Alone and unafraid

Last July, Luba and I rode the Vermont Moonlight 50. This is truly a special ride, as the endurance ride is held in conjunction with a 100 mile ultramarathon. The only thing crazier than riding a horse for 100 miles is running a 100 miles on your own two feet!

The ultramarathoners are allowed to have a pacer at mile 70. You know, a friend who is willing to run a marathon plus 4 miles to help you get through the last 30 miles of your run. We kept meeting up on trail with a particular runner who had no pacer. He always had a wave and a smile as we rode past. The morning after the ride, I saw him walking up the hill towards his campsite, carrying all his ultramarathon running and crewing gear. I saluted him, and told him how amazing he was to have run the whole thing alone. He smiled and replied, "Yes, I am alone and unafraid."

During the Stormont Ride last weekend, I had occasion to recall Mr. Alone and Unafraid....

Just getting to the ride felt like an ultramarathon. My daughter started school last week and promptly caught a cold. This developed into an asthma attack and we spent Friday morning at the hospital. Thankfully, it was not serious and we left the ER after only a few hours.

I headed out to the farm in the evening to check on Luba and do some final packing. To my horror, poor old low-on-the-totem-pole Luba was sporting a nasty bite just behind her withers on the left side of her back. There was a small wound (a tooth scrape) about the size of a toonie with edema all around it. When I touched it, she dropped her back. I got a package of chopped spinach from Lloyd's freezer and put it on the would for 10 minutes every hour for 4 hours. I sprayed on some Dermagel, rubbed arnica around the scrape, tucked Luba into a stall for the night and went home hoping for the best.

The next morning, my trusty crew, Kara, and I breathed a sigh of relief to see that the swelling had gone down and Luba was less sore. We kept up the cold therapy and the arnica and left for ridecamp hoping for the best, with a cooler full of ice packs.

I really wanted Luba to work hard enough to sweat as a way of preventing tie up, but I didn't want to put a saddle on the sore back just yet. Luckily, Kara is about the most athletic person I know. She took Luba for a run in hand for about an hour in the afternoon. Bless your soul, Kara!  We iced Luba's back one more time and then headed over for the FEI inspection and vetting.

Photo: Pat Kuffner

Luba got a B for wounds, but all As otherwise and was cleared to start the ride by Dr. Don Hamilton.  We celebrated with a round of cosmopolitans, ripple chips and dip! Dr. Heather Hoynes suggested keeping the scrape well covered with vaseline for the ride.

Wayne, another member of Team Luba, arrived just after 7am Sunday morning, as Luba and I were warming up.  We started out at the back of the pack of 7 horses with our soul sisters, Lysane and Mae.

Photo: Pat Kuffner

We kept a steady 7 mph pace for the first 18 mile orange loop.  Luba had a nice lemondade pee about 2 miles from base camp, so I knew we had made it through the danger zone for early tie up. She celebrated by stepping on my left big toe at the water trough ;)

Mae, however, was looking a little off in the hind end.  Lysane tried to massage the cramp out, but alas, they were pulled at VC1.

Luba vetted through with a CRI of 52/44 within 3 minutes of arrival. The scrape on her back was unchanged and not bothering her. Having two focused crew members was amazing. I stuck my bruised toe in a bucket of water and sat eating and drinking for most of the 40 minute hold. Bliss!

Our out time rolled around all too quickly, and we headed out of camp on the 14 mile yellow loop at a trot and then a canter, with our friends waving and cheering!  Alone and Unafraid.....

Photo: Pat Kuffner

....until Luba realized I wanted her to go down the road away from camp. She veered left and then refused to continue on down the road. Since we were riding FEI, I was not allowed to carry a crop. Luba can be very stubborn, so I hopped off and she happily trotted along beside me as I ran. I ended up running about 2 miles until we turned onto a wooded abandoned railway line. I mounted back up and we made some good time until we got close to County Road 9 when she got worried and stopped again.

I led her a bit more in hand, and after the water stop at Homestead Organics, I got on again. We made good time most of the way to the away crew spot - although Luba kept losing steam on the gravel roads.  Kara and Wayne were a sight for sore eyes at the away crew spot at Doug Lowe's Garage.  This continued for the rest of the 14 mile yellow loop. Good speed in the bush, but me on foot on the gravel roads.

By the time we finished this loop, I was not having much fun. Luba vetted through with a CRI of 48/48 within two minutes. She was not tired. She only had gut sounds in one quadrant, so Dr. Sinclair asked for a recheck. She ate like crazy, got her guts moving and had a CRI of 36/36 for the recheck. How can you not go back on trail with a horse that is fit to continue (physiologically anyway) and has a CRI of 36/36? We had been the turtles all day for the 75, but the 50s were now on trail. So I figured that someone would catch up with us sooner or later and Luba would find a new friend to run with (instead of me!!)

We left camp on foot for another trip around the 18 mile orange loop. It was mainly bush and hayfields, so it wasn't long before I was back in the saddle :)  Kara and Wayne crewed us again at Doug's with some extra sponging help from Melody.  We took a good break, refueled and Luba hit the road with renewed energy. This was all good while we were heading towards Roadapple Ranch (RAR), which we use as home base for training rides. But when we turned down the road to go away from RAR, the wind went out of her sails.

As usual, she perked up on the bush trails, but as we got close to the trailhead parking lot and water stop at County Road 9, she slowed again to a walk. At this point, I noticed that my left eyelid felt weird. I was having an allergic reaction, and both my eyes were swelling up. But for now, I could still see :)

Sherry, the road crossing spotter, assured me that the front runners for the 50 were not far behind me, and their next loop was also the 13 mile white loop. She said, "Don't give up on yourself, yet, Nancy".

Before long, Stephanie, Monica and Krista came across the road. Their horses gave Luba the lift she needed and we cantered a mile or so with them, before settling down to our own race pace. We ran into Jacques, the ride manager on the Dump Road, and asked him to please find out what drug I would be allowed to take for my allergy.

We arrived back in camp much later than we had planned to a very worried crew, but met parameter in under 2 minutes. Luba's CRI was 52/56, so Dr. Sinclair said that she might be more physically tired than I was giving her credit for, though obviously not exhausted.  Maybe I just needed to ride her more aggressively, he suggested?

I have never ridden Luba aggressively, so this was a new concept for us. I thought about it during the long 50 minute hold while Luba devoured everything in sight.

Photo: Kara Stelfox

Colette researched the drug protocol and determined that I could take Reactin for my allergy. I was back at the camper, taking out my contact lenses and changing into fresh clothes when Maura came by. She said, the daily dose for Reactin is one tablet, but Colette says given the way you look, you should take two. Bless them both! I used my neti pot, popped the two allergy tablets and headed back to the crewing area.

We were going out on trail again, Alone. Now was time to become Unafraid.

The first trip around the 13 mile white loop was the Guyatri Mantra loop. I again walked Luba out of camp, and mounted up on the road. I started chanting at the top of my lungs and low and behold, she started trotting. DOWN A GRAVEL ROAD! Hallalujia!!




We stopped to graze in Oscar's hayfield when Wendy and Firefly came cantering up the side of the field. Finally, a friend to ride with!  We met up with Stephanie and Rammit near Neville's woods. Steph was feeling pukey, so we gave her some Tums and brought her along to Doug's where we had a quick crew stop with Kara and Wayne. A few more riders were not far behind, so we knew Steph would be okay when she decided to slow down and walk. Firefly and Luba flew through the last half of the loop, hunting glow sticks as dusk fell upon the forest.

With the faster pace, Luba took almost 7 minutes to meet parameter with a CRI of 52/56. Everything was looking good. Just one more loop to go! Even if we had to ride Alone, we were now Unafraid :)

Kim and Farley, who had been well ahead of us all day, were still in camp, as was Dessia, who was riding a slow 50 on her young mare, Kiera. They hit the trail maybe 5 minutes before our out time. So even though Luba and I left at a walk (with me foot) for the final trip around the white loop, I knew we had a chance of catching them as soon as we got going.

Luba was happy and forward in the cool dark night with a full moon rising. We caught up with Kim and Dessia after about 3 miles.  I knew we would make it home safely, as these ladies were the ones who marked the trail :)   Kara and Wayne crewed all of us one last time at Doug's and were home free!

We cantered over the finish line - Turtles in the FEI** and Open Endurance Canada/OCTRA ride and Reserve Champions AHA Region 18 Championship event. The next morning, we were also awarded Best Condition for the AHA ride.  

Photo: Kara Stelfox

To finish really is to win! 

Unicorn Poop Cookies

Last week on Monday, after riding 25 miles at Sharbot Lake the day before, Luba's blood chemistry was completely normal! Her CK was only slightly elevated at 364. Nothing out of the ordinary considering the exercise and trailering of the weekend. Whoo hoo!!

I was so excited, I immediately updated my FB status with this news. My friend, Deb, commented, "Congrats! She looked great at the ride. Try to enjoy and relax".

This really resonated with me. Try to enjoy and relax.

I have been suffering from post-tie up eggshell syndrome all summer.  Before the ride, I admitted to some friends that I really had no idea how Luba was going to fare on the 25 mile hilly and technical course. Chrystal said to me, "Embrace your worry and stress for Luba. It is good and it will help keep Luba healthy!"

So I embraced my worry all the way through the Sharbot Lake ride. I embraced my worry as I waited to find out if the blood test would indicate that she felt as good on the inside as she felt on the outside.

Now it is time to enjoy and relax!

I sent in my entry for the 75 mile ride at Stormont on September 2.  My plan is to have fun!  I know those trails well and it is only a 45 minute drive from Luba's barn. I even have crew x 2! Yes, two enthusiastic people to crew for me!

Rob Brezny's horoscope for this week says I need more magic in my life. But not fluff. Gritty magic. Sounds like an endurance ride to me!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

You need more magic in your life, Pisces. You're suffering from a lack of sublimely irrational adventures and eccentrically miraculous epiphanies and inexplicably delightful interventions. At the same time, I think it's important that the magic you attract into your life is not pure fluff. It needs some grit. It's got to have a kick that keeps you honest. That's why I suggest that you consider getting the process started by baking some unicorn poop cookies. They're sparkly, enchanting, rainbow-colored sweets, but with an edge. Ingredients include sparkle gel, disco dust, star sprinkles -- and a distinctly roguish attitude. Recipe is here: tinyurl.com/UnicornPoopCookies.

I plan to make Unicorn Poop Cookies for the impending Excellent Irrational Adventures of Team Luba!

You just have to control yourself

Charlotte is at horse camp this week at Horses of the Sun in Vars. She missed the day Monday, as we were travelling home from Sharbot Lake.

On Tuesday, Sonja invited me to stay the day. I haven't been to horse camp since I was in Grade 7 and spent a week riding at the Legion Athletic Camp, so I jumped at the offer.

I joined the kids for their morning trail ride. Some kids had never been on a horse before. One girl in particular seemed quite worried, and sat hunched on the saddle hanging on for dear life. Sonja said to her, "Look at me. You don't have to control the horse. You just have to control yourself. The horse will look after you."

This made me think of a recent blog by Christoph Schork about the psychology of riding success. He says, "It never ceases to amaze me how sensitive and intuitive horses are and how they instantaneously are reading the mood and mind of the riders and adjusting their attitude and performance accordingly." 

Control yourself.

I get very excited about travelling to competitions. Luba gets very excited about travelling to competitions. She is a horse that tends to fret when her routine changes, like with travel. Many experienced endurance riders believe that competition and travelling stress causes ulcers to some degree in all horses. Did your horse trailer here? Then the horse probably has an ulcer. The mild spasmodic colic that Luba had when we got home from a few days in the Ganaraska might have been related to the stress of travel, worry about the cows in the paddock next door, the trailer ride home. Her being in heat could have been the icing on the cake.

My friend, Carol, says she does not feed any concentrates or grain at all before, during or after trailering. Just hay and grass. I stuck to this formula for the trip to Sharbot Lake. No grain for Luba the morning we travelled. She did get her regular feed ration with supper the night before the event around 8pm. No grain the morning of the ride. Just beet pulp, vitamins, electrolytes and carrots.  The first loop was 10 miles, so I made sure she had about 6 ounces of Perform and Win in her before we started, giving one or two ounces per hour before the start. I let her eat whatever she wanted at the vet check (hay, grass, beet pulp, grain, carrots, apples).  I have never seen Luba eat and drink so well at a ride.  Granted, it was a perfect riding day (low 20s C, sunny, breezy, low humidity). I fed her grain with supper on Sunday, but only beet pulp and vitamins Monday morning before travelling home.

Like at Ganaraska, I gave Luba 50 cc of Herbs for Horses Ulcer Therapy Plus twice a day, beginning the morning that we travelled to the ride. Another friend, Wendy, says that it can even be given at vet checks to help keep the tummy happy. I have decided to put Luba on UTP daily for a few months to see if it helps her cope with the stress of travel and competition.

Luba had the day off on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I did some bodywork. She had some great releases in the usual spots on her neck and was glad to have her glutes rubbed. She also gave me some nice stretches with her front legs, reaching forward with her neck to the floor by her feet.  Then we went for a 45 minute walk in the fields, grazing as we went along.  Lots of Monarch butterflies.

Can you spot the Monarch?

Yesterday, we did a light ride for about an hour. 10 minute warm up and 10 minute cool down, the rest trotting and cantering around the back field. She felt happy, forward and loose. Had a big drink and a nice roll.

Ahhhh. Life is good.

Camp Completion - so Cosmopolitan

Luba and I successfully completed 25 miles of roads and trails at the Seoul's Corners Set Speed ride near Sharbot Lake yesterday. Beautiful pee all day. Whoo hoo!

Charlotte decorated Luba with red grease pen before the race and added to her handiwork when it was all over. She wanted Luba's braids to match my hair. I think that having red in the hair and mane meant no red in the pee. Who knew it was that easy to prevent a tie up?

We had the pleasure of sponsoring or should I say being sponsored by Solstice, a junior OCTRA member.  The technical trail had plenty of knee knockers, noggin knockers, eye pokers and even a tooth flosser! Twice, I pushed off of a tree to keep from getting my knee knocked only to discover that it was a rotten dead one and I pushed it right over! I thought Solstice was going to fall off her horse she giggled so hard.

Then we had some great canters that inspired me to do some war whoops. Solstice said I should be careful because if anyone heard me, they would think I was crazy ;)

We were having so much fun and going so fast in the last 6 miles that we missed a turn off and ended up at the finish line after only doing 2 miles of trail. So we went back to where the 6 mile loop started in base camp for a "do-over".  I am a big believer in do-overs.

Both horses finished happy and healthy. Luba's metabolics were great and she had all As all day long. After the first 10 miles of trail, her CRI was 12/10 and her heart rate was 40 within 15 minutes of completing the 27 miles. Her final heart rate taken 30 minutes after completion was 38. We rode conservatively, 6 mph for the first 10 miles and 5.6 mph for the last 17 miles.

Our friends Kim and Mike also completed their ride, so we dubbed our little corner of the hayfield "Camp Completion" and celebrated with blood red cosmopolitans.  We slept over an extra night.

Camp Completion - East view

Camp Completion - West view with a hug for Joe

Fresh squeezed limes make all the difference.

Small victories

Made it home safely late last night. Dreamed of riding.

My friend, Kara, exercised Luba while I was away.  Says Kara, "She's definitely energized and needed no encouragement to canter down the side of the field :)". They enjoyed evening riding in the back fields with the full moon rising and the crickets singing.

Photo credit: K. Stelfox

It rained last night and they were calling for rain all day today, getting heavier in the afternoon.

I was up early and on the road to the farm :)

Luba and I headed down the road to the neighbour's fields. We both walked the mile over and I mounted up as we headed up the long driveway.  It was lightly raining, so we worked on a steady 7-8 mph trot with a few walking and eating breaks thrown in for good measure.

She felt good and I practised riding straight. In a lesson a few weeks ago, Sonja talked about how we need to keep our bodies and our energy aligned with the horse. So even if the horse is not going where you would like them to go, you have to stay with the horse. Ride straight, and then shift the direction.

When she would shy away from a rock or a pile of manure or a bush, I would just sit and ask her to slow down and then ride straight. Worked like a charm.

We worked this way for about an hour and then walked the mile home. It started to rain in earnest, so I stayed in the saddle to keep it from getting too wet.

One more ride tomorrow morning and then we are off to visit the Quebec side of the family for a week. Home just in time to go to Sharbot Lake to ride a 25 mile event.  How things go at that ride will give me some indication how ready Luba and I are to take on a 75 mile ride on the September long weekend. And besides, it will be FUN.

Interesting thing about riding since the Great Pine Tree Tie Up.  Finishing every conditioning or training ride with a happy and healthy horse feels like a victory.

Right here. Right now. Just the way things are.

Ask and they oblige

Decided to stick close to home this weekend.
Hand walked Luba for 30 minutes Saturday morning and trimmed her feet.
Hung around to watch her for a while.
Had a 3 month old Standardbred filly breathe on me and tickle me with her whiskers.
All in all a lovely morning at the farm.
No signs of colic or Potomac :)

Today, my friend Donna trailered over with her gelding, Skye, to join me on my typical roads and fields ride.  Luba was wound for sound. Took forever for her to line up at the mounting block and stand quietly. When she finally did, she couldn't hold back a small stomp with her back foot. As if to say, "Let's go already!"

Headed down the road to ride in the neighbour's fields. A couple miles of walking to warm up, about 5 miles @ 6.5 mph average, and then another couple of miles walking to cool down. Luba felt good and was very happy to move out - trot, extended trot and canter with a few sideways spooks thrown in for good measure.

Donna has a lovely 2 horse straight load gooseneck trailer with a ramp. She was kind enough to let me practise loading Luba.  I lead Luba on without too much fuss, Donna encouraging from behind and putting up the butt bar. Luba ate a few mouthfuls of feed while on the trailer, but that was it. I was hoping she would just tuck into her sloppy breakfast. Oh well. A couple of mouthfuls is a start.

So just waited a few minutes and then unloaded. Luba was a bit surprised, trying to find her footing on the ramp - looking for a step - and came off a bit fast. So Donna suggested we try again. This time I just stood at the back of the trailer and pointed her on and she went! Wowzers! She did that once last week at the Ganny, when Tracey was already in the trailer with her mare. This is the first time she has loaded for me like that into an empty trailer :) :) :)

So just to prove it was not a big fluke, we did it again! By this time, she had the ramp figured out and came off quite nicely.

Trailer loading with Luba always reminds me of my teacher Sonja, who says, you can't "make" a horse do anything. You ask and they oblige. Usually.

At least it is not a tie up!

Woke at 6 am, said bye to Rob and Olivia and went out to feed Luba. She ate all her breakfast and had a nice lemonade pee :) She nearly ran Chrystal over to get on the trailer and we hit the road at 8am.

Uneventful trip with good travelling weather - between 19 and 24 C as the morning wore on. Got home at noon. Unloaded and Luba started eating everything in sight and drinking.  Noticed that she did not poop on the trailer during the 4 hour trip. Hmmm.

Decided to stay and wait for poo. Eating, drinking, peeing. No pooing. At 1:30, I decided to go for a light ride to loosen her up after the drive.  Walked around the back fields, stopping to eat grass here and there.  Got back to the barn at 2:30, put her in the stall, and suddenly she hunched her back. ADR - ain't doing right. My first thought was tie up, but her hind muscles were fine. She was tucked up and didn't want me stroking her belly. Gave her some banamine (good for either scenario) and called the vet.

Dr. Ben arrived at 3:30 and diagnosed spasmodic colic (characterized by overactive gut sounds rather than the absence of gut sounds). Rectal exam revealed big follicle on her left ovary. Pulled out nice hydrated poo.  Gave her some kind of drug to "reset" her system (must ask what it was). Also gave her antibiotic because several local cases of Potomac Fever have been presenting initially as spasmodic colic and early treatment is important. We are supposed to watch for diarrhea or going off her feed accompanied by fever.  I do not usually vaccinate for Potomac, but sure will once Luba is back to her old self.  Will also start to track her heat cycles more closely to see if there is any correlation between cycling and ADR.

Went back out tonight to check her. She ate a flake of hay and was feeling good. She was quiet but seemed comfortable. Pulse a tad high (38), but nothing to keep me from sleeping tonight! Seemed to know I was worried, so pooped as soon as she came over to see me. Nice hydrated poop. EDPP. Eating, Drinking, Pooing, Peeing.

And Dr. Ben confirmed that this was not a tie up :)