Tahoe Rim blues

So where did this go wrong?

I've been in a bit of a funk since my Tahoe Rim pull. My last pull (Wild West) was my own boot gluing failure. That I can live with. This time I actually broke my horse. And was the only pull.

While he doesn't show any lameness now (and was fine a few hours after the pull), I do want to give him a few weeks off and do a longer ride to see if there is actually a problem. He was also not done at the ride, pulsing in immediately, all As…except for gait. Damn. Then we had to wait a long time (understandably, it's a hard-to-access vet check) and Major was NOT happy that we were not moving down the trail. Spinning, calling, I just tied him to a tree and let him dance around...for hours. (Hopefully if his leg was injured he didn't do any more to it!)

Where are my friends? If I keep calling maybe someone will answer!

Where did they go? I'm ready, I'm ready!

I am second-guessing everything: Is this from my minimal training lately? We hadn't done more than 12 miles at a time, maybe more miles would have brought up this issue (whatever is it/was)? Or was there just a rock with our name on it?

Don't laugh at my sideburns, I get halter rubs. Call me "Wolverine."

It also doesn't help that I came back to chaos at work. And fire burning down the canyons. My brain is tired and full.

So I'll reevaluate later. For now something a little different. Saturday I am taking a friend who has never even seen a horse up close to meet Major. He better be on his best behavior! I don't think he's the type to give pony rides on, but he likes to be brushed and likes apples, which should be enough for both of us.

onward...another day.

Wild West 2013: not as planned

Life, lemons, right? This weekend was a bit of that. But all's well that ends (mostly) well...

Pre-ride, sun dappled trail

A pre-ride on Thursday afternoon (after vetting all As) was uneventful. But reminded me again how gorgeous these trails are! Major's buddy Friday (and my friend C) were here to try the 30, together the horses were happy. I was nervous (but eating!) and ready for Friday morning.

I woke all night every time Major rocked the trailer, but at 7am was on my spazzy, dancing horse. Headed out towards the back of the back, but pranced our way past people. Finally I just had to let him move out or risk worse behavior. Major cranked it up into extreme trot mode, and stayed there for about an hour. We were flying, and it was perfect. He was bad about wanting to catch the next horse on the trail, and we worked on that a bit, but always within trot parameters. 

The first loop was a 30-mile out of camp and back. Long first loop! And crazy varied terrain. My least favorite had to be the singletrack through tight pines, ducking to avoid branches, swerving to avoid hitting your knees, with the footing being fine silty dirt and fist-sized rocks. Fun! He wouldn't drink at the first stop as we began traveling down the long hill to Scott's Flat Lake. We did this at a moderate trot, but then came the uphill. 

Major is totally an uphill horse. We powered up that hill, all dirt road, I was amazed. He would try to break into canter, but I didn't let that last long. We were in a nice bubble by ourselves. He drank a bit at the top, now we headed for home. 

the only ride photo I took, rockin' the braids!

No slacking of pace, no bad steps, just a machine. Funder was right, without much conditioning he was still crazy strong. We covered the first loop in three hours. We were at pulse when we came into the hold, which was an hour. 

Back at the trailer Major was a bit worried that his friend Friday was leaving (for the 30 mile second loop). But still managed to eat and drink. I'd been shoving him full of mash: he seems to have almost bottomless capacity for it!

Walking to the vet I had my SO trot him out: something looked wrong. At the vet Major got all As, dancing around I had to work on naughty behavior. But from the first step of trot-out I knew: we were done. 

I had the vet do a close inspection. No swelling, no heat, no soreness, no flinching. Looked like the hoof. Under my glue-on boots. Damn! (Insert stronger 4-letter word here)

Back at the trailer Major was awful. He wasn't convinced he was done, and was totally fired up, ready to finish this ride! He knew we hadn't gone far enough yet! He pranced around on his hi-tie, and also fretted for his boyfriend Friday, I fretted a bit but honestly couldn't do much at that point. We waited till Major stopped dancing around, and very patient SO pried off his really well-glued-on boots. There was a tiny lump of the glue under the sole. Could that have made my princess and the pea horse sore? Could be. Or did he whack a rock or step wrong? Hard to tell. 

No sense hurrying, but I wanted a vet to look at him again. About 5pm I had the same vet check him over. 98% improvement! But not perfect. I was done for the weekend. 

I could have taken him to a different vet, who might not even notice if I didn't point it out. But I have one horse. I had broken him and felt bad. And I'm not willing to hit the trail with less than 100%, or more. In hindsight should I not have glued? Maybe, but I'm not much into second-guessing. 

I'm in this for fun. As stressful as it is, it is fun in the end. I'm not chasing points. I don't have a mileage goal. I just want to ride my horse, and sometimes challenge ourselves. And when I can't, I'll regroup and go home. I have trail rides and camping and another endurance ride planned for later this summer, I want Major to be healthy for all that. 

Being in camp you see everything that is going on. And my pull seemed minuscule compared to the day's eventful happenings:

• In the morning a horse tried to follow his buddy down the trail, while still in his corral! Managed to drag it at least 30 feet, getting caught up with a folding chair, before he was stopped. No major damage, but scary!

• My friend's horse was pulled for metabolic and needed to be treated. She was also awaiting word if her first grandchild was coming into the world.

• Man fell off his horse and got a very bad concussion. His friends put him back on and brought him back (how else do you do it out on trail alone?) Rescue helicopter was buzzing around, but I heard he chose to go home. 

• (not for the squeamish) Man was dismounting when his rein looped around his thumb, horse pulled, first joint of thumb popped off! Man got into camp and the ride director got him a ride to the hospital. (There is no cell service at camp, honestly faster to drive someone to help rather than wait for an ambulance.) My friend C's husband found the missing digit, which was put on ice and delivered to the hospital. Man and digit were flown to San Francisco for surgery. 

See the excitement you miss when on the trail?! More than I need, thank you! Perspective: things could be worse! 

We relaxed all evening, took the horses for walks, stayed up late on the longest day of the year with a big glorious moon. This morning got packed up and headed home, where shiny happy Major promptly rolled in his pasture, trotted around head flinging, cantered to check on his food situation, and trotted over to his water trough. 

I'll keep an eye on him this week, trot him out, watch for bruising and anything else. Disappointing, but I'm ok with all of it. I want a decade horse, I know we'll have some bumps in the road, this should be a small one. 

Baylor/Gore photography

But I do love Wild West, and the beautiful trails. I hope to be back next year. 

ready?

As ready as I can be for Wild West. Trailer is packed. Horse looks ready (though we haven't done much training lately, he should be maintaining fitness, right...?!). Boots are glued...

Yes, I attempted to glue on boots. I managed to take exactly one photo before I started. After that things were a little sticky. Literally. There was epoxy, rubber gloves, paper towels, rags, sandpaper and tools all in one sticky mess. But they're on. Will they stay on with a rookie installation? I'll see (and carry back up strap-on boots!)

I am going to just chill, and eat, and try not to worry. I do not HAVE to do anything. I would LIKE to do two 50s. I am entered for both days on these familiar trails. Tack has been working. I will try to remember to take it minute by minute. And eat.

I have every snack I have ever liked. And some I don't. Then more on top of that. Major has good snacks too, including crack alfalfa, some sweet feed topper, and many many apples and carrots. He got one apple early. Love apple face!

I could laugh or stress. I'm going to try laughing, as my fingers are still sticking to the keyboard...

Lake Sonoma 50—2012

Major rockin' the trail! Baylor-Gore Photography.

To save you the trouble, we completed! Following is an overly long post with too many photos...

waiting for his buddy Friday

Major was loaded in the trailer and ready to pick up Friday and C at 8:30 am. Then a long (for me, three hours) drive to Healdsburg. But I was going home! I grew up in the area, spent many winter days up out of the fog at Lake Sonoma. A little fog on the way there, but blue skies and gorgeous weather when we arrived at Ridecamp.

another trailer ahead, and a fog bank

gorgeous weather in Healdsburg

settling in to ridecamp

We tucked the truck and trailer over on a side, so we could use the high-tie on the trailer for Major and the ones provided for Friday. There were many rigs still to come, and soon the lot would be more than full!

What are we doing here?

Major was completely unconcerned about all the goings-on, and was happy with a full bag of hay. Vetting was simple, no issues, as we went for a short warm-up ride.

Quick, easy vetting

warm up ride on the red loop

ridecamp filling up quickly

Dark comes too quickly this time of year, but the bed in the back of the truck was super comfy. The horses got light blankets, and I crawled into bed totally early. The ride managers had changed the start time from 6:30 to 7:30, which was MUCH better!

starting at dark-thirty

So onto the real story: the ride! There were three loops for the 50. Blue, then red, then blue again. I started a bit late, wanting the fast people out ahead. It was a tough start, only because it went downhill for at least a mile, and not a gradual downhill, but pretty steep. So I needed to keep Major pretty well contained, and he listened OK, but it would have been nice to let him move out a bit. Luckily there was no big misbehavior, but I saw plenty of bucking and people walking down the hill.

And on we went. Major was fresh but listening, when I stuck him behind a group of three other riders. They were moving out nicely, but then slowed too much, so we took the opportunity and passed. We came to a good uphill climb, Major's favorite, and powered up. I knew late in the day that climb would be much harder! There were more than 90 riders, and never did a find a nice pocket for myself. I really would have liked to, especially on the first loop. I didn't want to go too fast, but was often stuck behind people going a bit slower on single-track. Major wasn't really able to move at a good pace for him. He was a little frustrated, but totally behaving, so I give him extra credit. I do think it is hard if Major can't move at a "normal" pace for him, because it uses different muscles, he wasn't quite able to stretch out. I saw most of the trail from behind someone, which isn't my ideal situation, but you take what you can! There was one section with lots of ribbons missing, everyone was milling around, and it became quite a mess. Luckily some riders who had been before thought the trail went one direction, and I decided to follow them. We finally saw another ribbon, but it was quite confusing.

We came into the first vet check strong. And too hot. It took us a bit to cool down (10 minutes, too long), but then we pulsed just fine. Our hydration scores were B's, which the vet was OK with, as we got an overall A. It was hot out (75 degrees, in November!) and lots of horses were already having problems. Just a half-hour hold, where Major worried about his buddy Friday (doing the 25) and didn't eat as well as he could have.

sparkly water

But out onto the red loop we went. I found a more compatible rider, and had a nice time. This loop wasn't quite as steep, and had lovely views. A couple of slower downhills I even managed to take a couple photos, but not of the cool, winding trail through madrone, oak and bay forest. It smelled so good!

nice views along the way

Red loop went by quickly, and we were back for our one-hour hold. Major found a bucket of apples and ate a few, while again my awesome crew/SO helped sponge. I pulsed in and vetted fairly quickly, the vet was happy with Major's pulse of 52, but B again on hydration (everything else A).

Just a few, but boy are they delicious!

This hold Major managed to drink and eat some hay. He wasn't interested in his mash, but enjoyed some apples and carrots. A veritable smorgasbord was in front of him, while I ate a peanut butter and jelly and chocolate milk.

Major is NOT thrilled to be leaving camp! Look at those crabby ears!

Too soon we headed out, blue loop again. Major wasn't too happy to leave the trailers again, but he grudgingly left. He perked up nicely when we were on our way, and we went along for awhile with the rider from the second loop (I'm terrible with names, sorry!). We passed them up on hills, and got caught on the downhills. On one big downhill I got off and hiked for a bit, which gave us both a break!

blurry, cool redwood grove, I was getting tired, maybe it really looked like this

still looking pretty happy halfway through the final blue loop

Major was getting tired towards the end. I had no lagging this ride, but he was just tired. He drank well at the few troughs, and still wanted to trot the hills. About five miles from the end I did lose a wet, muddy boot. The guy behind me noticed, and I just popped it back on. We were taking it easy, but then we passed a couple people, Major found another gear, and we headed into the archery range region with plenty of energy.

archery range trail

I tried to get him to drink before the finish, but he knew we were just a few hundred feet away. So we trotted up the hill, and we were done! He seemed pretty strong, so I went to the trailer, where his friend Friday was waiting (who had successfully done his second 25-mile LD, at 19 years old!). Major was much happier, and ate mash, and hay, and drank. Crew/SO was awesome, and took off tack and sponged my sweaty horse. I had an hour to vet, but Major seemed good, so led him over to vetting.

Coming up to the finish (shadow of my crew/SO/photographer!)

Where everything was A! Taking it easy and drinking on the final loop had brought his hydration up, and he still had plenty of impulsion. I was happy to be middle-of-the pack (they said 51st) and not to have any issues. There were quite a few horses who were being treated for tie-ups, and also some heart-rates that wouldn't come down. I think the unseasonable heat, even with horses who were clipped, was just a lot to handle for some horses.

final vetting, all A's!

It was about 4pm, and there was no dinner or awards. Many people packed up and went home, but I wanted to let Major rest, and didn't want to drive home three hours in the dark with a horse who just did 50 miles. Since Major and Friday were relaxed in camp, staying was the best option. We had plenty of company, interesting that most of the larger rigs left, and it was more people with two-horse trailers and trucks who stayed.

sunset over ridecamp

The best part after the ride: a shower! Wonderful SO boils a pot of water, we add it to a cool bucket. Sweep out the back of the horse trailer, put down a clean towel, and wash away. Feels great to be clean. Again crawled into bed pretty early, I think we stayed up till 8:30, woohoo! The horses were super quiet all night, as were we!

The horses looked good in the morning. Major had a tiny bit of filing, but that is his normal after standing around (even at home if he is confined at all). C and I packed the horse stuff, SO packed the human stuff, and we were on the road by 9am.

We're ready to go home now!

It seemed like a long drive back, but we were just all tired. Back home Major did exactly what I expected: trotted up the hill, rolled and drank his "own" water, then went to look for food. I'm super proud of him! Overall a fun ride, with more elevation change than I thought (about 7,000 feet, though I can't trust my GPS). I would have preferred to not see the same trails over and over. The red and blue overlapped quite a bit, and we did the blue loop twice. I know logistically that it is easier to put on a ride where every loop comes back to base camp, but they said in previous years the trail went more around the lake, which would have been fun to see other scenery and trails.

route and elevation

Fall colors and happy horse and rider. Baylor-Gore Photography.

I ran my GPS app (Strava) the whole time, but the mileage is way off (even if it was a "short" 50, I don't think it was only 31 miles!). I think the elevation or trees must have really thrown it off. I haven't had that issue before at home, and if anyone is interested, here is the GPS track of the entire ride.

I am way too proud of my horse. And my friend C and Friday did great. And my great SO who is awesome crew not just for me, but for C, and who also managed to help put a boot on a horse who lost a shoe, catch a loose horse, and help our other friends too.

Now we rest. No more rides till spring, nothing on my calendar. I want to do some fun rides, maybe a picnic ride by the lake, explore a couple areas that are nice in winter, and just hibernate a bit. I'm ready for a warm fire, hot chocolate and a good book. Major is ready to be taken for nice walks to eat the new grass, and to hide from the raindrops. (I say that now, give me a couple weeks and I'll be anxious to do something!)