pony therapy

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

Saturday was definitely a Good Day at the barn. The pony and I had a very productive arena session, actively working for over an hour, without her usual ‘tude about the arena. The past couple of rides have been very good for her, both mentally and physically. Hopefully the imminent arrival of summer won’t do too much to dissuade people from wanting to keep getting out and trail riding some more.

And despite the threats…I didn’t actually give her a full soap bath. She got a thorough hosing down, and her hair coat is thin enough once again that I didn’t necessarily feel the need to break out the shampoo. (Just ignore the yellowish tail…)

I still think she’s world’s cutest little mover.

Despite the fact she’ll be 20 this month, overall, she’s doing really well. The vet was out to do spring shots on Monday and he was happy with how she looks. She’s on a perpetual diet, but despite the fact her workload has been drastically cut from what I was several years ago, she doesn’t weigh any more than when we were competing. The biggest difference I see is a little more pasture belly and a few less toned muscles…but she’s earned her competition retirement.

Rockin’ her two-tones.

I’m very excited to be testing an up-and-coming Renegade design. These are the bright green boots that have been seen in my (and some other Renegade endurance riders) ride photos this season. They’re currently being testing in the roughest conditions we can find — the endurance trail — and will be released later this year. The most exciting part is, they fit Mimi perfectly right out of the box. And boots that small? Adorable.

I’ll have more information about the new boots the closer we get to releasing them, but for now, based on testing them since earlier this year, with almost 200 competition miles + training miles in them, I’m very happy with what I’m seeing.

Drying out, post-bath.

Finally, photographic proof that I’m pretty sure my luggage rack has never actually been used for its intended purpose. And while I might not necessarily recommend this for a weekend-long way to secure your pony at ridecamp, it does make a great temporary hitching post for the one who really only needs the illusion of being tied off, but will make a break for it on a ground tie if someone isn’t immediately in the vicinity.

bring on the weekend

/ Ashley Wingert / 1 Comment

I’m ready for a couple of days of pony therapy + kitchen therapy.

Most weeks, my reaction is, “Oh, weekend. Okay.”

This week, my reaction is a little closer to, “Oh, weekend. Weekend! Ohmigoshwherehaveyoubeenallmylife?!?“

With daytime temperatures pegging close enough to be called “near-summer,” I think a proper bath for the filthy pony is in order. That’ll strip off the last hangers-on of her winter coat, and take care of some of the stains that have been on there since…um…October.

And I’ve found a couple of recipes I want to try this weekend…hand-kneading some bread dough sounds like a really good idea right now.

Gooey chick-flick that requires no brain-power is on the agenda for tonight…no more thoughts about vehicles, mechanics, and all the other various and sundry of the week.

Hi. My turn for fun and games this weekend?

Lessons Learned: Prescott Edition

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

Some rides are easier than others. At Sonoita, for whatever reason, everything went really smooth and I found myself wrapped up for the evening by 8PM and with time to even watch TV on Steph’s portable DVD player. Prescott, not so much, as I found myself back to my “standard operating procedure” of feeling like I had way too much stuff to do and not enough time in an evening to get it all done before the next day, then finally crawling into bed around 10PM.

No idea what the difference was, other than maybe more socialization at Prescott? Hey, if it means a slightly later night…so be it. Rides are my social life, so I’m going to enjoy that time.

I touched on it before, but the theme of this weekend was “flexibility.” So many plans ends up changing along the way, and so for a self-admitted control freak who prides herself on her planning and preparation, it was a real exercise in relaxing and going with it, especially since it was mostly stuff I had absolutely no control over anyway. This ride season has been really good in getting me to lighten up and not be quite as intense about rides. I’m still my detail-oriented self (love my lists and Post-It notes), but I’m learning it’s not necessarily the end of the world if some minor thing gets forgotten or doesn’t get done.

As with every ride, some things worked and some things didn’t. Between Sonoita and Prescott, I changed around some major elements of my saddle set-up: the seat cover and the stirrups.

First, I switched my full sheepskin cover out for a Supracor seat cover. What I liked about it: Not having the full sheepskin on the sides of the saddle made it just a little narrower and that much easier for me to put my leg on the horse; the stiffer Supracor material “filled in” some of the extra seat space and made the rise seem less steep; that Supracor is cushy.

Unfortunately, it ended up not working for 50 miles. There was just too much of an edge where the seat cover ended on the sides, and it was definitely turning into somewhat of a chaffing spot. Also, having the sides of my saddle uncovered meant that my knee patches of my tights rubbed against the leather knee blocks of my saddle, and for whatever reason, they squeaked. I hate squeaky noises like that, so that was highly annoying. Plus, my full sheepskin kept my saddle really clean and scratch-free.

Fortunately, I brought all of my “originals” of the things I’d changed out with me, so it was a fairly simple matter of switching out the seat covers between days one and two.

The other thing I changed was my stirrups. I’d been looking at the Cloud Stirrups for a while — my father used to use them, and I could never get over how big and clunky they were — but after exhausting several other options, they looked like my best shot, especially when I found a set of them advertised on the Endurance.net classifieds for a great deal.

I love them. Yes, they’re heavier than I’m used to…but it seems like they balance out the weight of my saddle. And they look less clunky in black. But looks and weight aside, they’re comfortable. I’m still kind of playing with stirrup leather length — because they’re heavier and more stable, they stay in place better and I don’t have to rely on a shorter leg position for stability — but I’m really happy with them.

I must be a real endurance rider now: I got my first actual clothing/tack rub and finally had an actual need for BodyGlide. The intersection between the stitching across the knee patches on one pair of tights + half chaps + stirrup leather was just the wrong combination and I ended up with a rub on the inside bend of my left knee, and could feel another rub starting on the same place on my right knee. Fortunately, this happened on day one when the vet hold was back in camp, so I was able to slather with BodyGlide (lazy endurance rider couldn’t be bothered to remove her half chaps and boots to change tights) and it didn’t really get much worse the rest of the day. As part of my planning, I’d brought three completely different brands of tights with me, so the tights I wore on day two didn’t have stitching in the same location. I also had my full sheepskin cover back on, and riding a completely different horse with different movement and positioning in the saddle.

irish horse had asked about the logistics of riding what was originally going to be three different horses, and how my tack set-up would change. Surprisingly, not that much. I’d tried my saddle on all but Liberty and it worked; including the same saddle pad. Rocco and Kasha both wear the same bit and their bridles are adjusted the same. Liberty wears an s-hackamore, which is the same set-up I use on Mimi, so all I have to do there is adjust size settings. Ditto on the breastcollar — just adjust settings. So far, they all like my mohair girth and it fits all of them. Liberty is the one horse my saddle ultimately won’t work on — it’s a little bit too narrow and she was slightly sore back on her loins by the time we finished. (She’s a tank, at least as wide as Mimi.)

I wish I would have had time to braid Liberty’s mane. I don’t think it made a huge difference in her cooling down, but it’s long and fine, and kept getting caught under the breastcollar/saddle pad/saddle packs/reins. I even spent the last 15 minutes at the vet check rummaging through my crew bag looking for something to use as a hair tie. (The only thing I found that might have worked was shoelaces. I figured we’d gotten that far and were still okay, so just left it. I now have a pack of braiding bands and a mane comb stuck in the crew bag.)

I did pretty good in the food department. Ride meals were outstanding, provided by a mobile catering company. Dinner Saturday night was BBQ ribs or chicken (ribs for me!), and Sunday was beef burgandy on pasta. The chocolate cupcakes with almond butter whipped cream were so good. I made my homemade meat sauce marinara with spaghetti for Friday night — always a hit — and had leftovers of that for Saturday lunch. Breakfast we discussed already, with the conclusion that “cottage cheese is good.” I still love the Succeed! electrolytes and the Clip2 energy drink: I went through three of those over the weekend. All things vanilla or orange-flavored work the best for me. Lemon-flavored GU Chomps tasted good going down, but lemon-flavored burps aren’t all that much fun later.

And the biggest thing for me in finishing a ride still feeling good? Riding good horses who don’t thrash me to bits or give me ulcer-causing worries. Thank Liberty, Rocco, Gina, and Stephanie for a great weekend and two great rides!

Ride Story: Prescott Chaparral: Day Two and A New Horse

/ Ashley Wingert / 8 Comments

We wrapped Day One with another successful 50 for me and Rocco, and after he was fed, watered, and wrapped, it was on to prepping for Day Two.

Gina had gotten her truck straightened out and had shown up in camp sometime while Steph and I were out on our second loop. She had in tow with her Uno, her Kiger Mustang gelding with a handful of endurance rides and a unique personality, and Liberty, a half-Shagya/half-Arab mare who would be my ride. Gina had been telling stories on this mare to me for some time now, including her propensity for escaping and apparently being immune to hot-tape fences.

Hmmm…this could be one tough mare.

But you know what? I love tough mares. I’ve spent the last 16 years around one, haven’t I? And yes, they might be more complicated, sometimes more frustrating, and definitely more of a challenge…but I get them. They’re not for everyone…but I love my mares.

Anyways, I was prepared for the fact she could be pushy and dominant, and our first meeting had me giving her a very clear definition of “personal space” when she attempted to body block me.

I’ve spent 16 years being pushed around by a pony. Do these horses honestly think they can be much worse???

With that settled, she vetted in beautifully, checking in with a pulse of 40 even with horses milling around the area, bawling cows behind her, strong wind blowing things over and around…oh, and did I mention this was only her second ride and the last ride she had done was this same one two years ago? Oh, yeah, and she’s really still just a baby, especially by slow-maturing Shagya standards…she’s only 7.

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to pre-ride, but I felt pretty comfortable with the idea of getting on her the next day. Some horses just give you good vibes, y’know, and I’d been reassured by multiple sources who know the horse that she doesn’t buck or rear, and really doesn’t spook at much.

That afternoon and evening, I managed to:

  • fit Liberty for boots (she had excellent hooves and has been barefoot her whole life but paranoid me was more comfortable being fully-booted) 
  • try my saddle on her (she’s a tank) 
  • get dinner (ribs! excellent!!!) 
  • go to the ride meeting (23rd place on Rocco on Day One and a t-shirt for completion)  
  • pack the crew bag 
  • try to poison Liberty (according to her) with electrolytes (really, another one who hates syringes???)
  • shower (yay for friends [Gina] with living quarters)
Morning (5AM…ugh) rolled around way too fast, and I started with Battle of the Breakfast, Day Two. I did a bit better this morning when I discovered cottage cheese went down quite well, plus another yogurt smoothie, a banana-applesauce, and coffee.
I was quite pleased with Liberty’s lack of young-horse-wiggliness when tacking up — I didn’t even bother to properly tie her (she was on her hi-tie) until after she was tacked up.
Liberty is definitely a Pretty Girl.
Doesn’t she look good in the orange?

That mane!!! I thought about braiding it, but kind of ran out of time. Fortunately, although it’s long, it’s silky and not really thick. And she’s also pretty much shed out except for a little bit on her back and belly.

Buddies
Liberty and Uno sharing a hay net.

Getting on a brand-new horse for the first time is always a bit fraught…in this case, it went off without a hitch. She stood politely next to the mounting block (a necessity: she’s a true 15.1 with no withers) and stood quietly while I got myself sorted out, then proceeded to still stand quietly while Uno did his Uno thing (circle-circle-circle-circle around the mounting block) before eventually deciding to cooperate. (He’s a Kiger Mustang. He does everything on his own time in his own mind.)

The start was another controlled start, but both the 50s and the LDs started at the same time. We split off onto separate trails within half a mile, but there were still probably 60+ horses all starting at the same time. We drifted out towards the back of the pack, but it was definitely a slow start.
Remember that part back on Day One where I mentioned that seeing the “scary” stuff the day before really benefited? Well, these two could have used the same benefit. :) It probably took us about 10 minutes to get past the camp vicinity, since we had to gawp at:
  • large rocks
  • tree full of fluttering ride ribbons
  • dead farm shack
  • dead farm equipment
  • other horses freaking out
I also wanted a slower start to give Liberty a chance to get used to me…and me to her. I could already tell she was going to be a smooth ride; her slow dance-mini prance past the (scary, already-creaking-and-groaning) windmill had shown me that much. We finally got out to the main road and picked up a trot.
Oooooh, this mare is a nice mover.
She’s smooth, light in the face, doesn’t pull, and actually responds to requests like, “Let’s not trot downhill on the hard-pack-topped-with-loose-DG [decomposed granite]-road.” I really like her trot: enough loft and elasticity that she’s easy to post and two-point, but doesn’t beat you up.
Camera out within the first few miles.
Liking this ear view.

She’s also really, really solid, especially for a baby. She was perfectly happy to lead, and although she peeked at thing (big rocks, dead logs, lurking cows), she rarely stopped, preferring to veer around and keep trotting. She also didn’t quite get “follow the trail” at first, and I had to actively ride her through the narrow, twisty single-track…for about the first quarter of the ride, after which point, she had it figured out.

The way the trail was run, the 30s and 50s shared some trail, then the 50s would break off and do a loop, then come back on shared trail…all throughout the day. Which meant as tail-end 30s, we were getting passed by the front-running 50s, pretty much most of the day. And she handled it so well. She is a dominant  mare, which means she has a space bubble…and one heck of a bitch-mare face…but she never acted on it. 
She also hit the first water trough at roughly 3.5 miles into the ride and started drinking. Yes!!!
Liberty and I lead for pretty much the first 9 miles, through single-track, open roads, across cow pastures, more road, then down into a large wash that made a long, slow uphill climb that kept going deeper and deeper into an ever-narrowing canyon. And finally, her baby-horse brain said, “Enough, I need a break.” So we put Uno in front and she was more than happy to follow him.
Still leading.
Smiling Gina and Uno.
Miles 10-12 were a bit of a “wall” for them…a large, wide-open road that lead to a gravel pit mine of some sorts, totally exposed to the sun and getting a bit warm. Talk about “death trudge.” I didn’t know two horses of their sizes (Uno is every bit of 15hh) could actually walk that slow. And then I pulled up the GPS track when I got home and realized it was also part of the section of trail that ended up climbing almost 1000′ in roughly four miles.
Death trudge excused.
We also met the terrifying photographer and had to be coaxed by her…so much for high-action shots. :)
The next few miles of trail into the vet check was a ton of fun…technical single-track that went up, down, around, and every which way, and it was there Liberty displayed one of the most hilarious quirks I’ve seen a horse pull: a temper tantrum when she trips. Seriously. She would take a minor misstep/trip, then shake her head and thrown in this bouncy hop-thing…I can’t even call it a crowhop because it involves more front hooves than hinds, but it’s like she’s stomping up and down on the ground that dared to get in her way.
We walked the road down into the vet check and she was already down by the time we pulsed in. (And ravenous. The alfalfa at our feet didn’t stand a chance.) I was happy with how she vetted: Mostly As, with a couple of Bs, but still very bright-eyed, perky, and happy to trot out.
She and Uno demolished a flake of alfalfa, grazed on whatever was growing underfoot, and nibbled on some bermuda grass before settling in to snooze for the rest of the hour hold.
Vet check snooze-fest!

You know I’ve got it together when I’m actually saying, “I wish the check had been shorter.” Really. I didn’t spend half of it trying to get my horse to stay in one place (either I or Gina held her for about the first 15 minutes, then I dropped my reins on top of the crew bag and there she stayed), so could actually dig in the crew bag, hit the porta-potty, replace water bottles, and eat.

Food tally: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, tapioca pudding. I’d also downed two water bottles and a sports drink by the time we got to the check, plus a granola bar. My shoulders appreciated not wearing the Camelbak like I did on Day One. And on the way back to camp, I slurped another banana-applesauce, plus another bottle of water and sports drink.
The trail out from the vet check was awesome. It was a technical, twisting, little-up-but-mostly-down ATV track and boy did we make time on it. I was seriously impressed with Liberty’s ability to handle herself on technical trail while moving at a good trot. Waaay fun. She was still happy to let Uno lead at this point, and he is one handy little Mustang, especially on technical going, and I was even more impressed that even with him in front, she was still paying attention to the trail and slowing down when necessary versus fighting to tailgate. 
There was no wasting time, especially on this last 12-mile stretch home. They drank at all of the water tanks/troughs, and we gave them a couple of grazing breaks, but we were very aware of the clock and had to make time when we could. Liberty was also willing to lead again, so we were trading off sections, breaking them down into smaller mileage so as not to overwhelm the baby-horse brain.
We pretty much trotted into camp, then hand-walked the short section through camp to where they were pulsing  and by the time they drank, she was down to 56…and we finished with a whole 14 minutes to spare! Which is pretty much how I wanted it: No racing, not pushing the young horse too hard, and still having bright eyes and good vet scores at the end…which she did.
And then we went back to the trailer where she proceeded to continue work on her excavation project:
Does it make me a bad horsey-mommy that I had to take a
photo before disciplining her?
Oh, the attitude! Note the tongue sticking out.
And as pretty as she is, this is such an unflattering photo.
She looks so much prettier in person.

That was the work of Saturday night and Sunday afternoon-evening. Exhausted, that one. Not.

Suspect she was: 1) not pleased with confinement (she does bust out of hot tape corrals); 2) wanting her buddy next to her, not on the other side of the trailer; 3) wanting attention.
Still, digging to China was her worst indiscretion all weekend.
I can see why someone coined LD the “Luxury Distance.” It was kind of nice to finish up mid-afternoon and have a chance to get another shower (!), sort everything out for the next day (still anticipating riding Day Three at this point), grab dinner, and go to the ride meeting. (15th place; mesh mangers for completion awards…too cool!)
However, the plans changed one final time. After unwrapping Hadji’s legs, Steph noticed he had a puffy front leg, and while the swelling went down after doing a few walking laps, it was decided he wasn’t going to go out on Day Three. I had the option of taking Rocco out, but I declined. I had two awesome rides and was perfectly fine with calling it good at that point. It had only been Rocco’s second 50, and while he probably  could have handled it, especially if we went slow, I didn’t feel like pushing it, especially on someone else’s horse. So we packed up and headed home Monday morning.
Even with all of the changes of plans, I had an awesome weekend! Two great rides on two great horses, a chance to see and socialize with friends, beautiful trails, and an excellently managed ride. This was the third year for the Prescott Chaparral ride, and the first year I managed to make it to the ride…and you can bet I’ll be back for next year!!!
That wraps up our in-state rides until the fall, so I have no clue what’s next on the schedule. We shall see…