Long Slow Distance

Sabine



Phebes having a bad hair day!



Lida is over it...but Doc's lookin' good!

Today was just an almost "perfect" day. We covered about 24 miles, the first half at a good intermittent walk, trot with Doc and Lida. Doug met me at the park and took a few pictures (thank you oh great LSEGH). I met another endurance rider while we were there today. Her name was Sabine (I'm quite sure I have butchered the spelling). Sure wish she lived closer than Kentucky! The next 12 miles we rode solo. Lida had developed a crink in her neck that was seriously messing up her day. So after lunch I waved goodbye to Lida and Doc and away we went. Since I had nearly been unseated on the morning half of the ride because of a dead (horse eating) cedar tree, I figured that riding solo I had better formulate some kind of plan to keep things moving but low key. I decided to do it the boy scout way with a few little special additions.

#1. We would walk, and trot, but avoid a forward ground covering trot in favor of my personal survival, and meeting the goal of 24 miles today.

#2. I would have her walk around ALL BLIND CURVES, and not urge her past anything scary...allowing her to slow herself to a walk if she felt she needed to when passing the million or so scary objects out there. (In Phebe's mind that would encompass downed trees, slabs of wood, sticks, blind curves, and nasty rock formations).


It was slow going overall, but we did get it done.

The good today: 24 miles, and the last 12 were just very sensible. She drank water fine after mile 18 or so... her pulse at dismount after 24 miles was 55 bpm. So we did something right. Her new boot gaiters DID NOT RUB. Her pasterns look perfect. The old boot gaiter with the addition of my horsey sock DID NOT RUB.

Not so good: I lost my lovely lavender rhythm beads! We did suddenly have a front boot pop off on an uphill. This really surprised me as the bigger size NEVER popped off on the fronts. I really believe that the physics of the force of the hoof in certain situations just gives critical mass to the function of "popping off." So next long ride I will put a single layer of vet wrap on the hooves as "insurance".
She has decided on a hunger strike when out riding the past few long rides. So we've moved way backwards in that regard. This caused her to literally hit the wall at 20 miles. She stopped in the trail, cocked a hind foot, and put her nose down (visualize the Indian pony in the painting end of trail). It took some convincing on my part that we were going to survive those last four miles! I believe that because she is not refueling that she's probably hitting low blood sugar about then. She was also seriously p'o'd at me when we got home. All mare ears and wanting to nip, twirling her head and running off when I let her loose. Notice I said RUNNING. So there was something left in the tank if she can canter to and from the field?