conversations with major: santa who

Let's go for a walk Major, we're burning daylight!
Yeah, I like this new plan!
What plan is that?
Walking every day, eating grass, getting my mash, sleep, repeat.
Well, eventally you'll do a little more than that.
Why?
Well, the Solstice is almost here.
WHERE?! I can't see it!
No, it's tomorrow. A day to celebrate the changing season, daylight is returning, and, well, the world may end.
OK.
What, just OK?
Sure. Do I still get my mash?
Yes.
Then OK.

Another grazing day, another grazing day.
Stop dancing. You have to get a hoof trim. Stand still.
Boring. Oh, some horsey crack, yum!
Yes, here is some alfalfa, now stand nicely.
OK, no problem!

Trim is done, now we can go for a quick walk.
Let's keep walking and eating, it's a beautiful day!
I know, and I totally want to ride, but I haven't bought a single gift, and I took the day off work to go shopping.
Riding?
No, shopping.
Boring. Let's go explore.
I can't, maybe Santa will get you something.
Who is this Santa?

Only extra special good horses get presents from Santa.
I'm extra special.
Oh you're special all right. I said good, too.
I'm good.
Oh really.
Yeah, good at eating.
Well, that's true, but you weren't very good on our last ride.
Yes I was, I ate a good mash.
Remember before that?
Nope.
When we rode to Avery Pond with Ziggy?
Oh yeah, I hate that guy.
You do not.
I DO. He is really annoying.
And you aren't? I seem to remember you being so silly coming home in the lead that Ziggy had to be in front with good behavior.
Well I remember that my mash had grass hay pellets, yum!
Sigh...

Mom? You said something about a present.
Yeah, from Santa. You get stuff from me all the time.
Who is this Santa guy?
He brings presents to good creatures.
How do I know it's him and not Chris, the feed guy? He brings me yummy stuff too. I like him. He calls me Major D. I'm a rap star.
Well, Santa wears a red suit and hat, and a big belt, and black boots and is fat with a beard, and laughs "ho, ho, ho!"
Sounds scary. Like a clown.
He's not a clown. Clowns are scary, Santa is not scary. Oh wait, he kind-of is...

WEEEEE! weeeee!
You're pretty full of it Major, be good.
I'm tired of being in my pasture, I want to run around on the trails!
You can run around in your pasture.
It's not the same.
Hopefully soon, but it's getting dark, I need to go home, see my other spoiled creature.
Oh yeah, the cat. You let HER get away with everything.
She is cute, and tiny. You are obnoxious, and big.
But cute.
You're just too much, Major.
Too much? I can never get too much, I love grass.
Sigh...

Thomas kitty helping lick the beaters, the best part. Don't worry, they get washed well!

One last bite.
It's very dark, your dinner will be served. The mash is waiting.
It can wait, this is delicious.
I know, but let's go back and wait for Santa.
When is he coming?
In a few days, be a good boy.
I am.
I know.

cardiac hill

I've hiked Cardiac Hill many times, but I've never ridden it. And B and Ziggy had never done it. And it is part if the American River ride, so we figured it would be good to practice.

boarder's visiting granddaughter painted up Major, I think it's awesome!

good thing he's pretty, because he couldn't figure out how to get the carrot out (lift your head!)

I didn't want a really fast ride, as we were adding miles, and I like to do one or the other (add distance or speed, not both). So we headed out down the road, and trotted along. Met quite a few hikers and runners, and were soon indebted to them.

We got to Mormon Ravine, and it was rushing. Major already thinks it is the bridge of death, and the torrent below wasn't helping. The electric company uses this output to generate power, and the water always fluctuates. They must be pumping water from upriver and funneling it through this power station. Major wasn't going across. And Ziggy got partway and then backed up once he hit the middle and looked down. And we tried again. They were truly scared. And I wasn't getting off, last time I tried that Major forgot I was there and almost ran me over!

Right then a runner came along. Major likes to follow my SO, so the runner was partway across and I used that momentum and both Major and Ziggy were across the bridge! We would have gotten there eventually, but it was nice to use the runner as a training tool!

drop off to the river

sandbar not usually seen except this dry year

After that is was just trot trot trot to Auburn. The river is really low still, sandbars and cliffs. Then you get to Cardiac Hill. The sign says "steep." Hah! At first it isn't bad, but I told B just wait. And soon it is switchbacks and rocks. One close tree caught my knee, ouch! And I got off and walked, Major puffing behind me. It is about 1100 feet of elevation change, we walked it in 20 minutes. Tough, but both horses were fine, used to tough rocky trails.

the ears are questioning my trail choice at the bottom of Cardiac Hill

At the top of the hill, 1100 feet down is the river

At the top, but still a couple miles to the Auburn staging area. We went through a very muddy area, and after that I lost a boot. Damn. Close enough to the staging area I just took them both off. At the staging area both horses drank from the stone trough, though Major was more interested in the grass. I was interested in my sandwich, and we all relaxed a bit.

grass near my helmet is the most delcious

But shortly it was time to head back. Put the boots back on, and we took the Cardiac Bypass trail back down, and stayed on the abandoned road for part too. A long walk down, but easier than Cardiac Hill!

going home, halfway down the bypass an awesome view

The horses sure knew we were going home. Once on the better footing of the main trail, we trotted along. We did have a tangle when four other horses came along the singletrack. Cliff on one side, drop off the other, no where to go. We turned and found a gully I backed Major into. Somehow we all squeezed by.

Moving right along, then Ziggy's boot broke. We both have different kinds of boots, but obviously no boot is perfect! It wasn't fixable, but B had to get off and on a couple times, never fun on a cliff!

bridge of death just ahead

But the horses were so happy to be going home, we didn't worry about crossing Mormon Ravine bridge. Till we got there. Both horses took one look and said no way! Even though home was on the other side! Again, we thought we'd work them through it. And again before we could worry much about it came a group of hikers! Conveniently we followed them across, Major a little too close, but everyone was safe on the other side, and we continued on.

Major was pulling and pulling for home, and I would have loved to do more miles for that behavior, but I was done. So both horses pranced up the road, looking none the worse for wear, while the riders probably looked dirty and tired!

The weather had been iffy all day, and it was too cold to hose him off, so Major just got the worst of the sweat sponged off, and some good mash. And took another great big drink. 25 miles, tough trail, horse still chipper: he may actually be an endurance horse. Me? I went home and fell asleep on the sofa watching TV!

trouble

A gorgeous day. Gone were the clouds and cold from earlier in the week. Maybe we should have known it was too perfect and would spell trouble.

Major was heading out with his nemesis, Ziggy (though I quite like his owner B!) I think Ziggy really doesn't care, but Major remembers putting up with all his sh*t when Ziggy was learning, and just doesn't like him. Too bad, deal with it, right? So the trip started with a lot of crabby ears.

They were raring to go. We headed out, deciding which way to go, and chose towards Avery Pond. In the first couple miles Ziggy tried to double-barrel Major going down a small incline! We were too far back to worry much, though I still hate seeing those feet come flying in the air, head high (of course many feet away but they look closer!)

Go-Go-GO went the horses. Try to slow-slow-slow went the humans. And the battle continued. We also kept meeting runners and hikers, many of whom mentioned a tree down. We thought we'd assess that situation when we got to it. A pair of riders said the tree was down and couldn't be gone around, again, we'd deal with it when we got there. Then we got there. It looked like a pretty big tree, but some hikers were trying to roll it off the trail. The tree was swinging and swaying, people were talking and yelling, and then it just crashed over the edge of the cliff! Ziggy was having no part of that, and turned to run the other direction. Only problem was Major was in the way, so Major thought that must be a good idea too (though he hadn't reacted at first). Only a couple strides, got them both stopped, and calmed enough to walk past. Well, Major did the leading now. Past the scary big backpacks of the great scout troop that cleared the trail, we thanked them profusely and continued on,

Eventually we got nice controlled trots out of everyone, but and then slowed to a sedate walk to cross a bridge. And DOWN went Ziggy! It happened so fast I didn't even see it all. Major and I hadn't started onto the bridge yet, but Ziggy went down on his side, B hanging on to the railing, then lurched himself back up, B still on! We all stood in shock. I crossed the bridge, looked them both over, couldn't see anything, and tried to figure it out.

The bridge is in the shade, maybe it was slippery? Didn't seem wet though. Ziggy had been walking nicely, not jigging, boots in front and bare behind. After B composed herself, we walked on, Ziggy seemed ok, but we were all a bit shaken. What could we have done differently? Nothing. That is hard, because we always analyze everything that happens, but this time? Nothing we could think of.

We continued on to the pond, Ziggy very wary of all the bridges now. We got to the trough right before the pond, and neither horse wanted to drink. And Ziggy also decided he wanted nothing to do with continuing on, and decided to throw a fit. It wasn't about the next bridge, he just did not appreciate B telling him what to do. So after a bit of nice riding and correction, we finally got to Avery Pond.

Oh, but not before I fell in the trough! OK, that part was funny at least. Using the rock trough edge is a great way to get back on your tall horse, unless you are paying attention to the other rider's issues and step directly into the trough. Squishy wet sneaker, sock, pants and chap, at least it wasn't cold out!

At the pond, we were tired. We'd only gone 7 miles, but all the events were just a lot. Major calms right down and doesn't hold onto anxiety, whereas Ziggy was a sweaty mess. Ziggy also had a cut on his stifle (from his hind hoof, the bridge? not sure), so we rested a bit, the horses ate some grass, and we decided to call it a day and head back.

a calmer moment at Avery Pond

The horses were up for that! But we were careful going home. B realized she was holding her breath across all the bridges, which doesn't help calm your horse, and I had a challenge holding back Major, who wanted to canter (I don't think so) but we mostly trotted (though Ziggy in his anxiety thought he had to canter to keep up.) Major finally got his nice power-walk going home, and did drink well at the final trough. I just breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to the home stretch, got off the horses, loosened the girth, took out his bit, and let Major eat some grass.

Back home, Ziggy's injury looked superficial, thank goodness. It was warm enough for a quick bath and when I turned Major out he ran off, dropped and rolled (in the grass, but on the poop, of course) and then proceeded to gallop about the pasture a bit. Not tired!

I was! What a ride. I'll take uneventful any day. My old riding instructor used to say something like horses were "hours of riding punctuated by moments of sheer terror." Redheaded Endurance also had a scary ride experience this week. Everyone be careful out there!

double ride

After last week's adventures in speed, I wanted to take is slower, but still put in some miles. My friend B and her horse Ziggy were up to the test. We wanted to do a mini endurance ride, coming back home halfway through and then heading back out.

Major did not seem to annoyed with Ziggy along, who is often his archenemy. They both headed up the trail, and jauntily trotted towards Rattlesnake Bar. Perfect weather, not too cold, no dust, lake view. The park is closed to vehicles, so we tried to get a good canter on the dirt roads. Both Major and Ziggy know that we often turn around here, so they were a bit sluggish, but we kept going, and they relented. Coming around the corner, there is a large yellow caution sign, warning boaters of stuff. Ziggy saw it as we passed and gave a huge spook into the road! B managed to keep her seat, she was happy to have boots on when she landed on the asphalt, and then manged to crack a joke: obviously Ziggy can read, and the sign meant "Imminent Danger! Must run now!" It is always good to laugh when your adrenaline is going!

The ride back was less eventful, even though we took them the "wrong" way home: they were very good at pointing out when we kept missing the turns back to the barn. Back home we untacked, gave them a drink and wet mash snack, ate some lunch, and headed back out.

Going back up the road Major seemed pretty chipper, but Ziggy was dragging, He does use up quite bit of energy worrying about the horse in front, the speed, the scary stuff...but we hit the forest and both horses just shut down. We used all of our riding skills just to keep them walking a reasonable pace, they soooo did not want to go out again! They were just dragging down the trails, we both needed a crop! I thought the lake trail would perk them up, so we hit the sand and headed for Granite Bay. Major was in front, trotting along, when he sidestepped, threw on the brakes, and declared himself done. I don't think so! We continued and got to Beeks Bight, where we had to decide: continue on or head back. Both horses were being so good, none of the misbehavior I had last week, so we headed back. Ziggy was in front and didn't know where were were, so he didn't think we were going home. Major knew, but kept it to himself in the back!

We eventually cut down to the lower trail, Major took the lead back along the lake, and he certainly knew where we were! We took a cutoff from the lake trail into a very unused access to Pioneer Express trail, and then back into the forest. Major did the strange sidestepping thing one more time, I think he just didn't want Ziggy behind him. No kicking at Ziggy this time, very good behavior, but he will need to get used to someone back there! He is fine with most others, it is so hard to figure out their quirks.

The ride back was good, because both horses were pretty tired. The mileage wasn't too high, but the Pioneer Express trail is pretty taxing, with lots of up and down and rocks and dropoffs and bridges for them to think about. They were so good they got another snack and a good currying. Back in his paddock, Major was more interested in his leftover breakfast (I don't know how he could still be hungry!) than me, but I told him what a good boy he was today, and hid some carrots in his salt bucket.

All in all a fun adventure, though I know nothing like a real LD, still good practice and something different. And now I know for that second ride from home I need to carry a crop!

(final) friday ride

As summer winds down, work picks up, and no more Fridays off. Damn, because Friday rides this year have been great!

Major didn't think this Friday was going to be that fun, he had to go out with the dreaded Ziggy. This is the only horse so far that Major just doesn't like. But I like Ziggy's owner, and Major can deal with it, so we headed down past Granite Bay.

Now Ziggy's last ride was the Patriot's 50 mile endurance race, where he came in 13th. He was pretty ready to go today, but so was Major. Once on the trails we moved pretty quickly, though our average speed really suffers from all the slowing over rocks, technical single track and elevation. We still flew down the trail, Major usually in front being the braver "younger brother" as we call him. At Granite Bay both horses played in the water trough, Major doing his snorkeling impression, and we continued on.

After another mile or so of trotting there is a great fun hill. I led the charge in a full gallop, and we reached the top and took a break. Both horses calmed right down, taking in the view, barely breathing hard at all. We walked down the other side, onto a sandy beach. Major waded right in, and just stood, watching the jet skis on the lake, the lapping waves. He would be content to just stand and take in the view.


We began to head home, moving out pretty fast on a nice sandy trail. And Major was bad! He kicked out a Ziggy at a full canter. Ziggy wasn't that close, it was completely unnecessary, and never acceptable! After a reprimand we continued on, and Major behaved himself but Ziggy was losing it. Front or back, at any gait he was not listening. Finally we stopped and stood awhile. Major calmly stood, but Ziggy danced and pranced, being naughty. So his mom decided to turn around and do more work, I offered to do whatever necessary, but she wanted to school alone (which I totally understand). Major and I turned around, and without a glance back headed off.

A well deserved snack after the ride

Major truly didn't think twice about leaving Ziggy, though I was concerned for my friend. Major was glad to be alone, and we trotted home, moving faster now, really reaching out and extending. And then we were close to home, and walked slowly up the road, getting a good drink from the trough. I took the sweaty saddle off, took off his boots (none came off this trip!), and even hosed off his bridle and reins. After a good bath, I turned Major out in the arena to roll. But lately he has been more interested in snacking on the weeds. I was worrying about him not rolling. Was something hurting him? I put him back in his pasture, where he dropped to the dirt and flopped around, coating himself nicely in mud. No nice arena sand, just mud. Lovely. It still made me smile.

P.S.: My friend arrived back, more frustrated than ever with Ziggy. I've been there, most of us have been there, so I truly sympathize with her. She hasn't had him long, so hopefully it will be time and miles, nothing you can rush.


P.S. #2: I brought home my disgusting girth: wet, sweaty, dirty with burrs. I put it on the patio to hose off, and my cat Thomas thought it was a delightful new thing to roll on. It kept her entertained and she even took a nap with the girth as a pillow. What is with these creatures?