Rabbit Run 2016 (#ralph)

Just like that, it's ride season again. I spent all winter pining for the open trails, and now that my first ride is over, I feel like I didn't miss a beat. I'm not even sure where to begin this story because the whole weekend is a blur.

I think it all started with a joking comment I made when Skip tried to buy Brooklyn. I had laughed and said, "And then I can catch ride Brooklyn in an endurance ride some day!" Angela turned around and told me that it was a very real possibility. As you all know, Skip went home and had a PPE done, which is how we found out that my little OTTB had a slab fracture in his right knee. Needless to say, an endurance home didn't work out for him. Those of you who know me well know that I believe in (most) things happening for a reason. The conversation soon turned serious, and I found out that I really could catch ride for Skip if I was interested (obviously I am!)

My handsome partner for the weekend.

Angela messaged me over the winter to ask if she would see me at Rabbit Run. I informed her that I didn't have any plans lined up for the ride season. In fact, I hadn't even renewed my membership. Since Rabbit Run is a little over an hour from our house, I offered to come crew for Angela if she came up.

"I don't want to see you crewing. I want to see you riding!" she retorted.

The next day, Skip formally offered me a ride on his seasoned endurance horse, Moniet. Moniet has 3700+ miles under his belt, including OD 100. Of course, I jumped on that opportunity, mailing my entry the next day.

The ride was over Easter weekend, and ran back to back with the ECTRA Bunny Hop. As a result, Rabbit Run was held on Friday. Normally, arriving in ride camp on a Thursday would have been a hassle, but the stars aligned in our favor. The clinic is closed this week, so I just closed it for an additional day. Mike's work schedule didn't officially start back up until today so he didn't have to take a day off. My family Easter plans were on Sunday morning, so we would be back before the festivities.

Rabbit Run Preview

Had an amazing start to the endurance ride season. I rode 50 miles on Skip's horse Moniet. The horse was incredible and a perfect gentleman. In fact, I rode him in just a rope halter for the last 30 miles.  I was spoiled by the horse and the people who came with him. Best of all, Angela and I finally got to ride together and it was the most fun I've had on a ride in a long time. Sadly, my curse continues, and Moniet kicked himself in the last couple miles of the ride. He did damage to his left front, right through his boots. Since we were vetting in deep sand, he was just lame enough to get pulled at the finish. It was such a good time that I'm honestly not even upset about it at this point, though it was disappointing because we'd finished in the top ten and I missed out on a really awesome prize. We were having so much fun that we stayed through the CTR the next day. Lots of updates and photos to follow, but I am super excited for the 2016 season.

Tookie Ride

Not much to report on the Tookie front. Just another photo dump. Mike went back to work today so I'll be on my own for media during the week.

The last time I worked with Tookie, he was a little ornery. It was the first time he's displayed any "bad" behavior, and I think he was just in a bad mood. He came up eagerly to be brushed and saddled, but after that, he wanted to opt out. I put him in the round pen and lunged him anyway. He started off pretty distracted and blew me off a few times before I got his mind back in the game. He didn't do anything rotten, and he's only been worked with a dozen times or so. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Eventually, though, he settled down and I put him in the side reins for some more productive work. He performed beautifully.

I wasn't sure I was going to ride Tookie that day, but by the time we were done round penning, he was more compliant, so I hopped on board. He still wasn't really in the mood, but we found a good note to end on. I kept the ride short to make it a positive experience, and that's all I can ask for right now.  The good news is that he's really getting the hang of this trotting thing.

By the next day, Tookie's mood had passed and he was back to mugging me for attention. The nice thing about him living here is that I can go out and make nice in between training sessions. Nothing like a handful of cookies and some quality grooming time to butter up the big guy.

Bird Feeder

Fun addition outside our window. These photos are from a few weeks ago. We did get a dusting of snow last night, but it has melted already. Thank goodness.

Riding Ozzy

I have been waiting a very long time to be able to make this update.

When Ozzy was diagnosed with EPM in 2014, I was devastated. To me, the disease meant the end of Ozzy's riding career. I treated him with Marquis and turned him out to pasture, my heart broken.

I have heard the stories of horses who come back from EPM to be ridden and even jumped again. I quietly nodded while people gave me anecdotes of horses who made come backs. It was their well-intentioned attempt at making me feel better, but it wasn't a risk I was willing to take. I had seen what EPM could do to a horse, and it was just about the worst diagnosis I could imagine for my bright-eyed, free-spirited adventure horse.

Ozzy was never a graceful horse to begin with, and his coordination was laughable at best. He was prone to tripping and fumbling even before he was diagnosed with neurological issues. Adding EPM into the mix made him just plain unstable. I watched him sometimes struggling to stop from the canter. I watched him occasionally wobbling as he came up for his dinner. I watched him fail to roll completely over much of the time. My biggest fear was that he would deteriorate. I promised that I would put him down before I ever let him get to the point that he was falling in the field or struggling to rise.

But treatment seemed to work. His symptoms stopped progressing. For much of a year, everything was status quo. Still, riding was off the table.

I had too much to lose. I couldn't afford to get hurt. Breaking my leg in 2013 was a wake up call, and an eye-opening experience. Even if the physical pain didn't scare me, I couldn't take that kind of financial hit again. Not now. Not when I have so many horses to ride and people to help. Not when I'm catch riding at every endurance ride I can get my entry in to. Not when Mike and I are building this life together. It would be irresponsible.

So I curled up on the kitchen floor in a drunken stupor and bawled my eyes out. Then I brushed myself off, moved my horse home, and watched his muscle waste away.

Ozzy has been content here. He and JR have become the best of friends. I watch them slapping each other with the feed pans on cool mornings. They swat flies off each other in the heat of summer. They are virtually inseparable in the pasture. For the first time in a long time, Ozzy has a horse friend. He is fatter than he has ever been, and that makes me happy. He comes over, ears pricked, eyes eager, every time I go out to the pasture. If I call him from across the farm, his head shoots up and he whinnies to me. I have spent countless hours grooming him, scratching him, brushing his mane and tail. He shows off his tricks to all our guests, and he has befriended many treat-bearing neigbors and their kids. Retirement has been good to Ozzy.

Still, something was missing. I rode many horses in the nineteen months that Ozzy was retired. I owned two very nice thoroughbreds. I bonded with Booger. I logged many memorable endurance miles on horses I am honored to ride. At the end of the day, though, none of them were Ozzy. None of them could hold a candle to my heart horse. At the end of the day, week, month, I felt a dull ache where my saddle time with Ozzy used to be. Even though I spend quality time with him daily, I missed my horse so much it hurt.

This winter, I talked to Dr. Bob, and he told me about Worthy, his American Show Horse. Worthy had been diagnosed with EPM shortly after Ozzy. Like Ozzy, his symptoms were career ending. He was falling on trail. He was falling just getting tacked up! And now? Now, Worthy was back to doing LD's. He was getting ready to do his first 50 following his diagnosis. Now, Worthy doesn't have any other underlying issues. He doesn't have a history of birth complications and lameness and tendon injuries and  arthritis. His conformation is better than Ozzy's. He has never had Lyme. There was never a moment when Bob was telling me about Worthy that I thought, "Well, if Worthy can go back to doing endurance, so can Oz!" I am not delusional.

But I did spend a lot of time picking Doc's brain. He is a top notch veterinarian and his opinion is gold to me. I adore the man, and while I didn't blog about it, he saved Julio's tail last year when I thought we were surely going to have to amputate it. When Bob offered to hear Ozzy's story and give me his two cents, I pounced on the opportunity. As it turns out, my approach to Ozzy's EPM was exactly what Bob would have prescribed. And here's where he told me something that would change my perspective. It was something I knew already, but something I hadn't really spent any time thinking about.

It takes a year for the damaged nerves to start to regenerate.

One year. That's about where we were at that point.

And so I started to look at Ozzy, to really look at him. And he wasn't looking bad. In fact, he was looking better every day. He would see me coming and gallop up for his dinner, leaving JR in his dust. He'd stop, spin, buck on a dime. His trot looked better than it ever has. He was playful. He was sound. He was still goofy and wiggly, but he was balanced! He even started to physically look better.

I started to toy with the idea of evaluating Ozzy in the spring. My plan is to have a titer done when I get spring shots at the end of the month, just to have a comparison to our baseline from 2014, to have some numbers to back up what I'm doing here.

My ultimate goal became being able to walk and trot the trails behind our house some day. I have no timeline. I have no grand plans. I just want to be able to enjoy time with my favorite horse.

The final straw was when Kim and her barn owner came to the house to pick up a jump order. Kim commented that Ozzy looked much better than the last time she'd seen him. Her barn owner seemed startled. When I told her about Ozzy, she replied, "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him..."

Yesterday was the big day. The ground was dry. Mike and I had no plans. Nobody else was around. Tookie and Oreo were down at the far end of the farm, where I could easily contain them. When I went down to the field, Ozzy greeted me eagerly. He seemed mildly surprised when put the rope halter on him and led him to the barn.

I threw Ozzy on cross ties for the first time in a year and a half. I groomed him as best I could given that it's mud season. He gave a surprised huff when I tossed the saddle pad on his back, but stood quietly, moving only his ears as I saddled and girthed him.

I led Ozzy out to the round pen and let him loose. The other horses were carrying on. The last time I had my guys out of their pasture and immediate surrounding area was a year ago, almost to the day.

Off Ozzy went, in just a saddle and rope halter. I watched him walk, trot, and canter. He was full of piss and vinegar and he looked good.

I called Ozzy in to the center and bridled him. It was tricky through all his hair. If we keep this up, I'll give him his bridle path back, but I don't want to jump the gun. I put Ozzy in the side reins, set nice and loose. They didn't do much, but he did seem to remember what the bit was all about.

He does have good hair.

We spent about ten minutes just lunging. Ozzy is definitely unfit, and he has never enjoyed round penning, but he seemed happy just to be doing something again. It wasn't beautiful, but it was work. For the first time in a long time.

Eventually, I decided to just take the plunge. I tested to make sure Ozzy still remembered his 'parking brake'. He was supple, buttery soft.

I lined Ozzy up with the mounting block, leaned across his back, and asked, "Do you remember what it's like to be a riding horse?"

Then, I took a deep breath, and threw a leg over. Up until that point, Ozzy had been a little antsy, distracted. It wasn't a surprise. I don't expect to pull a horse from the pasture for the first time in over a year and have him be a perfect citizen. But, the second my butt hit the saddle, a change came over Ozzy. He was all business, and even though the first few steps we took were unbalanced and ugly, I remembered that I trust this horse like no other.

My face was hurting from smiling already. Even if we didn't take another step, I felt complete.

Together at last.

I only rode Ozzy for about ten minutes, and we kept it strictly to the walk. Still, it was enough. This one ride gave me more joy than any ride I've had since the last time I sat on Ozzy. I have never been so excited to walk in a circle before.

Best of all, Ozzy seemed to remember everything. I could feel that he wasn't 100% there physically, but his mind was completely in the game. He moved right off my leg. He was all business. Around and around we went, and he seemed genuinely pleased.

At the end of our ride, I went through all our turns. Turn on the forehand, check. Turn on the haunches, check. Side pass, check. Rein back, check. I'd swear the horse has been practicing for this moment.

Of course, we posed for some photos before I got down. At this point, Ozzy totally melted my heart. I leaned over his neck for a picture, and he craned his head around, actually reaching up towards me. I kissed his forehead and his lipped at my leg like he does when he grooms me back. I was pretty teary eyed at that point.

We called it quits there and I stripped Ozzy's tack right there in the round pen. I think this was his favorite part. He found a dry spot with good, rich dirt and down he went. He had the most satisfying roll I've seen in a long time, and he even rolled all the way over! He finished it off with a good full-body shake.

I walked Ozzy back down to his pasture on a loose lead, and he was still peppy, though slightly sweaty from just that little bit of work. I turned him loose and he drank deeply before going back to his regularly scheduled life.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have my horse back!

Saturday Snaps: Pups

The dogs that came in this past week. Most of them are already adopted. The little girl with the toy in her mouth found a home the second we posted her photo. The black boy with the white on his chest was super energetic and adorable and went quickly. The scruffy terrier looking boy with the Yoda ears still needs a home. We were told that the scruffy girl was his mom, but she's pregnant so it's more likely she's a half sister. Looks like we'll have newborn puppies soon! And the fluffy girl on the right was spoken for before I even photographed her! So many lives saved, and I'm sure there will be more coming soon.

Tookie Updates

I got two more rides in on Tookie before it started to rain again and everything got re-drenched.

This time, I did use a saddle. We started off lunging with the side reins on. As usual, he was willing and obedient.

In fact, as he got the hang of it, he was downright fancy.

I took the side reins off after a few minutes. I don't want to over do it. Instead, we tried something new. I put a ground pole down in the pen and lunged Tookie over it. He walked and trotted over it without a second glance. At the canter, he gave it a cute little hop.

After a few rounds, I put up a tiny vertical and lunged him over that too. He went over very willingly, but I don't have any photos. Don't worry, it wasn't amazing like Booger's first jumping attempt, so you're not missing anything.

With no further ado, I went ahead and got on Tookie. Mike kindly built me a mounting block the day after I hopped on Tookie bareback. I don't know what I'd do without the man.

My ride with Tookie went well. We mostly worked on staying on the outside edge of the pen and maintaining a walk. Then we picked up the trot. This was only the second time I'd trotted Tookie under saddle, and the last time was in the fall. Thankfully, Tookie was forward and eager to please. In fact, he's much better to ride at the trot than the walk. I think he wants to be a distance horse. Haha. After a few successful laps, I hopped down. Again, I'm taking it nice and slow with him so he continues to enjoy the work and not get overwhelmed.

When I got down, Tookie was clearly bursting with energy, and I sent him around the pen a few more times so Mike could get some pictures of him in motion. That energy spilled over and we ended up with a pretty frisky horse! I am very thankful he doesn't do this stuff under saddle.

Nope, definitely couldn't sit a buck like that!

The cool thing is that he was completely listening to me the entire time he was bombing around the pen, and when I called him back to the center, he came right over, neck arched, prancing. Between the half-Arabian thing and the stallion thing, the horse really does have a gorgeous neck.

Best of all, at the end of our session, Tookie was still eagerly awaiting my next move. He was totally pleasant and perfectly happy to be playing with the human. I love the clear curiosity in his face.

"Ok, now what?"

But Tookie's not the only one who is curious about the goings on in the round pen. Oreo is pretty clearly jealous of the attention Tookie is getting lately. He follows us around while I get Tookie ready, and watches every session from the sidelines. He also pesters Mike to pay attention to him. Don't worry, Oreo gets plenty of love, treats, and grooming while we're out there. I'm hoping to play around with him too once the weather gets nice. Oreo is broke, broke, broke and I can't believe I haven't sat on him in the seven or so years I've known him!

The next day, we were back at it again. I had given Tookie a bath the day before, but the results obviously didn't last, what with it being mud season here in NJ. Still, I decided to spend some time on the grooming and the tacking up. I even put polo wraps on Tookie for the first time. I was admittedly disappointed when he didn't take a single funny goose step once I had them on. I was really expecting some kind of reaction, but nope, nothing. I even asked my landlord if he'd wrapped Tookie's legs before, and he claims he never has. Well then.

I may be biased, but I think Tookie looked stunning that day as we did our lunging warm up.

And in case you're wondering, this latest set of polos was made to match my skull and crossbones saddle pad. I am totally in love with them because I am a child. The girls at the barn were calling them my rock and roll wraps, and said they looked like something that belongs in the Guns 'n' Roses collection.

I cut right to the chase that day and was on Tookie before long. Our steering lesson from the day before seemed to really stick and he gave me the best walk warm up we've had so far, not that we've had a lot of rides. From there, we picked up the trot again. I'd say he's really getting the hang of it! Not so secretly, I'm dying to canter the horse, but I'm making myself be patient. 

It didn't take long to find a nice trot that was consistent and rhythmic, and we called it a day there. I am hoping to ride him again today, assuming that the ground here is dry enough. I am thrilled with the quick progress that Tookie is making, and it's really fun to be working with a blank slate again. They are my favorites. I am bummed I didn't get to start Tookie years ago as a youngster. At the same time, his age means he's mature both physically and mentally, and we can do things I wouldn't do with a two or three year old! 

Introducing: Alice

As you've probably gathered, warm weather means my business is picking up and I have stuff to blog about again. For the most part, I have the same steady group of clients. I pick up the occasional new horse or rider, but it's pretty much word of mouth at this point, and I like it that way. Less crazies to weed through.

My newest client horse is a mare named Alice.

I don't know how many of you remember Marcus. He's my percheron/paint buddy. I still ride him pretty regularly when the weather is nice. I rarely blog about him because our rides are low key and uneventful. His owner has me keep him in working shape for her, and we trail ride alone in the woods with nobody to take pictures of us. I love him, and he pretty much never puts a foot wrong. There is no better way to start my day than by galloping a draft horse through the Pine Barrens.

Marcus's owner has been casually searching for a second trail horse for quite some time now. Last summer, she rescued a Percheron gelding named Tom from the kill pen. He was a total sweetheart and it was love at first sight for me. I adore draft horses, the bigger the better. Tom had never been ridden, but after a long life as a plow horse, he was about as steady as they come. I rode him the very first time that I met him. Unfortunately, Tom had string halt and wasn't going to hold up to any kind of work. Thankfully, my client found him a loving pasture home and he wound up safe and sound after all.

My ride on Tom. 

Sadly, my client's old warmblood gelding, Cosmo, passed away on Christmas. He was in his thirties and was her heart horse. I was pretty heartbroken for her. Marcus was also taking the loss of his pal pretty hard, and Cosmo's death spurred the search for a second horse. Some time later, she sent me an ad for a Clydesdale cross, a mare named Alice.  This was the same place she got Marcus, and the resemblance was striking, despite the fact that the horses aren't even remotely related.

My response was, "She has blue eyes and is a mare. Ick!" (My client had asked me to talk her down from the ledge. I swear I'm not a jerk!)

The next email I got was, "I bought the yucky blue-eyed mare- yes I should be smacked." When could I come work with her?

On Wednesday, I went down to meet my new draft ride. Alice really does look a lot like Marcus, though I personally think he's put together better than she is. The evaluation went well. I started off on the ground, as always. Alice has obviously been handled quite a bit. She has good ground manners and likes attention and company. She stood like a lady to get groomed and tacked. She knew how to yield to pressure. She did ok on the lunge line. I don't think she's spent a lot of time going in circles. She stayed on a rough circle around me and moved forward pretty willingly. She did throw some pretty impressive bucks at the canter, but I think it was just a lack of fitness and coordination more than anything else.

As with pretty much every draft horse I try, it wasn't long before I was on her back.

Alice stood like a total saint at the mounting block. Whoa is definitely her preferred gait, which is totally fine by me. She walked off with just a cluck and a slight squeeze, and definitely knew the word 'trot'. She had a surprisingly light trot for a horse her size, and she was very comfortable to sit. I don't think she has much experience with steering or dressage concepts, but she was game to try what I asked. We even got a clumsy canter to the right, thankfully without any bucking.

Over all, my impression was that she was green, but very quiet and level-headed. She certainly didn't seem spooked by much of anything. She does have a bit of a stubborn streak and it took some encouragement to keep her going once her quarter was up, but she didn't do anything dirty, even when I picked up a stick.

With some patience and miles, I think she's going to be a great horse. I went back to view her sale videos later and did some research. The girl who had her seems like a nice enough kid, but I get the feeling she pulls these horses from auction and lists them for a lot more than they're worth. They get to be pretty quiet in her hands, but don't get much in terms of formal training. It sounds like Alice started life as a plow horse, probably for the Amish. She is pretty well broke to drive, and is happy to just trot along in a straight line all day. Her riding experience is mostly walking down the trail at a sluggish pace, with the occasional short canter just to show that she can pick one up.

I am scheduled to go back out to work with Alice again this week, and I am looking forward to adding her to my 'draft horse Fridays'. I don't think it will be long before I have her going on trail with her owner, and I think the two horses will make quite the matched pair out there!

Dogs at Round Valley

Mike and I took advantage of the nice weather yesterday and took the dogs up to Round Valley. We had heard that the water levels are lower than they've been in a long time, and we were curious to see just how low. I was thrilled when we hiked through the back side of the park and found that the place was completely deserted. There wasn't another soul in sight. The water was in fact very low, and we had a great time letting the dogs run on the extended beach. They even went for a swim. Once they were good and tired, we hiked the Jeep trail until they were somewhat dry before heading home, where the two of them slept soundly for the rest of the day.

Herbie was excited to go for a ride.

Making my dogs pose on a table.

More space than usual.

So serene.

My little family :)

Selfies with my boys.

Reluctantly posing for photos.