The BIG BRAT Strikes Again

I just aged 10 years this morning. I went out to check on Launi, who's been lethargic the last few days. He also had a swollen eye last night. I whistle & call, but he doesn't come down the pasture. So I walk up the pasture & don't see him. Faye comes down by herself. I still don't see him & I'm almost at the top. I start looking at the ground to see if he's down. I don't see Launi. By then I was starting to panic & starting to cry. I don't see him anywhere. So I look around the rock/boulder pile & still no Launi. Did someone steal him? No, how could any one get to the back of the landlocked property? And he'd never go over or through the fence. OMG, he's dead under the trees. I start searching through the eucalyptus bushes, knowing he couldn't fit under them. Sobbing & calling his name. And then I see the BIG BRAT. He's hiding behind an oak bush (more bush than tree), peeking around the corner, ears up & eyes bright. OMG now I could kill him for scaring me into an old woman! He saunters (yes he can saunter) over & nudges me. Doesn't he know I don't have 9 lives? He follows me down the pasture, trying to bump my back the whole way. And he KNOWS that's unacceptable behavior. WHY do I love this BIG RED BRAT?!!

To Rear Or Not To Rear

Earlier today some people were talking about horses who rear.  Some said "once a flipper, always a flipper".  Others suggested doing a lot of ground work.  Still others advised getting a trainer involved.  Then someone mentioned breaking a raw egg over the horse's head as it reared.  All this got me to thinking about a few "confirmed rearers" that I've known.

In 1984, I saw a gelding at the stable where I boarded my mare rearing & flipping over with a so-called trainer.  I say so-called because she was unaffectionately known as Big Bird.  She had the gelding in a pelham & a chambone, trying to force him "into frame".  This was an 11 year old horse who was unbroke & she was attempting to get him started.  I really liked the looks of the horse & thought to myself that I wouldn't mind owning him.  Be VERY careful what you wish for because just a couple months later, he was mine.  Still not successfully under saddle, I knew I had a challenge ahead of me.  In answer to anything that gelding didn't like, he'd rear right on up & over.  I put him in a snaffle & had a little less problem, but he'd still go up if he got mad or had a different opinion of what we should be doing.  One day after a flip-over going down the side of a hill, I got desperate & switched him to an old hackamore I had in the trailer.  That horse NEVER reared again.  He went on be the greatest horse I've ever ridden.          

A LOT of years ago (45 I think) I had an OTTB gelding who would rear. He'd stand on his hind legs, pawing the air. I tried breaking the warm water balloon over his head. Didn't work. Turning his head around didn't work. Pulling him over didn't work to fix the problem either. The old Englishman who owned the stable handed me a short piece of hose one day & told me to tap my horse's poll the next time he reared. He said to keep it up until the horse finally dropped to his knees to get away from the tapping. He said once a horse was "dropped" in this way, they'd never rear again. Mind you this wasn't a hard hitting session. Just a continuous tap, tap, tap. Not easy to do as you try to stay in the saddle & follow the slinging head. I'm sure I was all smiles as that gelding finally dropped to his knees. I stopped tapping & the next thing I knew that danged horse had not only gone straight up onto his hind legs, he'd smacked me in the face & broke my cheekbone. But you know, that was his last rear. For whatever reason, he really did never rear again while I owned him.

He was a chestnut quarter horse who'd been purchased as a young girl's first horse.  He was NOT a kid's horse.  I don't know how many times he reared & threw his young rider before I started riding him.  He was an ornery thing, having temper tantrums if he didn't get his way.  Those temper tantrums were usually rearing, sometimes adding a buck as his front feet hit the ground.  After a couple of months, he was settling down & working fairly well so his young owner was allowed to start riding him again.  It didn't take long for him to revert back to the rearing beast he'd been.  He knew his rider was no match for his temper tantrums.  Once again I became his rider.  I finally got tired of being nice, trying to work through his rearing.  He reared on a bad day & I pulled him all the way over.  He got up stunned & I was hopeful that was the only lesson he needed.  Nope.  A few days later he went up again.  I pulled his head around until he fell to his side.  He just didn't care.  On any given day, whenever he was in a "snit", he'd rear.  After another month of trying to get him over his bad habit, it was decided he was never going to be suitable as a young girl's horse.  He was traded to a horse dealer for an older, kid safe horse.  Last I heard, the dealer had some young cowboys riding him.  He was working cattle well, but would still occasionally rear.

Horses rear to get away from pain or fear.  For some, it becomes a learned habit to get away from anything they perceive to be unpleasant.  With luck, some horses are fortunate enough to find a rider who's willing to work things through until a solution is found.  These horses go on to be successful mounts.  For the few who are hardcore problems (sadly they're man made problems), not only is their future in danger but they're a danger to all who dare ride them.  

To rear or not rear?  If only people wouldn't put horses in a position where they feel rearing is their only way out.                

Reflections & Goals

It's not very often that I allow a reality check to rein in my horse addiction. Today turned out to be an exception & the realistic me won out over the impulsive, horseaholic me. 

I absolutely love the broodmares & foals. In early 2012 I told myself no more breeding because I NEEDED & WANTED to get back on the endurance trail. I set a couple goals for myself & they didn't include breeding. Well we all know I failed because I did breed a mare & have my 2013 filly, Ryn, here to prove that. I did get back on the trail in 2012 when Ryn's big, literally BIG, 1/2 brother went to his first 50 mile ride. It had been my first since 2005, & it felt awesome to be on the trail on my heart horse. No more breeding was looking good. Then early 2014 arrived, with Launi ready to ride. Or so I thought. He was in shape & going so well. Then in Feb he got sick. VERY sick. I didn't think he was going to make it, & neither did the vet. As the months went by, the realization that I'd probably never see either of my goals met had me thinking about foals again. If I can't ride, I may as well have a foal, right? I kept up my search for a riding horse, but in the back of my mind I knew I was also looking closely at pedigrees. What if I found that perfect mare to breed? Then I started to actually openly look for a broodmare. Launi got well & after 9 months, I was able to ride him. It was a terrifying, adrenaline rush because I know he's too big & strong for me at this stage in my life. Oh but what an AWESOME feeling being back on MY horse.

A couple weeks ago my good pal Shara Llewellyn sent me info on a mare. Such a good friend. Just tempt me with a mare who's pedigree I love. A mare who'd fit right in with my herd. But since she was only a light riding horse, she couldn't double as one of my goal seeking horses. I was going to stay on track & didn't pursue Shara's evil plot. Until today. Yes, today someone else posted about the mare & got me to thinking about breeding again. Yeah, everyone egging me on got me all excited about what a fabulous foal I could have in 2016. I went outside to work in the barn & think about what I was potentially going to do. Should I get a broodmare & give up on my riding plans? I was "this" close to saying yes to a really nice broodmare. 

Then I went to help a friend with an injured & down horse. A horse who I knew 20 years ago when I was riding Wraff endurance. As I knelt by Mr B's head, talking to him while my friend called the vet, I was telling him what a great horse he'd been; how wonderful it was to have ridden next to him when I'd been riding the greatest horse I've ever ridden; & how awesome it was to come back into his life in his later years. It was in those moments of memories going down the trail that I realized I really do NEED to ride. It was in those moments that I knew I wasn't going to bring home a broodmare; that my 2013 filly, Ryn, is my last foal.

Mr B, give Wraff a back scratch for me. I'm sure he'll enjoy reacquainting with an old friend.

A Knightress In White Armor

Baby Faye saved the day!

And now...the rest of the story. LOL

Faye & I went for a nice ride this morning with new friends, Terry & her gelding LG. Faye & LG got along great, as did Terry & I.  We rode Loafer Loop, enjoying the gorgeous day, fun company, & great smells of clean air after our recent rain. The horses did great, even when we encountered a horse hating squirrel. haha About 1/4 mile before we came to the horse camp, something down the hill in the bushes spooked the horses. Both froze & deeply sniffed the air. Terry even commented that it was a bit eerie because after we heard something the first time, everything else was quiet. All of a sudden LG got terrified & spun to come back down the trail towards Faye. I stuck Faye's nose in front of him to slow him down & Terry managed to turn him back uphill. This happened a couple of times before LG just lost himself in panic & kept coming down the hill. Baby Faye was the knightress in white armor as she stood quietly while I grabbed LG's rein. I was SO proud of her. Terry got her reins gathered for better control & put LG behind Faye & on we continued. We took a short break at the horse camp to calm down & relax. Than back to the trailers with no further incidences. I know there can be a lot of deer & turkeys in that spooky area, but the quiet was so strange. While we'll never know what spooked Faye & LG, there's a part of me that wonders if there was a cat lurking. Whatever it was, Baby Faye proved to be a rock today.

Kristina Would Have Loved Her

In Sept 2013, a Chico St nursing student, Kristina Chesterman, was killed by a drunk driver while she was riding her bike.  She had dreamed of being a part of Doctors Without Borders, a group that provides medical care in third world countries.  One of her nursing instructors, Darcy, is leading a project to build a medical clinic in Nigeria, and in Kristina's honor, the clinic will be named The Kristina Chesterman Memorial Clinic. When it came time for fund raising, Darcy spoke with my friend Jaya about a fundraiser.  Out of that conversation, the Kristina Chesterman Memorial Endurance Ride came to life.

For a few months, 2 friends & I had been planning to ride the LD at the KC ride.  For one friend it would be her first endurance experience.  The other was riding her mare on the mare's 1st ride.  We met at the corner gas station & caravaned to the ride.  Meadowbrook Ranch in Magalia has a gorgeous campground with plenty of large spots for trailers.  The horses had shade, & for anyone wanting they could take their horse to the lake for a swim.  The property belongs to the family of a man who was an avid endurance rider.  In the early 90s he was a Tevis finisher.  He also did endurance driving & held competitions at the ranch so there are about 10 miles of trails wide enough for carts/chariots.  What a lovely camp sight.

Saturday morning's ride start had a few hiccups.  With Faye in the rear of our 3 person group, she wasn't happy at all.  Faye's used to leading, where she feels safer & more comfortable confronting things head on.  She was skittish, knowing something from behind was going to get her.  She wanted to stop & look back over her shoulder & once she even caused her hindend to fall in a ditch.  The mare in the lead kept spooking so it was Faye to front.  Ears up & moving forward at a nice trot in her safe zone, Faye was ready to get on down the trail.  Until I heard a lot of yelling, whoa, whoa, & the thundering of hooves almost on top of us.  The very large gelding in our group was trying to run away with his rider.  Needless to say, little Faye was pretty scared.  We had to stop & wait while the rider composed herself.  Unfortunately that meant riders catching up & passing us.  That only set the other 2 horses in our group off into bucks, rears, & another runaway attempt.  Poor Faye didn't know which way to go to stay out of everyone's way.  At one point she was in a ditch, trying to go in the opposite direction.  A little bit too much excitement going on!

Finally we were trotting smoothly down the gravel road with Faye in the lead, the very large gelding in 2nd, & the other mare bring up the rear.  My reins were flopping & Faye's legs were flying.  She really is so much fun because I don't have to worry about her running away or bucking.  Unlike the very big gelding who once again came thundering almost over the top of us.  He really was too much horse for his frightened rider.  So once again we had to stop & wait for composure.  Mile after mile of gravel road took its toll & the gelding's rider needed to walk the downhill, which was a lot.  She wasn't up to trotting downhill & preferred to trot uphill.  Well that wasn't exactly in my game plan.  I had planned to let Faye trot the downhill & save herself on the uphill.  Plus I was riding to my heart monitor.  And really, Faye is a downhill trotting machine.

As I watched my watch, I was getting concerned about our time.  We'd lost some time finding trail where ribbons were missing or not visible in the brush.  Note to ride managers everywhere, white ribbons are almost invisible against the trees.  Fortunately I know not to go very far without seeing a ribbon so we were never off trail more than 50 yards or so each time.  We lost time everytime the very big gelding acted up.  That's a LOT of horse when he's thundering from behind.  Poor Faye would try to move off the road to make sure she didn't end up under him.  The horses did settle into their training places as Faye led the way, ears pricked, & little legs trotting for all they were worth.

At last we came to our 13 mile vet check.  Woohoooooo... I needed the frozen diet pepsi I'd sent out with my crewbag.  It was awesome that the missing port-a-potty (another story) had been found & it arrived just in time so I didn't have to find a bush.  I wondered at the loose dogs running through the check & even mentally cursed at the idiots who let their dogs loose.  Oops, the ride photographer caught my picture as I led Faye in & 2 of those dogs were GOATS!  Neither Faye nor I had noticed they were goats.  LOL

A little back-story on Faye's Fri night vet-in is that the vet commented that she looked to be built for comfort & not for speed.  What he was really saying was that she wasn't an endurance horse.  At our vet check during the ride I think he was a little surprised when he vetted Faye.  Her CRI was 44/42 & everything else was A's on her card.  Now the vet told me that I obviously wasn't working my horse hard enough & that she could easily have gone faster into the check.  Made me smile.  I mentioned to him that she had gotten a girth gall 2 weeks earlier & that she'd started with a hairless spot the size of my pinkie fingernail.  He said she didn't appear to be bothered (by his hand or stethoscope in her armpit) so not to worry.  Well...I'm glad I did worry.  Because our check was only 30 minutes, we weren't required to remove tack.  So honestly neither the vet nor I looked under Faye's girth & armpit.  But as I got ready to go back out on the trail, I made sure I reapplied Desitin to the area as prevention.  What I found was a new, worse gall that was starting to swell.  ACK!  There wasn't a second thought for me that we were done for the day.  Faye was doing so well & is so stoic that she'd have kept going because I asked.  Nope, not going to be unfair to her or ungrateful to her for giving me a good 13 miles.  Trailer us back to camp please.

As I was leading Faye to the pull trailer; Kristina's mom came over & asked if she could pet Faye.  What she said next broke my heart & it will stay with me forever.  She said "Kristina would have loved her".  As she teared up, I gave her a big hug, willing myself not to cry for her sake.  It was such a poignant moment for me.  In some way, that statement made my heart swell for Faye even more.  I know it doesn't make any sense, but that simple statement has change something in me.  Life is too short & we need to love & appreciate what we have because it might be taken from us at any moment.  I love you Baby Faye, more than you know.

    

Faye's Big Adventure-Or Camp Far West Here We Come!

When I found out that a friend was going to be hosting an endurance ride in Sept, I wondered if Faye could be ready for the 25 mile LD.  Was it possible that Baby Faye could go that many miles?  Could she even trot fast enough to make time cut-offs?  She's a little mare with a little stride & I wasn't convinced.  But I started riding with a friend every Wed, first walking & then finally adding some trotting.  Faye was doing pretty well, even trotting up our local hills.  But was she trotting fast enough?  I wasn't convinced we were trotting faster than 5mph & that wouldn't be fast enough to complete a ride in time.  Still I entered Faye in my friend's ride, scheduled for Sept 13th.  Four weeks before the ride I rode with a friend who has a GPS.  I'm sure she was tired of me constantly asking "how fast now?".  It was such a great day because Faye was trotting between 7-7 1/2mph, & even pushing an 8mph trot.  I was beginning to think we might just finish our LD on time.

Two weeks before out scheduled ride, I had planned to go to an endurance ride & just do their 8 mile "fun" ride.  It'd be good experience for Faye to be camping with the "big boys & girls", plus a couple of friends were going to meet me & ride as well.  But somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind was an evil whisper telling me to "just do it".  Really?  Just go & do the 30 mile LD?  Was that whisper nuts?!  It kept creeping in & nagging me.  For a week it worried me.  Nope, not going to do it.  I was going to stick with my "fun" ride plan.  So I packed light, expecting for a fun day & to be home by early afternoon.  Driving to the ride I kept hearing "just do it".  Finally I told myself if I didn't see ribbons marking the trail at the farthest point (meaning the trail cut lower by the road & thus shorter), I'd think about riding the LD.  There were ribbons marking trail at the farthest point, so no LD for us.  Then I got to ride camp.  I looked at the trail map, questioned the water situation, got prodded by a few people, & before I knew it, we were signed up for the LD.  Actually that was ok because knowing the area like I do, I knew I could cut back to camp at any time if I thought it was necessary.

Saturday morning didn't start off very well.  I had a major backache from trying to sleep on a downside slope.  So with no sleep, hunched over with a backache, I tacked up Faye, questioning my sanity.  I started last because I didn't want anyone running pass us.  I had no idea what Faye's reaction would be to other horses in a competition setting.  Down the gravel road we went at a bit of a spider-legged trot, as a friend calls the green horse unsteadiness.  We passed a couple of horses & Faye settled in to moving forward.  When we arrived at the 1st creek crossing there was a gal who was having trouble with her horse.  It was about a foot drop into the creek, through some brush.  She'd had to lead her horse & couldn't get back on.  Faye stood quietly while I broke dead branches off to give us a better spot to step into the creek.  Then she stepped down into the water like a pro.  A couple of 50 miler friends caught us there & when they pulled on ahead, Faye stayed at her pace & didn't fret.  As I rode along, I told Faye about all the times I'd ridden this trail on Wraff & that she was following in his hoofprints.  I told her how awesome it felt to be out there with her & that we were making our own memories.  There were times, as I looked down at the fleabitten spots on her neck, that my heart swelled with joy.  Here I was on the mare who I'd carried down the pasture the morning she was born.  She hadn't even taken her first steps.  And now I was riding her on an LD.

Throughout the first loop we played catch up with a couple of chestnut horses & their riders.  They had much faster trots but because Faye was trotting consistently along, we'd catch up when they slowed.  At the gun range it sounded like a war zone with cannons & machine guns.  The chestnuts' riders had to dismount & barely got by without being trampled.  Faye was nervous but she was steady.  THANK YOU to my neighbors for shooting their guns all these years.  As we came into camp for our 1 hour hold, we stopped in the creek & I sponged Faye for the first time.  She was so good & never spooked as I dropped the sponge over her shoulder.  I had told myself that IF I got into lunch by 11:30, & Faye looked really good, I'd go back out to finish the ride.  We pulsed down at 11:08.  Her CRI at the lunch stop was 52/48, B's on her right side gut sounds & A's on everything else.  Only 7-8 miles to go.  Horse looking fantastic, rider looking questionable.

Back down the gravel road we went after our 1 hour stop.  Faye moved right along.  When we entered the hill section of trail, we ended up behind the 2 chestnuts once again.  Faye happily followed them, but was well behaved when I asked her to walk the uphills as they trotted on.  I knew I'd catch them again.  On that last loop we passed 4 other riders.  Seriously, Faye PASSED other horses on her very first ride.  Up over the mountain we went, keeping a steady trot on all the flat & some of the downhill, walking the uphill.  The last couple of miles is a long, red dirt road.  A very hot & defeating road.  It felt mentally daunting to me, but Faye just trotted on, ears up, mane blowing in the breeze she created.  We walked across the finish line with 45 mins to spare.  After a very long drink, Faye pulsed in at 56.  We were officially finished.  I took her back to the trailer, unsaddled her, sponged her off & fed her.  Then we went for our final vet check.  She had a B on mucous membranes & gait, everything else was A's.  Her final pulse was 44.  What an AWESOME little mare.  A hidden treasure that's been hiding in my pasture, right before my eyes.

This morning she looked really good.  In fact, she's looking & moving much better than her rider.  It's really a good thing riders don't have to pass vet checks.  I'd have been pulled for a sore back, a tied-up left calf, & dark urine.  Yeah, next time I'll go prepared to ride, complete with plenty of electrolytes & substance foods.  One chocolate pudding for breakfast doesn't go very far.

Faye really came a long way on her 1st LD.  By the end she had a nice steady trot & knew where her feet were.  Previously we only trotted short sections because our local trails are hilly.  Our local trails are mostly single track & it was surprising to get out in the open on a green horse who has NO idea how to stay on the beaten path.  Twice we almost crashed through ditches & once her hindend stumbled into a ditch, all because she just went straight, even when the trail curved.  She couldn't figure out why we couldn't just go everywhere in a straight line, including under the low hanging branches.  By the end of the day she was following the trail pretty well.  I learned that while Faye likes hydration hay at home, she refuses to eat it at a ride.  She wanted less boring feed & she got it.  A little rolled oats, beet pulp, carrots, wheat bran, whatever she wanted.  I even begged some different feed from friends.  And after the ride, every time she saw me she'd demandingly nicker for more carrots.  Who was I to refuse this wonderful little mare who packed me through 30 miles of heat, rock & horrible roads?        

Faye Solos on WST

5:30 came way to early this morning.  But I had to catch Faye, which took a few laps around the pasture, load her, & stop at the Shell station to get gas.  Then I was off to meet my friend J at the Auburn Overlook at 9am.  We were planning to ride the last few miles of Tevis, out to No Hands Bridge & back, because she & her mare Asali are entered in Tevis this year.  Well things didn't go quite as we'd planned.

I'm perpetually early & true to form, Faye & I arrived at 8:30.  Not a bad thing to be early because it gives me plenty of time to get ready, tack up Faye, put her boots on, let her settle & finish eating her bucket of mash.  I'm glad I had the extra time this morning because Faye was pretty nervous when we arrived.  It took her a while to quiet down & relax.  After tacking her up, I lead her around the parking lot & across the wooden bridge to the other side of the irrigation canal.  She didn't even hesitate. 9am came & went with no sign of my friend.  I was sure hoping everything was ok.  At 9:30 I decided to start riding.  Today was only Faye's fourth solo ride & she did AWESOME!

It can be scary for a horse to start out on the Western States Trail from the Auburn Overlook.  The trail goes down in the undergrowth so it's dark & frightening.  Faye snorted, hesitated, snorted again, & then just kept on going.  I couldn't believe how many runners were out on the trail.  The first 3-4 spooked Faye a little, but after that she either ignored them as they ran by or tried to reach out to see if their water bottles were carrots.  The scariest incident of our ride was mysterious crashing ahead of us in the bend of a switchback.  Faye KNEW it was a monster, & I couldn't honestly tell her different.  As it was, it turned out to be a very noisy, obnoxious squirrel who was tossing pine cones out of the tree.  I was glad to be wearing a helmet, just in case.  And was so thankful a pine cone didn't land on Faye's butt.  That would NOT have been good.  LOL  Faye's very careful with her feet on technical trail & today she was very aware of every hoof as we made our way towards No Hands Bridge, or the Mt Quarry Bridge as it's officially called.  It was sad to see the lack of water on the trail.  Where usually there's small creek crossings, only dry rock was there to cross.  At least the waterfall had water, although so much less than I've ever seen it.  The footing down into the waterfall is tricky & Faye took her time, pausing to listen to the water before she continued.  She passed by the waterfall with only a moments hesitation before heading up the steps, back onto the old railroad grade.  We passed a group of people, 8-10, belonging to an infant group.  They all had infants in packs on their backs.  Oh did Faye's eyes get big.  But even this didn't stop her for long & it was on to No Hands Bridge.

I was disappointed when I got to the bridge because I was alone & wouldn't get a picture of Faye on her first ride across the bridge.  Then I saw an unsuspecting hiker.  Uh, would you mind doing me a HUGE favor?  Woohoooo I have Faye's picture on the bridge.  On our way back to the overlook we again passed the infant group.  This time we stopped for a few minutes while a couple of the babies reached tiny hands out for Faye's nose to touch.  She's such a sweet mare & she barely brushed their hands, eliciting a few giggles.  Now mind you that I don't like human babies, but it was quite something to see Faye's soft reaction to them.  We passed a few more runners on the way back, some with dogs, all trying to beat the heat.  As I headed up to Robie Point I could hear horses on the trail below.  I wondered if it could be my friend but then thought, probably not.  In the last 1/2 mile before getting back to the parking lot, we passed the first & only horses we saw today.  Right behind my truck was my friend's truck.  How on earth did we miss each other?  There was a note on my windshield explaining she was 40 minutes late because she'd had some truck/trailer issues & she hoped to see us on the trail.  Again, how on earth did we miss each other?  It's obvious now that the horses on the trail below Robie Point were my friend & her mom.  We missed each other by maybe 5 minutes.  DARN!  But oh well...it was a great day nonetheless.  I'm so proud of my little grey mare, who never ceases to amaze me.