Waxy Wally joined my ride weekend

Wally wonders if I'm really sure I can drive this big rig.


Got the coffee pot out, now we know we can handle things.

Wally had to hang out by himself friday morning as I could barely manage getting Shade vetted and tacked up to ride by 7 am.


Shade was fine at the 13 mile point which was only a pulse down to 60 bpm and trot for the vet than ride the 12 mile loop. At the 25 mile vet check the vet noticed she was a little off, she thought right front. She didn't hold my card to look at her again after the 1 hour hold was up, I trusted I would be able to tell if Shade was off as long as we went out alone so Shade wouldn't be pulled along by other horses. I walked out about 1/2 mile and Shade was most definitely very off when I asked for a trot so that was the end of her ride. We headed back to the basecamp to announce we were pulling and turn in our vet card. M checked Shade out and found she had a cramp in her right hind leg. The relief at having a temporary problem cheered me greatly. After I took Shade back to the trailer and untacked her and turned her in with Grey Moun to just relax and munch hay I hung out with the timer and did some pulse checks the rest of the ride on friday. Wally and camera were left in the trailer, I took this pic saturday.

I ate at the ride dinner and then was heating water to soak up the horses grain and beet pulp quicker. The days were sunny and nice but it got cold quickly in the evenings and the water buckets had ice on them each morning. Wally was annoyed that all the cooking was for the horses till I dragged out a beer ;)


Saturday morning with the blankets still on. I contributed to Shade having the cramp by not blanketing quickly enough thursday evening. She and Grey were eating and didn't look cold so I waited till just before I went to bed and she was shivering when I came with the blankets. Now I know for next time that she is stoic about cold as well as other things.

Saturday I helped them do a little pulsing at the first check and then I rode Grey Moun. I paid the fun ride entry fee but rode only the 10 mile loop instead of the 13 mile loop, I just wanted a good checkout of his leg with a quicker finish so I could rest and drive home that day; the fund ride entry fee was a bargain lameness eval after his scary cut on his hock 7 weeks ago + one bandage slip where the gauze was really pulling on the top of his hock when I went to remove the bandage - I was worried I might have a bit of bandage bow effect from that. But my 'old man' is sound as a dollar. He acted like a baby whinnying for Shade half the loop and pulling and pulling on me --he'll wear Shades S-hack rather than a sidepull next time he might be excited. He had worked up a sweat so I let him hang out with Shade and relax and roll before we went to see the vet. They will show any little lameness thing better when all the adrenalin has left their system.
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My favorite ride manager rode her geldings first 50 at Kenlyn last weekend and we rode together some. I had held Shade back at one point and rode with another horse that had more similar gaits. Susan's gelding has a HUGE trot which was too fast for Shade. When she heard I'd had to pull she worried a bit but I told her she trains in terrain more like the Sangre ride at home so CJ would probably be fine. Unfortunately her gut feeling was correct, he stumbled going down a hill and couldn't recover in the sagebrush and fell. He has a big bruise on his shoulder and she got a heck of a twisted ankle. She had aluminum endurance stirrups and the one at that side got squished flat together. Good thing she had pulled her foot out of the stirrup as the horse was falling judging by the look of the stirrup.