BOOTED ENDURANCE

16 December 2008

Well this will probably be the last update for 2008!  Where has the year gone!

This weekend Jacky and Fanta had a private lesson with Carlos.  Thankfully the rain held off which was nice but it was still rather cold. Who doesnt love the Tasmanian summers!!

Jackys lesson started off with a few minutes of groundwork then Carlos had some fun time playing with Jacky at liberty.  To say it was inspirational for me is an understatement!  Carlos had Jacky hooning around haveing fun and with a quick signal Jacky was at his side head down waiting for the next lot of instructions.  Sidepass, yeilding, backing was all done without a touch it was wonderful to watch.

Then it was my turn.  We started off with some bareback riding, then moved onto riding with the halter still on but using the string around his neck and my seat to guide him.  Next was removing the halter all together and riding with the string.  It was such a huge difference to feel how much he relaxed with nothing on his head and just moved around the arean with me - it was so much fun, so motivating and Jacky and I both loved it.  Carlos inspires so much confidence in you and your horses.  I really feel with his help you can achieve your wildest dreams :)

Below are a few pictures of our riding session and a link to a short video.

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=nUgziqPK2yE

8 December 2008

In the month of December Jacky and Fanta have had a few outings - One was a trimming clinic we hosted in Southern Tasmania for Andrew and Nicki Bowe http://www.barehoofcare.com/ on Sunday 7th December.

The trimming clinic was fully booked early and was really well received by all participants. This clinic is a maintenance trimming clinic.  NOT a clinic that off you go and start trimming professionally after one day and that is explained fully in the course introduction! 

This is for you to learn to recognised a healthy hoof and help maintain it.  I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to learn more about their horses hooves even if they dont want to trim - there is no harm in learning to recognise a good hoof!  We covered trimming, basic hoof anatomy, treating seedy toe and thrush, using hoofboots and much much more.

A few pics from the clinic.

30 November 2008 - State Champs Ride 160km

State champs has been ridden and is over and done with and what a weekend it was!

Jacky and I were attempting our first 160km ride.  A midnight start on a wet Friday night.  We flew through the first 38km leg in the rain and soaked to the bone in just under 2.5 hours.  Jacky was full steam ahead.  The first leg was a steepish slippery track,with road and rock thrown in, and with the continuing rain for me was a big challenge in the dark.

The second leg of 40km was not as steep and still had its slippery sections, road and sand and two thirds of it still in the dark.  Jacky was still pulling like a freight train so I decided to get off and lead him for quite a long way as I was exhausted from his pulling so ended up taking a long time on this leg!  In each leg Jacky took roughly 10 mins to meet the heart rate criteria (which is actually a slow recovery for him). 

Jacky vetted through these two legs with all A's and 1's but I still made the difficult decision to withdraw him.  The third leg of 38km was the same as the first leg and in boots I found it really slippery and did not want to take the chance of a fall.  It was not an easy decision at all, especially considering how much fuel he had left in the tank and his perfect results so far.  Even with walking alot of the second leg I still would have had plenty of time to finish the ride - but I have no regrets and I feel good about my decision. 

Obviously when you hear of those who soldiered on when you are back in the warmth and comfort of your home you think back and wonder for a fleeting moment if it was the right thing to do..... but you cant turn back time and I would rather have withdrawn than had him vetted out with a torn hamstring from a slippery slide and out of action!  Many horses I saw slipping badly on the track in front of me and behind me so it was a personal choice I made for myself and Jacky.  Obviously one option would have been to remove his boots but due to the fact that I had not ridden without boots on rocky ground this year (and there was alot of varying terrain on the track) I decided there will be plenty more rides in the future. 

One thing I am really pleased about is the fact that today even though Jacky still did close to 80km he looks and feels as if he has not done a thing!  So it has given me the confidence that I can get him fit enough for a hundred miler and a to maintain a good weight as well!  I had been told when a horse can do an 80km and you feel like he could do it again straight away you are ready to up the distance and that is certainly the case with Jacky today  :)

A few of the things I learnt from this ride are:

Make sure your jackets are 100% waterproof.  Rain can soak through 4 long sleeved shirts and TWO jackets very quickly.
Make sure your SHOES are waterproof as well.
What stays dry in training may still soak through at a ride.
Be nice to your husband.
AND - You know your horse best - follow your gut.
Finally I would also like to thank my husband and Sonia for giving up their weekend to strap for me in the wet weather.  Also Kelley from Performance Horse Therapies for his wonderful massage and check over this week!  Also all my friends that gave me the confidence to give this ride a try and supporting the hard decision to pull him from the ride.  Thank you!

It is now the week of the State Champs!  I am extremely excited and cant wait.  I do hope this rain disappears though. 

I have done all I can to have Jacky ready so we will see how we go, but he feels good.  I have had an old ankle injury flare up the last few months and have tried bracing it and strapping along with physio to no avail.  As a last resort I am trying a different set of stirrups tonight to see if that alleviates the pain - sadly at this rate I as a rider will be vetted out instead of the horse!

Fingers crossed we get through with a healthy happy horse and a rider that can walk :)

We are now just over two weeks out from the state championships and Jacky feels to be ticking along nicely.   We only trained on a very short hill climb last night and have to do a long slow ride this weekend which will take most of the day.  Training came to a slight standstill this week and I hadnt ridden since Saturday so I really need to get going to test him out.

I am still really happy with his weight and condition on his natural diet and feel it suits him really well.  Pictures below of Jacky last night before and after his ride.

November 2008

We are four weeks out from the State Champs ride and Jacky is going along nicely. I am more than happy with his feed and so glad i changed to Victoria's natural diet with him, it seems to be suiting him perfectly :) (see http://www.herbalhorse.com/)

Jacky and I had a wonderful training session at the beach on Sunday, cantering through the pines, over little jumps and playing in the water - we both had an absolute ball.

Below is a picture taken at the top of one of the tracks at the beach - what a beautiful view!

19 October 2008

PHEW....... what a weekend!!!  Home safe and sound.

This weekend was the STER Fonthill ride.  This is the first year STER has held a ride at Fonthill so was a new track for everyone.  It was a reasonably flat ride with a mixture of undulating ground a few steep climbs, bush, road, pasture and some rocky areas.  It was a great track, well marked and alot of fun!

Jacky vetted through successfully with all A's and 1's after the 80km ride and I am so proud of him.  He tired a little in the last 10km's but this afternoon he is trotting around freely and looks ready to head out again (pity the same cannot be said about me)!

It was a great social weekend with old endurance stories being told around the camp fire Friday night and the Fonthill Shearers Bar opening up and a band playing on saturday night after the ride, it was great to see everyone celebrating their achievements of the weekend!

So now to decide which ride will be next...... but first I will let my aching muscles recover!

A few happy snaps of the day below from friends, but for the professional shots taken over the weekend check out Matt Bennet's site - (they will be online any day now) http://www.mattbennet.com/index_endurance.htm

October 2008

One and a half weeks out from Fonthill ride and everything seems to be on track. So will keep him ticking along this week and start getting everything organised for packing.

I was lucky enough to pick up Jackys woollen rug today for his sponsorship!

28 September 2008

We are now 3 weeks out from the Fonthill ride so time to test Jacky out.

On Saturday we went on a 31km ride and i was really pleased with how he went, his pace, condition and recoveries and then backed it up with a 8km hill ride on Sunday. I am really pleased with how he has pulled up and confident he would do a 40km well.

I will keep up with his training the next 2.5 weeks and hopefully he will be ready for an 80km at Fonthill.

Jacky and Fanta headed out for a lesson with Carlos on Sunday and thankfully the rain held off for us but the wind was still terrible!!

A friend actaully rode Jacky in this lesson for a bit of varierty for both of them and seemed to have really enjoyed themselves.  I cant wait for the next lot of lesson where i will do one with both Jacky and Fanta. 

Endurance takes up SO much of your time when in full training that it is really nice to have your horse doing something different with their body and minds anytime you have the oppertunity!  In Jackys lesson even though i wasnt riding him, watching the lesson gave me a few reminders of some obvious bad habits I have been allowing us both to get into!

A few pictures of Jackys arena time :)

 A piccie to share

I ordered this lovley headshot of Jacky at my ride back in February and I love it so much I just wanted to share. 

This weekend he has a massage and heads out for some beach training.  So far i feel we are on track but will decide in a few more weeks if we will do an 80km or 40km ride.  I am also very happy with his weight and energy levels on his new diet. 

September Update

Well over the last few weeks I have been slowly legging Jacky up getting him ready to do some faster work.  Today we headed out with a friend and did a 20km hit out.  Jacky surprised me and was keen to trot the entire way.  I was pleased with this recoveries so hopefully we are on track to be fit enough for the Fonthill ride in 6 weeks time.  With some small hill climbs and nice canters along the way a beautiful stop at the river it made for lovely training morning in Tasmania's springtime!!

August Update

Well it is time to hit the training roads again.  I will start bringing Jacky in for some slow work the next two weeks building up to some faster work a few weeks later then hit the harder trails a month before the ride!  All going to plan he will be peaking for the Fontill ride which will be our last ride for this year.

The next ride we are aiming for is the STER Fonthill ride in October. 

Jacky has been on a spell while other things in life take priority and will start training again in August. 

Unfortunately the best laid plans like mine for this season dont always work out so am hoping next year will be a more full year in terms of the number of rides i get to.  While he has been spelled I have returned to a natural feeding program more precisely the Victoria Ferguson Natural Diet and I am very pleased with the results to date.  See more on this diet on Victoria's website http://www.herbalhorse.com/

I had my horses on this diet many years ago and was ecstatic with the results but went to a processed feed once i started endurance as i was worried I would miss something vital.  Now Jacky has a few years under his belt and i know how he feels when he is peaking in fitness and trust I know him well enough to pinpoint if something is lacking energy wise so I have returned to natural diet which has always been how i prefer to feed and so far am very very happy with the results in weight, condition and energy and coat texture.

I will keep you updated after my first few rides and let you know how he goes on his new regime :)

WHAT CRAZY PEOPLE WANT TO DO THIS SPORT IN WINTER!!

Been a little slow on the training front of late.  Very hard to get motivated to ride at 7pm of a cold night after a long day at work  so we are taking it week by week. 

I am hoping to get to one of the June rides but will just see how it goes.  Mainly trying to make up as many km's as I can on weekends at the moment to pick his fitness back up. 

One thing you learn in endurance is that dedication is VERY important and if you havent put in the miles dont put your horse through a ride it is not prepared for.  In saying this I may just do a 40km ride at Jill Sheean and use it as a training session and aim for another 80km ride a few weeks later.

Good luck to all of those training and will see you hopefully in June!

In the next week we will start his training program for his next ride which may be Sassfaras again or possibly one of the rides in May instead, I will decide in a few weeks.

I have changed Jackys diet from the one descibed below to a diet designed by Prydes (http://www.prydes.com.au/) it is pretty similar but just his base pellets changed to a Prydes feed to give him a little more variety as the last month he decided he no longer liked his pellets.  He will also go onto Kohnkes vit E and thiamine supplement.

It is a worry changing from a feed that has worked perfectly for him the last three years to a new one but if he wont eat it then I need to change something.  So fingers crossed that the new feed works well with him and has no ill effects on his muscles or heart rate and we will see how he goes in training over the next month or so.

DONE WOO HOO!!  WHAT A FREEZING COLD WEEKEND

But I am SO PROUD of my boy!  He felt fantastic - did not fade or feel tired at any stage of the ride he felt 100% FITTER to when he did the same ride last year.  I think it helped that my fitness level was also alot higher and i personally struggled less physically and mentally so I learnt to never under estimate the amount of fitness you need and how much it truly helps your horse get through a ride.

We completed the ride in a little over 7 hours so not our fastest ride but Woodstock 2nd leg has a long downhill road stretch where we get off and lead the horses and due to the rain had a few slippery patches where we took it very slowly!  The pouring icey freezing rain that hit us at the end of the first leg and during our hour break before going back out made strapping very hard.  I found it difficult to find the line between keeping him warm enough and not to hot during this icy stage and not letting him stiffen up, but we did it and came in equal fifth middleweight.  So now looking towards the next ride in around 2 months time

Due to revolting weather no piccies :(

Also a BIG thank you to the to Sonia H and Sonya A for riding with me - THANKS GIRLS

WOODSTOCK WEEKEND IS HERE  - only two sleeps till the ride!  Jacky has been going well and I think is ready for the 80km.   Woodstock is a reasonably hilly ride so I am going to take it easy and see how we go.  Good advice to work on look at it as one leg at a time - if he feels good after the first 40km we will continue, if he doesnt feel as good as I like I can pull out - so never feel like you HAVE to continue at the jeopardy of your horses health, there are plenty of rides down the track - My next update will be after the ride :)

March Update

Well Jackys treatment went well and body wise looking good albeit a little weighty atm LOL !   I have 4 weeks till Woodstock and he has had a longer spell than anticipated so may only do a 40km depending on how he feels - I will decide the week of the ride.

One thing about endurance is nothing goes to plan and life throws you curve balls to interrupt the best laid plans so be prepared to reorganise your goals

11/03/08

Was such beautiful weather on the weekend I couldnt help but head out to the beach a couple of times for rides!!  I rode with a friend on Saturday who is also aiming for the Woodstock ride and on Monday with another freind who rode one horse and lead her endurance horse Hamos - she was getting tired arms so we decided just to tie the rope around his neck and let him go!  What a blast he hooned around in front, trotted behind us, lead us at walk trot canter and gallop all through the trails and never once strayed away. 

Whenever we stopped he stopped and waited -  Hamos and Jacky had a blast chasing each other around through the dunes. Wasnt the most productive training session but was the most fun I have had in ages!

Not the best qaulity pics as taken on the mobile but here they are - the good boy enjoying his freedom!

10/02/08

WELL with the drama and the stress of the Sassafras ride it sometimes makes you wonder why we do this sport but as they say you HAVE TO GET BACK ON THE HORSE.  Endurance is a tough sport and it has HUGE highs but can also have heartbreaking lows and you need to take the good with the bad and learn from them and carry on 

Jacky is looking fantastic - the best he has been energy and weight wise after any ride he has done previously so onwards we go. 

I will take him out for a nice flat short ride today or tomorrow to make sure he is feeling ok and start his training program for Woodstock ride next week which we are 7ish weeks out from.

He gets treated in about 3 weeks by Kelley from Performance Horse Therapies to make sure he is all nice and supple and handling his training regime ok.  I highly recommend anyone participating in any tough sport with their horses to have them regularly treated with some form of equine therapy to treat any niggles before they can turn into major injuries  - prevention is better than cure!

 Update 5/2/8

 Jacky is looking great - has not dropped an ounce of weight and I dont think he realises that he has done an 80km ride.  So he has recovered well after his stressful evening.  He will have a short break then slowly start training again for his next ride   

JILL SHEEAN - SASSAFRAS RIDE, 2/2/08

Well what a weekend.  Alot of laughs were had and tears were shead - but that is HORSES AND ENDURANCE for you!!

Overall I was  more than impressed with my boy - he was fast, fit and tried his heart out.  He came in 2nd middleweight with a time of 6hrs 3mins and got to compete for Best Conditioned. 

Unfortunately about an hour after best conditioned workouts he wasnt quite right and had a mild spasmodic colic.  Heart rate was normal, temp, capilary, jugular, and gut sounds all normal at that time but he just wasnt comfortable.  

I had the vet look at him and due to the fact that he was administered pain relief within 2 hours of vetting in I lost my 2nd place - the fact he looked great through the vet check and the best conditioned work outs and felt so good made it very confusing - but i knew he wasnt right those few hours late.  Later that night he was stuffing his face again and drinking so relief swept over, and as long as he was better I was happy. 

Arrived home today (sunday) and he is fully hydrated now and cantering around the paddock.  He has dropped absolutely no weight at all and even though we had a late disqualification due to his treatment I am still proud of his vet scores as he received all A's and 1'S except for one B at the end so he had all his vet checks with near perfect scores - so proud of him! 

We will see how he goes the next ride - there are a few things I will change for the more humid days and hopefully he will be great at Woodstock! 

THE END OF THE FIRST 40KM'S.

SASSAFRAS RIDE

I am a little nervous about this ride as Jacky has had quite a long spell and also a hamstring injury to recover from and a few weeks ago started back into flat easy work.

We are now 5 weeks out from the ride and putting in the hill work and also flat fast work. 

The ride at Sassafras is one of my favourites on the calander so although nervous I am looking forward to it.  At this ride Jacky will be ridden in four Easyboot Bares.

WELL it is only 24 sleeps till Sassafras ride!!  Had a great hit out at the beach on the weekend and I was really pleased with his recovery heart rates.  He is holding condition really well this year as he was a little light on at times his first season - so fingers crossed I am on the right track.  His new saddle seems to be working well with no issues but I guess the ride will let me know for certain!  Not long now!

Pleased to say that Jacky is happily drinking out of his foldaway bucket so that is at least is one thing I dont have to stress about.  Due to unforseen circumstances he is having a rest week this week and has a clinic to attend on saturday.  After that we only have two training weeks left till the ride. 

I dont really do any training the week of the ride - maybe just some short walks, this is just what suits him - it tends to give him good rest and feels very refreshed at the ride when I do that.  Some people ride right up until the ride it is just a matter of working out which system best suits YOUR horse.

 Today we attended the Carlos Tabernaberri clinic.  Although a little windy it was a great day and I highly recommend Carlos' clinics to everyone.  Jacky finished the day a much softer horse and hopefully I am a much calmer and softer rider to! 

Back to training tomorrow with a 25km hill ride with only three weeks till the ride! 

To learn more about Carlos see:

http://www.whisperingacres.com.au/

 I received my Volume 4 Endurance Beginners to Advanced Magazine today and was very excited to see two pics of Jacky made it onto the Hoofboot Tips and Tricks article.  Thanks to Jenny Moncur a fellow booted endurance rider who is the author of the article!  If you wish to get a copy of Vol 4 or even 1 to 3 order from sue@vinkpub.com

22/01/08

Well the ride is NEXT week - Jacky feels good - did a nice fast beach ride on the weekend and hills the Thursday before.  So fingers crossed it goes well.  Have some pics from my ride last Thursday night of his bum on the big up hill climb we do (bit blurry though) and having a pick and a rest at the top!

27/01/08

It is the last week!  I did a 23km hilly ride with Jacky this morning and that will be it for him till the ride.  Starting to pack and get everything ready tomorrow.  Good luck to everyone going and we will see you there!!