Dorothy how was your AERC ride?

[DorothyB]

Then next ride I was interested in doing after my 2nd LD was just a little south west of Houston at the location where I did my first intro. However the LD was 30 miles instead of 25 and I didn't think either Shiloh or I could do an extra 5 miles. Keet couldn't come. I opted to go alone and do an intro. There was discussion about limited parking close to the vetting area. We were requested to drive to the check in area and get a parking assignment so that those doing longer distances could park closer to the vetting area. As I approached the camp, I saw that a few people were parked "across the cattle guard" from the main camp, across the dirt road where we had parked the year before. I drove to the check-in area and said I would be happy to park there so was able to park in that area.

I set up camp. I had brought Lucky to keep Shiloh company and put them both in a large electric pen. I got Shiloh vetted in and went to the ride meeting. After dark, I noticed lightning in the distance and called keet for a weather report. She reported a quick moving band of heavy rain headed straight for us. I went out to put blankets on the two horses. As I was doing that, a person parked near me called out and said there were loose horses and was I missing a horse. I said no. I finished blanketing as the rain started. I went into my cozy tack room efficiency sleeping area and read. The rain was heavy and there was a bit of thunder. A couple of times I cracked the door and peeked out - both horses were standing there or eating a bit of hay. After the rain stopped, I took the blankets off and went to bed.

to be continued . . .

[DorothyB]

The next morning I tacked Shiloh up to do our Intro. A woman parked just down from me said she was doing the intro also so we decided to ride together. She told me that a horse had died overnight during the loose horse incident.

Shortly after we started the ride, my phone rang. It was an internet acquaintance who also does endurance but wasn't at this ride. She was asking me what happened as she had been reading about it on facebook. We started getting sketchy info from her.

This ride is not far from home and since we only did the intro, my plan was to head home a couple of hours later. However, I decided to stay for the ride meeting to find out what happened - but they really didn't talk about it.

After I got home and the dust settled, turns out that one person who typically brings several horses & riders had a lot of horses in a few electric pens with shared fence lines. Horses got loose. One horse I believe ran into their trailer and then ran into someone else's parked car. The car was totaled and the noise spooked another person's horse who was tied to their trailer - that horse broke it's neck and died. A horse belonging to the person whose horses got loose first broke her pelvis (or related) and was found in a ditch or ravine and was eventually euthanized. I'm pretty sure another horse was taken to a nearby clinic and later died or was euthanized.

It was very sobering - especially thinking about the person whose horse was just tied to their trailer . . . to go to a ride with a horse and come home without it for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I tie with safety release ties 99% of the time. Lucky has pulled free a couple of times so I have "hard-tied" him a couple of times. I now plan to use a rope halter with the safety release tie to see if that works. He is only tied for short periods while camp is being set up or torn down or while we are tacking up.

This caused a lot of concern about containment issues and safety and some people have changed what they do. Ride managers in our region now frequently have rules about containment. I was at one with no more than two horses per pen in April. The last one I went to was one horse per pen, but the pens could share a fence line.

I was so glad that I had chosen to park a bit further away.

Eventually sanctions were imposed on the person whose horses had gotten loose first.

[DorothyB]

I commented recently on Facebook that I didn't enter 30 mile rides because I didn't think we could complete. The ride manager for the ride I just wrote about commented that a 25 mile LD MUST be at least 25 miles, but a 30 mile LD could be 27.6 miles rounded up and you get another 75 minutes to complete. When it gets closer to this ride next year, I will ask her how long the ride actually is and might, maybe, try it.

[DorothyB]

My third LD was held at the same venue as my 2nd Intro (first solo trip - where I came home because Shiloh quit eating & drinking).

Again, I went solo, but brought Lucky again. I asked for a place that I could set up larger pens and was parked on one edge of camp, but still not too far away. I had talked on facebook with another rider and we had tentatively planned to ride together. I hadn't ever met her, so it took me a bit to find her. She was parked two trailers away from me.

We started that ride going pretty fast . . . and kept going pretty fast. Not too far into the ride, two "new" riders joined us. About 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the first loop, the person I started with was going faster than I was comfortable so I dropped back and she kept going. Then I almost fell off - I think Shiloh turned to avoid something? can't remember. Then we turned onto a trail in woods and I think he was trying to avoid mud and my head & upper body got tangled in vines? I'm not sure exactly what happened, but when we got out of it, I was still on, but Shiloh's reins were over my helmet - really scary!! I continued on, mostly with the two new riders. Just before we finished the loop, we came upon the person I started with, so we all finished the loop together.

During the hold I figured out that we had gone so fast that I could do the second loop really, really slow and still complete!

When we met to leave for the last loop, one of the new riders had dropped out, so there were three of us. We rode out and came to a water crossing that it took me about 15 minutes to get Shiloh across, but we finally did it. About 3/4 of the way through the loop, we were doing another water crossing and, for the first time in a few years, he surprised me and leaped it. I almost came off, but didn't.

(Oh - what I think I haven't said is that I do ALL of my riding in my Little Joe bareback saddle!!)

We came in with about 20 minutes to spare, but then took our time cooling the horses a bit before we went in to the timer. We were the last ones off trail and I explained to the new rider how turtle worked and made sure she pulsed in last, so she got the turtle award.

[ride4fun]

" was very sobering - especially thinking about the person whose horse was just tied to their trailer . . . to go to a ride with a horse and come home without it for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I had two of those sobering incidents a couple years ago. I was at 2 rides where horses had a bad colic and died. One had trailered a very long distance so that probably set it up. The other one was a total shock. Super excellent horsewoman who always catches any issue early and fixes tack, slows down, pulls if horse is not eating normally at the check etc. Her horse was older so my best guess is it had a tumor and would have been a pasture colic soon anyways. The endurance sport does have risks and stresses for the horse and sometimes we have to remind ourselves that horses that never leave pastures with the safest fencing can also have freak accidents or bad colics so denying ourselves and the horses an activity we both enjoy won't guarantee safety.

[DorothyB]

There is also the quality of life issue. Shiloh would HATE life confined to a pasture. While I don't think he likes needing to go "fast", he really loves going out on trails.

[DorothyB]

The next ride I went to was at the end of May. Before the ride, I was really concerned about the heat & humidity. I was remembering the chart we used to share that said it is too hot to ride if heat + humidity - wind is greater than xxx. I posted on one of the endurance facebook pages and so many people said that it wasn't really an issue.

I had planned to ride with someone I met at one of my intros who actually lived close to me. However, her horse got trimmed too short and was sore so she opted not to ride. She still wanted to attend, so I decided to go.

This ride was held at the same venue as my first LD, but different ride manager.

Another endurance rider who was riding her green horse and I decided to ride together. She is older than I am, maybe in her 70's even? and has done Tevis.

It was hot and had rained before we got there. The first LD I did at this venue, it was raining when we pulled in and they had to use a tractor to get us past the muddy part. As I was holding horses while keet registered, I saw them use the tractor multiple times to help people. It wasn't that muddy this time.

We headed out and very quickly came to a water crossing that both of our horses refused. Well, technically Shiloh didn't refuse to go as he was willing to jump with all of his might, but he wasn't willing to walk. Strangely, there weren't any crossings that he refused the other two times I rode at this venue, so not sure why it was worse. The ditch was so close to camp and seemed to be on the trail that we had taken before. In any case, we lost a good bit of time there. I think I finally got off and led Shiloh across, then got back on.

We continued a short distance and came to another water crossing that both horses refused again. My friend got her horse through it. I got off, sent Shiloh across, then followed him. I had to get on really fast because other riders were coming and we were blocking the trail.

We continued on. After an hour or so, the other lady needed to pee. While she was off and I was just sitting there, I realized that I had clipped one of Shiloh's reins to the bridle itself, not the bit, when I was in a hurry to get back on. We got that fixed and continued on.

I had my watch and knew we weren't going fast enough. We pressed on. Almost to the end of the loop, Shiloh had something wrong with his boot. I got off and fixed it. The only place to get back on was sort of in the middle of a muddy patch where I could stand on a tiny tree stump. Shiloh slipped a bit while I was trying to get him in position.

We finished the loop. We couldn't get Shiloh's pulse to go down enough. The friend that came to the ride with me, but didn't ride, helped me try to cool him down. We poured water on him, which I had never had to do before. I'd never even sponged water on him. We finally got it down to 60, then on to the vet check. It went up and didn't come down quickly after the trot out, so they held my card and told me to bring him back before we went out again.

When I took him back, his pulse was good, so they had me trot him again so they could check to see if it went back down after the trot. It was so hot that, while trotting him (in hand), I decided if they said his heart rate was fine, I was going to "rider option" (which means horse is fine per vet, but rider chooses not to continue for whatever reason). However, he was lame on the trot out and had a tight muscle in his rear. So, our first pull, technically a metabolic as the heart rate started it all, but I wondered later if the increased heart rate was pain and he just wasn't showing the lameness yet.

The person I started with went back out again, but she had a stirrup break or something and had trouble with a water crossing and ended up doing rider option.

[ride4fun]

I'm enjoying getting all this history. Some rides all we get are hard experience and the best of it is when they are OK after a couple weeks of rest at home.

[DorothyB]

Yes, Shiloh was fine within a week, but I was disappointed.

So, the next ride was Armadillo which was my first LD the year before and my favorite ride manager & venue. This ride was held at the same place as the one I just "failed to complete" so this was my chance to show that we COULD do an LD at this venue again.

Another friend and I started seriously training as soon as the summer heat / humidity started going down. We trailered each Saturday to a state park (once a different park) where we could do lots of trotting, etc. We were building up quite well. keet had noticed after one of the first training rides that Shiloh's hind "ankles" were slightly swollen, but no lameness. Discussed w/ a vet who does endurance and she said if he wasn't lame, heart rate was fine and both hind feet the same, then don't worry. So we continued training.

The Saturday before the ride, we went out for our last training ride. Before we finished the warm-up, while doing a slow trot, I knew something was wrong. I asked my friend and she said that he was limping on the left hind. I jumped off, checked for rock, and tried trotting in hand. She thought maybe she still saw a little bit of "off", so I decided to go back to the trailer. My friend continued her training ride. On the way back, I decided I could feel him limping at the walk, so got off and hand-walked him back. Left hind was swollen a bit. After my friend finished her ride and we went home, I contacted my "endurance vet" who recommended a lameness specialist.

We went the following week. The lameness specialist was an "FEI" vet so used to dealing with endurance horses / injuries. Yes, he was lame. Basically a "sprained ankle". I was afraid that I had damaged him and that he would be off for a long time, or permanently. But it was just "sprained". He probably twisted it getting off the trailer or in the pasture or . . . He did x-ray to be sure and said that joint looked awesome with no arthritis! He did give him an injection to stop the inflammation cycle and said he would 100% able to do a 25 mile ride in a week to 10 days, but not this coming weekend . . . which was the ride weekend.

I went to the ride with my friend and crewed for her. She turtled, just barely since her horse almost didn't pulse down in time. I took Lucky for some more camping experience and handed out t-shirts at the meeting the next morning.

[DorothyB]

Which brings us (finally) to my last ride. I had a ride I didn't complete and then a ride that I wasn't able to start, and now comes the next ride . . .

The forecast for the ride was close to freezing at night and too cold during the day and I kept hoping it would be a little warmer. Gradually the forecast kept getting a little bit warmer.

My riding partner was out of town, so couldn't train with me. I did a solo training ride that went quite well. I chose to ride on the cooler of the two days that I had available - the weather for my training ride was almost identical to the forecast for ride day.

The forecast kept getting warmer and warmer.

The week of the ride, I had a lot of stuff going on and packing wasn't going well. Due to limited space, they assign parking at this ride based on when you arrive. You can't park next to someone unless you arrive with them.

After Shiloh's slow recoveries, I changed his electrolyte protocol. I give him just a little more, but I also mix calcium gluconate with the electrolytes and buffer that with ProCMC. I also starting syringing his electrolytes since he doesn't always eat well when away from home. My plan was to mix each serving of electrolytes in individual baggies.

Friday morning when it was time to finish packing and leave, the electrolytes weren't done so decided to just do them there.

I got a heart rate monitor after the ride where we didn't complete because he didn't pulse down. I use during training rides and really like being able to check the rate as we cool down or take walking breaks. I hadn't ever used it at a ride because the next ride was the one that we couldn't use due to sprained ankle. The monitor needed the battery replaced, but even my smallest screwdriver was too big to get the screws out. I had taken all of the leads, wrapping, etc off and put it in the trailer. I tried a few times to borrow a smaller screwdriver with no success. I finally had keet stop at Walgreens and buy me an eyeglass set and she brought it to my house just before we left. As I was throwing stuff in the truck & trailer, I picked up the heart rate monitor off the table and put it somewhere safe.

Finally, ready to leave. My riding partner and I trailered together, so we loaded up the horses and headed out . . .

[DorothyB]

We arrived at the ride venue and were told to follow the person in charge of parking. He took us to a small field mostly surrounded with trees. There were three rigs already in this field - the two to our right one behind the other and one on the left. He said that he would probably park someone in front of us. We backed in and parked. We always unload horses first, so got them unloaded and before we could do anything else, a four wheeler came by and asked if we had vetted in yet. They said vetting in was closing in 30 minutes.

We headed off to the check-in area. Not sure the distance, but past our neighbors, past a port-a-potty (pretty close to us, which was nice) and past a permanent circle driveway that had rigs parked all around it, then past another row of rigs. We took turns holding horses and letting them drink from the big tank while the other checked in. Then off to vet-in.

Vet-in includes the vet checking heart rate, gut sounds, overall appearance and watching a trot out for soundness. This was a barefoot venue, but I planned to wear boots in front since I'm trying to grow Shiloh's feet faster than he is wearing them off. Gut sounds were not good, but when we explained that we had just gotten off the trailer, the vet was OK with that. Then the trot-out which had a rocky area in the middle. I got back to the vet. She called another vet over and asked to see him trot again. My friend, L, took him that time. When she got back second vet said that he saw two "off" steps on a front foot. The vet said that she wanted to see him trot in the morning before approving him to start.

I was a bit concerned - and this coming after a non-completion and a non-start due to "sprained ankle".

We went back to the trailer, put up the electric pens, got the horses fed, put Shiloh's boots on, set up camp, went to ride meeting, then back to camp for a bit of dinner and bed.

The next morning we took both horses back so the vet could watch Shiloh trot. She was walking towards the vet area as we were, so asked me to just trot him in that open area. She said he looked fine, but none of us had anything to write with so she said she would complete the vet card later.

[DorothyB]

While getting ready for the ride start, I couldn't find my heart rate monitor, so rode without it.

The night before when fixing Shiloh's food, I realized that when I decided not to mix his electrolytes at home, I neglected to bring the calcium gluconate which is supposed to help with getting heart rate down.

We mounted up and headed to the starting point just before ride start. We checked in. I realized that I needed to adjust a stirrup, so got down and fixed that. They called "trail open" while I was doing that and most of the riders headed out. Our plan was to leave after most of the horses so that worked out fine. Then off we went! It was so foggy that our glasses were coated with "water" and we couldn't see. Once we finished warming up, Shiloh did a good bit of cantering the first few miles.

I think the first loop was about 13 miles. There was one "in & out" on this trail with a "token" at the far end to pick up to prove that you made it to the end. About half way through the loop, we had to give our rider number to a person, then did "sort of" a circle. As we came back out to cross the paved sidewalk, L said that we didn't get a token. I told her that I thought that was later and reached down to pull out my map, which I had put with my ride card in a pouch attached to my saddle. The carabiner was there, but no pouch and, most importantly, no ride card! We completed that loop including picking up the token without knowing what would happen since I lost my ride card. I was really hoping I had lost it when I leaned over Shiloh to dismount at the start and that I would get back to camp to find it there.

[DorothyB]

We walked into camp and let the time keepers know we were in. Then while L took the horses to the water tank, I told the timekeeper that I lost my ride card. She told me to get a new one from the ride manager since it was the first loop. She gave me a piece of paper for the pulse taker and we did that so hold time would start. Then as we walked over to vet check, I used L's map to get the phone number for the ride manager. She was "in the office" (where ever that was). As I was telling L that while we were in line for vet check, a volunteer (or another rider or someone's crew ??) volunteered to go get my card for me!! She came back just as Al finished vetting in and it was my turn. Got through the vet check and all was good - maybe a B on one or two of the gut sounds, but basically fine. Back to the trailer for the rest of the hold. Shiloh drank on trail and in the pulse down area, but didn't eat well during the hold.

After the hold, we headed back out. L wanted to come in 30 minutes before the deadline because her horse took 29 minutes to pulse down after her last ride and your time doesn't stop until the pulse is down. It was hot, I was tired, I didn't know if we were going to make it. L did a great job of stopping to sponge at the water stops, but Shiloh doesn't like being sponged so we just drank and stood around a bit.

About 2/3 of the way through the loop, we caught up with a rider who asked if she could tag along with us. She was a first time rider. Not too long after that, we caught up with my vet friend - she was on her horse in the middle of the trail, but not pointing in the right direction Her horse had seen wild hogs cross the road and was a bit freaked about it. So the four of us completed the loop together. We arrived at ride camp about 40 minutes before the cutoff. The newbie rider actually came in after us - once we saw camp, she choose to hand walk her horse a bit more before coming into camp. This insured that she got turtle

Our vet friend was parked near the time keeper so we opted to untack there. I was SO HOT & THIRSTY! Vet stayed at trailer and L & I took our horses to the water troughs where they were doing courtesy heart rate checks. Horses drank pretty well and L sponged her horse off.

more later . . .

[DorothyB]

I'm not sure why I was so hot & thirsty - I did drink water on the loop, but maybe I didn't drink enough during the hold.

Anyway, we had the horses at the water tank and there was a courtesy pulse taker. It took a few minutes, but then Al (L's horse) was pulsed down. For some strange reason, I never thought to have Shiloh checked. When I used the heart rate monitor on training rides, he never had a pulse issue, but we never did a 2nd loop . . .

Al was pulsed down, but L wanted to give him a few more minutes to be sure. The only shady spot was the end of the vet check line so we stood there. I asked L about pulsing in and she said "in a minute". Then I asked her again and she said "we already pulsed down". I had to remind her that we didn't go through the official pulse station. (She was tired also)

So, to the pulse station - where Al was great and Shiloh was almost there and then his pulse was low enough. Then back to the vet check line.

When it was our turn, my vet was checking Shiloh's pulse as Al trotted away for his trot out. So, Shiloh's pulse wasn't low enough. I think she had us trot out and his pulse didn't go down, but can't remember. She (vet) told us to take him away and come back when his pulse was down. So we did - some sponging & walking and his pulse was down. Back to the vet check . . .

Ended up with the same vet and she said "Yes, his pulse is down, but now you are overtime." She said we had to be pulsed down within 30 minutes, which is true, but we WERE pulsed down within 30 minutes. L took the horses while I went to go talk to the timekeeper who is also a ride manager for another ride and very experienced. The vet was someone I had never noticed at a ride before. . .

Timekeeper agreed that it didn't sound right and said to talk to the ride manager. Right then, the ride manager walked out of the building so I told her what happened. She went to talk to the timekeeper. While they were talking, I asked another person there if I could have a bottle of water if I brought one back later and he said I would need to ask the ride manager. I wasn't about to bother her.

Then the ride manager and I went to the vet area and she talked to the vet. The vet said that someone told her we only had 30 minutes. Then the vet told the ride manager that the ride manager and the head vet for the ride would need to work it out. At that point, I went and sat in some shade near where L had the horses. I'm not sure what happened with that discussion, but a couple of minutes later the ride manager came over with another vet who wasn't head vet and not the vet that originally looked at Shiloh.

to be continued . . .

[DorothyB]

I forgot - at some point, I think when the first vet was talking to the ride manager, she said that Shiloh's gut sounds weren't good so he wasn't "fit to continue" anyway.

The new vet (which is one that I have seen at many rides and is a good vet) took Shiloh's heart rate, which was great by now. He listened to gut sounds which still weren't good since there was very little to eat around the vetting area. He said that Shiloh was complete. He did give me the normal spiel about gut sounds, watching for colic symptoms, if he doesn't eat well soon . . . , etc. While he was telling me this, Shiloh found a bite of grass which made the vet happy. I wasn't really concerned about his gut sounds as I could tell that he was fine and would eat as soon as he could.

The ride manager told L to go get the ride card from the first vet and make sure it was marked complete. I went in search of water for me again while she did this. I was finally able to get to the hose they were filling the horse tanks with and put water on my face, arms and back of my neck. I also drank a little. It really helped. Then L and I went back to the trailer.

L fed both horses for me so I could sit and drink I started feeling better. Then she gave me my ride card . . .

That is NOT what happens to ride cards. Once the horse is pulled or complete, the card goes to the timekeeper. The rider doesn't get the card back until AFTER the results are completely tabulated, and then only if "complete". Also, the ride card had several of the items to check not completed like back soreness, tack wounds, etc, etc.

After I finished my phone call to keet bringing her up to date, L and I took the horses back to the vetting area. I told the timekeeper what happened and she told me to get a vet to fill in the card. The vet said Shiloh's gut sounds were great, filled in the rest of the card and we were finally done and I got my 4th completion - 100 miles done.

Did I deserve the completion? I think so. I did some reading in the rule book and other places. Shiloh had to be presented to the vet's within a certain amount of time. Can't remember exactly, but I think it was a bit ambiguous and he was presented with lowered pulse prior to the earliest of the two possible deadlines. Was he fit to continue? The rule book says specifically that he can be fit to continue at a slower pace, so if he was fit for me to leave camp at a walk, then he was fit. If a horse's gut sounds are bad at a vet check during the ride, the vet usually says to make sure they eat & drinking before going back out, but still passes them. If things are bad enough, the vet will "hold the card" and have them come for a recheck before heading out and Shiloh sounded great on his recheck. I also read an article (I think the AERC magazine?) on vet checks / holds / etc and it said that any one item like gut sounds isn't a reason to pull a horse, but that a combination of things might be - and specifically mentioned something like decreased gut sounds on a horse that was obviously bright, alert and happy. So, possibly bad CRI recovering (heart rate not going down) plus bad gut sounds might be cause for a recheck.

Now what? Lessons learned?
1) Need to do more conditioning . . . haven't gone on a long ride in several weeks and the next ride is in 3 1/2 weeks! We did do a fast 6 miles before Christmas and two slower rides of 6 and 7+ miles last week at a slower pace. Will be riding this weekend!

2) I got the heart rate monitor after Shiloh had trouble pulsing down at the Old Glory hot & humid ride. I didn't have it for this ride. He hasn't had trouble pulsing down at training rides, but we only go a max of 15 miles, not 25 miles. I need to use the heart rate monitor. This ride ended up being about 15 degrees hotter than had been forecast, but shouldn't have been "too hot" for Shiloh.

3) Make FULL use of all of the time I have. If I have 30 minutes to pulse down after coming in at the finish, then take 20+ minutes even if he is pulsed down after 10 minutes. Then take my time heading over to the vet check

4) MUST be sure to electrolyte. I've only been giving him 1/3 of the recommended dose, so need to get closer to the recommended dose. He also didn't get the calcium gluconate this ride and I need to be sure he gets that.

5) I'm going to start leaving snacks at the vet in area for him

6) I ordered a sponge, but it didn't arrive before we left for this ride. I will be using it as needed at future rides.