Rabbit Run!

This was nothing on the way in

And so it didn't work out, but volunteering was so wonderful! I got up early on Saturday and put on my snow pants, yes, snow pants! It was on the chilly side, and I didn't have anything else to wear for pants that were waterproof. I had a wind breaker which did nothing for warmth, but it was going to get to 55. 55 degrees with rain wasn't very warm, and it was SO nice that the NJTRA group had lunch and SOUP! Soups galore and COFFEE and tea! Wow, what a treat! I had no idea that they did all of that for the riders. The drive up to the place was sketchy with the cranberry bogs, mud, and rain, and it was AWFUL coming out after the long day of constant rain that never let up. I was sliding all over the place with the real wheel drive truck - not fun!

I worked as a timer for the pulse down area. Everyone that was there to check pulses was super nice, and they all had a lot of great advice for me. I was happy that I wasn't riding in the bad weather, but I was also disappointed because it makes me want to do this SO BAD! It is a beautiful area to ride in, and a few of the volunteers want to ride with me. The vet gave me some great input on what she was looking for so I could plan ahead in any future rides. I can't wait to participate in my first ride, my horse or not. I have a feeling I'll like it and be exploring all new gear so the weather won't be an issue on the tack.

I didn't ride Sunday because of more rain, and I felt so bad for the Bunny Hop riders.Since it rained all day Saturday and trailers were in and out on the muddy road, I can only imagine what their day was like. I did get to the farm on April fool's day after work which hasn't happened in a while. It was a short ride, and I was in a bad mood. Spyder was a grump, and I ended being happy after the ride because we worked through a buck and him being a jerk until he was calm and would stop and stand still when I asked (especially by the gate headed back). As soon as he was listening, I decided to end it before I went back to having an even worse day. When I got to farm, the tack area was cleaned out from the other person's stuff. The woman I trail rode with a few times left so now I have a 3 stall area, tack room, and cross ties all to myself!

Mine, all mine!

On Thursday, April 3, the trainer at the farm sent me a text about a last minute lesson. She was on the track with a Tennessee walker that she rides for the owner and was available for a lesson if I wanted. I didn't plan it, but it's just been awful as far as motivation goes for riding so I committed. Spyder bucked because I handed it to him for not listening whatsoever so we worked on that. I had to turn him with an open rein every time he did something bad. It was a lot of putting his head down to get leverage, putting his head up to evade the bit, or trying to figure out a way he could kick or get his head back.

His signature move is cantering when he's angry because he thinks he's not allowed from on the track. It's hilarious that it's his defense, but we pushed and just kept going with it. Within a very short (but felt like FOREVER) five minutes or so, he was back to listening (soft of). In ten minutes or so he was responding to my leg and cooperating better. We stuck to w/t and canter when he felt like it until we got back to listening. I wish I packed my crop because my legs were on fire. Next ride, take the crop! I knew that I had to get out to the barn and work him on the weekend because he has some serious "I don't want to do what you say" issues so I made some time both days (next post).

The Next Week

I went under the trailer to find part numbers for the axle because it could use new rubber fittings. What did I see? Well, I saw what I thought was a crack in the frame, but I wasn't positive so I took a picture. I was so upset I felt sick to my stomach because 1) This is what I spent money on? 2) How did I not see this? 3) It was "back together" 4) What a nightmare! It's not in a place that you would EVER notice at just a glance, and it's in a bad spot right behind the axle where it bolts to the frame. All that I could tell myself to feel better is, "Well, at least you didn't put your horse in there." I don't know how I didn't see this, and now the ride was in jeopardy. GREAT! I need to figure out what decisions I have to make from here.

To top it off, I got home to open a package that i was waiting for (shocks to help lift ramp). I didn't need them, but thought I'd replace the ones on there to make it easier. What do you know? I got an empty box! It's like this thing is one big joke, a huge mistake, and a shoot in the foot. School has been overwhelming and I just haven't been in the mood to ride. I kept my head up and knew that things would get better, but now what? I trained for 30 miles for nothing? Why yes, yes I did! I contacted a shipper that didn't get back to me, the owner of the farm said she could take me if I needed it, no one responded to my "are you passing by me on the way to the ride" post in EVERY endurance group on Facebook, and the girl I was going to ride with said she'd get me (I just needed to find a way back). I looked at the weather, and it looked like rain all weekend. AHH! I decided to weigh the options. I still had some times to decide.

That weekend, I got invited to go to Batsto with the trainer's trailer, her new horse, and another girl. I decided it was a great opportunity to get off the farm and practice for this ride if I was going to end up doing it. We did

Relaxed for Friday

A LOT more water, cantering,  pacing (yikes), and a lot of working through some problem areas. We came up to campsites that were for boy scouts and a college course, and it was like a clown show. The horses saw tarps, tents, poles, wind, and every other imaginary object. Spyder was the calmest, but he didn't want to move ahead of the others. We stayed in the back most of the ride to pace since he likes to zoom past everyone. I did hold him back when they cantered ahead to see what would happen, and he just wanted to GO! I didn't feel like I had a whole lot of control so we took our time and caught up when we needed to. It was AWESOME, and we were the highlight of many people's pictures for the weekend on their hikes.

I ended up deciding to volunteer for the ride, and I pulled before the refund period was up. The coordinator said that I could get the other $25 they hold back if worked the event. I wasn't concerned with the money, but that was really nice of them and meant they needed volunteers. Since the weather was going to be awful, I stuck to volunteering with the thought that others would bail because of the rain.  I wanted to get the experience, see the location,and feel out the group that I'd been longing to meet.

I kept my half day that Friday that I would have used to trailer to the ride and rode. I didn't get to do too much because the vet gave him a tranq for his sheath cleaning. I did get a funny video of him being unable to control his muzzle. I have more of him flopping his head around on the cross ties because he was getting so annoyed he couldn't control it. I took it easy and did a lot of walking since he was out of it a bit. I was happy to have at least gotten on before the MONSOON for the Rabbit Run and I'm happy that I wasn't hauling out a 1/2 asleep/drugged horse. All things happen for a reason, right?

Putting in the Miles

New gear

Saturday, my goal was for 2 hours of riding and 12 miles which wound up being perfectly met. I know I could have ridden longer, for further distance, and for better time, but I didn't want to push things since the most I've ridden on the trails is about an hour and a half at any amount of speed. Spyder was UP because the track was getting leveled out, and he wasn't paying attention to me from the very start. We started in a small warm up circle to make sure he was listening to me, and everything was SO SCARY! He was spooking at birds flying from the bushes, jumps that didn't move, and his own shadow. I didn't let it stop me, and I kept pushing until he'd get over things.

His ginger snap face.

About that pushing... Spyder was not focused when another horse came out in the area to graze with his owner, and the kids from the barn next door came over to get in the trails around the track. Spyder forgot where his feet were because he was too busy paying attention to everything else. We were going up a very small incline, and he wanted to stop because the horses were out of his sight. I pushed him to keep moving and he fell flat on his face - face plant! I managed to stay on with him coming down on his knees, and I really don't know how, but it was awesome. Awesome? Is that the right word? It was awesome that I stayed on, that is. We walked it off and kept on keeping on like nothing happened.

Spyder was getting bored of the trot and it was HIS idea to canter. I let it happen and didn't push for fear of more tripping, but he did a great job. We moved out on a larger circle to try the "going straight" thing, but he would get off balance and come back to a trot. Good horse, he did it on his own! We cooled out around the barn and I decided to hose him since it was "warm" at 50-60 for a change. I put him in his stall to eat so he could dry off before I put him back out because it is still very cold at night. He was happy to have his food, and I was happy to have him trot in hand after all of those miles! Ginger snaps > Being Lazy.

I rode while my husband took his enduro out in the woods by his brother's house. The woods connects from his town to ours, and the trails are ENDLESS. In a car, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour, so you can imagine how big it is. 115,000 acres of FUN (and over 500 miles of paved roads)! ... and there are many more woods and trails attached to them from other parks that are easy to get to (and sort of attached). The picture is for reference of the size, and for the size of the state, it's a lot of open space. While they were in the woods, they found a rider that said she does endurance rides. I posted in the NJ Trail Ride Association group to see if anyone would know who this was, and it ended up being a rider that was in the group! She friended me, and the owner of the horse did, as well. I plan on trying to ride with them soon, and it turns out, the horse belongs to a member of the equestrian club that I knew from Stockton. It's such a small world!

The red is the area we live by (from above) to compare to the size of the state, and the blue is where the endurance ride is.

Is this a bad idea?

Sunday, I did a 45 minute quick ride with w/t/c. I wanted to make sure that Spyder was listening to my leg since the day before, I just let him trot along without asking for much else. I pushed him off of my leg around a circle and had him go round to really round out our turns and get him focused. The canter was collected and I was able to sit way back in the saddle, but pushing straight was an issue. I tried to open up the circle, but he would lose his balance and begin to trot. The good news is, each time he broke, I would ask him to canter again and he would pick it right back up. He got off easy since I pushed so hard the day before, and I went home to help Chris work on my horse trailer (sort of, but not really, he did all of the work). It's ALMOST there!

Worked him more than usual. Furry, sweaty mess.

Tired after pushing for 12 miles!

Training - I Think? x2

Sunday my friend and Sassy came to ride again. We went out to the ring to switch it up, and did a whole bunch of trotting and cantering. Cantering only because Spyder was ready to go! He didn't want to trot, and I guess that's proof that he has the ability to push harder. I thought I was pushing a bit just because of distance and not so much speed the day before, but he needs more. After doing a bunch of jumps and trotting the perimeter (and trotting HUGE, moving out REALLY REALLY BIG), we headed out to the cross country jumps for Sassy. Spyder and I trotted behind, and Sassy went over all that she was asked until the ditch. She refused it, and Spyder thought she spooked so he had a head tossing fit. Sassy went around to do it again and "popped out of the woods" so Spyder freaked out again, but it didn't stop Sassy from jumping. I am proud of the way that I handled it, and we continued to follow until Spyder pulled me out in front of her. He was a feisty thing and wanted to be in front!

We went to the xc jumps that are along the edge of the woods, and these are ones that Spyder always looks at while coming around the track. There was a black pipe, a white pvc fence rail (which he huffed at, but went over), and a log that we skipped since he was worked up. We followed Sassy at a trot into the woods and let her go over some larger logs while we trotted around them. Wait, let me rephrase that, bucked, reared, and head tossed passed the jump down a hill in the woods. That was fun... not! I handled it well and he got over it to continue on.

We decided to head back out to the track since they were feeding off of each others spooky attitudes. We trotted around the track 2-3 times, and by that time, I realized it was close to when I had to leave to meet my sister and mom for lunch before the snow. We were 1/2 cooled out when we realized this so we decided to call it a ride. It ended up being 7.15 miles of handling some not so great situations, but getting in a ton of trotting and cantering. Back at the barn, I saw the cat soaking up the sun in a weird spot (or hunting because she's always getting birds).

Sweaty mess

Spyder and I trotted out before the ride with a crop that I took to the paddock, and we worked on it after the ride with a lunge whip. He didn't get it the first try, but the second, a light bulb turned on. We trotted up and back twice, and we ended it on the PERFECT note. I'm going to keep practicing, but I was so happy with his progress that I gave him all the treats he could want... OK, OK, 4! haha.

I contacted the farrier to get a trim in before the ride, and he's going to come 2 weeks out. He's clicking a bit from his overreach so I need to get his back toes trimmed shorter. I bumped up his grain a little bit since we've been working harder, and I hope he keeps his weight for this upcoming adventure. With spring, the grass should be getting better so I know that will help if this snow ever melts! I'm SO annoyed we got 6-8 more inches Sunday into Monday, but the 40 degree weekend was nice. Let's hope it melts before next weekend. I'm also battling this finger hurting, but I do know I am sacrificing healing each time I get on to ride. It'll heal slower than it should, but it is getting better.

Training - I Think?

So I decided that since I am leaning towards this limited distance ride, I should try out some more distance. My goal for this weekend was to see how we both felt after putting in the miles. I knew going to the farm that I needed to work on "trotting out" since Spyder's not so willing on the ground. I taught him to be nice and quiet while on the lead, and now I have to take it back? OK, maybe not take it back, but adding in a new level of complexity (well, knowledge) would be tough. I started by grabbing him in the field with just a lead (added crop the next day). We walked out of the gate, and I asked him to trot towards the barn. He hesitated, but he went, and so we went back and forth by the barn to practice. Not bad for the first try. For this ride, we have a vet check where we have to trot on a loose lead to and from the vet for a soundness test. The level of his trot before, mid, and after the ride will determine part of the score we get if we finish.

I've adjusted it since this. He's just thrilled.

I tacked up with a new breast plate and tried out my non-slip pad I've had for quite some time. It looked sharp, and more like he was ready to event - not partake in an endurance ride, but whatever. It's what I've got to work with to determine if I like it. My friend texted me about riding on Sunday, but I replied, "how about now?" She didn't have boots with her (or so she thought), but she put the pony on the trailer and headed over. She had boots in her car and low cut socks on, but she managed to get out of the ride without any blisters. Just as I was getting on, the woman I rode with the prior weekend was getting tacked up. Horsey fun! For the first time in quite some time, I wasn't having to ride alone.

You can see the pad we tried, sort of.

My friend and I headed out to the track and went on the short loop of a trail by the killer guinea hens. We turned before we got to the farm behind where I board and headed back to the track (and saw deer, but it was good - PLUS Spyder led!).  Heading back to the barn, the other woman was ready to go, and so we started by going on the same loop again. We went down the street to the other property the farm owns and did the trails over there before heading back to send my friend off. I decided to stay on with the other rider, and we did a bit of trotting on the track before going on more trails I had never been on. We could only get so far before large puddles were frozen so it was safer to turn around.

We rode the area by the bank and ditch jump to work on the hills again. The gray mare decided to trot/canter down a hill so Spyder followed suit. He decided to race up to her in which case she bucked, and Spyder finally realized we weren't racing (or she wasn't spooking), and he calmed down. Boy, I wish horses didn't feed off of each other so much. I'm glad this ride is going to have a ton of experienced horses, but I'm not sure we'll keep up to be around their better behavior. We headed back into the trails in the middle of the track which ended up being 8.78 miles total! Although much was walking, I was VERY happy with our progress and his attitude. All of the deer he saw called for a racing heart, a hop, and quickly calming back down. It was a great day, and ibuprofen gave me the rest of the night to relax and get started on my next graduate coursework. Perfect timing for great riding weather (who am I kidding - we just got 6" of snow today).

Barn kitty always runs you when she wants food. "Miminski"

After the two hour ride, I decided to try trotting on the lead again. After those miles, it was a great test. I tried with the crop, but it wasn't working so I had the woman from the barn chase Spyder in to a trot while I clucked for him to go. He wasn't all that willing, but I think he was confused. Since he trotted, I gave him a ton of pats, "good boy," and treats. Since this post is getting long, I'll keep Sunday's ride to it's own. I am so very proud of our progress and my questioning in gearing up for this ride. I still have to get some work done to the trailer and the truck, but I will have no choice but to put in the time to practice with it during the week. Daylight Savings is less than a week away! I have SO much more time to be happy and do fun things after work. WHOO!

FB Official

It's on FB so it must be true, right?

Almost! I'm still gearing up to submit the paperwork and make it final!