Red Horse Syndrome

Is it just me or do these lovely red chestnut horses truly believe the earth revolves around them? I can be brushing a grey horse and suddenly it turns into red hair. "Hey didn't I already brush you?"

Some call them chestnuts others classify them as sorrell, doesn't matter because they all have a superior attitude and just "know" they are the best. Their eyes reveal an intelligence that no horse should have, I mean they are forever outsmarting us. Thunder thinks of things to trip me up, and I have to think of ways to convince him that what I want was really his idea in the first place. In the herd they have to be first through the gate, first to get their hay, they need to be first at everything just like a border collie.

When Thunder was born I instantly knew he was "my" horse. A unique connection existed. I could feel this one was special. On his web page I placed the old Arab proverb of: "If one tells you that he has seen a horse fly in the air, ask what color it was. If he says Chestnut, believe him." Thunder absolutely resembles that remark. I call him my flying carpet.

The red horse is noble, demands attention either by being a pain in your bum or just by his regal stature that catches everyone's eye. I remember Merri Melde saying about Thunder, "Oh he's beautiful." I quickly whispered back, "Oh please don't tell him that, his ego is already far too big!" I think he heard me because minutes later I was in the dirt - but that's another story.

I swear Thunder is the reincarnation of my big beloved red horse, Sunny. That horse was the most mischevious animal that ever walked the earth. No gate was safe unless it was chained and padlocked. When tied to the trailer he would undo two lead ropes and be gone. If a buddy was at the trailer he would untie him too, after all it's more fun to escape with a pal. Sunny would buck evey morning upon entering the racetrack with his fourth "pony" of the morning. One morning a friend asked to borrow Sunny as his pony horse was done for the day, I said sure. He came back and said "Man this bugger can buck!" I calmly counted one, two, three, "Yup that was his fourth one for the day, he always bucks on that one!" He didn't buck on the others, just the fourth one.

Another red horse, Domino, was an amazing athlete, also opinionated and mischevious. He and Andi had a brother/sister relationship. He'd see a mud puddle while trotting down the trail and aim for it, slamming a hoof down in the middle of it and spattering her with mud. She'd reach up and tweak his ear. I actually saw the two of them stick their tongues out at each other!

The redhead is a challenge but in the long run they are amazing horses. Thunder will never be truly trained or broke, and don't even think of him as a mode of transportation. Over the years I have learnt that Thunder is not my horse. It's more like I am his human. It is my duty to be his slave and he rewards me with a treat, a magical ride upon his back. And together we get to see many places and travel as one.

Seabiscuit vs Zenyatta?

Can you imagine a race that would round up the best horses in the history of Thoroughbred racing to run against one another? What a match race that could be!! Of course it never will happen other than in my imagination. But think of the greats, all lined up, snorting, stomping, waiting to break from that starting gate.

In true reality, over the years there have been few truly GREAT Throughbred race horses.

Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown in 89 years of racing, with the last being Affirmed in 1978. And if you look at the stats, some of the greatest horses never even won the Triple Crown. Man O'War, Seabiscuit, Zenyatta, to name just a couple.

Match races, the practice of one man's horse against another, was common place in the 1800's. In 1938 the race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit was billed as the Greatest Match Race of The Century. Two very accomplished and well matched athletes. One a Man O'War son, the other a grandson. Those two horses moved stride for stride, side by side, in perfect tune with each other down the back stretch. With the outcome being Seabiscuit by 4 amazing lengths! Interestingly enough, Man O'War was victorious in 1920 in his match race against Sir Barton.

The interest in match races dwindled after the 1950's. And I'm not sure there has been a major match since the tragic race between Ruffian against Foolish Pleasure.

I look back and have to ask myself, could todays champions hold a candle to those who raced 50 or 60 years ago? Who would be the real victor? Would the horses of the past be even faster in todays environment of better training, feeding and management skills?

Would the horses from back in the day run circles around our modern thoroughbreds? Or would it be the other way around? You can't compare race times because there are different factors for each day, and timer malfunctions such as with Secretariat at the Preakness. Could Secretariat and his 31 length win at the Belmont compare to Rachel Alexandra's victory in the Oaks by 20+ lengths?

Oh and the money! The big money earners get bigger each year. Compare the very first Preakness purse of $2050 to todays Breeders Cup Classic of $5 Million.

All of this is merely a mystery. A fantasy race in my mind of the greats from the past against the best of today. It's not much more than comparing apples to grapes I suppose. But it is something a lot of fans can't help but wonder from "Horse of The Year" - year after year.

The result will always be "I wonder if......". Meanwhile we just have to admire each horse for what he/she is on their own merits.

What? No camera?

Yeah that's right. I didn't take my camera today. Not sure why. Maybe because it's fall and so much of the desert is brown. Maybe I just didn't think I'd need the camera. Sometimes it's hard to take pictures on Blue anyway.
But the bottom line was, as that gorgeous hawk just sat there on the branch with the azure sky behind him, I had no camera. And he wasn't taking flight either. He was just watching us travel down the sand gully. I thought of Andi's new "power" camera with the 15X optical zoom. WOOHOO! I could've zoomed in on that hawk's beady little eyes. But - no camera.
I also saw four fat dark colored mule deer. No horns in the bunch as they lingered and lwatched us ride by.
Then there was the lone coyote after the mouse. You knew no one had been hunting him because he also paid little attention to us. The ones around home are long gone if you get within a quarter mile of them! But this old boy just glanced at us, and went back to his mouse. Cocking his head to one side, pawing the grass a little. He was working on a mid day snack. And me, who loves to take pictures, had no camera!
I only had the camera in my little pea brain and I hope it holds on to those images for a very long time.

Fall has BLOWN in!

The winds of Fall. They range from a 15 mph breeze to 40 mph blasts! And yesterday we rode in both. Linda and I thought about skipping the idea of a ride, but then admitted that sadly, summer is gone. Long gone. Those hot days that some folks whined about are gone and those of you who live for cooler days are dancing happily right now. While I whine and pile on extra clothes.

But nevertheless we did ride. Thunder the wonder horse discovered a nice herd of deer as they bounced out of the cottonwoods along the little creek. They were sheltered from the wind there. There were several does, fawns and one big buck. We seldom see deer in there so he had to get all excited and racey. He snorted and blew, his eyes bugged out, his tail was high and he was just a bugger! But I still enjoyed the deer. They must have spooked up a coyote because we saw him running in the opposite direction and crossing our path up ahead.

So on up the hill we went only to have a lone motorcycle come racing over the hilltop above us. He did see us and he was gone in a flash! A man on a mission evidently. The trail wasn't dusty at all thanks to the rain overnight. The wind swirled around us and the horses and they felt as though they were walking on eggs. Why do they always do that on blustery days? We just meandered through the sagebrush, up and down hills, having a good time. Occasionally we managed to get out of the wind.

But wait, here comes the biker again from the distance. He went straight up a hill and then back down again, and took off up the draw, and was gone. Man he was fast! I had wanted to go up that draw but thought better of it in case he came racing back down. It's a busy day when I see anybody out there. I am usually all by my little lonesome.

The view from the top of the hill was gorgeous as we came back down towards the pickup. The wind had blown out all the clouds. The air was clean. I could see forever! The Snake River wound around the squares of green and brown farmland. A driftboat of fishermen hoping to catch something for dinner caught my eye. The trees were a gorgeous red and yellow, some still hanging on to that last bit of green. A view that is pretty tough to beat and it all made for one great day!

Bye Bye website

Some of you may know that I have a website that I started years ago titled Zapped Ranch. Named for my great old Endurance horse, Zapped, who is 26 now. That was Al's idea and a darned good one. I have moved the site several times over the years and now I need to move it again but not sure where or any of those details. So the present site is closing Oct 26 when Yahoo closes geocities.com.

I may set it up again else where but since I am really no longer in the horse biz I'm not sure that I want to find a site where I need to pay for hosting.

The link is http://www.geocities.com/zmufaurwa if you are inclined to one last look.

Owyhee Canyonlands 2009

The Owyhee Canyonlands Multi day is still one that I haven't finished all 5 days of. I have managed to do all 5 of a couple XP's and the old Lost Wagon Train but Canyonlands has avoided me once again. I was so pumped for this ride, had prepped and worked hard to be ready. Both boys, Thunder and Blue Lightening, were good to go. My back and hip could slow me down, I was aware of that, but I had no idea that my own tendon in a leg would stop me from all 5 days. However, better me to be lame than my horses!

Day 1 saw 50 starters take out of ride camp on the beginning of a great adventure. We rode the Wild Horse Butte, a 50 mile loop which left camp at Bates Creek, crossed Hwy 78, went out across the birds of Prey area, around Wild Horse Butte to the Snake River. Gorgeous. The horses drank deeply from the river and then we traveled along the river and up the hills, leaving it far behind, through washes and gully's where we met up with an unhappy rattler. I didn't stop to make friends. We were on the Oregon Trail for several miles which is pretty awesome. Then back to camp.

Day 2 was Castle Creek and we crossed so many creeks and canyons that I am really not sure which was which. The canyons and rock formations were gorgeous. The wind however was wicked and was about to blow us off our horses on the ridgetops. I loved the old wagon sitting alongside the dirt road not far from a ranch. This day and all days were 50 mile loops pf trail with all out vet checks. It was fantastic and beautiful, sandstone ledges, a vast land of many colors. However a few miles from the finish my ankle was snapping and popping and didn't want to support me so we were slow. But we finished. It felt better after I walked around for a bit so I was optimistic for day 3.



Day 3 my ankle felt good, I wrapped it with vet wrap and duct tape "just in case" but trotted out of camp on the Alder Creek 55 feeling good about the day. Linda took the day off her mare and rode Blue. I love watching that horse move, he is so pretty! We rode South across Hart Creek to Browns Creek for a vet check and somewhere in between that blasted ankle started to ache. In the vet check a friend gave me an ankle brace, we wrapped over top of that. Got the high topped riding shoe on and wrapped over that. It felt pretty solid. Out of Browns Creek and off towards Toy Mtn for one very rocky and hilly loop that would take us through canyons, creeks, by old homesteads and back to the vet check at Browns Creek. It was slow going, first due to rocks and then due to my ankle and pain radiating up the leg. Just great! After the vet check it was trot for a mile and walk for half to rest the bad leg. I was leaning off to the side and that wasn't good for my horse. Dropped the stirrups a notch and rode with me knees trying not to use stirrups at all. That's fine for a few laps around a show ring but not realistic for 16 miles of cross country. But we made it in with an hour and a half to spare. But I decided no more rides I'd just help at the vet checks.

Day 4 was Sinker Creek Canyon, considered rocky but not for miles on end like day 3. There are raptor nests in the canyon walls and it is super scenic trail and everyone was doing great as I pulsed horses down in the vet check. Each day did also offer a Limited Distance ride but theswe just aren't an option for me although these averaged about 17 entries each day. Turns out that my ankle isn't really the problem, but a symptom. The real problem is to put it simply, tendonitis, but that will probably take longer to heal than a sprained ankle. I think I should have stuck with the ankle but no choices there!

Day 5 there were still 6 same horse rider teams heading out on the trail. Blue and Thunder were unhappy campers and I ventured over to Tom's camp to see if he needed a horse to ride. I walked back with his saddle and Blue was on his way! An insulted Thunder was having a fit, "Hey remember me? I'm Top Dog! You can't leave me in camp!" I spent the day as the vet check timer, which was kinda fun but I'd rather ride. The next best thing was seeing my horse on the trail with a good friend! Sigh.... A total of 31 started the 50 and 29 completed. The trail was changed a bit from the first days trail and everyone had a wonderful ride despite a bit of cold wind and rain late in the day. The Awards Presentation found us all hovered around the patio heaters behind the house.

This was an amazing ride with the Teeter's doing a great job on the trails and opening up their home and ranch to all of us. What hospitality! And the dinners catered by Blue Canoe were scrumptuous!!! One of the great things was not one horse had to be treated all week! Not one ambulance call for an injured rider! Six teams completed 5 days for 255 miles and there two horse rider teams for the LD five day (all women what happened to the guys?!) and Steph was sure that was a record. The BIG loops of trail were outrageous! It was truly a memorable week of great trails, adventure and friendships! And will I try again next year! Of course I will.

Riding, packing, what to wear...........

I swear I have spent the last week getting ready for the upcoming Owyhee 5 day. After cleaning the trailer out I continue throwing stuff back in. And just when I think I have enough clothes packed the weather forecast changes so I throw in another bag of cooler weather clothes. Which reminds me I had better grab a couple extra warm blankets for the horses too. And Molly, better take her blanket too, she doesn't want to be cold. Geezaloo the list gets longer!

Then I remove a trailer divider and put a couple 12 foot panels in there so I can make a corral for the horse that has to stay in camp on any chosen day. Repack the hay that was in there. Put more hay bales in the pickup and wonder, "Do I need two more?" These two hoovers eat a lot!

The vet check bag is a smaller version of the trailer. Empty it out and repack it. Then it's nearly too heavy to lift! Need one with wheels.

All this in between trying to ride nearly every night and that means having the trailer usable at all times. Tires are aired up and good. Truck fluids and tires are good. The boys are recently shod.

Put a temp cross fence on the pasture so Zap & Hollie can take care of themselves for a few days. The list never ends. Don't forget to give the garden that last shot of water either. One of those cantelopes needs to ripen before I go because I wanted to take it with me.

The sun is coming up so I guess I had better continue my preparations. Going over to Linda's later to help her pack panels and hay in her trailer. This is more work that the ride probably but looking forward to a week of riding! and not wanting to think about the unpacking and laundry when I get back. :-)

Shadow Dancing

Summer is slipping away. I took Blue out for a ride after work tonight and on the way back down the hill the shadows were L-O-N-G! The days are gradually losing daylight. WAH! I like the cooler temeratures, now in the 80's, but I don't want to lose summer yet. I want more time to ride and dance with the shadows. I think shadows are quite interesting, after all they make me look tall and skinny. :-)

The Snake River, far below us in this pic, was as smooth as glass tonight. Every tree along the river as well as the big bridge was a perfect mirror image. I'm not sure that I have ever seen it so smooth and quiet. The only ripples were those created by a speed boat.

The lizards were racing everywhere, perhaps they know Summer is nearing it's end also. Thankfully I didn't have any rattle snake encounters. :-)

I did see a Great Horned Owl up close and personal tonight as I was changing the irrigation water after my ride. He was big and gorgeous and I went inside to get my camera. Came back out and he was gone, so were the cats. I thought perhaps he had stolen one but nope, they were smart enough to hide under the car!

Summer heat

The weather has been HOT but the riding goes on. You just try to start earlier and take more drinks with you. That drinking thing is really important - even tho I drank a LOT yesterday, I was still dry from the heat. An endurance rider can't hide from the heat because when you are on an endurance ride and it gets hot, you have to be prepared. Besides I always figure it'll make me stronger in the long run and MAYBE I'll sweat off a pound if I'm lucky.

Today Blue and I did the 12 mile loop and he is just getting better and better all the time. He is going to be a fun horse to ride. Blue is very sensitive, still a bit fussy about wanting his rider centered and not messing around with stuff when you are trotting along. When he starts wiggling those ears back and forth you better take a deep seat and stop playing with what you were playing with.

I was quite impressed with him last week in the storm though because when he started to play and act up, all I did was say HEY and touch the reins and he stopped! Most horses would have kept playing around and dancing for a few minutes but he listens pretty well. He reminds me a lot of old Zap, he's better behaved but he moves effortlessly like Zap and he cools down well like Zap. In a year or so maybe I can take him on a 100 miler and we'll see. :-)

A TWO-FER DAY!

Yesterday was a Two-For-One day of riding! Took both Blue and Thunder and hauled over to Joe's. I met Linda there and we took Thunder and her mare Ari for a ride. Blue was left tied to the tree and her mare, Ellie, was at her trailer. We headed out blazing trail through 6 foot tall Kosha weed along the fenceline then headed towards the canal and the hills on the other side. There are some good climbs over there and normally decent footing for trotting all the hills and giving the horses a good workout. There were some washouts and ruts from June's flash floods but it wasn't too bad. The bigtime consuming factor were the gates. The rancher had tightened and done some work on several of them and they took forever to open and close. Take several gates that take up ten minutes each and it's easy to add an hour to your riding time! But we had a great ride and the horses worked up a good sweat and it didn't get too hot. We got back and took care of those two then went down to visit with Linda's mom. That gave us a nice break to drink up and get ready to go again.

Now it was Thunder's turn to stay tied at the tree while we trailered down Succor Creek Rd and did our favorite loop down there. Blue and Ellie had never been ridden out together before and they eying each other and a bit leery of going side by side at first. This area took a big hit with the flash floods with wide swaths of damage. Some of the landscape was totally rearranged and we need to make a few new trails. Blue handled the washouts well and didn't spook at the piles of dirt, sagebrush and rocks like Thunder does. Linda's mare handled fine too and Blue kept looking at his new friend wondering to himself, she's red like Thunder but she doesn't chase me.

It sure was nice to get both horses ridden in one day. Feels like i did an endurance ride after riding two hroses in one day! I find it tough to have the time to keep both young horses going. It takes a lot of work, discipline and dedication. But Blue is going to be a really nice horse. I forgot my camera though, that was a bad thing because I always see something and wish that I'd had it. Today we are having some storms go through so may not get in a ride this afternoon afterall.