Hair of the dog

I was sore on Sunday. Really sore. Quads and glutes. Lots of child's pose and cat cow to get things moving in the morning. Have to keep up my fitness regimen of running and yoga. Need to add some abdominal work too I think.

So what did I learn from Lubafest? I learned that I *do* know a few things. Sometimes when you take lessons or try a new approach to training and conditioning, it shines a big bright light on things you have been ignoring. Things you are not so good at. Blind spots. This is a very humbling experience (remember the death grip on the voltige handles last week?)

As you learn new things, it is important to glance over your shoulder and see how far you have come. Otherwise things get out of perspective and you can become overwhelmed instead of enthusiastic about how far you still have to go. Part of keeping a beginner's mind is to remember that each time you plateau and start to climb the new step, you are a beginner again. Sonja says that frustration is usually a sign of lack of knowledge. The more I have in my bag of tricks, the less frustration I experience.

So what do I know?

1. I know how to pack and travel with my horse. The new saddle rack and hooks on my trailer really make life easier. The new truck pulls like a dream. Luba loaded and unloaded without any drama and even ate some hay en route.

2. I know when to insist and when to work with what the horse is giving me. Luba was not interested in leading for the first 6 miles. I did  not insist. After that, she was much braver. And she is always brave when she knows we are headed "home";). I insisted (with the aid of a tree branch) to get her to boldly canter past the cords of wood at the side of the trail. I got off and encouraged her to go over a small ditch of water before the big sand dune.

3. I know that you have to condition at least as fast as you plan to compete. Our first 10 mile loop was a bit slower than the second 10 mile loop, but our overall moving speed was about 7 mph. This is the speed I would like to average for the 100 mile ride.

So what did I learn?

1. Even for a training ride, it is important to electrolyte just like at a competition.

I did not pre-load Luba with electrolytes the night before. This was mostly due to the logistics of living in the city. The water tub was frozen over on Saturday morning, so she likely did not drink much overnight. She is out on dewy pasture, though. I gave her about 2 oz of Perform and Win before travelling to Saint-Lazare, a couple more ounces before hitting the trail, more at our 30 minute "hold" and another couple doses before heading home. She drank on trail and a bit at the trailer, but not tons. She was mainly interested in grass at the hold and after the ride, so I figured she was getting moisture. She peed a good colour at the hold too. She was maybe a B for capillary refill at the hold and back to A at the end. When we got back to Horses of the Sun, she peed good colour again, and then tanked up a couple of times at the water trough.

2. It is important to practise what you do in the ring on trail.

Sonja and I have been focusing on left canter enjoyment in the sand ring. I wanted to focus on smooth steady efficient canter work on the trail. Luba still picked up more right than left canter leads, but we did experience some lovely left canter enjoyment. We also worked quite a bit of canter on the second loop, leaving quite a sandstorm behind us.

3. You can rate your horse by relaxing your thighs and sitting.

I don't know how many times I will have to learn this lesson, but it does work when I have the presence of mind to execute. After the hold, Luba was on fire. Call 911. She wanted to GO. It was not a totally out of control bolt. (I can say this with certainty, as I now know how that feels. :)). But she was hitting the 4th gear. I tried Uwe's technique of guiding her in the direction I want and then gradually asking her to slow down. I was finally able to shift down when I relaxed enough to sit deep and loosen the death grip of my thighs.  I think the sore quads are a result of this death grip. When I ride more relaxed, I am not so sore.

Sunday afternoon, while Charlotte was at voltige, I took Luba for a walk down Forced Road. I tried to run, but walking felt better for my sore legs. We walked to the cemetery and back.

Then I watched the mounted portion of the voltige lesson. Charlotte is cantering sitting side saddle and doing lots of other cool moves. At the end, Sonja put me up on Apache and I did some trotting, cantering, backwards riding and a bum hug at the walk. We all can use some therapeutic riding for our (dis)abilities!

Lovely Apache, my therapeutic voltige horse :)

Lubafest 2012

We couldn't make it to Aprilfest, so Mae, Lia and Luba went to St. Lazare for Lubafest!

Lubafest loop 1 by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

Lubafest loop 2 by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

Here is Mae eating up the trail.

St. Lazare mud!

Sand, sand and more sand

30 minute hold after 10 miles

Oasis in the desert

Where are we anyway?

Wrong way!

Run, Bolt, Bail, Walk

Well it finally happened and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

For a long time, I have had an irrational fear of Luba bolting and me falling off and killing myself. Let's just say two out of three ain't bad.

While Charlotte was at voltige this afternoon, I decided to go for a Forced Road Run with Luba the Trickster.

We met two kids on bikes who were happy to pet their very first horse. Then we met another Nancy, working in her garden. Her 10 year old daughter is horse crazy, so she and her little brother came out in their jammies to fawn over Luba. Then the neighbour from the farm next door went by on a bicycle, admiring "real horsepower".  Chatted with the HOTS neighbours who also have Arabians. Interrupted Garfield who was hunting in the grass. Luba was a real ambassador for the equine community and we did some marketing for Horses of the Sun and the sport of endurance riding.

It is soooo much easier to run when you have a partner who keeps a steady pace. Love running with Luba. Thought of Colette as we ran by the Mars United Church Cemetary. Colette is not dead, but played a dead person in Act 3 of Our Town, playing at the Winchester Town Hall for three more shows next weekend, April 27, 28 and 29.

We went barefoot today, as Luba has a minor case of scratches on the back of her right fetlock. I didn't want to take a chance of irritating it with Renegades. Her feet are being buffed every day in the sand ring and the gravel road was good conditioning too. Did a quick maintenance trim before we went out.

Got back to the farm and fed Luba beetpulp and part of her supper while I tacked her up for a tiptoe through the farm trails. We were both very mellow, so I decided to ride her off the sidepull.

We got down the laneway, almost to the end of the paddock when I realized I had forgotten to pick out her feet after all that gravel. So I turned her around to go back. Just then, something spooked her and we were off! For a second, I tried my one rein stop. That was going nowhere off the sidepull. The next thing I know, we were in full gallop down the laneway. At this point I was just hanging on. She careened over towards the paddock and made a sharp turn right to avoid running through the page wire fence. As we neared the paddock gate and my trailer she slowed to a canter, so I prepared to stop and get off. But Luba had other ideas. She deftly swung left and began to pick up speed running along the short side of the paddock. This old gal had had enough. I picked my spot and rolled off over her front right shoulder, landed on my feet facing her, still holding the reins, and then fell backwards and whacked my head on the ground. My baba would have referred to this manouevre as falling "ass over teakettle". Luba seemed surprised to see me on the ground.

I picked myself up, dusted myself off, picked out Luba's feet and headed to the trails in the back 40. 

We walked around the dryer spots for 45 minutes or so. Saw lots of birds, including this lovely teal blue one, a big heron, one with a yellow body and black wings. The furry sumach branches reminded me of deer antlers. Didn't take too many pictures, as I thought it was best to have both hands on the wheel.

Got back just as Charlotte's volige class was ending.  Luba was none the worse for wear, although she has the beginnings of a small girth rub from Friday's lunge line lesson, when we had to change belly bands to get the right good fit. The gallop took the scab off.

So, in the end, the whole bolting episode didn't end up being as bad as I imagined it might be. Uwe offered some good advice to bear in mind for next time. Only the first few strides are really a "flight" response. So he suggests riding it out instead of trying to stop her. Start by guiding her in a direction of your choosing (like AWAY from the page wire fence :)). Sit deep and bring her from gallop to canter. When she finally slows to a trot, ask her to canter again! But this time, on my cue and at my speed and direction.  This is another example of Sonja's mantra, "Work with what the horse is giving you".

I certainly did not have the presence of mind to consider this strategy today, but I will meditate on it, so that it might be available to me next time.

For tonight, it is red wine, Ibuprophin, ice and early to bed. The good news is that my fear of Luba bolting is no longer irrational, and I am not dead yet!

Na mnohi lita, Lubo!

Today is Luba's 9th birthday. I baked a chocolate cake in a horse shaped pan from Ikea, whipped up some very buttery icing and headed to HOTS at 6am with fixings for mimosas. I could get used to this way of starting the day.

Luba is in flaming heat. Even the cool, gray, drizzly weather couldn't cool her off. We nonetheless managed to have another good lunge line lesson along with Sheila/Bill. We had to get a smaller belly band for the voltige girth, so Luba got some lunging without me.

Apparently, yesterday I had a death grip on the voltige handles, because my biceps and forearms were screaming this morning. The good news is that I had no strength to hold so tight today. In any case, I felt way more comfortable and stable in my seat, despite the slippery purple rain pants. We had our best left canter enjoyment moments when I relaxed enough to close my eyes.

moving so fast you can't see her legs ;)

smooth trotting

calm walking

Majestic Bill and I think that is Mimosa, Luba's half sister, in the background.

We shared cake and mimosas before I headed back to the city.  Luba and Bill had apples and carrots added to their feed. May you live many seasons, my dear Luba.

Left canter enjoyment and flying changes

Luba on April 19, 2012 at Horses of the Sun

Got up early this morning for a riding lesson with Sonja and Luba. Sheila was already there and had Bill all tacked up in voltige gear. I asked Sonja whose saddle to use, mine or hers, and she set us up with voltige gear too.

Sonja and Sheila/Bill in front of the barn.

The voltige surcingle is pretty simple, but I managed to put it on backwards. Heidi, Sonja's daughter, didn't even realize it could go on backwards when I asked her to check how I had tacked Luba up. You learn something new every day!

The correct way to put on a voltige girth is so that the metal dee rings are towards the front :)

Luba was in a mood. She pulled back from the hitching post, and also stamped her feet and pinned her ears before we coaxed her over to the sand ring.

We worked for about an hour, alternating between lunge line sessions and walking while Sheila/Bill had their lunge line session. We started on the left rein, and Luba wasn't sure she was in the mood to work. We had an interesting rodeo-like start (I stayed on!), but she soon settled. She picked up her left lead right away. It took me a while to relax after the rodeo start, but by session two, we were both feeling more in the groove.

Sonja prepares Luba for the canter by saying Now (pause) Now (pause), and for the third time she gives a quick flick of the lunge whip and says NOW!  During the second session, Luba started counter cantering on the left. Sonja said in a deep slow voice, Nooooo and then flicks the whip to get her to do a flying lead change. It was so smooth, I couldn't even tell when she did it.

The thing that struck me the most today was how obvious is the elastic band that is her topline. I could really feel it pushing up under my seat as she rounded driving forward from her hind end. Made me really think about relaxing my seat and trying not to hinder the energy in that elastic band.

It was soooooo much fun, that we plan to do it again tomorrow!

Nancy in her happy place

Legs

Parade of ponies back to the barn,

Luba much calmer at the hitching post after  some left canter enjoyment and flying changes.

Mimosa Monday

Today I headed out early to ride Luba with Sonja, Uwe and Sheila. As we were tacking up, Uwe came out with a tray of orange juice, sparkling wine and four glasses. "Mimosas before riding or after riding?" he asks. "Both!" I say.  Can't think of a better way to start the week.

The trails at Horses of the Sun are remarkably dry for this time of year. There is one long stretch along the back of the paddocks that is great for cantering. Still no spontaneous left lead from Luba, but she and Sonja are working hard on left canter enjoyment. Luba cantered over trot poles and in and out of pylons over the weekend.

This was my first time in the saddle in a week. Felt good.

I am going to keep up the running with Luba this week, since she gets a good daily workout with Sonja.  Rationally, I know all the work on her hind end will pay off in spades on the hills later this season. Irrationally, I feel like I should be riding far and fast.

Patience, Little Grasshopper. Wax on, wax off.

Luba Report: Friday the 13th

Luba has finally settled. She thinks a round bale is a great idea so she nibble anytime she wants to. And she finally ate her morning feed today. She has also been doing the strange tremors Lee noticed when we were having Fun in Finch last month. I have since learned from Kim, that she always does this for a few days while she settles. All good.


Here is Coach Sonja's report from HOTS Boarding School for Horses:


Luba eats again....yay!

So, the lessons went well this morning....Luba learned that yes....even
though the cranes with the roof trusses were very big....and very scary
looking....it was not worth the effort to try to rear up and run away from
them.....actually that happened during the cool off phase and she was kind
of tired so the effort was a bit half hearted and ended as quickly as it
started. Luba worked really well...also did some work on the longe, mainly
left canters....we want to set her up for left canter enjoyment...hence
the longe work:)

But......Everyone lived to see another day:)

War Mares

Took the day off today to move Luba over to Horses of the Sun in Vars.  Smooth sailing.

Bill arrived just after lunch with his travelling companion, Skye. Skye is a lovely Belgian/Quarter Horse mare who is very protective of her Bill.

Sheila riding Skye on the Pontiac Equestrian Association trails in Gatineau Park

I went for my 30 minute run with Luba just after Bill and Skye arrived. When I got back, they were both turned out in the large paddock, so I turned out Luba too. Bad move.

As soon as Skye noticed Luba, she came charging over. Charging. At a full Gallop. Luba deftly spun and flipped Skye a kick that almost connected with her muzzle and sped away. Skye herded Bill back to the other end of the field and then charged at Luba again, with Bill in tow.

Skye was a sight to behold. I could totally imagine her in a jousting match with a knight fully clad in armour on her back. Luba's agility reminded me of a scene from the Antonio Banderas movie, The 13th Warrior. He plays an Arab courtier who accompanies a band of Norsemen to combat the Wendol, a creature that kills and eats men. They all ride stout war mares like Skye. Antonio rides an Arab war horse. They all laugh at him until he jumps over one of their horses on his Arab.

Any movie with Antonio is a good movie, though I think my favourite is Desperado.

I digress. Back to the story. I went in with my lead rope and caught Skye and removed her from the paddock. Bill and Luba promptly settled. When I left, they were eating and splashing in a large grassy puddle at the bottom on the field.

Can't wait to head back tomorrow!

Riding with the Trickster

Got up early to ride Luba the Trickster on Monday morning.  Left the house at 6:10.

The plan: ride to Rideau Valley Road and back average speed 7 mph.

First stop: Tim Hortons. Roll up the rim to win said Play Again.

Cold grey windy day threatening rain. Good day to test drive my homemade rump rug while we warmed up in the ring. Warm up for Rideau Valley out and back by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

Made to the end of the driveway and then full stop. What? Are we really going out this early in this cold dreary weather? Yes, Luba. I hopped off and led her about 20 feet down the road, jumped back on and we were off!

Had to pull a horse spanker off of a nearby tree when we turned up Phelan Road and slowed to a walk, but didn't take much encouraging.  In fact, worked on controlling speed. My coach, Sonja says, work with what the horse is giving you.  Riding down the right side of the road, when Luba would spook and decide to veer left, I gave her the aid to move left. Asked her to ride down the left side of the road a bit and then ask her to move right again.

Good tip from my friend, Dessia last weekend:  make sure you are on the correct diagonal. Think about the side of the road you want to be on as the outside of the ring. If you want to move left, be on the left diagonal. If you want to move right, be on the right diagonal.

Had a lovely ride. By the time I got the saddle off and put Luba in a stall to eat her slurry, she was down to a heart rate of 57. Rideau Valley out and back by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

Clean legs and happy horse today.

Tomorrow begins Luba and Bill's Excellent Adventure. Luba goes to Horses of the Sun for a month of training with Sonja. Bill, a young TB gelding who owns my friend, Sheila, will be her paddock mate.  Got to get to bed for an early start.

the herd at Horses of the Sun, Vars, Ontario

The early bird gets the worm!

Running with the Trickster

When Luba and I were warming up in the grass ring yesterday, a red fox ran out of the woodpile, across the back of the ring and through the other paddock. She ran about two feet in front of the Standardbred mares who did not blink an eye. Obviously a regular visitor.

Every time I see a fox, it reminds me of Fox, the Trickster. In Ukrainian folk tales, he is called Les (Fox) Mykyta. My Baba bought us this book by Ivan Franko when we were kids.

In the days following my gedo's passing last September, I also saw a lot of foxes. So a red fox also reminds me of Gedo, who shared my passion for horses.

My gedo, Metro Kobelka, is on the right.

Luba has been a Trickster lately too. In the morning, Lloyd takes down three extra bales of hay for the evening feed and leaves them by the fence. In the evening, there are only two bales. He thought maybe he was getting forgetful. But the other day, he caught Luba down on her forelegs, sticking her neck under the fence and pulling in a bale. He has Bayco fencing which is flexible with a line of electric part way upand a line of electric at the top. So she is clever enough to do all of this without getting zapped.

Today, when I walked around the side of the barn, I was startled by an indignant whinny. I caught Luba with her front legs and neck through the fence eating the grass on the other side. She quickly pulled herself back into the paddock and stood there looking at me like a little kid with chocolate all around her mouth who says, "No, I wasn't eating any chocolate".

Part of the human conditioning part of my 100 mile plan is to run a bit. We all know it is more motivating when you have a training partner. So today, my running partner was Luba, the Trickster. I ran with her in hand. We went maybe 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I took 7 one-minute breaks. So I am somewhere between week 2 and 3 according to this "run a bit" recipe from a course I took from Rick Hellard of Zone3sports during my lunch hours last spring.

I had a hot bath with epsom salts when I got home.  I fear that I may be stiff tomorrow.... but Pine Tree 100 is only 11 weeks away.

Keep your eye on the prize.

Crew stops at the farm

Very excited to ride this morning in my newly adjusted RP saddle. Thanks again, Denise, for all your help.

After riding together last weekend, my friend, Lee, suggested that I practise an easy canter with Luba. This is a good way to increase speed without extending the trot and the concussion that goes along with extended trot. However, Luba is always very excited to canter and go fast, so we need to relax.  You could also re-read the last sentence, replacing the word "Luba" with the word "Nancy". ;) 

Luba also finds it absurd to leave for another loop when her trailer and hay and feed bucket are right there on those rides that loop back to ride camp. (I do NOT this this is absurd!) So I decided to ride, have a short "hold", ride and have a short "hold". 

I set up a crew spot up by the barn. Slurry, water, hay, a cooler and a mounting block which doubled as a chair for me. I also added one ounce of salt to the 20 quart water bucket, as an experiment to encourage Luba to drink. She drank well from the slightly salty bucket. I will continue this and try to gently increase the salt. For the record, I neglected to have a water bottle and a snack for myself.

This was a suggestion of Dr. Sue Garlinghouse, who gave a talk at the 2012 AERC convention. These notes are from the blog, Boots and Saddles: 

"Horses have a lag of thirst response and an “apparent tolerance” for thirst in the horse (i.e. they are more tolerant of being thirsty than we are). One mechanism that was explained in the seminar is that horse sweat is the same saltiness as the blood.....so while the overall blood volume is less as the horse becomes dehydrated, the saltiness level of the blood doesn't change that fast. This can be compared to humans - whose blood gets saltier as they lose fluid. The little receptors that trigger the thirst response detect the change in this saltiness. Thus the response in the horse is slower and less selective. The adage of “don't wait to drink until you are thirst because then you are dehydrated” is even more true in the horse than in the human."

"Another option is to offer salty water first, before going to communal water trough. Have to start doing this at home (of course!). Here’s how to practice: bring a thirsty horse to the bucket and don't let them drink out of their water trough until they drink out of the salty bucket. Use the same bucket for the salty water each time. Start really dilute and work up. Recommendation for Enduramax was 1 oz per gallon (2 tablespoons) for ending concentration, thus start at 1/4 or 1/2 this level then increase over time."

Our first loop today was a warm up and then easy cantering in the ring (riding in a side pull). Luba is still reluctant to pick up her left lead and I did not insist. Hopefully we can work through this when she goes to Sonja for training next week. I am not ruling out that the problem is between the pommel and the cantle ;

Our second loop was to ride on the front field which is a little hill. Round and round and schooling (serpentines, transitions). This was more exciting, so I put her snaffle back on.

Third loop was steady trotting around the back field, which also has a little hill in one corner.

The GPS tracks are interesting. Definitely had lower heartrates at higher speeds in the ring, where we both feel safe, focused and undistracted. Her recoveries look great. Maybe time to push the envelope - longer faster rides and some interval/hill training.

Easter Sunday tomorrow. Luba was born on an Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003.  This almost makes Easter her birthday! Happy Birthday, Luba xoxoxoxoxox

Serious Moonlight on her birthday April 20, 2003

The importance of down time

Luba and I haven't ridden since the weekend. The weather has turned gray, cold and wet :(

My friend, Chrystal, has suggested that I try some Masterson massage techniques on her help resolve  the reluctant left lead.  I bought the DVD last year (before the new DVD came out).  I had big plans of massaging and releasing her sacrum and hind end tonight. Ended up discussing modifications to my truck and trailer with the welder instead. The old red truck sold over the weekend, so I need to make the new truck ready to attach the camper. Also looking forward to more hooks and a saddle rack in the trailer!

It's all good. Luba enjoyed a good currying, a sloppy supper and tea tree oil pedicure treatment. She is freshly trimmed by Mike's Performance Hooves and her feet look great. Did I mention it was gray, cold and wet outside?

Charlotte thinks this bucket is for splashing water on the horse to cool it down while you feed it hay.

I ordered some Vettec Soleguard from Maréchalerie Bromont today. Hoping it arrives tomorrow so I can experiment with it over the long Easter weekend. Luba travels close behind and she interferes when she wears boots. It looks easy enough to apply Soleguard on the unshod hoof.


The bottom line is that I am enjoying the down time. Did I mention it was gray, cold and wet outside?

Supposed to be warm and sunny on the weekend :)