backward enough for her to get her head through the opening and step through the gate (while I keep holding it), then after we walk through (still holding the heavy gate which is not hung properly and wants to fall open and slam into the ground) and have to step over while holding and pushing the gate closed sideways- then usually at this point step backward so I’m aligned with the chain again, and have to (two handed) reach down (still holding the gate) and wrap the chain around the gate and try to push the latch back through the chain so it will stay in place.

If that sounds like a lot- it is. We have many easier gates that follow a similar process- but they are hung properly and don’t want to fly open and slam into the ground. This makes a huge difference because if you let go of the gate all is not lost in less than 1 second. Laurie got video today of us doing the “red gate” (where we often meet to ride) to show the idea. Again- this one is much easier:

This was a great one-year celebration. It takes trust and communication to open gates of all kinds together and it’s a nice way to work on how well you are communicating. Many small steps go into being able to do it and for me it’s a fun thing to practice together.

We worked on riding side-by-side with Laurie’s horse Banks. It’s helpful that Khaleesi seems to like Banks. He is only about a year older than she, and a gelding, and they’ve lived near each other through the winter at Laurie’s farm. Both horses do not naturally want to walk side-by-side, but neither fussed too much either.

Also we’ve made some progress with both the hose (she used to dance around the water like a lunatic) and the fly spray- she rears up and even tries to bite the bottle sometimes. She had a calm happy shower this afternoon, and after working a bit with the fly spray she even calmed down for that. Progress!

Here’s our little shower video:

Khaleesi’s new smaller back boots came in and I loved the way they fit. I had great expectations- however- within 15 minutes of riding one had come off and was hanging around her leg. Apparently the cable came out of the roller buckle. The company says that seems more likely a malfunction than a long term boot issue. Still- we are not yet carefree boot believers. Renegade is sending me (priority) a new cable to replace the one that malfunctioned- and I hope the new back ones will be as good as the fronts moving forward. I haven’t had a front boot come off since the Douthat camp out over a month ago. The front boots have been ACES, I love everything about them. I hope we can get the back boots to sort out as well soon.

In all, today Laurie and I had a lovely ride. We took the road less traveled and both horses were wonderful at taking us through some open woods that were steep and had enough downs and vines and deep leaves to make it tricky. We ended up on an old road that was overgrown with ferns and grasses and lush from the wet summer we’ve had. No one had been this way in a while, and it felt like a secret passage that only we knew. We are so lucky to have trails close to home that can still feel new when we take a path we haven’t tried before.

When I took her back to the pasture where Faygo was eagerly awaiting I released her and walked over to check on the water. I love it when she would rather follow me than go eat, roll, or catch up with Faygo. She was my shadow today until I left and she stood watching at the gate as I drove away.

After one year of working together, July 20 of 2014 I could only sit in her area with a book and my coffee and hope she would ignore me enough to come close. Now she often follow me around until I leave- then watches me go at the gate. I am very pleased with how well she’s come along, and yes, I’m proud of myself too that I took on something so new that I wasn’t sure if I could do and have been successful- at least as successful for what we are doing.

Hopefully we’ll be an AERC decade team… so… onward together!

Just… Not… feelin’ it

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

My original riding plans fell apart for a few reasons. Then I woke up to dark skies and light rain (of course. It’s rained every day this summer) and though I knew it was supposed to clear up, I seemed to have a hard time re-grouping. After stalling with PR work, grant paperwork, answering emails, cleaning the refrigerator… this may be my passion- but even when I’m not in the mood… we’ve set goals! I put on my big girl riding tights and went to the barn.

I decided that it was too hot at this point to grab Faygo, and since I had the whole afternoon, Khaleesi is the one who needs longer miles right now. Thankfully the girls came running down to see me (I may not have had it in me to go find them). Still moving slowly, I tied Khaleesi in the shade under the apple tree and we groomed for almost an hour where she relaxed and stood quietly half asleep as I braided her mane.

Finally we got on the trail- and today I decided to try out the english spurs I picked up. I have never used spurs before, do not plan to use them forever, and they are not intended for getting speed or forward motion, but for better communication. Occasionally she needs to focus ahead, or move over, and very occasionally she still throws a mini-tantrum and doesn’t want to go forward (this happens less and less each day) but now I ask her, kick her, kick her harder, kick her even harder, then pull out the ‘popper’ and insist. What I hope is that the spurs will make it so I don’t need to kick her so hard with my heels and keep her more sensitive on her sides by having a better tool WHEN I need it. Considering I found a simple pair for $5 it seemed worth trying them out.

What I noticed first is that I had to pay a lot more attention to making sure the spur did NOT touch her when I didn’t want it to. That wasn’t difficult, but it made me more aware of where my legs were, and I thought it’s probably good that they aren’t giving odd random signals even without a spur- a whole new awareness that I hadn’t really paid attention to before. Where are your legs & feet anyway? Seems obvious but….

I purposely used a spur on her only a handful of times in a 10 mile ride. I felt it was worthwhile yet not overbearing or harsh. More often at the beginning part of the ride than toward the end (when she’s happily moving home and doing almost whatever I ask of her). Because we rode alone I had less need to move her over and not “trail-hog”, or allow someone to pass us- and more needed to keep her focused forward and keep moving as we started out. (She sometimes lolly-gags, looks all around and still occasionally stops and tries to convince me to turn back home in the first 15 minutes or so). If she’s getting too focused in other directions I tap that side, first with just my leg, then if she doesn’t change, lightly with the spur to get her attention back in front of her. I may use it more riding with others to keep her more focused on me and what I’m asking than distracted by other horses around her.

Otherwise I’m still frustrated at the slushy trails because we really aren’t making the MPH I’d like to see. Footing is just not good for most of my trails. That means that we have to move when we can, and it’s just more work and less fun to have to be constantly changing up when it’s safe and not safe, sometimes only getting a few trot steps and then another muck mess to slip on through at a walk. What happened to the carefree summer riding days when the biggest concern was that your dogs can’t find water on the trail?

I’m not worried about our August ride, that we won’t finish (though that’s entirely possible). When we rode the 6 mile loop with Carrington and Abaco at camp creek we hauled pretty quickly and she had a blast trotting and cantering after already completing a 13 mile ride with the group. When there are other horses around and the excitement of an organized ride presents, I have all the confidence she’ll pick up her step and she certainly can do it. I want her fitness level to have the ability to keep up with the drive she’ll have that day by moving quicker now. For the moment we just have to do it in small spurts. We’ll just call it interval training I suppose!

On the positive side, the weather turned out beautiful for the afternoon. We added an extra section to our ride loop that took us backwards (meaning not the direction I usually ride the trail- not that I rode her backwards) up a wooded steep mountain pass without trail that was mushy, grape-viney, and harder to pick through than usual and she navigated it like a champ. I have yet to throw her a challenge she doesn’t rise to and am still pleased with how she’s turning out. I worked her hard- navigating slippery footing, then we trotted and cantered whenever we were able, and she really did well.

Once again, the only ride I regret is the one I don’t take- and we had a great afternoon.

When I go into the field lately, sometimes I walk part way up the hill as the girls come down, and Faygo usually passes me right by and heads to the feed dishes. Khaleesi on the other hand sometimes walks at my shoulder- I stop to look at her and she stops as well. I move and she moves. I walk to the water trough (to turn off the water) instead of to the feed dishes and she follows me there first… sometimes when I leave she stands at the gate watching me go. The days when she is my shadow are incredibly special to me (then sometimes she’s the one herding faygo to the farthest corner of the field where she thinks I’ll never find them… ) though I can always walk over and catch them, they don’t always come running.

Wednesday I rode Faygo. Mostly a fast walking pace to get out and about. However much I enjoy Khaleesi, I still feel my soul mate in Faygo- for better or worse some days! This is the second time I’ve put a grazing muzzle on Faygo. I don’t leave it on more than through the day or overnight, and no, she’s not “fat” right now- but I can’t feel her ribs and I know it will be harder for her in the heat to have even a thin layer of fat over her creating insulation.

Right now it should be easy with a once or twice a week “diet” to pull her back just a touch and she should have an easier time riding and recovering when she’s closer to a perfect 5 on the body scale as she was in April. Right now I would call her a 6 (which for a pleasure horse is absolutely healthy and fine). Khaleesi is probably a 5.8 in truth, but she’s getting ridden more, so I’m hoping she’ll come down a touch from the workload which is heavier this summer than Faygo. Also, Khaleesi doesn’t struggle in the heat the way Faygo does.

Bay and Gray… night and day… two completely different animals, completely different experiences in spending time together- both amazing in their own right. If there is one word to describe it, having two mares as good as they are… I’d have to say Lucky.

Lucky me.

H52611

Saturday, July 11, 2015

We have officially committed! I’ve registered Ireland’s Khaleesi as an AERC Grade Horse. Considering she has 4 different breeds, we decided to basically call her an equine mutt, which is what a Grade Horse is. Because she does have 1/4 Arab I could have chosen to list her as an Arab Cross, or 1/4 Arab, but 90% of AERC horses are some kind of Arab, and I wanted her not to be just one more Arab cross. Truly I don’t think of her as an Arab cross. In fact, I don’t feel that any one part of her breeding really takes over in her case. She doesn’t rack yet, so I can’t call her a racking horse; she doesn’t seem like a TN Walker at all (and doesn’t have a walker gait), and I don’t feel like anything about her screams Arabian either. The more I thought about it, the more Grade horse seemed to fit her. She is totally unique and I love her for it.

She is Bay Grade Mare #H52611- Ireland’s Khaleesi.

There was another break in the rain Saturday, so I took the moment and rode her alone on for a little over 6 miles. The trails are slush and muck so we weren’t making any fast time. On the other hand all the rain has some of the creeks roaring at a volume you literally couldn’t talk over and that’s one more thing that’s been good for her to get used to. At Douthat there was a waterfall that was loud and she was a bit freaked out over the sound.

Douthat ride where she was worried about the waterfall and wouldn't stand with the group — Douthat ride where she was worried about the waterfall and was nervous to stand with the group

I reflected today at how lucky we are to have these mountains to train in. There was a recent AERC Facebook post about what you need to have your horse ready to do before their first ride and I feel pretty confident that we are doing our best to have her ready for anything. Of course there’s always that one thing you weren’t expecting, but all-in-all we are on track:

creek & river crossings: check… bridges of all kinds (concrete, wood, large and small): check… steep climbs and descents: check/check... rocky footing: check… deep sucking mud: check... complicated navigating over downs with grapevines: check… roads with vehicles: check... bicycles: check... tractors: check... most wild animals animals: check… riding alone: check… riding with others: check… long mountain climbs: check… multi-day camping: check…

At this point, she’s still ‘green’, but she’s about as ready for her first AERC ride as she can be. Even if for some reason we don’t complete, it’ll be great experience to get out and try.

The only complication that came up was toward the end of the ride a back boot came loose. I ended up pulling both back boots because we were so close to home. I have decided that I need a smaller size on her back feet. The front renegades are working just about perfect- I haven’t lost one in many many miles as of now, but after using them and seeing how they work, I honestly believe I could go a size smaller on the front boots as well. This means that the back boots are possibly more than one size too big which would be the reason they are giving me some trouble.

I went ahead and put in an order for the next size smaller (after measuring one more time) back boots and plan to use the current back boots as emergency spares. Before entering our event next month we absolutely would have had to order at least one- possibly two spare boots anyway.

I’m glad I waited and used the boots to see how they’d work before moving forward on a spare. Now that I see how they fit and work I have more understanding. There is a distinct difference between the length and width play in the measurement with renegades and I think I have a grasp of the variables and which measurements need to be closer and which can either be cut back or fall a little shorter than I’d originally thought.

Hopefully this will be a better long-term solution. I may find she goes a size down in all 4 feet.

Trails have turned into creeks in some stretches.

It looks like another week of rain is coming. This has been a tough year for getting enough riding in, and also for soggy trails and difficult footing. The last thing I want to do is pull a tendon rushing through slippery muck. One thing working with horses and children has taught me is that you have to be more creative than the challenge you face. I will try not to complain about the rain but let it make us a stronger riding team. As the event gets closer and my travel schedule begins to fill, I’m going to have to start riding in that rain more often to get our miles in. And one never knows- our ride could be a soggy wet mess as well.

Endurance riding is not for sissies- that is for sure!

Two people. One horse. One tough race.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Today Kate and I finally made a date to practice a ride & tie. We’d been tossing the idea around since May, and we decided to make a goal of the Iron Mountain Jubilee ride weekend at the end of August- so that meant we really had to get out there and give it a go.

The basics are that ride & tie started in 1971, but is a pretty small niche sport. It’s a cross between endurance riding and running. I spoke to some R&T folks at the Old Dominion ride and found that there are few rules in the sport- and really we just have to try it to see what works.

So with more questions than answers between us, we met at the Hidden Valley horse parking lot with Faygo in tow and tried to devise at least some kind of loose plan of action.

Ok.. um… so… one of us will start running and one will start riding…

I’ll ride first because I think I know roughly where the first mile marker is…

Oh good because I was hoping you’d ride first…

So I’ll tie Faygo up at the end of the second field where the shale road starts…

Then when I get on her, I’ll pass you…

I hope you pass me… if you don’t pass me, don’t tie her up because…

Right…

So if we get to the swinging bridge and come back that should be just over 3 miles…

Probably not far enough- so let’s see if we’re doing ok and if we are we’ll loop around the campground too…

That will be closer to 5 miles…

Great.

I guess we should ride at an easy canter or a fast gait…

I would think so…

Watch for cyclists- Faygo is afraid of bikes, kind of… I’m sure it’ll be fine… just talk to them as they pass…

Ok… this is so new, I’m kind of nervous…

It’ll be great- we should never be too far apart so yell if you need help…

Right.

Kate takes off jogging while I hop on and ride Faygo out. We start with a fast walk to warm up and then I let her gait a bit. I’m surprised at how long it takes me to catch her. Kate is fast! We pass and continue on to the spot I know is just about a mile in and I tie Faygo to a tree and start running. The dogs seem a bit confused, but they go with me anyway. At some point Kate passes me on the way to the swinging bridge and so on and so forth.

It was GREAT fun. Just about anyone can jog a mile. Then you hop on the horse and get a break.

What I was surprised to learn is that we are just about as fast as she is!

When I caught up to her after my first running turn, I could see Kate heading off. Faygo was breathing kind of hard and had JUST gotten tied. I had thought she’d be waiting at a tree, bored. We had planning to ride her not at a canter, but at a good fast pace because she’d have rest breaks. So when I caught up to her I walked her a bit to let her catch her breath… meanwhile Kate was running on ahead and I had an idea of where we’d try to tie next and I passed right by it without having caught her yet! So with Faygo having ‘walked it out’ and doing ok I pushed her on to a fast gait then a slow canter to catch Kate… who had been running over a mile with no sign of us and started to worry.

I handed over Faygo to Kate and we had a quick conference. We decided that we had plenty of energy to add the campground loop, and that Faygo is working harder than we thought she would- so Kate walked her a bit again to give her a chance to recover. I headed out running toward the campground. She passed me at the main parking lot and we agreed not to tie IN the campground (where technically horses aren’t allowed), but outside it.

When I got to the campground I saw the shoe prints, but no sign of Kate or Faygo. The dogs and I went around the loop and as I was coming back out I started to wonder where on earth she was planning to tie her? This has to be at least a mile right? Then I started wondering if I might have missed Faygo before entering the campground? Is it possible to not see a horse tied to a tree? When that is all you are looking for? I’m out of the campground, slowing my pace and looking harder off the road in the trees… it was like a treasure hunt- only the treasure is my horse… Then ahead I see Kate. On foot.

Ok, if I don’t see Faygo by the time I get where I saw her on foot, then I’d better turn around and start looking again.

How can you miss a horse? Could she have gotten loose and is heading back to the trailer without us?

THERE SHE IS! Woohoo!

At this point we are only about 1/2 mile from the trailer and she’s worked harder than I’d anticipated, so I hand walked her for a while, and then rode her at a walk. Kate made it back then started walking out to meet us.

We got back to the trailer and talked over how it went and what we learned. We all had fun and did great! Faygo is great at this (as I’d suspected) and is fine with being tied. Kate and I are pretty comparable for stirrup length and pace- I think the 3 of us are a perfect team. We were both surprised to see that Faygo isn’t going to have quite as much down time as originally thought. She did fine, but it was a pretty rigorous ride for her. We chose Hidden Valley to find somewhere kind of flat to start and Ed mentioned to me that the terrain probably makes a big difference. We are pretty fast there, but with more hills we might find ourselves slower on foot. The good thing is that this will keep us all in better shape.

In the end we did almost 5 1/2 miles and somewhere around 5-6 mph on average.

As for Faygo, considering her pasture is endless, and her activity is down a bit this year, I put the grazing muzzle on her when we got home today. I’m going to try to start dropping her weight a touch. If she struggles in summer heat it can’t help to have an extra layer of insulating fat, and dropping a few pounds means less for her to carry too. She won’t like it, but I’d like to see her body condition back at what it was in the spring. On the body condition scale she was a perfect 5 (out of 10) in April, she still looks good, but she has definitely moved up to a 6 this summer. Kate and I are dedicated to doing this at least once a week now, so her workload should go up a bit as well.

I’m beyond excited that we had so much fun, and that we’re going to do the event in August. My body condition has lapsed a bit as well this summer and the motivation to work hard just hasn’t been there as much as it has in years past. This is just what I need as well to kick it up a notch and have a new goal.

I’m also excited that Kate is enjoying Faygo, and I now have a good way to include Faygo in some events even if she’s not doing true endurance riding. And it’ll be fun to have Kate for the night to camp out and hang in ride camp.

For anyone out there who might like to try ride & tie, you don’t need a horse of your own. Lots of riders need a running partner and they will help connect you. For more information you can check them out on the web at: www.rideandtie.org

We’ll keep you posted as I get two horses and myself (and Kate!) ready for the Iron Mountain Jubilee.

On track

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

As for our riding and training, I have to say there isn’t anything particularly exciting to report right now. I’ve taken a few rides since I last posted and for the most part they’ve been good and uneventful rides.

I enjoyed an exploratory ride on Faygo over the weekend. We mapped out a few trails that dead end at the moment in case I might find some new connections in the future that make them worthwhile- then we took a long way home.

She is so talented in many ways… and on the other hand can be a hot mess too. As we navigated the downhill rocky path compromising at what I found a slightly too-fast speed and she continued to communicate was a little slow for her taste, I wondered about the parallels in lives- mine and hers. Does my horse mirror me? Of course she does. But does it develop over time as our energies come together, or did I choose a horse that suits my own personality that I can relate to? What can I learn from her as a facet of my own life? The word I kept coming back to on that ride had echoed from my husbands lips few weeks ago: overconfident.

He was talking about me of course, and though the word has stuck in my head, today I was thinking of my mare. She occasionally stumbled on the loose rocks or almost ran my leg into a branch with her mind singularly fixed on the goal. The challenge of overconfidence is by very definition that you can’t really fix it. Overconfidence is something assigned to you by someone else- you can’t BE overconfident yourself- you can only believe you are exactly the right amount of confident. I sometimes wish Faygo would dial it back just a notch- but I love to ride her, even when she’s tearing up the trail and I have to be 100% present, maybe even because of that in truth. She has never let me down, she has always carried me safely home and she moves through the trails- even the ones that are more obstacle course than trail- like she’s on rails. I think about the concept of being overconfident and wonder: if you are successful, aren’t you proving you are the “right amount of confident”? I suppose time will tell.

I found myself thinking more about what a driven and talented horse she is and what a shame it is she isn’t healthy enough for true endurance riding. If I can keep her in good enough shape I’d like to continue to run her in LD (Limited Distance) rides in cooler weather. She is forward and so fun to ride, I sometimes think she could be a true top 10 LD horse in the right climate and season. I am hoping to continue to bring her to rides when the circumstances are right- and continue to ride her in LDs to see how she does.

At the moment, she is getting just enough attention to keep her in shape (I ride her myself a minimum of one good ride a week, and she gets on trail 2-3 days if I have someone to come ride with me – which has been pretty common so far this year). This week she got 2 nice rides in and I plan to get her out Friday as well.

Sometimes she seems annoyed to have to work, sometimes if I take Khaleesi and leave her in the field- when I come back she ignores Khaleesi and hangs out with me getting rubbed and scratched and nuzzling my shoulders with her nose. Because she’s my “first love” I will always have a special place in my life and heart for her. I’m not really sure if she’s communicating that she misses being the first choice, number one horse, and my constant trail partner… or if she’s saying “I know you’ve already taken a ride, so I can get some love and attention without worrying you’ll make me work today.” She’s a mare- it probably depends on how she feels that day, and maybe as with most of us as we age- we can feel both of those things at the same time.

As for Khaleesi, I absolutely love the work we’re doing together. Our relationship is different than the one I have with Faygo, and she’s an entirely different animal. Her conditioning is coming along great and she’s taking the longer rides in stride. We are deepening our “Jedi” communication and when the circumstances are aligned, I can change her stride, move into a trot or back to a walk with energy and thought, and our steering is getting much more fine tuned as well. I can open and close the easier gates from on her back and we are starting to really become a team.

All of our trail challenges are getting better with each ride. On Sunday we rode with a friend (Tim) on Faygo and did some trail clearing. I was cutting branches from on her back and pulling small dead limbs off the trail as well as clipping while we rode. No problem.

On Tuesday we took our longest single day trail ride yet with Nancy and Carrington for a 23+ mile ride along the ridge. We stopped for a long lunch to give everyone a chance to regroup and all our horses did fantastic. — Renegade (hoof boot) report: there have been torrential flooding rains and we went through some serious mud- the worst spot around mile 18 was like quicksand, scary for us as well. When we came out one back boot had twisted. Once I fixed it they all stayed on until removed at home.

Khaleesi still has her toddler moments when she has a slight meltdown, but it’s coming later and later in our ride now. A month ago it was after 3 hours, now it was after about hour 5 and over 15 miles. I can tell the difference but even in “meltdown” mode she is functioning and comes around without becoming dangerous. She begins to refuse going forward, then tries to turn me around or detour off the trail:

Khaleesi: Seriously, we have GOT to turn around soon and go home because if my calculation is correct, 15 miles in and 15 miles out is THIRTY MILES! I’m going to die!

Me: Honestly. Do you think I would do that to you? We are only about 7 more miles from the trailer- I drove it to Nancy’s barn this morning. You need to go forward – trust me!

Khaleesi: I don’t even think this is the right trail… lets cut right through the woods that direction- I think that’s a shorter cut. It’ll be faster.

Me: NO WAY are we going bushwhacking through the woods when there is a perfectly good trail right here. What is your problem!? I am the human with the plan and the GPS- you have got to trust me.

Khaleesi: I have to eat something… it’s been hours since I’ve been grazing… You’re trying to kill me… I’m going to eat every leaf in sight to save my life, what were you thinking taking me out here this long!?

Me: stop paying so much attention to the leafy branches you are about to fall over that log!

We trip and stumble over the log– annoying but not dangerous.

Me: ENOUGH ALREADY! QUIT SCREWING AROUND! PAY ATTENTION AND PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER BEFORE I GET DOWN FROM HERE AND KICK YOUR A$$. … No more Jedi Force training- we are in all out jerk on the reins and kicking to communicate now.

Khaleesi: ok. ok… ok. I’ll try.

Then at some point- she comes around and is good again. We just have to get through the meltdown and she seems to be ok.

She is also getting much much better with her trail manners. I can usually put her to one side of the trail or another, and a horse can pass her without too much threat of violence. She generally can lead, follow or be in the middle- though when she’s leading she can get pissy with a horse getting to close to possibly pass; when she’s in the back she can start to lag and be lazy; and in the middle she seems pretty happy at this point. We can go just about any speed from a walk to a slow trot, a really smooth fast trot, and even her canter is improving. She drinks well from stream or mud-puddle – even if horses are walking off. If she’s thirsty she will take care of herself.

She and Nancy’s mare are not besties yet, but they are figuring out that we won’t tolerate violence. We still get tail swishing and ugly ears from time to time, but each ride improves their tolerance of each other.

So basically- we are on track all around. I have a call in to register her as an AERC horse on my membership account and we plan to enter the Iron Mountain Jubilee ride at the end of August. For now I plan to bring Faygo as well and my friend Kate and I are going to try to run a ride & tie event as well that weekend. I will ride Khaleesi on the Limited Distance the next day. I would like to take both girls, and I love including Faygo. A ride & tie is perfect for all of us because she gets a rest every mile or two, and I’m forced to get back into better shape as well. I’m really excited I have someone (a human friend) up for the challenge!

In order to make that work- I need a trailer that can safely haul two horses. Sunday night I took a drive to North Carolina to pick up our new equine chariot (2-horse trailer) and I love it. It’s minimal and simple without a tack room or living quarters. I’m sure my hammock will hang perfectly, and I’ll find some way to create a little space to put a few things, but it’s small, newer than my old trailer, and not rusting apart at the seams.

I’m very excited and so glad to have it!

till next report…..