ColliesHorsesArtLove

Merry Christmas (& 7 More Months to Tevis!!!!)

My favorite day of the year ~ Christmas Eve!! No more dilly dallying with Ali'i. I'm so excited!!!!

Love to All My Blog Stalker Friends!!!!

The Smooshy Arabians

I knew the horses were wanting to eat because they were making their way towards the house. Ali'i then just stood by the fence staring into our house. Sabi came up a little later and they started their chewing on each other's muzzles. They do it every morning and evening and it drives Squishy crazy!!

 

Janine told me if I ever wanted to get rid of Ali'i she'd take him and make him into a house pet!! That would be an interesting blog post!!

The Snow Is STILL Here!!

I blogged all day. What a bum. Then I went out and took more pictures to blog. So here ya go!!

Aura. She looks a lot happier with the sun out.

 

Tirzah and Soleil. They love playing, but really seem pretty wild about the snow!

Zoe was a little slower than the young dogs.

I love this picture of Ty. I put him in this next picture, even though it's really kind of odd looking for a variety of reasons. I like the halo around him!

This is real! Squishy!!!

Tahoe eating some grass that finally surfaced. He's so pretty!

Tahoe & Ali'i. Sabi is in the background.

Zoe & Soleil ~ You gotta think if they were wolves my horses would be much more scared!! Actually I make sure my dogs are afraid of the horses. I usually don't let them get this close when everyone is out loose.

This photo was taken earlier today as the sun was trying to peek out. 

This photo was seriously Photoshopped as it was almost black when I opened it up. We went for a drive thru our neighborhood and as we drove home there was a lot of "fog" around the streams and ponds. You can kind of see it behind the trees, but this picture doesn't do it justice. Really intense!!!            

Wimpy Training Ride

I woke up yesterday morning horribly dizzy which happens on occasion but I needed to do another conditioning ride with Ali'i. Since I was going very slow, I decided to take some pictures with my little camera. Ali'i was a little fussy yesterday, as I'm thinking he's thinking he just got back from this place the night before. I take a lesson with Janine every week and we'd done the hill 3x's and his heart rate is starting to come down, so the work is paying off. I'm whining about a little dizziness and on Sunday Janine was run over by a client horse in the trailer and was still out that day training. The front and backs of her legs and a foot were trampled on. We happened to be out at the same time, so I got to see the damage. Were her legs broken? No, but that would have been really cool. Still out working with broken legs ~ Endurance....how crazy are people?  Anyway, yesterday I think Ali'i was taking advantage of me fumbling around. He wasn't bad, because he's not a bad horse, but just little stuff he was less patient with. Anyway, we only did the hill once and I was done.

Here is the start of our training. It's a total of 8 miles down, the up, then down, then up, then down, then all the way up and back to the trailer. Ali'i's butt is very handsome!!!

Here is my little baby boy with a big snack in his mouth. Somehow the bit didn't make it in his mouth which I noticed later at the bottom of the hill. I just was all stupid yesterday.

Anyway, we walk the horses down off their backs to save their legs (and it's probably safer for iron-shod horses as it's steep in places and a gravel road) then we ride them up at a nice slow trot.

Now tell me, does this look like a mountain lion wanting for us to ride by for a big snack?? This is what I saw several weeks back when I was riding alone in the late afternoon. Just about made me pass out! Even Janine mentions it now when we see it.

Look at him. "We're training for what race next July??????"
T keeps telling Ali'i he's going to hide him a month before......

This is another trail across the river (you can see the zig zag trail) that goes to Cool. Janine said she loved riding that trail as part of a conditioning ride, but asked me how we were going to get across. (Apparently several years ago the river used to be diverted thru a tunnel at the bottom and you could just ride across the canyon without going into the river.) I looked at her kinda surprised because I've gone across with Ali'i a few times wading thru the river. I must either be really brave or really stupid but I thought it was a no-brainer. She said she'd try it with me soon. She figured if little Ali'i could do it and we weren't swimming, it would be ok for her big arabians.

My Ride With Khemali'i and NOT The Dog Show!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this is a really bad picture of my stirrup and Ali'i, but it's all I have. And, I'm not blogging on the dog show right now....

I went for a ride on Thursday before the big 5 specialties shows that Dina was driving up for. I had to get my conditioning ride in with Ali'i because Blog Stalker Friends, in case you missed it, I am conditioning for TEVIS!! So, I went out with my little baby boy to the hill that I am methodically riding, according to my trainer's wishes. We walk down about 2 miles, then trot up 1/2 way, then walk down, the trot all the way up. If we do more we trot the hill 3 x's. When Ali'i's heart rate isn't so high at the top we'll move to more times up the hill or to another place. Since I survived the "mountain lion" I was off to the same place! With my lesson on Monday, the horse that Janine was conditioning spooked at a bicycle rider on the hill above us so when he spooked on the asphalt I said "Thank God for rubber boots!!" (Meaning my "Easy Boot Gloves")

Whatever.

The next day I was walking down the hill and called Dina because she was making her big trip to No. Calif. on her own. (For you So. Calif. friends, she doesn't even know what the town next to her is called!) She's pretty pathetic. BUT, I love her despite her being geographically impared!!

Anyway, darling little baby Ali'i was walking behind me and shook. His shakes are like 25 magnitude earthquake! They are almost hard to sit. I don't know if it was from the shake or a few second after, but all of a sudden he was on the ground rolling on his side. WTF!!!!!!!! I got him up and he just had this look of shock and confusion on his face. 3 of his 4 EasyBoot Gloves were tweaked, meaning, 2 were flung around the front of his pasturns, and the 3rd was almost off his front hoof. I re-adjusted the 3 boots and noticed he scrapped his right front knee and his splint boot had a gouge in it. Then, my stirrup was all bent up, because he had landed on it. (Always keep an extra pair of stirrups in your trailer!) I decided to continue my conditioning ride, because my goal is Tevis, so off I was down the hill. When I got on my horse at the bottom of the hill, the strirrup  looked ok, but it wasn't. Past the Mountain Lion spot, it broke more and I rode up the hill trying to hold on with my knees without putting weight in the stirrups.....(I'm supposed to do that anyway). By the time I got to the top, the stirrup was trashed, but I was able to repair it with cable ties!!! I love those things!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The Multi-Post ~ We Sucked At The Dog Show But Ali'i's Cute!!!!

What a fun day at the dog show.....as far as winning ~ not so good, but as far as seeing friends, that was wonderful!

There was a total entry of 8 (3-3-1-1). Ty got Reserve to the blue-headed white shown on an earlier post....Soleil got Reserve to a gorgeous sable merle Oktoberfest daughter of Jessica Whitman's. In my book, Soleil didn't quite even deserve the Reserve, as she was absolutely horrendous in the ring. She was lunging, barking and galloping. People remind me that her darling mom was the same way, and I suppose I remember (Tirzah's mom also was the same way, so it certainly seems genetic). Then, Tirzah got BOS to BOV which was the Winner's Dog.......Coley Bear, (Ch. Easy To Spot Whirlaway HC) got dumped. Tomorrow is another day.

Anyway, the picture is of Ali'i in his new Kensington cotton summer sheet. I took a picture because the sheet will probably never look as good as when it's first new. We are in training for.........Tevis next year so I am doing everything Janine tells me (minus those pesky iron shoes), as I figure she has 6 buckles and 2 of her 3 riders finished this last year. Since I am not getting to Tevis on my own, I've "signed up" with her and so far I am very excited! The blanket part, I'm not and this particular blanket will be a transport blanket only when he is hot and sweaty from a ride. He has another one for the pasture and I've already found out who to call to fix it when it gets eaten by the other horses (or hung up on the fence!). 

Anyway, I ride with Janine once a week, so she can make sure I am riding him properly (according to her training she did with him), and work him at home in the round pen 2-3x's a week. I also have to go out by myself which I hate 1-2x's a week. This last week was my first ride alone in almost a year, as I really haven't ridden him much since my 50 miler last year. We went out and did this particular hill 3x's and on the last time up, it was getting a little later in the day and I thought I saw a mountain lion standing in wait for me and my tasty little Ali'i. I was so terrified because as I looked up the road, I could see him just standing there in a "stalking" position. I rode forward bravely, then very terrified, I turned around to see if it truly looked like a mountain lion. I had to ride down the road probably 2/10ths of a mile and as I did, I was thinking to myself "Is this how I am going to die???". I finally turned back and looked again and noticed the mountain lion had not moved an inch and somehow I figured it was an optical illusion. So, I rode up the hill and sure enough, it was these wooden posts that lined the cliff side of the road. Thank God. I was free to ride again, though I did hurry a little as I still had another mile or so to get back to my truck & trailer. There will be many more rides alone on my quest for that buckle. Guess I just gotta just suck it up!!

Little Khemali'i In School

I went to watch Ali'i get ridden at Janine's today. These pictures aren't the best, as I was shooting into the shade, but they are still bloggable. Look at his fluffy little legs! I love that about him. He's kinda like a mini draft horse!

He's dropping his head nicely and rounding his back. She's very pleased with him and comments a whole bunch on how smart he is. (Aaaawwwwhhhhhhhh.....Smart Ali'i!) I find him very easy to do stuff with, as he doesn't stress too much about new things. We like to think it's the Khemosabi horses that are so exceptional.

Ali'i's gotten very light in the mouth though most of the time I rode him in a halter so we didn't have too much bad bit training. He's also learning a nice fast walk and different speeds of trot and to stay in them consistently.

He's still barefoot and worst case scenario is I glue on Renegades or the EasyBoot Gloves, so Janine doesn't have to mess with boots when she starts taking him out on the trail. She's an ironshoeaholic (oh ~ did I say that?), but she has said he's got pretty feet and is staying sound (duh.....). Anyway, he's only got one more month and then we're done. So maybe we can do boots for only a couple of weeks.

It's fun to watch my horse get ridden by someone who knows how to ride. It's kinda like watching your dog get shown by someone else who does a great job. I never get to see those things. I also don't think I've ever seen Janine wear any other type of riding gear. I haven't seen her in the winter, but something tells me she rides in shorts even in the freezing cold. (I'll let you know!) She's also got this saddle that looks like it's been thru about 10,000 rides and more than a few bucking fits. (This is not the one she rides on the trail). I guess if the parts are still good, why get a new one.

Comstock Arabian Association ~ 50 Miler

Ali'i and I finished our first 50 mile endurance race yesterday outside of Reno, NV. Donna and Vinita had to cancel at the last minute, so we were riding alone. T and 3 dogs went with the toyhauler, so that was nice, as I had someone to come back to for vet checks & holds. I started 10 minutes later than everyone else to keep the bucking/rearing factor from happening and it was a good idea.

The first loop was 25 miles and nearly flat the whole way. We hooked up with another horse & rider about 5 or so miles out and were able to ride together. We did that loop in just under 3 hours. The second loop was 15 miles and I started out alone. Ali'i was tired, even though he had a one hour hold back at camp. He was very slow and for some reason I thought the loop would be a piece of cake. It was a piece of hell, though, I have to say, very, very pretty. Lots of juniper & sage overlooking the desert. I kept thinking the trail would go off back towards camp and it just kept climbing and making right turns, instead of lefts, which I had envisioned. Ali'i already let 2 groups of riders trot past him and didn't care. We climbed and turned right and I would get on and get off, run with him, walk with him ~ whatever I could to keep him from getting exhausted. It was sprinkling a little bit and very, very windy. When we finally crested the top of the hill and I could see civilization again, we still had over an hour ride back to camp. I was so depressed and sad then I remembered why this is called endurance. I HATED it!!!! Every part of my body was sore and rubbed too much in some places and my horse was doing his best to trot a few steps, then walk. There wasn't water for miles and when we finally got to some, he drank for 5 minutes it seemed. Camp was still a couple of miles away and I was hoping that I missed something at the ride meeting the night before that this was really a 25 mile loop and we'd be done. Hahaha.....

When I got back to vet in, there were no P & R people to check in my horse. They said that they thought everyone had come in. At first I was just plain tired, then I was pissed that no one in management knew there was still one rider out there. Ali'i vetted in very well, almost all A's for everything, except a B for attitude (poor horse....he missed riding with Vinita!)

Off we were again after a 15 minute hold for the last 10 miles. It was an easy loop with one climb. Ali'i started out with some nice energy and trotted for several miles til we hit the hill. I let him walk and alternated getting off and on, running and walking with him. We had gone 5 miles when we saw a truck and it was part of the ride help. They had been told there was no one left riding so they were just about to dump all the water troughs and haul them back to camp. Pissed again (not at them) but at the lack of communication, my horse drank and ate like a champ. 5 more miles to go with one more water stop. He trotted and cantered off and on all the way back to camp and when we finally found a vet, he was vetted in again with almost all A's.

The ride, apparently for the seasoned, was probably considered fairly easy, though I did hear from others that they thought that 15 mile loop was inaccurate on real miles & difficult. I finished with a good 2 hours to spare (12 hours is the maximum allowable time for 50 miles), and apparently I was only about 15 minutes behind the last 2 finishers (I was proudly last with a very sound horse.) What bothered me most is that ride management didn't know I was still out on the last 2 loops and had even started the dinner and awards before I had even gotten back (which I think also happened with the 2 finishers before me). Maybe that's typical, I don't know. But, I do think it's very poor management to not know there is still a rider out and a truck is sent out to knock over water troughs before horses get there. Not only that, had I not had Tony there, they might not have known and God forbid my horse dump me and cause me serious grief. I was very disappointed and also felt that because I wasn't riding fast, I really wasn't part of the race. The motto in endurance is "To Finish Is To Win" and that is my goal as I learn this sport. Regardless of the lack of communication I am so proud of Ali'i.

NEWS FLASH!! I rode in Renegades the whole way (a new pair in the rears) and they stayed on great. I cable-tied the velcro straps as extra security which stayed on the top straps. The toe straps on 3 busted loose but didn't affect anything. I had to replace a velcro strap on the rear boot after 40 miles as it was getting a little beat up at the seams. I was very, very happy and can't recommend these boots enough! At some point I will try the glue-on shells for a rockier ride, but for now, these were perfect!