Stupid Is As Stupid Does

We're in day 3 of Training for 2010 and we already ran into the main limiting factor: Daun's brain.

But let me back up. After the disappointing ride Friday, Brego came back strong Saturday morning. We returned to the fairgrounds, in the rain, and he did much better. He's always better after some work, so I was expecting less stiffness and resistance, but he was actually better overall. So maybe he just wasn't in the mood Friday, or the heat really was affecting him.

Since we did canter work both Friday and Saturday, I decided our Sunday ride would be a long, slow ride along some trails I've been meaning to explore. The trail in question is the trail that leads to the state park 3 miles way. But between me and the state park is a swamp. For those of you who have never visited New Hampshire, it may come as quite a shock to learn that it's a giant swamp. Wet, wet, wet everywhere. This particular swamp is large, broad, deep, and exactly in my way.

So the goal was to ride out from the house, hand walk down the 1/4 mile of real road to get to the power lines, then head north towards the swamp along the easement trails under the lines. Then, the hope was to find a path around the swamp. From Google Earth, there is clearly a trail to the swamp and clearly a trail away from the swamp towards the park, but unless you had a boat, I was unable to connect the dots.

Since we would be doing a walking ride among the rocky power lines, I opted to boot Brego. The power line trails here rival any of the gnarly, rocky, steep, treacherous trails we frequented in Texas and since it's been raining for a week, Brego's feet would be soft. Best to boot him.

The ride was pretty uneventful going out. Brego was perfect along the road, very excited and forward to go somewhere new along the trail. He crossed very large puddles in the trail where the water came up to his knees without hesitation. After an hour, we arrived at the swamp and lo, there WAS a path, tucked away in the woods. We followed the trail as far as I felt comfortable since I did not know who owned the land, even with no "keep out" signs, it pays to be courteous. I could tell from the lay of the land that the trail would skirt the swamp, so there was my gateway to the State Park. Happy with our exploration we turned for him.

And that's when all my awesome brain power became completely useless. On a particularly steep downhill area, there was water actively running down the center of the trail. Brego opted to step onto the bank of the trail and he lost traction and slipped. Because of the large boulders dotting the wet trail, he was unable to catch himself fast enough and off I fell. He did manage to stay upright, and luckily stumbled off to my right as I braced for impact and hit the rocks. Road rash on hips, ribs, hands. Pleasant.

Brego stood calmly while I got up and checked him out. He did not appear to have hit a rock himself, no bumps or cuts, but I immediately removed his boots and attached them to his pommel. I am not sure if the boots were the problem, but they are clunky since they don't properly fit and he normally does very well over this kind of terrain. I hobbled on to his back and we proceeded. Luckily, I've taught Brego how to pack so the bulky boots banging against his shoulders as he navigated the trail did not seem to bother him. He felt even and fine on the way home and we finished the ride without incident.

Now for the Stupidity Analysis:
Although I did not ride alone, neither one of us carried a phone.
We did not carry a first aid kit or even a roll of vet wrap.
We failed to recognize that a ride out of the house can still be challenging and dangerous.
We started the ride at 4:30 pm, way too close to dusk if we were delayed by an accident.
Boots are a double-edged sword with Brego, I should have let him wear them on an easier ride first.

Thankfully, my horse was not hurt in the painful learning of this lesson. I have pommel bags for my English saddle, I will use them. And I will put a phone in them. And some vet wrap, for crying out loud. I will start my exploring rides early in the day and let my neighbors know where we are going. I will not assume any ride out my back door is an easy stroll. I will continue to train Brego to accept packs every chance I get. I will continue to mount from the off side, which was required on this particular trail after my fall. I will continue to train him to stand when I make my sudden dismounts. A horse running loose towards home down that road could have been a complete disaster.

He's a good guy, that Brego. He saved my ass today and had the good graces not to judge me for it.

The Soloist

I went on a long solo ride today after work. I've mentioned before that I rarely ride solo so it was nice to go out on a challenging ride where I could just focus on Brego and myself.

We did the four mile loop to the next town and back and stopped along the way to sprint around two laps of the gallop track. Then a brisk trot home through a neighborhood. I have discovered that evening on a nice day is the perfect time for a horde of small children to be running around the neighborhood, screaming, riding bikes, dribbling basketballs. Luckily, Brego understands noisy children and we safely trotted through and made it home.

The old mare apparently trotted around the pasture in our absence and called but otherwise was sane, thank goodness. Brego did not seem to miss her much on the ride, although he did call to one horse we passed in a field. Otherwise he was alert, but responsive, perhaps a bit less bold than when we ride out with a buddy.

Over the four miles, we got about 30 minutes of trotting in two long 15 minute stretches. We got to go fast at the gallop track and then trotted up the ginormous hill to the house. Brego was barely sweaty and not winded, but he felt tired by the time we got home, so I think he got a good muscle workout from all the hills.

All in all, very good training for our solo cross country trips, and a wonderful way to end the day.

Just

Ok, I admit it, I am sore as hell from my conditioning ride yesterday. Brego seems totally fine. His tendons feel nice and tight, no heat, a little sore over his loin. But I am in pain. My thighs hurt to the touch and my lower back is chanting death threats.

I, officially, am pathetic.

So to stretch both of us out, I took Brego on the trails behind my house bareback, just walking, enjoying the sun, looking for the moose sighted recently. We paused at the brook for Brego to drink and I took this picture with my phone.



Just beautiful. And I got to share it from the back of an incredible horse. Just... happy.

Riding Out

We hit the trails today, rode to the next town, and then took the power lines home. Total loop was just 4 miles, but we found some very nice sandy trails that are definitely "go fast" worthy. I think I have found my galloping conditioning track.

Even with 40 mph north wind gusts (read: freezing, running nose and ears), Brego was perfect. Everyone had every kite, wind chime, flag, etc on display in their front yards as we rode by and Brego took it all in stride. Only one mile of the ride was on a sleepy back road (we saw zero cars), so I hope to make the loop part of our regular routine.

And when the wind ever stops, I am going back to "go fast". I did find a gear or two above normal on part of the packed gravel road, but it really was too hard for gallop work, just right for trotting.

When we got home, the neighbor brought his grandkids over and Brego ponied them about, a saint as always with the kids. I swear, Brego likes kids more than me sometimes.

There is no rain in the forecast so it will be a week of riding in the neighbor's outdoor, trying to put things together before the show on the 26th. I hope to have another lesson sometime this week.

Despite Brego's dominance issues, today highlighted just how great of a horse he is. I rode out, wherever my heart desired, through forest, over brooks, down lanes, down rocky power line trails reminiscent of the merciless trails of Bandera, TX, and made it home in time to pack some kids around. We went fast, we went slow, we stopped and chatted. He's a good "using" horse, alright.

Two Great Rides

As Funder astutely pointed out, there's no snow in those pictures. Spring arrived, gradually and then suddenly.

As a result, I had two great rides in the Great Outdoors. We've been doing ok in the arena, getting soft, solid work, nothing spectacular. But the Great Outdoors poses challenges of its own, like wind, things that move suddenly, wide open spaces and maybe some fond memories of fox hunting or galloping over hill and dale.

Regardless of the cause, when Brego goes out, he is ON. Sometimes naughty, but always ON. I rode him out in his French link bit and he minded. We even got some lovely rocking horse canters across the fair grounds. Brego was happy to be out and threw in some exuberant bucks, but nothing malicious and when I locked my hips and opened my chest, he came back to me.

The thing is, Brego is a great paradox. I am both in love with and afraid of the horse. When he reads my mind, saves my butt, is fun and game and happy, he is the best horse in the world. Period. But when he's had enough, when he is scared or bored or just done, he gets aggressive and dominant and very much not fun.

The last three weeks as Spring approached, he got worse and worse. Aggressive, kicking out in the field, he even bit my stomach once while I was bridling him. Very unlike him, he was unsettled or unhappy. And that makes me unhappy, because you know, this is as good as it gets. This life of his. At least with me. Sure, I bet he'd be happier on 20 acres of rolling pastures and five fun geldings to play with nonstop (as would I, believe me!), but he's on a muddy side of a hill with a geriatric and quite witchy mare. I was worried that he was unhappy in his life, and when Brego is unhappy, he's dangerous. I was starting to dread riding him out, that he would kill me in the first five minutes.

But something's changed. His eye has softened. Even yesterday with 30 mph gusts of wind and a storm rolling in, I forced myself into the saddle to ride. But before I swung up, I looked him in the eye and he told me, clear as day, that he was ok. He was soft. So up I went and off we went and even though the sky was threatening and a million things were blowing across our path, he was ok.

When we got to the fair grounds and he saw the huge field open in front of him and I braced for the take off, he waited. He went my speed. He trotted when asked, cantered when asked, and most importantly, checked with the slightest shift of my weight.

Today was even better. Again, Brego looked soft. He looked like he wanted to have an adventure. We hit the back trails which have been closed for a few months and they were wet but not boggy. Even the old mare was happy to be out on the trail. We headed over to the next town, found a really nice packed gravel road, smooth with no rocks sticking up, and tested a few gears. Brego was amazing, powerful, fast, but there, with me all the time. We finished the ride, two hours total, at a ground covering trot. He never even broke a sweat.

I think part of me is just not used to a horse that wants to go. Brego has a taste for it now and his preferred gait is a canter. That just blows my mind. Stacey talks about Klein that way, but she's young and obviously talented and fit. Brego has always been, well... slow. There's just so much power there when he wants to unleash it, it scares me. I need to treat him more like my Thoroughbred mare, expect him to want to open up and release some steam. Stop nagging and checking. Having a horse that wants to go forward is a GOOD THING. I just need to keep up.

It will likely rain the rest of the week, but this weekend was perfect tonic for both of us. We went out, we even had fun, and we cleaned the cobwebs that endless hours in an indoor will do to you. Brego will see the chiro on Tuesday and then get the rest of the week off to soak up the goodness. Hopefully, rain willing, we will have our first dressage lesson with my awesome neighbor next weekend and then, bam, show time. April 26th.

More Eye Candy

Here are a few more pictures from our ride today. Nothing special, about 60 minutes, walking through 2' of snow. I rode Brego out on his loose ring snaffle and he was perfect. He really is a "save my butt" kind of trail horse. I trust him.

View of the glacial boulder. Standing about 20' away.

Better view. The top is at mid height in this picture.

The water trough is the little black hole in the sea of snow. The spring is still running though and no external heater required. Yet.

Let It Snow...

Winter has finally arrived. Forget the ice, bring on the snow. You can ride in snow, and today we did. We got a foot of snow overnight with another foot on the way tomorrow. The snow was perfect, big dry flakes, gorgeous powder, so we had to go for a ride. Brego's bare feet did perfect. No balling or slipping, but the snow was pretty dry so we will have to see how he does through the winter.

Good morning, Brego. What do you think of your new, white world?

So far so good on the water trough. The spring is still running.

Early in the ride. We're both still clean.

After a good hike, covered in snow.

Absolute beauty.

Canter!

Gratuitous gorgeous horse shot!

The key to taking a native Texan and putting them into a New Hampshire winter is clothing. I am wearing a water-proof, medium weight bib-style overall. Then I have a cotton shirt, a fleece and then a water-proof mountaineering jacked from North Face. I am wearing my Mountain Horse winter riding boots, insulated deerskin gloves and a Carhartt hoody. I was snug as a bug the entire ride. Never got cold or wet. In fact, when I was mucking this morning, I had to shed my cap and coat because I was sweating too much. This is my "medium weight" outfit. I have the heavy duty stuff still to break out, in addition to a quarter sheet for Brego, when it gets really cold. High today was about 16 F.

We didn't ride too far because it was tough going for Brego and he tired in the snow, but it was great to get out and enjoy the tremendous beauty of this place. I am happy to finally have snow, because many of the wet trails will now be passable again. Plus, if we can go for long, slow rides, Brego will get fit without too much impact on his joints. Good for brain and for body.

Three Rides

I was able to get three rides in this week. The first, on Tuesday, I already blogged about and how Brego was very well behaved considering his feral-ness. Thursday was an even better ride in the indoor. He was more relaxed and flexible and we got some good bends at the trot, which is a minor miracle. He did so well that I got to focus on my riding which is, um, feral. We're both so tragically out of shape and coordination. It's amazing how a little over a month will set you back. I am not looking forward to Spring if we don't stay at some consistent level of work through the winter.

Saturday, we hit the trails. We intended to do a 10 mile loop to the next town and back, but the weather turned cold and we were stopped several times by neighbors and cute kids so we did more chatting than riding. It's ok. We went a reasonable distance, walked up some intense hills that I would not walk down (they were so steep) and did a big 1/2 mile trot loop through some snowmobile trails. Brego did well but terribly out of shape.

Brego felt amped up, but I am beginning to suspect that it is more likely that I ride him in the butterfly hunt bit when we ride out which is quite severe and maybe, just perhaps, I might have a bit of a death grip, so he might be light in front to get away from the bit. So next ride out, I am going to be very brave, and ride in our loose ring snaffle. It's not like Brego runs when he misbehaves, he just performs airs above the ground in place, so a more severe bit may not be an asset.

Chickens and Brego. Brego's blanket is "Ruby", not PINK!

Today, Sunday, it is snowing and the SO and I are headed to Boston to take in the big city sights. So the plan is to do more in hand work in the dark on Monday and then back to the indoor on Tuesday. Got.to.stay.fit.

P.S. I finally unpacked the elliptical and I am back on the "get fit" wagon.

So far so good on the water... no external heater required. Yet.

Satisfying Ride

The weather abated a bit so it was only 30F and 15 mph winds when we set out to ride to the power lines.  It took about an hour to get Brego forward into the bit and not jigging and behind the bit. On the way to the power lines, I took him to the fairgrounds were the ground was well drained and not frozen and we did some speed work.  He actually did quite well, never offering to buck or misbehave.  Without the hounds or the other horses, I had more of his attention.

We made for the power lines and it looks like there will be plenty of riding there.  The terrain is rocky and steep, reminiscent of Central Texas.  This is really good news because it will provide an area where I can keep Brego's feet conditioned to rocks.

A big, fat horse gets a chase body clip.

The picture of innocence

So it was a good ride, with some good speed work, where I had his attention.  He was so good, I didn't get a chance to work on my maniacal laugh.  :)

After the ride, we had dinner guests and one of the women wanted to ride, so I put her on Brego bareback to play around in the backyard.  It's amazing how that horse can go from demonic to teddy bear.  He was a perfect gentleman.  Horses need good work to be happy and feel self confident.

Signs To Go

A front blew in yesterday which changed the weather from 65 and 100% humidity to 40 and 30 mph gust. Needless to say, the underworked horses were wired.

Brego scares me a bit when he is in that mood, not because I think he's trying to kill me, but because he is very big and pretty uncoordinated and it wouldn't take much of a misstep or crow hop to seriously injure me. I'm tired of falling and head injuries.

But the horse is not going to get better penned up in his 1 acre paddock, so we saddled up. The hope was to go for a long ride, but the ground was just too wet. I didn't want to brave going far from home, on unknown trails, with it so wet and the wind howling through the trees and little leaf tornadoes. I mean, the weather was insane. Perfect crazy horse weather.

I decided to just do trot sets up and down my neighbors gravel road to take the edge off and assess Brego's brain. He did pretty well, but he just wanted to go go go. So I asked for a canter and he crowhopped and then cantered in place. Well, my friends, it appears that hock is feeling better. It was too wet to put him through his paces, so we ended up just walking the trails. He was much better by the end of the ride, just needed to get out and stretch his legs and exercise his brain.

The current plan is to get him into the indoor twice this week, and if it goes well, and doesn't rain, then I will take him hilltopping next weekend. He needs a job and I think his leg is ready for some extended trail riding. His personality and mood have done nothing but improve since I have eased him back into work. The weather was pretty intense and he didn't willfully act naughty, just too playful.

Oh and my old barn owner contacted me and let me know that there were no horses with hind shoes in Brego's pasture when he got kicked. It is quite scary that a bare hoof cut him like that, but I am very thankful the damage was not worse.