New Roommates, Good Friends

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 / Redheaded Endurance / 3 Comments

It’s hard for me to articulate how special the intertwined group of horse gals I find myself in has become to me. I tried to state it as local friends, but it expands over this broad state of California and into others, and there are certainly feelings of warmth sprinkled to many others across the country and beyond. Which is weird, because I don’t do sprinkly feelings of warmth and groups of girl friends. Or didn’t? I’m honestly pretty anti social, finding my clients, blog/FB, endurance events, and very few riding buddies I actually join IRL entirely enough social life without crowds, cities, strangers, or excessive indoor activities needing apply. That’s an accurate description of me even in this very moment, but I do undeniably now have a pretty cool core of people I am honored and stoked to call friends. And it’s great. So thanks, folks!

That sentimental ramble did lead somewhere, I swear..last Saturday, Mel of Boots and Saddles brought her endurance mare, Farley, up to Mare Camp. I struggle to even remember when we first met at this point (blogging/Renegades/Tevis?), but Mel has become one of those blog-to-real life friends who the above paragraph very much applies to. She inspires me and makes me laugh, and I respect her and her opinion (and stellar UC Davis DVM title) immensely; you might see where I was both happy to help a friend and a bit thrilled at the trust, to have her stashing her mare (to be swapped for her filly as needed) here. Farley was due for a bit of pasture relaxing, and we had grand notions that she might help curb long yearling Rushcreek Aurora’s rather voluminous ego.

welcome Farley!

aaaand here we have yearling Rory routing Farley. Le sigh

well hello, gorgeous

(Desire…is an aptly named loose lady of the night)

Farley is no dummy, she headed for safe quarters far away to assess

(Sheza the Breyer model…sigh, swoon)

Rory is deemed substantial. To match her ego..

Long story short, Farley did not and has not yet stepped up to squash egos in any way. In fact, I had to deploy an extra feeder and trough and close off a side gate so that she could eat her meals in peace. Rory and mini Napoleon are twin towers of terror but fortunately Desire’s amorous intentions got Farley enough under her wing that direct harassment by Rory wasn’t allowed for long. Current status? Everyone is getting enough to eat, no undue violence, except from my mini horse, who is back to literally backing at horses at high speed squealing, to hell with pinning ears. I hurt from laughing and I know, we need a video!

Spark is looking and feeling good after Wild West. I need to get a shake out ride in before Gold Country 50 next weekend!

Heh..heh…Spark and Apache, the odd couple

And now..another new roommate, found through a good friend. We lost our good old buddy JJ the Shepherd mix at the beginning of May. My husband had rescued him before we even met and he lived a grand ranch life, passing peacefully with us stroking his head.

JJ the firewood collector

It left a hole in our outdoor dog force, something we very much need living in a rural area with small animals and predators of enough types that you just want a big barking dog outside. Thanks to that vine of friendship I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was recommended to a local with years of experience with Shepherds, and the day after boarder Farley arrived we were very excited to bring home 3 1/2 month old Shepherd pup that we named Jasmine, “Jazzy.”

no big deal, just a car ride with strangers..

our first glimpse at her awesome brain (she did vomit copiously, but that’s only fair)

I feel like I barely need to caption these..she just fits in. And gets it. And is very trainable. Thrilled with our Vista Farms girl. Thank you.

so that’s how it’s done..

Now ME try!

even old Georgia is taking to her well

Meanwhile, it’s been over 100 degrees *every day*. Our amazing firefighters stopped a 75 acre fire 3 miles from us on Wednesday. Last night, heading out in a hot breeze we were nearly first witness to another fire roaring up in a residential area, as thunder rolled and lightning forked through the sky. I’ve been recruited to the county fire scanner Facebook administrators and I am so happy to help in any way. It’s an intense and good time to be alive, and we need to watch each other’s backs.

foothill sunset

veggies beating the heat…one moon til Tevis! I’ll be crewing again

sunrise after last night’s rain(!?!)

Coming up..

Gold Country 50

Sheza’s First Endurance Camp

Apache Trail Time

Working Critters

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015 / Redheaded Endurance / 1 Comment

The temperatures are climbing higher every day but there’s still work to be done, critter or human. Be you curvy pony or enterprising dachshund, there’s a task for you.

First time being caught in a while, Apache had a serious life question to consider

To Be or Not to Be With Human

As the husband intoned from across the early a.m. pastures: “He Chose…Wisely.”

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I discovered my round pen had regrown it’s star thistle army working on the line in the arena it was

Apache’s current task: breathing, giving at the poll, and all things associated with or helpful to that enterprise

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Rushcreek Aurora’s full time job: Training Assistant/PITA Creeper

seconds before this photo she had 3 coils of lunge line crammed down her gullet..

can’t you almost hear the innocent casual whistling?

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the bantams work at composting

at least 2 are now crowing, or some version of it

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dachshund fish finders never run out of batteries and rarely err

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After the human did her job of clearing the round pen again..

Sheza’s job: eye candy, and storytelling

BLARGH

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OH! HUMAN!

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brainlesspeedtrotbrainlessspeedtrottrot

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Huhhh, human is still here, hello again 11202116_865782083876_7389485397298842835_n

not ready, noNoBLARG!

In search of brain, will travel 11391365_865782148746_3790207610105077860_n

huh, it’s hot..and human doesn’t object to this speed, maybe this is a better speed

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oh yeah, slower is better, hmmphh, I’m fat, I’m sweaty, Humannnn I’m done

(human must not let herself be convinced by filly. Human is boss!ish..)

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a nice, slow, low, working trot compromise, tongue out and all

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A few more nice circuits at an ever slower and bendier walk, dragging the long line around in the rustling grass, and that was that for Sheza’s story this morning. Oh, and a cool bath, as a princess must have.

And the rest?

Spark is having a few days off after WW, with one ride to be done between now and Gold Country 50 in 2 weeks.

Blaze, Desire, and Napoleon can’t claim to be any more useful than endearing old friends, at the moment.

dear old Georgia crew chihuahua is hanging in there, for now. She loves the hot weather fortunately

Coming Soon

A fellow blogger mare will be moving in soon to mix things up!

Gold Country 50

Apache Trail Time

Wild Wild West 2015: The Sparky Files

June 21, 2015June 22, 2015 / Redheaded Endurance / 6 Comments

I was kind of a hot mess come time to leave Thursday morning. I have a tendency to persevere, which is great, until I’m tired and suddenly experience the whiplash of changes made. My last ride was Mojave Day 1 50 this past February on Scrappy, still in the fix-the-intermittently-sore-back war, with my faithful crew dog Georgia, in my good Ole Miley straight load. As I was leaving for Wild West I suddenly realized, as it were, that I was leaving an ailing Georgia, in a new to me rig ,with a horse that wasn’t mine…and I wondered what I was doing. That may sound overly dramatic or emotional to some, but if so then you haven’t invested years of thought and love into something and failed, over and over again. And then tried again.

So! I shelved examining what I was doing until I was actually seated in the shade in ride camp next to a munching horse. My husband was kind enough to make the short drive up to camp to help us get settled but I still felt nervous as all get out on arrival. I suppose that was somewhat emotional turmoil, plus a little physical anxiety from not knowing much about Sparky except that he’s large, opinionated, and known to buck at ride starts–but then he was quite reasonably doing his job of the moment (EDPP, be sensible at the trailer, repeat) so buck up Ole girl, my mental Marshall said. Don’t borrow trouble, it’ll find you again soon enough.

I was dead set on getting Sparky out for a pre ride Thursday and turns out that was wise since I discovered after the trim I’d done a few days before he was really more of a size 0 boot than the red 1s I’d used on him last. That’s why we bring the goods, eh! Why not start a multi day in boots he’s never worn 🙂

Sparky pre ride, his name is apt..

He got salted mashes, no electrolytes. DrankDrankDrank all weekend. PHEW!

vetted in in 40s, all As, 2 gut quadrants Bs throughout the whole weekend, BCS 5

a small thursday evening ride meeting

ermm, don’t quite have big enough blankets for this one!

We had a camping neighbor the first 2 nights and Spark or the mare would call when the other left, but nothing obnoxious. When that gal left we were pretty well on our own for close horse buddies but aside from calling to all the chestnuts that passed (and his soon to be buddy Confetti), he was a good solo camper. Another PHEW!

Camping with my gooseneck was glorious with the exception of a couple of the trailer rattling sounds that prompted high speed exits from sleep up, out of bed, down the tack trunk and out the door before I was awake, shod, or bespectacled. I definitely banged myself up more on the trailer than the horse. Phew? I think so! I totally failed at the photo of my cool shower set up, but basically I slapped removable magnet fishing rod holders like these (thanks husband!) on the roof of my trailer in the horse area, set a strung shower rod/curtain up on there, and had a perfect shower stall. The trusty Coleman Instant Hot Water heater then gets set on top of my $5 pickle-turned-water barrel, pump into barrel, and viola, private shower so hot I said Ouch!

Day 1 LD, 30 miler, went great! We marched out of camp on a loose rein and soon paired up with a mule; there were some stern words between riders and their respective mounts but nothing untoward and we finished the 18 mile loop in about 2 hours flat. Spark had a good drink and ate the carrots I had on board, pooped and peed, and came into the 30 minute hold at 52 bpm and As.

18 miles in 2 hrs, 50% non blurry pics, I’ll take it 😉

He slammed down a salted mash, carrots, hay, I gobbled a tuna packet, and we headed back out alone for a much slower loop. We did nearly the entire 2nd loop alone and marched along eyeballing shadows, I did some hand walking and again didn’t bring enough carrots, and he continued to tank up water like a trooper. The one time I let my managing guard down he bee bopped sideways at a wooden No Biker log/sign thing on the ground, which ejected me but I landed on my feet, mounted from the sign thingy, and on we merrily rode. LOL. It came to me early on that riding Sparky is like riding an octopus with the attitude of a teenage boy, and my trail companions of the weekend and a few who know him seem to agree it’s apt. A very talented and athletic octopus at that!

fun and varied terrain and views on Day 1

thumbs up for great trail marking!

A few miles out we came upon and finished with boot buddy M on Haflinger Confetti, her friend, and the mule. We finished 2nd to last, 47 bpm, A’s all around except for the same B gut quadrant. He was still spooking at upside down saddles as we headed for the trailer and was marching around and bright eyed through the evening– So we got another LD vet card and said let’s do it again!

Sparky was happy to see another tail out there in the wilderness

post ride, same horse as pre, hah!

day 1 WW 2015, credit Baylor/Gore

working on building those meaty cheeks 😉

much bigger ride meeting Friday night

bright eyed for Day 2

heading out with ride partners M and Confetti

After perfect boots day 1, my last minute Oh, Hey, I need to use smaller hind boots realization bit me once on Day 2, on the stream crossing+steep uphill combo, where Sparky just slid right out of his hind boots. I popped them back on and that was the only issue for me all weekend. I consider that fair since those boots were last minute untested change up, and I actually think I’ll pop him into hind Vipers as the fronts performed so flawlessly. Hind Vipers also passed the challenging Confetti’s testing for Day 2, which was great to see.

lunch vet check, same pulse and grades as before, tanking up

I LOVE this picture!! Blogger and Renegade booter power!!

fun trails after lunch

Day 2 WW 2015, credit Baylor/gore

We cruised into another nearly last place finish with time to spare and the same great grades and that was that! Sparky looked exactly the same from the minute I pulled him from the field Thursday am to returning him there this morning. While it was a bit tiring to ride, it was pretty impressive and rather thrilling to ride such a clearly gifted and enthusiastic athlete! I am proud of us both and grateful to Sparky’s mom C for this opportunity.

post ride, Day 2

muahaha, I was a bit tired from his enthusiasm at the time..

then Mel shared this photo of those emotions swapped, LOL!

A well earned celebratory roll!

There’s rumors of a nearby 50 coming up next..

Wild West Bound

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 / Redheaded Endurance / 2 Comments

Phew, it’s been a good if hectic start to the month! Here’s some catching up on the last few weeks:

more Sheza work after she flattened me

we got chickens! 10 lovely home hatched bantams. Thanks Ponyhill!

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grand dame Georgia is hanging in there, her weenie pups love her

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we’ve had some wild weather..rain and HEAT and rainbows

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Rory is bigger than ever..

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since this photo I separated the orange (Apache) and the banana (Spark)

to redistribute some weight…

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and Spark is looking good! A solid hot 10 miles last Friday

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good boy!

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my matchy power is on the rise again..he’s got 4 red Renegades too!

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That about brings us to up to date, now prepping to leave for Wild Wild West ride this Thursday a.m. This will be my second year tucking into the cozy quarters of Wild West ride camp, and I am very much looking forward to it. It’s the maiden voyage for my new-to-me ’90s Morgan built 2 horse gooseneck and I’ve spent a little time this week, amongst trim and boot appointments, mom visiting, and my husband being abroad on a very exciting business trip–dialing the trailer in.

tack box for storage/step/seat in one! stove & kitchen

buckets/hoof boots

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looking down from bed (before I added tote/chair)

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cozy quarters!

Lots of battery operated fans on board for this weekend

The husband flies in tomorrow and I leave for the ride Thursday am! Happy travels and trails and stay hydrated everyone!

Youngster Lessons: Sheza

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 / Redheaded Endurance / 1 Comment

Today I got flattened by my Sheza filly, and the Why made sense. Doesn’t mean it was acceptable, but it made sense, and it was a great reminder/learning experience when working with greenies and youngsters.

What I Did:

Pull Sheza and trim her hooves, standard practice here every 2 weeks or so but she’s not worked on any sort of schedule. Today was her first day trying on and moving in Renegades ever, and when introducing horses to boots you really do want to let them get used to moving in them installed properly and improperly before ever getting on their backs (my flattening had nothing to do with her actually wearing the boots, as I’m well aware of those factors).

I *did* slide them on for a quick sizing and pic, of course!

(note momma Desire haunting her <3)

Next I strapped the boots on her saddle to go down to the round pen, mentally acknowledging it had never been done to her before but she does carry pommel packs and bottles up there so it’s not totally out of line.

Here’s where it got tricky: Back when, Sheza got accidentally bopped in the rear with a gate when passing through it *and it stuck.* Almost every single time we pass through a gate in hand she’ll get tense and I’ll often have to make her do 2 or 3 passes in and out of the gateway before she’ll politely go through without squirting her butt through at the last minute. It’s a rude and dangerous habit for a horse to even think about having, exactly because what happened today can happen..anyway back to it, today, with the boots on her saddle, she was just coming to her Sticky spot in gate passage when she spotted the boots “above” her in her peripheral vision, started to spook forward, snowballed that into her Gate spookiness/squirting, and completely flattened me as she bulled through the gateway.

What I Did Wrong

My mistake was in my lapse of attentiveness to Sheza going through that gateway, something that I know is a sticky point for her, coupled with the addition of the boots up there. My focus was more on the ever helpful Rory not escaping out the gate, and it was to my detriment. No, Sheza should never flatten me, but when working a fresh youngster and adding new things, you must be mindful. I also wish I could go back in time and NOT let her get bopped with a gate, but if it wasn’t that no doubt she’d find something else to be squicky about.

What I Did Right

My successes were in the basic fundamental training that I’ve put into Sheza (and April definitely helped cement), and that is that she knows there are expectations (no, her baby brain is not always capable of functioning within them, but ever more so, and when she reverts it’s to higher rungs on the training ladder mostly), she wants to stick with me, and, perhaps most importantly of all and maybe only because of the other two–she has some sense of caring for my preservation. But she flattened you ? you say. Refer up to 3 lines to that line in parentheses. Personally I couldn’t have spoken to that preservation thing before today or in the instant when she knocked me down–but lying in the dirt under your 15+hand 4 yr old as she rears over you and watching her decide to back on her hind legs and plant her front feet decidedly not on you is something, I’ll tell you.

After working on a polite re passage through the gate with no thoughts of coming over top of me, which included me ninja kicking Sheza in the chest (WWHD?)* while my husband was throwing rocks at Rory (horse Whisperers R Us), Sheza had a great round pen session including doing some quite nice moving out in Renegades for a first timer.

*What Would a Horse Do?

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We also worked on her other hot ticket reverting item,her right ear. The right ear goes back to her momma Desire, who has a scarred right ear and will still occasionally sling her head dramatically away from being touched–why Sheza does it I don’t know besides a genetic quirk (yes she’s been medically checked for things), and I’ve had others tell me they’ve seen the same odd habits appear in offspring. Anyway it’s something we work on as much or more than the gate..

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11272296_860832657566_570550459_n General Conclusions?

Be attentive to your early training, in implementation and consistency…the occasional squeak becomes the squeaky wheel becomes the broken wheel (the gate issue). Don’t be lulled into false sense of security, your fresh youngster is a fresh youngster (the adding boots to the saddle, divided attention). Set yourself and the horse up for success by minimizing extraneous risk factors (Rory charging the gate, etc). I *am* of the camp to see ridiculous shenanigans as “extra desensitizing!” but when it comes to something that can be managed to minimize risk in a learning environment I think it’s worth doing.

P.s. Hilarity

Rory put herself in the arena and lunged herself–circles in the half arena size, fast but perfect circles, even changing direction periodically, while I worked Sheza. She creeps me out with her smarts, when she’s not annoying me with them!

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