So I really did kind of tear up my back fighting with those lug nuts. I didn’t ride Belle on Tuesday, and I gave her a 15 minute free lunging session on Wednesday. That was kind of interesting. She can now wear out TWO running mates. I run one horse with her, put them up, and put a different one in, and she is still flying circles around them! She used to be dripping wet after just 5 minutes of free lunging, now we are doing 3 times that and she is just damp. Thursday, I had another horrible headache, had the farrier coming, a client showing a horse for sale, that I needed to ride and basically I died afterwards. Jack and I will get to the chiropractor tomorrow to see if he can shove something back into place so I can function again.

Friday, April 16 – Did a nice easy trail ride with a friend. It is nice that Belle CAN walk on the trail now. And when she jigs, I just don’t even notice anymore. I didn’t track time or mileage, I was just making sure she got out and moving around. Plus, I tested out a new set of pommel bags. It is tough to attach saddle bags on a standard hunt seat saddle – not enough rings and things. But these bags are easy to thread through my pommel strap and then I run the saddle pad’s keeper straps through the bottom rings and it looks like these things will stay down. I did test them with a bit of trot and so far so good. But I always believe you test new equipment close to home. And I am also glad that I don’t need to put a crouper on Belle. The new girth seems to be holding everything tight and in place. So, it was a short light ride, but anything is better than nothing, and all in all, she is getting 100% more work than she used to. Jack and I did trek to the chiro and I feel much better now. Which is a good thing given the weekend plans, which include coaching the girls at a 4H gymkhana on Saturday, and then taking them to a local hunter show on Sunday!!!

Sunday, April 18

I had an empty slot in the trailer going to the show, and the club has been threatening to cancel the jumping classes if they don’t get more entries, so I took Belle along to the show, just in case I needed to enter her to fill the class. She got a full on bath Sunday morning, and is now gleaming white. I love Quick Silver shampoo! She is also shedding out nicely and showing a sparkly summer coat that is fine and thin, showing the health of a well worked horse. You can slather all the coat conditioners on, and even feed all kinds of supplements, but the best thing to make a horse shed out and shine is WORK! And for once in her life, Belle is getting that!

Happily we didn’t need to enter the show – saved me a bunch of cash, and I didn’t have to change into show clothes! Belle served as a warm up assistant for a while

nice thing about a pony, they make a good arm rest!
She also got to give a lead to one kid’s horse who didn’t want to jump. Poor girl didn’t seem to have anyone coaching her, and her horse was flat out refusing. So, Belle and I hopped over the fence, and then the little Appy was willing to go to the other side!

Once the girls were actually competing, the warm up ring was very empty, so Belle and I ripped off a few circular miles.



It was nice to have perfect footing and not have to look for gopher holes, rocks or ruts! It is a little odd to see How tiny she is, but she doesn’t seem to be having any trouble carrying me. I am keeping up my end of the bargain, and have lost another 1 ½ lbs.

I have no idea how much mileage we covered, but I basically sat on her for 3-4 hours, and would periodically go in and trot and canter around the large warm up. So, at least it was strength building. It was also good for her to practice standing by the trailer. Which she never did, actually. She paced and wove back and forth, back and forth – I think she did about 2 miles while tied!!! Clearly she needs to do that more to get settled. So, I will probably be taking her along more often.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Getting a preview of the trails we will compete on.

Robin and I may never actually get to Jackson lake- I think it is just a legend!!! But we got invited to ride along with one of the race organizers as he establishes the trails that they are going to use next month. Since these are completely new routes in some areas, they need as many hooves as possible to mark the path so riders don’t get lost. This gave us a preview of some of the terrain and we also got to work two water crossings. We actually met at the ranch that will be providing the base camp for the ride, so it is nice to know exactly where we are going! As we rode out, Belle was softly jigging, but it just doesn’t bother me much anymore. I don’t know how we wound up there, but we lead for a while, and after 8 minutes of walk, we moved up to a good trot. There were 5 of us – Robin and I, the ride organizer, Steve (who also happens to be my farrier) and Lynne and Daryl who are getting their horses fit for the ride also. Lynne is a very accomplished endurance rider and in 2003 was the novice level champion. She said she rode so much and competed so much that she sort of burned out. She says she also has the dream of going to Tevis, so maybe she and Robin will hook up and keep pushing each other to that goal.

This trail was all about a steady uphill climb – not steep, but unending. Belle marched along without any trouble. She lead the way across the first water crossing when Daryl’s horse balked. She was a tiny bit more hesitant at the ‘talking water’ but crossed without a big time waste. And then we schooled back and forth in the rocks until she had no problem with it.


this shows the group at the water. We all gave our horses a chance to drink – which is another skill an endurance horse needs to learn – drink when it is offered. Horses also should eat whenever they are given the chance – it is healthier for their gut to keep food moving through the system. This is especially true when riders start racing 50 or more miles. And at Tevis it is crucial, as you may be out on the trail for nearly 24 hours, so the hrose Must eat.

So, I let Belle discover the joys of munching on ‘Bunch Grass’.

She thinks this is pretty cool, to be Allowed to eat with the bit on!

So we wound our way up and around gaining over 1000 feet of altitude, and covering about 8 miles, according to Steve. Near the top of our path we came to an overlook point, complete with a very nice bench! It offered a nice view of the valley below



As we worked our way back down, we had a choice between a road and a wash. Steven lead us along the road. It dead ended. So, Belle and I forged a path, weaving between choiya cactus and Joshua trees, and working our way down to the wash. She was light on the aids, and is so much nicer when I give rein aids. Her mouth must have been really sore with the sharp dental points. I am so glad we got that taken care of.

As we worked our way along the wash, Belle was back to jigging. Clearly she was not tired. So, now we need to actually complete a real 25 mile ride just to ensure that she has the bottom to go that final distance. It may also teach her that it is wise to walk and not waste energy with jigging. Or maybe not. She is a tough little pony. I am getting rather fond of her, and proud of how well she is handling trail challenges. May 15th is coming up fast. Robin is already looking for a 50 mile race!!!