Woohoo! We did it! Riyah and I did a 20 mile training ride today in glorious sunny weather. Maybe the horses thought it was hot, but I was so happy to be in the sun! MJ came down to ride with me, bringing her young mare, SueLynn. Our two girls got along great.

We rode the same trails I did on Tuesday, only we started a mile from Sharon's and rode the ten miles to the creek in Goshen Canyon (which Riyah had no problem with, of course!) then after a 15 min break to let them graze, we headed back, taking the lower hills trail back to the trailers. Neither horse drank at the creek. I think the bugs (gnats) were bothering Riyah, but on the way back over the hills she drank at almost every puddle in the road. Pass up clean flowing creek water for old muddy puddle water?? Huh? Maybe she learned a lesson.

We rode slowly--trotting the uphills and walking the downs mostly. We averaged 6 mile per hour moving speed, but we stopped a lot on the way back to let them graze or drink from the puddles, so overall we averaged about 5 mph. The ride took 4 hours.

All my tack worked well; it was the longest ride in this Aussie saddle for me--I was quite comfortable, and it kept me tight through a couple of big spooks! Both horses had jumpy moments, but we survived them all. Riyah had a couple of head-tossing-opinion-pushing-moments as well, but she ended up seeing things my way and settled back down to business.

I did finally have a boot pop off---she spooked right out of it, and I don't even know what she was spooking at! She just suddenly jumped sideways and did a quick twist to stop and stare at who knows what, and I looked down to see that she had lost a boot. Of course it was still around her pastern, so I just jumped off and put it back on. No other problem in the whole 20 miles, including creek crossing, mud, and multiple steep hills. The boots shouldn't fit, but I'm thinking it's not about size, but maybe hoof shape and the horse's way of going. The picture shows the gap in the toe is pretty big. The gaiters are finally shot though--time to replace them for sure. (Keno has used these boots for a year before Riyah stole them from him!)

The other pics show the horses back at the trailer eating and resting before we loaded up to head home. Riyah was tired and very hungry!

I am really proud of this girl! She is doing so well for her level of training and after so short a time under saddle. At home I brushed her down, cold hosed her legs for ten minutes, and gave her beet pulp, grain, and all the hay she wants. She earned it. Color Country is in one week. We are going to do it!

WOW!! What a fantastically fun ride! Riyah and I rode our ten mile (mostly solo) ride from Goshen Canyon all the way back to Sharon's house--exactly 10.0 miles. I drove to Sharon's house, picked her up, and then drove up the Goshen Canyon road. I parked and Sharon watched us get across the creek and onto the trail. (It did take 10-15 minutes to get Riyah to approach the creek bank. The crossing is about 20 feet wide, smooth sand bottom, slow water about a foot deep. Very inviting. Riyah didn't think so! Lots of backing up, trying to turn around, etc. but eventually with lots of encouragement she got to the very edge, let out a huge sigh, and walked across like she's done it every single day of her life. Go figure!)

Once we were across, Sharon drove my outfit back to her place, loaded a horse into her trailer and drove out across the cattle guard a mile and a half away. She mounted up and headed north to meet me as I headed south.

As soon as we were across the creek, Riyah was all business. It was a good thing, too, because we were suddenly facing a huge, rocky, steep hill that was really a mountain! She pushed her way strongly right to the top. We found ourselves on a dirt road heading south as we meandered through the open hills. The view was wonderful. Riyah was trotting steadily at 8+ mph according to the GPS (new batteries!) When I asked her to walk, I did it with a loose rein. She came to a walk easily each time. Her walk averaged about 4 mph. We walked a ways, then trotted a ways. Four miles into the ride, I noticed hoof prints. Suddenly, as I crested the next hill, I recognized where we were and realized they were Riyah's prints from Saturday's ride! It's easy to track booted horses!

A couple of miles more and I started looking for Sharon and Mikey. Riyah did a big double take when she saw them! Woohoo! Another horse! We rode together for a short while then split apart. We joined up a 1/4 mile later. Lots of trails winding in and out of the cedar trees! We did this a couple of time to let Riyah understand that she was OK leaving the other horse. She handled it fairly well-- whinnying a couple of times and getting a little antsy/jiggy but nothing too bad.

When we arrived at Sharon's trailer, I let Riyah stand and relax for a few minutes before we left them to load up while we headed on down the road alone. Riyah absolutely power-walked that last 1 1/2 miles! She averaged 4.4 mph as we walked the whole way to Sharon's house. Coming up the long 1/4 mile driveway toward the house, barn, and horses, she remained at a fast walk on a loose rein! Wow! I was so proud of her! I love this girl!

By the way, the boots that shouldn't fit were perfect--even with the creek, the trotting and lots of mud!

Well, as you can see the weather was still not great--cold again and quite windy. I decided to take Keno to the indoor arena and work a little fat off of him. (He has wintered quite well! ;)), We did lots of trot and canter work, transitions, stretching, etc. Riyah got the day off except for worming, some grooming, and hoof maintenance. Below are her two front feet. The left (top) is a slightly more upright hoof; I am working on lowering the heel. Both are very wide, round, and hard. She has very well developed heels and frogs. Her right hoof is not really put on straight and is a challenging hoof to trim. Improvement is noticeable, but I'm afraid only so much can be done on that one; she is what she is. The fact that she has gotten lots of movement by living in fields for six years, as well as never having been shod, has allowed her hooves to expand and grow nice and big.

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice weather; Riyah and I are going solo again. Sharon is planning to drop us off in Goshen Canyon and we will ride back to her place: approximately 10 miles. (I will have new batteries in the GPS!) I would be absolutely ecstatic if I got to ride those miles in the sunshine! T-shirts, sweat, the smell of sunscreen and fly spray! I need warmer weather!!

The Boots that Shouldn't Fit

Riyah has always been barefoot. I have ridden her on all kinds of terrain, and she has never complained or taken an ouchy step. Of course, it's been winter, with wet, snowy, or muddy ground for most of those rides. Also they've been short, easy rides. With "real" rides just around the corner I've been wondering which of the EasyBoots would be best for her.

I am an EasyBoot fan. I started trimming and booting Keno about seven years ago with the original Old Macs, then moved him to the old Mac G2's for eventing and show jumping. They worked great--easy to put on, great traction (even when jumping on grass), stayed on in water, mud, etc. When I got Gypsy she had been barefoot for several years. I shaped her somewhat neglected feet up, and voila! She was The Horse With Perfect Feet. She just had naturally well shaped, hard feet. As we got into endurance riding, I realized I should probably protect her feet if she is going to be asked to carry me 50 miles in a day. (She did 3 25-milers with totally bare hooves and was great.)

We first tried a pair of Renegades. They were easy to put on, but I had problems with the velcro staying closed. Over time I found the tread didn't hold up to the long rocky training miles we were putting on them. I then bought a pair of EasyBoot Epics, and used them with great success. The EasyBoot Glove came next--as soon as they were on the market, and I have never looked back. They are easy to put on with just the right amount of wiggling; they stay on; they wear well, and they pop right off. So, obviously the Glove was my choice for Riyah.

So after a fresh touch-up trim for my girl, I got out my clear plastic metric ruler and measured all four of her hooves. I wrote down the measurements and headed inside to consult the size chart on the EasyCare website, planning to order her boots right away.

Yikes! No way! I looked again. I trotted back out to the barn and remeasured each hoof! I carefully consulted the chart again. With unbelief I realized she wasn't going to fit into Gloves. Her hooves, front hooves especially, are much wider than they are long! Like a full centimeter wider! I called the EasyCare help desk, got Shari on the line and explained the problem. "Hmmm. I don't really think we could recommend EasyBoots for your mare," she said regretfully. "But you have to have something to fit her!" I pleaded. "What will I do?" She recommended I get a set of the new "wide Gloves" that will come out in the summer. I couldn't wait that long.

I went out to the trailer and got out a bunch of boots. Keno's rear boots were a size 1, and I had once tried them on Riyah for five minutes to watch her walk around with something on her feet. (It's pretty funny, watching a horse walk around like a cat with scotch tape on their feet!) I put them on her again. They went on way too easily; in my experience the right boot fit takes just the right amount of effort to put it on. The width wasn't too bad (it's a well-broken in set of boots) but the length was obviously off. There was a little gaping and extra room in the heels. The gaiters seemed too big, but I snugged them up as well as I could. I had her walk around in them. Taking them off again, I decided to put several wraps of sticky athletic tape around the lower third of her hooves. When the tape was in place on the first hoof, I immediately replaced the boot and secured the gaiter. Second hoof, same thing.

I decided to go for a ride. This was the day I rode out with Sharon on the Roller Coaster hills. Bushwacking through rocky sagebrush covered hills, scrambling through gullies, and even climbing and descending the rocky Roller Coasters the boots stayed on. I was shocked; I hadn't really expected them to work. They should have come off; they are not the right size! Back at the trailer I checked for rubs. Nothing. Her heel bulbs and pasterns looked great.

So for yesterday's ride I did the same thing. Three wraps of athletic tape on damp, but clean hooves. Boots that went on way too easily over that tape. A tougher 2-hour test with lots of trotting, hill climbing, and even a little mud this time. They stayed perfectly in place! I really was amazed. No rubs or movement at all. Hmmm. May the EasyCare size chart is negotiable? I don't know, but I guess I'll keep using the boots that shouldn't fit until the "wides" come out in the summer!

OK, the weather still isn't great, but after spending all morning on housework, I decided I needed a good ride this afternoon. Friends were either occupied or staying holed up out of the gusting wind chill, so I determined that Riyah and I would go alone to the Roller Coaster hills.

Now before anyone has a chance to say I'm crazy for taking a green horse out alone, let me briefly explain that I do take a few precautions! My husband as well as my friend Sharon, who lives close to the R.C. hills and is very familiar with the trails, were advised of where I would ride and how long I would be out. I also carry "SPOT"--a personal satellite tracker that allows my husband to follow my location online. (It is attached to me and not my horse, just in case we part ways!) Of course I also carry my cell phone which does get a signal out there. So Riyah and I were pretty well covered from a technical point.

I understand the risks, but the fact of the matter is, I love to ride alone. I love to have that time with my horse. It's a glorious time. And it is vital that a good endurance horse be able to go out alone, of course,--you can't always have the security of a buddy at an endurance ride.

Now for the ride....Riyah was excellent! Yay! She could not possibly have done any better than she did for her level of training. It was easily her best solo ride yet. She did look at things: big rocks, gates, burned trees, and more big rocks, but she kept moving past them although in a somewhat body-arching fashion, I must admit! However, that is still progress---not so much trying to stop and stare like she's done in the past. There were people shooting at the shooting range, which we stayed well away from, but even the gunshots were a non-issue for her. (Marleen, I worked very hard on not letting my mental distractions distract her, and it worked!) This ride was more strenuous than our normal, with more trotting and more steep hills. I also had to dismount and open a BLM wire gate, which she handled well.

We did about 50/50 walk/trot through the Roller Coaster hills which are a series of fairly short (for Utah!) but quite steep hills. As soon as you hit the bottom of one, you immediately climb the next, and they are quite steep, did I mention that? A dirt road (four wheel drive required!) follows a fence line for a couple of miles; it's rocky but not too bad. A great conditioning workout for horses. (People too, if you were crazy enough to want to do it!) We continued another couple of miles into Spring Canyon, but we turned around before reaching the top. We had been out for just over an hour and wanted to get back to the trailer by the two hour mark.

Riyah doesn't have great aerobic fitness yet. She did huff and puff a little, but she seemed to recover quickly after we walked for a while. She has a good, ground covering walk, and a phenomenal mile-gobbling trot. I kept her to an easy, medium pace though, and she seemed happy and enthusiastic all the way. My GPS batteries died, but I'm guessing we rode eight miles.

It was super windy and cold, but I had several warm layers under my jacket, a fleece head warmer under my helmet, and an extra pair of gloves in my pocket. Gray skies and cold wind and even the drizzle that caught us the last half mile from the trailer could do nothing to dampen my spirits after that ride!

Next post--Riyah in the boots that shouldn't fit!

Ick, ick, and double ick!! Mother Nature has been quite rude today. Snow, wind, dark heavy gray clouds, rain, hail, and more snow. Dreary. I did not try to ride. I stayed indoors and worked in my studio (Judy will be happy; wink, wink!) with the space heater going full blast. I went out to visit with the horses around 1pm. They were drearied out, too. "Nothing to do but eat!" said Keno. I took pity and gave them a snack.

I hope tomorrow's weather is better. I am worried that the Color Country Endurance Ride is coming up too quickly. It's only two weeks away. I'm afraid Riyah is not really ready; she has so much to learn still. Learning can still take place at a ride, but she needs to at least be fit enough to finish 25 miles. Obviously I'm talking about a slow 25 miles. (You have to finish within 6 hours to get a completion at a 25, so I would be shooting for 5 hrs 45 mins.) Right now I don't have a good sense of where she is on the fitness scale because the weather has kept things wet/muddy for so long. I need to get her out on a true 10 mile ride with a GPS and see what's in the tank. My friend Sharon is going to help me do that, if the weather ever co-operates.

No one is forcing me to go to the Color Country ride. It's just a goal to aim for. I admit I would like to go, but Riyah comes first. I don't want to over face her physically or mentally, so I will play things by ear for another week before making my decision. There are other rides coming up, and I don't want to rush her training. I hope to do endurance on her for years to come, so I want her preparation to be solid enough that she will have a positive experience at her first ride.

Riyah has been under saddle since November. That’s four months. We have made quite a lot of progress. She goes up hills like a powerhouse. It doesn't take much to rev that motor! She goes down hill like water: smooth, quick, and easy, with some rushing! She’s good around other horses, but tends to be anxious and insecure without a buddy. She’s not particularly spooky, in fact, I think she’s rather bold, although when she does get nervous and jittery, she seems to lose the ability to think and process! She can be a real “nervous Nellie” in new places.

When Riyah becomes anxious on the ground she crowds into me. It’s very unnerving to have an 850 pound jittery mare trying to sit in my lap! I don’t like it. She also fidgets and paws and flings her mane when she gets impatient or nervous when tied at the trailer. I am used to relaxed, patient, laid back horses! Riyah’s behavior is totally unlike what I am used to dealing with!

I recognize, of course, that she has a right to be unsure of things. After all, she has spent years in the same pasture with the same horses and the same view of the world. Now suddenly everything has changed; she is being asked to do new things, go to all kinds of places, deal with different situations and, handle difficult questions. Understanding why she acts the way she does is easy, but it doesn’t mean I know how to physically deal with all her emotional needs.

So, I called in the best natural horsemanship trainer I know. Marleen Bradford might be the most underestimated trainer in Utah. I have taken quite a few lessons from her over the years for dressage and jumping, and I trust her understanding of the horse. Any horse. Yesterday she came down to my place to give me some pointers with Riyah.

Nearly two hours of groundwork later, I thought my mind was on systems overload! Riyah probably did, too, but funny enough she was more relaxed and softer than she had been for a long time. Basically what she went through in those two hours was a full body yoga workout on the physical side. The mental gymnastics were even more impressive. I could see the lightbulbs popping on in her head! Every so often she would stop and mentally process things: licking her lips and chewing and blinking.

What we actually did was probably the equivalent of playing Pat Parelli’s Seven Games, and yes, I’ve read his book, but that's nothing like having Marleen demonstrate and coach me thorough the games and seeing the behaviors I deal with.

Riyah is the equivalent of a teenager physically, but she has an immature mind. As prey animals, horses need to feel safe. If I am the center of the herd, she wants to be in the center with me because it’s safer there. Sitting on me would put her in the exact center. Not so safe for me! So basically Marleen worked on my leadership skills. If I am the herd leader, then I will never allow Riyah to invade my space, but she will feel even safer knowing that I am a good leader and I am looking out for her. (This is the same with all horses, obviously.) Limits and boundaries help all of us feel safe.

I need to go lick and chew and blink about these things!

Some of the things I heard yesterday:

A specific request gets a specific response.

Blinking is thinking.

Start with the smallest amount of pressure that will get the job done.

Release asap but not before.

Do not move my feet. She must move hers!

Do not project mental distractions onto her. It will distract her!

Be as I want her to be. In the present. At peace.

My three-fold purpose with Riyah:

1. Develop Obedience

2. Develop work ethic

3. Develop attention span

Ok, it’s time for a more detailed introduction. You need to get to know my horse and me as we head out on this ambitious journey to make an endurance horse out of Riyah.

Me:

I’ve had horses for a lot of years now. I rode as a kid on our ponies, fell off a lot, did silly stunts and fell off some more. I began riding as an adult twelve years ago, took a lot of lessons and now I don’t fall off as often! Go figure!

I have a wonderful, sweet, clever, loyal, kind gelding who I absolutely adore. I have evented him, done jumpers, and trail ridden him everywhere. He can do it all, but he is NOT a distance horse and is quick to tell me so. Five mile trail rides are great in his opinion; he can do ten if we must, but no more than that please. I’m a great believer in letting horses do what they enjoy rather than forcing them into a sport they don’t get into. Keno loves to do a great variety of things, but distance is not one of them.

A few years ago I bought a twelve-year-old arab/quarter cross mare originally intending her to be a trail horse for my husband. Sort of. Well, long story short—he doesn’t really get into riding, so rather than let Gypsy stand around, I began riding her. Low and behold I discovered that this little mare was full of GO! She excelled at long rides! She was strong. She was sound. And she was very determined. Within a year I had decided to take Gypsy to an endurance ride and see what she could do.

I had played with the idea of doing endurance for a couple of years, but didn’t know anyone involved in the sport. Undaunted, I did some research, conditioned my horse and myself, and entered the Hell’s Kitchen Canyon ride in Gunnison, UT in May 2008. Wow! That little horse had gears I had never felt before! She had a blast! I was amazed and immediately hooked on a new and very challenging sport. (Read more about endurance by going to aerc.org.)

Gypsy and I completed three twenty-five mile rides before attempting a 50-miler. She was forward, relaxed, competitive, trail wise, and an easy camper and traveler. At the age of 15, with less than a year in the sport, I took her to California to ride in the Tevis Cup-the biggest, baddest, granddaddy of all endurance rides---100 miles over the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains in 24 grueling hours. I had supreme faith in my horse. It was the ultimate endurance test and Gypsy passed with flying colors! She was amazing--tough and determined and stoic the entire way. It was by far the hardest thing we had ever done.

I try to balance my horse activities with the rest of my life. I know at times horses seem to take over, but I love to spend time with my husband and grown daughters as well. I love to play with my grandsons. I also have my art. I make glass and tile mosaic, mostly horse-themed. I also work as the librarian at the local elementary school part time.

The Horse:

Riyah (a.k.a. Glory Al-Riyah) (f.k.a. Bobbie) is a sweet 14.2H bay mare. She has two white socks and a star and a small snip. She has lots of mane and forelock which she likes to toss for dramatic emphasis. She really is a beautiful horse. Her grandsire is Ralvon Pilgrim, an Arab stallion who won Supreme Champion of All Breeds at the Royal Victoria Horse Show in London, England.

She was foaled at the BYU horse project in July 2004. Somehow she slipped through the cracks and ended up starved and neglected in someone’s field. She was finally rescued by a generous lady named Wendy, who brought her to my good friend Judy’s ranch for some recovery time in a lush green pasture with proper care and a knowledgeable eye to watch over her. She stayed there for three years, and I got to know her since I was Judy's chore girl when she went out of town. Judy moved south last fall, and Riyah needed an new owner. She needed to get on with her life, so she joined mine. We are in this adventure together.

This blog is about my journey with Glory Al-Riyah, a beautiful young Arab mare who was gifted to me in November 2010. She was rescued from a very bad situation almost four years ago and was given time to grow up and regain her weight out in Judy's lovely green pasture. My friend Judy had often given temporary care to horses needing to gain weight or recover from an injury, but Riyah's placement became permanent since her owner had no room for her. For over three years now Riyah has been well taken care of--fed, wormed, hooves trimmed, and teeth floated, but nothing much else. She has never had a job. No one has done anything with her. I think she is far too beautiful and sweet to be left out of life, so when Judy and her owner offered her to me, I decided to take a chance on her.

I had just sold my wonderful endurance mare, Sweet Gypsy Rose, and was in the market for a replacement. I really have no idea if Riyah will make a good endurance horse. She is a very well-bred wonderful moving arab and that's in her favor, I suppose, but she was actually bred for the show ring. Nonetheless, I like her. And I like endurance. Yes, I really like to ride 50 miles in 6-7 hours. I hope Riyah will like it, too. But the journey is in the making of the horse.

I have never worked with or ridden green horses. I didn't feel confident to start this horse from scratch, so Riyah was sent to the trainer in October 2010. I began riding her with the trainer after a couple of weeks. In mid-November, a barn-owl induced arena accident left me bruised, battered, and broken ribbed. I haven't held it against her. Two weeks later, I was back on top and we are still on course.

I brought Riyah home from the trainer's the first week in December. I guess if I was honest, I would say never send a horse to be trained in the fall or early winter. Bringing her home in the middle of Utah's cold and very snowy winter has made it quite difficult to have real riding consistency. I've done as well as I could, and Riyah and I have shared some arena rides, trail rides with friends, and even three solo rides on trail. We also took a road trip to southern Utah to visit Judy and Riyah's former pasture mates (and to get out of the snow and ride in the desert.) She did great on that trip in my opinion, although I heard several humorous comments about the antics of young horses while I was there! (Thanks Judy!)

I invite you to follow me on this journey. Glory of the Wind is what Riyah's name means. I hope this journey leads to the development of a happy, well-adjusted, enthusiastic, and competitive endurance horse. A horse who's glory will be equal to the wind. An equine partner who will love the sport of endurance as I do and who will glory in the adventures we share on this journey. together.