Mika's First Endurance Ride

So my student, Mika, and I rode the Nevada Derby 25 together. Mika is 9 years old, and recently received her Level 1 string from Parelli. Attached is an article she wrote about her experience at the ride:

-----

Mika's Endurance Ride

By Mika Pitre

In April I did my first endurance ride. I have just passed my level 1 in Parelli Natural Horsemanship and my coach, Tracy Browne, invited me to be her junior partner in the Nevada Derby in Winnemucca Nevada. The Nevada Derby has a 50 and 25-mile ride. We chose to ride the 25 miler. I took my 25-year-old Appaloosa, Geraldine and Tracy brought her 23-year-old Spanish Arabian, Princess. I think they may have been the oldest horses there.

Before the ride I took out some horse spray my mom had packed for me and I sprayed my horse with it and when I tried to brush it out it turned her mane and tail purple, so the vet called her a purple roan instead of a blue roan. The first day we woke up to ice on our sleeping bags. I knew it was going to be a freezing cold morning. Before we were able to start out on the ride we had to go through vet check. There were four vet checks on this ride. The first check was in the mourning before we took off and two in the middle of the ride and one at the end when we came in. At each one the vets checked my horse’s pulse, digestion, muscle tone, anal tone, they checked her gums and I had to trot her out and back while they looked for soundness and attitude. An attitude check is where they are looking for how the horse leads. Is she moving lightly or pulling on the lead and are her ears forward and happy or not. At one check Tracy’s Princess got a B for her attitude because her head wasn’t up like most Arabians. Princess is a very calm left-brained Arabian.

Up on my horse my toes and fingers were numb and I had a hard time slowing my old gray mare down. Tracy and I were the only ones riding Savvy. Most of the Normal riders started out early and I think they wanted to race. On the 25-mile ride I saw rabbits, birds and my first Pronghorn Antelope. I even saw Stud Piles. Stud Piles are piles of wild horse poop where a wild stallion returns to poop and mark his territory. Nevada has a lot of wild horses and burros. Our pit crew was my Mom, Dad and little sister, Kiyana. They would come meet us at the checkpoint stops to feed us and check up on us. Back at camp Dad was camp cook while Kiyana and Mom kept the stalls clean and the horse groomed. I think if you are doing an endurance ride you should take a pit crew like I did. There were four vet checks on this ride. The first check was in the morning before we took off and two in middle of the ride and one at the end when we came in. We finished the ride towards the last of the group of riders because we were riding Savvy the whole time, but our horses were happy and not exhausted. That evening Tracy and I decided to do the 15-mile ride the next day. This is a fun ride for people and horses new to endurance riding.

On the 15 miler I mostly saw sagebrush and domesticated horses, burros and dogs. We rode by the Painted Mountains. These mountains look like they have streaks of reddish browns and orange painted across them. This shorter ride had only two vet checks. One check is in the morning and one when we came in at the end of the ride. On this last check the vet got very excited when Geraldine peed because this shows how well the horse is doing. My horse Geraldine got straight A’s on all her vet checks and I am very proud of her.

I am very thankful that Tracy invited me on this ride and introduced me to endurance riding. Next time I would like to try the Nevada Derby 50 miler.

Bryce Canyon Photos

Natalie Herman took photos at Bryce Canyon - you can see them here http://xprides.com/Bryce_2008/Bryce_2008.html. I am still kicking myself for misplacing my camera, which I found in the pocket of my windbreaker. Natalie's photos are gorgeous and they really capture the beauty of riding in Bryce.

Both of these photos were taken by her on the first day of the ride. THat was the warmest day. THe sky was so blue which made the rocks look so pink.

Bryce Canyon

Feather and I completed 200 miles in 4 days at Bryce this past week. She was amazing and stronger than ever. We foamed on Easyboots and those worked okay, but 2 days we had a lot of rain and muddy trails, and those Easyboots were so slippery all over the trail I almost pulled them off and had her go barefoot, but I didn't. I misplaced my camera, so I don't have any photos, but I am waiting for friends to share their photos with me. These trails were some of the best in the world, I am certain. The views were out of this world, the trails, although rocky, were awesome to move out on, and the aspen trees were just magical. Totally worth the 2 day trip to Southern Utah, and I will do it again. On the way there, we overnighted at the fairgrounds in Ely, NV, and met a really nice local man who was the caretaker of the fairgrounds. He told me all about Ely. Then on the way back, we overnighted at a well maintained fairgrounds with big pens for the horses in Eureka, NV. My saddle worked fine, it is the Bob Marshall. One day my horse had a sore back, but it was because I had packs on the saddle that made it off balance to the right, so I had to compensate to the left, and I felt off balanced the whole day. Feather was a bit sore, but Crockett Dumas's Holy Water took out any soreness and the next day we were good as new. I'll post photos when I get some.

Bryce Canyon

Feather and I are off to Bryce Canyon in Utah on Monday for a 5 day 250 mile endurance ride. I am not planning on doing all 5 days, maybe just 3 days. I hope to go and just enjoy the land and maybe go out for a few good rides. It is a long drive I know, but I am so looking forward to seeing this beautiful country. http://www.nps.gov/brca/

So, I will be unavailable - Monday the 25th to Thursday, Sept. 4....

Gold Country 30

Logan and Annie, Princess and I will be at the Gold Country ride this weekend. I will be sponsoring a junior rider, Lexi Hall. Just doing the 30 miler. The trail is a little different this year, so I am looking forward to it. We'll be going down to Traverse Creek, and doing the Enchanted Forest. Not sure what I am doing yet for hoof protection, but my gut says that I am foaming on Easyboots. Princess just rubs like mad on the gators, but maybe I'll wrap her with vet wrap and duct tape. Hmm. These are the things I ponder at night.

Fort Schellbourne

Feather completed all 5 days at Schellbourne! She was one of 11 horses total that did so. I was so, so proud of her. This was a very challenging ride - lots of mountain climbs, but that is right up her alley. We went just north of Ely, NV, and camped at the Schellbourne Pony Express station, next to the Schell Mountain range. There were wild horses all over this country, lots of stud piles, and a few wild horse sightings. Turns out, this was the White Pine HMA, and that is where Lucy, my little girl, is from. Small world. I did see a stud running out there with a similar color, I wonder if that was her sire or brother??? The most memorable days were day 3 and day 5. Day 3, we woke up to a rain storm, but at 9000' where we were heading, that means snow, and lots of it. So I bundled up as warm as I could, and started out in the rain. It quickly turned to snow at about 7000'. At lunch time, I had the opportunity to pull, but my core was okay, my toes were freezing as were my fingers, but I continued on. Feather didn't mind it too badly, she didn't go sideways or put her head down or ears back like so many horses did, she just pushed forward and got me over the pass in very windy, very cold, and snowy conditions. I don't have too many photos on that day because it was so miserable but I made sure to take at least one at the top.

Day 5 was a gorgeous trail, a new trail for the area. Dave Rabe cleared an old trail called the Ranger Trail that followed the ridge. What a magnificant trail - high up there - 10,000' elevation. Beautiful weather, but extremely windy. When we were exposed along the ridge, the wind was probably 70 mph, with gusts up to about 100 mph. No kidding. Our helmets were blowing off of our heads, and our horses were getting pushed. But the views were out of this world.

I foamed on Easyboots in the front and Bares without gaiters in the back and they stayed on the whole time. No boot issues at all. I cut out all of the heel straps, and completely cut out the back of the hind boots, but I left the lip on the front boots. I was more than pleased with their performance, I have to go out there today and try to pry them off, 10 days later.

Saddle issues - I didn't use my Freeform as I have wither clearance issues with it that I can't seem to solve. So I tried my Barefoot for the first 2 days and Feather had a slightly sore back both days. Brenda so nicely offered me a Bob Marshall to use, and that worked fantastic for Feather, and good for me! So I just ordered one for us, and I found a new home for the Barefoot.

Feather had great friends - Laney Humphrey's Dino and Feather rode together and were partners in crime - they did great together, and then Terri Tinkham's Oliver would get Dino and Feather to move faster. We had a great time on the trail together.

I have never done a ride like that before, but I will say it is a lot of strategy, organization, planning, and taking care of both your horse and yourself. Every night, I took a hot shower, I ate well, took my NCD drops and Agrigold and Joint formula from Waiora. My body felt great, I had very little stiffness and was able to get focused even in the worst of the weather conditions.

Photos can be viewed at: http://www.rosetrace.com/schellborne/schellborne.html

Fort Schellbourne

I am leaving on Saturday to go to Fort Schellbourne, NV for a 5 day, 250 mile endurance ride with Feather. This is quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever done with a horse before. I am so excited. I am making all of my preparations right now.... Can't wait. My goal is to do all 5 days, but just going there I'll be thrilled. I won't have cell phone or email for at least a week, so I apologise ahead of time if I don't get back to you quickly.

Fort Schellbourne

I am leaving on Saturday to go to Fort Schellbourne, NV for a 5 day, 250 mile endurance ride with Feather. This is quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever done with a horse before. I am so excited. I am making all of my preparations right now.... Can't wait. My goal is to do all 5 days, but just going there I'll be thrilled. I won't have cell phone or email for at least a week, so I apologise ahead of time if I don't get back to you quickly.

Wet Wild West

Princess and I had a successful ride outside of Nevada City this weekend. We rode 30 miles on Friday throughout the Tahoe National Forest. My friend Donna and her horse Venita joined us. The weather was mild, with a couple of drops of rain in the afternoon. Princess did so well, she ate and drank much better than at American River. She likes to go fast and has a very nice ground covering trot and likes to do little sprints of canter/gallop, especially uphill. She is a very strong 22 year old. I am so proud of her. We wanted to do all 3 days of Wild West, but a big rain storm came through in the middle of the night and was supposed to stay all weekend. In the morning, the place was wet, Princess was shivering, and the trails were slippery. We decided to go home and wait for another ride. We were only an hour from home, so that was an easy decision. I was impressed with how many people actually rode, including my friend Rachel Neppl. Rachel invided me and Feather to join her on the Bryce Canyon Ride later in the summer. I can't wait. And it turns out I may be going to Fort Shellbourne after all. I think I found a ride with a neighbor. We can share gas.

Wild West

Princess and I are off to the Wild West ride the weekend at the Skillman Campground outside of Nevada City. We are planning to do 2 days, a 30 and a 35. I foamed on Easyboots all 4 hooves. Looks like a good foam job. Rain is expected, so I am taking rain gear. This is great news! Keep down the dust. The EDEFT fun ride is on Sunday, and Logan would like to go, so I am going to head home Saturday night to do the fun ride with him on Sunday at Dru Barner.

Barefoot Horse Wins 100

I got this in an email discussion group today:

A barefoot horse owned by Tom & Rita Swift and ridden by Lisa Williams won the Biltmore 100, with no boots. The 3rd and 4th finishers (Jeremy & Heather Reynolds) wore Renegade boots.

This is great news!!

American River 30

Princess and I finished the American River 30. I am so, so proud of her!! She is 22 years old, but strong. She had 3 babies in the past 5 years, but she really likes trail riding! As a matter of fact, she was perfectly behaved the whole day, and I loved every second of the ride. It was the hottest day of the year, about 85 degrees, and the trail was technical - lots of boulders, rocks, gullies, and fall-off cliffs. The last 3 miles were so steep - the cardiac trail which takes you from the bottom of the American River up to Auburn in like 1 mile. I got off and tailed it. Princess had 4 Renegades on her hooves and they fit wonderfully and I never had to adjust the boots - not once - during the whole ride. Thank goodness, we have a good fit! No rubs, no twisting, they stayed in place, even up the really steep hill and through some mud bogs and over technical trail. I picked up my friend Donna and her horse Venita for the ride. Venita and Princess are best friends for life. They stayed together the whole ride. They camped well (Princess was curled up in the middle of the night on the ground), drank and ate okay throughout the ride. I don't think I have ever had a more enjoyable ride. Thank you Princess, Venita, and Donna! Oh, Venita did the ride barefoot! She is one of my trimming customers, I am so proud of her. I wish I had a photo to share, but I don't... if anyone out there does, please send it to me.

Nevada Derby

Logan and I just came back from the Nevada Derby 50 outside of Reno, NV. We both completed the 50. Logan rode Jake, Stuart Porter's mustang that finished Tevis a few years back. Annie got kicked in the barn the other day by Princess in the gaskin, and she was still sore. We had a blast - Jake and Feather were a perfect match! Same speed, same desire to eat and drink contantly on the trail. What wonderful horses we had. We saw a big horned sheep run accross the trail in front of us, and lots of stud piles from the wild horses in the area, but no sites of the horses. Jake is a perfect gentleman - we put the Freeform saddle on him for the first time for the ride and he loved it. Moved out great in it with no back issues at all. We are somehow managing to get holes at the stitching area of the new elastic gaiters on our boots unfortunately, and we are not pulling the gaiters too tight at all. It wasn't a problem during the ride, but when we pulled the boots off that had new gaiters (I am talking right out of the package), there were holes by the velcro. Can't re-use them, that is for sure. Jake had 4 Bares on, and Feather had Bare bottoms with Up buckle closures. I like the gaiters right before they put the elastic on them - those gaiters are still holding up and we are getting a lot of miles out of them. Will post photos when I get my scanner to work again.

Bummer Weather

Logan and I were so looking forward to going to the Rides of March in Reno this weekend, but the weather is yucky. There will be snow over Donner Pass, and we are not going to take the risk with the horse trailer. So we will stay home. I was looking forward to this ride because it is in a new location where wild horses and antelope winter. Apparently there are beautiful meadows, plenty of water, and no motor vehicles are allowed inside the area. Sounds lovely, especially for a desert ride. Next ride for us - the Nevada Derby first of April.

Eastern Mojave - 155 miles

Feather and I completed our first multiday - 3 days in a row, 155 miles total. She did fantastic! Her back was great in her Freeform! For boots, we started out with 4 foamed on Bares/Easyboots with no gaiters, but we lost a front boot on day 1 and day 3, so we ended up with Epics on the fronts, foamed on Bares in the back. Next ride, I'll just start with the Epics in the front, not sure about the back hooves. The terrain was sand and rock, single track and roads through the desert. There was every type of cactus you can imagine.. Feather got a few needles in her hind legs and I had to pull them out - they were big! I learned that she needs interference boots on her hind ankles, so I bought those at the ride from Horses Dacor. I had the opportunity to ride with Les and Jill Carr and Tulip. Tulip has over 19,000 endurance miles, and Les over 40,000. I learned so much about pacing and taking care of the horses. They let their horses eat a lot on the trail, just how Feather likes. Also, they trotted for about 3 or 4 minutes, then walked for about 30 seconds. They kept up this pace throughout the whole ride, Feather totally dug it! Just as your heart rate elevates, come down to a walk and eat. I love it - I will practice it and get more confident with it. It won't win me any races, but I really just want to finish and see the terrain.

On Day 2, the trail was longer, 55 miles, and we finished after dark, so I got to ride in the desert in the moonlight. So cool! My body was very tired after day 2, but on day 3, I woke up feeling great. I felt even better after I took my electrolyte tablets. I will have to remember to electrolyte myself more often. Should help with the aches and pains.

I met Robin Hood and Vicky Giles. Hood is a mustang that has LOTS of endurance miles. He won Day 3 and got best condition! Go mustangs. He is a big boy, with lots of go.

Kirt and Gina Lander with Renegade Boots was there, we got to meet them and they helped us at the vet check. They also showed me how to correctly fit their boots. I really like their new wider captivator, it is very nice for the horses. They emphasized not tightening down the top velcro too much on the heel captivator, make sure their is a finger in the velcro when you tighten it down. Also, they stressed having a long enough foot bed for the hoof. I will double check everyone's boots to make sure the fit is correct.

Feather looks fantastic, and our next ride will be a 3 day at the Cuyama Oaks ride over Easter weekend.

Eastern Mojave Scenic Ride Next Week

Logan and I are heading down to the Eastern Mojave ride next week between Barstow and Las Vegas. It is a 3 day ride over President's Day weekend. Annie and Feather look great, hope to do at least 2 days of it, the girls will tell us how they feel. Not sure what we are doing for boots yet, Logan is leaning towards his Renegades, and I may try out the new gaitors on Epics.

Death Valley

Logan and I had a blast!! We both finished 2 50 mile rides and one 25 mile ride for 125 miles total in 3 days. This was quite a feat - Logan had never ridden a 50 before, and he really enjoyed himself, and Feather had only done 1 50 previous. The girls look like they have been standing in the pasture for days and haven't done a thing. That is awesome, and what I think endurance is all about. We finished our 50s with a ride time of about 8 and a half hours. The terrain was so rocky - volcanic rock - mixed with areas of sand that we could move out on - but the majority was rock.

We foamed on Easyboots in the front and foamed Bares with no gators on the backs. Feather lost one hind boot, so I had to replace it with a regular Bare for the rides. A buckle sheared off on a front boot, so we had to pull the whole buckle and cable off the boot and ride with no hardware, but surprisingly, that boot stayed on the whole week. Annie lost both of her front foamed on boots, so she ended up with regular Epics with pads for the rides on her fronts. Also a bungee broke on her hind boot, so we just unscrewed it but the Easyfoam kept the boot adhered to the hoof well. I think I had trouble with the foam because it was really cold here when I foamed them and I don't think the foam set up properly. Next time, I will make sure that I bring the foam inside to warm it and mix it and probably work with the horses in a warm garage instead of a cold barn.

I really liked the atmosphere of the multi-days - it was geared towards finishing slower, with a horse that is ready to go the next day, not racing your horse too fast. We really liked it! I think we may need to get a new trailer with living quarters if we are going to do more of these type of rides. Oh, there were wild burros on the trail! Lots of burro poop and hoof prints. I saw a band of wild horses as we were driving home. A kit fox stole our dog food one night - he even stole the cans! The horses backs looked fabulous with their Freeform saddles with Haf pads. Highly recommend them!! We learned so much about our horses this week, and I was so proud to see Logan and Annie be successful!

Some photos that Karen Chaton took are here - we are in the front of the series and the back of the series:
http://sunriseranchrides.com/DVE/DeathValley2007.html

My favorite is this one:
http://sunriseranchrides.com/DVE/Pages/max_Day4_028.html

and this one:
http://sunriseranchrides.com/DVE/Pages/max_Day4_036.html

Off to Death Valley

Logan and I are going to the Death Valley ride with Annie and Feather. We are leaving around 4am and hope to get down there around 1ish. Going to try a 50 on the first and last day, with a couple rest days in between. On New Year's Eve, there will be a big celebration and a band. We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year in style. Usually, we fall asleep early, so this will be fun for us. For boots, we are going to foam on Easyboots. I'll let you know how it goes. Promises to be cold but beautiful.

Lake Sonoma

Feather completed her first 50 mile ride this past weekend at Lake Sonoma. She did fantastic, I am so proud of her. We finished in about seven and a half hours ride time, and she got all As. I am so impressed. She had a great time and was a trooper. All the body work and massage we did on her this week really paid off. This was our first ride without Annie, and Feather handled it like a champ. Her favorite position was to be behind a group of horses, so I used that for motivation. My heart rate monitor helped me figure out when to give her breaks and when to keep trotting down the trail. We even got stung by bees and she just swished her tail for a while. I foamed on 4 easyboots, but I lost a front boot early in the ride and had to replace it with a Bare bottom and Up buckle top. That worked just fine. This was a fantastic first 50, I would recommend it to anyone wanting to try one with their horse. The leaves were changing colors and the vineyards were harvested, beautiful weather, great trails, I had a fabulous time!

Feather's first 50

Feather and I are going to try the 50 at Lake Sonoma this weekend. We are ready, I just hope to finish within the time allowed....