On the Road Again...

The view from our trailers in Winnemucca....plenty of snow still on the mountains...


Ok, so maybe I got a little behind with the posting... was a tad busy the last little bit. But now, we can continue our journey :)
We left Dr.Jen's after a morning of re-arranging, health paper exams, and stocking up on feed. Bound for new territory (driving I-80 through Nevada and beyond), our next stop was going to be Winnemucca, Nv. We had heard they have a nice fairgrounds facility with good bathrooms, showers, the works. Sounded good! And our friend Laney was going to meet us there so we could caravan the rest of the trip together. Leaving Palo Cedro, we headed down Hwy 44 in the shadow of Mt. Lassen. Always a pretty drive, this takes you to Hwy 395 and then into Susanville, CA.
I actually grew up part of my childhood in Susanville...2nd through 5th grade I think. It was a great place to be a kid, if you liked the outdoors. Winters you could go sledding and play in the snow (lots of skiing close by in the Sierras too), and summers were spent in trees and roaming the surrounding forests and mountains. Swimming up at Eagle Lake was always fun as well.
Our house was at the time on one of the edges of town and backed onto either logging or forest service land or something. I spent many days wandering along deer paths finding secret places to play (a favorite of mine was an old helicopter pad likely used by fire fighters, with a view to die for on the top of a ridge, as well as a boulder heap on the hills overlooking my house, that I could climb around in), and of course hanging out in the pasture below the house.
I didn't have my own horses til I got into college, so was forever begging and pleading for a horse of my own, or even just riding lessons...anything! Well, since those pleas went unheard, I found my own horses...down in that pasture. I'd spend hours down there after climbing through the barbed wire fencing, tracking down the horses (big pastures) and then petting them, watching them, following them..... and yes.... riding them :) These were young years, before knowing about liability laws or the like. No one in the surrounding houses laid claim to the ponies (the land was rented out) and no one was watching anyway...least no one ever came out and yelled at me :). So I would bring some rope down to the pasture and tie it around the horses' heads and climb aboard native-style...often getting dumped as the horse took off running down the pasture. But sometimes they would tolerate me on their backs, and we'd stroll around the pasture, me wallowing in the pure bliss of being able to ride. Occasionally I'd even rope a friend or two into the adventures I had, but usually I was on my own, exploring for hours, or playing in the pasture, with dark my only time limit and my imagination the only limit to what I could do. These early years formed my adventuresome spirit, and partly is why I so love endurance riding now. Combining hours and hours of hanging out with horses, and exploring new places... what could be better?! :) And this is one of the reasons I was so excited about XP...one, giant, adventure exploring the country with my pony :)
So anyway, every time I drive through Susanville, I go back in my memories...one of these days I want to go back with a horse, and see if I can track down some of my old trails that I hiked, that would have been even more fun with horses... But for now, onward...395 all the way to Reno, Nv.
Then onto I-80, and once through Fernley, we go into the great unknown. But it wasn't all too horrid. It took a few hours or so of driving, and a minor detour (the directions on how to get there were somewhat unclear...several Hwy exits led to the fairgrounds and Laney had gone one way, while my GPS was telling me another... but we found them), we pulled in and circled around until we found Laney's rig. Whoo hoo!
Parked next to Laney (we learned later to look for that blue water tank when trying to find her rig in our XP camps :)...) The horses are in the corrals in front of us.

We pulled out the horses and let them run around a small arena near the barns, then took them over to the covered pipe corral area that Laney had picked out. Set up the ponies with food and water, checked in with the camp host, and after dinner, it was already time to crash into bed.

Oliver in his corral...what a PIG...sighhh...

Joy and Eowyn in theirs. Joy definitely wins the cleanliness award :)

The next morning, while getting all packed up, we heard the news...EHV-1 (a respiratory virus that can cause illness, and sometimes even death in horses) was on a roll through the horse world. Oh great...now we had to figure out how that would change our travel plans (no more fairgrounds for sure...would borders stay open? Would the ride still go on??!!), but since we were already underway, we figured we would just keep heading east until we heard otherwise from the Duck. No use panicking just yet :) But I started to look up other options for our overnight stays, that were way off the beaten path and not likely to have had many, if any, horses there recently. Things like RV parks, little B+B horse hotels, etc...
For this drive day, we had planned on getting to Elko, Nv where the brand inspection office was. For those of you (like I was....Ca doesn't do brand inspections) unfamiliar with it, many states require a permanent proof of ownership on a horse. Registration papers and bills of sales do not suffice. So they give out a picture ID, kinda like a driver's license, for the horse, that lists the owner and all the horse's info on it. I think it used to come from the times when livestock (horses counted at the time) were all branded, so you could tell who owned them by what brand they had...well, now a picture ID does the trick instead. Once done, it is good for the lifetime of that horse, so long as it doesn't change owners. Most other states will then recognize this proof of ownership, and is an important thing to have on a horse, if you travel across state borders a lot. Why CA and a few other states don't do this, I haven't a clue, but we had to get one if we wanted to get across all the borders, and if random inspections happened along the way. So off to Elko we went, and after an hour or so of paperwork, taking pictures, and the like, we were handed our temporary (permanent ones came in the mail some weeks later) NV brand inspections on all our horses.
Down the road we continued (it's surprising how fast I-80 drives... way easy and mostly flat out there, good roads, not a ton of traffic..) and heading for our next overnight stop. A fellow endurance rider, Janet Tipton (who does wonderful work with captured BLM mustangs and rides a cute little one at e-rides as well), offered us her place as an overnight, in Utah not too far out of Salt Lake City.
On the way to Janet's...There had been a lot of flooding in many states, and Utah was not left out. That fencline to the right is a normal barbed wire fence...basically totally covered! The road was just barely up over the water....

We managed to pull into her place not too much before sunset either, and set up camp in her front yard (well away from her horses, just in case we picked up something at the fairgrounds, which since we were no where next to other horses, nor in stalls, should not be an issue...but you never know). We were originally going to stay an extra day here to rest the horses, but with summer thunderstorms soaking the ponies, decided to head on down the road. But it was a wonderful stopover... Thanks Janet! :)
Eowyn's first night on the hie-tie on the XP trail. She really seemed to do well on the ties. Eating and sleeping and just hanging out with no issues. Good pony :)

In fact, all the ponies did well on the ties, both ours and Laney's and many of the camp horses. I think this is one of the better horse containment systems around (though we still liked setting up a hot fence corral for them on weekend camps, to give them a bigger area to roam around in...).

Next: Utah and Wyoming...Rain, snow, and more...

The Journey Begins...

Eowyn researching the theory, that the grass always IS greener on the other side.... :)

Never having traveled further than 900 or so miles to a ride, Terri and I were unsure of a good time table to get from here (Trinidad/McKinleyville, Ca) to the ride start (St.Joseph, Mo). Good old Google Maps gave about 1,900 miles and 1 day, 6hrs as a driving time (what, they think you'll drive 24hrs straight through and then some?? Sheesh!).

View Larger Map

So what should we realistically plan for? We figured, to get to Bryce Canyon in Utah, or Grand Canyon in Az (the 900 mile trips), it takes us three days to do so without stressing us or the horses. One short day to the Redding area, then two longer days. So to go twice that distance, it would take 6 travel days. Then we had to figure in one, or several, rest days along the way, as we didn't want to just drive 6 days straight through. Then we also wanted to give the horses at least one rest day upon arrival in St.Joe. So we figured on maybe 10 days give or take, to figure in for travel and rest. This also gave us a good buffer, if things went wrong (like the truck breaking down and having to sit in a no-name town waiting for parts and repairs), and still get us to the ride in time for the start on May 24. So we decided to leave on Sunday, May 15.
Our first stop took us as far as Palo Cedro, Ca, just east of Redding. We were going to stay at our favorite vet (and equine dentist extraordinaire), Dr. Jen Powers of Above and Beyond Animal Care. She has been taking care of my horses for a few years now, and they have never looked, felt, and preformed better. We likely owe a good bit of our XP success to her excellent care of our critters, and if you need a large (or small!) animal vet in the Redding area (and she also travels to our area multiple times a year), look her up! She has a nice little practice and room for a few extra horses now and then (so she is our first eastward bound stop nowadays on the way to rides), and our ponies could get a last glance (and the ever important health certificate) by her, before going on their big adventure.
Part of the wonderful Above and Beyond team: Dr. Jen, her receptionist, and one of the techs (gawds, can't remember their names right now! But they are both wonderful ladies...actually, I think the entire staff is...estrogen city, but it makes for a wonderfully efficient and caring clinic!)

The "lameness exam" roundpen on the right, the "run free" one on the left, a nice setup down below the main barn and office and our overnight area as well.

There is also a shed row of 4 or 5 covered runs for extra stalls beyond the ones up at the barn.

The cast of equine characters on our trip:

Eowyn of course. :) As in every camp, no issues relaxing and sleeping. And usually fairly clean about her manure piles too....

"Casey's Time For Joy"....or just plain Joy. A 6yo KMSH/RMSH mare and the 'backup' horse for both Terri and I. Turns out she became 'Not-a-Joy' as the trip progressed, but you'll see that as we go along the blog. Cute and sweet girl, but not able to deal with the journey as well as the other two ponies. She was THE cleanest horse though. No matter where or how we were camped, she always pooped in one area, away from her food/water/sleep area.

And Oliver the wonder horse. With over 7,000 miles on him already, this Racking Horse gelding of Terri's, was the mentor for the other two on this trip. Easy to ride, easy traveler, nothing phases him. But sheesh... the MESSIEST darned horse EVER. He always pooped in his sleep and food area...sighhh.. and then would stand in it too! Yuck.

And here is our rig setup. The front tack room area was changed around MANY times on our rest days, as we figured out what worked or not, found better places for things, etc. But this is what we pulled into Dr. J's with....

Vital Vaults for the various pelleted foods (and we picked up a 250lb barrel of EGM feed pellets at Dr. J's, that went in here too...really! It did, I swear! ;)...), extra propane tank, wet feed buckets, various small things on the door....

...an 18 gallon water tank in the goofy corner, things with velcro on the wall carpet, and lots of stuff hanging from the tack hooks....

...Pads hanging from the side and ceiling bars, a large shelving unit on the back wall with all our booting supplies, vet supplies, extra tack stuff, repair stuff, truck parts, etc, etc.
With all that in front, there was no room for actual tack in there anymore. So Terri had our local trailer/welder guy make a rear tack compartment for the trailer. He used the saddle rack that was already in the front tack, and then made dividers that could come out if needed, etc. The saddle rack even swings out! He is a master at his craft :) All the saddle and grooming stuff went here, and bridles and such went on hooks on the dividers, as well as hooks on the main trailer door itself. Hay rack up top could hold up to 5 bales (3-stringer...7 of the 2-stringer) of hay, and has a 30 gallon water tank as well.


And the horse area... They now had to learn (except in the very front position) how to back out around the corner tack. They did so just fine (I have a 2-horse straight load trailer, so the backing principle was already there...just learning to turn a corner was new) and we just LOVE the new design. It is much easier having all the tack in the back.
So with the trailer all packed up and ponies ready to go, we left Dr. J's all set to drive into the Undiscovered Country... Next stop was to be Winnemucca, Nv, on I-80, which was a route we hadn't traveled before (we usually took Hwy 50 east through Nv to Az or Ut). There, we were going to meet up with Laney Humphrey, who was going to caravan to St. Joe with us.

XP Success!

On the Pony Trail near Ft.Schellbourne, Nv. Eowyn's first 50. Picture by Morgan G.W.

I will be doing lots of posts in the next while. Eow and I had a WONDERFUL XP and it was a smashing success for everything I had wanted to achieve with her there. Her blog will also double as my XP general blog. I'll try and decompress my experiences day by day and put them all together in some coherent blog form :) What and adventure it has been, and I am soooo not ready t rejoin the 'real world'... The gypsy life was so much simpler and less complicated and really was a great way to live, with getting from point A to point B and taking care of your horse(s) the primary goal. Much better than all the frivolous extra crap we try and fill the days with in this day and age and all the needless worries over stuff that really is not important. Food, water, and a place to camp for you and the critters...that is all that really mattered :) Kinda nice...
Anyway, will take this first post to say a HUGE thanks to those that made our trip possible....
Terri T. of course, since without her sharing the ride and having the rig, I'd not have been out there most likely. Anyone that can put up with me day in and day out for over two months in a small camper, deserves multiple gold stars ;)
Skode's Low Sugar Horse Treats for sponsoring Eowyn's electrolyte needs with the wonderful Salt Squares she makes (go check them out for these, and many other wholesome treats for your equine friends! http://www.skodeshorsetreats.com/)
The Duck and Annie and their XP crew, for all their hard work in setting up a trail/ride for us to all follow. I LOVE these rides and am a total Duckling...quack quack quack :) For info on other XP rides, go here.
And thanks to those riders who babysat me and Eowyn through many of the ride days.... It sure made riding a youngster SO much easier to have a good buddy along... Susan and Fame, Morgan and Beau (who got us through Eow's first 50!), Laney and Dino/Pip, and Maryanne and Beau/Sahara (who had to put up with us most often, I think).
Rick and Cindy...fellow riders/crew. Cindy was great at tracking down hay all the time and getting Rick talked into running a water truck. Rick was awesome in getting the water truck set up and spoiling us in camp with doorstep water deliveries. And on the trail, we'd have been lost (esp those of us without back country road capable rigs) without the wonderful water stops. And then to top it all off, he's a master mechanic, and got our (and likely half the camp's) truck fixed when it was in dire straits. THANK SO MUCH!!!
All the other wonderful crew ppl too, esp Dave Chaton, who graciously shared water or hay/mush/whatever with other riders when they saw us on the trail. It really was a team effort, and though some of us were a weaker link in the team than others, it was great spending 2 months out on the road with everyone and having one hell of an adventure! :):) We were all in it together, and most of us made it all the way to the end, in one form or other. Whoo hoo!!!

First E-Ride..Kinda :)

She sure can be SOOOOO cute when she wants to be! What a face :) Helen has nothing on this pretty pony!

Ok, so Eowyn and I survived our first ride! Technically, we did do a 30 mile ride at the local Cuneo Creek ride two years ago, but I am not counting that one. This one is not really 'official' either, as we did 30ish Duck Miles and it was not a true, sanctioned LD. But that is fine, as it allowed me to take it easy, which resulted in going very slow, and we wouldn't have finished in the time allotted for a 30 miler anyway. But that aside, we traveled, camped, and rode, so we simulated a 'ride' as such. And it all went well! That's the most important part :) This was also a dry run test for the Big XP. Taking all three horses that are going, together for the first time, and to ride both mares on Duck Miles on the same ride day, like I am planning to do on my ride days (at least til they are both in shape to do 50's). That part didn't work as planned, but the rest of the ride went off pretty smoothly and I think these three horses will work well together.

My initial plan had been to ride Eowyn on the first loop and Joy on the second loop on day 1. Mainly because I already knew Joy was ok in camp alone, and not sure about how Eow would act, so I wanted to get Eow a bit tired by riding her first, before leaving her alone. Then on the second day, I would reverse the order of who got ridden when. Both days were two loops, with the vet check back in camp, so it seemed a perfect setup to try this out... Ride the first horse on loop one, untack and eat lunch, tack up horse two, and ride loop two. I'd get 50 miles, the horses would each get an LD. Perfect! Or so I thought..
It seemed simple enough on the map...both loops looked about the same length, and from previous years of riding this ride, I hadn't remembered anything too horrid (did I mention I have a HORRID memory? LOL..hmmmm). Course I had ridden the previous rides on Cheyenne, the been there and done that endurance horse who makes just about every ride seem easy. It might have colored my perceptions about the difficulty of this ride just a little...or a lot.... oops.
Add to this, that Eow had been getting a little laminitic lately (nothing major, but it was causing flaring and tender feet)... I have noticed every year I have to pull her off the pasture (not a ton of grass, but grass nonetheless) earlier and earlier. This year I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have (yes, guilt trips already happened and smacking myself for my stupidity! I really SHOULD know better..not like I am not telling my clients every day about sugar issues in horses...sighhh...) and though she is now off pasture and doing fine, she did have an episode. I decided as a result, to get fancy (never get fancy...stick with the good stuff that has worked in the past, and test fancy on a healthy horse first! LOL) and try a new trimming method I had been researching with the help of a local trimmer, who was using this method. It's a bit more aggressive of an approach, than my normal trims, but since she needed some help, I thought this would do her some good. At any rate, though her feet DO look better right now, due to this more aggressive trim (and the pre-existing sensitivity) she was quite tender footed for about 10 days before the ride. By the ride time, she seemed ok in boots and pads on hard ground/rock/gravel, and fine without on soft stuff...not her 100% normal self, but getting there.
Since she was fine in boots, and movement is a key (I had been walking her a few miles every day since her trim..in boots at first) to this trim, I thought doing some riding would be good. The first loop seemed to lend itself to that as well, as I saw two spots on there, where we could shortcut back to camp if she seemed at all out of sorts. The second loop was not set up as conveniently, so the idea to ride Eow first was just solidified there. Having made my decision, and the horses all tucked away for the night (Eow and Joy on the Hi-Ties, which they were doing great on, and Oliver on the high line), I went to bed fairly happy and ready for the big day.

Here she is napping during the day...a good camp horse :) Nothing much seemed to bother her... She ate, drank, and slept well! We rotated the three horses around on all three spots we had set up throughout the day and weekend.


Woke up tired the next day...didn't sleep too well. Too excited/nervous, and it turns out, Eowyn SNORES. She was on the Hi-Tie closest to the truck (meaning right out the camper's back door, and my couch bed and head are right by the door), and I kept waking up to what I thought was my horse dying. See, Eow doesn't snore like a human...or some dogs do. With that sssnnnnaarrr sound from back in the throat. No...she moooaannnss in a sort of uunnnggghhhh sound as she breathes out. Every breath...and it sounds like she's in pain or something. So I stick my head out with the flashlight the first few times to check on my dying horse, to see her flat on her side (yup, dead horse), eyes shut, perfectly normal looking asleep...but moaning with every exhale. Sigghh...she's snoring. Then I remembered that yup, that is her normal snore (we hadn't camped out but a few times in the last 2-3 years with her, and it had been over a year since the last time I think). So back to bed I went, but I just didn't get much sleep anyway. Oh well, what else is new for a ride night..this is why I like multidays...the first night I rarely sleep well, but then I am fine and sleep like a babe. So on one day rides I am tired and cranky all weekend, where on multiday rides I kinda snap out of it after the second night.
Anyway, back to riding... I get up and coffeed up and dressed, then go to tack up Eowyn..after she's dress it was picture time, because now she looked beautiful and decked out like a REAL endurance horse! So cute! I was hoping she'd act the part she was dressing too, and behave like the big girl she was looking like....
A very proper and adult looking endurance horse, all decked out in tack and her new boots :)

Looking for goodies in the tack room...always the foody!

Awww...cute pony portrait...the lead clipped to her halter and going to her saddle is my new, dual purpose tailing rope and gate helper (wrap around pose and open wire cattle gate, pull on the loose end of rope that levers through the clip, close gate...it worked GREAT!)

Mmmmm...are those peanuts for ME?!? Yummy! (Her new, low-sugar treat!)

Looking Pretty for her picture...course I couldn't get a good head shot, as the sun was right behind her there...sighhh... but a lovely butt shot by Terri :)

And then Terri finally did get Eowyn to cooperate for a nice frontal shot :)


My plan was to ride out of camp with Terri for a little ways, at the back of the pack. Eow was used to going out with another horse and I didn't want to have to ride her alone right off the bat (in fact, up until this point, I had yet to EVER ride her alone, as I was always too chicken to...figuring if she dumped me and I was hurt, there'd be no to help). Then a little ways from camp, I would let Terri go on ahead (no way Eow was in shape to keep up with Oli yet, even for just one LD loop) and I'd do my own thing.

Up on the first little hill behind camp, Eow looking off into the distance...if she only knew what was waiting for her in that distance, she'd have hightailed it back to camp, LOL :)

That worked out brilliantly...we left at the tail and Oli and Eow left camp calmly like on any of our trail rides at home. Eow was feeling good and behaving, and her feet felt fine too. So far so good! We took a few pics in a pretty spot, then continued on, and about 5 miles from camp tops, while I was off walking down a long but gradual slope, I let Terri take off without us (Oli can just fly in gait down these gradual things). Eowyn yelled and tossed her head some, but otherwise was ok with him leaving (luckily she's always been pretty independent and wasn't too herdbound) and settled right down once he was out of sight. From there, I was able to hop back on and continue down the trail alone. We were pretty much tail end at that point, though now and then in the distance ahead, I could see Cheri Briscoe on Echo (Eowy's half brother and Doc's son, still in tact and currently being campaigned by Cheri).
We were taking it slow, trotting on the flats and where we felt like it, walking up and down hills. Crossed some creeks and bogs (she had no issues with these) and she drank at most every oprotunity, even if only a few sips, and grabbed grass when she felt like it too. Yeah :) Good endurance pony! We hit the first place I could decide to turn back to camp, and she felt good, so onwards we went... then a few more miles, and the second split. This was the last split in the trail...the point of no return, where we'd have to go a good 15 miles before we'd hit camp (at least if one is following the map...there likely were other ways back to camp, but I didn't know the area well enough to figure those out, and we were pretty much forbidden to veer off the marked trails by the land owners anyway). I sat at this intersection thinking on how she felt, and how she was moving, and so forth, and came to the conclusion we were good to go..plenty of energy still and she was moving pretty much normally in her boots. Ok...off we go then!
The trail to this point was fairly mild... mostly flat with just a rolling hill here or there.... I knew we had to go up and over some big thing, but hadn't remembered anything too traumatic (memory failure, remember guys?) ...we had just caught up to Cheri while going through a gate (yet another..LOTS of gates on this ride, so lots of getting on and off and Eow having to stand still while I opened and closed them...good stuff! :) ) and I saw Lynne, the photogarpher coming down the road in her truck...ooopss... We were going too slow and took too long I guess, and we missed our photo op! Oh well :( She still shot a quick one while I was getting back on, and then the next day in camp I got a couple of cute ones by her as well... after XP I am going photo shopping! :) You can go look at them here:
http://www.photo.lynnesite.com/Clients/Distance-Events/Lost-Padres-2011/16770804_6xp323#1268518000_t49t4Zb-L-LB
and here for now:
http://www.photo.lynnesite.com/Clients/Distance-Events/Lost-Padres-2011/16770804_6xp323#1269178482_sGchr4h-L-LB
While I chatted with Lynne real fast, Cheri went down the road and around the bend, trotting off...I lost her out of my sight, and then as I also rounded the bend, I saw the road trail (not as well marked as it could have been, but at a walk it was easy to see) duck off to the left into the bushes onto a single track trail. This leads up a hill to a beautiful stand of rocks (where the photos were being taken) and I remembered it from previous years... I thought I heard Cheri somewhere up ahead still on the road, and hollered, but didn't hear a reply, so figured I heard wrong and she was somewhere up the hill, or she was too far gone down the road...I figured if the latter, she'd see the lack of ribbons and turn around on her own, and find the trail. So up and over the hill I went, then hopped off Eow to lead her down the long and steeper back side of the hill. And who should I soon see coming UP the hill leading Echo? Yup...Cheri...waving at me and yelling at me to turn around, that I was going the wrong way....errrmmm..nooo.. SHE was going the wrong way, LOL. So after some discussion and eventually me just ignoring Cheri and telling her to darned well follow me (since I KNEW it was right and the map also said it was, and I don't CARE if there are no ribbons here since those cows over there probably ate them, and who cares what ribbons were or were not on the road Cheri came from) or go do her own thing, she fell in behind me and we went the rest of the way down the hill, mounted up, and soon ran into another road that was on the map. From there, we took a left according to the map instructions and there were plenty of ribbons that kept us on the right track... We trotted along together, and I wish we'd had a pic of the two siblings out there...but it was not to be. Soon the road started up another hill, and though Cheri walked some of it (and I walked it all), Echo was in fine shape and started trotting towards the top, and that was the last we saw of them the rest of the day. Alone...completely...and the tail enders. No one to pick my sorry ass up off the trail if the need arose. Hmmm...somehow, I wasn't even worried about it! Eowyn was being SO WONDERFUL up to this point, my usual cares had just melted away, and I was having a pretty darned good time, just out riding my horse... wow! We have made huge progress! :) There is hope for us in the future, of actually forging a good working relationship! Now off course it wasn't ALL rainbows and puppy dogs, there were a few spooks here and there (though no 360's or leaps clear across the trail like at home...just slam the brakes and look...totally ok!), and quite a few mild arguements about where to go at EVERY intersection (seems she inherited her mother's "Camp-dar"..she was dead on as to which road headed in the general direction of camp, even if the ribbons said to go otherwise, which is where the argument came in, LOL), but really nothing bad. And she just seemed..well...content I guess you could say, being out on the trail with a job to do :) Goody! I will take that and run with it!
So onward we traveled. This hill was the start of THE HILLS... or more like the small mountains. Up and over...back down...up and over...back down. Then a LOOONGGG up...and up... and just as you think you are up top and heading for the downhill again, you go UP some more...yikes! Poor Eow had never had to do this much climbing (and descending on the other sides of course), so our pace slowed even more. Basically we walked, and I tailed the steep stuff (which she did great! Just walked on up the trail with little encouragement to keep going and stay on the trail..yeah!), and hand walked down everything. I must have lost some pounds, and definitely gained smoe blisters and spore muscles from all the walking I did that day! We went over several big hills, and then I'd think it was over, and up we'd go again. I really had NOT remembered all this! But on Chey, I guess it just wasn't a big deal, as he is a great hill horse and just moves on up everything without an issue. On the greeny, not in shape youngster and having to walk/tail/lead everything, it was much more noticeable..uggg... We stopped a lot to graze (and let me catch my breath) and with the slow pace, Eowyn seemed to do ok...not huffing and puffing much and her HR was in a good spot. But by the time I thought we should be back in camp, and we still were going UP UP UP yet ANOTHER big ridge, I was totally sick and tired of this loop. The only other issue, was towards the last third or so of the loop she was starting to get footsore on the downhills, even leading her. Up was ok, flats were just fine, but downhill there was just too much jabbing of the feet into the ground and she was starting to lag behind me a bit. By the end, she was REALLY dragging down the last hill (on a rockier clay road). Once on the flat though (and esp once she heard camp and the screaming horses) she was fine, and trotting circles around me again...so I suppose she wasn't too bad off...but definitely done for the day for sure.
Her trot out in camp was ok to, but I decided there, that I wasn't going to make her go out on another big ride the next day. Maybe a stretch out ride around the camp loop (a nice, soft single track up over the hill next to camp) and that was it. She had done real well on this ride, despite the big hills (which had I known it was going to be such a tough...and long....though the loops look similar on the map, I think it was more of a 30/20 loop split, not a 25/25...ride, I would have taken Joy out first, and Eow second... or both on loop 2 or something!), came back happy and not overly tired. It took us close to 8 hours to do that loop (start was at 7, and I was back at I think 2:45ish) with all the walking and stopping for snacks, but I wouldn't have wanted to push it any faster on a greeny like her. So by the time I had her all set up for the rest of the day, and my own lunch finished, it was too late to go out with Joy on the next loop, and still be back before 7/dinner. Oh well, this is why a test run was good...though I think on XP it will be easier, as most the first rides will be on much flatter and easier terrain :)
Back at the trailer, I untacked Eow and set her up with mush and good hay and she tucked right in like a good girl. She got a good grooming and rubdown after the sweat dried, and I washed down her legs and decided to leave them unwrapped, to see what they would do without interference. Sure enough, later they did stock up a good bit more than I like to see, so we definitely need to do some easier riding and build her up to more and harder miles. Those were quite the hills to tromp around, and a lot of hard packed jeep roads mixed with the nice single track! The legs did go down some after walking her around, and after a nice little stretch ponying and then a small ride the next day, seemed ok. So next time she'll get some clay wraps and we'll take it even easier...one day she'll be a tough little endurance pony, but not just yet! We have a long ways to go, before she's my Tevis horse, no? But I don't really have anything but time anyhow, so it's all good! :)
She slept like a log that night (as did I..I either slept through any snoring, or she didn't snore this time) and looked bright and perky the next day. So I guess she did alright and once her legs get stronger, the rest of her will be all set to go too. I took Joy out in the afternoon for a loop 2 ride the next day (didn't want to make her do those hills either, poor thing!) and Eow just hollered a few times, then was fine in camp according to reports. So that was a plus as well! :)
All in all, we had a great ride, and I am now happy to say I am actually looking forward to our next ride, rather than seeing it as a chore. That alone is worth the trip! :) On the way home, we stopped by Cindy Schleuss', our super excellent body worker, saddle fit consutant, and even trainer. She does is all (http://www.horsesavvyranch.com/) and if you live in or near the Bay Area, I HIGHLY recommend her! She has made such a huge change in how our horses move and feel. It is awesome :) Anyway, she worked on Eow and then we looked at how we rode together, and addressed what I thought was Eow's issue of going down the trail kinda hollow backed and high headed/hollow necked. I had been trying to combat that by trying to get her to stretch herself long and low (from which later we could bring the head back up into a more collected and proper set, with the back up under me), but that was not working well. Cindy saw right away why (Eow is just not made to be long/low, but has a naturally higher head carriage, etc), and showed me how to fix it... which was to LET her keep her head up, as forcing it down was just ticking her off (why we got a lot of head shake and arguments) and not doing much good anyway, but making her carry her head properly while up (ie lifting the base of the neck, bringing up shoulders and withers, etc). Hmmm..never thought of that..basically we were just skipping right to the next step.. well, whatever makes Eow happier I guess! :)
She then had me ride some exercises that I could also do out on the trail, that would get her to straighten, step under with the hind end more, thus rounding up the back more, and working on the front end too. We also tried both the S-hack (which I had just started playing with as a bitless alternative, as Eow would brace at a trot on the sidepull and hollow out) which Cindy said would be good to use, and a Myler Combination bit, which would have a similar, but more refined (and better for lateral/independent sides of the mouth work) effect on her. She seemed to like the bit ok, so I went about finding one for the XP. Did I say how much I like...no LOVE...Cindy?!?! Great person to have on our team :) Whoo hoo! So we were all set for XP in that department. That's a relief...Course she'll likely have plenty to fix after we get back, since both Terri and I ride crooked (both of us were told to raise a stirrup one notch..me on the left, her on the right, LOL) and thus our poor horses suffer..need bodywork for US!
We also stopped and then spent the night, at our good friend and fellow endurance rider, Ruthie Waltenspiel's. She always is so gracious (as is Merryben Stover, our more southerly and also often visited 'horse hotel'...love the endurance network!) and lets us stay over whenever we need to. The rose bushes at her place were starting to bloom and Terri and I dressed up the ponies a little during our sunset walk...spring in the California wine country is too pretty! From there it was back home again, and now we have been in busy preparation to get the horses, gear, the rig, and us all ready for the grand adventure! We are leaving on the 14th of May...about 10 days from now...YIKES!
Here are all three ponies, all prettied up...Eowyn, Joy, and Oliver (left-right)

And a close-up shot...none of them are playing the model too well! Grumpy ponies...

Eowyn looks pretty with a flower in her halter...quite the young lady :)

Oliver...well....not so much, LOL...he doesn't DO 'dolled up' too well...poor boy! :)

So we'll finish with the Pretty Princess again :) Just needs the ears forward next time!




Oh yeah...and THIS is what happens when you trim a horse while it is getting mush at a rest stop on the way home... ;)

A Fun Day....

So I have been riding Eowyn in "The Park" (aka Arcata Community Forest) a good bit lately. It's a known entity for me and the horse. Nothing scary like at the dunes or beach (ok, some ppl think the Park is scary cause of dogs, bikes, etc...but none of our horses ever care about those things :) ) with the wind and monsters that hide behind the dunes or whatever... Add to that, that the Park is mostly one, giant HILL. So when the horses are feeling goofy or hot, you just make them long trot or canter up the hills, and pretty soon they decide that walking quietly or an easy trot without goofing, is the smarter choice :)
So this is a 'safe' and fun place to take Eowyn, esp if it has been a little while since I rode her last. It also is a great place to condition a horse, because of the hills. I hadn't paid much attention to how fit or not she was getting...just getting out and riding when I could and going from there. In January we had a ton of great weather, so we got out a bunch, then some in Feb and March, but not as much. She also had a winter coat of course, so one couldn't see muscle tone as easily, and being a bit hot while working, seemed a little more out of shape.
On today's ride though, she was mostly slicked out (everyone seems to have dropped their coats in the last week or two) and I realized while tacking her up, she was actually getting some muscle tone, esp in her rear end and back legs...and her tummy was starting to really lose that 'hay belly' look of a fat pony, and look more like a real horse! Whoo hoo! Then, as I hadn;t ridden her in a while, we picked the LONG HILL route in the park, and after a good warmup walk, I made her trot alllll the way to the tops of several long hills.. And guess what? No heavy sweat (just some normal sweating) and her breathing was not as huffy-puffy...and her HR was in good working order from what I could feel (old fashioned stick my hand on her body, since my HRM watch is broken), and when we'd stop on top of a hill, she recovered her HR and breathing fast... goody goody! I think when she gets in good shape, she'll be a great hill horse! :)
Here is a video from a ride we did at The Park a few rides back, from between Eowyn's ears :)

Untitled from Natalie Herman on Vimeo.

Next up: she's going to Lost Padres and (hopefully) doing two days of 25 miles of Duck Miles...

The introduction and more on Daddy....

A young Doc... Hoanna likes!

When I decided to breed Hoanna for my 'perfect' future endurance horse, I did a good deal of research. I asked around locally (several Arabian breeders here, one with a good deal of endurance experience even), online forums, and just browsed the net via google (interesting what 'endurance stallion' will turn up in google... NOT always horse related either, LOL). I got a ton of recommendations and horses I should stay away from. I was still VERY new to all this, so I didn't really know the horses, or their owners (some very famous in endurance circles) and though I was open to doing AI, I knew that could get costly and preferred a horse within hauling distance.
For sure, I knew I wanted something in a short-to-medium sized horse (15hds or under was ideal) and since I was in this sport for the long haul and all my horses stay with me for life once I commit to them, I wanted a stallion that had a good mileage/long years of riding record, versus a horse that was winning a bunch of stuff, but was only around for a few years.
Doc at the Bryce Canyon XP...later, Hoanna did her first 50's here as well...we'll hope Eow does this ride too (she saw it already doing Duck Miles two years ago) :)

Enter DR Thunder Bask. I stumbled upon his website through the google search...and I SO wish it were still up! Then you could read what I saw and understand the humor behind it all a bit better. But, alas, Cheri Briscoe is not tech savvy (in fact, she no longer even has a computer), and didn't want to burden anyone else with the upkeep of the site, so it has been taken down. Let's just say, I liked that what I saw (from pictures on there and his supposed miles, which I then looked up on the AERC site: http://www.doublejoy.com/erol/Individual/HorseHistory.asp (just type in DR Thunder Bask, as I can't seem to figure out how to do a direct link to his stats). He had an impressive number of miles, and out of 275 ride starts, was only pulled 5 times. Very cool! This is the kind of horse I want to have! Then I found out he was also a Hall of Fame horse and that he specialized (if one can call it that?) in multi-day rides, which is where I really was heading with my goals as well. He'd also entered Tevis four times....and completed each one. Considering that Tevis has an overall completion rate of 50% or so, he was way ahead of the game. And this was one of my other goals. I am not really a 100 mile rider....I prefer to ride 250 miles, 50 miles at a time for 5 days :) But...what endurance rider doesn't dream of having one of those coveted Tevis buckles? So seeing those completions in his record really helped too. Now, asking around again about this particular horse, I got some interesting responses. From " Oh god, YES!!!" to "Why him? He hasn't won hardly anything?!" I mulled it all over some more, then thought I would just go ahead and email the owner and ask some questions, before settling on a final answer..though I was 90% committed at that point :)
Another nice shot of him at home... nice looking horse :)

Now, this is where having the website still up would have helped you. One of the things I really liked on the site, was that the two stallions (MMF Faramir, another nice horse, though at the time less interesting to me than Doc) had their pages written in a unique way. Instead of the usual list of prizes won, babies had, and qualities of the horse, it was written from the horse's perspective. For Doc, it went something like this: "Hi, my name is DR Thunder Bask and ...." and it proceeded to tell about what he did in life and what he liked or not. For Faramir, it was something like "Hi, I am Faramir...the OTHER horse.." since he was not quite as renowned as Doc. It was all very humorous and I LOVED the approach..I tend not to take myself, or life, all too seriously, and I loved that the breeder apparently had the same sense of humor. To top it all off, as I browsed the site, I realized almost all the horses had names from The Lord of the Rings. This was in a time before the movies, and one actually had to have read the books, LOL. And some of them went into the obscure areas, like the Silmarillion, which only real fans read. Beings that I have been a fan since BEFORE I could read (had the books read to me as a kid by one of my cousins, and that hooked me on them as well as any other fantasy/sci-fi from then on), I was tickled to find my top horse pick had an owner with the same tastes. So, here is the first email I sent to her...and I wanted to see how she'd respond to the email coming from MY horse, to Doc, instead of just emailing the breeder as a person asking questions.

"Dear Doc,
My name is Hoanna. I am a 14h Morgan/Quarter mare in serious lust.... I saw your webpage while browsing online dating services, and I think it was love at first sight when I saw your picture...and my "Mom" thinks your endurance record would make for an awesome baby. She thinks I have a slight problem with my 'work ethic'....not my fault I have thicker quarter horse muscling and like to eat and sleep all day, and just mosey down the trail at a casual walk! Anyway, she thinks it is high time to find a boyfriend for me, so that she can do endurance rides without needing legs of steel. She does love my trail horse smarts (Mom likens me to a Jeep that will go offroading anywhere), level headedness, and fairly solid build though...and my willingness to try just about anything, no matter how stupid I think humans are for asking me to do these things. She just thinks I need some 'get up and go' bred into me. Would you like to go out on a date sometime? I am a beautiful copper chestnut lady and only 7yrs old...so drop me a line soon :)
Love (and lust),
Hoanna"
Hoanna's Tevis 'Pinup' of Doc :)


So then I tagged on a PS from me, her 'Mom' and asked a few questions about Doc (his build, feet, etc) and what it would take to breed to him and such. This is the response I got back:

"Hi Hoanna
Glad to hear you are interested in me. My mom says Quarter Horses and Morgan are my best outcross. Doesn't matter to me - I LOVE 'em all. You and your mom have asked a lot of questions - hope I don't miss any answers.
My mom says I'm a bit lazy (unless I'm racing). I prefer to think of it as self preservation. We stallions are very good at this as one never knows when their might be a willing lady around the corner or back in camp. True, this has only happened twice - once the day after Tevis and again after ROC - but I was successful on both occasions (both the rides and the ladies). Mom says one of the reasons I've stayed so sound and gone so many miles is that I'm easy on myself at home as well as on the trail. Plus, she says I travel very efficiently - close to the ground -- unless I am goofing around - NOT MY FAULT - goblins reach out of the bushes and grab my tail.
Now RACING is another thing entirely. I can tell from the start whether a day is going to be laid-back or boogity-boogity, or even a lade back with a late boogity. I have been known to puff way up - taking deep snorty breaths anticipating a race to the finish, and also to try to bully other horses into not passing me. I don't threaten to bite or kick - just seem to grow into 18hds and sorta do a leaping gallop sideways down the trail (works pretty good, too). I'm also very fast - but Mom hardly ever lets it go that far. Mom says I have an auto-pilot you can set anywhere between 6 & 10mph & I just hold it. I will go in front or back - doesn't matter, but I don't mind leaving other horses, either - especially in my dust when the occasion warrants (and mom lets me).
I have accompanied a couple of my children on the trail, and at rides, and they definitely have my trail smarts and quick recoveries. Mom calls me the world's best 4WD. My one daughter, Tari (MMF Elentari), on her first ride - the Sunland 50 - a nasty ALL up and down affair - came into lunch with a 28 pulse. Mom says all my kids have my big engine. Haven't heard any complaints about work ethic, but they DO occasionally enjoy lighthearted fun at their partner's expense. As they say - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
I have really good feet. My dad, Jeff, used to be a shoer (he's retired now), and I know he liked me. Said I have really thick walls and grow very evenly heel and toe. That made him really happy, 'cause he didn't have to do me as often. I have never thrown a shoe, and one set lasted through Tevis, Eastern High Sierra 50, Virginia city 100, and one week later we got 75 miles into the Buttermilk Classic 100 in Bishop, before the ends of ,y hind shoes broke off. Jeff tacked new hinds on - my fronts were still OK. Mom said she sent the shoes to St. Croix Forge - thought they might like to see them. I'm proud to say I pass my good bone and conformation to all my kids.
Mom has set my 'fee' at $1000 (personally Id' oblige for a LOT less -- like $0 -- but she says this stuff about buying hay...). My booking fee is $200, and that is non-refundable - but I have a live foal guarantee on live cover - good for as long as I'm still able. Mom gets the balance of my fee - $800 - when my mare checks 120 days in foal.
She says I'm a real pain to collect AI. I demand a 'real' mare and then just goof around hoping they'll change their minds and let me have the REAL deal. So far that hasn't worked - even though I drive the vet (and mom) crazy -- sometimes taking several hours before I will cooperate. Hey -it's mine and as they say 'you can lead a horse to water but....' Anyway, my mom charges $350 per shipment for me, and while she says I ship very well, I hear it can cost a lot of extra $$ when the lady in waiting at the other end has problems. Also, because mom's never sure if I'll give IT up in time, (so far I always have, but I can really hold out when I put my mind to it), she no longer offers LFG with shipped semen. My mom says if your mom is interested in the shipped stuff, it would be best if she called so they can discuss it. Mom says I am 100% (on mares that can conceive) with live cover. Of course!
I think your best bet would be to hop in the trailer end of March. My mom wants you to have all your inoculations - especially West Nile - before you get here. Our vets are thinking that giving WNV during hte first trimester can cause some abortions and we definitely don't want that. If this will be your first time, a culture isn't necessary, but it's probably a good idea to have your innards checked just to be sure it's all there and in the right place.
Our accomidations are 24X48 pipe corrals with covers, and we also have larger turnout areas, if you feel like stretching your legs. My mom charges 7$ per day mare care, and you would be here around 6 weeks if all goes well. That's assuming your mom would want you to stay for an ultrasound to confirm your pregnancy at 15 days. You are a perfect age (and color). Hope your mom likes bays, but she actually has a chance for three colors: bay, seal brown - like me - or black (there is a lot of black on my mom's side).
If your mom has any questions, she can call my mom at:---- Also, if she wants, she can see my entire ride history (except for my 1st Tevis - which for some reason they say the computer won't put in) at the AERC website.
Thanks for checking me out and I hope we can get together this spring.
DOC


Next posts: More "Love Letters" and Honna's trip to Tehachepi...

Mommy.....

Eowyn (left) and her mom, Hoanna (right) with me at the beach...I ponied Eow off her mom around all over the place as a youngster :)

Now for some of her background. This will be a picture heavy post :) I want to introduce you to Eowyn's mother, Hoanna. Hoanna (said HOE-NA...name given to her by her very first owner...it means 'Footsteps in the Stream' in Cherokee supposedly) was my first horse, and the best pony (at 14hds even, guess she really could be a 'pony' :) ) a gal could have! She originally belonged to my friend Terri, who was told that she was totally rideable and a nice horse when she got her. Not. The horse had NO CLUE what to do with a rider..she tolerated you on her back, but didn't understand anything about being ridden.
So Terri hired me to train her for her. No problem :) Hoanna, despite being an opinionated alpha mare at times, was really easy to work with and willing to try about anything if you put it to her right. I really enjoyed working with her, and of course, promptly fell in love with her. Not long after, I went to Germany to visit family for a few months. While there, Terri emailed me saying she just didn't get along with Hoanna (opinionated mares are not her favorite thing) and was thinking of selling her. I of course begged her not to, and to wait til I got back to the states and we could talk. We ended up working things out, and Hoanna was mine from then on :)

Our "Glamour Shot" together :) I had a lot of fun that day doing a photo shoot with her :)
Terri took this pic, and then I took 'glamor shots' of her up on her horse, Scooter...

This was in 2002 I think. Lots of trail riding later, Terri tells me her neighbors, the Ruprechts, introduced her to something called endurance riding. She crewed for them and helped volunteer at a few rides, and it had looked like a lot of fun. You could ride 25, 50, or even 100 miles! What a concept :) Sounded like fun. So Terri and I promptly decided to condition (over condition it turns out later) our horses and give it a whirl. After much trial and error, we figured it out. Hoanna didn't do too well at first (too much of that error part), so I was thinking she really wasn't any good at the sport (750 miles and a good amount of LD miles as well later, I now know I had just done it all wrong the first time around, and Hoanna can do the sport just fine!) and thought I should breed her to an Arab, for that perfect endurance horse... She was a QH/Morgan cross herself, so I thought a little Arab would get some speed and energy in (she has always been a tad lazy...would rather eat and sleep all day, not go work, LOL), but keep her 'do anything' and unflappable, mellow character in the mix. That's where DR Thunder Bask came in.
But here are some pics of Hoanna.... She is currently a semi-retired pasture bum (which she doesn't complain about), that I ride a few times a year, or put all my friends or family on that want to ride a horse. She is just as easy to ride if you ride her every day, or once a year. LOVE that horse :)


Back in January of 2009...she can run around like an Arab when she wants to :)






Always up for silly tricks of mine :) She's a good pony!

This is the FUN horse... I can do this same shot bareback, in a halter, no issues!

Hoanna's 3rd ride, an LD at the Pacific Crest Ride. We went overtime (again..all three of our first rides, as no one really explained that the Vet Checks were part of the 6hr ride time, LOL...so I was always just a little while over...) but otherwise did well. She wasn't sure of the water crossing in this shot :)

Ahhh... goofy saddle/pad (she STILL has white spots to this day from this saddle :(...), no saddle bags, but look! Even then (shod horses) I was carrying an Easyboot :) You can see Scooter, the big bay, in front of her. This was Terri's QH that she started on with me and Hoanna...he wasn't mentally fit for the sport though, and was sold (being ridden here by a mutual friend...Terri had already moved on to an older Arab for this and the next few rides).

I bred Hoanna in 2004, and then while she had the time off being preggers and having a baby, Terri ended up with Cheyenne (the big, grey, Mustang/Arab that I got most my miles on and most ppl were used to seeing me on) and the I started riding him, as he was too much of a handful for her at the time. She then got her trustee Oliver, and we rode those two all over in many E-rides. But in 2006, I decided to try and bring Hoanna back into e-riding again...I had learned a lot from Chey and many rides, and thought maybe if I did it right this time around, she'd be fine... and sure enough, she was and we had a wonderful time!
Here we are at the end of the Redwood 1 (or 2?) ride...this was one of the 3 we had overtimed our first year, and it was nice to get that load off our back, by successfully completing it this time around :)
And Cuneo Creek... I think I always had the biggest, shit eating grins on this horse :) It was always such a joy to ride her! So easy (as you can see, a halter is all she needs, just like Eowyn) and just fun to be around...



After doing fine on one-day LDs, I decided to bunp up to multi-days.....
Day one of Hat Creek... a wonderful ride and she felt great all day :)

Day two of Hat Creek.. still doing fine and we finished in the nick of time, but finish we did.

And at the Wild West ride.....

After she did fine in a few multi-days, I figured it was time to try our luck at a 50. I picked Bryce Canyon, as XP rides are much mellower an atmosphere, so no worries about getting caught up with a bunch of racers or other issues. And if she didn't feel like a 50, I could always explore the trails around camp for shorter distances.
My favorite picture of her... She looks so cute and happy and what scenery! :)


Out on trail... she did great! She finished two days there with no issues at all :)

And after the ride, we pulled ribbons as well... She and Oli look so goofy in their pink hula skirts, no? But it sure was a fun day pulling ribbons on the prettiest trail out there :)

We also did a day at Virgin Rim and at Grand Canyon with no problems at all either. So in 2009, I decided to try some more days... We did 3 days at Death Valley, and 3 days at Eastern Mojave, all with a happy and healthy horse. And now that I knew what I was doing, I also recognized what a good little horse I had. Her resting pulse was in the lower 30's, and she always recovered fast at vet checks and the finish. She was the Little Red Engine That Could :) That made the outlook for Eowyn being a future endurance horse all the brighter! Not only was Doc a great e-horse, Hoanna looked to be doing fine too. The hybrid genetics of the two, should result in a fine horse :)

Eastern Mojave... Snow and cold didn't phase her and we had a great time :) (Top photo by Steve Bradley)



Death Valley... Still having a great time :) Flat rides were her forte... turns out that her hocks are a bit arthritic (would turn up as back soreness on hilly rides)..so she did great on flatter rides, but not so well on really hilly rides (50's only, nothing was wrong on LDs). So that, along with having too many horses too ride, led to her semi-retired state.
And day 3...Still going strong :) Pic By Steve Bradley

After that, I took her to Cuyama and did two days before she got back sore on day 3 (hadn't quite figured out it was her hocks...thought it was the saddle first, so next we experimented with different saddles). Then we went to Ft. Schellbourne, where she also did two days, but I could tell she was getting back sore again, so didn't try any more days. Not long after, I figured out what the problem was. But then I got busy riding Eowyn a bit, and then Storm arrived and I really had too many horses to have to ride and keep in shape. So I tossed Hoanna out in the pasture and let her be, with the occasional trail ride. She seems to be enjoying herself and this lifestyle (always said she'd make a great broodmare, as she LOVES the boys and loves to eat and just hang in a pasture, LOL) seems to be making her happy enough. :)
A view from the top of the world...love Schellbourne, and hope to be able to ride each of my horses there one day... :) Eow will hopefully see it on the XP trail this year!

Little tuckered after coming up a LONG climb, but still game to go :) Love my pony! (Photo by Steve Bradley)

And a perfect picture amongst the beautiful Lupine.... Happy rider and happy horse :)