My Horse is Amazing

Friday night in ride camp - excitement is in the air!

Two weeks ago right now I was trying to get myself and Rhio fed and ready for an early start.  It was the evening before we attempted our second 75 mile ride.  The ride was Charity Cup, located in beautiful Pillsbury State Forest about two hours from home.  Our companions for the weekend were Gesa with Gimi, along mostly for camping experience, and, of course, Kelso.  We nabbed a nice secluded spot for camp, away from the hustle and bustle and with a big tree to nestle our tent beneath.  Unfortunately, we were very close to a rowdy bunch of trail riders who stayed up late around their campfire, sharing their stories and laughter with the entire camp.  I am glad they were enjoying themselves, but courtesy to follow the posted 10 pm quiet time would have been nice.

Charity Cup is a benefit ride - this year for Coborn Cancer Center in St. Cloud, MN.  Upon arrival, we admired sparkly pink ribbons on many horse's rumps and discovered that for $1, our boys could be "pretty in pink" as well.  I had to take pictures, because I suspected that Rhio's adornment wouldn't hold up to ride day (and I was correct - he had pink oozing down his leg for the first half of the day, before he finally just sweated it off completely.)

The boys sporting their pink ribbons for breast cancer support!

The first night in ride camp is always hectic, with trying to get camp set up, horses vetted in, friends visited with, and everything ready for the next morning.  Then, I spend much of the night tossing and turning, catching little cat naps and waking in a panic to check the clock thinking I've missed the alarm.  I figure at least I'm "resting," even if I'm not sleeping! 

Saturday morning I rolled out of my sleeping bag before dawn, as usual.  Rhio seemed have spent a good night - having eaten his massive beet pulp mash and much of his hay.  I was trying a new feeding strategy with him this ride - instead of a morning meal, he had been "carb loading" for a few days before the ride and got a huge meal (like the marathoners eating their spaghetti feed the night before Grandma's Marathon) overnight, then just a handful of senior feed with his antacid supplement and electrolytes in the morning.  Some new research has shown that the best time to feed a grain meal is about 8 hours before exercise, and that grain ("carbs") fed the morning of the race actually causes a drop in blood sugar as insulin is released during digestion (which is happening during exercise on race day - not the best for optimal performance.)  Of course, my version of a "grain meal" is still mostly beet pulp but with a couple pounds of oats added, so it may have a different effect than a true straight grain feeding.  Anyway, I thought the research was compelling enough to give it a try and see what effect, if any, I noticed during the ride. 

I took both horses for a walk to stretch their legs and start warming Rhio up (and let Kelso do his business - he then went back to bed in the tent with Gesa!), then tied him to the trailer to get ready.  This is the point at which he starts getting really worked up if we are in the thick of things.  Our secluded spot was perfect - he was munching hay and looking around, but very calm (for him.)  I was even able to get him saddled without chasing him around on the end of his tie rope. 

I was the lone 75 miler, but (luckily, I thought) I was starting at the same time as the 50s.  I'd made plans to start with a buddy horse (Rhio does so love to have a buddy), and we went out just a little late, in the very early morning fog and mist.  The trail goes to single track pretty quickly in the first section, and with the horses all fired up at the start, we hadn't really gotten settled into a good place before that happened.  Horses got all bunched up, Rhio had his head practically in my lap, and it was about the level of hyperness and amped-up anxiety I'd expected (though I don't relish one moment of starting a ride...if only we could start without actually starting!).  We played leap frog with several other horses, working our way north on what would be a 25 mile loop for us.  I was partially successful in keeping Rhio's speed down, but he thinks he's hot stuff and can run out in front all the time.  I was really hoping for a reasonable first loop to conserve some of that energy for the end of the day.  I didn't really succeed, it turns out.  At some point, it becomes more harmful and stressful to keeping fighting him (and he wastes more energy being so tightly wound up) - and when he relaxes into a fast pace, he actually seems to expend less energy.  We ended up running a 10 mile "lollipop" loop on the northern most end of the 25 mile loop with a group of very speedy horses.  Knowing that we couldn't maintain that pace and do 75 miles, I planned to backtrack to a water stop at the end of the "lollipop" and take a 15 - 20 minute break to get him to settle down and find ourselves a little breathing room to go our own pace.  I split off from the group at the access road to the water stop, and dismounted my whirling, spinning mount to try to settle him down.  He knew all those horses were ahead of him now, and most certainly did not want to drink, eat, or even stand still.  About 5 minutes into our planned break, a group of horses that had been behind us showed up for water (amping Rhio up all over again), and then left, but apparently got mixed up on trail and came back past us a second time.  Wow, was Rhio being ridiculous at this point - literally spinning around me like a top and occasionally trying to bite me.  Then, two of the horses passed us for a third time, being totally confused on the trail and I knew my hopes of getting him settled were completely destroyed.  He had eaten most of his snack of oats with his electrolytes mixed in (a very sticky concoction, may I just say, especially as I was feeding it to him by hand - I had electrolytes and oats in my hair, on my face and my arms, and of course splattered all over my clothing) but wasn't about to drink.  Well, I knew we had a couple of puddles plus a couple more water stops on the southbound trail, so I wasn't too worried.  I mounted up (really, that spinning of his just gives me extra momentum to get my bum into the saddle....yeah, that's it!) and we were off at a reasonably controlled pace.  We hadn't actually seen any horses for about 5 minutes and he was willing to go my pace as long as we were moving.  He took a nice long drink at a puddle, and we joined up with a 25 miler when we reached the main trail again. Rhio was so happy to have a buddy, he immediately settled down into a nice, relaxed, lovely trot and we traveled about 4 miles happy, on a loose rein, and chatting with our companion.  Ah!  Now this is the kind of ride I was hoping for...when we came upon a 50 miler who also had a very amped up horse, and Rhio immediately went back into race mode.  Oh, not fun, not fun at all!!!  We were then passed by some speedy 25 milers, and I knew it was a lost cause.  I dismounted (read: flung myself to the ground, hoping to land on my feet and keep my horse from bolting after them at the same time) and hand walked for the 3rd or 4th time so far on the first loop.  Theoretically, hand walking should be a good idea when one's horse is completely insane.  Rhio runs circles around me while "hand walking" and I am just thankful that he doesn't step on me.  He was really ridiculous on this loop, and we finished together with several other horses - which ended up working out great for the second loop.  He was pulsed down already, and Gesa (my CREW!  I had CREW!!!!  A girl could really get used to this...) was there to help.  We are used to having exit exams with the vets on all our holds, but this loop we had just a check of gut sounds and soundness right after we pulsed in, then were free to head out on the second loop when our hold time was up. 

Rhio stares in the direction he just knows all the horses have gone, leaving him behind (here we're trying to take a time out at the lake)

The mobile tack shop wasn't open yet (I guess it was still pretty early - I'd been riding for 3 hours already so felt like it was much later in the day than it was), so I asked if it might be open by the end of my hold.  I was in desperate need of a martingale!  Twenty-five miles of one's horse's head in one's lap is enough to throw thoughts of cost, availability, or color schemes right out of one's head; I didn't care how I got it or how much it cost or what color it was - I needed a martingale!  Nadine, bless her heart, came and found our campsite and brought me not only a martingale, but a beautiful, matching, turquoise martingale.  Hooray!

Rhio ate like a champ during the hold and Gesa did a stellar job of taking care of him so I could sit in my chair and take care of me.  It's hard for me to relinquish control of my horse during a ride - I feel a certain tendency toward micromanaging - but I think it was easier because she is the one that takes care of him at home.  It was also easy for Rhio to relax with her working on/around him for the same reason - which was good, because he really dislikes wearing his splint/fetlock boots to protect his legs.  He had a big scratch/scrape on the inside of his left hind leg, and so instead of wearing his usual short fetlock boot on the hinds, he was wearing a regular splint boot on that leg (which was tall enough to cover that area.)  He did not like that boot one bit, and I am sure that someone he didn't know wouldn't have been able to get his boots on or off of him (he takes a while to trust anyone, especially around his legs.)  As instructed, Gesa removed and cleaned all the boots every hold, and sponged his legs down (what an awesome crew I had!  between that and holding his dish for him to eat his oats/antacid/electrolytes, I usually have no time to sit down on a 40 minute hold.) 

Pondering how tasty the ferns are on loop two.

We headed out on the second loop with the 25 mile riders we'd finished the first loop with (they'd done 15 miles and we'd done 25 at this point).  Originally, the 75 mile plan was loop 1 - 25 miles, loop 2  -15 miles, loop 3 - 25 miles, and loop 4 - 10 miles.  This, however, would put us on the last loop as it was getting dark and in the dark - and it was the only section of trail that we only rode once for the day, on that loop (it went out the south side of camp).  Wisely, it was suggested that we change the order of loop 2 and loop 4, so that we would be doing familiar trail at the end. 

Loop 2 was a lot of fun, and Rhio was still pretty fired up and hot.  The martingale was useful - he hit it once - and I will be interested to see how it goes using it in the future.  But, mostly he settled into a nice pace with our companions, and was eating and drinking great.  At our halfway point, we were both looking and feeling really good, and had our longest hold of the day - 50 minutes.  At our first 75, back in May, I chose to stay longer in a couple holds than the prescribed time, as Rhio was resting and eating so well.  I thought a lot about what the best strategy would be on this ride, as we had a lot less daylight in September than we'd had in May and I wanted to get as many miles done before dark as possible.  But, this did mean that I didn't have the luxury to stay in camp longer on any holds - and with only 4 loops, we actually had only 3 holds and a total of 2 hours 10 minutes of hold time. 

A water stop on loop three.

Heading out for our third loop, I knew we'd be alone for the rest of the ride - another 40 miles.  Rhio really struggles with motivation when we are alone, and I worried about keeping his spirits up for the rest of the day and into the evening.  We had a note to "watch left hind" on our exit exam, and I was sure it was that unfamiliar, tall splint boot that was bugging him.  I hemmed and hawed for the first 3 miles of the loop - wanting to keep that scrape covered and wanting to keep his leg protection on "just in case" - but finally decided to pull that boot off in case he was moving asymmetrically because of it.  I never felt anything in the left hind while riding, but I felt better having removed the boot.  I'd hate to be the cause of a lameness because I was trying to prevent a problem. 

That's a pretty lonely looking trail - no one out here but us!

We set off in fairly good spirits, facing the long 25 mile loop solo.  We worked our way north to the water stop where we'd tried to "rest" on the first loop, and he was drinking like a champ, munching grass, and generally feeling pretty good (and finally calm!) though not moving out very quickly at all.  We stopped for about 10 minutes halfway through the loop, and I fed him another snack of oats and electrolytes, further sticky-ifying myself, and shared a couple granola bars with him, too.  At this point, he wanted to stop and eat, or stop and look, or stop and pretend to pee, much of the time and was clearly thinking this riding by ourselves long after we "should" have been done was a hill of beans.  Some people sing to their horses, but
I am terrible at remembering songs, so without prompting from an actual musical source, I was hopeless at singing us down the trail (perhaps next time I will pack my iPod along for long, solo loops?) - though there was no one around to hear my exceedingly mediocre singing voice.  In retrospect, I should have had Gesa drive up to the day use area where the water stop was and meet us - it would have been heartening for us both to see someone we knew, I think.  The squirrels and birds weren't much company, I'm afraid. 

Well, one of us thinks we're having fun, at least!

The first two loops had gone pretty much according to plan in terms of time, although we were a little faster on loop 1 than I'd hoped.  We did this 25 mile loop in 3 hours first thing in the morning, and I'd planned doing it in 4 hours the second time.  We completed it in 4 hours 15 minutes, so I was pretty happy with that.  Again, met by Gesa at the vet check, we pulsed right in and went off to have our hold.  Rhio ate constantly during all his holds, and I did a pretty good job of eating, too.  I am never quite sure what I will really want to eat while I ride, but chocolate chip granola bars and chocolate milk are always winners.  I also had turkey and provolone sandwiches, fruit, potato chips, hard boiled eggs, and fruit bars.  I felt pretty good all day, staying hydrated with a bottle of water and a bottle of electrolytes on every loop, plus at least one bottle of something during every hold.  My biggest complaint was chapped lips!  The saltiness of the electrolytes really wreaked havoc with my upper lip as I drank out of regular screw-cap water bottles all day.  In the future, I will use resuable sip-cap sport water bottles for my electrolytes, so that I don't have the liquid in contact with my lips so much.  Of course, I couldn't lay hands on any of my lip balms I'd brought along, but Gesa, in true self-sacrificing crew fashion, gave me hers for the rest of the ride.  You're a life saver, Gesa! 

Our vet check on our last hold found Rhio with a sore back, for the first time in several years.  I was very surprised, but we were cleared to head back out.  He doesn't like being alone, but he's never refused to leave camp and in fact we left at a trot - 15 miles left!  It was just before 6 pm, and we had until about 8:30 pm before it would be fully dark.  If we'd had a buddy, and hadn't already done the 25 mile loop alone (Rhio was feeling a little discouraged at this point), I think we could have made our goal of finishing by dark.  But, Rhio got to dictate this loop and we walked probably 70% of it.  He walked up and down every hill (have I mentioned that the entire course is hills?), and I alternated between dismounting and hand walking him (felt great to walk, my legs still had enough strength to mount repeatedly) and staying mounted.  He was actually slower when I was off him than when I was on - like he thought if I was walking, we must be done, and so there was no point in going on - let's just stand here and eat, Mom.  And I worried about putting extra stress on his back by repeatedly mounting from the ground.  I think I worried about which was the best option for the entire loop, which ended up taking us 4 hours.  We saw a barred owl, which watched us curiously from several trees, and scared the living daylights out of a couple guys walking the trail (I wondered if they were perhaps bear baiters?  Though they did not have guns with them, they stated they were looking for animals, just not expecting to see a horse - especially a white one materializing silently out of the dusk.)  We'd done the entire 15 mile fourth loop contained within the 25 mile loop, so it was our third time seeing this trail.  I'd cleared a few downed limbs on our way through on the 3rd loop, thinking about riding some of this loop in the dark, and memorized a couple of spots where we had to stay left or stay right for the best footing.  I had my headlamp along, but never used it, not wanting to disturb Rhio's night vision and truly not needing it - there were no trail intersections to worry about, and I knew Rhio knew where we were going.  I did have a single green LED on Rhio's breastcollar, which gave just a little glow down under his chest and gave me a little sense of security that I could see the trail.  It didn't seem to bother him at all to have it on.  We rode the last hour in the complete dark, after stopping at the last water stop 3 miles from camp, calling in to give a progress update, listening to a chorus of howls in the not-so-distant distance (dogs, right?  It wasn't coyotes, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't wolves, either, actually), and Rhio draining about 1/4 of the tank.  From there on, we walked.  It didn't really seem like an hour of walking to me, but I know that it was.  It was actually quite peaceful, and Rhio just kept moving forward without any prodding on my part - he wasn't going to go fast, but he was most certainly going to keep going!

A few folks met us on the last 1/4 mile stretch of single track trail into camp.  Rhio was puzzled by their presence, and spooked when they tried to walk behind us, so we sent them on ahead.  We walked into camp, and Rhio started eating as soon as his hay bag full of alfalfa was fetched for him.  Hugs all around for me and him - I don't even know who all was there congratulating us, lending a helping hand, and being supportive, but it was awesome.  I pulled his tack and dropped it right there on the ground while Gesa covered him with a cooler and the blanket she'd brought for me (I was feeling absolutely fine, fatigued but fine, at this point - all my focus was on Rhio) and Dr. Dean checked all his vitals, then asked for that one last trot.  Rhio did it willingly and we were done!  First place!  Well, yes, we didn't have any competition - but I was so proud of him that all I cared about was finishing and taking care of him.  He stood there in the vet check eating for about 20 minutes before we slowly walked back to camp.  He had a smorgasbord of grass hay, alfalfa hay, beet pulp mash, and a full water bucket at the trailer, and he didn't lift his head from eating and drinking for two hours straight.  I know because I sat in my lawn chair, wrapped in a horse blanket, with a glass of wine, and watched him for two hours straight (after I cleaned and wrapped his legs.)  Once he quit eating, we went for a short walk to loosen up and then put him to bed in his pen next to Gimi with his blankets on and crawled into the tent ourselves.  Within a few minutes, I heard him paw his hay into a nest and plop down for a rest.  Now I knew he was absolutely fine, and I fell into a deep sleep myself, Kelso snuggled close by my side. 

Gimi and Rhio go for a trail ride.

We did 75 miles yesterday!

In the morning, he and I were both a little stiff when we went for our first walk. He'd eaten another massive beet pulp mash and quite a bit of hay overnight and I unwrapped his legs and was pleased to see they looked great.  His eyes were bright and alert, and he was tossing his head watching other horses leave camp on the day's competitions.  Gesa wanted to do a little trail ride with Gimi, and Rhio's back was still quite sore, so I hopped up bareback and off we went to walk for a few miles down the trail.  I think it did us both good, actually - and then Rhio got his much-deserved massage and Gesa and I relaxed before starting the chores of packing up.  After a stop at both Fleet Farm and Dairy Queen, we made it home and I watched Rhio trot off into the pasture with his buddies.  What amazing athletes our horses are, truly. 

Beckie gives Rhio his massage.  He laid down as soon as she was done :)

Kelso and Stella playing!  Neither of these dogs plays with other dogs, so we were quite dumbfounded by this development.

I felt great after 13 hours in the saddle, but found that I had to eat about every 2 hours for the 2 days after the ride.  I also slept about 11 hours the night after we got home.  I didn't have any real soreness, just muscle fatigue and one unexplained bruise on my arm.  Rhio's back was back to normal in a few days, with some physical therapy of lunging over poles to get him to stretch it out, and today was our first ride since then - 13.5 miles in 2 hours and he felt like he was at 110%.  Unfortunately, we'll be missing the next couple of rides, but plan to try the 2 day 100 miles (50 miles each day) at Point Chaser mid-October.  

Go pony!  You are awesome! I'm so proud of you!

So proud of my boy!!!

A Workout, and An Apology

Tuesday evening - what better way to enjoy it than from the back of a good horse.  Rhio and I did a little solo hill workout and he was a sassy boy!  We went up the big hill at a trot, then instead of repeating that hill due to traffic, we did some hill sets on the gravel road, trotting up and doing schooling moves like circles, side-pass, and backing (uphill) on the way down.  Rhio "knew" we were headed home each time we were going downhill, and wasn't happy about being made to work, and behave.  We were both sweating by the time the light was fading enough to send us home. 

I love to ride with friends, and have been fortunate enough to have ample opportunities to do so this summer.  But, it does mean that sometimes I forget how great it is to be out alone with my horse.  Rhio goes alone, but not happily, and it is a stressor for him.  We need to keep practicing our solo rides to build his confidence - we used to ride alone the majority of the time, when I did not board with fellow distance enthusiasts. 

My little Rhio is a stressed out boy, despite outward appearances of calm, cool collection.  I have been struggling since winter to put just a few more pounds on him - he has been running about a 3 - 3.5 out of 9 on the body condition scale, which used to be the preferred body condition for an endurance horse.  I have never been happy with him at this score, and there is now good evidence that endurance horses with higher body condition scores (4 - 5) do better on the longer rides, as they have more reserves to draw upon.  At any rate, I have been increasing calories and mindfully giving him plenty of rest all season, without seeing much change in his condition.  Using the weight tape, which isn't entirely accurate but is a good measure of change over time, he weighed in at 874 lbs on July 22. 

After Mosquito Run (July 13-15), I realized the significance of his not-quite-licked-clean food dishes at home.  This had been routine for him for most of the summer, but when I stopped to consider this fact, I realized that this was highly abnormal for him.  His food dishes normally look like they've just come out of the dishwasher - and he offers to provide the same service to any and all available dishes that the other horses haven't quite cleaned to perfection.  I think because I'm not the one feeding him, and the change came on so insidiously, its meaning hadn't registered with me.  (Insert forehead slap here)

Rhio, my anxiety boy, is likely very prone to stomach ulcers.  They are rampant in performance horses, and even in pleasure horses with any changes in their routines.  I have not had Rhio scoped for definitive diagnosis, but I am convinced that he at least gets stomach irritation, if not outright ulcers.  When we go to rides (and I know he's stressed), I put him on an antacid supplement, but I've been letting him go without it at home.  I also switched his electrolytes this year, to Dynaspark made by Dynamite, well known, at least anecdotally, to be gentler on the stomach.  I finally put it all together, and realized that Mr. Rhio has been battling stomach issues/ulcers for much of the season.  His signs are so subtle that I'm trying not to feel guilty about missing them for the past 2 months.  Classically, horses with ulcers refuse grain and preferentially eat hay, or show colic symptoms after eating grain, or have decreased appetite/poor performance/non-specific malaise/weight loss, or even chronic mild colic symptoms.  In foals, they grind their teeth and spend time rolled up on their backs with their feet in the air (like Kelso likes to sleep).  

You may wonder, since his signs are relatively mild and perhaps could be explained by other things, why I am so sure ulcers are his issue.  Well, I started him on his antacid supplement daily and within a few days he was licking his bowl clean again.  And, today, when I measured him, he scored 904 lbs on the weight tape.  So, in less than 3 weeks of being on the supplement, he's finally gained some weight for me!  And, I noticed tonight as I was tacking up, how delightfully rumbly his gut sounds are.  One of the first things I noticed about Rhio when I bought him, different from my other horses, was how audible and active his gut sounds were - no stethoscope required.  Yet another thing which I hadn't realized had changed, but as soon as it was normal again, I thought to myself, "well, duh!"

So, Rhio, I apologize to you for being dense and not interpreting all the signals you were sending me sooner.  Mea culpa. I could tell by your sass tonight that you are feeling so much better. 

More Storm Damage

I rode Candy's horse Windsor (over 5000 career miles in competition!  Wow!) today for a little jaunt around Spirit Mountain.  The flood back in June did a lot of damage to the road and trails here, and it was an interesting tour. 

I haven't ridden an unfamiliar horse in a while, and Windsor gave me a great ride.  He is definitely taller than my boys, but I was able to mount from the ground, just barely.  Oddly enough, Spirit Mountain has significantly fewer flies than anywhere else I ride around Duluth.  I can't figure out why that would be - there is certainly plenty of low land and water.

Viewing the washed out stone bridge from Windsor's back.

Tracy on Strike and Candy on Annie

We encountered several washed out culverts, and a major obstacle in a wooden bridge which has been washed away.  Our local equestrian trails group is going to fix that wooden bridge at our August trail work day.  The road is closed from Candy's end due to the washed out stone bridge, and many areas of the road bed are reduced to a skinny single lane in the middle with deep washouts on both sides.  We still saw a few other users - a mushroom collector/dog walker (he had a mesh bag of chanterelles at his waist band - being the sister of a mycologist, I couldn't help but notice) and a couple enjoying the view from the overlook. 

Just a Sunny Saturday

You might think I haven't been riding, since I haven't been posting lately.  Actually, in between torrential downpours and city wide flooding, then broiling heat and humidity, I have been riding (some), but not writing much.  To get me back on track, here's a little post on a pretty typical training ride, riding out from home.

Saturday morning we met bright and early at 7 am to beat the heat, though it was already quite humid.  Dawn was planning to come over and ride with us, as we're preparing for Mosquito Run next weekend.  Last minute she picked up a friend, Deidre, and so as Gesa and I were ready before they were unloaded, we headed out to start the ride at a slow pace and check out the status of our short cut hill trail.  Rhio and Paco seemed happy to be heading out, and we took our time, giving Dawn and Deidre plenty of time to meet up with us (they took the shorter road route to our rendezvous.) 

Our normal route heads over about 1/2 mile of trail up a steep hill, then a mile of gravel road, then 1/2 mile down the shoulder of a county highway.  Currently, the highway is closed to through traffic because a bridge (well, really a very deep culvert) which previously carried the asphalt and vehicles over the Lester River was washed completely away in the flood, leaving a monster hole where the road used to be.  This is heaven for us, as although our horses are traffic safe, it is always more dangerous to ride near traffic than without it.  It is also heaven for the bicyclists!  We saw several groups in the 1/2 mile we traveled to get to the final gravel road section before we hit our favorite trail.  Luckily our horses are pretty good with bikes, too.

Our timing was perfect, and we met up with Dawn and Diedre just at the corner of the county highway and the gravel road.  Now a foursome, we picked up the trail and set off to see what damage it had accrued in the rains.  A little more than half of our normally accessible section (we are cut off at the northern end by bog) was in great shape, although it could stand to be mowed.  The long grass makes seeing the footing (and occasional culvert) difficult but Rhio seemed perfectly confident and set a forward pace for the group.  ATVs are not allowed on the state trail, but a few locals use this section routinely.  The environmentalist part of me wants to be annoyed, and perhaps make a stink about this.  But, the equestrian part of me appreciates that their tires help keep the trail open in the height of summer when it hasn't been mowed, and since they do not seem to be the make-huge-mud-pits type of ATVers, I am pretty content with the status quo.  I would also like to point out that when we do encounter them on the trail, they have all been more than polite.

Unfortunately, our trail did not survive the flooding on June 20/21 unscathed, and we were brought up short gazing at a 10 foot wide chasm with a rusty metal culvert laying serenely in the bottom.  There wasn't much time to ponder the sight, as the instant we slowed from a very brisk trot, we were swarmed by deer flies.  Turning around, and motivated by the threat of exsanguination via hordes of flies (and perhaps the 3 weeks of rest he's had), Rhio led us back down the trail at a forward canter, which became a hand gallop, and then perhaps a slightly-out-of-control gallop.  Somewhere Rhio has learned to jump, and we cleared several mud puddles and at least one culvert.  It was really fun, though I wasn't entirely sure he was listening to me.  I didn't hear any shouts from behind, so evidently everyone else was ok, too. (Ok, yes, this is pretty poor horse etiquette, but I knew these ladies and their horses could handle it.)  Back under control, we took a left turn and headed up to the county road works building, where we could skirt around to come out on the county highway again.  Normally we would turn around here, but with the road closed, we decided to make a loop out of it, and headed back to our earlier route via the road.  A walker and some gardeners seemed a little surprised to see us clip-clopping down their normally busy road.

Homeward bound, Rhio was still revved up and ready to go.  Our 11.1 miles in 2:17 for a 5.2 mph average pace didn't even take the edge off, and he's going to be rocking and rolling at Mosquito Run!  I better eat my Wheaties for breakfast on ride day, since we are NOT planning to race but just to ride.  Maybe I should tape this message to his stall door for constant exposure (you know, like sticking a post-it on your mirror with your dreams and goals.) 

Thank goodness Rhio didn't even think about jumping this!  It's way out of our league.

My lovely companions - Deidre, Dawn, and Gesa riding Danny, Secret, and Paco.

Not So Wet For Once! (Maplewood West 2012)

Eight years ago, I did my first ever distance ride - the 12 mile novice - at this ride with Red.  It was the start of passion probably unexplainable in words as it is now simply a part of who I am.  And so, this ride is always an anniversary of sorts, and a particular nostalgic favorite ride of mine.  I was fortunate enough this year to be able to tag along with Candy and her crew, and meet up with the North Dakota gals for camping and camaraderie.

Rhio waiting to get on the road in Candy's big trailer

We rolled into camp mid-afternoon on Friday, to warm weather, sunny skies, and the happy faces of our distance family waving, smiling, and offering greetings right and left.  After the normal flurry of activity getting camp set up and horses situated, we registered for our respective rides and settled in to wait for vetting to begin later in the afternoon.  Lynne was kind enough to set up an electric pen for Rhio next to Niso and Charlie, as well as offer space in her trailer for me.  Rhio immediately made himself comfortable, settling in for a snooze on his hay.

Yep, snoozing on the bed of hay he fashioned for himself.

Around dinner, an extremely friendly and vocal young cat appeared out of the woods, scrawny and ill kept with burrs in his tail but a purr to rival a diesel engine.  Part Siamese, and with his boy parts intact, he was either a well-traveled stray or perhaps a stowaway from a horse trailer?  He would not be the first nor the last kitty to hop into the trailer at home unnoticed and unintentionally arrive at a fair, show, or horse camp.  The little guy accepted offerings of moist dog food, and later bits of chicken, then settled into the grass nearby to hang out.  He was quite healthy despite needing some groceries and a good grooming, and several members of the group discussed adding him to their families. In the end he was delivered to one of the ride vets, and apparently spent the night sleeping on one side of her while her Corgis slept on the other.  What he didn't know was that he was destined to be neutered there on the spot on Saturday!  There are not many vets that can resist neutering a cat once he or she has got the poor unsuspecting feline in possession.  

Wondering if I'll refill his feed tub with something good.

Niso

Charlie

It always takes longer than I think to get ready for the morning and settled for the night, but eventually we all crawled into bed. A chorus of loons, owls, and frogs either annoyed or soothed us, depending on our state of mind, and fireflies flashed outside the windows as I slipped into sleep.  We were not starting until 7 am, so I did not even have to rise before the sun - what a luxury!

Around 5, I got up and fed Rhio, then got myself ready and ate some breakfast while he was eating.  Once we both finished, we headed over to Candy's trailer, where I'd left all my tack, to finish getting ready.  Rhio and I were planning to ride the 50 with Candy and Windsor, and we mounted up in the cool stillness of a foggy dawn.   Heading out on trail with the rest of the 50s, we settled in near the front of the pack and got down to the business of putting miles beneath our hooves.  Windsor and Rhio travel well together, though Windsor is a faster trotter and Rhio canters along to keep up.  This works just fine as Rhio is very efficient in his canter and easy to ride.  The first loop flew by, and we were back in camp before we knew it.  Rhio took about 10 minutes to pulse down, because he had to pee, and that put us a few minutes back from Candy's out time for the 2nd loop.  We took the horses back to the trailer for the 40 minute hold, letting them eat grass, and shed our outer layers as the day was warming up.

Foggy early morning warming up

On loop 2, Candy headed out about 5 minutes ahead of us and I thought we'd catch her pretty quickly.  Rhio and I raced along expecting to see Windsor around every bend in the trail, but it took us about 3 1/2 miles to catch up when we found them at a water stop.  From that point on, Windsor and Rhio did everything in parallel, including pulsing down at the checks and heading back out on trail.  Both horses enjoy company and knew they were buddies for the day.

Enjoying the trail together

The trails at Maplewood State Park are really lovely.  They are a mixture of shaded lanes, two-track, and single track through the dappled light of hardwood forest and sunny prairie tracks around small glacier-carved lakes and ponds.  The rolling country gives the horses a chance to change up the muscles they are using with hill climbs and descents, and nice long open spaces to canter.  Bob the photographer picked a lovely cantering spot to station himself for the day, and got lots of action shots of all the riders.  The horse trails are shared with hikers, and in fact pass by several hike-in campsites.  One of these is also a water stop, as there is pond access with decent footing, but the access is literally right in the middle of the campsite.  I hope the campers were warned about the plethora of horses coming through, and the earliness of the hour at which we began shaking the ground they were lying on with our hoofbeats!  We actually did not utilize this particular water stop on the first loop, as the way was blocked by a large camouflage "worm" lying on the ground.  I presume there was a person sleeping, or, rather, trying to sleep, inside said cocoon, but all I could think was "please don't move! please don't move!" as we walked past.  A human-size wriggling worm would certainly have put the horses into flight mode.

Water stop at the boat landing

Lest you think I leave out the unsavory details in my ride stories, Rhio and I unexpectedly parted ways at the start of the third loop, with me landing very ungracefully on the ground.  I have no idea what spooked him - we were still in camp not even to the trail head yet - but he slipped out from under me in a flash and there I was in a heap on the ground.  None the worse for my unplanned dismount, I jumped back on, hoping no one noticed, and we were off.  (I did kind of suspect that my left shoulder might be a little stiff on Sunday, since I landed on it - and those suspicions were confirmed.)  We also nearly stepped on a dead raccoon, I think on the 2nd loop.  Rhio swung out around a branch lying on the trail, and I looked down to see us passing over a smooshed dead furry something.  Later in the ride, when we passed that spot again, I confirmed that it was a raccoon.

One of our holds

Heading out on our 4th and final loop, we saw the winner of the 50 heading in and knew we would be over an hour behind him, but we were still running in 4th and 5th positions overall.  The horses kept pacing well together and we just kept covering ground without rushing or dallying.  Our nearest competitors caught us about 3 miles from the finish, and the four of us rode in together, agreeing not to race and to hold our current placing.  We crossed the finish line together, Candy and Windsor taking 4th lightweight and overall, Rhio and I taking 1st heavyweight and 5th overall, Joel and Chazzy taking 2nd heavyweight and 6th overall, and Amber (? I think?) and Harley taking 1st junior and 7th overall.  It was the first 50 for both Joel and Amber - way to go guys!  Rhio brought home our second blue ribbon ever and looked like a million bucks doing it.  I'm so proud of him!  175 competition miles in 4 days of riding at 3 rides in just 5 weeks, and he makes it seem so effortless.

Sunday morning ready to ride!

The gang (L-R): Jutta/Rolex, Donna/Gandloph, me/Rhio, Lynne/Niso, Mel/Charlie

Sunday morning dawned cloudy and threatening rain, the threat of which turned into an intermittent light rain/heavy drizzle, but we intrepid riders mounted up and headed out for a blissful group ride.  Many thanks to Lynne for lending me her bareback pad - my poor rubbed left calf had gotten a pretty good pinch by the end of 50 miles from my stirrup strap on that side - and off we went with Donna atop Jutta's mount Gandolph and Mel with regal old Charlie (he reminds me so much of Cricket!).  Rhio was raring to go, jigging on trail and edging his way forward through the group to the lead.  You might think he'd enjoy taking it easy for a change!  A short way into the ride, Jutta and Donna switched mounts, so that Donna was aboard Rolex (remember this?  http://trotthetrail.blogspot.com/2011/09/dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde.html) and we continued on until I had to dismount to get Rhio across a black plastic corrugated culvert, which we had crossed twice on Saturday, the first time with no issue and the second time with a leap and a little crowhop.  This time, faced with it, he said "No way!"  I have no idea why it was such an issue, but even with me on the ground leading him, he was awfully wary and didn't want to cross it.  Sometimes I certainly wish I knew what he was thinking!  Thankfully Mel dismounted to give me a boost back up, since mounting from the ground with a bareback pad is impossible (for me, at least).  We continued on for a several hour ride, thoroughly enjoying ourselves and each other's company.  I wish we could do this more often!

Always so happy to be on my horse!

The trip home was uneventful and included the requisite Dairy Queen stop.  I wish I didn't have to miss the next ride, this weekend at Forestville State Park.  We'll have about a month off until Mosquito Run in July.  

A Wildlife Safari (Run for the Border 2012)

Friday Dawn left her horse Secret and her trailer at the barn while she went to work in the morning, and I arrived a few hours later to finish my horse stuff packing, and to load the trailer.  It's hard to know where to put everything since we haven't taken her rig to a ride before (it's her first ride ever!), but it seemed to work out well.  Luckily we only had the two horses going, so could use the extra straight load stall in the front of the trailer for hay/water/feed and miscellaneous stuff.  Rhio got the back compartment to himself.

Gassing up before we hit the road.

After discovering that the brake controller wasn't working coming down 21st Avenue East in Duluth (um, yeah, being pushed down the hill by the trailer isn't too fun), we stopped for some fast food (side note: my first inclination was to order a strawberry shake, but I switched to caramel just in time.  The previous week I'd eaten a strawberry-banana frozen smoothie and broken out in a rash!  I guess strawberries do this sometimes?  I'd better NOT have become allergic to strawberries!!!!!  I LOVE strawberries.  But, I wasn't going to chance it on the way to a ride.) and jiggled the connection around.  Everything seemed to be working after that, so fingers crossed we proceeded to head out of town and ventured south on the interstate through the construction.  Very conveniently, the bulk of the traffic heads north on Fridays and south on Sundays (to and from the Twin Cities), so we cruised along at a decent pace and weren't too troubled by the miles and miles of single lane.

Upon arrival at St. Croix Falls, WI, we found a convenient spot to camp in the large field behind Wolf's Creek Bar, ride camp for the weekend, and unloaded the horses so they could gorge on the lush grass.  Oh, they were happy!  We set up electric pens for them, popped up the camper, and hauled some water for the vet check and camp.  After vetting in, we got things ready for the morning and walked the horses a bit before the ride meeting.  Dawn was doing her first ever ride - a 25 mile competitive.  Rhio and I were attempting the 75 miler.  I almost backed out, seeing the forecast for ride day to be nearly as hot as Friday (close to 90 - we haven't had anything above 70, and only a day or two of that, even - neither Rhio nor I is acclimated to the heat yet at all) and for thunderstorms to pop up in the afternoon.  But, I really thought this would be an ideal first 75, as the trails are moderate and the footing is pretty good.  Also, the first loop had an outcheck, so we wouldn't have to leave "home" so many times over the course of the day.

After ride meeting, we went up to the bar to have a late dinner.  Bedtime around 10 pm made for my 4 am wake up to come pretty darn quickly.  Though, I hardly sleep the night before a ride anyway, so it didn't much matter.  The pop-up pick up camper was very comfortable, and plenty of windows caught the breeze to make for pleasant sleeping.  I'm not sure what time it was that I was woken by raised voices - of course my first thought was loose horses, but in a moment I realized that it was actually a bar fight.  Oh boy.  I didn't hear any sirens, nor any gunshots, so I guess it was resolved without too much violence.

I woke up before my alarm, got dressed, and crept out of the camper with breakfast in tow.  Kelso barely opened an eyelid at me, refusing to get up.  That dog does like his creature comforts, and getting up pre-dawn isn't one of them, apparently.  I got Rhio his morning beet pulp mash, gave Secret some hay and carrots, and set about getting ready.  I never have *quite* enough time (didn't get his mane braided Friday night, so had to do that in the morning) and so was just mounting and walking down to the timer tent about a minute after the rest of the 75s started (5:30 am).  There were 6 of us, and being a little late suited me just fine.  Rhio couldn't see the horses in front of us, and we left camp quietly.  About a half mile from camp we cross a small creek - we would cross this creek 8 times over the course of our 75 miles.

Crossing the creek for the first time, 5:30 am.

In about a mile, we caught up with Sarah riding Callie, and continued on with them for the first 15 mile loop.  This was the first time I've had the opportunity to ride with Sarah and we chatted so much that we were surprised to round a bend and be right on top of the out vet check. Oops!  Rhio and I had been cantering, which is not my normal procedure for coming in to a check.  Nonetheless, Rhio dropped like a rock and was down by the time I'd gotten my in time written on my card, so we pulsed right away and went to find our pile of stuff.  I don't have a crew bag, so sent a brightly colored backpack that would be easy to spot.  I didn't send any hay, figuring he'd want grass anyway.  I had a ziploc of soaked beet pulp and oats, a dose of electrolytes, and a bunch of carrots for him.  Luckily, I'd also thrown in his riding fly mask and a bottle of fly spray.  The gnats were horrendous!!!  He was so glad to get his fly mask on, and then settled down to eating.  I had water to refill my bottles and some snacks.  I wasn't particularly hungry and I hadn't been drinking as well as I'd planned (I'd intended to finish both of my bottles on every loop - knowing it was going to be hot and I was going to be battling dehydration myself,) but I made myself eat and drink, too. At this point, only the 75s were in the check and it was peaceful (aside from the bugs).  He was calm and settled right into eating.  Soon, though, the front running 50s started showing up, and then it became too much action and commotion for Rhio.  I did get him to finish his beet pulp by carrying it around with us as we wandered.  He decided all the piles of stuff were meant for him, and wanted to sample everyone's hay and/or grain.  I had quite a time convincing him that he didn't own everything, but Rachel and her horse Beamer were nice enough to share some of their excellent hay with him (thanks, guys!).  We passed our exit vet check with flying colors, and set off alone (Sarah and Callie were delayed a bit) for the 2nd 15 mile loop back to camp.  I figured some of the fast 50s would be upon us in no time, but the first to catch us was Candy and Windsor at about the halfway mark.  We continued on with them, finishing the loop together.  The pace was fine for Rhio for a 50, but really a little too fast for my plan for doing a 75.  However, his mental/emotional state is such a challenge to manage, that I knew staying with Windsor was actually less stressful and used less energy, even at a faster pace, than holding him back would have.  We took our time in some of the sandier areas (whew! a lot deeper sand than I remember from previous years - it's been so dry) and spent some time in the Trade River sponging and drinking.  The nice little creek by camp was a great way to start getting pulses down before heading in, and photographer Bob was set up there all day.  We pulsed in right away again, and our hold was the same as the 50s, so that meant I could leave with Candy.  [wildlife spotting loops 1 and 2: deer, turkeys, yaks (actually Scottish Highland heifers, but they looked an awful lot like yaks!)]

Slurping up beet pulp mash at the out check.

I didn't do a good job of taking trail pics; this is the only spot I did, on loop 2.  

Sponging with Candy and Windsor, heading back to camp off loop 2.

Purposefully, I spent an extra 20 minutes in camp, giving Rhio an hour hold.  He was eating great, as was I, and those two reasons alone were good enough to take the extra time, but also I did not want to go out with Candy and then have to back Rhio off her pace.  It was easier to go out at our own pace ("Ride your own ride!") if we stayed in camp a bit.  Unintentionally, that also put us back on track with Sarah and Callie, so we got to ride the entire third loop (20 miles of blazing sun and unrelenting heat) together.  That was absolutely the best, as we humans kept each other's flagging spirits up (it was SO hot!) and the horses did the same.  We would have been grateful for more water and more shade on this loop, but we were right on track with what I'd kind of planned for a pace - about 3 hours for the loop. [wildlife spotting loop 3: black bear]

More sponging.

Sarah was so hot she got off in the stream. 

We were both hot when we finished up the 3rd loop, and had now done 50 miles.  It was about 1:15 pm.  Dawn, Carmen, Janet, and Deb (hopefully my fuzzy brain didn't forget anyone!) were all done with their rides if they rode that day, and they all came over to help hold Rhio, sponge, refresh our now-tepid water buckets, and clean Rhio up a bit for me while I actually sat down.  Thank you for your help.  It was wonderful to have a crew!  We rested a little longer than our 40 prescribed minutes, and Rhio was very confused when I tacked him up again and off we went.  Our first steps onto trail, and every step thereafter, were the steps taking us on our longest ride ever.  Rhio was reluctant to leave camp (by himself) and wanted to either turn and go with the horses we met headed in to camp, or hang back and wait for trail riders behind us to catch up.  I had to do a lot of persuading until we'd gone about 4 miles out of camp.  We did a lot of walking on this loop, and I handwalked him for a while as well - both to stretch my own legs and to help him out with some of the bigger hills.  We had a long, fun stretch of single track along a ridge top, which we'd done part of at the end of the 3rd loop, but the steep hill to access it was deep, deep sand, so I walked it.  Boy, was I huffing and puffing by the top!  He continued on willingly enough, but he wasn't too enthusiastic in his trotting and we slowed our overall pace quite a bit.  One more hold in camp, and we were off again on our last loop, with the prospect of finishing well before dark, which was my only real time goal for the ride.  The dark clouds were brewing on the horizon, however, and I knew it was only a matter of time before the rain and thunderstorms hit.  I hoped we'd be back at camp before they did, but no such luck.  [wildlife spotting loop 4 and 5: turkey, deer, those "yaks" again]

50 miles done, and getting ready to head out on loop 4.

Yep, another stream crossing.

Rhio was actually better about going out alone on the last loop than he had been on the fourth loop (resigned to his fate, I suppose!) and we were completely alone.  We saw one other 75 miler at the two mile marker - she was headed in and we were headed out.  Sarah and Callie were somewhere on the loop ahead of us.  Again, we walked a fair amount of this loop (and he has a slow walk, unfortunately) but his trotting was still free and easy, and he was always willing to maintain forward motion.  He grazed a lot and I knew I'd done a good job of drinking all day, as I had to get off to pee three times!  I'd been using electrolytes in my water bottles (Sustain by Melaleuca), plus drinking chocolate milk at every hold and a couple of bottles of limeade as well.  My electrolyte protocol seemed to work!  And Rhio was using new electrolytes as well - Dynaspark by Dynamite.  He did great all day - eating and drinking like a champ - and we had no issues, so I presume they worked well for him.  He is always a good drinker, but has been so-so about eating his beet pulp during rides and I have also been treating him as an ulcer-prone horse for the past 2 seasons, which has made a big difference.  He is on a pre-biotic/probiotic daily during the training and competition season (Proviable by Nutramax), and gets an antacid the day we trailer and throughout the ride (Neigh Lox by Kentucky Performance Products).  He gets a big beet pulp mash right before trailering, plus green grass if there is some, because he just will not eat hay on the trailer.  Once in camp, he gets to eat whatever he wants whenever he wants it, and I give him some alfalfa pellets as well (for calcium, which is a vital electrolyte and acts as a buffer in the stomach).

About halfway through this last loop, the thunder began to roll.  Uh oh.  It was still a ways off, and I tried to pick up our pace a bit, but Rhio was really hungry by now and insisted on stopping at every patch of good grass.  I couldn't really refuse him, so we made steady, though kind of slow, progress.  It was feeling pretty dark by now, with the clouds, although it was only about 7 pm and we had a couple hours of daylight left on a clear day.  Just as we approached the 2 mile marker, the first rain drops fell, and quickly became a downpour.  Out of nowhere, the winds kicked up, the lightning began to dance, and the thunder cracked overhead.  YIKES!  Rhio turned his rump to the onslaught and planted his feet.  We were both drenched in seconds. I was not going to win this battle of wills from the saddle, so I dismounted and started leading him.  I knew we couldn't stop because we would both get chilled, for one, and camp with food and shelter was less than 2 miles ahead.  Rhio didn't know this, though, and was sure his plan of waiting it out was much superior to my crazy plan to continue down the trail.  I was sure we were going to get hit by lightning or struck by a falling tree, and started running with Rhio in tow.  I barely noticed how tired my legs were, to be honest, as the storm was a mighty powerful motivator.  We reached the stream 1/2 mile from camp, and Rhio flat out refused to cross.  As testament to how much rain we'd gotten in just a few minutes, the water was really rushing and the depth had already come up.  I plunged straight in, hoping he'd follow, but he didn't.  I stood in the middle of the stream (I really couldn't get any wetter) and pleaded with my boy to follow me.  It felt like it took a really long time for him to decide to cross, though I'm sure in reality it was only a moment. We continued on up the trail, emerging from the woods in that funky twilight light of a thunderstorm, with rain still pelting down, and saw 2 figures emerge from somewhere dry, I presume.  I actually have no idea where they were hiding, but they brought blankets and I could have kissed them.  Thank you Lynn (ride manager) and Linda for meeting us at the finish with blankets for us both.  Rhio, in typical horse fashion, spooked at the scary blanket monsters, but then let me cover him up so he wouldn't get chilled and cramp before we could trot out.  I wrapped up as well (I hadn't even noticed that I was cold, but I was) and we led Rhio over to the tent by the vet area.  A brief attempt to get him to enter the tent failed, and Dr. Dean vetted him through right there outside the tent in the pouring rain.  His pulse was 12.  We trotted into the rain (yes, he did trot - though reluctantly) and got our completion.  I am pretty sure this was our first true test of endurance - and we passed!  Heat, bugs, deep sand, rain, wind, a raging thunderstorm, and 75 miles, in about 11 hours of saddle time (official time will be more due to the extra time I took in camp at a couple holds) and about 14 hours of clock time, with the last 25 miles done completely solo.  I can't express how proud I am of us both, but especially of my little horse Rhio.  It was a tougher 75 than I'd planned, and we still conquered!

We got back to the trailer and found a couple flakes of Rachel's fabulous hay, which Rhio had so loved at the out check all those hours previous, waiting for him by his water bucket.  He dove in with gusto (thank you Rachel!) and I made up a mash for him while someone (Linda? I'm not sure, actually) helped untack and get him settled for a bit.  I left him at the trailer, still covered in the warm blankets we'd been wrapped in upon finishing, so I could see him out the camper window.  I peeled off my wet clothes, climbed into dry ones, and sat so I could see him out the window while I ate a ham sandwich, polished off most of the rest of my half gallon of chocolate milk, and probably babbled somewhat incoherently to Dawn about the day.  About 45 minutes later, the rain let up and we went out to check Rhio.  He was great, having eaten all the hay and most of his mash, and was warm under the blankets.  I cleaned up his legs and, by the light of Dawn's headlamp, applied poultice and wraps.  I switched him to his rain sheet for the night, and we walked both horses.  He was grazing like crazy and moving easily.  Snuggled into their pens for the night with oodles of hay, both horses seemed content despite the rain.  And rain it did - all night long.  We were snug and mostly dry in the camper (damp from bringing wet things in with us, and wet Kelso sharing my bed) and I slept well.  No bar fights this night, and a more reasonable wake-up time of 5 am so that I could take care of Rhio in the morning before vetting started at 6 am.  Yes, indeed, I was vetting the ride on Sunday...glutton for punishment that I am.

I rolled out of bed feeling remarkably well the next morning, and Rhio seemed well also.  I unwrapped his legs and took him for a walk - he was a little pokey walking around camp - then made him up another mash before stepping into vet duties for the day.  Beckie the equine massage therapist (and new distance rider) came in the morning, and Rhio was her first patient.  I wasn't able to stay to watch his massage, but he obviously quite enjoyed it.  She said he wouldn't let her leave his pen when she was through, and a little bit later I caught him curled up napping.  The right side of his neck was stiff (a chronic issue for him and probably unrelated to the ride, actually) and he had a little soreness around his girth.  Otherwise, she didn't find any issues!

Napping after his massage.

It was chilly and rainy all day, and a few riders had trouble with cold, shivering horses.  The temperature had gone from 90 Friday and Saturday to about 50 on Sunday, and they were wet.  It was pretty much a recipe for disaster, but we didn't have to treat anybody.  Dawn and I hoisted wet gear wherever it would fit, breaking camp in record time, and loaded up for the ride home.  Both horses travelled home in their rain sheets, and probably I could have put Rhio's thin polarfleece cooler on him as well.  He was stiff coming out of the trailer, and didn't trot off into the pasture with his normal head flip, plus I noticed some swelling in his right front.  He was sound, though, and grazed lawn grass for an hour, then took himself off on a walk-about into the woods beside the pasture (this is why he is generally NOT allowed to free graze - he had a halter and lead on but you would have thought after 75 miles and the trailer ride home, he wouldn't have wandered off.... but nope).  He was easily caught, after bushwhacking through to him, and promptly confined to his stall to eat his evening meal before being turned out with the herd.  Silly boy - never to be trusted. After hanging up all my wet stuff, I headed home, stopping at the grocery store for a roasted chicken on the way.  Once home, I crawled under a blanket on the couch, watched the season finale of Grimm on the DVR, and proceeded to eat almost half the chicken with my fingers, too tired even for a knife and fork.  Now that the euphoria of finishing was beginning to wear off, I was hungry!

Monday morning, after a nice long sleep-in (I'd taken the day off), I headed out to the barn to check on my boy.  He looked amazing, was totally sound, sassy, and begging to be allowed to eat lawn grass.  Of course I let him, but this time with my hand on his lead rope.  I pulled up a lawn chair and sat admiring him while he munched, until Gesa came home and we tacked up for a ride.  Yes, you read that right - on Monday afternoon I wanted nothing more than to get on a horse!  I took Red and used the bareback pad, and we did a nice slow walking trail ride - Gimi's second ever trail ride in his young life.  He was a champ, and Red was a good babysitter.  It felt great to ride, and loosened me up.  I have one rub on my left calf, and my hips and ribs were a little sore, but otherwise I feel great.

"Got anything for me?" (on Monday at home)

Yummy lawn grass! (on Monday at home)

Things I learned doing a 75:  10 pounds of carrots is not overkill, Rhio ate almost all of them; put his interference boots on him for anything more than 50 miles as he banged himself a little bit when he got tired; a buddy is great for motivation but we *can* do it alone - I think this may have been the first time we've ever ridden solo at an endurance ride; get off and walk - it feels great to both of us; take my helmet off when I'm hand walking and it's hot - I'll feel much cooler; follow my gut - if it says stay in camp a little longer for whatever reason, do it, there's plenty of time to finish; let my crew help me and my horse; and, take the rump rug along on the last loop or any loop nearing evening because you can't keep your horse warm if you don't have it along.