Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:49 pm Post subject: My Journal, 2008 Endurance Rides
2008 EnduranceRiding Journal
Finally, Patch and I were on our way to a ride. We got a slow start this year because of having too much snow for too long to do any riding, so we missed the first couple of rides, actually about 6 weeks of the season. I think he is ready, but my legs were telling me last week when I rode him, that they are not happy with the type and duration of the job I have given them!
After about 3 hours on the road, we pull into ride camp and find a place to park next to the only other teammates who are at this ride. The rest of the team will be pulling into a ride camp about 300 miles away, closer to where they all live, in an effort to get team points at two rides on the same day. My parking spot is not too far from a water tank and the outhouse, both important items.
Patch gets out of the trailer and immediately his nose tells him there is green grass under his feet. I get him settled next to the trailer with a bag of hay, which he ignores, and a bucket of water. Good thing I had a couple of buckets in the trailer, because I forgot to put the nice clean stack of buckets and tubs into the truck, they are still at home in the barn. It makes me wonder what else I might have forgotten.
I head for the ride office, a table under one of those instant picnic shelter things, get my entry filled out, fee paid, and collect Patch’s vet card and a map of the ride area with the trails marked in various colors matching the flagging on two loops of 15 miles each, and 2 ten mile loops. Tomorrow there will be a 50 mile ride, a 25 mile ride, and a 10 mile trail ride. It always takes about half an hour to get back to my trailer because there are many people I know, and everybody has a lot of catching up to do.
The vets have finally arrived and most of the people in camp head for the vetting area with their horses and wait in line to have the vet examine the horses. I wait about half an hour, then go and only have to wait about 3 minutes. Patch passes and we are officially in the ride. Later the ride info meeting tells us about the trail, things to watch out for (lots of badger holes and a couple of tricky turns) and the ride manager fills us in on the recent news story in the area, a murder that happened about a month ago and was at first thought to be an accident.
A couple with marriage problems came out to the area to ride and talk about their relationship. They rode up along a steep canyon wall where they stopped to look down into a beautiful rocky canyon with a creek running through it. The man claimed that his wife’s horse bucked with her and she was thrown over the edge. She did not survive the fall of over 100 ft on to jagged rocks. Subsequent investigation revealed that he had pushed her over the edge, hoping to collect her life insurance and other investments that she had. There is now a cross on the edge of the canyon wall with a solar unit to light it at night.
Patch has run out of grass he can reach and has eaten most of the hay in the bag. I give him another bagful, a fresh bucket of water, and a rubber feed pan with soaked beet pulp, vitamins and grain. The pan is made from recycled tires and will not break if he steps in it. He gets a light blanket for the night, enough to keep him warm but not warm enough to make him sweat.
I lay out things I will need in the morning and prepare for bed. Although I have a freshly filled propane tank, the furnace doesn’t start because the RV battery is low. Something else I forgot, charge the battery before leaving home. The battery does get charged when the truck is running, but the trip wasn’t long enough to give it enough to light the furnace because it was very low from sitting all winter.
During the night I get a bit chilly with the outside temperature being in the middle 30’s, but it didn’t seem that cold when I was saddling Patch. Start time was about half an hour before sunup. I didn’t need gloves, but when I pulled my jacket sleeves over my hands it felt warmer.
When we left camp we rode between two large hills and soon we were at a point where we could look across the canyon at the cross on the rocky edge. I thought of how sad it was that the poor woman was so trusting, and he betrayed her one last time. The place was well chosen, nobody could have survived the fall from that point. Thoughts of the incident were with me often through the day, especially when another loop took us within sight of it again.
Loop 1 is 15 miles and takes us over some big hills. Patch and I travel alone and we pass 4 riders before we come back to camp and the first vet check. Then we go to the trailer for a 30 minute hold. Patch eats hay and I eat a banana, some mixed nuts, a couple of peanut butter cookies and I also make sure I drink plenty of water.
Loop 2 is 10 miles long and a lot more hills. The views from some of the high points are stunning. Wildflowers are abundant, and the temperature is very comfortable, the breeze is just right to keep us comfortable. I have already shed the windbreaker and sweatshirt I wore earlier, and am comfortable with a lightweight long sleeved shirt over a t-shirt. Before the loop is finished I have joined up with 2 other riders. Patch seems to travel well with their horses and it is nice to have company.
After the second vet check we have a 45 minute hold. I refill my water bottles, give Patch a pan of beet pulp, grain and goodies to go with his hay, and I sit in the trailer with the door open and eat cottage cheese, another banana and some juice.
Loop 3 is another 15 miles, some of which I have never seen before although I have ridden many times in this area over the past 15 years. I ride with the same 2 riders for almost all of the miles, but they go too fast in some places for my liking, and then they stop to let their horses eat grass. It was a good place to say “see you later”, and so we go on without them and are through the vet check before they ride into camp.
We have another 45 minute hold. Patch eats and takes a nap. I sit in the sun eating cookies, drinking water and I am thinking napping sounds very good. However, we have another 10 miles to go. When we leave another rider is just leaving too, so we ride out together and stay together for about 5 miles, but when other horses start passing us, her horse gets excited. He and Patch seem to be communicating and each seems to encourage the other to go sideways and be a bit nutty. More horses pass, it gets worse, but Patch is not as excited as the other horse. We decide that it will be better if he were alone, so I go off at a trot and am soon out of sight. Patch is happier too, he loves to use his big ground eating trot.
There are a few more good sized hills in the last 2 or 3 miles before the trail brings us back to camp. Patch passes the final vet check and we have a completion. My teammates rode fast and were already finished when I left to do the last loop. We have team points and they earned some nice bonus points for 2nd and 3rd place finishes.
About an hour after we finish there is a potluck followed by awards. I learn that we were in 22nd place, and 7 riders finished behind us. Patch is brought back to the vet area for a special leg check that the vet has said he would be glad to do. I want to be sure that there is nothing just a little bit sore that might turn into a problem the next time we go. He can’t find anything sore at all. We talk about how soon I should ride again, and I tell him that I am going to be very conservative this season. He thinks my proposed schedule is good. It will be several weeks before we do another 50 mile ride. I don’t want a repeat of last year’s sore tendons.
I pack up everything not needed for overnight, put Patch’s blanket on him, fill his hay and water for the night. I put clay on his legs and wrap them. It doesn’t take long to brush my teeth and get into my sleeping bag. During the night I wake up when Patch kicks the trailer tire. I get up to see why. His wraps are bothering him, so I take them off and go back to bed.
The alarm rings at 5:45. I get up, pack up the last few items, secure the living quarters making sure I put the 2 quart hot water pot in the storage box where it won’t go rolling anywhere on the trip home. Only two people are visable when I pull out of camp. It’s Mother’s Day and I will be home in time for a shower and church.
It's time to head down the road to another ride, this time we are going to Washington to ride on the east slope of the Cascade mountains. The forecast indicates that it is going to be hot, and when we leave home at mid morning, the thermometer says about 80.
I turn on the AC in the truck, and guess what? It isn't working! The fan will blow the hot air around so that helps a little bit. By the time we have gone about 100 miles, I can see that it is going to be a long hot weekend. I am driving 5 miles per hour under the posted speed to see how much fuel it saves, so that is going to add time to the trip, but maybe save money. The digital readout tells the story periodically, mostly indicating I am getting about 15.3 miles per gallon. Along the way I try to find a Christian station, but also listen to other things, news, some oldies music and talk radio.
About noon I pull off at a place that has a rest area, gas stations and several restaurants. Behind one of the restaurants is a vacant field where I unload Patch and let him eat a bit of grass and alfalfa that still grow there, and walk him around for a few minutes to give him a chance to relieve himself. When he is back in the trailer, I walk to a nearby sub sandwich place and buy a foot long sandwich. Half will be my lunch today, and the other half tomorrow. Before we hit the road again, I make sure I have a bottle of water and a bottle of juice for the rest of the trip. The truck thermometer says 99 when we start out again, and the cab of the truck is a lot hotter than that from sitting closed up in the sun for about 20 minutes.
About 6 hours after leaving home we arrive at ride camp. It's in the national forest, about 3 miles from the nearest county road, in a meadow where there was once a sawmill. The only signs of the old mill are a few concrete footings. I drive along the edge of the meadow to a side road that gives me access to more camping spots closer to the vet check.
While driving here I was so hot, I asked the Lord to save me a place with shade, and there it was, just the right size for my truck and trailer, with a clear level spot for Patch to stand while tied to the trailer. I unload Patch and tie him to a teammate's trailer while another teammate directs me to back into the spot. This is a place I have looked at for years and wished I was using, so it was definitely a gift. My entire trailer is in the shade, and a nice bushy tree separates me from the next trailer on one side.
Patch gets his usual quick walk to the water tank, then over to our trailer to eat. I always take the horse to the water before carrying water to the horse. In a few minutes I am on my way to register for the ride, and of course that means visiting with people along the way. The vet has just arrived and there is quite a long line of people and horses, a line I don't care to join. I just relax and wait a while, check the line again from the trailer and can see that it has become much shorter, so now it is time to go.
The lady behind me in the line tells me that her husband got their motor home stuck while hunting for the right place to park, so she brought the horse up the hill to vet him while her husband and a few other men worked on getting the motor home unstuck. She thought a bit of space was a good idea, and I agreed. Most husbands do not want their wife to tell them how to get out of something they got themselves into. Human nature is funny that way.
Patch passes the vet exam with good grades, and we are officially entered in the 50 mile ride. Later, at the ride meeting we are told that tomorrow will be even hotter, and we are all cautioned to take good care of ourselves and our horses in the extreme conditions to prevent dehydration problems. This is a stronger caution than we normally get, because in addition to the extreme heat, we will be climbing a lot of mountains.
Back at the trailer, I make sure everything is handy to reach in the morning because we will be saddling when it is just barely light and leaving camp soon after daylight to give us an extra hour to ride while it is cool. When the ride manager said we would be starting at 5, many of us said "thank you", but when she said the 25 milers would start at 6 or 6:30, they groaned. Many of them are relatively inexperienced riders, and the others are accustomed to starting their ride about 9am after a leisurely breakfast. Tomorrow they will have to endure!
My alarm rings at 4am. Camp is still fairly quiet but there are lights at other campsites, and a few people walking here and there. Patch needs a clean bucket of water, and another flake of hay, then I start working on my own breakfast while I finish getting dressed for the day. It's chilly (compared to yesterday) but I know I'll only need a lightweight long sleeved shirt under the cooling vest. The vest will start out dry and be hydrated when needed. That might be at a water tank along the trail, so I want it with me.
We start out about 5 minutes after the faster riders have gone down the road and out of sight. At the lower end of the meadow we cross a knee deep stream and almost immediately find a rider who got off her horse to put on one of the Renegade Boots he lost soon after crossing the creek. (These boots are an alternative to shoeing and are something fairly new although other types have been available for several years). The rider is one of my teammates, the one who helped me get parked yesterday. Her horse is not wanting to stand still while she remounts because he is excited. I've been in this frustrating position myself so I stop and wait for her, and we start off together.
Bev's horse is a 6 year old gelding, doing his first 50 mile ride. He and Patch are compatable and happy going down the trails at the same speed, so we see no reason not to go along together. We ride up a steep road that goes up and up for about 2 miles, then goes down and down the other side, eventually making a circle and taking us back to camp, an exam by the vet, and a 30 minute hold. 15 miles down, 35 to go.
Loop 2 is 25 miles long with a vet check approximately in the middle. More climbing, both the kind we are doing to cover the trail, and the temperature. I dunked my vest in the water tank before we left, and again a few miles down the trail. When we see the tops of the pickups at the vet check we stop in a shady patch to let the horses eat a few bites of grass before walking in. Their pulses are down below 60 beats per minute when we arrive and our timed 45 minute hold begins. Saddles are pulled off to help the horses cool, the vet checks them and we wait out our hold in the shade of trees while we refill water bottles, and do other necessary things.
The trip back to camp is easier than anything we have done so far today. I calculate time and decide that we need to be able to leave camp by 3:30 to be able to complete the last 10 mile loop before we run out of time. We hurry a little, arrive at camp about 2:30, see the vet, have another 45 minute hold, and are leaving camp at 3:12. It is the hottest part of the day, and the first part of the trail is up hill. The horses are not inspired, so we ride at a walk up most of it, then trot when the trail levels out a bit.
Trotting creates a breeze, so the extra heat produced by a faster pace is partly cancelled out. We take turns being in the lead going down the trail. It keeps it more interesting for the horses. The trail takes us across the large creek twice, follows a series of twisty trails that have short steep climbs and decents, and follows the creek back into camp. My teammate is concerned about the time, but I tell her we will make it but we don't have much time to waste. Sorry fellows, no more grazing, we have to get finished.
A small crowd of ride officials, teammates, and other riders cheer when we come across the finish line. We have ample help to pull off the saddles and sponge the horses with cool water. In about 5 minutes their pulses are under 60bpm again and the vet gives the horses a final check. They pass and we have completions! We are the tail end riders for the day, finishing the ride with only 7 minutes to spare. I think there had been a lot of suspense at the finish line.
After getting back to our trailer and getting Patch settled with a fresh bag of hay, a new bucket of water, and his pan of wet beet pulp and grain, I was happy to get cool and clean, (well, reasonably clean, just a bucket bath), and into clean clothes. My digital weather station said it was 88 in the shade with about a 2mph breeze. I stretched out on my bunk for a nap, but it was too hot, so I sat on the running board in the shade and watched Patch eat and snooze.
About 7:30 it was time for the barbeque which the ride management provides for riders and ride helpers. Others can buy it for $10. Every year they have barbequed country style pork ribs, oysters from the Washington coast cooked on their half shells in the barbeque with the lid closed, a great selection of salads, corn on the cob, garlic bread, several kinds of melons and grapes, and desserts.
The dinner is followed by awards. My team had 5 riders in the 50 mile ride, we all got completions, and two of the riders got bonus points for finishing in the top 10. Reports from riders and those in camp told us that when we left to start our last loop, the temperature in camp was 106. We knew it was very hot, but that figure might have scared us if we had known. Thankfully that last loop had 2 creek crossings where we let the horses stand for a few minutes to cool their legs and feet.
I was awake the next morning at about 5 but turned over and snoozed for about another hour. Then Patch and I walked to the far end of camp and I let him pick his own breakfast from several types of grass growing there. Other riders were doing the same thing, and some were starting to pack up their camps. My original plan for the trip home had been to leave late enough to buy cherries when I passed through a valley with fruit stands and orchards. Last year I bought honey too, and wanted to buy more, but as I was standing there watching the sun move down the mountain, I decided to pack up and leave before it got hot again.
On the trip home I was tempted to drive faster, but instead slowed my speed a few more mph to see if it saved more fuel. It did, and my average for the trip home was over 16 mpg. A rough calculation tells me that for every 5mph slower, I gain about 1/2 mile per gallon. The entire trip was over 700 miles, so that was enough of a savings to keep this tightwad going slower. It took patience, open windows, fan running on high speed and 6.5 hours to get home. In that amount of time I heard a lot of gospel music, a couple of sermons, and a good Bible teacher, so arrived at home tired in body but refreshed in spirit.
The mountains in Idaho are our destination. It's about an hour and a half later than I wanted to leave home, but I finally got all the plants watered, several last minute things put into the trailer, and finally, we drive away. The intervals between rides have been so long this year that I am out of practice every time. Going to Idaho means I lose an hour, they are in the Mountain time zone.
As I drive along I munch on a toasted cheese sandwich along with a banana, and wash it all down with a large bottle of water. It's important to stay hydrated. In hot weather I force myself to drink more water than I really want. Even with the air conditioner working (a $131 fix) I can feel the heat when the windshield faces the sun.
Ride camp is on private land, in a meadow that is part of a cow pasture, a BIG cow pasture. A small stream has a nice ford where we can drive across from one side of camp which is already full, to the meadow where there is still plenty of room. I drive up through the meadow looking for shade but find none, so I go back near the ford and camp close to where I was last year. It will only take about 1 minute to walk between the vet area and my trailer, important on a hot day when all the vet checks will be in camp.
There is fresh evidence that the cows have been in the meadow recently, but with so many trailers, people, horses and dogs, none wander through. Just across a small gully is a cow trail where they are traveling in small groups, all going in the same direction. Some of them are quite vocal, trying to let their calves know where they are. They moo and the sound echos off the hills on both sides. Later in the evening two calves of about 400 pounds came along all by themselves, calling for their moms.
I get Patch settled next to the trailer. He ignores the hay bag in favor of all the grass he is able to reach. The water tank is about 100 ft away. I carry buckets of water and put one where he can reach it, and the other in the shade to use later. While Patch eats, I go to the ride office, visiting along the way. Two trailers with endurance related items are at this ride, and I know what I want and which vendor has it.
Last year I bought a vest that can be quickly soaked in water and worn to keep me cool on a hot day. I want a liner for my riding helmet that is made of the same material. A cool head will help me stay cooler tomorrow. The forecast is for about 95.
Patch passes the vet check just fine but I am having a problem. I took a wrong step when I got out of the truck and twisted my leg, so now my hip is having that same problem again, feeling like it is going to give way and I will find myself in a heap. The vet said the horse looked a lot better than I did, but he isn't grading my jog, just Patch's.
If I need somebody to trot him out tomorrow there will be people available. When I help at rides I trot a lot of horses whose riders can't get their legs working to do it themselves. Endurance is a nice sport where people help each other.
The ride meeting takes place about an hour before dark, and is well attended by riders and hungry mosquitos. We will be starting at 6am, just about half an hour after daylight to take advantage of the cooler temperature for as long as possible. The holds will be an hour after 20 miles and another hour after 17 more. It will be hot in camp but the horses need the extra time. This is a mountain ride and they will be working hard.
I lay out items on a hay bale in the back of the trailer so they will be handy to grab the next morning. The water bottles are filled with half lemon or lime flavored Gatoraide and half water and put where they will be handy in the morning. I have 2 water bottle holders on the saddle, but always put the saddle on the horse without the bottles in place because it is two extra pounds to lift if they are on it. Little things make a difference.
Drinking so much extra water during the day and evening makes for a wake up and trip through the meadow to the outhouse with a flashlight about 3am. Patch has enough hay but has used his water bucket for a target, so he gets the spare one. I go back to bed but only cat nap until the alarm goes off at 4:45. The trailer is chilly, so I dress quickly. I know that the weak battery doesn't have enough oomph to start the furnace. It will be replaced soon but with the AC repair expense, we decided to wait and find one on sale.
It's still half dark when I go out to saddle Patch. He sees horses moving around already and doesn't stand still, making the job a challenge. After I saddle him, I put on my leather half chaps which will protect my lower legs from branches and brush, and my riding helmet, minus the new liner which I won't need until later. I shed my jacket because I will be too warm quickly with it once we get moving.
Near my trailer is a nice big block of firewood to stand on to make mounting easy, actually, to make it possible at all. Most riders are headed for the starting line, but I don't want to go out with the fast ones, so we walk around the meadow for about 10 minutes before passing the start official and giving her our number. We start at a walk for about a minute, then a slow trot. The road is fairly level so it will be a gradual warm up before we do much climbing.
A mile or so up the jeep road a rider is having a problem with a very excited horse. He asks if he can follow Patch so his horse will have a buddy who is going fairly slow. And so we ride together. It's different having the calm horse after riding Patch the Nutcase for the past 3 years. As we ride along other riders pass us, and his horse gets excited but Patch stays under control and is a good influence! There have been days when I never thought I would see that!
Brian is from British Columbia, Canada, and is somebody I have known for many years, but I think this might be the first time we have ridden together. Our horses seem compatable, and when the roads allow it, we can ride side by side without a problem. We take turns leading on the single track parts. Three and a half hours after we start, we are back at camp for the first vet check.
I get off, thinking about my hip problem from the day before, but am able to jog so the vet can evaluate Patch's trot without a problem. This morning when I was saddling it didn't feel as bad as the day before, but I was aware that it was shaky, so I was very careful how I moved. Evidently riding for 20 miles put things right.
Patch passes the vet check with all A's (the vets grade A through D) and we walk across the creek to the trailer. There is a narrow footbridge for people and the horses walk in the water. I let him stand in the stream for a minute, but I need to get out of the sun.
Patch munches hay, and I give him some soaked beet pulp and grain. Water bottles come off the saddle to be refilled, and I retreat to the shade inside the living space in the trailer. It is still cool inside! I eat a banana, cottage cheese, mixed nuts, and drink a lot of cranberry juice. Patch munches, I rest. Soon it is time to get ready to leave again. My vest and helmet liner are soaking in a bucket of water. When I put them on they are almost too cold, but after a minute it feels good.
The second loop is 17 more miles of mountains. Brian's horse is more sensible now. We stop occasionally where there is green grass for the horses and shade to give them a break, then go on to another good place. Several riders who have been ahead of us have slowed down and we try to stay behind them but really don't want to go that slow, so when they stop to let their horses graze, we pass and ride a bit faster to open up a space between us. Brian's horse gets excited when we pass them, but soon settles down.
We ride into camp about 1pm and after sponging Patch to cool him for about 5 minutes while he eats a little hay, go through the vetting process again. All is well and the vet gives him all A's again. It is hot now, but I still let Patch stand a minute in the stream and wish I could put my own feet in it. There is no shade at the trailer. I unsaddle Patch and sponge him with water from a bucket while he eats. I'm sure he thinks we are done. My saddle is turned upside down to let the heat escape, and dry the saddle pad. I sit in the back of the trailer with the rear door open, it is cooler there than in the living space.
My juice is still cold, having been in the ice chest. I make sure I drink a lot of it while I eat some string cheese, a few homemade oatmeal cookies with raisins and nuts, and another banana. Rest time doesn't last long enough. Water bottles need to be refilled, my vest and the cool pad for my head go back into the bucket of water in the little bit of shade that resulted from opening the rear door of the trailer.
About 10 minutes before our hold time is up, the saddle goes back on Patch, this time he is half asleep and not moving anything but his ears. I put the wet vest back on, and put the helmet liner and helmet back on, put on the half chaps again, and we are ready to go check out with the timer. Depending on who I ask, the last loop is either "lots of climbing" or "not too bad". I remember part of it from last year.
Brian and I ride out together again, going out of camp in the opposite direction from the previous 2 loops. Within a mile we have climbed several hundred feet and are on an old logging road on one of the hills near camp where we can look down at all the trailers. I see mine. There are a lot of trailers. 110 horses started the rides today, 65 of them are on the 50 mile ride, about 40 on the 25 mile ride, and the rest are trail riders doing about 15 miles.
It's hot, we go slower than before, but still do a fair amount of trotting. Walking seems to make the air stand still and it feels cooler trotting. We stop in shady places to let the horses eat grass for a couple of minutes at a time, then go on. When we come to a water tank we get off and sponge the horses, getting ourselves wet in the process. About 3 miles from the end of this loop is a very steep down hill section. I get off and walk, or rather, shuffle, down the hill leading Patch. It's a challenge just to keep my feet under me. On hills this steep the saddle would go forward and be quite uncomfortable for the horse.
Despite the half chaps covering the tops of my riding shoes, I am still getting dirt in my shoes because the dirt is deep and soft. It works up under the leather and then falls into my shoes which are high tops to help with ankle support. When we get to the bottom of the hill, I find a log to stand on to help me get back on Patch. He gets taller toward the end of the ride.
Half a mile later we come to another water tank where we dismount to sponge the horses again. I stand on the narrow edge of the water tank to remount, something I wouldn't do earlier in the ride when I might be bumped into the water. The rest of the trail is a small road which goes downhill gently, then flattens out as we get closer to camp. And then we round a corner and the finish line is just ahead, a very welcome sight.
We go through the cooling and vetting process again. Both horses pass and now we have credit for our miles. Brian had been worried about his horse stiffening up while he cooled down enough to get his pulse back down to 60 beats per minute or less, so between the finish line and the vet check, he detoured past his trailer and pulled the saddle off, then his wife brought their other horse up near the vet area so there would be no anxiety over leaving his buddy back at the trailer. I stayed there with Patch so he would have 2 buddys, and all was well.
Back to the trailer, unsaddle Patch, change my clothes to something cooler and some shoes I can wade in, and we walk back to the stream with sponge in hand. Patch stands in the water almost to his knees, and I sponge him, also almost to my knees in cool water. It feels so good. We had to move once so somebody could drive through, but went back in and completed Patch's sponge bath. He stood like a statue.
The ride manager has arranged for somebody to cater our dinner, so about 2 hours later, I take my folding chair and go to eat. Awards are given after dinner, then I go back to the trailer and take Patch for a leisurely walk around the meadow. We stop several times to let him eat grass, but the mosquitos are out so I don't want to stand around too much.
I slept good! There is another ride today but we had enough mountains yesterday, so will be going home instead. I think giving Patch 3 rides with extra time off between them has cured his lameness problem and strengthened his tendons, so now I am thinking of going to another ride in 2 weeks.
On the way home I find a Christian station and listen to gospel music and a couple of good messages. I even drive the last few miles a bit slower so I can hear the end of one sermon.
Right or wrong, smart or dumb, we are off to another ride, this time in central Oregon near the east slope of the Cascade mountain range. It's about 10am and 85 degrees when we finally drive away. The weather is beautiful, and the AC in the truck is working.
Along the way, while listening to a radio station from southeastern Washington, they break into the program with a weather alert for thunderstorms, but I am south of there and headed west so I don't worry. Later that radio station is the only one I can receive, so I keep listening, but can hear a lot of static from lightening.
We have followed the Columbia River west along the Oregon/Wasington border to highway 97 which will take us south into central Oregon, and have climbed on to a high plateau where dryland wheat has been raised ever since pioneer days, and now some of the ridges are dotted with power generating windmills. Smoke from forest fires in central Oregon blocks out the mountains, and all but the nearest hills. The sun is not shining now and it seems to be getting kind of dark. I pass a man with a motorcycle who has stopped beside the road to put on his jacket. Hmmm, does he know something I don't know?
Suddenly, one single drop of rain goes splat on my windshield and spreads out to baseball size. Uh oh! Within 30 seconds the clouds unzip and it is not only huge raindrops but also peach pit sized hail. Although I have slowed to about 30mph, I find it hard to see the road even with the wipers on high speed, so I start looking for a place to pull off. Thankfully there is a wide spot where somebody in a pickup has already pulled off. There is just enough room to get in behind him.
Now, in addition to the rain and hail, we find ourselves in the middle of a lightning storm. I can see lightning all around us, some of it within a mile or two. Patch is moving around a lot in the trailer. The noise of the rain and hail on the metal roof just inches from his ears must be terrible, plus the thunder. There is nothing to do but sit and wait for the storm to pass. After a few minutes I look up and realize I have parked directly under a power line which makes me very uncomfortable. When the storm lets up a little I leave and drive about a mile and find another wide spot when the storm intensifes again.
This time we are behind another horse trailer, and in a few minutes the storm lets up again. When it moves, so do we. Just a little while farther is a dip in the road with muddy water flowing over it. I slow way down and watch as the other truck and trailer drive through it without a problem, just pushed sideways a little bit by the current. Ok, if he can, so can I. When he is out of the water and up the hill a ways, I shift down to a lower gear and power through it. I can feel the current pushing us sideways but we make it. Being in a low spot on the road with traffic behind me made me think that if another wave of the storm came, I might be in worse shape, so I made the decision to follow the other trailer.
Within a few miles we are back in the sunshine, and the remainder of the trip to ride camp is uneventful except for detouring a couple of blocks around a traffic accident in a small town.
At ride camp I find my teammates who have saved a place for me to park next to them, unload Patch, feed him, bring him a bucket of water and go to find the ride office; a table and a few chairs under an awning. Rocks and horseshoes anchor entry forms and maps so the breeze doesn't scatter them. It's not real fancy but it works. I see quite a few people that I haven't seen since last year. A lot of riders have stayed closer to home and not gone to so many rides because of the high travel costs.
Patch munches all the green grass he can reach before starting on the bag of hay. He also munches all the way to the vet line, and tried to take a side trip mid way through his trot out for soundness evaluation. All that dancing around in the trailer apparently hasn't caused any problem.
My teammates have plenty of spaghetti and I do my best to make it disappear. After we eat we go to the ride info meeting, and soon after that I take Patch for a half hour walkabout to get more green grass, then it's back to the trailer to organize stuff for tomorrow. I have already packed a canvas bag with hay, my lunch, grain, and enough electrolites to give Patch 2 doses. On my way to dinner I took it to the trailer that will be going out to the vet check.
I'm awake before the 80 milers leave at 5am. It's good not to be saddling a horse in the dark, and leaving when there is just barely enough light to see a little bit. After they go, I have an hour before official start time for the 50. Plenty of time to eat, take a walk to the outhouse, and saddle Patch before other horses start moving around. I give him a bucket with soaked beet pulp, grain, vitamins and goodies to eat while I dress him for work. He stands like a statue. Why didn't I think of this before. DUH!!
One of my teammates and I start out about 10 minutes after the faster riders. Our other teammates left with the fast crowd after we rode to the far end of camp, so Patch and Jasar have no anxiety at all, being unaware of that fact. Patch and my teammate's horse are friends, having done 50 miles together at a ride about 6 weeks ago, and they are calm as we cross the start line and go trotting down the trail. The temperature is about 45 degrees, cool enough that I am wearing my wetable Coolmedics vest dry to keep warm. My teammate, Bev, has decided it will be warm soon enough and left her jacket at her trailer.
We follow jeep roads and single track trails without much noticeable elevation change. There are small ups and downs but mostly it is easy going, except that the soil is sandy which dampens the rebound bounce that would happen with firmer soil. The horses have to work harder as a result. Many riders will not even notice that the footing is having the effect of making small hills out of level places, and big hills out of small hills. Plus, there are rocks, some are loose on the surface, and some stick up waiting to trip a horse because they are still connected to the center of the earth.
It takes us about 3 1/2 hours to get to the first vet check, 18 miles from camp. Patch's pulse is down to 60 in about 3 minutes, and we go see the vet. There are no problems, he signs our vet card and we go to find the hay bag. Patch munches happily while the dad of one of our teammates holds him so I can visit the outhouse and mix the electrolites in a 50ml syringe to squirt into Patch's mouth just before we leave. I soak my Coolmedics vest and helmet liner in the water tank and put them on, cold and dripping wet. It feels good. Our 30 minute hold is soon over, and we check out with the timer and are on our way around a 20 mile loop.
The terrain hasn't changed much but the temperature has increased to about 75 degrees. By the time we make what feels like a short 20 mile loop, and are back at the vet check, it's probably close to 85. We arrived about half an hour before we expected to. Could we have increased the speed that much. It didn't feel like we were going faster, in fact we had walked a lot because of rocky sections and hills, and even stopped briefly once to enjoy a view. We also stopped several times for a minute to let the horses get some green grass.
There is very little shade in the vet check area so it feels like 95. Both of our horses pass the vet inspection without a problem and we go to our hay bags. Patch is hungry despite having had occasional snacks along the trail where we found green grass and shade.
We have a 45 minute hold this time through. Bev and I take turns watching the horses while the other goes to the outhouse and refills water bottles. I dig my sandwich out of the hay bag. It's packed in a hard sided plastic insulated container so isn't squashed. Peanut butter on whole wheat doesn't sound exciting, but it was good because I was hungry. I also had a few homemade oatmeal cookies with nuts and raisins. My vest and helmet liner got another dip in the water tank and it was time to leave. Past time really, by about 5 minutes.
The breeze we stirred up as we went along felt good, but at times the second rider couldn't see because of the dust stirred up by the first horse. At times we had a cross wind which was nice, but if the wind and the horses are going the same direction at the same speed it isn't possible to see the trail. We took turns being in the lead. Patch has matured a lot with the years and miles, and stayed calm almost all day. What a contrast to his first 3 years! He's a pleasure to ride now.
As we rode along, expecting to see camp when we thought we had covered 12 miles, we met some 80 milers going out on the 30 mile loop again and asked them how far it was to camp. 5 or 6 miles was their answer. We thought, no way. After a couple more miles we met more riders and asked them, 3 or 4 miles. Could our estimate of time, mileage and speed be that far off? We, and a lot of other riders concluded that the 20 mile loop was more like 15 miles and this "12" mile segment was more like 17. Physically it is ok, it all adds up to about 50, but when we left the vet check we expected to be in camp at about 3:15 or 3:30, and instead it took another 45 minutes. Pyschologically that is hard on a hot day when we thought we were almost finished miles ago. The horses, of course, don't know the difference.
Finally, we see the finish line at the edge of camp. After we cross it, we stop and give the finish timer our cards so she can record the time. Then we proceed to the vetting area. A volunteer takes our horses pulses and writes the time and pulse on our cards. The vet line has several horses waiting to see the vet. We wait, and wait. They are shorthanded because one of the vets is treating a horse who has coliced and needs IV fluids.
When Patch's turn comes, a boy of about 12 volunteers to trot him out, 125 feet to a highway cone, and back to the vet. My legs are tired so I am glad to stand and watch instead of running. I can see that Patch is dropping one hip with every step. He has stiffened up while we were waiting in line. The vet tells me that I have about 40 minutes to massage him or walk him or apply ice to relieve his discomfort or we will be disqualified.
I lead him quickly back to the trailer while I decide what to do. Before I do anything, I need to make a trip to the outhouse and then get something to eat and drink since I am feeling light headed. Patch is tied to the trailer to eat hay for about 5 minutes while I take care of myself, then I start walking him. We walk, then jog for a minute, walk again, over and over. I eat a banana and cookies while we do this. Time is a big factor here, I can't go over an hour past our finish time. I watch Patch trotting in a circle on the end of the lead rope from time to time, but mostly walk and trot him in straight lines. All this time I'm keeping an eye on my watch and the vet line. When there is a break and it is close to an hour, I take a deep breath, say a quick prayer, and we go to get another check.
Two vets watch him trot, and while they agree that he is not perfect, he looks good enough to continue if there were more miles for us to do, and they give us a completion! We have credit for our miles! Praise the Lord.
I ask them, as professional pokers and prodders, to poke and prod and find whatever hurts. It is in his left front leg, half way between the knee and the fetlock. He looked lame in the right rear initially because he was trying to take the weight off the sore left front leg. They both agree where the sore place is, but can't tell if it is a tendon or a ligament because a couple of tendons and a ligament are all right there together. An ultrasound at my vets should give us some answers, and tell me how soon I could ride him in another endurance ride or if I need to lay him off early for winte.
We walk back to the trailer, Patch grabs mouthfulls of grass along the way, eating like there is no tomorrow. No need to hurry now. I am tired, physically and mentally. While Patch eats and naps, I get out of my hot and dirty riding clothes and take a quick bucket bath, put on clean clothes and sit in the doorway of the trailer to take advantage of the shade and a little breeze. Ahhhh! It takes a lot of water and juice before I feel like I might be hydrated again.
In the evening there is a potluck dinner with the main course being provided. One of our riders, a fellow from Louisiana, loves to cook Cajun food. Tonight it's Jumbalaya. Ummm, good. The hungry hordes of riders make a big dent in it, but I am sure he took a lot of it home or sent it home with people. The wind came up while we were eating and the temperature dropped when the sun went down, so I didn't stay around for a second helping. It seemed more important to get back to the trailer and put on a jacket.
Patch got another quick grazing tour around the edge of camp, and another one in the morning before awards were given out, and then we headed home, a long but uneventful trip. I couldn't find a Christian radio station, so listened to several CD's of hymns and other music on the way home.
When we got home Breezy came running to where his pasture meets the driveway, glad to see that his buddy had come home. Our son and daughter in law had come out from town with food to grill, so I got to sit down and put my feet up.
Endurance riding sounds like lots of work and lots of fun. I'd like to get into that but we don't have it close here. Our trail rides are an endurance ride at times. LOL We have been riding and camping most every weekend for a couple of months now. It has really been fun. I couldn't do it anymore on a W/T/C horse. The easy gaited horses have really extended my riding years.
Here is a question. Do you feed beet pulp year around?
No, I do not feed it all year long. I use it mainly to keep horses hydrated during trailering and at the rides. The only year I fed beet pulp in the winter was when we had an old mare whose teeth were bad. She was having trouble eating hay, so I soaked beet pulp with grain and gave her about a gallon of wet soft food twice a day. What she didn't eat would freeze in the bucket, so a lot of it ended up on the compost pile.
Update on the endurance rides, or more accurately, the lack of them. Patch had a tear in a tendon, and my vet advised that I give him the rest of the year off to give it time to fully heal. Meanwhile, he got a wire cut which I'm still dealing with. It filled in but then grew proud flesh so the skin was unable to grow back over it. See my journal, book 4 for details if you want them.
We are still feeding beet pulp with the sweet feed and whole corn. I heat the pulp so they get a nice warm meal. They love it. I'm not feeding it to the foal because I read that it could give him problems absorbing calcium. Not a good thing for a growing foal. I just put a bit of the warm water on his sweet feed so he gets a warm meal too.
Sorry to hear about Patch having problems. Didn't the vet recomend that acid they use to eat away proud flesh? It works wonders.
We haven't ridden much lately because of the weather. It's been really cold. Got all the horses wormed. They were overdue. I hate it when I get that busy.
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