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 :)