Saturday activities

I have been meaning to write this since Saturday and I keep getting bogged down with emotional breakdowns and pre-ride stress...so here goes.

I think that Maggie's horse, Dixie, may be one of the most underrated NATRC horses ever. She's not built that well, but Maggie adores her. She can be a bit stubborn and her maneuverability is a little tricky...she gets stuck a lot. Not anyone can ride her. While she's incredibly safe and trustworthy, she's also very forward and sometimes will demonstrate her displeasure at someone inexperienced hopping on by going faster than they prefer. She's honest, so she never bucks or does anything nasty, but if you aren't watching out you'll be back at the gate before you know it.  What I love about riding Dixie, and having Maggie ride Dixie is that she is so incredibly steady.  With the exception of spooking at the occasional cut log (which is mostly signified by stopping) she will keep chugging in her own rhythm, for a long, long time.  She is pretty fast at the trot and i don't much like her canter (but that's OK b/c she's not my horse) and she would rather rather trot anyway. Saturday, maggie and I swapped horses for awhile (she rode Liberty) and I was blown away by how steady she is in her natural rhythm. The problem is that she's a little fast for her own good and can blow her own P&R's by rating difficulty...but when you rate her, sometimes she's tense and her back is sore, so I wonder if she's not better off just chugging along. Her nice, easy, comfortable trot is Liberty's canter. He used to trot big too, but one day discovered it was easier to do a slow slop and so now that's what he does, but Dixie just trots and trots.  Maggie is going to try open on her again next year. She was successful in two rides in 2010, but over the summer Dixie didn't sweat and then she wasn't ridden b/c she wasn't sweating so the fall rides didn't go so well for her...but next year will be different as we've found a  way to manage her issues through dietary changes. 

In other news, Joe Bear went to a new home Saturday. Right now, it's just a trial to see if they get along. He will be a child's pony and keep an old thoroughbred company while his Percheron cross counterpoint is showing in dressage.  They tell me he's settling in great and they have a way for him to be able to eat more than I could manage. We'll know in a couple weeks if it's going to work out or not. Watching him run around their pasture, it was hard to believe that he is an old man of at least 36.  He acted more like 15 or younger.  It was hard when he chased us down the driveway after the trailer, but I know that he will be happy and get tons of attention.

Trouble with Heat

Maggie and I got to ride at the Trace Trails today in Athens, TX. We had a pleasant ride in spite of the heat, except that Dixie had trouble with the heat. Her heart rate was fine, her temperature was slightly high, but not too bad, but her breathing was out of control. We trotted/cantered a little, but not a lot. We mostly walked. She was eating and drinking well and acted normal, except for the panting. I haven't been able to figure out what the problem was since she didn't seem to actually be hot. She didn't sweat as much as Liberty, but she did sweat. She also got another girth gall from the English saddle Maggie has been using, so it's back to the saddle drawing board. I'm not sure what we will do about The Other Half ride next weekend. Dixie was still panting when she unloaded at home in spite of multiple hosings. She got right off the trailer and started eating. She never had any signs of stress. Her gums weren't injected and her skin didn't tent. She was a little better after a dose of electrolytes, but I am very puzzled.

Indian Territory

This weekend is the Indian Territory trail ride. This is one of my most favorite rides in the region since the only time we can ride at John Zink ranch is this time of year, on an organized ride. Maggie has never ridden this ride with me and I'm so happy she'll be with me this year. She's excited because there is a full class of juniors. She is eager to test her skills against some other kids to have some feedback about how well she and Dixie are truly doing. She says she'd rather come in last against the other kids than come in first only because she is the only kid. I don't think she has much to worry about since two weeks ago at Pole Canyon ranch she did so well. Her scores were in the top 2 competitors both days, even though she was the only junior. I would love to do well because IT is the one place I have one twice...once on Deli and once on Freeley. It would be cool to get a trifecta...but I don't expect it. The class has 10 people currently so I will just go and have fun and hope we finish sound.

I still haven't had time to post about Pole Canyon. I think part of my problem is that I had so much fun, it's hard to sit down and write it out. I'll do better at IT...I'll post from the ride on my phone as it happens.

We bought a new tent for the ride. It's a 14x16 cabin tent. I think it's the same size as my living room at home, LOL. I wasn't going to set it up b/c Maggie and I like camping in our truck, but with a 50% chance of rain I think maybe I will set it up to have a dry place to sleep. I can't leave the windows down in the trailer if it's going to rain. I will at least take it with us. We leave tomorrow morning at 5am.