It`s 4 AM, Sunday morning, August 26, and I am experiencing the defining moment of my life. I am in Vermont, aboard the Mustang, Robin Hood, owned by Dr. Philip Ottinger. Unfortunately, Phil can`t be here to share the moment, but I have other support: my husband, crew, and team officials. Hood and I cross the finish line, I jump off, and promptly burst into tears. We`ve just completed the 100 mile course of the 2001 Pan American Endurance Championship.
It was a long time in coming, and involved tremendous dedication from all parties. Robin Hood had been selected for the 1999 Pan Am, with a different rider, but I had had to withdraw two months prior to the race because of an abcess in his neck and ensuing medical problems. I started riding Robin Hood in December of 1999, and though I really didn`t know if he could make a comeback, and though he was the first Mustang I`d dealt with, Phil kept encouraging me and telling me how to relate to him. At the time, I had no idea of the depth of the horse I had under me.
For the next year and a half, making it to and competing in the Pan Am race became my focus. It was a long process of bringing Robin Hood back to fitness after his metobolic problems, while at the same time learning the differences between dealing with Mustangs versus other breeds. I had come to endurance riding from a background of three day eventing, so was more accustomed to "hotter" breeds, such as thoroughbreds and Arabians. I quickly got used to Hood`s dependability, but it took me a bit longer and a few mistakes to finally understand some of the metabolic issues Phil had been warning me about. We ultimately got to the point that we could relatively easily "top ten" the 50 milers, and I started looking to the 100 milers for our qualifying races. My husband was very good to put up with all of my idiosyncrasies during this time. I was adamant about not doing anything that would distract from or potentially jeopardize Hood`s training schedule. (Yes...the word "anal" does come to mind!)
The final few months leading to the Pan Am race, including the day we were officially selected to the Pacific North squad, saw us on the Pony Express trail. During the months of June and July, 2001, about 60 riders, including my husband and myself, rode 50 miles a day, 5 days a week, for eight weeks, completing the entire original Pony Express route from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Virginia City, Nevada. Not all of us rode every single day, but we and our horses were there for the entire trip. It was quite an adventure, and I wouldn`t have missed it, bit it did have an impact on Hood`s condition for Pam Am. Robin Hood has a very upright lower leg and hoof conformation, and it can be rather tricky to shoe him correctly. Normally, he goes in Sneakers (Eqithotics, Inc.) put on by Kirk Adkins, but with two months on the trail, I had to have a local Wyoming farrier shoe him midway through to California. His angles got a little off, and Hood wound up getting sore in his heels. I had to send him home to Kirk in mid July, and so could not complete the final stages of his conditioning. Instead of peaking for Pan Am, he was standing in a stall resting his feet. Robin Hood is a horse who does his best when he`s worked every day.
Eventually, Kirk got Hood sound enough to be ridden again, so we set off for Vermont two weeks before the race. My husband, my dog, Robin Hood, and I in our two horse gooseneck with living quarters. We made it almost to Salt Lake City (home is Sacramento, California area) before the first breakdown. Yes. First of many. I won`t go into the details, but suffice it to say that on that trip back East, we had three major truck breakdowns, and in between, we borrowed a truck from a friend in Park City, Utah, returned that truck and picked up ours, spent the night in the yard of a friendly rancher, got to know a very nice man named Francis who is the caretaker for the Sidney, Nebraska fairgrounds, got more intimately familiar with roadside rest stops than anyone should ever have to, and learned of every Ford truck dealer and diesel mechanic between Ogallala, Nebraska, and Davenport, Iowa. Throughout it all, the Mustang was a trouper - took it all in stride even while wondering how many times we were going to practice getting in and out of the trailer, and enjoyed quite a bit of that lush Midwestern brome grass that grows along every road.
We finally did arrive in Vermont, actually back on schedule thanks to a couple of all-night drives, and I had one week to not only let Hood recover from the journey, but also try to salvage some sort of conditioning regiment to get his muscles active again. It was not to be. This time, I was thwarted by a mysterious hind leg lameness that appeared out of nowhere. The Western veterinary medicine diagnostics indicated a fetlock problem, while the acupuncturist argued that it was in the hock. You cannot even begin to imagine the state of agitation to which this reduced me! We had worked so hard and come so far to do this, and now we might not even be able to start. We poured as much Adequan and Legand into him as we could, and I gave him even more time off. It worked. Five days later, we started the 2001 Pan American Championship at five in the morning.
It was a good race, but all the problems we`de had coming into it took their toll. Robin Hood was tired by mile 50, sore in his heels by mile 60, and my mile 70, I came o the conclusion that he had done enough for me. It was time to quit. We came to a spot where our support crew could meet us, and I told them what was going on, and that I had decided to pull from the race. Meanwhile, Robin Hood was happily munching away on as much food as he could stuff into his mouth. Before making my withdrawal official, the assistant team chef d`equipe, Terry Benedetti, and I watched while my husband trotted Hood for one final assessment. He looked good - seemed to have gotten a second wind. I decided to press on to the next veterinary checkpoint. After all, it was the Pan Ams, and one doesn`t quit lightly from something like that!
Hood seemed to have sensed what was going on, and he buoyed my spirits for that next leg. It was almost as if he was saying to me, "Come on - we can do this!" Throughout that next (and last) 25 miles, we alternately carried each other. I hiked beside Robin Hood for most of the distance, and we walked together in the dark. From sunset until the time we finished, in the dark of very early morning, we were by ourselves on the trail. There were times when I would give in to doubts that we could do it in the time allowed. That`s when he would carry me along, his footsteps sounding like a metronome in the night, proceeding ever onward. I know horses fairly well, have ridden hundreds of them, and have about 5000 lifetime endurance competition miles, but I have never before experienced anything like that journey with that Mustang. I wasn`t just dragging a horse over a 100 mile course. I was competing beside a courageous and understanding soul and partner. We both chose to give it all we had, and that result was incredible fulfillment at the personal level. No - we did not win the race, but I know I had the best horse there!
I wrote this in part to share my experience, but also because I want you to know about Mustangs. They aren`t just backyard pets and pleasure horses. If you gain the trust and respect of a Mustang, that horse will rise to whatever occasion you ask. There is a depth of spirit and wisdom in them that can give you a true partner in whatever equine activity you wish to persue.
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
Sunday, November 11, 2001
Angies PAC Story - Angie McGhee
Wow, where to start? This time last year I had very little thoughts of nominating, then last December I got an e-mail from Jaye Perry asking me if I was going to nominate or not. I hem-hawed around and Jaye being Jaye took that as the answer he wanted, "Yes!" Being scooped up by Jaye is like being a mailbag hanging on a hook that gets nabbed by a train passing by at 60mph. The next thing I knew it was full steam ahead and no looking back.
USA-East was trying out a new selection procedure this year that would be based solely on head to head competition...no whining about politics, etc. Just get on your horse, go to 2 out of 4 rides and the horses with the most points when the dust dies get to go. The procedure wasn`t perfect, but I think everyone liked the direction it`s taking us and now just wants to refine it.
How does a teacher take 8 days off the second week of school? Well...it helps to teach Art instead of Algebra...and it also helps to tell the principal it will just be five first, then at the last minute change it to 8. :-P The school secretary was panicking about how to put the leave down and we put it down as "sick leave". Unfortunately, while I was gone the local newspaper ran a 1/2 page story about us and the first paragraph said "Local school teacher vacations in Vermont...at least she *took* vacation, it`s actually serious business". Well no, actually I took sick leave. Let`s hope the people in the home office didn`t see that.
We were looking at 24 hours of hauling with a horse who`d never been in the trailer over 9 so Jaye arranged for us to overnight at Val`s in Virginia. We hauled all night and got there at 5 AM. I`ve never been to the Old Dominion so waking at the site of it was exciting. Got to admit though, it looks a lot like home. Several other PAC participants were there and the excitement was building. As irritable as I was when I was trying to leave home I don`t know how Val stood us all showing up at the last minute but you`d have thought they had all the time in the world. Larry had Bill and me dying laughing with stories and made sure we went up to see his really cool treehouse he built in the woods. They not only tolerated us parking in their driveway, they had us all in for dinner! I think Larry is the president of the unofficial AERC foreign embassy. He seems to really enjoy bringing young people from other countries over to work for them for awhile and make friends. I suggested that they just design themselves a flag and declare their farm a country in itself. They have enough top horses and riders to send out a team capable of winning the WEC all by themselves.
There were momentos of World Championships tacked up on the fronts of Pierez and Fire & Gold`s stalls and I couldn`t believe they left those in the barn rather than the house. Found later that the house was too full of bronze awards to waste space on things like ribbons. It was an inspirational start to our first International Competition. I`ll warn you all, she`s got a field full of fit looking worldbeaters in the wings. You guys who can`t find large Arabs?? Blame 4`11" Val, she`s hoarding them. >g<
There were lots of discussions on what would be the best way to haul up. I stuck to my usual "get him out every three hours" and from what I heard was practically the only one to get him out at all on the way to VT from VA which took us 13 hours. I think the other horses had been on long hauls more often and probably drank, etc. better in the trailer. Kaboot was great, unloading in McDonald`s parking lots and busy truckstops without flicking an ear. I did come up with a new trick. Since it`s not always possible to backup to grass to unload I started laying down a piece of carpet for him to hop down onto to avoid slips and he liked it.
The USA-East team would be staying at Steve Rojek`s farm 2.5 miles from the GMHA from Sunday through Thursday morning when they had to be checked in at GMHA. The stalls at GMHA were tiny (10x10) so we were putting off going as long as possible. All the other teams were at a huge field with a beautiful view just down the road.
I had never been to Vermont, and I can tell you the Woodstock area was worth going back to. It`s BEAUTIFUL. I don`t know if wood doesn`t rot up north, or if it`s too cold for them to burn down, but there were soo many huge old barns in perfect condition, built next to gorgeous OLD homes. For example, Steve Rojek`s tin roofed rock home was built in 1761. There was a British KING in charge when it was built! His carriage barn was incredible, with at least 20 antique carriages and sleighs in a room with a huge fireplace and an old painting hanging over it. Noticed he had a few silver cups that I would have decorated my entire house around stacked here and there in the carriage house too. >sigh<
Woodstock is a ski town, which should tell you something about the terrain we rode on. Let`s just say about half the trail would have looked good with a lift going up it, and the other half with ski tracks going down. Sort of intimidating when someone says, "And then you`ll be down that way" and you look up at the roadsign which reads "Suicide Six" with an arrow pointing that way.
The USA-East squad probably had more veterinarians than any other squad. We had 6 official vets, plus one rider vet...would have been two had Nikki Young been there. Our vets were very concerned with the quality of our trot outs and wanted us trotting out for them bright and early Monday. So, we all trotted out...with horses who had been hauled 13-24 hours in the last two days... and the vets were gnashing their teeth. When you get 6 top vets together looking at horses trot, they`re bound to compete. Nobody wants to be the one who doesn`t see *something*...then add to that the fact that they are terribly nervous about their responsibility which is to pick 4 horses, of which three *have* to finish, to go for the team medals. I`d compare it to someone who has mortgaged their parents farm, which they still live in, without their permission..to take that $100,000 and bet on a trifecta which they *have* to win. I think that`s the sort of pressure our vets were putting on themselves.
Fortunately I went to the Jane Savoie clinic on positive thinking and didn`t fall over in a coma the first time they didn`t like my horse`s trot out. I figured if she could get to the Olympics with no horse, I could get through the Pan Ams with this one. USA-East had 18 slots on our team since we were the host team. Our altnernates included Steve Rojek (it was his home trail) Rita Swift & Cass (one of the top teams in the country) and Connie Walker (PAC individual gold last time out). Picture yourself as a major league coach with Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio and Reggie Jackson on your bench and you`ll know what they were thinking. >g<
Then things started happening. For those of you who hadn`t heard, Nikki Young`s great (and I do mean great) mare Breathless died in colic surgery several weeks back (not ride related). Then Lynn Gilbert`s horse Chagall was lame and didn`t come. Next Val`s horse Bearcat O`Reilly arrived with a cough and was taken off the grounds to quarentine. This put Rita, Steve and Connie on the team. Later in the week Cia Reis`s horse who looked great all week got his hind leg through a metal corral and tore it up. We lost Ceia and didn`t even have 18 horses any more. Debbie Bullie and Adriene Hewitt had qualified, but their horses weren`t up to competing this week either so they had come to crew. I think the vets relaxed some then, since the bench was now empty. The reserves were used up, it was now time to get what we had through the race.
I think I mentioned our vets liked trot outs. Our vets wanted *good* trot outs. Nice, energetic trot outs. They wanted everyone to come out twice a day and practice trot outs. There`s just one problem. Kaboot *loves* trot-outs. He gets faster and faster when you trot him out. Here he`d been gone from home for days...I`m sure he was confused when we just keep getting up in the morning and do more trot outs, but that was OK with him. He LOVED this new sport. He loves it because he can trot faster than I can, and he`s *winning*! The vets apparently had read Merryben`s post saying you never let the horse turn around you or he may take a bad step, so it was *imperative* that we keep up with the horses and stop them on a straight line. All I can tell you is that by Thursday I swear Kaboot was starting to crouch when I said, "Ready?" and he was taking off like it was out of the starting gates. I kept having to run faster and faster to keep up and had to do stretching exercises before my sprints. All this was under the supervision of just 4 of our vets, since Ann Stuart, our Chef de` whatever and Julie Bullock were in FEI meetings. Finally, Ann got to come to one of our trot out sessions to observe. After I returned from an "Out, 2 large circles to the left, 2 large circles to the right, and back" race, and was bent over wheezing with my hands on my knees Ann declared, "They`re not going to let you trot *that* fast! Can`t you slow him down?" >shriek<
Thursday morning it was time for the big move. We saddled up 18 horses at 6 AM, in full uniforms to ride them to GMHA. Think about it. What do you *think* our horses thought was going on? Yep...a semi controlled start. :-P As we lined up to ride out of camp Julie Bullock ran to her truck and cranked her stereo all the way up with a rap musician chanting, "Let`s start the commotion". We looked *good* in our uniforms and it was the coolest thing to hear the hoofbeats, have a prancing horse under you and be one of the team.
Thursday morning was the official "vet in" minus trot outs. The GMHA looked very festive with all the country`s flags draped around the arena. I got a French vet which made me feel quite worldly. With the fields where we`d been camping just a couple of miles away all the teams had chosen to ride over rather than haul. They had scheduled us to vet in at intervals, so as we drove back to Rojeks we would meet teams of riders in full colors riding along the back roads towards the venue. The sky was blue, the horses primed, the weather perfect, and those uniforms were beautiful. The award for prettiest goes to Pacific South, with lots of ties for 2nd. Their jackets are navy, red and bright yellow, and so is all their biothane. One cool thing they added was the rider`s record embroidered on back. It would tell how many PAC`s or WEC`s they`d participated in. I had to laugh when somebody referred to the Mountain region as "Those Aqua-people" Sounded like Atlantis had sent a team. >g<
Thursday morning was the official "vet in" minus trot outs. The GMHA looked very festive with all the country`s flags draped around the arena. I got a French vet which made me feel quite worldly. With the fields where we`d been camping just a couple of miles away all the teams had chosen to ride over rather than haul. They had scheduled us to vet in at intervals, so as we drove back to Rojeks we would meet teams of riders in full colors riding along the back roads towards the venue. The sky was blue, the horses primed, the weather perfect, and those uniforms were beautiful. The award for prettiest goes to Pacific South, with lots of ties for 2nd. Their jackets are navy, red and bright yellow, and so is all their biothane. One cool thing they added was the rider`s record embroidered on back. It would tell how many PAC`s or WEC`s they`d participated in. I had to laugh when somebody referred to the Mountain region as "Those Aqua-people" Sounded like Atlantis had sent a team. >g<
Now that the horses were in their 10x10 stalls it was time to start appreciating our crews who took turns making sure the horses didn`t spend much time in them. I was lucky enough to have a great crew. First I had Bill, who just for this week went through a total personality change and became proactive. No more dragging feet or going through the "oh that`s not necessary" routine. He worked hard begrudging none of it, and managed to take videos besides! I had also lined up Liz Szeliga (no I can`t pronounce that) from Mass. to help. Then I met Kathy Duggen who had planned to crew for Lynn Gilbert and was available. She had finished 3rd in the pre-ride and knew the trail. Other than the language barrier (she was from near Boston) she was the perfect addition to the crew. We dubbed her our "Native Guide" took Bill on a tour of all the vet checks and it took them 3 hours just to drive to them all.
Speaking of language barriers...that was one of the more amusing aspects of our team. There were people from Southern California who sounded pretty normal to me (even though my SE accent stood out to them) but the SE riders & NE riders all on the same squad had a heck of a time. For instance...they say "Hahbah" rather than Harbor, and "Lahbstah" instead of Lobster, so you figure they don`t use "R`s" but then they say "Idear" instead of "Idea", and "Canader" instead of "Canada" Bill was totally confused when Kathy Duggan urgently asked him if he got my "Cud". He had no idea what she wanted. She finally said, "Caarrrd" sort of saying the r in the back of her throat the way Bambi does when he`s trying to say "Birrrd". By the end of the ride we couldn`t get Kathy & Liz to quit saying "Dang far" (far means fire in this case).
The official trot outs were to be held Friday. We had all hoped until the last minute that Ceia`s horse would quit being sore and vet in but when our vets had their last team trot out that morning he was definitely off and she decided not to even try. We were all very disappointed for her. When I lined Kaboot up for that trot out I stopped and turned my official team cap backwards to allow for the speed and we did our windsprint. I sort of like our coach`s name for that out and back sprint which is a "suicide". I may refer to Kaboot`s trot outs as suicides from now on. The vets were satisfied. He stopped on a straight line, and they chuckled as I turned my hat back around.
Suddenly it was time for the big trot out event..and it was an event! Everyone was in full uniform. We had to go to a field where an official lady almost died of confusion when Bill forgot his penny. We entered the field and circled to the left, perfectly evenly spaced. Stopped, and had our first official pulse from Roger`s wands. It was 37 (he usually vets in at 44 so was quite calm) We walked on around and on the far side of the field there were maybe 10 vets evenly spaced checking horses out for a CRI. The line was constantly moving and every time a horse was officially passed the announcer would say something like, "Number 70 Angie McGhee on Kaboot Herlong has been cleared for competition". and their crew would sigh with relief. The vet checked Kaboot over, gave him all A`s except a B on anal tone which I found amusing. I forgot we weren`t supposed to speak to them and said, "Don`t worry, I`ve just removed so many ticks he`s not ticklish any more. Tomorrow morning you`ll be able to crack walnuts with it" Fortunately there was no reprimand. >g<
When I got ready to trot out I considered turning my hat around but figured I`d better play it straight. Kaboot was relaxed, but staring intently watching the others trot out and I could tell he couldn`t wait to race me. When the vet said "Trot him" he tried to jump out, but I pulled him back around, lined him up carefully with the proper cone they wanted me to trot around and tried to very nonchalantly say, "Trot". Ha! Off we went, wide open and picking up speed. I sprinted as hard as I could, but had to keep letting the rope play out farther so he wouldn`t have to circle back on me. I felt the muscles on my thighs getting pulled (strained) and was grateful when we got to the far end and I managed to stop him on a straight line. There were titters in the crowd as I carefully turned him and lined him back up hoping he`d be calmer on the way back. Double ha. He went even faster, I lost my hat and really did hurt the fronts of my thighs running so hard. He came to a nice straight stop for the vet as if saying, "What do you think of *that?" and the vet broke his no speaking rule and said, "You plan to RIDE this horse tomorrow? He got an A+ on impulsion and a notation, "Base wide" next to it. He trots *really* wide in the rear and the faster he trots the wider it gets.
Next came the official weigh and I was 164.5 I figured that`s a nice place to be...safely above the minimum (156 now) but not enough to feel guilty.
The ceremony later that day was nice...and short. Nice to have officials who realize that 90 primed horse aren`t going to stand still for long. They wisely held off all the "thank yous" etc. until Sunday when 90 horses were very willing to stand quietly. The locals put on a demonstration of the Morgan horses that was very nice. They had carriages, hunt seat, a farmer dragging a log, anything you could imagine a Morgan doing. I felt bad because the official pictures were being taken while we had our uniforms on and we had to miss some of it.
So now it`s Saturday morning. If felt good to finally get down to business after a week on the road. You peel away all the extra hoopla and get down to the main event and it`s just an endurance ride, the kind you`re used to and you`re ready to *ride*! Rode around for 25 minutes or so warming him up, then they ordered *everyone* into the arena. Picture a dark show arena with 90 primed horses jigging around in it! Whew! Then they opened the gate on the far side and the course was open. They started us with a "controlled start" I thought following a golf cart, but by the speed of it I think it was probably a really quiet motocross motorcycle. We trotted along in the dark for probably 15 minutes or so, with Kaboot weaving in and out of traffic until he found a place he was happy and he settled in. After another 15 minutes it started to get light enough to see who was around me and I realized that I was riding with six other USA-East horses, and nobody else. The horses had found each other. >g< All day long teams were riding together and I wondered how much of it was the rider`s ideas and how much of it was the horse`s. There was only one time that Kaboot hooked up with a non-USA-East horse and it was an Australian. It surprised me until I realized he had leased Lois McAfee`s horse Leggs who had been stabled at our field all week.
The trail was tough, with lots of climbs, but the weather was so incredibly great that my horse really didn`t care. I`d heard some other regions had considered it humid earlier in the week, while those of us from the South had put away all our tank tops and were wearing sleeves. Then Saturday it turned COOL and clear with no humidity at all that I could feel. There was even a breeze. I`m sure it hurt Melissa Crains chance for the gold, but it was still hard to wish *for* humidity.
The trails at GMHA are permanently marked with wooden arrows. The strange thing was that sometimes they were on the left, and sometimes on the right. Sometimes they were far apart. I was scared that after dark I would pass one on the left while searching with a flashlight on the right, but it all worked out. Gotta admit that when I went all the way down a mountain without a marker between top and bottom though that without 2 horses with me I`d have been worrying about turning back. There was plenty to turn you at the turns, but nothing to stop you if you got past the turn. All in all it worked out fine but I managed to worry.
The first 50 miles was a blur. The trail was so EASY for RIDERS, but not for horses. You had to remind yourself how hard they were working. The only problems I had were with all the steep downhills I spent too much time standing and started having shin splint trouble on my left leg. By 40 miles it was the worst I`d ever felt with shooting hot pain. At the vet check I taped it up with duct tape, and took some kind of 12 hour anti-inflamatory sample a doctor had given me and a couple of 400mg Tylenol. Amazingly enough I had no more problems. I`ll add a note here...there was talk at a meeting with FEI about banning drugs FOR RIDERS. Whew! Wanna talk about controversial!!! One popular drug was Benadryl. There were bees on the trail and lots of riders got stung. I got it once. We had been asked to fill out a form before the ride telling what drugs we carried, or took. I`m sure this will be a hot topic eventually.
The biggest difference in this ride and any other I have done was that the people in the town not only knew what we were doing...they cared! From the time we hit the trail at 5 AM we would hear cheers from people as we passed houses. There were water buckets *everywhere*. There were huge tubs in front yards with sponge buckets next to them. There were picnicking families in lawn chairs who applauded as you went by. There were kids holding up signs that read, "One mile to vet check, "Go USA-East". As if that wasn`t enough, they had hospitality stations where you`d round a bend and there would be 30 people carrying jugs of water to pour on your horse, offering you orange slices, tea, Gatorade, carrots for the horses... I mentioned to a fellow rider, "I should give electrolytes now" and a lady said, "You need electrolytes? I honestly think they had them. I said, "No, I`ve got my own" and she said, "Here, give them to me". I just handed them down, she dosed him, refilled the syringe with water and rinsed his mouth out, then handed the syringe back. Talk about service!! Met the same lady later in the day and she did it for me again.
About electrolytes. I used my home mades and gave them on the hour as usual...and a strange thing happened. My horse kept peeing... often! I remember Karen Chaton saying he horse peed 5 times during 50 miles and how extreme that sounded. Kaboot peed 5 times the last 20 miles!! I honestly think maybe he didn`t need the electrolytes much since it was so cool, and he was just drinking water and peeing them right back out. His urine was as clear as water.
Metabolically, it seemed to me that this ride was very easy on the horses. I guess the hills slowed them down so it was the muscles that were affected first. The grass was sooo lush compared to our area, and water was so plentiful. There were plenty of muscle sore horses the day after this race, but I didn`t see any that looked "drawn".
They told us the trail was 40% woods trails and 60% of the hard packed dirt roads. I guess it was, but it didn`t seem like it. It seemed like we got to spend plenty of time in the woods and they were gorgeous...tall spruce, beautiful stands of the white birch, views out over blue hill after hill. They had names for their hills...I know one was "Heartbreak Hill" and the others were equally descriptive, but my horse didn`t seem to mind them and my shins didn`t mind when we had to walk up the really steep ones.
We had vet checks often. Far more often than in most 100`s and it made the day go by fast. The longest stretch without a check was 19 miles and there was a trot-through 1/2 way through that. Some were as short as 9, 10, 12, and even 4 miles. I liked it and I think it`s one of the reasons the completion rate was high. People didn`t lose time if they wanted to let their horses eat like you do on 22 mile loops.
Our first vet check was at 13 miles. Just before we got there we hit some bees. Suddenly we emerged at an indoor arena (somebody said it was Charles Bronson`s farm) and people sort of swarmed us to help. Kaboot got very upset and silly and was still 89 when his traveling buddy, Mary Yeager`s Snickers was 43. Mary was trying to wait on me but accidentally crossed the line where you had to go on forward and vet through. It was for the best. Once everyone gave up on my horse coming down he dropped. Val noticed he was stomping a rear foot and that was the first time it hit me that he may have been stung. The rest of the vet checks went fine. We almost always lost time in the vet checks because Kaboot doesn`t relax, but I guess that`s a trade out because the nice relaxed horses don`t give you that enthusiastic trot-out. (yes he was still racing me) After the 86 mile vet trot out Dane Frazier said to me, "Have you been riding this horse at all?" At 96 miles the vet who I hadn`t seen before leaned over to his secretary as we trotted and said, "I guess this is that base-wide horse everybody`s been talking about". Nina Barnett said, "Nobody`s going to pull that horse because when he`s trotting away from you all you see is how wide he is, and when he`s coming back you just want to get the hell out of the way!" >g<
At about 75 miles Mary Kornwolf, Kathy Shank and I hooked up and our vets told us to just ease them on in and *finish*. There really wasn`t any reason for us to hurry since we had no part in the team thing, and nothing but completion was up for grabs. The people by the roads were still out there applauding, even though it was late evening, and some were starting to cook supper. (I guess that`s called Dinner in VT). As we rode up a long hill the smell of grilled chicken filled the air and we saw some people in their backyards grilling. I called out, "That`s cruel torturing us like that" and he called back, "Want some?" Mary took him seriously and said, "yeah!" and trotted Shiloh right up to their grill to get a chicken breast. >g< She yelled to us, "It`s good!" and caught back up and split it three ways. Vermonters are the best!
The best hospitality station to me was at the top of a long hill where about six kids under the age of 9 were out at the road in front of their house. They had a huge trough filled with water, and several sponge buckets surrounding it. There were about 3 little kids maybe 6 years old hustling around a field pulling handfuls of grass then running back to pile them by the water trough where they had a big pile already. One little boy had a hose and would politely ask if you`d like your horse misted. They were so efficient, and seemed to know exactly what we needed. I had tears in my eyes it was so sweet.
At 86 miles we lost Mary when Shiloh trotted lame. Considering that he`d popped a splint earlier in the week it was a testament to her care that she got him that far. Our team also lost Kathy Brunjes and Ali Darkness in what was the one bit of injustice all week. A vet said he had limped during his trot out. Our vets said he stumbled. There was no room to argue the vet pulled Ali. There was a rule that any horse pulled from this ride *had* to go to the treatment barn for further evaluation. Ali was hauled to the treatment barn where he was trotted on a straight line, and in circles both directions where they declared him officially *not* lame. Poor Kathy. The next morning he was the best looking horse I saw prancing around.
Kathy`s job had been to ride with Brenda Baird one of our team members. Brenda had two very important reasons to *have* to finish the ride. First, because she was one of 3 team members left, and 2nd for a little known reason. Nikki Young`s mom had snuck and taken a lock of Breathless`s tail after she`d died, and sent it to the PAC. Her instructions were for one of the team members to carry it, and if they got pulled pass it on to another to make sure that at least a part of Breathless did the 100 miles. There wasn`t a dry eye in the house when we learned about the plan and Brenda had been chosen to do the job.
At 96 miles we all breathed a sigh of relief. I`d had enough of wondering if I was going to road founder and just decided to enjoy the walk in. We met a truck that was rehanging glow sticks which apparently ONE bad apple had removed. Out of all the fantastic people in Vermont, it`s such a shame that such a jerk lived in such a crucial spot. Word was that "He didn`t want horses going by his house at that time of night". There were also rumors somebody was throwing firecrackers at the horses...more on that later. We had no problems, but Karen Clark and Becky Harris who left the 96 mile check in 10 & 11 place (I think) were put off course and lost several positions.
Now...a GREAT story on the firecrackers. I got this from Rita Swift at the post ride party.
Rita said she was riding along and heard some firecrackers, then came around the curve and there were these guys. She said, "What are you guys doing?" and they said, "Oh we`re just shooting off some fireworks, but we`ll wait until you`re gone on by". Rita said, "Well boys, you know this horse has been 97 miles and he`s getting a little tired. Why don`t you just set them off now?" They said, "What?" She said, "Why don`t you just set them off NOW". "They said, "We`ve got some pretty big stuff here, M-80s and all" So Rita said, "Just a second then" and she tucked her flashlight under her arm and took the reins up short and looked back at them and said, "Give me all you`ve got" She said when they set those things off Cass took off like a bat out of hell and almost ran over Stagg who was just around the bend. >g<
We finished at 12:38 PM. I think 40th out of 90 There was a crowd at the finish line. Kaboot did his big trot out and we got cheers. I was especially proud when someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Angie, Christy Janzen, that was an incredible trot out" :-))
Unlike most rides there was a rule that said the horses had to pass a metabolic re-check 2 hours after finishing. Someone had to be there when they did it. It was after 1AM when we got to the barn so I told my crew to go on. They had been up 24 hours and were beat. Bill went off to try to call our daughters and I got an army blanket and went to sleep on the ground in front of Kaboot`s stall door. The next thing I knew some vets woke me up to check him. I was a little disoriented, and thought Bill had left me. I`ll bet they thought I was a grouch. They passed him and I found Bill asleep in the truck. FINALLY I was sure I`d completed.
I didn`t have to walk in the finishing ceremony. I got my completion award (a nice crystal what-not with the ride, etc, engraved on it) and I can look at my ride photos and have nothing but happy thoughts. :-)) Thanks to USET for footing so many bills, and all the USA-East support people for guidance. Thanks to Zilco for the beautiful tack. I highly recommend to any of you who have the urge to try this out. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Angie McGhee & Kaboot
USA-East was trying out a new selection procedure this year that would be based solely on head to head competition...no whining about politics, etc. Just get on your horse, go to 2 out of 4 rides and the horses with the most points when the dust dies get to go. The procedure wasn`t perfect, but I think everyone liked the direction it`s taking us and now just wants to refine it.
How does a teacher take 8 days off the second week of school? Well...it helps to teach Art instead of Algebra...and it also helps to tell the principal it will just be five first, then at the last minute change it to 8. :-P The school secretary was panicking about how to put the leave down and we put it down as "sick leave". Unfortunately, while I was gone the local newspaper ran a 1/2 page story about us and the first paragraph said "Local school teacher vacations in Vermont...at least she *took* vacation, it`s actually serious business". Well no, actually I took sick leave. Let`s hope the people in the home office didn`t see that.
We were looking at 24 hours of hauling with a horse who`d never been in the trailer over 9 so Jaye arranged for us to overnight at Val`s in Virginia. We hauled all night and got there at 5 AM. I`ve never been to the Old Dominion so waking at the site of it was exciting. Got to admit though, it looks a lot like home. Several other PAC participants were there and the excitement was building. As irritable as I was when I was trying to leave home I don`t know how Val stood us all showing up at the last minute but you`d have thought they had all the time in the world. Larry had Bill and me dying laughing with stories and made sure we went up to see his really cool treehouse he built in the woods. They not only tolerated us parking in their driveway, they had us all in for dinner! I think Larry is the president of the unofficial AERC foreign embassy. He seems to really enjoy bringing young people from other countries over to work for them for awhile and make friends. I suggested that they just design themselves a flag and declare their farm a country in itself. They have enough top horses and riders to send out a team capable of winning the WEC all by themselves.
There were momentos of World Championships tacked up on the fronts of Pierez and Fire & Gold`s stalls and I couldn`t believe they left those in the barn rather than the house. Found later that the house was too full of bronze awards to waste space on things like ribbons. It was an inspirational start to our first International Competition. I`ll warn you all, she`s got a field full of fit looking worldbeaters in the wings. You guys who can`t find large Arabs?? Blame 4`11" Val, she`s hoarding them. >g<
There were lots of discussions on what would be the best way to haul up. I stuck to my usual "get him out every three hours" and from what I heard was practically the only one to get him out at all on the way to VT from VA which took us 13 hours. I think the other horses had been on long hauls more often and probably drank, etc. better in the trailer. Kaboot was great, unloading in McDonald`s parking lots and busy truckstops without flicking an ear. I did come up with a new trick. Since it`s not always possible to backup to grass to unload I started laying down a piece of carpet for him to hop down onto to avoid slips and he liked it.
The USA-East team would be staying at Steve Rojek`s farm 2.5 miles from the GMHA from Sunday through Thursday morning when they had to be checked in at GMHA. The stalls at GMHA were tiny (10x10) so we were putting off going as long as possible. All the other teams were at a huge field with a beautiful view just down the road.
I had never been to Vermont, and I can tell you the Woodstock area was worth going back to. It`s BEAUTIFUL. I don`t know if wood doesn`t rot up north, or if it`s too cold for them to burn down, but there were soo many huge old barns in perfect condition, built next to gorgeous OLD homes. For example, Steve Rojek`s tin roofed rock home was built in 1761. There was a British KING in charge when it was built! His carriage barn was incredible, with at least 20 antique carriages and sleighs in a room with a huge fireplace and an old painting hanging over it. Noticed he had a few silver cups that I would have decorated my entire house around stacked here and there in the carriage house too. >sigh<
Woodstock is a ski town, which should tell you something about the terrain we rode on. Let`s just say about half the trail would have looked good with a lift going up it, and the other half with ski tracks going down. Sort of intimidating when someone says, "And then you`ll be down that way" and you look up at the roadsign which reads "Suicide Six" with an arrow pointing that way.
The USA-East squad probably had more veterinarians than any other squad. We had 6 official vets, plus one rider vet...would have been two had Nikki Young been there. Our vets were very concerned with the quality of our trot outs and wanted us trotting out for them bright and early Monday. So, we all trotted out...with horses who had been hauled 13-24 hours in the last two days... and the vets were gnashing their teeth. When you get 6 top vets together looking at horses trot, they`re bound to compete. Nobody wants to be the one who doesn`t see *something*...then add to that the fact that they are terribly nervous about their responsibility which is to pick 4 horses, of which three *have* to finish, to go for the team medals. I`d compare it to someone who has mortgaged their parents farm, which they still live in, without their permission..to take that $100,000 and bet on a trifecta which they *have* to win. I think that`s the sort of pressure our vets were putting on themselves.
Fortunately I went to the Jane Savoie clinic on positive thinking and didn`t fall over in a coma the first time they didn`t like my horse`s trot out. I figured if she could get to the Olympics with no horse, I could get through the Pan Ams with this one. USA-East had 18 slots on our team since we were the host team. Our altnernates included Steve Rojek (it was his home trail) Rita Swift & Cass (one of the top teams in the country) and Connie Walker (PAC individual gold last time out). Picture yourself as a major league coach with Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio and Reggie Jackson on your bench and you`ll know what they were thinking. >g<
Then things started happening. For those of you who hadn`t heard, Nikki Young`s great (and I do mean great) mare Breathless died in colic surgery several weeks back (not ride related). Then Lynn Gilbert`s horse Chagall was lame and didn`t come. Next Val`s horse Bearcat O`Reilly arrived with a cough and was taken off the grounds to quarentine. This put Rita, Steve and Connie on the team. Later in the week Cia Reis`s horse who looked great all week got his hind leg through a metal corral and tore it up. We lost Ceia and didn`t even have 18 horses any more. Debbie Bullie and Adriene Hewitt had qualified, but their horses weren`t up to competing this week either so they had come to crew. I think the vets relaxed some then, since the bench was now empty. The reserves were used up, it was now time to get what we had through the race.
I think I mentioned our vets liked trot outs. Our vets wanted *good* trot outs. Nice, energetic trot outs. They wanted everyone to come out twice a day and practice trot outs. There`s just one problem. Kaboot *loves* trot-outs. He gets faster and faster when you trot him out. Here he`d been gone from home for days...I`m sure he was confused when we just keep getting up in the morning and do more trot outs, but that was OK with him. He LOVED this new sport. He loves it because he can trot faster than I can, and he`s *winning*! The vets apparently had read Merryben`s post saying you never let the horse turn around you or he may take a bad step, so it was *imperative* that we keep up with the horses and stop them on a straight line. All I can tell you is that by Thursday I swear Kaboot was starting to crouch when I said, "Ready?" and he was taking off like it was out of the starting gates. I kept having to run faster and faster to keep up and had to do stretching exercises before my sprints. All this was under the supervision of just 4 of our vets, since Ann Stuart, our Chef de` whatever and Julie Bullock were in FEI meetings. Finally, Ann got to come to one of our trot out sessions to observe. After I returned from an "Out, 2 large circles to the left, 2 large circles to the right, and back" race, and was bent over wheezing with my hands on my knees Ann declared, "They`re not going to let you trot *that* fast! Can`t you slow him down?" >shriek<
Thursday morning it was time for the big move. We saddled up 18 horses at 6 AM, in full uniforms to ride them to GMHA. Think about it. What do you *think* our horses thought was going on? Yep...a semi controlled start. :-P As we lined up to ride out of camp Julie Bullock ran to her truck and cranked her stereo all the way up with a rap musician chanting, "Let`s start the commotion". We looked *good* in our uniforms and it was the coolest thing to hear the hoofbeats, have a prancing horse under you and be one of the team.
Thursday morning was the official "vet in" minus trot outs. The GMHA looked very festive with all the country`s flags draped around the arena. I got a French vet which made me feel quite worldly. With the fields where we`d been camping just a couple of miles away all the teams had chosen to ride over rather than haul. They had scheduled us to vet in at intervals, so as we drove back to Rojeks we would meet teams of riders in full colors riding along the back roads towards the venue. The sky was blue, the horses primed, the weather perfect, and those uniforms were beautiful. The award for prettiest goes to Pacific South, with lots of ties for 2nd. Their jackets are navy, red and bright yellow, and so is all their biothane. One cool thing they added was the rider`s record embroidered on back. It would tell how many PAC`s or WEC`s they`d participated in. I had to laugh when somebody referred to the Mountain region as "Those Aqua-people" Sounded like Atlantis had sent a team. >g<
Thursday morning was the official "vet in" minus trot outs. The GMHA looked very festive with all the country`s flags draped around the arena. I got a French vet which made me feel quite worldly. With the fields where we`d been camping just a couple of miles away all the teams had chosen to ride over rather than haul. They had scheduled us to vet in at intervals, so as we drove back to Rojeks we would meet teams of riders in full colors riding along the back roads towards the venue. The sky was blue, the horses primed, the weather perfect, and those uniforms were beautiful. The award for prettiest goes to Pacific South, with lots of ties for 2nd. Their jackets are navy, red and bright yellow, and so is all their biothane. One cool thing they added was the rider`s record embroidered on back. It would tell how many PAC`s or WEC`s they`d participated in. I had to laugh when somebody referred to the Mountain region as "Those Aqua-people" Sounded like Atlantis had sent a team. >g<
Now that the horses were in their 10x10 stalls it was time to start appreciating our crews who took turns making sure the horses didn`t spend much time in them. I was lucky enough to have a great crew. First I had Bill, who just for this week went through a total personality change and became proactive. No more dragging feet or going through the "oh that`s not necessary" routine. He worked hard begrudging none of it, and managed to take videos besides! I had also lined up Liz Szeliga (no I can`t pronounce that) from Mass. to help. Then I met Kathy Duggen who had planned to crew for Lynn Gilbert and was available. She had finished 3rd in the pre-ride and knew the trail. Other than the language barrier (she was from near Boston) she was the perfect addition to the crew. We dubbed her our "Native Guide" took Bill on a tour of all the vet checks and it took them 3 hours just to drive to them all.
Speaking of language barriers...that was one of the more amusing aspects of our team. There were people from Southern California who sounded pretty normal to me (even though my SE accent stood out to them) but the SE riders & NE riders all on the same squad had a heck of a time. For instance...they say "Hahbah" rather than Harbor, and "Lahbstah" instead of Lobster, so you figure they don`t use "R`s" but then they say "Idear" instead of "Idea", and "Canader" instead of "Canada" Bill was totally confused when Kathy Duggan urgently asked him if he got my "Cud". He had no idea what she wanted. She finally said, "Caarrrd" sort of saying the r in the back of her throat the way Bambi does when he`s trying to say "Birrrd". By the end of the ride we couldn`t get Kathy & Liz to quit saying "Dang far" (far means fire in this case).
The official trot outs were to be held Friday. We had all hoped until the last minute that Ceia`s horse would quit being sore and vet in but when our vets had their last team trot out that morning he was definitely off and she decided not to even try. We were all very disappointed for her. When I lined Kaboot up for that trot out I stopped and turned my official team cap backwards to allow for the speed and we did our windsprint. I sort of like our coach`s name for that out and back sprint which is a "suicide". I may refer to Kaboot`s trot outs as suicides from now on. The vets were satisfied. He stopped on a straight line, and they chuckled as I turned my hat back around.
Suddenly it was time for the big trot out event..and it was an event! Everyone was in full uniform. We had to go to a field where an official lady almost died of confusion when Bill forgot his penny. We entered the field and circled to the left, perfectly evenly spaced. Stopped, and had our first official pulse from Roger`s wands. It was 37 (he usually vets in at 44 so was quite calm) We walked on around and on the far side of the field there were maybe 10 vets evenly spaced checking horses out for a CRI. The line was constantly moving and every time a horse was officially passed the announcer would say something like, "Number 70 Angie McGhee on Kaboot Herlong has been cleared for competition". and their crew would sigh with relief. The vet checked Kaboot over, gave him all A`s except a B on anal tone which I found amusing. I forgot we weren`t supposed to speak to them and said, "Don`t worry, I`ve just removed so many ticks he`s not ticklish any more. Tomorrow morning you`ll be able to crack walnuts with it" Fortunately there was no reprimand. >g<
When I got ready to trot out I considered turning my hat around but figured I`d better play it straight. Kaboot was relaxed, but staring intently watching the others trot out and I could tell he couldn`t wait to race me. When the vet said "Trot him" he tried to jump out, but I pulled him back around, lined him up carefully with the proper cone they wanted me to trot around and tried to very nonchalantly say, "Trot". Ha! Off we went, wide open and picking up speed. I sprinted as hard as I could, but had to keep letting the rope play out farther so he wouldn`t have to circle back on me. I felt the muscles on my thighs getting pulled (strained) and was grateful when we got to the far end and I managed to stop him on a straight line. There were titters in the crowd as I carefully turned him and lined him back up hoping he`d be calmer on the way back. Double ha. He went even faster, I lost my hat and really did hurt the fronts of my thighs running so hard. He came to a nice straight stop for the vet as if saying, "What do you think of *that?" and the vet broke his no speaking rule and said, "You plan to RIDE this horse tomorrow? He got an A+ on impulsion and a notation, "Base wide" next to it. He trots *really* wide in the rear and the faster he trots the wider it gets.
Next came the official weigh and I was 164.5 I figured that`s a nice place to be...safely above the minimum (156 now) but not enough to feel guilty.
The ceremony later that day was nice...and short. Nice to have officials who realize that 90 primed horse aren`t going to stand still for long. They wisely held off all the "thank yous" etc. until Sunday when 90 horses were very willing to stand quietly. The locals put on a demonstration of the Morgan horses that was very nice. They had carriages, hunt seat, a farmer dragging a log, anything you could imagine a Morgan doing. I felt bad because the official pictures were being taken while we had our uniforms on and we had to miss some of it.
So now it`s Saturday morning. If felt good to finally get down to business after a week on the road. You peel away all the extra hoopla and get down to the main event and it`s just an endurance ride, the kind you`re used to and you`re ready to *ride*! Rode around for 25 minutes or so warming him up, then they ordered *everyone* into the arena. Picture a dark show arena with 90 primed horses jigging around in it! Whew! Then they opened the gate on the far side and the course was open. They started us with a "controlled start" I thought following a golf cart, but by the speed of it I think it was probably a really quiet motocross motorcycle. We trotted along in the dark for probably 15 minutes or so, with Kaboot weaving in and out of traffic until he found a place he was happy and he settled in. After another 15 minutes it started to get light enough to see who was around me and I realized that I was riding with six other USA-East horses, and nobody else. The horses had found each other. >g< All day long teams were riding together and I wondered how much of it was the rider`s ideas and how much of it was the horse`s. There was only one time that Kaboot hooked up with a non-USA-East horse and it was an Australian. It surprised me until I realized he had leased Lois McAfee`s horse Leggs who had been stabled at our field all week.
The trail was tough, with lots of climbs, but the weather was so incredibly great that my horse really didn`t care. I`d heard some other regions had considered it humid earlier in the week, while those of us from the South had put away all our tank tops and were wearing sleeves. Then Saturday it turned COOL and clear with no humidity at all that I could feel. There was even a breeze. I`m sure it hurt Melissa Crains chance for the gold, but it was still hard to wish *for* humidity.
The trails at GMHA are permanently marked with wooden arrows. The strange thing was that sometimes they were on the left, and sometimes on the right. Sometimes they were far apart. I was scared that after dark I would pass one on the left while searching with a flashlight on the right, but it all worked out. Gotta admit that when I went all the way down a mountain without a marker between top and bottom though that without 2 horses with me I`d have been worrying about turning back. There was plenty to turn you at the turns, but nothing to stop you if you got past the turn. All in all it worked out fine but I managed to worry.
The first 50 miles was a blur. The trail was so EASY for RIDERS, but not for horses. You had to remind yourself how hard they were working. The only problems I had were with all the steep downhills I spent too much time standing and started having shin splint trouble on my left leg. By 40 miles it was the worst I`d ever felt with shooting hot pain. At the vet check I taped it up with duct tape, and took some kind of 12 hour anti-inflamatory sample a doctor had given me and a couple of 400mg Tylenol. Amazingly enough I had no more problems. I`ll add a note here...there was talk at a meeting with FEI about banning drugs FOR RIDERS. Whew! Wanna talk about controversial!!! One popular drug was Benadryl. There were bees on the trail and lots of riders got stung. I got it once. We had been asked to fill out a form before the ride telling what drugs we carried, or took. I`m sure this will be a hot topic eventually.
The biggest difference in this ride and any other I have done was that the people in the town not only knew what we were doing...they cared! From the time we hit the trail at 5 AM we would hear cheers from people as we passed houses. There were water buckets *everywhere*. There were huge tubs in front yards with sponge buckets next to them. There were picnicking families in lawn chairs who applauded as you went by. There were kids holding up signs that read, "One mile to vet check, "Go USA-East". As if that wasn`t enough, they had hospitality stations where you`d round a bend and there would be 30 people carrying jugs of water to pour on your horse, offering you orange slices, tea, Gatorade, carrots for the horses... I mentioned to a fellow rider, "I should give electrolytes now" and a lady said, "You need electrolytes? I honestly think they had them. I said, "No, I`ve got my own" and she said, "Here, give them to me". I just handed them down, she dosed him, refilled the syringe with water and rinsed his mouth out, then handed the syringe back. Talk about service!! Met the same lady later in the day and she did it for me again.
About electrolytes. I used my home mades and gave them on the hour as usual...and a strange thing happened. My horse kept peeing... often! I remember Karen Chaton saying he horse peed 5 times during 50 miles and how extreme that sounded. Kaboot peed 5 times the last 20 miles!! I honestly think maybe he didn`t need the electrolytes much since it was so cool, and he was just drinking water and peeing them right back out. His urine was as clear as water.
Metabolically, it seemed to me that this ride was very easy on the horses. I guess the hills slowed them down so it was the muscles that were affected first. The grass was sooo lush compared to our area, and water was so plentiful. There were plenty of muscle sore horses the day after this race, but I didn`t see any that looked "drawn".
They told us the trail was 40% woods trails and 60% of the hard packed dirt roads. I guess it was, but it didn`t seem like it. It seemed like we got to spend plenty of time in the woods and they were gorgeous...tall spruce, beautiful stands of the white birch, views out over blue hill after hill. They had names for their hills...I know one was "Heartbreak Hill" and the others were equally descriptive, but my horse didn`t seem to mind them and my shins didn`t mind when we had to walk up the really steep ones.
We had vet checks often. Far more often than in most 100`s and it made the day go by fast. The longest stretch without a check was 19 miles and there was a trot-through 1/2 way through that. Some were as short as 9, 10, 12, and even 4 miles. I liked it and I think it`s one of the reasons the completion rate was high. People didn`t lose time if they wanted to let their horses eat like you do on 22 mile loops.
Our first vet check was at 13 miles. Just before we got there we hit some bees. Suddenly we emerged at an indoor arena (somebody said it was Charles Bronson`s farm) and people sort of swarmed us to help. Kaboot got very upset and silly and was still 89 when his traveling buddy, Mary Yeager`s Snickers was 43. Mary was trying to wait on me but accidentally crossed the line where you had to go on forward and vet through. It was for the best. Once everyone gave up on my horse coming down he dropped. Val noticed he was stomping a rear foot and that was the first time it hit me that he may have been stung. The rest of the vet checks went fine. We almost always lost time in the vet checks because Kaboot doesn`t relax, but I guess that`s a trade out because the nice relaxed horses don`t give you that enthusiastic trot-out. (yes he was still racing me) After the 86 mile vet trot out Dane Frazier said to me, "Have you been riding this horse at all?" At 96 miles the vet who I hadn`t seen before leaned over to his secretary as we trotted and said, "I guess this is that base-wide horse everybody`s been talking about". Nina Barnett said, "Nobody`s going to pull that horse because when he`s trotting away from you all you see is how wide he is, and when he`s coming back you just want to get the hell out of the way!" >g<
At about 75 miles Mary Kornwolf, Kathy Shank and I hooked up and our vets told us to just ease them on in and *finish*. There really wasn`t any reason for us to hurry since we had no part in the team thing, and nothing but completion was up for grabs. The people by the roads were still out there applauding, even though it was late evening, and some were starting to cook supper. (I guess that`s called Dinner in VT). As we rode up a long hill the smell of grilled chicken filled the air and we saw some people in their backyards grilling. I called out, "That`s cruel torturing us like that" and he called back, "Want some?" Mary took him seriously and said, "yeah!" and trotted Shiloh right up to their grill to get a chicken breast. >g< She yelled to us, "It`s good!" and caught back up and split it three ways. Vermonters are the best!
The best hospitality station to me was at the top of a long hill where about six kids under the age of 9 were out at the road in front of their house. They had a huge trough filled with water, and several sponge buckets surrounding it. There were about 3 little kids maybe 6 years old hustling around a field pulling handfuls of grass then running back to pile them by the water trough where they had a big pile already. One little boy had a hose and would politely ask if you`d like your horse misted. They were so efficient, and seemed to know exactly what we needed. I had tears in my eyes it was so sweet.
At 86 miles we lost Mary when Shiloh trotted lame. Considering that he`d popped a splint earlier in the week it was a testament to her care that she got him that far. Our team also lost Kathy Brunjes and Ali Darkness in what was the one bit of injustice all week. A vet said he had limped during his trot out. Our vets said he stumbled. There was no room to argue the vet pulled Ali. There was a rule that any horse pulled from this ride *had* to go to the treatment barn for further evaluation. Ali was hauled to the treatment barn where he was trotted on a straight line, and in circles both directions where they declared him officially *not* lame. Poor Kathy. The next morning he was the best looking horse I saw prancing around.
Kathy`s job had been to ride with Brenda Baird one of our team members. Brenda had two very important reasons to *have* to finish the ride. First, because she was one of 3 team members left, and 2nd for a little known reason. Nikki Young`s mom had snuck and taken a lock of Breathless`s tail after she`d died, and sent it to the PAC. Her instructions were for one of the team members to carry it, and if they got pulled pass it on to another to make sure that at least a part of Breathless did the 100 miles. There wasn`t a dry eye in the house when we learned about the plan and Brenda had been chosen to do the job.
At 96 miles we all breathed a sigh of relief. I`d had enough of wondering if I was going to road founder and just decided to enjoy the walk in. We met a truck that was rehanging glow sticks which apparently ONE bad apple had removed. Out of all the fantastic people in Vermont, it`s such a shame that such a jerk lived in such a crucial spot. Word was that "He didn`t want horses going by his house at that time of night". There were also rumors somebody was throwing firecrackers at the horses...more on that later. We had no problems, but Karen Clark and Becky Harris who left the 96 mile check in 10 & 11 place (I think) were put off course and lost several positions.
Now...a GREAT story on the firecrackers. I got this from Rita Swift at the post ride party.
Rita said she was riding along and heard some firecrackers, then came around the curve and there were these guys. She said, "What are you guys doing?" and they said, "Oh we`re just shooting off some fireworks, but we`ll wait until you`re gone on by". Rita said, "Well boys, you know this horse has been 97 miles and he`s getting a little tired. Why don`t you just set them off now?" They said, "What?" She said, "Why don`t you just set them off NOW". "They said, "We`ve got some pretty big stuff here, M-80s and all" So Rita said, "Just a second then" and she tucked her flashlight under her arm and took the reins up short and looked back at them and said, "Give me all you`ve got" She said when they set those things off Cass took off like a bat out of hell and almost ran over Stagg who was just around the bend. >g<
We finished at 12:38 PM. I think 40th out of 90 There was a crowd at the finish line. Kaboot did his big trot out and we got cheers. I was especially proud when someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Angie, Christy Janzen, that was an incredible trot out" :-))
Unlike most rides there was a rule that said the horses had to pass a metabolic re-check 2 hours after finishing. Someone had to be there when they did it. It was after 1AM when we got to the barn so I told my crew to go on. They had been up 24 hours and were beat. Bill went off to try to call our daughters and I got an army blanket and went to sleep on the ground in front of Kaboot`s stall door. The next thing I knew some vets woke me up to check him. I was a little disoriented, and thought Bill had left me. I`ll bet they thought I was a grouch. They passed him and I found Bill asleep in the truck. FINALLY I was sure I`d completed.
I didn`t have to walk in the finishing ceremony. I got my completion award (a nice crystal what-not with the ride, etc, engraved on it) and I can look at my ride photos and have nothing but happy thoughts. :-)) Thanks to USET for footing so many bills, and all the USA-East support people for guidance. Thanks to Zilco for the beautiful tack. I highly recommend to any of you who have the urge to try this out. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Angie McGhee & Kaboot
Saturday, June 16, 2001
Pyramid Challenge - Angie McGhee
Just back from Pyramid Challenge at Kentucky Horse Park. What a *different* kind of ride. You know, usually just getting to a ride sight requires some endurance...dirt roads with no names, towns nobody`s heard of...not, "Go up 75 to exit 120 and the Horse Park is on your left. I pictured a tourist attraction, (no I haven`t been there before unfortunately) with a field out back where they`d park us. Well, we came in the gate and the people didn`t know where we should go, they were taking up money for the huge Bluegrass festival that was going on there. We passed by the huge bronze of Man O` War, then we drove by the Saluki dog show and Field Trial, then there was the Hunter Jumper show going on up at the ring on the hill, and the Egyptian Event Arabian Horse Show in the big covered Arena. Talk about a busy place! We camped right by the scoreboard for the Rolex 3-Day Event. The names were still on the board in chalk, right next to the tree where I hooked up my picketline. There was a big lake across the street with 3 big fountains spraying continuously that were lighted at night. Very restful sound. Since Kaboot was due a vacation, and I`d wanted to sponsor my daughter at this ride I had posted on Ridecamp asking if anyone had a horse they wanted ridden. Connie Caudhill of KY sent a note and said to go ahead and pre-enter, she had one I could ride.
Got to the ride late...don`t ask...O.K. it had something to do with waking up Friday morning with a miniature donkey which doesn`t belong to me in my field, scaring my horses to death and spending the morning in pouring rain trying to catch it. Anyway, by the time we got there it was almost time for the ride meeting so I grabbed my horse for the weekend, "Huckelberry Moon" and went down to vet in. I`ll tell you now, if you`re a heavyweight (or not) and looking for a good horse you should go ahead and read this post just to see if you`re interested in this horse! (a pause for a word from our sponsors) The horse was big (to me) and a black bay with a full mane and thick forelock. He`s got a really nice flat strong back and was put together nice, solid built, like Kaboot but with height. Connie said he was sweepstakes nominated and Mike`s wanting to keep him, "but any horse we have is for sale". His trot out was a little enthusiastic, (probably because we`d left his friends on the hill) but after I saw how they bring those stallions in for a halter class at the Egyptian Event I realized it was just a breed characteristic. >g< I was a little concerned that I might have bit off more than I could chew as I led him back up the hill (or he led me). The ride meeting was in the Patron`s Lounge at the big arena and sitting amonst all those big oil paintings of Thoroughbreds you really felt like you were in Kentucky...(as if 400,000,000,000 miles of white board fences hadn`t already given it away)
Had a very short ride the night before. After 14.2 Kaboot Connie`s 6 year old horse felt big, and I wasn`t sure about the control factor on the bosal he wore. We`re talking about 60+ horses starting on a steeplechase racetrack, and traveling through wide open fields all day. Heck, Kaboot would have been a hair raising ride in those conditions. Get him in an open field and you feel like you`ve roped a locomotive.
The vet check was about 1/2 mile from where we camped. If you were walking it you entered a gate onto the steeplechase track, a really wide grassy track with a hedge on the inside rail and black board fence on the outside. It had rolling inclines and was a mile oval. Then you crossed over into the infield which went down into sort of a bowl and up the other side to a huge OLD grove of LARGE trees that put out the coolest shade you can imagine. All shade is NOT equal. The vet check was in that area. On the far side of the track was part of the crosscountry course that is used on the Rolex, etc. The jumps were awesome. When you see those things up close and they`re made literally out of power poles that are bolted together, with huge ditches between them. I honestly cannot imagine...
The ride was nice. Better than I expected when you know you`re going to be on very domesticated farm land at all times. There was quite a mix of traveling around the polo field, up the lanes between the Horse Park barns, around front past the entrance, and then onto a neighboring farm trotting between rows of corn (O.K. we wiped out one row and traveled between the two on either side of it) The trail looked so tame you didn`t realize all the dangers that really were there. For one thing, everybody was falling off. I mean everywhere. All that open space was just mind blowing to these mountain horses and they just got real happy...whole lotta buckin` going on. I for one was very relieved that my borrowed mount let me stay on. :-) Second, there were apparently some old fence rows not that far away from all the nice new fence rows we were riding. Holes would just appear out of nowhere. As we trotted along one section we`d just started to slow down for a turn when I heard a big thump behind me and Amy Whelan was on her horse`s neck. The horse had gone to the knee in a long skinny hole. Thank goodness we were already slowing down. There were quite a few of those. Also, we were riding along the fence lines of lots of fields and the grass was waist high. The second time around after the path had been beat down it was scarey to see what sort of stuff we`d gone over that morning without knowing it was there.
Now the good part. As we headed out for our second loop, we met some 25 milers coming in from their first loop. There were 4 riders, and 8 horses. Seems an entire field of the Horse Park`s rental horses had decided to escape and join the race...FORTY horses! The 4 who`d joined this bunch were very serious about the whole matter and were staying perfectly in line with the horses they were traveling with . They never even glanced at us as we headed the other direction; they were just about a mile from the vet check and I was wondering who was going to crew for them. >g< We went on around the loop and came up on some riders who`d stopped and saw some men from the horse park catching a Percheron who definately was *not* cut out for the sport he`d just tried out. He was one big sweaty panting fellow. His roan racking horse pal didn`t hang around to be caught, he just took off on down the correct trail ahead of us. The men told us we could go on once they`d caught the big guy. We went another 1/2 mile with ol` Roanie setting a good pace and came up on another Park worker blocking the trail with his truck. Several riders surrounded the horse (which did *not* want caught) and James Agnew removed one of his reins and made a loop and finally snared it. Two down, 38 to go. What a place. I could just imagine 38 horses crashing through the Bluegrass festival!
I was having a great time ever since I`d figured out Connie must like me after all because she`d loaned me a heck of a horse. This guy was big and almost black, but had absolutely no trouble coming down to a pulse of 60 faster than Kaboot would have. She said he was raised in Fla. and handled heat well and she wasn`t kidding. Josie`s knee was bothering her and we lost some time on the third loop just getting off and letting her stretch it, but other than that this horse who was only doing his third 50 kept a good 10mph pace most of the ride. Josie just had a while there where we had to walk for her sake. He had a great relaxed canter and would switch leads on his own so I had a much better time circling those big fields than I`d expected. I was a little worried about getting off of him during the loop to give electrolytes, since I`m so short my stirrups are at about eye level when I get on a big horse. But, luckily they`d done some competitive trail on him and he stood still while I pulled my foot up over my head, got my toe in the stirrup and then grabbed his longest braid to pull myself up.
One of the coolest things about the way things were set up was that when you got back to the vet check each time, you trotted by the crew area with anywhere from 1/2 to 1.5 miles to go before you needed to stop...so you didn`t slow down yet. On the orange loop you had to go .5 miles past the check traveling on the cross country course, then turn right through a gate onto the steeplechase track and then come back into the vet check. On the pink loop you did the same, but when you got to the check you had to pass it and do another full 1 mile trip around the track. The beauty of that was that for *once* the crew people got to see the horses traveling the way they look on the trail, not the way they look when we ease them into the check and walk in. The view of them cantering along effortlessly was beautiful. I enjoyed watching them go by as I was serving out my hold. The horses seemed to enjoy that perfect mowed grass footing so much they didn`t mind passing the vet check.
Now, for some anecdotes. This has got to be the *strangest* ride story ever. This is how I heard it retold, any mistakes are mine. Seems Lois was running up in the front group, then she was gone. Nobody was quite sure when she dropped back. One rider said he thought she`d decided the pace was too fast and dropped back. Mike Caudhill laughed at that idea and said they should have known better... Lois could have been shot through with an arrow and still wouldn`t have thought any pace was too fast. >g< Seems Lois had come off her horse, hurting her ribs in the process, and the horse had taken off down the pavement. She tracked it a long way by skid marks on pavement. It left the Park, crossed 2 cattle guards and ended up on a Standardbred farm. She came in and asked the workers there if they`d seen her horse. They said, "Yes, and it totally disrupted their schedule". They were palpating mares and very ticked off. They told her she could *not* have her horse back until she helped them finish up...and they were serious! She said some guy who`d been helping them left, and they gave her his job which was holding the mare`s tail. Here`s a woman who`d come off, got hurt ribs, there are search parties out looking for her and the horse and they`re making her hold mare`s tails to be palpated for 40 MINUTES!!!! Poor Lois finally earned her horse back, and was about a loop behind everyone. She was coming in from her first 15 miles as we finished 25 and she was hurt. I figured she`d quit. Ha. She finished the ride. >g<
As I was finishing up my last hold, I heard hoots and hollers and a group of 3 horses & riders passed on the outside crosscountry course with 1.5 miles to go to the finish of their 50. They went up to where you turn on the track and turned in, then two horses & riders, and one horse with an empty saddle came racing down the track. Everyone yelled at the riders in front that the other was down but they either didn`t hear or didn`t care. They went right by the vet check for the first pass, did the full one mile around the track and raced in to the finish with the loose horse right with them. When they stopped he did too. Poor Kay (bad with last names) got her horse back and rode the mile again so she`d get her completion. I told her she`d be legal if she`d just jog it on foot since the horse had already been around, but she didn`t see it that way. >g<
The evening after the ride the Pyramid Society invited any endurance horses who could prove their Egyptian heritage to be ridden in the show ring while they presented the BC awards...ceremonial saddles which were a gift of the Prince of Morocco (I think I got that right). The horses looked good and didn`t act too silly about being indoors until they saw those saddles. Oh boy! No way they wanted anything to do with those things. Just to tell you how overwhelming they were, when they displayed them at our awards later a stray dog was trotting by, suddenly saw the saddles and sort of bristled and went way around them. >g< It would be a real bummer if you figured out that was the only saddle that really fit your horse and you had to compete in it from now on. >eg<
My only regret about the weekend was that we didn`t get a chance to tour the park. As Josie and I came in from our last 10 mile loop, which our horses had cantered most of, it was really cool to cross the road and enter the long gradual climb as we passed jump after jump of the Rolex course, top the hill and do that final lap around the track. What fun.
:-))
Angie & Huckelberry Moon (just this once)
Got to the ride late...don`t ask...O.K. it had something to do with waking up Friday morning with a miniature donkey which doesn`t belong to me in my field, scaring my horses to death and spending the morning in pouring rain trying to catch it. Anyway, by the time we got there it was almost time for the ride meeting so I grabbed my horse for the weekend, "Huckelberry Moon" and went down to vet in. I`ll tell you now, if you`re a heavyweight (or not) and looking for a good horse you should go ahead and read this post just to see if you`re interested in this horse! (a pause for a word from our sponsors) The horse was big (to me) and a black bay with a full mane and thick forelock. He`s got a really nice flat strong back and was put together nice, solid built, like Kaboot but with height. Connie said he was sweepstakes nominated and Mike`s wanting to keep him, "but any horse we have is for sale". His trot out was a little enthusiastic, (probably because we`d left his friends on the hill) but after I saw how they bring those stallions in for a halter class at the Egyptian Event I realized it was just a breed characteristic. >g< I was a little concerned that I might have bit off more than I could chew as I led him back up the hill (or he led me). The ride meeting was in the Patron`s Lounge at the big arena and sitting amonst all those big oil paintings of Thoroughbreds you really felt like you were in Kentucky...(as if 400,000,000,000 miles of white board fences hadn`t already given it away)
Had a very short ride the night before. After 14.2 Kaboot Connie`s 6 year old horse felt big, and I wasn`t sure about the control factor on the bosal he wore. We`re talking about 60+ horses starting on a steeplechase racetrack, and traveling through wide open fields all day. Heck, Kaboot would have been a hair raising ride in those conditions. Get him in an open field and you feel like you`ve roped a locomotive.
The vet check was about 1/2 mile from where we camped. If you were walking it you entered a gate onto the steeplechase track, a really wide grassy track with a hedge on the inside rail and black board fence on the outside. It had rolling inclines and was a mile oval. Then you crossed over into the infield which went down into sort of a bowl and up the other side to a huge OLD grove of LARGE trees that put out the coolest shade you can imagine. All shade is NOT equal. The vet check was in that area. On the far side of the track was part of the crosscountry course that is used on the Rolex, etc. The jumps were awesome. When you see those things up close and they`re made literally out of power poles that are bolted together, with huge ditches between them. I honestly cannot imagine...
The ride was nice. Better than I expected when you know you`re going to be on very domesticated farm land at all times. There was quite a mix of traveling around the polo field, up the lanes between the Horse Park barns, around front past the entrance, and then onto a neighboring farm trotting between rows of corn (O.K. we wiped out one row and traveled between the two on either side of it) The trail looked so tame you didn`t realize all the dangers that really were there. For one thing, everybody was falling off. I mean everywhere. All that open space was just mind blowing to these mountain horses and they just got real happy...whole lotta buckin` going on. I for one was very relieved that my borrowed mount let me stay on. :-) Second, there were apparently some old fence rows not that far away from all the nice new fence rows we were riding. Holes would just appear out of nowhere. As we trotted along one section we`d just started to slow down for a turn when I heard a big thump behind me and Amy Whelan was on her horse`s neck. The horse had gone to the knee in a long skinny hole. Thank goodness we were already slowing down. There were quite a few of those. Also, we were riding along the fence lines of lots of fields and the grass was waist high. The second time around after the path had been beat down it was scarey to see what sort of stuff we`d gone over that morning without knowing it was there.
Now the good part. As we headed out for our second loop, we met some 25 milers coming in from their first loop. There were 4 riders, and 8 horses. Seems an entire field of the Horse Park`s rental horses had decided to escape and join the race...FORTY horses! The 4 who`d joined this bunch were very serious about the whole matter and were staying perfectly in line with the horses they were traveling with . They never even glanced at us as we headed the other direction; they were just about a mile from the vet check and I was wondering who was going to crew for them. >g< We went on around the loop and came up on some riders who`d stopped and saw some men from the horse park catching a Percheron who definately was *not* cut out for the sport he`d just tried out. He was one big sweaty panting fellow. His roan racking horse pal didn`t hang around to be caught, he just took off on down the correct trail ahead of us. The men told us we could go on once they`d caught the big guy. We went another 1/2 mile with ol` Roanie setting a good pace and came up on another Park worker blocking the trail with his truck. Several riders surrounded the horse (which did *not* want caught) and James Agnew removed one of his reins and made a loop and finally snared it. Two down, 38 to go. What a place. I could just imagine 38 horses crashing through the Bluegrass festival!
I was having a great time ever since I`d figured out Connie must like me after all because she`d loaned me a heck of a horse. This guy was big and almost black, but had absolutely no trouble coming down to a pulse of 60 faster than Kaboot would have. She said he was raised in Fla. and handled heat well and she wasn`t kidding. Josie`s knee was bothering her and we lost some time on the third loop just getting off and letting her stretch it, but other than that this horse who was only doing his third 50 kept a good 10mph pace most of the ride. Josie just had a while there where we had to walk for her sake. He had a great relaxed canter and would switch leads on his own so I had a much better time circling those big fields than I`d expected. I was a little worried about getting off of him during the loop to give electrolytes, since I`m so short my stirrups are at about eye level when I get on a big horse. But, luckily they`d done some competitive trail on him and he stood still while I pulled my foot up over my head, got my toe in the stirrup and then grabbed his longest braid to pull myself up.
One of the coolest things about the way things were set up was that when you got back to the vet check each time, you trotted by the crew area with anywhere from 1/2 to 1.5 miles to go before you needed to stop...so you didn`t slow down yet. On the orange loop you had to go .5 miles past the check traveling on the cross country course, then turn right through a gate onto the steeplechase track and then come back into the vet check. On the pink loop you did the same, but when you got to the check you had to pass it and do another full 1 mile trip around the track. The beauty of that was that for *once* the crew people got to see the horses traveling the way they look on the trail, not the way they look when we ease them into the check and walk in. The view of them cantering along effortlessly was beautiful. I enjoyed watching them go by as I was serving out my hold. The horses seemed to enjoy that perfect mowed grass footing so much they didn`t mind passing the vet check.
Now, for some anecdotes. This has got to be the *strangest* ride story ever. This is how I heard it retold, any mistakes are mine. Seems Lois was running up in the front group, then she was gone. Nobody was quite sure when she dropped back. One rider said he thought she`d decided the pace was too fast and dropped back. Mike Caudhill laughed at that idea and said they should have known better... Lois could have been shot through with an arrow and still wouldn`t have thought any pace was too fast. >g< Seems Lois had come off her horse, hurting her ribs in the process, and the horse had taken off down the pavement. She tracked it a long way by skid marks on pavement. It left the Park, crossed 2 cattle guards and ended up on a Standardbred farm. She came in and asked the workers there if they`d seen her horse. They said, "Yes, and it totally disrupted their schedule". They were palpating mares and very ticked off. They told her she could *not* have her horse back until she helped them finish up...and they were serious! She said some guy who`d been helping them left, and they gave her his job which was holding the mare`s tail. Here`s a woman who`d come off, got hurt ribs, there are search parties out looking for her and the horse and they`re making her hold mare`s tails to be palpated for 40 MINUTES!!!! Poor Lois finally earned her horse back, and was about a loop behind everyone. She was coming in from her first 15 miles as we finished 25 and she was hurt. I figured she`d quit. Ha. She finished the ride. >g<
As I was finishing up my last hold, I heard hoots and hollers and a group of 3 horses & riders passed on the outside crosscountry course with 1.5 miles to go to the finish of their 50. They went up to where you turn on the track and turned in, then two horses & riders, and one horse with an empty saddle came racing down the track. Everyone yelled at the riders in front that the other was down but they either didn`t hear or didn`t care. They went right by the vet check for the first pass, did the full one mile around the track and raced in to the finish with the loose horse right with them. When they stopped he did too. Poor Kay (bad with last names) got her horse back and rode the mile again so she`d get her completion. I told her she`d be legal if she`d just jog it on foot since the horse had already been around, but she didn`t see it that way. >g<
The evening after the ride the Pyramid Society invited any endurance horses who could prove their Egyptian heritage to be ridden in the show ring while they presented the BC awards...ceremonial saddles which were a gift of the Prince of Morocco (I think I got that right). The horses looked good and didn`t act too silly about being indoors until they saw those saddles. Oh boy! No way they wanted anything to do with those things. Just to tell you how overwhelming they were, when they displayed them at our awards later a stray dog was trotting by, suddenly saw the saddles and sort of bristled and went way around them. >g< It would be a real bummer if you figured out that was the only saddle that really fit your horse and you had to compete in it from now on. >eg<
My only regret about the weekend was that we didn`t get a chance to tour the park. As Josie and I came in from our last 10 mile loop, which our horses had cantered most of, it was really cool to cross the road and enter the long gradual climb as we passed jump after jump of the Rolex course, top the hill and do that final lap around the track. What fun.
:-))
Angie & Huckelberry Moon (just this once)
Wednesday, May 02, 2001
The Long Way to Los Gatos - Verne R. Albright
Peru’s newspapers had said a great deal about my proposed ride from Peru to California, mainly because I intended to use their country’s National Horse. On the day the ride began, the entire town of Chiclayo turned out to see me off. There was a parade in my honor. The mayor gave me a letter for his counterpart in Los Gatos, California, my destination; and the Catholic Bishop blessed my enterprise. A representative of the national paso horse association even flew in from Lima to present me with a scroll officializing the event.
Once I was on my way, people stopped their cars to talk whenever I was near the Panamerican Highway. Soft drink trucks pulled over, the drivers insisting I take free refreshments. One newspaper photographer showed up in the desert on a bicycle, and reporters waited at the entrance to most towns. Every evening, people competed for the honor of hosting my horses and me.
It was heady stuff, and it made the proposed intercontinental ride seem like a lark. Before long, however, the hard going was wearing horseshoes in half every two weeks, and I found myself tying plants into my horses’ manes to ward off bloodsucking vampire bats. Precious water for my thirsty mounts had to be bought by the glassful on one arid mountaintop, and anthrax was once reported within a few miles of where we’d spent the night.
During the trek, I rode to altitudes that exceed the highest in the United States, and I once descended to 113 feet below sea level. In the good times, I had hosts such as the richest man in Peru. When things turned bad, I slept in tool sheds, chicken coops feed troughs and empty jail cells. At times I was reduced to eating anything from goat jaw to guinea pig. My horses dined on whatever I could find, including bananas, coconut, sugar cane, flour and corn stalks.
Along the way, I met smugglers, a famous bullfighter, a witch doctor, a camera crew from ABC’s Wide World of Sports, a bullying small town sheriff, a snake hunter and a beautiful American girl named Emily. Not long before I met "the last of the true gentlemen," I ran into some men who were anything but. A gang of bandits suddenly appeared behind me in a remote Andean village, at the end of a long, hard day. It was a moment of very real danger, as shown by the following edited excerpt from my book, "The Long Way to Los Gatos":
Later that afternoon, while passing through a small town, I sensed that I was being followed. People frequently followed me, hoping to start a conversation. Most of the time, they were polite enough to require some sort of acknowledgement before approaching, and when denied this, they’d give up and go away.
But this time was different. The man behind me didn’t go away. Instead, he was joined by a companion and then another and another, until there were six, in dirty suits and various stages of inebriation. I comforted myself by observing that the mules they rode were small and scrawny. Meanwhile, I moved my horses into a faster walk and kept my eyes peeled – in vain – for an army post or police station.
At the city limits, I wondered about the wisdom of continuing into the unpopulated area ahead, but what else could I do? Stopping would make things even worse, and turning back to town also had a downside. The group behind me had grown from one to six in that very town, and given the chance, it might grow even larger.
A little ways from town, the leader put his mule into a fast trot and came up alongside me. Making an obvious attempt to sound authoritative, he announced that he was "the law" in the town I had just left.
"It will be necessary for you to show me your passport and the contents of your bags," he demanded.
"Do you have anything to show your authority?" I asked, turning to look his way without slowing my horses.
"I’m not making requests! I’m giving orders!" was the stern reply.
"How do I know you have the right to give orders?"
"Señor, you must stop your horses at once!"
"As soon as I see proof of your authority."
We were temporarily at a stalemate, and neither spoke for a moment. Obviously the "law" wouldn’t or couldn’t prove his authority. Considering the size of his "deputies" and the dubious speed of their mules, I wasn’t about to be talked down off my horse. My resolve was all the stronger because I had the impression that the men behind us would abandon their mission, unless it proved effortless.
The man at my side, however, was the kind who sees things through! He repeatedly ordered me to stop and dismount. I kept the mares a few steps ahead of his mule and double-talked him, hoping he’d tire of the game and go home.
Unfortunately, he didn’t.
Instead, he suddenly turned his mule and jumped her between my horses, grabbing Ima’s lead rope. I was holding the free end, not wishing to risk more broken parts by tying it to my saddle. I stopped Hamaca and turned her to face him. One last time – half-hoping that he would produce a convincing badge – I repeated that no one would see my passport or baggage without proof of authority. Again we were at a stalemate, but my situation had worsened. I was no longer moving, and the other five men were getting in position to surround me.
Obviously I survived my run-in with the bandits, and before I made it to Los Gatos I lived through numerous other adventures. However, I didn’t survive unchanged. My ride lasted only as long as a single school year, but I learned more than I’d ever learned in a like period.
Along the way, some people were far from hospitable, but most were so kind that I couldn’t believe it. I’d always been too proud to ask for people’s help, but there were times when I had little choice. By the time I got home, my opinion of my fellow man had changed completely; and so had my life.
Of the many paths my life could have taken, the right one for me began when I had the crazy urge to take the long way to Los Gatos.
For further information about Peruvian horses, visit the Internet Web Site of the American Association of Owners and Breeders of Peruvian Paso Horses at: http://www.aaobpph.org
For more on information about Verne Albright’s book, THE LONG WAY TO LOS GATOS, visit: www.peruvian-pasos.com/valbright_lwlg.html
Once I was on my way, people stopped their cars to talk whenever I was near the Panamerican Highway. Soft drink trucks pulled over, the drivers insisting I take free refreshments. One newspaper photographer showed up in the desert on a bicycle, and reporters waited at the entrance to most towns. Every evening, people competed for the honor of hosting my horses and me.
It was heady stuff, and it made the proposed intercontinental ride seem like a lark. Before long, however, the hard going was wearing horseshoes in half every two weeks, and I found myself tying plants into my horses’ manes to ward off bloodsucking vampire bats. Precious water for my thirsty mounts had to be bought by the glassful on one arid mountaintop, and anthrax was once reported within a few miles of where we’d spent the night.
During the trek, I rode to altitudes that exceed the highest in the United States, and I once descended to 113 feet below sea level. In the good times, I had hosts such as the richest man in Peru. When things turned bad, I slept in tool sheds, chicken coops feed troughs and empty jail cells. At times I was reduced to eating anything from goat jaw to guinea pig. My horses dined on whatever I could find, including bananas, coconut, sugar cane, flour and corn stalks.
Along the way, I met smugglers, a famous bullfighter, a witch doctor, a camera crew from ABC’s Wide World of Sports, a bullying small town sheriff, a snake hunter and a beautiful American girl named Emily. Not long before I met "the last of the true gentlemen," I ran into some men who were anything but. A gang of bandits suddenly appeared behind me in a remote Andean village, at the end of a long, hard day. It was a moment of very real danger, as shown by the following edited excerpt from my book, "The Long Way to Los Gatos":
Later that afternoon, while passing through a small town, I sensed that I was being followed. People frequently followed me, hoping to start a conversation. Most of the time, they were polite enough to require some sort of acknowledgement before approaching, and when denied this, they’d give up and go away.
But this time was different. The man behind me didn’t go away. Instead, he was joined by a companion and then another and another, until there were six, in dirty suits and various stages of inebriation. I comforted myself by observing that the mules they rode were small and scrawny. Meanwhile, I moved my horses into a faster walk and kept my eyes peeled – in vain – for an army post or police station.
At the city limits, I wondered about the wisdom of continuing into the unpopulated area ahead, but what else could I do? Stopping would make things even worse, and turning back to town also had a downside. The group behind me had grown from one to six in that very town, and given the chance, it might grow even larger.
A little ways from town, the leader put his mule into a fast trot and came up alongside me. Making an obvious attempt to sound authoritative, he announced that he was "the law" in the town I had just left.
"It will be necessary for you to show me your passport and the contents of your bags," he demanded.
"Do you have anything to show your authority?" I asked, turning to look his way without slowing my horses.
"I’m not making requests! I’m giving orders!" was the stern reply.
"How do I know you have the right to give orders?"
"Señor, you must stop your horses at once!"
"As soon as I see proof of your authority."
We were temporarily at a stalemate, and neither spoke for a moment. Obviously the "law" wouldn’t or couldn’t prove his authority. Considering the size of his "deputies" and the dubious speed of their mules, I wasn’t about to be talked down off my horse. My resolve was all the stronger because I had the impression that the men behind us would abandon their mission, unless it proved effortless.
The man at my side, however, was the kind who sees things through! He repeatedly ordered me to stop and dismount. I kept the mares a few steps ahead of his mule and double-talked him, hoping he’d tire of the game and go home.
Unfortunately, he didn’t.
Instead, he suddenly turned his mule and jumped her between my horses, grabbing Ima’s lead rope. I was holding the free end, not wishing to risk more broken parts by tying it to my saddle. I stopped Hamaca and turned her to face him. One last time – half-hoping that he would produce a convincing badge – I repeated that no one would see my passport or baggage without proof of authority. Again we were at a stalemate, but my situation had worsened. I was no longer moving, and the other five men were getting in position to surround me.
Obviously I survived my run-in with the bandits, and before I made it to Los Gatos I lived through numerous other adventures. However, I didn’t survive unchanged. My ride lasted only as long as a single school year, but I learned more than I’d ever learned in a like period.
Along the way, some people were far from hospitable, but most were so kind that I couldn’t believe it. I’d always been too proud to ask for people’s help, but there were times when I had little choice. By the time I got home, my opinion of my fellow man had changed completely; and so had my life.
Of the many paths my life could have taken, the right one for me began when I had the crazy urge to take the long way to Los Gatos.
For further information about Peruvian horses, visit the Internet Web Site of the American Association of Owners and Breeders of Peruvian Paso Horses at: http://www.aaobpph.org
For more on information about Verne Albright’s book, THE LONG WAY TO LOS GATOS, visit: www.peruvian-pasos.com/valbright_lwlg.html
How to Impress the Vets at an Endurance Ride - Susan Garlinghouse
Gallop into the "vet area", if possible trampling several of the loose dogs and spectators gathered there. Lead your horse right up to the water trough, the one with the sign next to it saying "NO SPONGING" and immediately immerse your muddy sponge to get it all nice and clean after you dropped it a ways back. While sponging your horse, make sure he rubs his head on the nearest drinking horse, if possible, getting his tack irreparably tangled up. As soon as your horse stops rubbing and starts drinking, have a crewperson heave a five gallon bucket of ice water over the both of you, while simultaneously hitting the horse in the head with a bucket of bran mash and trying to cram a banana in your ear, meanwhile screaming, "IS HE DOWN YET???". Check your horse`s heart rate by looking for your heart monitor. It will either be missing or telling you your horse`s heart rate is 376. No matter. Shriek for a P&R person as loudly as possible and continue shrieking until serviced.
Hold your horse with a death grip by the bit, glaring at him eye-to-eye and muttering darkly that he`ll be barbecue by midnight if he kicks the vet again. Have a "P&R person" walk up to your horse, fumble with a stethoscope, put it in their ears backwards and place the bell end on your horse`s neck, stare intently at their watch for five minutes, move the stethoscope to three more places on your horse`s neck/withers/shoulder and then pronounce your horse "down" and scream as loudly as possible into the horse`s ear, "TIME!!!!". If possible, have another volunteer on the other side scream "10:42!!!" into your horse`s other ear. If *your* watch is telling you that this means your horse will be allowed to go in approximately five hours, all is going as expected.
Now take your horse to the "vet". Don`t remove any tack, in fact, drape as much as possible all over him. If possible, have some of it drag on the ground, get tangled up in the horse`s feet and either break, fall off and cause your horse to trip and fall on top of the nearest ride official. Approach the "vet" who will also place a stethoscope on various parts of the horse. As soon as he starts listening, start talking and asking questions as loudly as possible. If he doesn`t answer and gets a peeved look on his face, repeat everything again---he just wants to make sure he heard you right. When he gives up and asks for your vet card, hand him a soggy soda cracker. At this point he`ll ask you to trot out the horse---what he really means is for your horse to wheel around, knock him into the nearest clump of swamp or cactus (depending on your region), kick the nearest horse and refuse to budge. If he`s a stallion, this would be a good time for him to drop and start trying to prop himself up with his penis. If she`s a mare, squatting and peeing right in front of the nearest propped-up stallion is just as good.
Have a crew member wave their arms and/or a whip around behind the horse to get it moving. Try to get the whip to smack the horses standing in line behind him. When the horse whinnies in terror, bolts and tramples the vet, that`s fine---he can check the girth area for sores as it`s passing over him. Watch your horse carefully for signs of stiffness or lameness as it gallops off into the wilderness. Don`t forget to retrieve your soda cracker vet card from the vet`s clenched fist as you leave.
:-)
Susan G
Hold your horse with a death grip by the bit, glaring at him eye-to-eye and muttering darkly that he`ll be barbecue by midnight if he kicks the vet again. Have a "P&R person" walk up to your horse, fumble with a stethoscope, put it in their ears backwards and place the bell end on your horse`s neck, stare intently at their watch for five minutes, move the stethoscope to three more places on your horse`s neck/withers/shoulder and then pronounce your horse "down" and scream as loudly as possible into the horse`s ear, "TIME!!!!". If possible, have another volunteer on the other side scream "10:42!!!" into your horse`s other ear. If *your* watch is telling you that this means your horse will be allowed to go in approximately five hours, all is going as expected.
Now take your horse to the "vet". Don`t remove any tack, in fact, drape as much as possible all over him. If possible, have some of it drag on the ground, get tangled up in the horse`s feet and either break, fall off and cause your horse to trip and fall on top of the nearest ride official. Approach the "vet" who will also place a stethoscope on various parts of the horse. As soon as he starts listening, start talking and asking questions as loudly as possible. If he doesn`t answer and gets a peeved look on his face, repeat everything again---he just wants to make sure he heard you right. When he gives up and asks for your vet card, hand him a soggy soda cracker. At this point he`ll ask you to trot out the horse---what he really means is for your horse to wheel around, knock him into the nearest clump of swamp or cactus (depending on your region), kick the nearest horse and refuse to budge. If he`s a stallion, this would be a good time for him to drop and start trying to prop himself up with his penis. If she`s a mare, squatting and peeing right in front of the nearest propped-up stallion is just as good.
Have a crew member wave their arms and/or a whip around behind the horse to get it moving. Try to get the whip to smack the horses standing in line behind him. When the horse whinnies in terror, bolts and tramples the vet, that`s fine---he can check the girth area for sores as it`s passing over him. Watch your horse carefully for signs of stiffness or lameness as it gallops off into the wilderness. Don`t forget to retrieve your soda cracker vet card from the vet`s clenched fist as you leave.
:-)
Susan G
Sunday, February 11, 2001
Advice for Newbies - Becky Huffman
Carpe Clop Endurance Clinics - "Seize the Miles"
(http://www.htcomp.net/huffman/introdocs.htm)
‘Newbie’ ~ Wear it with Pride, You are the Future of our Sport ~
… from several riders who have recently, within the last year or so, completed their first AERC rides. The questions meaning prior to their first (or first few) ride(s); `information` being either advice from someone, or information from a written source.
1. What was the most important/valuable/meaningful advice/information:
* That fat old ladies could participate.
* Electrolytes for the horse. How to pack them where to find them, and how to administer them.
* Know your horse.
* Ride your own ride.
* I bought and read (and re-read repeatedly) two good books - "Go the Distance" by Nancy Loving, and "The Complete Guide to Endurance Riding and Competition" by Donna Snyder-Smith several months before my first ride, and I learned a lot that helped me on my first rides. I also read Ridecamp on endurance.net voraciously. Also, I called Linda Parrish (she was listed as a mentor on endurance.net), and she encouraged me to go ahead and give it at try at my first ride - she said that people are usually surprised at how far their horses can go if they take it slow.
* I think it was extremely helpful for me to have practiced letting my horse eat and drink and sleep tied to the trailer, at our quiet state park, before I took him to a ride where there was a lot of commotion and activity........by the time we went to a ride, he felt `safe` tied to the trailer, munching on his hay.
2. What do you wish you had known:
* That Bob didn`t need a backpack. At our first ride, Bob rode and I watched a gate. We had worked for days to be certain that he had everything he could possibly need to go 25 miles. Toiletpaper, candybars, electrolyte syringes already loaded, water, sponge, sandwiches, more candybars, and other essentials were piled into his backpack. We thought we were so clever in putting it all into something that didn`t go on the horse`s back, and thus wouldn`t bounce as much. Forgot that Bob might bounce. 1/2 mile into the ride, Bob had forgotten to zip the closure on the backpack. All other riders passed him chuckling to themselves as he dismounted and retraced his steps to gather up all of the various sundries that had bounced out along the way. He was the last person to complete the 15 mile loop, and did not complete the ride. A lesson well learned by both of us.
* I wish I had known how much fun endurance riding was a long time ago. ~ A year ago I had not a clue what endurance riding meant. I now have 150 endurance miles and 25 Limited Distance miles on my Quarter Horse, Bullet. I am gung-ho for the sport. Endurance riders are a great set of people from all walks of life. They are not out to impress anyone. They all have their own goals they want to meet.
* Not to do my first LD ride in cotton pants with a seam on the inside of the leg! The insides of my thighs were raw meat at the end (but I was so happy at completing that I didn`t notice the pain until about 3 hours later). Lesson learned: Get some tights! (which I did before my next ride).
* That my ankles were not going to hold up to riding 25 miles........I did two LDs and both times my right ankle was messed up by about 15 miles.......since then I have seen a doctor, been prescribed two ankle braces for each ankle, and I do ankle exercises daily.......plus I changed to a stirrup that is better for my ankles.
3. most positive experience:
* My friend who rides endurance, who gave me encouragement.
* Finishing my first 25 miler
* Me and my horse finishing our first 50 in good shape , ~ thanks to my friend for riding with me and getting us through it. She gave me invaluable tips on how to get through a ride in good shape. She gave me the confidence to go on and try my next 50 by myself.
* Meeting Marilyn Wiese at the starting line of our first ride and riding the whole ride with her and her horse Khal - we hit it off and had a blast earning our very first completion together! Between her bad ankle and my bad knee, we were quite a sight trying to trot our horses out for our completions. I think Khal and my mare Mackenzie became buddies as well. Also, I was warmed by how welcoming and friendly the other riders were around camp - when they found out it was my first time, everyone gave me lots of encouragement, and many people congratulated me afterward. People made me feel very welcome in the sport.
* Meeting Dawn Carrie right before the start of our first LD......we did that 25 miler together and rode most of our 2nd 25 miler together and we are now very good friends.
4. most negative experience:
* Other rider`s attitudes to me on the trail. ( I must look and act like a real novice)
* It still seems kind of like a closed society, if you "only are doing 25 miles"
* Seeing how some(not many) horses are run into the ground just to let their riders get all the credit for winning. The majority of the riders look out for their horse first . They want them to be
around for a long time.
* Wow...I can`t think of anything negative.
* My third ride was to be Foxfire in May...I woke up very sick that Friday morning, but went to the ride anyway, thinking that I`d be better later, since I *never* get sick - famous last words!!
Vonita Bowers still remembers me as the sick person who came to her ride! :)
* Being stalked by (name deleted, nothing to do with innocence J ) a screaming stallion, at the beginning of my first LD.......he he, ha ha, just kidding!!!!!! (note: was also the stallion & riders 1st LD)
* Having my ankles turn so badly during my two rides that I am a candidate for surgery on both of them. I hope to find non-invasive ways to strengthen and support my ankles.
other comments/observations/advice:
* Train your horses ahead of time. So that you aren`t afraid of them and they aren`t afraid of you. build trust with your mount, and be observant of your horses behavior and if something doesn`t seem right, pull them from completing the ride.
* Any breed of horse can finish an endurance ride in good shape. It just takes common sense to take care of your horse. Some breeds do better than others, but there are many individual horses in each breed that do better than others.
* Someday I want to do 50s and 100s. My dream is to do Tevis (big dream, I know). When I began my first LD, I remember thinking, "25 miles...can we do that?!?!?" It seemed so far...and I remember thinking that starting a 50 or a 100 must feel like beginning an insurmountable task. Upon completing my first few LDs, I recall thinking, "if we were doing a 50, we`d only be half done", and could not fathom going back out and doing it all again. LOL But now I can see myself doing a 50. I`ve also learned a lot about myself and my horse. She takes care of herself, but I`ve learned that she`s not going to drink a drop of water until we`ve gone 10-12 miles, although I still offer it to her at every chance (I was panicking about her not drinking on our first ride). But at about 10-12 miles, she starts trying to suck every pond or stream dry and does so for the remainder of the ride. There`s nothing like distance riding to really open your eyes to your horse`s behavior and it`s communication with you.
* Advice? Yeah...WATCH OUT - this sport is addictive!!!!! :)
* As anxious as I am to get to do more LDs and to finally do 50s and 100s, I think that doing my first two LDs showed me how much learning and work I need to do before I am adequately prepared to ride more LDs and longer. I did not like the feeling of having little control over my horse and in a ride with horses running all around and a stallion screaming (HA HA) I found that my horse and I were not able to communicate like we could when we were alone. Since those two LDs I have worked to improve my riding skills, my horsemanship, my fitness, and my communication skills (with my horse). I have taken my horse to places where there is a lot of commotion (without the pressure of it being a `competition`) and I have worked on riding issues with the help of friends and teachers. I feel like our next ride will be a lot more relaxed and fun.
(http://www.htcomp.net/huffman/introdocs.htm)
‘Newbie’ ~ Wear it with Pride, You are the Future of our Sport ~
… from several riders who have recently, within the last year or so, completed their first AERC rides. The questions meaning prior to their first (or first few) ride(s); `information` being either advice from someone, or information from a written source.
1. What was the most important/valuable/meaningful advice/information:
* That fat old ladies could participate.
* Electrolytes for the horse. How to pack them where to find them, and how to administer them.
* Know your horse.
* Ride your own ride.
* I bought and read (and re-read repeatedly
* I think it was extremely helpful for me to have practiced letting my horse eat and drink and sleep tied to the trailer, at our quiet state park, before I took him to a ride where there was a lot of commotion and activity........by the time we went to a ride, he felt `safe` tied to the trailer, munching on his hay.
2. What do you wish you had known:
* That Bob didn`t need a backpack. At our first ride, Bob rode and I watched a gate. We had worked for days to be certain that he had everything he could possibly need to go 25 miles. Toiletpaper, candybars, electrolyte syringes already loaded, water, sponge, sandwiches, more candybars, and other essentials were piled into his backpack. We thought we were so clever in putting it all into something that didn`t go on the horse`s back, and thus wouldn`t bounce as much. Forgot that Bob might bounce. 1/2 mile into the ride, Bob had forgotten to zip the closure on the backpack. All other riders passed him chuckling to themselves as he dismounted and retraced his steps to gather up all of the various sundries that had bounced out along the way. He was the last person to complete the 15 mile loop, and did not complete the ride. A lesson well learned by both of us.
* I wish I had known how much fun endurance riding was a long time ago. ~ A year ago I had not a clue what endurance riding meant. I now have 150 endurance miles and 25 Limited Distance miles on my Quarter Horse, Bullet. I am gung-ho for the sport. Endurance riders are a great set of people from all walks of life. They are not out to impress anyone. They all have their own goals they want to meet.
* Not to do my first LD ride in cotton pants with a seam on the inside of the leg! The insides of my thighs were raw meat at the end (but I was so happy at completing that I didn`t notice the pain until about 3 hours later). Lesson learned: Get some tights! (which I did before my next ride).
* That my ankles were not going to hold up to riding 25 miles........I did two LDs and both times my right ankle was messed up by about 15 miles.......since then I have seen a doctor, been prescribed two ankle braces for each ankle, and I do ankle exercises daily.......plus I changed to a stirrup that is better for my ankles.
3. most positive experience:
* My friend who rides endurance, who gave me encouragement.
* Finishing my first 25 miler
* Me and my horse finishing our first 50 in good shape , ~ thanks to my friend for riding with me and getting us through it. She gave me invaluable tips on how to get through a ride in good shape. She gave me the confidence to go on and try my next 50 by myself.
* Meeting Marilyn Wiese at the starting line of our first ride and riding the whole ride with her and her horse Khal - we hit it off and had a blast earning our very first completion together! Between her bad ankle and my bad knee, we were quite a sight trying to trot our horses out for our completions. I think Khal and my mare Mackenzie became buddies as well. Also, I was warmed by how welcoming and friendly the other riders were around camp - when they found out it was my first time, everyone gave me lots of encouragement, and many people congratulated me afterward. People made me feel very welcome in the sport.
* Meeting Dawn Carrie right before the start of our first LD......we did that 25 miler together and rode most of our 2nd 25 miler together and we are now very good friends.
4. most negative experience:
* Other rider`s attitudes to me on the trail. ( I must look and act like a real novice)
* It still seems kind of like a closed society, if you "only are doing 25 miles"
* Seeing how some(not many) horses are run into the ground just to let their riders get all the credit for winning. The majority of the riders look out for their horse first . They want them to be
around for a long time.
* Wow...I can`t think of anything negative.
* My third ride was to be Foxfire in May...I woke up very sick that Friday morning, but went to the ride anyway, thinking that I`d be better later, since I *never* get sick - famous last words!!
Vonita Bowers still remembers me as the sick person who came to her ride! :)
* Being stalked by (name deleted, nothing to do with innocence J ) a screaming stallion, at the beginning of my first LD.......he he, ha ha, just kidding!!!!!! (note: was also the stallion & riders 1st LD)
* Having my ankles turn so badly during my two rides that I am a candidate for surgery on both of them. I hope to find non-invasive ways to strengthen and support my ankles.
other comments/observations/advice:
* Train your horses ahead of time. So that you aren`t afraid of them and they aren`t afraid of you. build trust with your mount, and be observant of your horses behavior and if something doesn`t seem right, pull them from completing the ride.
* Any breed of horse can finish an endurance ride in good shape. It just takes common sense to take care of your horse. Some breeds do better than others, but there are many individual horses in each breed that do better than others.
* Someday I want to do 50s and 100s. My dream is to do Tevis (big dream, I know). When I began my first LD, I remember thinking, "25 miles...can we do that?!?!?" It seemed so far...and I remember thinking that starting a 50 or a 100 must feel like beginning an insurmountable task. Upon completing my first few LDs, I recall thinking, "if we were doing a 50, we`d only be half done", and could not fathom going back out and doing it all again. LOL But now I can see myself doing a 50. I`ve also learned a lot about myself and my horse. She takes care of herself, but I`ve learned that she`s not going to drink a drop of water until we`ve gone 10-12 miles, although I still offer it to her at every chance (I was panicking about her not drinking on our first ride). But at about 10-12 miles, she starts trying to suck every pond or stream dry and does so for the remainder of the ride. There`s nothing like distance riding to really open your eyes to your horse`s behavior and it`s communication with you.
* Advice? Yeah...WATCH OUT - this sport is addictive!!!!! :)
* As anxious as I am to get to do more LDs and to finally do 50s and 100s, I think that doing my first two LDs showed me how much learning and work I need to do before I am adequately prepared to ride more LDs and longer. I did not like the feeling of having little control over my horse and in a ride with horses running all around and a stallion screaming (HA HA) I found that my horse and I were not able to communicate like we could when we were alone. Since those two LDs I have worked to improve my riding skills, my horsemanship, my fitness, and my communication skills (with my horse). I have taken my horse to places where there is a lot of commotion (without the pressure of it being a `competition`) and I have worked on riding issues with the help of friends and teachers. I feel like our next ride will be a lot more relaxed and fun.
Friday, December 29, 2000
Protein for Performance Horses
PROTEIN FOR HORSES : EQUINE ATHLETES NEED FOR PROTEIN
During hard training or competitive events, equine athletes damage muscle tissue as a result of the production of high levels of lactic acid and /or over exertion. These muscle tissues must be repaired rapidly in order to maintain improvement, ready your athlete for the next event, and alleviate stiff and sore muscles. While in hard training or before and after serious competition dietary programs must be chosen with care in order to maintain improvement, prepare his or her system for the coming event and impact quick recovery from that event. Diets chosen for your athlete must contain protein that is profiled properly ( amino acids) along will minerals, vitamins, fat and carbohydrates. High quality protein is essential for maximum performance of any equine athlete because of its amino acid profile and the availability of these amino acids. The interaction of these amino acids with vitamins and minerals are necessary interactions for improved muscle growth and repair, stronger supportive tissues, an improved carbohydrate metabolism, stronger bones and joints, thicker hoof walls and greater overall soundness.
PROTEIN
Protein can be defined as any substance which is made of amino acids in a peptide linkage. The word protein comes from the Greek word PROTOS or FIRST because protein is the basic constituent of all living cells. Protos may also be the root of the name proteus , a mythological figure who could change form. Food protein also changes form to become a body substance after being eaten. Protein makes up three - fourths of the dry weight of most living cells. Proteins are also involved in the biochemical structure of hormones, enzymes, nutrient carriers, antibodies and many other substances and functions essential to life.
AMINO ACIDS
Protein is a collection of amino acids tied together. Once the protein is consumed and digested the amino acids breakdown into single amino acids or in some cases , peptides, which are just a few amino acids tied together. Some amino acids are considered ESSENTIAL and some are considered NON ESSENTIAL. We often do not realize how much the horse needs amino acids, because we are not aware of how busy the equine system is. Every second the bone marrow makes millions of red blood cells - every four days most of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and the blood Platelet are replaced. - Most of the white blood cells are replaced in ten days and the number of muscle cells replaced or created in horses that are training hard or performing can be staggering.
ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS
Essential amino acids are amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the system from other things such as vitamins or carbohydrates. These essential amino acids must be eaten every day. If not, consumed daily the horse will then borrow them from other parts of his system to provide them for his daily maintenance. Essential amino acids are extremely important to your horse. The exclusion of even one essential amino acid from the diet or the reduction of an essential amino acid in relation to its need will reduce the total protein synthesis in the system. In horses where everyday maintenance is necessary and improvement with training is required, the creation of new cells is your priority. The horse requires a precise amino acid profile. Amino acids are not just randomly joined together, but are assembled according to a detailed predetermined procedure whose sequencing is controlled by the D.N.A. In order for new cells to be synthesized, all of the amino acids in the D.N.A. profile must be available in adequate amounts. If just one amino acid in the profile is missing the creation of new cells stops. This is called first limiting amino acid.
SOURCES OF PROTEIN AND AMINO ACIDS
Horses receive protein from both their grain mix and the hay they receive. Alfalfa hay of course is very high in protein and grass hays are lower. Common sense would tell us that if you are feeding alfalfa hay, your grain mix should be lower in total protein. If you are feeding grass hay you should be feeding a grain mix that is higher in protein. Grain mixes come in all types, but in general they are a combination of pellets ,oats and corn. Corn and oats both contain protein but are low in the essential amino acid lysine. The pellets in your feed should contain additional protein sources. These sources could be and more then likely are plant protein products such as soy bean meal in combination with other of numerous processed grain by-products. Soybeans as well as processed grain by products must go through some sort of heat process. This heat can destroy some of the most important essential amino acids for the horse.. All amino acids have a different melting point. Cystine is destroyed at 175 degrees F . Lysine , which is a extremely important amino acid is destroyed at 224 degrees F.Proline is lost at 220 degrees F. Soy bean meal processors are never supposed to exceed 200 degrees F but when push comes to shove, you know what happens. Products like distillers grain or dried solubles are almost always heated at a very high temperature. This heat process destroys many valuable amino acids and makes the feed compound unbalanced to the horse causing him to not get the full value of his protein and also taxes his system excreting all those out of balance amino acids.
AMINO ACIDS AS AN ENERGY SOURCE
The horse can convert amino acids into energy. This pathway is not the most efficient method to obtain energy, but the system has many checks and balances. Amino acids that can be converted into sugars are called glycogenic. Amino acids that can be converted to fat are called ketogenic. A few amino acids can do both.( isoleucine - lysine - tyrosine ).
MAKING DECISIONS
Whether your horse is a champion racehorse or a backyard pony, the amount and quality of the protein you feed will affect him or her one way or another. Protein in general should never be fed in excess to any horse. Too much protein or protein with the wrong amino acid profile will tax the system of your horse and cause him or her to be less than he should be. This information should help you make good decisions for your horse so he or she can be all you hoped for. If you have been depending on your feed company to make all the right decisions for you -think again!.
Protein is a collection of amino acids. Every protein source is a different combination of amino acid types. Some of these combinations are very good and some are not so good. The horse’s system needs amino acids that match his needs. Total protein of your horse feed is a worthless term, unless you know the amino acid profile. Your feed tag might say 14% CRUDE PROTEIN but to the horse it might only be 8 or 9% usable protein. The more unusable protein the horse consumes the more he has to excrete. This over feeding of unusable protein stresses the horse`s system. Excess protein can contribute to higher heart and respiratory rates, higher rates of sweating and dehydration. Some studies have concluded that performance horses do not need additional protein for good performance. These studies however do not take in to account the quality of the protein and how it might contribute to the gradual weakening of supportive tissue, bone loss, muscle atrophy and the weakening of blood vessel walls that eventually lead to bleeding or breakdown.
To produce new cells the horse`s D.N.A. has a recipe for every different kind of cell in the horse. When you feed your horse, the protein he consumes is broken down into individual amino acids. The blood stream carries these amino acids to the site they are needed, much like a conveyer belt. Lets imagine that each new cell the horse needs that day is a cake. Millions of D.N.A. cooks are standing along the conveyer belt waiting for the raw materials to bake that cake. As the raw materials pass by the cooks start grabbing all the components of their cake. When all the materials have reached that cook he grabs a little energy to bake the cake and “ walla” a new cake or cell has been created. If for some reason in four hours the cook is still missing one ingredient, he must put every component he has gathered up until that point back on the conveyer belt and start all over again. If the cook is short just one ingredient or can find no energy to bake the cake, no new cake or cell can be created.
THE HORSES NEED FOR AMINO ACIDS
LYSINE - An essential amino acid & high percentage constituent of muscle. Usually the most limiting amino acid in grain diets. Precursor for acetyl coa ( a critical nutrient for carbohydrate metabolism ). Large percentage constituent of collagen. Precursor for carnitine. Normal metabolism requires RIBOFLAVIN-NIACIN - B6 - IRON.
METHIONINE - An important essential amino acid constituent of muscle. Possible link in endochondral ossification. Regulates cell metabolism & growth. Low methionine creates folic acid deficiencies. Normal metabolism requires B12 - FOLIC ACID - B6 - MAGNESIUM.
PHENYLALANINE - An essential amino acid constituent of muscle. Precursor for catecholamine - which are adrenalin like substances. - Can be an effective pain killer and may enhance acupuncture. Normal metabolism requires - IRON - B6 - & COPPER. Precursor for tyrosine.
CYSTEINE - Precursor for cystine, necessary component of glutathione & the production of mucopolysaccharides (joint fluids ). Maintains integrity of red blood cells and is involved in the production of red blood cell membrane. Important in energy metabolism. Has the ability to clear out lungs. As cystine, component of muscle & hormones. Protects against per oxidation & is a detoxifying agent. Normal metabolism requires MAGNESIUM & ZINC.
ARGININE - An important constituent of muscle. Precursor for high energy compounds such as CREATINE. Primary in the removal of the waste products of muscle work (urea cycle ). Precursor of PROLINE (main component of collagen ) Collagen is the supportive tissue of skin, tendons, cartilage & connective tissue.
GLYCINE - Required in high levels for optimum growth & healing. Required for the production of D.N.A. Raises blood sugar levels. normal metabolism requires COPPER & CHOLINE.
TYROSINE - A constituent of muscle. Precursor for dopamine, norepinephrine, & epinephrine ( adrenalin ). Stress increases requirement. Normal metabolism requires FOLIC ACID & COPPER.
TRYPTOPHAN - A low level but essential constituent of muscle. Regulates growth hormone. precursor for serotonin ( platelet clotting factor ). Pain killer- controls hypertension & anxiety. Raises blood sugar & increases zinc absorption. Normal metabolism requires - B6 & MAGNESIUM.
LEUCINE - An essential amino acid & high percentage constituent of muscle. Major metabolic regulator. Reduces muscle breakdown. Stimulates insulin release. Normal metabolism requires THIAMIN - RIBOFLAVIN - BIOTIN & COPPER.
CARNITINE - Speeds usage of fats. increases adenosine triphosphate levels -ATP Aids conversion of amino acids to fuel within the muscle. Improves stress & exercise tolerance.
HISTIDINE - An essential amino acid constituent of muscle. Aids copper transport within the system. Reduces the effects of arthritis. Precursor for histamine - an important neurotransmitter. Normal metabolism requires COPPER - ZINC & VITAMIN E.
TYROSINE - A constituent of muscle. Precursor for dopamine, norepinephrine, & epinephrine ( adrenalin ). Stress increases requirement. Normal metabolism requires FOLIC ACID & COPPER.
During hard training or competitive events, equine athletes damage muscle tissue as a result of the production of high levels of lactic acid and /or over exertion. These muscle tissues must be repaired rapidly in order to maintain improvement, ready your athlete for the next event, and alleviate stiff and sore muscles. While in hard training or before and after serious competition dietary programs must be chosen with care in order to maintain improvement, prepare his or her system for the coming event and impact quick recovery from that event. Diets chosen for your athlete must contain protein that is profiled properly ( amino acids) along will minerals, vitamins, fat and carbohydrates. High quality protein is essential for maximum performance of any equine athlete because of its amino acid profile and the availability of these amino acids. The interaction of these amino acids with vitamins and minerals are necessary interactions for improved muscle growth and repair, stronger supportive tissues, an improved carbohydrate metabolism, stronger bones and joints, thicker hoof walls and greater overall soundness.
PROTEIN
Protein can be defined as any substance which is made of amino acids in a peptide linkage. The word protein comes from the Greek word PROTOS or FIRST because protein is the basic constituent of all living cells. Protos may also be the root of the name proteus , a mythological figure who could change form. Food protein also changes form to become a body substance after being eaten. Protein makes up three - fourths of the dry weight of most living cells. Proteins are also involved in the biochemical structure of hormones, enzymes, nutrient carriers, antibodies and many other substances and functions essential to life.
AMINO ACIDS
Protein is a collection of amino acids tied together. Once the protein is consumed and digested the amino acids breakdown into single amino acids or in some cases , peptides, which are just a few amino acids tied together. Some amino acids are considered ESSENTIAL and some are considered NON ESSENTIAL. We often do not realize how much the horse needs amino acids, because we are not aware of how busy the equine system is. Every second the bone marrow makes millions of red blood cells - every four days most of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and the blood Platelet are replaced. - Most of the white blood cells are replaced in ten days and the number of muscle cells replaced or created in horses that are training hard or performing can be staggering.
ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS
Essential amino acids are amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the system from other things such as vitamins or carbohydrates. These essential amino acids must be eaten every day. If not, consumed daily the horse will then borrow them from other parts of his system to provide them for his daily maintenance. Essential amino acids are extremely important to your horse. The exclusion of even one essential amino acid from the diet or the reduction of an essential amino acid in relation to its need will reduce the total protein synthesis in the system. In horses where everyday maintenance is necessary and improvement with training is required, the creation of new cells is your priority. The horse requires a precise amino acid profile. Amino acids are not just randomly joined together, but are assembled according to a detailed predetermined procedure whose sequencing is controlled by the D.N.A. In order for new cells to be synthesized, all of the amino acids in the D.N.A. profile must be available in adequate amounts. If just one amino acid in the profile is missing the creation of new cells stops. This is called first limiting amino acid.
SOURCES OF PROTEIN AND AMINO ACIDS
Horses receive protein from both their grain mix and the hay they receive. Alfalfa hay of course is very high in protein and grass hays are lower. Common sense would tell us that if you are feeding alfalfa hay, your grain mix should be lower in total protein. If you are feeding grass hay you should be feeding a grain mix that is higher in protein. Grain mixes come in all types, but in general they are a combination of pellets ,oats and corn. Corn and oats both contain protein but are low in the essential amino acid lysine. The pellets in your feed should contain additional protein sources. These sources could be and more then likely are plant protein products such as soy bean meal in combination with other of numerous processed grain by-products. Soybeans as well as processed grain by products must go through some sort of heat process. This heat can destroy some of the most important essential amino acids for the horse.. All amino acids have a different melting point. Cystine is destroyed at 175 degrees F . Lysine , which is a extremely important amino acid is destroyed at 224 degrees F.Proline is lost at 220 degrees F. Soy bean meal processors are never supposed to exceed 200 degrees F but when push comes to shove, you know what happens. Products like distillers grain or dried solubles are almost always heated at a very high temperature. This heat process destroys many valuable amino acids and makes the feed compound unbalanced to the horse causing him to not get the full value of his protein and also taxes his system excreting all those out of balance amino acids.
AMINO ACIDS AS AN ENERGY SOURCE
The horse can convert amino acids into energy. This pathway is not the most efficient method to obtain energy, but the system has many checks and balances. Amino acids that can be converted into sugars are called glycogenic. Amino acids that can be converted to fat are called ketogenic. A few amino acids can do both.( isoleucine - lysine - tyrosine ).
MAKING DECISIONS
Whether your horse is a champion racehorse or a backyard pony, the amount and quality of the protein you feed will affect him or her one way or another. Protein in general should never be fed in excess to any horse. Too much protein or protein with the wrong amino acid profile will tax the system of your horse and cause him or her to be less than he should be. This information should help you make good decisions for your horse so he or she can be all you hoped for. If you have been depending on your feed company to make all the right decisions for you -think again!.
Protein is a collection of amino acids. Every protein source is a different combination of amino acid types. Some of these combinations are very good and some are not so good. The horse’s system needs amino acids that match his needs. Total protein of your horse feed is a worthless term, unless you know the amino acid profile. Your feed tag might say 14% CRUDE PROTEIN but to the horse it might only be 8 or 9% usable protein. The more unusable protein the horse consumes the more he has to excrete. This over feeding of unusable protein stresses the horse`s system. Excess protein can contribute to higher heart and respiratory rates, higher rates of sweating and dehydration. Some studies have concluded that performance horses do not need additional protein for good performance. These studies however do not take in to account the quality of the protein and how it might contribute to the gradual weakening of supportive tissue, bone loss, muscle atrophy and the weakening of blood vessel walls that eventually lead to bleeding or breakdown.
To produce new cells the horse`s D.N.A. has a recipe for every different kind of cell in the horse. When you feed your horse, the protein he consumes is broken down into individual amino acids. The blood stream carries these amino acids to the site they are needed, much like a conveyer belt. Lets imagine that each new cell the horse needs that day is a cake. Millions of D.N.A. cooks are standing along the conveyer belt waiting for the raw materials to bake that cake. As the raw materials pass by the cooks start grabbing all the components of their cake. When all the materials have reached that cook he grabs a little energy to bake the cake and “ walla” a new cake or cell has been created. If for some reason in four hours the cook is still missing one ingredient, he must put every component he has gathered up until that point back on the conveyer belt and start all over again. If the cook is short just one ingredient or can find no energy to bake the cake, no new cake or cell can be created.
THE HORSES NEED FOR AMINO ACIDS
LYSINE - An essential amino acid & high percentage constituent of muscle. Usually the most limiting amino acid in grain diets. Precursor for acetyl coa ( a critical nutrient for carbohydrate metabolism ). Large percentage constituent of collagen. Precursor for carnitine. Normal metabolism requires RIBOFLAVIN-NIACIN - B6 - IRON.
METHIONINE - An important essential amino acid constituent of muscle. Possible link in endochondral ossification. Regulates cell metabolism & growth. Low methionine creates folic acid deficiencies. Normal metabolism requires B12 - FOLIC ACID - B6 - MAGNESIUM.
PHENYLALANINE - An essential amino acid constituent of muscle. Precursor for catecholamine - which are adrenalin like substances. - Can be an effective pain killer and may enhance acupuncture. Normal metabolism requires - IRON - B6 - & COPPER. Precursor for tyrosine.
CYSTEINE - Precursor for cystine, necessary component of glutathione & the production of mucopolysaccharides (joint fluids ). Maintains integrity of red blood cells and is involved in the production of red blood cell membrane. Important in energy metabolism. Has the ability to clear out lungs. As cystine, component of muscle & hormones. Protects against per oxidation & is a detoxifying agent. Normal metabolism requires MAGNESIUM & ZINC.
ARGININE - An important constituent of muscle. Precursor for high energy compounds such as CREATINE. Primary in the removal of the waste products of muscle work (urea cycle ). Precursor of PROLINE (main component of collagen ) Collagen is the supportive tissue of skin, tendons, cartilage & connective tissue.
GLYCINE - Required in high levels for optimum growth & healing. Required for the production of D.N.A. Raises blood sugar levels. normal metabolism requires COPPER & CHOLINE.
TYROSINE - A constituent of muscle. Precursor for dopamine, norepinephrine, & epinephrine ( adrenalin ). Stress increases requirement. Normal metabolism requires FOLIC ACID & COPPER.
TRYPTOPHAN - A low level but essential constituent of muscle. Regulates growth hormone. precursor for serotonin ( platelet clotting factor ). Pain killer- controls hypertension & anxiety. Raises blood sugar & increases zinc absorption. Normal metabolism requires - B6 & MAGNESIUM.
LEUCINE - An essential amino acid & high percentage constituent of muscle. Major metabolic regulator. Reduces muscle breakdown. Stimulates insulin release. Normal metabolism requires THIAMIN - RIBOFLAVIN - BIOTIN & COPPER.
CARNITINE - Speeds usage of fats. increases adenosine triphosphate levels -ATP Aids conversion of amino acids to fuel within the muscle. Improves stress & exercise tolerance.
HISTIDINE - An essential amino acid constituent of muscle. Aids copper transport within the system. Reduces the effects of arthritis. Precursor for histamine - an important neurotransmitter. Normal metabolism requires COPPER - ZINC & VITAMIN E.
TYROSINE - A constituent of muscle. Precursor for dopamine, norepinephrine, & epinephrine ( adrenalin ). Stress increases requirement. Normal metabolism requires FOLIC ACID & COPPER.
Wednesday, December 20, 2000
Ride Manager`s Checklist - Mickie Newman
(To help poor frazzled ride managers to remember what they need to explain at ride meetings!)
This list encompasses both Endurance, LD and CTR. You may need to adapt some of these itemso to your own organiztion`s rules.
# Thank everyone for coming.
# Give ride time (for competitive), start time(s) and whether or not there will be a wake- up call. policy for start (endurance and LD, shotgun or controlled; competitive, what intervals and if you are letting groups go as we have been doing).
# Introduce vets and any other judges, and have them give parameters and any other info they feel is needed.
# Policy for disposal of manure. some places want it piled, some scattered, some picked up. riders need to know what policy is for that location. also policy for trash, whether there are dumpsters ( and what to do if they are full) or if it`s pack-in- pack-out.
# If a rider decides to pull for any reason, please notify someone in management so that they are not sending out a search party.
# On competitive rides, there are NO PIT CREWS allowed. you may have someone hold your horse for you but that is it. no sponging, no walking, no saddling, etc. the committee realizes that carrying a muck tub alone is not feasible, so you may have someone help with that (riders frequently double up on this duty to help each other out) but not do it for you. juniors may have their tack checked by adults to ensure safety but still need to be responsible for their own mounts. also, on competitive rides there is no forward motion allowed while off the horse (you may get off to rest but must not progress. some rides/ vets require forward motion for the last mile or two; if so notify the riders of this.
# Trail: markings, signs, landmarks (especially what to look for if there is vandalism), hazards.
# Location of P/R areas and any special problems, regulations etc.
# Ask if there are any new riders and invite them to stay after for further explanations.
# Explain emergency proceedures. point out horse ambulance and remind people to make sure its path out stays clear. if 911 works in your area remind people that if they need to call their home phone will appear to the dispatcher so it`s especially necessary to be as specific as possible with your location.
# Encourage people to fill out their surveys, whether AHAO members or not. these are very helpful to management, giving them ideas on things to keep or improve in future years. NOVICES (in AHAO rules "novice" is first or 2nd year horse or rider; so this is more for a "newbie" clasification)
# Ask how many first-time riders are present and encourage them again to please ask questions if there`s anything you don`t cover or that they don`t understand.
# Explain the process for pulse checks, coming into set hold for competitive or gate-into-a-hold for LD. explain that each rider has the right to ask for an immediate recheck but that the second one counts.
# If you will be using monitors at any checks explain that AHAO rules state we may use either monitors or stethoscopes as long as it`s the same for everyone at a check. rechecks will be done by stethoscope.
# Rules state that riders have "any reasonable time" for completion. reasonable is determined by the ride management. this clause is in the rules to allow for extra time taken due to vandalism, weather setbacks, or other problems that may legitimately arise. we do not want you to hurt your horse, but we also do not want you to be having a picnic and have all of the staff waiting on you (this is CTR only; endurance has times set by AERC).
# For LD rides, make sure the riders know that finish is determined by when the horse pulses down to 60 (which must be done within 30 minutes of arrival), NOT by being first across the line. remind new riders of the signs of overriding and what to watch out for. if they are unfamiliar with taking pulses, explain the procedure and encourage them to try it. Even if they do not own a stethoscope, most experienced riders, pit crews or P/R staff (providing they are not occupied with duties at the time) are usually glad to give a demo. Explain (or have the vet do so) what metabolic parameters are looked at and why.
# Ride staff are volunteers. if there are any problems we of course do not want you to hesitate to bring them to our attention. but please remember that these people are doing this for very little compensation (usually just food and a completion award). be nice to them!
This list encompasses both Endurance, LD and CTR. You may need to adapt some of these itemso to your own organiztion`s rules.
# Thank everyone for coming.
# Give ride time (for competitive), start time(s) and whether or not there will be a wake- up call. policy for start (endurance and LD, shotgun or controlled; competitive, what intervals and if you are letting groups go as we have been doing).
# Introduce vets and any other judges, and have them give parameters and any other info they feel is needed.
# Policy for disposal of manure. some places want it piled, some scattered, some picked up. riders need to know what policy is for that location. also policy for trash, whether there are dumpsters ( and what to do if they are full) or if it`s pack-in- pack-out.
# If a rider decides to pull for any reason, please notify someone in management so that they are not sending out a search party.
# On competitive rides, there are NO PIT CREWS allowed. you may have someone hold your horse for you but that is it. no sponging, no walking, no saddling, etc. the committee realizes that carrying a muck tub alone is not feasible, so you may have someone help with that (riders frequently double up on this duty to help each other out) but not do it for you. juniors may have their tack checked by adults to ensure safety but still need to be responsible for their own mounts. also, on competitive rides there is no forward motion allowed while off the horse (you may get off to rest but must not progress. some rides/ vets require forward motion for the last mile or two; if so notify the riders of this.
# Trail: markings, signs, landmarks (especially what to look for if there is vandalism), hazards.
# Location of P/R areas and any special problems, regulations etc.
# Ask if there are any new riders and invite them to stay after for further explanations.
# Explain emergency proceedures. point out horse ambulance and remind people to make sure its path out stays clear. if 911 works in your area remind people that if they need to call their home phone will appear to the dispatcher so it`s especially necessary to be as specific as possible with your location.
# Encourage people to fill out their surveys, whether AHAO members or not. these are very helpful to management, giving them ideas on things to keep or improve in future years. NOVICES (in AHAO rules "novice" is first or 2nd year horse or rider; so this is more for a "newbie" clasification)
# Ask how many first-time riders are present and encourage them again to please ask questions if there`s anything you don`t cover or that they don`t understand.
# Explain the process for pulse checks, coming into set hold for competitive or gate-into-a-hold for LD. explain that each rider has the right to ask for an immediate recheck but that the second one counts.
# If you will be using monitors at any checks explain that AHAO rules state we may use either monitors or stethoscopes as long as it`s the same for everyone at a check. rechecks will be done by stethoscope.
# Rules state that riders have "any reasonable time" for completion. reasonable is determined by the ride management. this clause is in the rules to allow for extra time taken due to vandalism, weather setbacks, or other problems that may legitimately arise. we do not want you to hurt your horse, but we also do not want you to be having a picnic and have all of the staff waiting on you (this is CTR only; endurance has times set by AERC).
# For LD rides, make sure the riders know that finish is determined by when the horse pulses down to 60 (which must be done within 30 minutes of arrival), NOT by being first across the line. remind new riders of the signs of overriding and what to watch out for. if they are unfamiliar with taking pulses, explain the procedure and encourage them to try it. Even if they do not own a stethoscope, most experienced riders, pit crews or P/R staff (providing they are not occupied with duties at the time) are usually glad to give a demo. Explain (or have the vet do so) what metabolic parameters are looked at and why.
# Ride staff are volunteers. if there are any problems we of course do not want you to hesitate to bring them to our attention. but please remember that these people are doing this for very little compensation (usually just food and a completion award). be nice to them!
Tying Up - Exertional rhabdomyolysis - Susan Garlinghouse
contributed by Susan Garlinghouse
Exertional rhabdomyolysis -excruciatingly specific details of what`s happening at the cellular level.
The complete pathophysiology (Why It Happens) of exertional rhabdomyolysis (most commonly called "tying up") is still not completely understood. Currently, the conditions that are known to be factors in causing tying up are
# resting a conditioned horse on a full-grain diet, followed by exercise ("Monday morning disease");
# whole-body potassium depletion;
# selenium deficiency; an unaccustomed level of exercise;
# postviral infections, particularly rhino;
# intoxications with ionophores (a substance which increases cellular permeability to a specific ion, which would in turn disrupt the electrical potential of the cell), blister beetle, mercury, coffee bean (cassia) or gossypol from raw cottonseed.
Other factors which have been suggested as being contributory are hypothyroidism, some high-performance lines of horses, nervous horses, fillies, shock, laminitis, tetanus, neural injury, estrus, hyperestrogenism (resulting from possibly a granulosa cell tumor), cold damp weather, heavy muscling, and low-sodium rations. Electrolyte depletion, especially calcium, magnesium and chloride may also cause muscle cramps, which are sometimes referred to as slow-onset rhabdomyolysis; or synchronous diaphragmatic flutter, commonly called "thumps". These are related syndromes, but not exactly the same as the syndrome described here, which is most accurately described as acute rhabdomyolysis.
One of the current hypotheses is that when a conditioned horse is not worked and kept on full feed high in soluble carbohydrates (such as grain), the horse will accumulate carbohydrates in the muscles. If there is a sudden demand for work, the body cannot adequately remove the rapidly accumulating lactic acid in the muscles. This in turn causes vasospasms and ischemia---which means essentially that the surrounding blood vessels "clamp down" so that the lactic acid waste product cannot be removed. As a result, intracellular pH drops, the muscle cell is disrupted and you get the hard, crampy muscles you see when a horse ties up.
Other theories of the biochemical mechanism is that there is a deficiency of the high-energy phosphates in muscle cells following maximal, anaerobic exertion, and/or a depletion of muscle glycogen after prolonged, slow (endurance-type) exercise. High body temperatures and electrolyte imbalances/depletions are also probably contributing causes, and certainly major factors in endurance horses that tie up during competitions.
Unless you`re a biochemist, all of these different theories essentially boil down to the same net effect---the ion pumps (ie, sodium/potassium, calcium/magnesium and calcium/ATPase) in the membrane surrounding the muscle cell which move substrates in and out of the cell are disrupted, and so the interior environment of the muscle cells either cannot get rid of waste products of metabolism, OR has too much of a metabolic substrate to be able to function, OR can`t get enough of a metabolic substrate to be able to function. And so the muscle cell simply shuts down. When muscle cells shut down, they don`t do so in the relaxed position, they freeze up in the contracted position, which is why you get those rock-hard muscles. Biochemically, it`s not all that different from rigor mortis.
The effect on kidneys comes in when the connective tissue (the sarcolemma) surrounding and enclosing the muscle cell is disrupted, releasing the contents of the muscle cell into the bloodstream. There are lots of different proteins and substrates and whatnot in a muscle cell, but the important one for this particular discussion is myoglobin. Myoglobin is a protein pigment which is responsible for oxygen transport in the muscle cell. Hemoglobin transports oxygen in the bloodstream, myoglobin transports oxygen in the muscle cell. When myoglobin is released from a disrupted muscle cell into the bloodstream, it travels to the kidneys and is filtered out. In being filtered out of the bloodstream (and keep in mind, there`s probably a lot of it from the kidney`s point of view), it causes (or CAN cause) kidney damage or even total renal failure by overwhelming and clogging up the kidney tubules and restricting the blood (and therefore oxygen) supply to the kidney tissue. This effect will be worsened if the animal is hypovolemic, meaning he`s dehydrated and therefore has a decreased total plasma volume. A decreased plasma volume means that in turn the blood is thicker and that the heart must work harder to circulate. And this in turn means that less oxygen to delivered to the muscles and organs, fewer substrates, less waste product removed, and so on. A vicious cycle sort of thing.
So while myoglobin does not directly damage the kidneys, in great enough concentration it will cause damage indirectly by clogging them up and creating what is called myoglobinuric nephrosis and possibly renal failure. It`s also the myoglobin being filtered out that shows up as very dark urine. The dark urine itself is not what you have to worry about---what you DO have to worry about is the fact that myoglobin in the urine means that significant muscle disruption and damage has occurred in the system, and that the kidneys are being overwhelmed with a whole lot of waste product to try and get rid of. Needless to say, this is serious s**t from the physiological point of view. However, dark urine doesn`t always mean myoglobinuria. Dark urine can be caused by other things as well. But if your horse is dehydrated, won`t move and is standing there hunched up and miserable and the urine looks a lot like coffee---you`ve got problems.
Some of the other things a veterinarian will look for in a suspected tying-up horse are elevated enzymes in the blood plasma, specifically CK (creatinine kinase) and AST (aspartate aminotransferase). AST is also referred to as SGOT, but both refer to the same enzyme. There are other things the vet will look for as well, like creatinine, urea, electrolytes and so on, but enzyme levels are at the top of the list. CK and AST are both enzymes contained in the muscle cell (as well as other types of cells) which are released into the blood when the muscle cell is disrupted. Therefore, if the enzyme levels are elevated in the blood panel, it must mean that tissue cells somewhere are being (or were being) damaged. The tricky part in diagnosis is figuring out where tissue damage is occurring---AST occurs in both muscle and liver cells, so elevated levels could mean problems in either muscle OR liver (and for that matter, AST levels can also be elevated by certain drugs or toxins). CK levels will indicate muscle damage, while other elevated enzymes in the blood panel will indicate liver damage. And to make things even more confusing, there are various isoforms of yet another enzyme, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) which will indicate whether muscle damage occurring is from skeletal or cardiac (heart) muscle.
The elevation in CK will be detectable within a few hours of the onset of clinical symptoms, peak within 24 hours and decline fairly quickly. CK`s half-life is six hours, meaning that half of the amount remaining is removed within six hours. Hence, 50% is gone within 6 hours, 75% is gone within 12 hrs, 87.5% is gone within 18 hrs, 93.75% is removed within 24 hrs, and so on. The concept of "half-lifes" doesn`t refer only to enzymes, by the way, the same general idea applies to drug half-lifes, isotope half-life, etc etc (just a little extra trivia for you)(I know, riveting.)
The rise in levels of AST will peak approximately 24 hours after the onset of the clinical signs of tying up, and decline much more slowly---AST has a half-life of about 14 days, so with significant muscle damage, it`ll be awhile before levels are really back to normal. The relative levels of these two enzymes, among other things, are what a DVM will look at in determining the extent of damage, whether damage is still occurring and how long ago the initial damage occurred. For example, if a horse transport company delivers a horse doing a good impersonation of a piece of granite, and swears the horse must have injured himself last week before they ever laid eyes on him...but the blood analysis shows screaming CK levels (indicating recent muscle damage) and relatively low AST levels (also indicating recent damage), then the transport companies arguments can be classified under the heading of I Don`t Think So Chuckles.
References:
Hodgson, DR, Rose, RJ (1994): The Athletic Horse. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia. pg. 169-174.
Kobluk, CN, Ames, TR, Geor, RJ (ed)(1995): The Horse, Disease and Clinical Management. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia. pg. 809-810, 1278-1279, 1317-1318.
Lewis, LD (1995): Equine Cliinical Nutrition, Feeding and Care. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore. pg. 262-263.
Copyright 1998 Susan Evans Garlinghouse.
Exertional rhabdomyolysis -excruciatingly specific details of what`s happening at the cellular level.
The complete pathophysiology (Why It Happens) of exertional rhabdomyolysis (most commonly called "tying up") is still not completely understood. Currently, the conditions that are known to be factors in causing tying up are
# resting a conditioned horse on a full-grain diet, followed by exercise ("Monday morning disease");
# whole-body potassium depletion;
# selenium deficiency; an unaccustomed level of exercise;
# postviral infections, particularly rhino;
# intoxications with ionophores (a substance which increases cellular permeability to a specific ion, which would in turn disrupt the electrical potential of the cell), blister beetle, mercury, coffee bean (cassia) or gossypol from raw cottonseed.
Other factors which have been suggested as being contributory are hypothyroidism, some high-performance lines of horses, nervous horses, fillies, shock, laminitis, tetanus, neural injury, estrus, hyperestrogenism (resulting from possibly a granulosa cell tumor), cold damp weather, heavy muscling, and low-sodium rations. Electrolyte depletion, especially calcium, magnesium and chloride may also cause muscle cramps, which are sometimes referred to as slow-onset rhabdomyolysis; or synchronous diaphragmatic flutter, commonly called "thumps". These are related syndromes, but not exactly the same as the syndrome described here, which is most accurately described as acute rhabdomyolysis.
One of the current hypotheses is that when a conditioned horse is not worked and kept on full feed high in soluble carbohydrates (such as grain), the horse will accumulate carbohydrates in the muscles. If there is a sudden demand for work, the body cannot adequately remove the rapidly accumulating lactic acid in the muscles. This in turn causes vasospasms and ischemia---which means essentially that the surrounding blood vessels "clamp down" so that the lactic acid waste product cannot be removed. As a result, intracellular pH drops, the muscle cell is disrupted and you get the hard, crampy muscles you see when a horse ties up.
Other theories of the biochemical mechanism is that there is a deficiency of the high-energy phosphates in muscle cells following maximal, anaerobic exertion, and/or a depletion of muscle glycogen after prolonged, slow (endurance-type) exercise. High body temperatures and electrolyte imbalances/depletions are also probably contributing causes, and certainly major factors in endurance horses that tie up during competitions.
Unless you`re a biochemist, all of these different theories essentially boil down to the same net effect---the ion pumps (ie, sodium/potassium, calcium/magnesium and calcium/ATPase) in the membrane surrounding the muscle cell which move substrates in and out of the cell are disrupted, and so the interior environment of the muscle cells either cannot get rid of waste products of metabolism, OR has too much of a metabolic substrate to be able to function, OR can`t get enough of a metabolic substrate to be able to function. And so the muscle cell simply shuts down. When muscle cells shut down, they don`t do so in the relaxed position, they freeze up in the contracted position, which is why you get those rock-hard muscles. Biochemically, it`s not all that different from rigor mortis.
The effect on kidneys comes in when the connective tissue (the sarcolemma) surrounding and enclosing the muscle cell is disrupted, releasing the contents of the muscle cell into the bloodstream. There are lots of different proteins and substrates and whatnot in a muscle cell, but the important one for this particular discussion is myoglobin. Myoglobin is a protein pigment which is responsible for oxygen transport in the muscle cell. Hemoglobin transports oxygen in the bloodstream, myoglobin transports oxygen in the muscle cell. When myoglobin is released from a disrupted muscle cell into the bloodstream, it travels to the kidneys and is filtered out. In being filtered out of the bloodstream (and keep in mind, there`s probably a lot of it from the kidney`s point of view), it causes (or CAN cause) kidney damage or even total renal failure by overwhelming and clogging up the kidney tubules and restricting the blood (and therefore oxygen) supply to the kidney tissue. This effect will be worsened if the animal is hypovolemic, meaning he`s dehydrated and therefore has a decreased total plasma volume. A decreased plasma volume means that in turn the blood is thicker and that the heart must work harder to circulate. And this in turn means that less oxygen to delivered to the muscles and organs, fewer substrates, less waste product removed, and so on. A vicious cycle sort of thing.
So while myoglobin does not directly damage the kidneys, in great enough concentration it will cause damage indirectly by clogging them up and creating what is called myoglobinuric nephrosis and possibly renal failure. It`s also the myoglobin being filtered out that shows up as very dark urine. The dark urine itself is not what you have to worry about---what you DO have to worry about is the fact that myoglobin in the urine means that significant muscle disruption and damage has occurred in the system, and that the kidneys are being overwhelmed with a whole lot of waste product to try and get rid of. Needless to say, this is serious s**t from the physiological point of view. However, dark urine doesn`t always mean myoglobinuria. Dark urine can be caused by other things as well. But if your horse is dehydrated, won`t move and is standing there hunched up and miserable and the urine looks a lot like coffee---you`ve got problems.
Some of the other things a veterinarian will look for in a suspected tying-up horse are elevated enzymes in the blood plasma, specifically CK (creatinine kinase) and AST (aspartate aminotransferase). AST is also referred to as SGOT, but both refer to the same enzyme. There are other things the vet will look for as well, like creatinine, urea, electrolytes and so on, but enzyme levels are at the top of the list. CK and AST are both enzymes contained in the muscle cell (as well as other types of cells) which are released into the blood when the muscle cell is disrupted. Therefore, if the enzyme levels are elevated in the blood panel, it must mean that tissue cells somewhere are being (or were being) damaged. The tricky part in diagnosis is figuring out where tissue damage is occurring---AST occurs in both muscle and liver cells, so elevated levels could mean problems in either muscle OR liver (and for that matter, AST levels can also be elevated by certain drugs or toxins). CK levels will indicate muscle damage, while other elevated enzymes in the blood panel will indicate liver damage. And to make things even more confusing, there are various isoforms of yet another enzyme, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) which will indicate whether muscle damage occurring is from skeletal or cardiac (heart) muscle.
The elevation in CK will be detectable within a few hours of the onset of clinical symptoms, peak within 24 hours and decline fairly quickly. CK`s half-life is six hours, meaning that half of the amount remaining is removed within six hours. Hence, 50% is gone within 6 hours, 75% is gone within 12 hrs, 87.5% is gone within 18 hrs, 93.75% is removed within 24 hrs, and so on. The concept of "half-lifes" doesn`t refer only to enzymes, by the way, the same general idea applies to drug half-lifes, isotope half-life, etc etc (just a little extra trivia for you)(I know, riveting.)
The rise in levels of AST will peak approximately 24 hours after the onset of the clinical signs of tying up, and decline much more slowly---AST has a half-life of about 14 days, so with significant muscle damage, it`ll be awhile before levels are really back to normal. The relative levels of these two enzymes, among other things, are what a DVM will look at in determining the extent of damage, whether damage is still occurring and how long ago the initial damage occurred. For example, if a horse transport company delivers a horse doing a good impersonation of a piece of granite, and swears the horse must have injured himself last week before they ever laid eyes on him...but the blood analysis shows screaming CK levels (indicating recent muscle damage) and relatively low AST levels (also indicating recent damage), then the transport companies arguments can be classified under the heading of I Don`t Think So Chuckles.
References:
Hodgson, DR, Rose, RJ (1994): The Athletic Horse. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia. pg. 169-174.
Kobluk, CN, Ames, TR, Geor, RJ (ed)(1995): The Horse, Disease and Clinical Management. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia. pg. 809-810, 1278-1279, 1317-1318.
Lewis, LD (1995): Equine Cliinical Nutrition, Feeding and Care. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore. pg. 262-263.
Copyright 1998 Susan Evans Garlinghouse.
Thursday, December 07, 2000
Electrolytes - Managing Heat Scientifically. Part I - Cooling - Abby Bloxsom
By Abby Bloxsom, courtesy of Eastern Competitive Trail Ride Association, www.ectra.org
A Little Background
No matter where you ride or what distance you ride at, no matter what your experience or how fit your horse is, heat and humidity make distance riding harder. The horse is an arctic adapted species – in a summer coat, its body is temperature-neutral between about 30 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning that it will not have to expend energy to either cool off or heat up within that temperature range. Humans are not set up that way. Our small, flat, mostly hairless bodies with blood vessels close to the surface evolved in tropical climates (until we learned to dress ourselves, at which point our territory expanded gradually over the globe). Naked, we get cold quite easily.
This means that while we prefer to ride and compete in the summer, the heat and humidity of that season places a strain on the horse’s system that we as humans may not feel. In addition to the heat of the human-preferred climate, the horse is constantly producing heat of his own. When he’s exercising, he produces it at an alarming rate. Your job as Heat Manager is to get the excess heat out of the horse’s body as quickly as possible. (On borderline coolish days – or even on a dry, breezy day when the temperature might still be fairly high – it’s also important to know when not to cool the horse. A minimum amount of heat is necessary in order to maintain the horse’s normal body temperature, but that’s a subject for another time.)
How It Works
Before I talk about how you can help your horse to keep his cool in the summer heat, I want to review a little chapter from our high school science textbooks about heat in general. There are three basic heat transfer processes: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the way that heat travels through an opaque solid, as when the handle of a frying pan gets hot during cooking (I always forget about that). The speed of transfer – the amount of heat moved over time – depends on the difference in temperature between the warmer part and the cooler part of the solid. This is called the temperature gradient.
Convection is when heat is transferred from one solid, liquid, or gas to another, such as when a warm plate on a countertop warms up the surface of the counter, or when you put your jello in the refrigerator to chill it. Again, the speed of transfer depends on the temperature gradient.
Radiation is the process involved when a material transfers heat by electromagnetic energy. This process is unique in that objects need not be in contact with each other. All objects in our everyday world radiate heat because they are warmer than absolute zero, but the amount of heat given off depends solely on the temperature of the object. A glass of lemonade in the sun will warm up because it is absorbing more radiant heat (from the sun) than it emits (by virtue of its inherent "heat").
The problem with using any one of these processes to cool the body of a horse is that – especially on a hot, sunny day – they are way too slow compared to the amount of heat that his powerful engine is producing inside his body. The horse has a large body mass, especially compared to its surface area, so the transfer of heat from the muscles (where the horse is burning fuel and creating heat) outward to the surface by conduction is inefficient. He moves a little more heat by convection, as his blood is heated and then pumped through his blood vessels to the skin. The air around a dry horse is also heated by convection, which removes heat from the horse as long as it’s cooler than the horse itself (remember the temperature gradient?) This effect is reduced to nil, however, as the ambient temperature approaches the horse’s body temperature.
The warm body of the horse also radiates heat, in increasing amounts as he heats up. Still though, if he’s standing in the sun, he’s like my glass of lemonade in that he’s soaking up a lot more infrared radiation from the sun than he’s emitting. A dark horse – like a black rubber bucket – will soak up more solar radiation than a white horse, but he also radiates more, and he’s still going to be producing many times that amount of heat by virtue of the work that he’s doing. So keep him out of the sun when you can – but you should do that with any horse anyway.
Rest assured, though, that Mother Nature has also given us a supercharger to jack up the speed at which we can transfer heat, and that is the phase change. As water changes from solid (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (water vapor), it absorbs huge amounts of thermal energy. Firefighters take advantage of this when they cool a fire by spraying a fine mist of water over it. As the water vaporizes rapidly, it sucks the heat out of the fire, cooling it instantly. The speed of evaporation is limited by the ambient relative humidity– the amount of water vapor contained in the air relative to the maximum amount of vapor that it can possibly contain at that temperature. In the case of the fire, the relative humidity is effectively zero right before the hose comes on. Because the air is superheated from the fire, the maximum amount of vapor that can be contained is very high, so the cooling potential is very high. In the bathroom after a shower, the humidity approaches 100%, so evaporation and cooling potential are very low. This cooling supercharger – evaporation – is the best tool that we have for removing heat from a hot body. That’s why we sweat.
Putting It Together
Dry Weather: In a dry climate (or even in the humid Northeastern U.S. on a dry day, say below 40 or 50% relative humidity) the sweat produced by the glands on both equine and human skin will evaporate rapidly, sucking the heat out of the skin and the blood vessels just below it. The heart can then pump this cooled blood around through the body to cool the tissues in the core of the body. The evaporative process also occurs in the passages of the horse’s airway. He breathes in dry air, and the moist tissues in the nostrils, sinuses, trachea, and lungs are cooled by evaporation (and a little bit by convection).
Remember, though, that the horse’s sweat and the moisture in his airway contain water, electrolyte salts, and some proteins that come from inside him, from the tissues of his body. You can help preserve an enormous amount of your distance horse’s vital body fluids by putting plain old water on the outside of him. That’s the first reason that we sponge. On a day that will likely be warm at the outset, it doesn’t hurt to start right out in the morning by sponging a horse before starting a ride, and preventing those early fluid losses. Continued sponging during a ride will spare even more sweat, especially if you concentrate on the areas with the most blood vessels under the skin – the chest, neck, shoulders, belly, and upper legs.
When the humidity is very low, say below 25 or 30%, evaporation can happen so fast that you might think you and the horse are not even sweating – but you are. The more water you keep on the horse’s body the less he will have to replace from the inside (a notoriously slow process). Your horse will stay cooler, his pulse will be lower, and his recovery will be faster. SO just because it’s a dry day and the horse feels fairly dry and cool, don’t stop sponging! In this type of weather, the water used for sponging can be fairly warm, since the goal is for it to evaporate (it will feel cool anyway). In fact, if the water is too cold it might actually chill the horse by removing heat too quickly. If I were competing in very dry weather (which, face it, in New England I’m not!) I’d probably refrain from clipping my horse during the competitive season. I’d want to keep the water on the horse so that it will be able to cool him by evaporation. It can’t do that if it runs off onto the ground.
Hot Weather: As the ambient temperature approaches that of the horse (100-103 degrees F), remember that the effects of conduction through the body and convection to the air are both reduced (because they depend on the temperature gradient, right?). This means first that we must rely on a new principle: convection to water. The water that goes onto the horse must be cool, so that heat will be transferred from the body to the water. As the air becomes hotter, the water needs to be cooler so that the cooling process will be faster (remember the temperature gradient). Water sponged onto the horse must be scraped off immediately (it will feel warm) and replaced with more cool water.
High air temperatures also mean that radiation and evaporation (the supercharger) become more important. It’s essential to keep the horse in the shade to minimize the heating effect of solar radiation and maximize the effect of convection to the air (cooler air means a greater difference in temperature, hence faster cooling). Standing in a breezy spot or walking the horse about slowly will increase both the evaporation and the convection rates as the air passes over the horse’s heated body. In high heat with low humidity, this may be all that’s needed.
Humid Weather: As the ambient relative humidity approaches 100% and temperatures are in the "very hot day" range, however, we have an entirely different situation. Very humid air cannot absorb water from evaporation (the steamy bathroom effect), which means that the supercharger is now out of gas. The weakling coolers of conduction, convection and radiation can do the job, but not without a lot of effort on your part. As on the hundred-degree day, you will need to get a jump on the cooling by laying on the water heavy and early.
In oppressive weather, we depend on relatively slow heat transfer processes, but they are all notorious for being painfully slow for a horse with a chunky body. A loaf of bread fresh from the oven stays warm much longer than a pancake, even a stack of pancakes, because heat has to travel much farther from the core of the bread to the outside than it does in the flat pancake. This is why my riding partner’s chunky little horse – faster and fitter than my lanky mare – inverts and has trouble recovering in muggy weather. On a cool, dry day he can trot circles around her for 25 miles!
Clipping a horse before a ride can help with cooling in humid weather – it allows the convection heating of air and water over the body to happen faster, since even the summer coat is a decent insulator. It also allows the evaporative cooling to draw more heat because it takes place closer to the blood vessels below the surface. Keeping pads, ear nets, and hanging mane to a minimum will of course also help your horse keep his cool on a muggy day.
A horse with a fast, efficient gait can sometimes manage to cool himself out on the trail by using speed to his advantage: a convection oven cooks faster by virtue of the fact that circulating the air rapidly speeds up the convection process. My husband likes a fan in the summer for the same reason. If a horse is very fit (it would be counter-productive to try this with a horse who was not up to it) moving him along the trail at a good clip (in the shade, over easy going) can speed up both convection and evaporation, even if the temperature gradient and relative humidity are not in your favor.
When the rider dismounts at a hold or the end of a ride in hot, humid weather, the saddle should be pulled immediately. Huge amounts of the coldest water need to go on the horse’s body – everywhere, but especially on those big veins of the chest, neck, head, ears, belly, and upper legs. The water must be scraped off as quickly as possible and replaced with more cold water. In effect, you’re speeding up the convection to water by circulating the water over the horse’s body. You need to keep this up as long as it takes to make the water run cool off the horse’s body.
When the water does run off cool, you’re not done. Walking the horse slowly will maintain blood circulation from the core of his body until he’s both cool and dry. You may find though, especially in a horse with a blocky body type, that he seems to heat back up again later because the body core was not as cool as the surface was. The cooling/walking cycle needs to be repeated until the horse stays cool if allowed to rest after the walk.
In An Emergency
If all else fails, and the horse really does overheat (a temperature over 103 degrees that isn’t coming down) it’s essential for the horse’s health to get the heat out as fast as possible. At this point, a horse will have been withdrawn from an ECTRA ride, so the ride rules go out the window. To take advantage of the temperature gradient, you need ice – and lots of it – in your water bucket, and you need to get the very cold water onto the entire horse as quickly as possible. Again, as long as the water comes off warmer than it went on, keep scraping it off and putting more on. Use the shade, the breeze, and walking to your advantage, and use as many people as you can get to help cool the horse before he suffers medical complications.
The Human Factor
Of course, it does no good to discuss caring for the horse if I don’t also throw in two bits about caring for the rider. On an ECTRA ride, you have no crew available to look after the horse while you go off and lie down, sponge yourself, or eat and drink. DO NOT put the horse’s welfare in front of your own at all costs, since an under-fueled or dehydrated rider can quickly become weak, disoriented, and careless. By forgetting to care for him or herself, a rider can easily jeopardize the welfare and safety of the entire team. You can use the same physics to cool your own body that you use on your horse in extreme weather conditions. Now go out and ride.
A Little Background
No matter where you ride or what distance you ride at, no matter what your experience or how fit your horse is, heat and humidity make distance riding harder. The horse is an arctic adapted species – in a summer coat, its body is temperature-neutral between about 30 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning that it will not have to expend energy to either cool off or heat up within that temperature range. Humans are not set up that way. Our small, flat, mostly hairless bodies with blood vessels close to the surface evolved in tropical climates (until we learned to dress ourselves, at which point our territory expanded gradually over the globe). Naked, we get cold quite easily.
This means that while we prefer to ride and compete in the summer, the heat and humidity of that season places a strain on the horse’s system that we as humans may not feel. In addition to the heat of the human-preferred climate, the horse is constantly producing heat of his own. When he’s exercising, he produces it at an alarming rate. Your job as Heat Manager is to get the excess heat out of the horse’s body as quickly as possible. (On borderline coolish days – or even on a dry, breezy day when the temperature might still be fairly high – it’s also important to know when not to cool the horse. A minimum amount of heat is necessary in order to maintain the horse’s normal body temperature, but that’s a subject for another time.)
How It Works
Before I talk about how you can help your horse to keep his cool in the summer heat, I want to review a little chapter from our high school science textbooks about heat in general. There are three basic heat transfer processes: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the way that heat travels through an opaque solid, as when the handle of a frying pan gets hot during cooking (I always forget about that). The speed of transfer – the amount of heat moved over time – depends on the difference in temperature between the warmer part and the cooler part of the solid. This is called the temperature gradient.
Convection is when heat is transferred from one solid, liquid, or gas to another, such as when a warm plate on a countertop warms up the surface of the counter, or when you put your jello in the refrigerator to chill it. Again, the speed of transfer depends on the temperature gradient.
Radiation is the process involved when a material transfers heat by electromagnetic energy. This process is unique in that objects need not be in contact with each other. All objects in our everyday world radiate heat because they are warmer than absolute zero, but the amount of heat given off depends solely on the temperature of the object. A glass of lemonade in the sun will warm up because it is absorbing more radiant heat (from the sun) than it emits (by virtue of its inherent "heat").
The problem with using any one of these processes to cool the body of a horse is that – especially on a hot, sunny day – they are way too slow compared to the amount of heat that his powerful engine is producing inside his body. The horse has a large body mass, especially compared to its surface area, so the transfer of heat from the muscles (where the horse is burning fuel and creating heat) outward to the surface by conduction is inefficient. He moves a little more heat by convection, as his blood is heated and then pumped through his blood vessels to the skin. The air around a dry horse is also heated by convection, which removes heat from the horse as long as it’s cooler than the horse itself (remember the temperature gradient?) This effect is reduced to nil, however, as the ambient temperature approaches the horse’s body temperature.
The warm body of the horse also radiates heat, in increasing amounts as he heats up. Still though, if he’s standing in the sun, he’s like my glass of lemonade in that he’s soaking up a lot more infrared radiation from the sun than he’s emitting. A dark horse – like a black rubber bucket – will soak up more solar radiation than a white horse, but he also radiates more, and he’s still going to be producing many times that amount of heat by virtue of the work that he’s doing. So keep him out of the sun when you can – but you should do that with any horse anyway.
Rest assured, though, that Mother Nature has also given us a supercharger to jack up the speed at which we can transfer heat, and that is the phase change. As water changes from solid (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (water vapor), it absorbs huge amounts of thermal energy. Firefighters take advantage of this when they cool a fire by spraying a fine mist of water over it. As the water vaporizes rapidly, it sucks the heat out of the fire, cooling it instantly. The speed of evaporation is limited by the ambient relative humidity– the amount of water vapor contained in the air relative to the maximum amount of vapor that it can possibly contain at that temperature. In the case of the fire, the relative humidity is effectively zero right before the hose comes on. Because the air is superheated from the fire, the maximum amount of vapor that can be contained is very high, so the cooling potential is very high. In the bathroom after a shower, the humidity approaches 100%, so evaporation and cooling potential are very low. This cooling supercharger – evaporation – is the best tool that we have for removing heat from a hot body. That’s why we sweat.
Putting It Together
Dry Weather: In a dry climate (or even in the humid Northeastern U.S. on a dry day, say below 40 or 50% relative humidity) the sweat produced by the glands on both equine and human skin will evaporate rapidly, sucking the heat out of the skin and the blood vessels just below it. The heart can then pump this cooled blood around through the body to cool the tissues in the core of the body. The evaporative process also occurs in the passages of the horse’s airway. He breathes in dry air, and the moist tissues in the nostrils, sinuses, trachea, and lungs are cooled by evaporation (and a little bit by convection).
Remember, though, that the horse’s sweat and the moisture in his airway contain water, electrolyte salts, and some proteins that come from inside him, from the tissues of his body. You can help preserve an enormous amount of your distance horse’s vital body fluids by putting plain old water on the outside of him. That’s the first reason that we sponge. On a day that will likely be warm at the outset, it doesn’t hurt to start right out in the morning by sponging a horse before starting a ride, and preventing those early fluid losses. Continued sponging during a ride will spare even more sweat, especially if you concentrate on the areas with the most blood vessels under the skin – the chest, neck, shoulders, belly, and upper legs.
When the humidity is very low, say below 25 or 30%, evaporation can happen so fast that you might think you and the horse are not even sweating – but you are. The more water you keep on the horse’s body the less he will have to replace from the inside (a notoriously slow process). Your horse will stay cooler, his pulse will be lower, and his recovery will be faster. SO just because it’s a dry day and the horse feels fairly dry and cool, don’t stop sponging! In this type of weather, the water used for sponging can be fairly warm, since the goal is for it to evaporate (it will feel cool anyway). In fact, if the water is too cold it might actually chill the horse by removing heat too quickly. If I were competing in very dry weather (which, face it, in New England I’m not!) I’d probably refrain from clipping my horse during the competitive season. I’d want to keep the water on the horse so that it will be able to cool him by evaporation. It can’t do that if it runs off onto the ground.
Hot Weather: As the ambient temperature approaches that of the horse (100-103 degrees F), remember that the effects of conduction through the body and convection to the air are both reduced (because they depend on the temperature gradient, right?). This means first that we must rely on a new principle: convection to water. The water that goes onto the horse must be cool, so that heat will be transferred from the body to the water. As the air becomes hotter, the water needs to be cooler so that the cooling process will be faster (remember the temperature gradient). Water sponged onto the horse must be scraped off immediately (it will feel warm) and replaced with more cool water.
High air temperatures also mean that radiation and evaporation (the supercharger) become more important. It’s essential to keep the horse in the shade to minimize the heating effect of solar radiation and maximize the effect of convection to the air (cooler air means a greater difference in temperature, hence faster cooling). Standing in a breezy spot or walking the horse about slowly will increase both the evaporation and the convection rates as the air passes over the horse’s heated body. In high heat with low humidity, this may be all that’s needed.
Humid Weather: As the ambient relative humidity approaches 100% and temperatures are in the "very hot day" range, however, we have an entirely different situation. Very humid air cannot absorb water from evaporation (the steamy bathroom effect), which means that the supercharger is now out of gas. The weakling coolers of conduction, convection and radiation can do the job, but not without a lot of effort on your part. As on the hundred-degree day, you will need to get a jump on the cooling by laying on the water heavy and early.
In oppressive weather, we depend on relatively slow heat transfer processes, but they are all notorious for being painfully slow for a horse with a chunky body. A loaf of bread fresh from the oven stays warm much longer than a pancake, even a stack of pancakes, because heat has to travel much farther from the core of the bread to the outside than it does in the flat pancake. This is why my riding partner’s chunky little horse – faster and fitter than my lanky mare – inverts and has trouble recovering in muggy weather. On a cool, dry day he can trot circles around her for 25 miles!
Clipping a horse before a ride can help with cooling in humid weather – it allows the convection heating of air and water over the body to happen faster, since even the summer coat is a decent insulator. It also allows the evaporative cooling to draw more heat because it takes place closer to the blood vessels below the surface. Keeping pads, ear nets, and hanging mane to a minimum will of course also help your horse keep his cool on a muggy day.
A horse with a fast, efficient gait can sometimes manage to cool himself out on the trail by using speed to his advantage: a convection oven cooks faster by virtue of the fact that circulating the air rapidly speeds up the convection process. My husband likes a fan in the summer for the same reason. If a horse is very fit (it would be counter-productive to try this with a horse who was not up to it) moving him along the trail at a good clip (in the shade, over easy going) can speed up both convection and evaporation, even if the temperature gradient and relative humidity are not in your favor.
When the rider dismounts at a hold or the end of a ride in hot, humid weather, the saddle should be pulled immediately. Huge amounts of the coldest water need to go on the horse’s body – everywhere, but especially on those big veins of the chest, neck, head, ears, belly, and upper legs. The water must be scraped off as quickly as possible and replaced with more cold water. In effect, you’re speeding up the convection to water by circulating the water over the horse’s body. You need to keep this up as long as it takes to make the water run cool off the horse’s body.
When the water does run off cool, you’re not done. Walking the horse slowly will maintain blood circulation from the core of his body until he’s both cool and dry. You may find though, especially in a horse with a blocky body type, that he seems to heat back up again later because the body core was not as cool as the surface was. The cooling/walking cycle needs to be repeated until the horse stays cool if allowed to rest after the walk.
In An Emergency
If all else fails, and the horse really does overheat (a temperature over 103 degrees that isn’t coming down) it’s essential for the horse’s health to get the heat out as fast as possible. At this point, a horse will have been withdrawn from an ECTRA ride, so the ride rules go out the window. To take advantage of the temperature gradient, you need ice – and lots of it – in your water bucket, and you need to get the very cold water onto the entire horse as quickly as possible. Again, as long as the water comes off warmer than it went on, keep scraping it off and putting more on. Use the shade, the breeze, and walking to your advantage, and use as many people as you can get to help cool the horse before he suffers medical complications.
The Human Factor
Of course, it does no good to discuss caring for the horse if I don’t also throw in two bits about caring for the rider. On an ECTRA ride, you have no crew available to look after the horse while you go off and lie down, sponge yourself, or eat and drink. DO NOT put the horse’s welfare in front of your own at all costs, since an under-fueled or dehydrated rider can quickly become weak, disoriented, and careless. By forgetting to care for him or herself, a rider can easily jeopardize the welfare and safety of the entire team. You can use the same physics to cool your own body that you use on your horse in extreme weather conditions. Now go out and ride.
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