The Western Maine 250 Endurance ride is one I'd been looking forward to participating in all year. This is a 5 day ride that offers a 30 and 50 mile distance each day. Each day is a separate ride. As the ride neared, I did not think I was going to be able to go. Louie had gotten a bad cut on his front leg a few weeks before the ride. My horse Marie was going to be gone with a friend who was taking her to Acadia National Park. Then, I had some problems with my truck and had to take it into the garage. The first day of the ride was Tuesday. Well, the weeks prior to the ride, I took Louie mule up to the vet to have them take a look at him. His injury was right over his cannon bone. They took a few x-rays to make sure there were no hairline fractures. All looked good and I was given the ok to ride him. GOOD. Then, my horse did not end up going to Acadia after all so was now available to use. My truck didn't go into the garage until Monday. So, I knew that I would not be able to make the first day of the ride. But, I did get my truck back Tuesday morning. So, now I had my truck, horse and mule all available and ready to go. Now the question was who to take. I have not been riding Marie but everyone else has and she is fit and ready. But, also 20 years old. I was quite sure she could do a slow 50 mile ride though. But, I also wanted to see if Louie could do a 2 day ride. I would ride two 30 mile rides if I took him. But, if I took Marie, it would be nice and relaxing as I know how she reacts and handles things and she is no problem. But......... and back and forth I went.
Finally, I decided to take them both and hoped I would not regret this decision. The ride was held at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds. This is a huge and beautiful fairground. The horses would be in stalls in shed row type barns. So, Louie would have to be in a stall which he would not like and he would be even unhappier at being left behind when I rode Marie. I didn't know just how bad he might be about it. Though I also knew that many others would be bringing multiple horses as well as it was a multi day ride. So, Louie would not be alone, just separated from Marie. And there would be many horses left behind suffering separation anxiety the same as he would be. So, despite my misgivings, I took them both.
Shed row barn
It is a two hour drive to Fryeburg. It was a beautiful day. Low 80's, sunny with low humidity. I arrived at the Fairgrounds at 4:30 pm. I found available stalls in the middle barn and settled Marie in Louie in their stalls with plenty of hay and water. Louie was not thrilled with being stalled as I'd predicted. The stalls have solid walls so they can't see the horse next to or behind them. Louie fussed and pawed at the wall between him and Marie. There were a lot of people there. Not all that many that I knew though other then the Jacks, and Peg Dockham and of course Tom and Kathy the ride managers. Many riders were from out of state. I was glad to see such a good turn out. Just 2 weeks before the ride, Tom only had 10 entries and had considered cancelling the ride. I decided to ride Marie the next day in the 50 mile ride. It was going to be a cool rainy day. So, it wouldn't be much fun for me but good weather for my heavy muscled QH. Art King was the ride vet. I went and registered for the ride. I asked Art what time he wanted me to vet in. He said 6:00 pm. When I brought Marie up to be vetted, Art was not in sight. He was till busy with scoring that day's ride. Then at 6:30 pm was supper followed by the ride meeting. so I was told to vet Marie out after that. When I put Marie back in her stall, Louie was very stressed and was rearing up attempting to look over the top of the wall between them. Then pawing like crazy. BUT, at least he was not looking like he was thinking about jumping over the door as I did not want to close up the top door and isolate him that much. The Jacks were cooking for the ride. That night we had hamburgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob and salad. After the riders meeting, I vetted Marie in then fed her and Louie. Louie was still very anxious and not interested in his grain. Though he was drinking and munching some hay so I didn't worry, much...... There was nothing I could do anyway. I did take him out and walk him but he was really fretting and I had to put a stud chain on him to keep him from hauling me around. I lunged him and he was very naughty with jumping and bucking. I got after him and got him to pay attention. As soon as he did, I praised him and quit. I changed his bandage then put him back in his stall. He went right back to rearing to look over the divider and pawing. But, by 9:00 pm he settled down and was quiet. I went to bed by 10:00 pm. I woke up at 1:00 am and checked on Louie and Marie. They were quite so I gave them more hay and went back to bed. It was already raining.
It was still raining when I got up. I fed Louie and Marie. Louie was quiet. All the holds for the ride were going to be at the Fairgrounds. This was good for those of us that did not have anyone crewing for us as we would not worry about how to get our things out a hold away from camp. I set up my hold things in front of the front barn. That way when I came in for the holds, I could keep Marie and Louie out of sight of each other. My hold things consisted of a saddle rack as we had to strip tack for the holds. Water buckets for both drinking and sponging. Sponge and scraper. Some hay that I put in a plastic bag to keep dry. Then in a bucket with a sealed lid I put grain, carrots, food and drink for me and a rump rug for Marie if needed though I doubted it would be. I also had a bucket of soaked beet pulp. Once my hold area was set up I got coffee at the office and went back to my trailer and had cereal. I went to put on my rain pants only to discover they were not in my trailer! I was not a happy camper about this discovery as I was not looking forward to riding 50 miles in a soggy saddle and with soggy pants. NICE! I did have my long outback rain slicker but knew from experience that this would not keep my saddle seat dry. Oh well, nothing I could but but grin and bear it. I was also to soon discover that my Outback rain slicker is not so waterproof any longer. I tacked up Marie in her stall to stay dry as long as I could. When it was time to go, it just happened Louie was not looking and somehow I snuck Marie out without him noticing. I did briefly wonder if he might have stressed out and dropped dead in his stall and that was why he was so quite but that notion was soon put aside when a few minutes later I heard some very loud and unhappy braying. The ride started at 7:00 am. The first loop was 20.3 miles. Right away the trail took us along the river on a very high sandy bank. This trail is getting a bit scary as the edge of the trail is getting very undercut and would not be solid if stepped on. The other side of the trail is woods and you just prayed that nothing spooked your horse or mule from the woods side of the trail. And we rode this section of trail many times each day. The first river crossing was new to me and only about a mile from the fairgrounds. The water was low in the Saco river this year and the crossing was mostly no more then knee deep to the equines. The river is quite wide with soft sand beach on each side and sandy footing through the river. I rode the first loop with Kelly Bentley We rode at a moderate pace. It rained pretty steady and I had to take off my glasses so I wasn't riding completely blind.
Wet riders. Cindy Ross on Marie and Kelly Bentley on Authentika
Cindy Ross on Marie with Kelly Bently on Authentika crossing the Saco River
Many miles were through crop fields of corn, potato and beans. Very pretty but a bit monotonous after a while. We did a loop out by the covered bridge and then through fern gully. When we got into the hold I figured it would take Marie a few minutes to pulse down so after I stripped her tack I sponged her down before calling for my pulse time. The hold doesn't officially start until you call for pulse. So, the time before pulse goes on your ride time. Marie's CRI was 52/60. CRI stand for Cardio Recovery Index. They take your horses pulse then you have to trot them immediately about 145 feet. Then in 60 seconds the pulse is taken again to see how the horse recovers after a short stress (trotting) If the second pulse is higher then the first pulse, it might be cause for concern. A small increase is not bad but the larger the increase the more you shoul
d be concerned there might be a problem. Anything below 64 is ok. So Marie's CRI wasn't great with the increase in her second pulse but it wasn't bad either. She got a B on her vet card for capillary refill but all A's otherwise. The hold was 45 minutes. Marie did not eat or drink on trail the first loop. She did eat the beet pulp/grain/carrot slurry I gave her at the hold but she did not eat with her usual gusto. I was mildly worried. But, I did keep in mind I'd fed her more hay yesterday and last night then she ever normally gets so it was likely that she was simply not that hungry. The rain was letting up so I changed into dry clothes. Though the suede seat of my saddle would still be wet at least I'd start out with a dry butt. Kelley's horse had interfered behind quite badly so Kelley chose to pull at the hold not wanting to make things any worse for her horse. So, Marie and I headed out on the 2nd loop alone.
Wet riders. Cindy Ross on Marie and Kelly Bentley on Authentika
Cindy Ross on Marie with Kelly Bently on Authentika crossing the Saco River
Many miles were through crop fields of corn, potato and beans. Very pretty but a bit monotonous after a while. We did a loop out by the covered bridge and then through fern gully. When we got into the hold I figured it would take Marie a few minutes to pulse down so after I stripped her tack I sponged her down before calling for my pulse time. The hold doesn't officially start until you call for pulse. So, the time before pulse goes on your ride time. Marie's CRI was 52/60. CRI stand for Cardio Recovery Index. They take your horses pulse then you have to trot them immediately about 145 feet. Then in 60 seconds the pulse is taken again to see how the horse recovers after a short stress (trotting) If the second pulse is higher then the first pulse, it might be cause for concern. A small increase is not bad but the larger the increase the more you shoul
d be concerned there might be a problem. Anything below 64 is ok. So Marie's CRI wasn't great with the increase in her second pulse but it wasn't bad either. She got a B on her vet card for capillary refill but all A's otherwise. The hold was 45 minutes. Marie did not eat or drink on trail the first loop. She did eat the beet pulp/grain/carrot slurry I gave her at the hold but she did not eat with her usual gusto. I was mildly worried. But, I did keep in mind I'd fed her more hay yesterday and last night then she ever normally gets so it was likely that she was simply not that hungry. The rain was letting up so I changed into dry clothes. Though the suede seat of my saddle would still be wet at least I'd start out with a dry butt. Kelley's horse had interfered behind quite badly so Kelley chose to pull at the hold not wanting to make things any worse for her horse. So, Marie and I headed out on the 2nd loop alone.
The 2nd loop was 18.1 miles. It was no longer raining but just misting now. Alone, the miles through the crop fields felt like a million miles instead of the 4 or 5 that they really were. Twice riders caught up to me and I let Marie draft off them for a mile or so. But, each time the riders were going faster then I wanted to go with Marie so I held her back and let them go on ahead each time. Marie started to drink on this loop. Marie was not hot when I got into the hold so I went straight for pulse after stripping her tack. She looked great for her vetting. Her CRI was 56/56 (yeah!)and she had all A's. And though I was keeping Marie out of Louie's sight, she started calling for him as soon as we got to the fairgrounds so he knew she was there as was bellowing loudly for her. Marie was now very hungry and scarfed down everything edible in sight. I am not used to riding Marie as I ride Louie most of the time. Louie is very smooth to ride and I don't have to post to his trot. I have to post to Marie's trot and I was using muscles I was not used to using. And at this point I was seriously hurting. I was rubbed and sore in places I forgot could be rubbed. I was truly ready to be done but Marie was good and I was going to finish no matter how much it hurt. So, I took some Tylenol and off we went on our 3rd loop.
Cindy Ross on Marie on trail
The 3rd loop was the shortest at just over 13 miles. I caught up with another rider going a good speed and we rode this loop together. She was great company and it made the loop go by fast. The Tylenol also kicked in and I was feeling SO much better. Marie had traveled good the whole ride. So, I was now just praying the vetting went well. We came in slow so I quickly stripped tack then went right to get pulsed. Marie's final pulse was 56/52 her best all day. And she completed with all A's. YIPPEE!!!! I was so proud of my girl. We had a ride time of 7 hrs. 26 minutes.
Cindy Ross on Marie and Juliette Fusiarska-Cannon on Birgham
After the ride, I tied both Louie and Marie to the trailer with hay bags so I could clean stalls. Louie was so happy that Marie was back that he could not stand still and was pawing like crazy. Doof! So, I did his stall first so I could get him back in it. And then he went right to rearing to look over the wall and pawing like crazy in there. He settled down better once Marie was back in her stall. I then took a shower which made me feel like a new woman. Soon it was time for supper. This night there was chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad and grilled zucchini and summer squash that was delicious!!!! I then had to take Louie up for his vetting as I was going to ride him in the 30 mile ride the next day. I anticipated he would not be very well behaved as I would be taking him away from Marie. I unwrapped his leg so the vet could see the wound on his leg. There was slight swelling in his leg most likely from all the pawing on the cement floor of his stall. I also wanted to get the vet's opinion on the wound and what I should do for riding. With the river crossings, I would not be able to keep any bandage dry. Art (the vet) said I could leave his leg unwrapped for the ride. He also suggested using some preperation H to combat the proud flesh that wanted to develop. Louie was a bit naughty for the vetting. He was anxious and didn't want to stand still but was not horrible about it. His trot out was a bit rough with some sideways prancing and bucking. Sigh. So, he was not as good as I had hoped he would be but not as bad as I'd expected. I re-bandaged Louie's leg and put him back in his stall. I filled water and hay bags. Then I cleaned up my hold area and replaced the food and water I'd need for the next day with Louie then went to bed.
I slept well but was woken up at 4:00 am by some heavy pawing. I got up to give heck to Louie only to find out it was Marie pawing. She was sure she was starving to death and wanted to be fed RIGHT NOW! Louie was actually pretty quiet. I got up and fed them, then got coffee from the office and had cereal. When I removed Louie's bandage, the gauze had stuck and when I pulled it off the wound was bleeding. So, I decided I'd better re-bandage it but wasn't sure how to keep the bandage on with the river crossings. Then I realized I had some splint boots and could use that over the bandage to keep it on. Louie was quiet while I worked on his leg and when I tacked him up. When it was time to go, he was not happy about leaving Marie but didn't make a big fuss and was controllable. Today I was riding with Peg Dockham, Bill Rice and Sue Niedoroda. A good group to ride with. Ride start was 7:00 am again. When we headed out, Louie was a bit strong but controllable and listened to what I wanted of him. Peg wanted to lead as her halflinger mare Becky can get very strong and will pull her. So, we all filed in behind Peg and let her lead the way. She set a good pace. Louie still doesn't have a strong trot and cantered a lot to keep up but seemed very comfortable with that and settled in well. The first loop was 13 miles and took us to the 2nd river crossing 4 miles out by way of Bog road. On the trail just before crossing Rt 5 onto the Bog Rd. there was a bear trap beside the trail. Every day as we approached this, we just prayed no bear was in the trap! Every thing went well except for Louie stepping through a culvert in a campground. Luckily it was his bandaged leg that went through. And thankfully I HAD bandaged it! It saved him from an injury! We came into the hold at 8:39. I stripped tack, sponged Louie and went to pulse at 8:43 Louie's CRI was 44/48 and he got straight A's. GREAT. He was a bit bullish at the hold wanting to get back to Marie but he was not bad at all. And he trotted well for the vet. The hold was 45 minutes and I gave up trying to keep Louie and Marie separated and took him to his stall to rest and eat. Our 2nd loop was 18 miles. It was an up and back trail through some crop fields, then through fern gully and out to the covered bridge and back.
Louie was very good on this loop. Once as some riders were coming up behind us, Louie let out with 2 double barreled kicks and bolted forward. He stopped as soon as I pulled him up. The riders were not even close to us, hardly even in sight when he did this but that they were coming up behind us worried him. He was fine when they actually came by and passed us. Silly boy! We came into the finish at 12:09. I stripped his tack and hosed him off. We went for pulse at 12:21. In LD (Limited distance - less then 50 miles) your finish time is not when you cross the finish line as in 50 or more mile rides. It is when you go for pulse and the pulse must be 60 or less. Louie's CRI at the end was 52/44 which was excellent. He did a great trot out and he finished with straight A's. GOOD MULE! Our real ride time was 4 hrs. 24 min. Our official time was 4 hrs. 36 min.
I re-bandaged Louie's leg and settled him in his stall with lots of hay and water and some wet beet pulp. He isn't thrilled with beet pulp but he picks at it. I packed up most of my stuff as I was going to leave this evening. I had one good ride on each of my animals so was happy. But Sue Niedoroda came by my trailer and talked me into riding with her and Peg another day. So, I decided to stay. But, I would need more shavings for Marie's stall so I drove into Conway, NH to get shavings. I also bought more vet wrap for Louie. On the way back for camp, I got more ice and drinks for another few days. I had plenty of hay and grain so I was all set there. I rested for a while when I got back and read my book. 6:30 pm was supper. Tonight we had chili! Yuck! Beans....phewy! Nasty stuff. But, there was plenty of other things to eat so I did not starve. the ride meeting was after supper. Louie was finally starting to settle in well and finally had his happy face on as he watched things from his stall. Amazing what 30 miles will do to improve their disposition! He was also getting a lot of visitors checking him out and he was just loving the attention. He is such a friendly mule. I walked both of them that evening and let them graze out in the big field. The grass was short and sparse but they made the most of it. I was just grateful that the bugs were nearly non-exsistent. I settled Louie and Marie in for the night and headed to bed. I was tired and slept like a log.
The ride today was starting earlier at 6:30 am due to predicted heat. And it was a most interesting day and a day I learned a lot about my little mule. I was up at 4:30 and fed Louie and Marie. While I was feeding, the woman with horses next to me, Jen Stevenson from NJ asked if I would sponsor her daughter, Bryna, in the 30 mile ride. Jen and her daughter had already ridden 2.... or 3 of the 50 mile rides but Jen's horse had a sore back and Bryna's 50 mile horse had scratches that was making him a bit lame. He'd also gone through his pen and gotten a cut on his leg from wire getting wrapped around it. Not a real bad cut but enough so they wanted to give him a day off. Bryna had a pony with her that she wanted to ride in the 30 mile ride. Bryna is 12 years old but an experienced endurance rider and a very nice young girl so I agreed to sponser her. Bryna's pony was a Mustang and was barefoot. The pony has been barefoot all it's life. She had only done one ride with the pony but didn't anticipate any trouble doing 30 miles. I was riding with Peg Dockham and Sue Niedoroda again but they didn't mind having Bryna along. I changed Louie's bandage and took him up for his morning trot out before the vet at 5:45. Louie looked great. The first loop was 13 miles. This loop went well. As we were going along Bryna noticed that Louie's splint boot had slipped down around his pastern. Louie had given me no indication that he had the boot balled up around his pastern. We stopped so I could fix this and we were soon on our way again. We go into the hold at 8:21. I took Louie right to the trailer by the stalls, stripped his tack, hosed him down and went up for pulse at 8:31. As I was waiting in the hold area for the vet, Louie dropped and rolled before I could stop him and then was covered in mud! AGH! The vet was vetting Sue's horse at that moment and commented that if we were in Canada, that would be a disqualification. As rolling in the crowded vetting area can be dangerous. He is right and thankfully this isn't Canada. Luckily, the vetting area was not crowded and I quickly led Louie out to the nearest hose and hosed him off again and went back to be vetted. Louie's CRI was 40/40!! WOW that was great. And he did a great trot out. He got on B on his score card for interfering in back but all A's otherwise. And Louie's manners had much improved with a few miles on him and he was now the best behaved mule I could want. After vetting, I put him in his stall to rest and eat. He rolled again in his stall. So before tacking up I had to hose him off yet again. I was concerned that as Louie had now been out one day and was on day two and at 43 miles, he might be reluctant to leave the fairground for our second loop so I grabbed a short crop to carry with me. Bryna had changed her saddle for a bareback pad. This loop was 18 miles out to the covered bridge and back. When we got onto the Bog road, that is a gravel road that had recently graded, Bryna said she felt her pony take some bad steps. We all stopped and watched her pony trot and thought she looked ok. We figured it was just from being barefoot and the road being freshly graded and rocky. So we continued on and turn onto the woods trail that leads to the river crossing 4 miles from the fairgrounds. Bryna was last in line and once again said her pony didn't feel right to her. I watched and did see the pony take some bad steps. We all stopped and discussed what we should do. We didn't want to get any further from camp if the pony wasn't going to make it. Peg had her cell phone with her and we called Tom, the ride manager. He said we'd have to bring her back out to the Bog road and he'd pick her up there. There was no sense in all of us going back so I told Sue and Peg to go on without me and I'd take Bryna back as I was the one sponsoring her. They were reluctant to go on without me but eventually did. Bryan and I walked back out to the Bog road. We waited there about 10 minutes before Tom arrived. Now, I was all alone. I have not ridden Louie alone and did not now know he'd be. And I had time to make up. Well, all I could do was make the best of it. The woods trail was a bit rough and we could only do a bit of trotting on this. Louie was not thrilled about suddenly being without equine companionship but he did as I asked. We came to the river crossing and now there were some tents popping up along the beaches on each side. This part of the Saco River is a major camping, water sport, partying spot in the summer. As it was Friday, people were starting to arrive. Louie was good at the crossing. He was interested in the new activity along the beach and river but not scared. Then we had a long stretch along the river on a camp road. It was good going but there was a lot going on. Tentes, campers, bicycles, boaters, people popping out of the bushes unexpectedly, kids swinging into the river on ropes from trees with resulting loud splashes. Louie did VERY well with all this and I was cantering him in this area. I was amazed that he was willing to canter through here. And no, the road I was cantering on was not crowded and I was posing no danger to anyone cantering here. I did pass through a couple camp areas but walked in these areas or anywhere I actually had to pass anyone. The only thing Louie snorted at was 3 girls we had to pass close to that were carrying large, bright pink water tubes. He gave them a wide berth but didn't fuss otherwise. I cantered Louie about 2 miles. Then the trail went down through fern gully and we had to slow down a bit. Several riders passed us going the other way and Louie did not make any fuss or try to follow them. I could tell he was still a little anxious but he was doing all I asked of him.
We then came up to a corn field along the river and cantered through this area and no more then 1/4 mile from the covered bridge, I came on Sue and Peg just coming back from the bridge. They were thrilled to see me and said they would wait for me. So, I cantered Louie to the bridge. I stopped and let him drink in the river here. Then we cantered back to Peg and Sue. I was soooooo proud of Louie. I've never cantered him so far. But, he was willing and did it. Even though he was concerned about being alone. Louie was a bit tired now with all the unacoustomed cantering so we all kept to an easy trot for a while to give Louie a break. At the River crossing, there was a ton of traffic on the river. Floating things of all kinds. Boats, tubes, canoes, kayaks. It was like trying to cross a busy road. Once again, Louie was totally fascinated with this and just wanted to stand and watch. He took a big drink while crossing the river. On the Bog Rd. a few miles from camp, a renegade boot came off Peg's gelding, Attala. Since we were so close to camp, she just tied the boot to her saddle and rode in without it. We got in at 12:10. I took Louie to the trailer, untacked him and hosed him then went up for pulse at 12:24. So our actual ride time was 4 hrs. 55 min. but our official time was 5 hrs. 9 min. As I was leading him up to the vet area, I asked him to trot for me to see make sure he knew this is what we were going to soon do. He wouldn't trot. I flipped my lead rope at his rump and he spun around, with airplane ears and gave me the stink eye big time. Great, I thought, he's not going to trot for the vet. Well, what do I know. I kept a tight hold on him to to make sure he didn't roll and then when it was time for his trot out, he did it beautifully looking at me as if to say, "I'm not stupid, I know when I'm supposed to trot so leave me alone about it!" I just cracked right up. This is what I love about mules. And I need to learn to trust Louie more. Louie's CRI was 44/40. He ended the ride with a B for wounds from his interference marks but all A's otherwise. I was thrilled. I mentioned to the vet that I wanted to ride him one more day but that I didn't want to make his interference wounds any worse. Meg Sleeper overheard me and told me she would lend me some splint boots. I so appreciated her offer and took her up on it. As I was leaving the vetting area, Louie dropped and rolled the stinker! I took Louie back to the trailer, hosed him off then re-bandaged his leg. Then I tied Marie to the trailer with him so I could clean stalls. Louie drank a ton of water. Someone that had left the ride that morning had put a few flakes of hay with my hay. As I was leading Louie by it, he stopped dead and dove right into it. That was when I realized it was alfalfa!! I did let him have some but not too much all at one time.
My friends Mindy Vinneau and Vicky Austin had arrived. Mindy had her new Arab mare Movette and Vicky had her wonderful 22 yr. old pony, Baby. It was good to see them. I took a much needed shower then rested for a little while. I really wanted to take a nap but knew if I did I would not sleep well that night so I resisted the urge. Supper was a little earlier tonight at 5:00 PM. Bill and Stephanie Rice came just to visit and brought some scrumptious pastries with them! For supper tonight we had pulled pork, cole slaw, BEANS-YUCK!, grilled zucchini and summer squash and watermelon. Peg and I tried to talk Sue into riding with us on the last day. We finally had her convinced but when she had the vet check her horse later, he had a sore back so she couldn't go. We would miss riding with her. After supper was the award and riders meeting. Before going to bed I walked Louie and Marie and let them graze for a while. Then settled them into their stalls for the night. I put a pan of loose salt and minerals in Louie's stall and he went right for it. I went over to the Jack's trailer to get a bottle of water and they invited me to stop and visit for a while which I did. Around 10:00 pm, I went back to my camp, filled water buckets and hay bag and went to bed.
I was up the next morning at 4:30 am. I fed Louie and Marie, then packed up as much as I could. I took Louie up for his trot out at 5:45 and he looked great. I was amazed. The ride was starting at 6:30 again this morning. I re-bandaged his leg and tacked up. I heard quite a racket on the other side of the barn. Turned out it was Peg trying to put her gelding in a stall. He didn't want to be in and he rammed the stall door and busted both latches. Now I wasn't feeling so bad about Marie persistent and very annoying pawing. The splint boots that Meg had lent me were brand new and still in the package. I hated to get them all dirty. Peg said she had some interference boots that were well used already that I could borrow. So, this is what I did. Peg was riding Becky today and when it was time to go she took the lead. We were doing the longer 18 mile loop first today. This is the loop (actually up and back trail) through fern gully and to the covered bridge and back. Tom, the ride manager, wanted to get us through this part of the trail early as this is where all the campers and boater would be. A lot of them would still be sleeping if we went through early. This was a wise decision on Tom's part. It was still super busy but nothing like it would be in the afternoon. Peg's mare Becky was a bit concerned about the boats at each river crossing. Louie was not. He was simply fascinated by them. So, I had him lead when needed so we both made the crossing safely. Though Louie DID spook at some weeds in the water doing a nice 90 degree turn leaving me tettering off his side. But, I hung on and it was no problem.
Pirate boat
We arrived at the hold at 9:10. I took Louie right to my trailer to strip tack and hose him off. I went for pulse at 9:19. I made sure I did not give Louie a chance to roll in the vetting area. Louie's CRI was 40/40 and he did a very nice trot. Woooohoooo, it was looking good for a finish. One more 13 mile loop to go! The hold was 45 min. On the way back to the stalls, I let Louie roll to his hearts content. Then I put him in his stall to rest and eat. I had to hose him off again before tacking up again. I was just so humbled as we headed out on our last loop. It was hot, it was the 3rd day in a row Louie had gone out, he had 78 miles already, yet he made no fuss at all and left the fairground like it was his first day, not 3rd. What a tough little guy he was proving himself to be. Just so full of try and never quitting on me. Out on a freshly graded gravel road about 5 or 6 miles from camp, I felt Louie take an ouchy step. ACK!!! I check his feet and he'd lost his right front shoe. Ok, nothing to panic about, the road we were on was very stony but we would be off it shortly and the rest of the trail was in the woods or through the crop field. This would not bother Louie's bare foot.
We got into some deeper water on our last river crossing. Made Louie stop and think for a minute but then as Becky went by him, he followed her through. And Becky was making us laugh as this time while crossing the river she immersed her head right up to her ears and snorkled across like that. It was quite a sight. As we approached the finish line, as a joke we pretended we were racing in for a tie. We held hands and trotted across the line leaning over our mounts like we were running. The crew people at the finish line got a laugh at that. We crossed the line at 12:10. We both went back to our trailer, stripped tack and hosed our equines down. The we went up together so we'd have the same pulse, and official finish time which was 12:21. Once again I kept Louie moving so he couldn't roll. His final CRI was 32/40. WOW!!! He did a very nice and willing trot out and he completed with all A's. Our actual ride time was 4 hrs. 55 min. and our official time was 5 hrs. 6 min. I was so proud of my little mule I could have cried. 18 months ago a vet told me it would not be unreasonable to put him down as he would never have a normal life from his hip injury. Then I had my fall and just exactly a year ago, I was so terrified of getting on this sweet gentle mule I nearly sold him. When I think of how far Louie and I have both come over the last year, I can hardly believe it. It's been both a painful and joyful journey but we have come to trust one another and Louie is maturing in leaps and bound with every ride we do. I put Louie in his stall to let him rest and eat. I tied Marie to the trailer and stripped her stall. Supper and awards were early this day as many people had long rides home. After awards, I tied Louie to the trailer with Marie and stripped his stall. Louie made me laugh when it was time to load into the trailer. He is not thrilled about getting in my trailer. He makes me put a stud chain on him to load. I don't have to use the chain, it just has to be on him. Today, I led him up to the trailer and stopped. I was getting ready to put the chain on and dropped the lead rope. He took that opportunity to jump right into the trailer on his own!!! I guess that was his way of telling me he was ready to go home!
My friends Mindy Vinneau and Vicky Austin had arrived. Mindy had her new Arab mare Movette and Vicky had her wonderful 22 yr. old pony, Baby. It was good to see them. I took a much needed shower then rested for a little while. I really wanted to take a nap but knew if I did I would not sleep well that night so I resisted the urge. Supper was a little earlier tonight at 5:00 PM. Bill and Stephanie Rice came just to visit and brought some scrumptious pastries with them! For supper tonight we had pulled pork, cole slaw, BEANS-YUCK!, grilled zucchini and summer squash and watermelon. Peg and I tried to talk Sue into riding with us on the last day. We finally had her convinced but when she had the vet check her horse later, he had a sore back so she couldn't go. We would miss riding with her. After supper was the award and riders meeting. Before going to bed I walked Louie and Marie and let them graze for a while. Then settled them into their stalls for the night. I put a pan of loose salt and minerals in Louie's stall and he went right for it. I went over to the Jack's trailer to get a bottle of water and they invited me to stop and visit for a while which I did. Around 10:00 pm, I went back to my camp, filled water buckets and hay bag and went to bed.
I was up the next morning at 4:30 am. I fed Louie and Marie, then packed up as much as I could. I took Louie up for his trot out at 5:45 and he looked great. I was amazed. The ride was starting at 6:30 again this morning. I re-bandaged his leg and tacked up. I heard quite a racket on the other side of the barn. Turned out it was Peg trying to put her gelding in a stall. He didn't want to be in and he rammed the stall door and busted both latches. Now I wasn't feeling so bad about Marie persistent and very annoying pawing. The splint boots that Meg had lent me were brand new and still in the package. I hated to get them all dirty. Peg said she had some interference boots that were well used already that I could borrow. So, this is what I did. Peg was riding Becky today and when it was time to go she took the lead. We were doing the longer 18 mile loop first today. This is the loop (actually up and back trail) through fern gully and to the covered bridge and back. Tom, the ride manager, wanted to get us through this part of the trail early as this is where all the campers and boater would be. A lot of them would still be sleeping if we went through early. This was a wise decision on Tom's part. It was still super busy but nothing like it would be in the afternoon. Peg's mare Becky was a bit concerned about the boats at each river crossing. Louie was not. He was simply fascinated by them. So, I had him lead when needed so we both made the crossing safely. Though Louie DID spook at some weeds in the water doing a nice 90 degree turn leaving me tettering off his side. But, I hung on and it was no problem.
Pirate boat
We arrived at the hold at 9:10. I took Louie right to my trailer to strip tack and hose him off. I went for pulse at 9:19. I made sure I did not give Louie a chance to roll in the vetting area. Louie's CRI was 40/40 and he did a very nice trot. Woooohoooo, it was looking good for a finish. One more 13 mile loop to go! The hold was 45 min. On the way back to the stalls, I let Louie roll to his hearts content. Then I put him in his stall to rest and eat. I had to hose him off again before tacking up again. I was just so humbled as we headed out on our last loop. It was hot, it was the 3rd day in a row Louie had gone out, he had 78 miles already, yet he made no fuss at all and left the fairground like it was his first day, not 3rd. What a tough little guy he was proving himself to be. Just so full of try and never quitting on me. Out on a freshly graded gravel road about 5 or 6 miles from camp, I felt Louie take an ouchy step. ACK!!! I check his feet and he'd lost his right front shoe. Ok, nothing to panic about, the road we were on was very stony but we would be off it shortly and the rest of the trail was in the woods or through the crop field. This would not bother Louie's bare foot.
We got into some deeper water on our last river crossing. Made Louie stop and think for a minute but then as Becky went by him, he followed her through. And Becky was making us laugh as this time while crossing the river she immersed her head right up to her ears and snorkled across like that. It was quite a sight. As we approached the finish line, as a joke we pretended we were racing in for a tie. We held hands and trotted across the line leaning over our mounts like we were running. The crew people at the finish line got a laugh at that. We crossed the line at 12:10. We both went back to our trailer, stripped tack and hosed our equines down. The we went up together so we'd have the same pulse, and official finish time which was 12:21. Once again I kept Louie moving so he couldn't roll. His final CRI was 32/40. WOW!!! He did a very nice and willing trot out and he completed with all A's. Our actual ride time was 4 hrs. 55 min. and our official time was 5 hrs. 6 min. I was so proud of my little mule I could have cried. 18 months ago a vet told me it would not be unreasonable to put him down as he would never have a normal life from his hip injury. Then I had my fall and just exactly a year ago, I was so terrified of getting on this sweet gentle mule I nearly sold him. When I think of how far Louie and I have both come over the last year, I can hardly believe it. It's been both a painful and joyful journey but we have come to trust one another and Louie is maturing in leaps and bound with every ride we do. I put Louie in his stall to let him rest and eat. I tied Marie to the trailer and stripped her stall. Supper and awards were early this day as many people had long rides home. After awards, I tied Louie to the trailer with Marie and stripped his stall. Louie made me laugh when it was time to load into the trailer. He is not thrilled about getting in my trailer. He makes me put a stud chain on him to load. I don't have to use the chain, it just has to be on him. Today, I led him up to the trailer and stopped. I was getting ready to put the chain on and dropped the lead rope. He took that opportunity to jump right into the trailer on his own!!! I guess that was his way of telling me he was ready to go home!
