July 15 2007

Today I took my dad out to see Sinwaan and he really liked him. We rode for about an hour in the arena, putting him through his paces.

Yesterday I brought Kim and Grandma and mom out, Kim was happy to see her old horse and he really loved the attention.

July 10 2007

Tonight Lara picked me up at 5 pm and we went out to get Sinwaan. We trailered to Bob & Sues place, Lara tacked up their horse Rocker and we rode up to Bennington Lake and met Heather on her mustang Quincy and Ruth on her solid Paint Topper. I put on the heart rate monitor tonight and was pleased that before heading out Sinwaan's resting HR was 42. We had a very nice easy ride around the lake. We did a lot of walking with some trotting. Topper is a young horse and hasn't quite learned his speeds yet but he was content to follow the pack, albeit at his own pace (slowly). This was a good opportunity for Sinwaan to work on collecting himself although I could tell he really wanted to move out.

After one lap around the lake we parted ways and Lara and I rode back around the Lake the opposite direction. The idea was, once back on the trail and away from the other horses (there were a lot tonight in the parking area) we would do some cantering. Well we let them out and Sinwaan just flew! So it was more of a gallop. I was concentrating on watching the trail and on the lookout for bunnies, so I forgot to check the moniter but we were on the flat. We had a really nice fun run down that flat stretch. We also tried to do more trotting on this lap, at a faster rate, as the horses were warmed up and the sun was going down. We probably did walk half of it however. Siwnaan's walking HR is low 70s. Lara told me to try and get it to 160 at a canter. Well we ended up revving up to a gallop again and I was so busy watching the monitor that I didn't realize when we went up a small incline and I said Wow 186! Lara said the hill probably helped with that. He came right down within seconds.

We went home a different way tonight and ended up crossing a bridge, it was wooden planks with metal sides arching over an empty concrete canal. Rocker went right on over and Sinwaan had to think about it. He was having a little trouble so Rocker came back over and he followed her over the second time. It was a noisy bridge, very hollow sounding with little squeeks too. Walking home Sinwaan's HR was down to 64-68 so I was glad to see that also.

Back at the house we untacked and hosed the horses down, offered Sinwaan some water and he didn't want any.

Tonight he gave me a little trouble with the trailer trying to load him up to go home. It was starting to get dark out so maybe that had something to do with it, I don't know. I had Lara tap him with the lunge whip and we got him in without too much trouble. It is not one of his strengths though, that is for sure. :-P

We rode 2 1/2 hours tonight and as a (guesstimate) covered 5 1/2 miles.

July 08 2007

Had an awesome ride this evening, Lara picked us up and hauled us out to Bennington Lake again. We did a lot of trotting and had a couple of really good runs. The weather was fantastic and it even got a little cool as the sun was setting. We rode about 2 hrs 10 min and I don't know how far we went. Sinwaan had a pretty good spook twice at a bicycle coming up behind us. I think he didn't hear it and then once he saw it it was a quick run sideways to get away from it. We saw a LOT of deer. One doe was close by the fence and blowing at us pretty hard. We thought she might have had a baby there. All in all it was just fantastic. I didn't get Sinwaan back to the barn until about 9:30 and then I got home about 10 pm. So I am pretty tired. I know I was really sore this morning from all the climbing I did up that hill yesterday on my ride (when I got off and walked) so I was glad for the extra time between rides (vs going this a.m.) Sinwaan's sweat pattern looked pretty good tonight. There are two small areas where the saddle is rubbing but it is minor. I will keep an eye on it and swap out saddle pads more frequently. (Yawn) Time for bed :)

July 7 2007

Today we had a great ride on our own. I aimed to be out early but didn't make it out on the trail until 9:30 am. This is due in part to my driving the Cache Hollow/Kinnear Rd/Lincton Mtn to check the mileage since I want to ride that loop at some point. Turns out it is 10.8 mi so will have to wait and do that ride another day. I also noticed two beehives on Kinnear Rd and judging by the bees swarming the truck as I rode by, I am not crazy about trying that on a horse this time of year.

We rode up Cache Hollow and it took about a mile and half in addition to a good long canter to get Sinwaan of the mindset that we were indeed riding out alone. It was like being in stop and go traffic with him today. At the walk he was very reluctant but once I got him moving out at the trot he went straight away. We took a small break at the mile point and another break at the two mile point. This is normally where we turn around. I let Sinwaan do some grazing and heard a deer crash out of the weeds and onto the road. She was so cute and so close. I took some photos with my disposable camera that I carry with us. After the 2 mi mark I rode about 1/4 mi but then got off and walked Sinwaan at that point as the road was so rough and rocky, not to mention STEEP! We made it to the top after a few brief "breathers" and I let him get another mouthfull of wild grass and I saw a dirt road heading out along the top of the mountain so we took that. There was an old dryer out there in the middle of nowhere with many bullet holes, a target practice object no doubt. It was so beautiful up there, I could see all of the city below.

At this point I decided to head home so I got off again and walked Sinwaan back down to the 2 mi point and we took a short break there again. Mounted up and he was eager to go! We did a lot of trotting back down and even had a really good run for a fair stretch and that was great. He did a lot better today with his spooking, nothing worth mentioning, even going through the scary point with the trash was no trouble today.

When we got back to the road Sinwaan hesitated and we could hear a loud vehicle. Not wanting to be in the middle of the road when it came around the corner we waited. And waited. Sinwaan finally decided it was safe and we went on across the road. As we were crossing I looked over and saw the loud vehicle coming up on us - it was none other than Matt in his camaro. I should have guessed! What perfect timing. He had never seen Sinwaan ever, so this was great. He had brought Levi and the camera so he took some photos of me astride and then I walked him up to the barn and hoisted Levi up and got some photos of his first time on a horse.



Then Matt and Levi sat in the shade of the barn and took more photos as I untacked and hosed Sinwaan down. I gave him some grain and carrots and turned him out in the pasture, of course he had to have his roll.

Ollokot had come over by this time so I tried to take some photos of him, got distracted by this awesome yellow butterfly so took some photos of that, and the goats, and just enjoyed some time out there.



It was a great 3 hour ride today, we went approx 6 mi.

Bennington Lake

Today Lara came and picked me up about ten to seven AM. We went out and loaded Sinwaan up in her trailer and drove him out to Bob and Sue's place near Bennington Lake. They loaned her the use of their paint mare Rocker. We groomed quickly and tacked up and Bob was kind enough to show me how to work my new heart rate monitor that Lara had gotten me. Sinwaan's HR was about 44-46 at rest if I remember right. We rode from their house up to Bennington Lake and then around the lake mostly and then doubled back and took a different trail back around. We rode for a solid 2 hours and had a great time. We did a fair amount of trotting and had a nice canter twice. Rocker, being the mare that she is, preferred to be in front and set the pace which Sinwaan had no problem with. I don't recall how high up his HR went but it was around 120. I forgot to look at it when we were cantering and there was not much hill work today, mostly easy flats and little knolls. I heard his shoes clipping a few times at the trot which concerned me but I will have Matt check them again on the 20th when he is out. They still look ok. When we were done I hosed him off and he eagerly started snatching grass and clover. I was glad to see his appetite up away from home. Rocker at the start of the ride was grabbing at high grass along the trail and he copied her and was snacking anytime we were walking along. I am considering looking into a sidepull bridle now or hackamore, something he could eat with without the bit in the way. We passed very close to a deer on the way home and that was neat. I must say this horse sure builds my confidence, never giving more than I ask and always willing and easy to control. I am so thankful and honored to call him my own. (hugs Kimba!) We had a great ride and it was nice to be able to ride with Lara again. :) She always pushes me to try new things and I need that! We trailered him back to the farm and I gave him some grain and put on his flyspray and flymask and turned him out to graze.
Then we brought in Ollokot and trimmed his bridlepath with clippers and that didn't phase him at all. Lara did some roundpen work with him and he gave her a little attitude but she got him listening pretty well and ended on a good note. We flysprayed him as well and put him back out and I was home by noon.

Topography and Maps

I have done some research today and found some topographical sites and here is where I guess the Sept. endurance ride might be. Looks like maybe 50' elevation changes so should be a nice flat ride.

First big ride

The first day of July and also the first day for a long mountain ride. Dale and Kittee had planned to ride up to Tollgate Chalet and invited me along. I was so excited. I met them at 9 am and after an hour we were all ready to ride out. Kittee told me she was packing a revolver today since when they took the truck and trailer up to the Chalet Dale had seen a cougar with a tail as big around as a baseball. So they wanted to be prepared. The 'trail' was actually Lincton Mtn Road which is 11.7 miles from their house to the Chalet. Most of that is uphill, from a 10% to 30% grade, I would guess. Some flats and some downhill but probably 2/3 of it is climbing.

The first excitement of the day came for me when we saw in a distance some other people on horseback. As we got closer we realized there was a number of them herding calves. They had gone on a roundup to find some lost ones.

We were able to do a fair amount of trotting and even some cantering today but Sinwaan was quick to declare a break when he needed one and off again we went.

Many times there would be four wheelers and dirt bikes coming the other direction and they were all so very courteous and slowed down to pass. There was cars and trucks and a van that passed us at times also and they too were kind and would either stop and wait for us to go by, or would crawl by at a safe speed.

Once I looked down and saw a snake in the road and I was frightened until I realized it was dead. Thus began my snake count. I counted FIVE dead snakes in the road today. They were all about a foot long and looked like babies...maybe bull snakes?

Sinwaan also did THREE full body shakes with me astride in the course of the ride. AAAAGGGGHHHH. :)

We came across another two cowboys herding cattle with their dogs but they didn't seem very bright. A calf had gotten away from the herd and it seemed like the cowboy wanted to get it back but instead was blocking its way and the dogs didn't seem trained at all either.



Riding onward and upward there was a lovely cool breeze and just awesome views, from some points we could see all of Milton-Freewater in the distance down below. The elevation changes in this ride are approx 3,100'. Starting out at about 1300 and reaching a high point of 4400 , it was quite the climb.

Later we came across a herd of sheep grazing off the road and noticed there was no fence. Then we saw another two cowboys and one came riding over to us. "Are you here to relieve us?" he asked. No...sorry!

We were thankful that our ride was quite uneventful in that none of the horses had a bad spook. A few times there were some horse-eating rocks that Sinwaan would stare at and go clear to the other side of the road but otherwise no trouble. I had put on sunblock before heading out but apparently it was old as I still got a little burnt on my shoulders.

We finally reached the Tollgate Chalet at 2 pm. 12.5 miles of riding (uphill!) in four hours. Not too bad. By about mile 10 my saddle was starting to feel pretty hard. When we reached the trailer we dismounted and offered the horses hay and water. Nugget (one of the palomino QH) dug right into his meal and happily chomped away. Derby had a little water and a little hay but not much. Sinwaan sniffed at everything and had a few bites of hay but then started acting restless, and buckling his knees like was going to lay down (and roll, I imagine) right there in the parking lot! So I started moving him around and then used a lot of the horse water on his back to help with the dirt and grime that was surely making him itch. He was soooo tired. We loaded the QH into the trailer and I tied Sinwaan outside the trailer so I could keep an eye on him while we went into the Chalet for lunch.

We all went through two glasses of water right away, even though I had carried 2 bottles with me on the ride and went through those already. The Chalet is a kind of a hamburger sit down place and they didn't have any sort of vegetarian option for a burger so I just got a grilled cheese sandwich and fries. It was really good, the fries especially, and as anyone will tell you I don't normally eat fried food. Sinwaan was good, I was watching him through the window the whole time and he stood with his foot cocked most of the time. A couple of guys walked by and one guy went over and patted him and kissed him on the nose. I thought that was kind of weird. I love horses too but I don't usually go around kissing other people's horses. Then a senior couple went out and took photos of them before they left in their car. We figured out later they must have been taking pictures of Nugget and Derby with their heads out of the trailer on the other side.

When I was done eating I went out right away to tend to Sinwaan as he looked like he was getting restless. I offered him some carrots, which he ate (half-heartedly) and a few more mouthfuls of hay. Then we loaded all three horses in the trailer and drove them back down the mountain home.

As soon as Sinwaan was unloaded he started hungrily snatching mouthfulls of grass. While I was glad to see his appetite back to normal it does concern me that he doesn't take better care of himself away from home. That could be a problem at a ride. I used a wand on him and hosed him down and then turned him out. Of course the first thing he does is roll and get all dirty again.

I will be out again to ride on Wednesday as it is a holiday and I don't have to work. Lara and I are going to trailer him out to Bennington Lake. I am looking forward to that. The last time I rode out there was the moonlight ride with Dee. It will also be nice to ride Sinwaan on a trail on the FLAT for a change and see how that changes things. All these hills are great conditioning but the Lakeview Ride we are planning to do doesn't have many elevation changes and I want to see what he can do as far as mph on the flat/dirt vs hills/gravel.

After today's ride I have now reached 25 hours of riding in the AHA incentive rider program!