100 Miles

 I haven't been writing much--I just lost my mojo.  There has been so much bad news, and I just hate writing about bad news.  I am going to try and get things caught up.

Back in April, Ellen and I signed up for the Virtual Tevis Cup, once again.  This is our sixth year of participation.  The goal, unlike the real Tevis Cup where you ride your horse 100 miles in a day, is to ride 100 miles in 100 days.  That is something very easy for us to do, but we enjoy doing it, and the money goes to a good cause.

The weather was crummy right from the get go.  Most of the time, we were just riding up and down the hill to the river.  In the spring, Ellen is very nervous about crossing the river if it is a little high.  There were a lot of times that I could of crossed, but she didn't want to, so I was happy to stay on the hill with her.  I was able to ride with Kevin a few times on the other side of the river.  Ellen would just hike along with us, and Cole just loves that.

Then, Kevin had a terrible accident.  I won't go into any details here; except that he broke 7 ribs--2 in 2 places and punctured his lung.  He ended up in the hospital for 4 days.  Of course, when he got out, he couldn't ride--he couldn't even safely lead Starry.  We were happy to help with Starry all we could.  He didn't miss much good riding.  It still continued to rain, so most of our time was spent going up and down the hill...

I was up to around 84 miles--a bit ahead of Ellen from the days that I crossed the river and she didn't when Cole colicked.  I got the vet out, and she determined that he had an impaction in his colon.  When she went to tube him, a couple gallons of reflux came pouring out of his stomach--this was an emergency.  I either had to take him to the emergency hospital or put him down.  I opted for the hospital.

I won't go into all the gory details, because I simply just don't want to relive them again.  To make the long story short, he was there for 12 days.  The first week, they were draining his stomach every 2 hours.  The rest of the time was spent trying to get him to eat and waiting for something to come out the other side.

I brought home a horse with severe ulcers, nerve damage in his nose, a muted appetite, loads of drugs he needs to take for weeks and a quite a bit thinner body.  For a while, we were just doing hand walking, and I recorded those miles as part of our Virtual Tevis Cup total.  As he improved, we started leading up and down the hill.

Back when he was still in the hospital, I had to take Fairy Floss, my cat, for a follow up appointment for her skin allergies.  The vet and I finally sleuthed out the problem.  Blood work showed that she was extremely allergic to yeast.  Her whole body was itchy--including her ears.  When we treated her ears, she improved, but it wouldn't last.  Then, the vet had an inspiration--she realized Floss had a yeast infection in her ears and it made her whole body have a reaction.  We aggressively attacked the ear infection, and the problem was solved.  The treatment involved flushing her ears out every 3 days because the vet thought she may be so allergic that even dead yeast cells could cause a reaction.

I was taking her to the vet for her last visit.  We were playing shortly before leaving, and she ran between my legs and got tangled in them.  She came out very lame on the other side.  At least I was able to get her into the vet right away.  X-rays showed that 3 ligaments were ruptured--one was completely gone.  We had to schedule an operation, which was a week later.  Until then, she had to live in a dog cage.

Cole was home when she had the operation, and she is healing up beautifully.  She was able to use her leg right away, and on day 5 she snuck up the stairs.  I now have the stairs blocked.  She just went in for her 2 week checkup, and they said she doesn't need to come back.

Back to Cole.  We are still working our way through the medicine.  I am now riding him lightly, and he seems to be enjoying his little excursions--up and down the hill.  While he was away, Ellen was able to almost catch up with us in miles, so I decided to stop recording until we were tied.  That way, we would be able to finish together.

Through all of this, I have been quite a wreck.  Things are finally looking up.  I am still very anxious about Cole.  The vet thinks that the colic was caused by something he ate, but we don't know for certain.  If it happens again, I will make the other decision, because it will be evident that something internal isn't working.  I don't know if I will ever get over this feeling of uncertainty with him.  Kevin is just starting to ride again.  We weren't sure even just a few days ago if he would.  Fairy Floss is doing terrific.  There is a real silver lining on her black cloud.  She is only 7 years old.  I have had her for less than a year.  When Thunder died, I went to the shelter and picked out their most unadoptable cat.  No one wanted a cat with skin allergies.  Anyway, when they x-rayed her, it showed that she has very bad arthritis in her hips.  I now have medicine to help her arthritis.

Finally, the day came to finish the Virtual Tevis Cup.  We probably could have crossed the river, but it was still a little too high for Ellen's comfort.  We thought it would be very appropriate to finish it on the hill.  We determined the finish line would be at the bottom of the hill on the third trip down.  When we got there, we gave each other a big high five!  I didn't know if I would even have a horse to finish it on, so it was very satisfying to do it--even if most of the ride was on the hill.

Time for the Trail for Tri

 Time for the Trail for Tri

We had a lousy winter, and we barely took Starry, Dante and Cole on the trail.  It was very cold and icy.  The ice was the worst.  It didn't only apply to the frozen river, but the trails themselves were very icy.  Much of the time, we couldn't even get the horses down the driveway because it was too icy.  Even when the driveway, trail and river thawed out, there was a huge pile of ice chunks blocking our access to the river crossing for a few weeks.  

I just gave up with Trifecta in the fall and worked with him in the indoor arena.  Once things got better, I started riding him in the outdoor arena and reviewing traffic by standing at the end of the driveway.

A few weeks ago, I took him on one trip down the hill to the river.  He wasn't too bad.  Basically, he was right about where he left off last fall.  That gave me a lot of hope--and then the rain began.  For a few more weeks, it was too high to cross it with him.  It did get low enough for Cole, but I don't want to push my luck with Trifecta on a higher river for a while.  We just stayed up at the barn.

Finally, the river was very low and clear--perfect for crossing with Trifecta.  Ellen and I rode out on a trail ride first with Cole and Dante.  When I got back, Kevin was at the barn.  He offered to go with us on Starry.  How could I say no?

I tacked Tri up and met Kevin out by the driveway.  Trifecta knew what was happening, and he got very excited--too excited.  All of our horses have always really enjoyed going on trail rides--but Trifecta takes it to an extreme.  He is like a dog who knows he is going to go on a walk.  He marched right past the Starry and headed down the driveway; nearly dragging me.  As I led him down the street, he could barely contain himself--and then he saw the other horses down the street; heading our way.  That was the last straw.  The excitement level went through the roof.

We met the other horses at the beginning of the trail.  I let them ride off until they were out of sight and gave Tri time to unwind.  He did a little bit.  I mounted and started our ride.  Ellen was walking next to us and Starry was behind us.  After a few steps, I checked the brakes--and I didn't have any at all.   I needed to install the brakes before we did anything else.  We did walk/whoa/walk/whoa transitions.  I clicked him for stopping, and soon his brakes were much better.  I then started clicking him for just walking.  

I told Ellen and Kevin we weren't going to cross the river.  My reasons were multiple.  First, he was so hyper, I feared he would cross the river too quickly and possibly fall.  The bottom of that river crossing is very slippery and uneven.  My brakes weren't good enough to slow him down.  My second reason was that he would be aware of the other horses just ahead of him and might obsess on them.  Lastly, I thought that riding him up and down the hill a few times would be the best way to get him to calm down.  We call it "demoralization."  

Ellen breathed a sigh of relief when I told her of my decision.  Kevin later told me that he agreed, too.  Trifecta would have to wait for another day to cross the river.

At the end of the trail, we turned around to head back up.  Immediately, Trifecta improved.  Once he realized he wasn't crossing and following the other horses, he relaxed and started to listen to me.  He is smart enough to know that he is better off not rushing up the hill.  On the steep parts of the slope, he remember he is supposed to lower his naturally high head and use it as a fulcrum to aid him up the hill.  (Yes, we actually taught him that last summer.  He has a head down command.  Once he learned it was easier, he started to do it all the time.) 

He still walked faster than Starry, so we had to stop and let Starry catch up multiple times.  That is a great thing for a horse to learn, so we didn't mind waiting.

We got to our turnaround spot and we headed back down the hill.  He was a whole different horse from the  first time.  I was able to stop him easily, and he walked a more reasonable speed.  He was just so much better!  We still had to wait for Starry.  I asked Ellen if she was up to a third trip on the hill, and she agreed.  On the third trip, he was just wonderful.

Overall, he wasn't that bad, just so very, very excited in the beginning.  He didn't do anything dangerous, and he really seemed to have fun.  I am so looking forward to our future rides.

Fairy Floss

 

My little Fairy Floss

Trifecta Plays Ball

 

Trifecta likes to play ball.  He will bring it to us in exchange for a click/treat.  If we throw it out, he will retrieve it, too.  Sometimes he likes to just pick it up and carry it around.  He will try to give it to Dante--who doesn't give him a treat.

I Love Clicker Training

 I Love Clicker Training 

I have continued riding Trifecta on short rides in the arena followed by riding him down the hill to the river and back.  He has been doing it pretty well, but he still gets so excited when we leave the barn.  He isn't worried about things--just excited he is going out and about.  He just loves it out in the big world.  Someday, he will be the most wonderful trail horse because of his eager attitude.  Right now, it makes things tough for me.

The biggest drawback to that is that he tends to go really fast.  I love a fast walk.  That's not the problem.  The problem is that there are two very short and steep slopes on our hill and gravity gets the better of him.  He tries to fly down them with his legs completely out of control.  Once, he started to trot when he was close to the bottom, and he was difficult to stop.

I have tried using walk/whoa transitions, and that helped a lot to keep him from getting too much momentum, but it was still a struggle.  He just couldn't understand that I needed him to slow down.

I have been on this road before.  Both Cruiser and Cole had a lot of trouble going down steep hills.  (Dante used to live in the mountains and never had a problem.)  Where I used to ride Cruiser in his early days, there were several very long, steep hills.  I ended up just riding up and down, over and over with him and he learned his lesson.

I did something similar with Cole, but I did it with clicker training and on a lead rope.  It took one lesson of up and down, over and over and he learned quite well.  

I tried that with Trifecta last fall, and he was just impossible.  I was never able to slow him down enough for him to earn a treat, and he just exhausted me.  I gave up.  He wasn't much better this summer when I was leading him before I began riding him.  I just struggled.

He did better once I started to ride him down the hill because I had more control from the saddle, but he never walked slow--just better.  That is, until last week.  I was riding him down the first slope and he broke into a trot.  While I was trying to stop him, he decided cantering was a better idea.  That wouldn't have been so bad, except he headed for the cliff.  I got him to turn back on the trail, but we got way, way too close.  He really scared me.

As scared as I was, I knew just what needed to be done.  We had to do it again and again until we got it right.  I was willing to spend all afternoon.  Eventually, he would get demoralized enough that he would slow down and get a click.  Ellen agreed.  To be on the safe side, she hooked the lead rope up to him.  I rode him back up the slope, turned him around to go down and he immediately walked slow.  Of course, I clicked him and gave him his treat.  We continued down the slope; clicking and treating the whole way.  He walked like a gentleman, and we were able to show him that that is what we wanted.  When we got to the bottom, we turned around and did it again.  This time, I had him walk a few more steps between clicks.

Did he offer to go slower because he was demoralized?  I really don't think so.  When we have turned him around to go back down the hill in the past, he would go slower, but not that much slower.  I think that he slowed down because the whole event scared him, too.  He didn't want to leave Ellen who was walking slowly next to him--and then came all the clicks and treats!

The next test was steep slope #2.  This one is longer and goes around a corner.  He always had a harder time with it, but since it was at the bottom of the hill, there was no cliff to go over.  On my very first request, he stepped down the hill at a slow speed.  I did multiple clicks and treats.  When we got to the bottom, I rewarded him by riding down the the end of the trail.  He did want to go to the river, but I made him pass up the exit ramp.

We turned around and went back to the slope.  We then practiced it 2 times, and he was perfect.  I increased the steps between clicks again.  We were going to practice slope #1 again, but there were a lot of vehicle noises coming from a nearby house that startled him.  I decided I would do better by leading him home through it, and I was right.  I didn't feel like remounting when I got to the slope, and we just went straight home.

The next day I rode him, I knew what I had to do.  We had to go back to the hill and try it again.  The weather is getting questionable, and I didn't know if I would have another day in the near future to reinforce his lesson.  I must confess, I was a little nervous about it--and Ellen was, too.  Still, it needed to be done whether we were nervous or not.

There was no reason to be nervous.  Trifecta is a genius.  He remembered his lesson and remembered it well.  He walked down both slopes like a gentleman.  I continued to click and treat him for it--I want him to remember it well.  Trifecta is a good boy.  If he knows what I want, he usually will try his best to do it.  My problem all along was that I couldn't find a way to show him what I wanted from him.  

We did just one trip down the hill without re-doing the steep slopes.  He was so good that he didn't need to practice them.  Now, if it rains for the next 2 weeks, I will feel confident that even if he doesn't remember what we want right away, it won't be that hard to remind him.

A New Box for Fairy Floss

 Ellen gave Fairy Floss as new box--but she said it was too small.

She thought she would try approaching from another direction.

Maybe if she put her head in, the rest of her would fit.

Nope.

Now what should I do?

This works!

Willow Bend

 Willow Bend

It was time to challenge Trifecta a little more.  We would ride to Willow Bend.  It is the name of a picnic area across the street from the bridle path and a perfect goal.  Round trip would be about 2 miles.  This time, we enlisted Kevin's help.  He would ride Starry with me.  Once we got across the river, Ellen would be on the other side to join us.

Before all of this, we took Cole and Dante out for their ride.  All along, I was noticing things that might worry Trifecta.  How would he be with the cars when we were close to the road?  What about over by Cougar Rock where the road and the paved bike trail is above us?  That bothered him in the past.  What if something noisy comes down the road?

When we got back from our ride, Kevin was there waiting for us.   I saddled up Trifecta and tested him out in the arena for a few minutes.  I don't need to lounge him before riding, but I do like to see how his mood is.  All seemed normal, so I told Kevin we were ready to go.

Kevin mounted Starry in the arena who then refused to go out the door.  He doesn't like to lead.  I led Trifecta, and Starry slowly followed.  This is Starry's slow time of year.  When there are a lot of bugs, he is a different horse, but after the frost, he likes to just meander.

I led Trifecta down the street, and Starry lagged behind us.  I pictured Trifecta following Starry to help with his confidence down the hill, since Ellen wouldn't be there, but we were basically on our own.  I mounted up and away we went.  Trifecta was so excited!  We had to keep stopping to let Starry catch up, but he might as well learn that lesson now.  When we got down to the river, he was a little worried about a loose dog and the man yelling for the dog to come back.  I was glad to see Ellen there to run interference.  Trifecta saw Ellen, and he flew across the river-- much too fast.  I tried to stop him, but he just ignored me.  

We waited for Starry to cross, and then Trifecta just marched down the trail.  Ellen was a little nervous, so she attached his lead rope and walked next to us.  The first part of the trail goes along a fence that is next to the paved bike trail which is next to the street.  I stopped him for each car that came by so he could watch it and see the leaves that the cars blew along the road.  Last year, he had a really bad spook caused by just that.  I am happy to say there was no spooking--just looking.

At that is basically the theme of the whole ride--looking.  He was fascinated by everything--particularly logs.  Oddly, there was a small log across the trail, and he wasn't fascinated by that at all.  He just stepped right over it without even pausing to sniff it.

Kevin would trot Starry up to us when he got too far behind--Trifecta was so excited that he was walking really fast and Starry didn't want to work that hard.  I don't know how Ellen kept up.  She kept the lead rope on just in case, but we didn't need it.  The Cougar Rock section of the trail was uneventful except for a newly cut log by the side of the trail.  He couldn't take his eyes off that, but he did pass it with no drama.

Finally, we made it to Willow Bend and turned around.  Starry came towards us, and Trifecta's head went way up in the air and his eyes got really big.  We think he forgot Kevin and Starry were behind us.  Starry passed us up so that he didn't have to lead, and we headed home.

Trifecta always settles down on the way home.  Whether it is because things aren't as novel or he is tired, I don't know.  At least it gave Ellen a break.  Starry still plodded along, and we stopped to let him catch up multiple times.  When we got to the river, Ellen unhooked us and let us go alone.  She did walk with us down the river bank.  He went a little fast, but I was able to stop him at the bottom.  I also made a point of stopping him as he was crossing the water.  That slowed him down, and he crossed much better than on the way out.  I thought he would rush up the river bank on the other side, but he walked halfway up and stopped when he didn't see Ellen.  I gently urged him to continue and we made it to the top and turned around to watch Starry.  I was concerned that his splashing might startle Trifecta--as it did with Cole on his early rides, but he was fine.

I was hoping that Starry would take the lead up the hill, but he refused, so Trifecta led on the way up, too.  He walked up the hill better than  he ever has--and I am sure this time it was because he was tired.  At the top, we met Ellen who had driven back to the barn and we went home all smiles.  For his first real trail ride, he was just wonderful!