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?

Weekend 2 Weeks From the Thirty

The weekend after our "perfect trail ride," I got moving to get to the tack shop with my future and fellow hunter pace team members. One needed a new show shirt, and it was a great day for me to check out the trail riding gear since the ride was in 2 weeks. (yea, I'm slacking - grad school is screwing me up). I was looking for a pad with pockets and something that could attach to the saddle to carry water. Everything they had was expensive, cheaply made, or wouldn't work with an english saddle, but I did score Spyder some treats and leather cleaner wipes (my new FAVORITE leather cleaning product - no more paper towels and rags and hours of cleaning/conditioning). The wipes have a lot of conditioner on them, and I didn't think they would be as good as they are. Lexol will be getting a lot more of my money.

When we were through with the tack shop, the girls came to ride at farm the farm with me. I was even able to score (borrow/was given) a pad with pockets that the one never uses to use for my upcoming ride (which is no longer happening, we'll get to that). Spyder would NOT listen! He had a rearing fit before they got there and wouldn't back down. We warmed up by the barn since the wind was making all of the horses crazy. Once they got there, we rode out to the big ring to have more space to work. Spyder was OK out here as far as spooking goes, but he was not liking the fact that I'd ask him to work while the other horses were standing there. He REFUSED to walk away from them, and something was off with his trot. He did get his feet trimmed nice and short for out upcoming ride, but it was days since it had gotten done. I took it easy since he was temperamental.

Sunbathing Saturday

We went out on the track because we were bored in the ring and he kept bulging at my leg. He would turn his body all sideways and literally side pass into the woods in the middle of the track. He was aggravating me so bad that I jabbed him with my spur, he kicked out, then he got over it. He was better for the rest of the ride, but certainly not perfect. They rode back to the trailer, and I decided to try to make him move. Yeah, "try" is the key word there. He kept bulging and would not walk on the track because he knew he'd be put to more work. I got to the point where I got his two feet on the sand, then he moved the other two. After we got to that pitiful moment, we walked around the barn and trotted around the area to end on that "good note." Ha, yeah right. I put his cooler on to see how it fit, and his mane was really getting out of control so I started to pull it and make him look less homeless.

Tried it on for the ride.

Worked on that mane because it was awful!

Sunday was trailer fixing day to get that situated for the following week/weekend so I could practice with it prior to my ride. It seemed to be one issue after another with the wiring, but that got figured our, and it got put back together with the new tires. It looked so great and was getting me excited for what the next two weeks would bring leading up to my ride. I talked to a few people about meeting up to trail ride the following weekend, and I was also getting nervous for my 30 miles! AHH! I headed out for a ride late in the day and had a decent ride with no fuss. We did about 6 miles with no arguing so I took it easy with his cooperation. If his feet were an issue, I didn't want to hurt him for the ride in two weeks. He needed a mental break from the day before, and taking it easy makes him easier to deal with. I worked to straighten out his mane a little more, but I still have a lot to do with it. Yikes! They always have their ups and downs, and I'm into that thought process to help me to look ahead and ride each ride like the one before was decent (even if it wasn't).

I'll get to the trailer in my next post...

The Perfect Trail Ride

I've been a blogging slacker - training for that ride was getting me moving (but now we're out... more to come).

Back to the trail ride... OK, maybe it wasn't so perfect as I had a near death experience (sort of), but it was SO much fun! It was a hot day, and we decided to go to Batsto which is a part of Wharton State Forest. I'd always seen trailers parked there, but I haven't been able to get out with a horse. There are SO many trails and great mile markers along the way so you know how far you've gone. There are also a lot of spots where you can go in the water, and Spyder was playing in it splashing like it was the most fun experience.

 

We went just over 10 miles with walk, trot, water, and CANTER! Yes, cantering straight...Cantering straight for a while and on my horse's neck... OOPS! We were fine with little spooking (even in water and past a truck with a canoe). It wasn't until the way back when we decided to pick up a crazy canter because Spyder decided he just had to keep up and put his head down to "sniff" the deeper/whiter sand when we got up to it. When he put his head down, he pulled me forward, and we were full speed ahead. He kept going and going and going, and I decided to make a noise so the rider in front of my would hear to slow down so I could get myself back together. We caught up, and I managed to somehow push myself back up off of his neck and keep riding like nothing ever happened. IT WAS SO FUN! Spyder can canter, but he'll act like he can't in the ring.

Towards the end of the ride, and during a cantering frenzy, we caught up to a man on a horse. It was actually a cowboy on a horse that claimed he knew we must have been english riders when he saw the mounting block/stepping stool back at the truck. The cowboy was riding a beautiful chestnut quarter horse and gave us tips on where to go in the next couple trips. He had his 3 dogs with him which Spyder was not fond of. There were 2 cattle dogs and some type of retriever that follow the man's horse and play and explore along the way. Spyder was getting followed by the two cattle dogs when one decided to nip at his feet. He was looking and putting his ears back the whole time we were walking, but he decided to let out a loud squeal and kick out at the dog. The one that kept to the back of us was the older one which was 14. The cowboy assured me that if Spyder kicked the dog, it would just go in the woods and die. WOW... that made me feel better. I just kept Spyder in check and gave him things to do to keep his mind off of them, and I'm not sure it's a good idea to get dogs too close to his hind end. He's got a quirk I didn't know about.

Cowboy dude

The nipper

The Weather

From 50 to this in one day. 

 

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.