Talk about falling off the wagon! Last week, the train derailed! Robin and I skipped our very first ride together on Monday – it was cold, and windy and raining early in the day, so we opted to miss this one time. I was also sick on Easter – woke up with a headache and nausea – it may have been my first experience with a migraine – so I was very worn out on Monday. Well, Tuesday, I finally feel ok, but now I am 2 days behind in chores. So, I settle for just Free lunging Belle. Wednesday is the first day of a 2 day equine dental clinic with Dr Richard Miller. I got Belle out, gave her a bucket of grain, but never got a chance to ride. She was scheduled to be the first horse to get dental care on Thursday, but I begged them to leave her for last, because I HAD to ride. Finally late that afternoon, I walked around on her while I taught a 30 minute lesson and then I blasted out the gate. Dr. Miller’s crew was on their last horse, so I had to be back in time with Belle. So, we kept it short and Fast. We trotted and cantered, and occasionally did some hand gallop. We covered 5 – 5.5 miles in 42 minutes, which averages to about 7 mph. We walked the last 3 minutes home and she was fully recovered. I had time to give her a quick rinse off, and reported at the trailer. She was so full of energy that she danced around restlessly waiting for her turn. Dr. Miller laughed at her, and called her an energizer bunny. He also called her a typical endurance horse, and I don’t think he meant it as a compliment!

Her teeth were bad. Somehow I missed doing her for almost 3 years. That is the problem with being the step child that she has been for so long. I don’t keep a tight watch on things like teeth and vaccines on the horses that are just standing around. But she is a working girl now, so she needs to be able to chew efficiently. She had Serious hooks and ulcers on the cheeks of her mouth. She also had a diagonal bite, which would make bending one way difficult. Poor kid. It probably explains why she is sometimes unwilling to take the bit. I also was a little surprised to see her age! Dr Miller has been doing her since she was 5. I just didn’t realize she is now 11 years old!!! I really thought she was only around 8. Time flies, I guess. Dental care is SO important – some horses, like Belle, have a tendency to develop a wave in their molar arcade. Regular care keeps them from destroying their teeth, and it means they are healthy and happy well into their 30’s!

So, post dental work, horses always get the next day off – their mouth is usually pretty sore after all the filing. On Saturday, I took two students out on an easy 30 minute trail ride, and I rode Belle, since my schedule was very tight, and 30 minutes is better than nothing! As it turned out, the girls wanted to see her go at speed – so after we got their horses secured at home, I hopped back on Belle and did the exact same trail route – in 5 minutes!!! I had estimated the route to be just a mile, so a 5 minute mile is 12 miles per hour. Finally – we are at full speed. Now, how long we can maintain that is another question! I took her pulse 3 minutes after we got back and she was already down to 60 bpm – which is considered full recovery. So, I guess next, I start doing more speed sets, 12 mph for 5-10 minutes, a few minutes walk to recover and then up to speed again. Then gradually increase how long the sets are. I am sure we are fit enough to complete right now, but I would like to have a better race time.

Sunday was a play day with my 4 H girls, and the weather turned awful – 40 mph winds with gusts to 60! So, Belle got to have Another day off!!! This is harder than I thought!

One good thing - I am down to 137 lbs! So if I can lose 7 lbs more in 6 weeks, I will reach my goal of being 130 on race day. that might be easier than keeping up with Belle's training schedule!

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