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Re: Far Outtt Forest, With the Kid: Part Four




Thanks for the blow by blow, Howard. I am always amazed when someone can
remember the chronology of a ride. I would have to take notes at every vet
check. I have to say that you Floridians put me in awe of your rides. As
about 90% of the rides I do out here in the Pacific Northwest are
mountainous, I could not imagine cantering as much as you describe. In fact,
even for training rides, I try to start out as slowly as my horse will allow
for about the first 15 minutes or so. At the actual endurance ride, she
would yank my arms out of the sockets if I did not let her run with the
front runners for the first five or so miles so I am sure to get up extra
early and warm her up thoroughly. I am happy that Dance was not lame. I have
had my horse bobble a few steps and it is possible that, like her, Dance
knocked himself on a rock or as Engelita did once and actually came into the
vet check lame, he may have knicked himself on the pastern and it ouched for
a minute or two. In Engelita's case, luckily, the vet noticed the broken
skin and we just gave her a minute or two and she was fine for the rest of
the 50 miles. Three years later, she still has a knot where she nicked
herself.
Looking forward to the next installment.
Pat
----- Original Message -----
From: <Howard4567@aol.com>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2000 9:07 AM
Subject: RC: Far Outtt Forest, With the Kid: Part Four


> We rush tacking up the horses in the dark, I put out all fires, and I'm
> pissed.  Just can't believe the time got away from me like that.  We
finally
> get the horses tacked, Jen mounts Rebel by herself (you should see this)
and
> I find a stump that aids me with getting on top of my giraffe.  I look at
my
> watch and it's 6:53, 7 minutes till the 50 starts. We trot pass Roxanne,
who
> is warming up her horse for the 50. She yells, "Man, are you two late!".
We
> yell out our numbers to the clipboard lady, and canter off down the trail.
>
> I tell Jen we will still stick with our plan of a slow canter, even though
we
> missed our starting time (way to go Dad).  All because of that new cooking
> gadget from Wal-Mart, hot coffee and a couple of toasted bagels.  I want
to
> stay ahead of the 50 milers, as much as possible, even if we only have a 7
> minute jump on them.  And the only way to do this is to canter.  Dance is
in
> the lead, as usual, and Jen and I have the trail completely to ourselves.
> There is daylight, but it's predawn daylight, so not very bright out.  The
> sand is deep, but in some places the trail is in good shape, if you keep
your
> horse on the side where it hasn't been torn up by the 4 wheelers.
>
> Lot's of low branches here, so I try not to look behind me at Jen, cause I
> know as soon as I do one of them will get me.  And on my tall horse I have
to
> duck more than most riders.  We clip along at a good pace, with motivation
> being not letting the front runners in the 50 catch us.   I know our lead
> from them won't last forever, I'm just trying to delay them passing us
right
> away.  Both Dance and Rebel are into this run and know they have buddies
> somewhere up ahead.  If I die and reincarnate I want to come back as an
> endurance horse with a young, pretty female owner who gives me lots of
beer.
>
> The trails are deep sand, where the 4 wheelers have tore deep into the
ground
> (I'm not a fan of this motorized sport), but most of it isn't too bad.  I
> spot a lot of hidden roots and try to avoid them by riding the high end of
> any holes.  Rebel follows us perfectly.  It is a beautiful morning, a nice
> chill is in the air, and it just might be perfect weather for my horse.
He
> is overly excited, which is normal for him in an endurance run. I try and
> control his pace, to keep Dance from breaking out into a racehorse sweat.
The
> brisk weather is helping.
>
> The mist rises above the lakes here giving it an eerie quality.  The fog,
> created by the lakes, would make great cover for The Far Out Forest
Pervert
> this morning.  Thanks Jean, for letting me know about some of the whacko
> people who live in these woods.  I push out the bad thoughts and think of
my
> sunbather, with that smile on her face.  Much better.
>
> As Jen and I continue, I get that feeling of "this is the greatest sport
in
> the world" and I wish I had started it earlier in my lifetime.  I'll just
> have to let Jen make up for my lost riding time.  I know she's into it as
> much as I am; I hope it continues.  I plan on distracting her from the one
> thing that may hinder this goal, boys, till she's 35.  She's still at an
age
> where they're almost a nonentity, but I know it's coming, sooner than I
would
> like.
>
> For once Jen isn't talking a lot. I look back at her, when it's safe to do
> so, to make sure she's OK.  I can hear Rebel constantly, he has this type
of
> breathing where he exhales loudly every time his front hooves hit the
ground
> while cantering.  Sounds kinda cool.  Reminds me of a professional tennis
> player, how they grunt when they whack at the ball.
"Ummmmmmmpppppphhhhhhhh"
> says Rebel.   This, also, lets me know how close he is.  I do love Rebel,
> almost as much as Dance Line, cause he has this habit of never passing me
on
> the trail, no matter how much Jen pushes him to do so.  I consider this a
> safety feature that keeps my kid from losing control of her horse in, what
a
> lot of people consider, an extreme sport.
>
> I duck to miss a branch, but not enough and my helmet cracks the limb.
Man
> that would have knocked me out cold if I didn't have this helmet on.  I'm
at
> the point where, if you, as an endurance rider, choose not to wear one, I
> feel that you're a complete idiot and not serious about the sport or
haven't
> done enough rides.  If I saw a downed rider who wasn't wearing one, I'd
stop
> and help but he/she would hear it from me about their stupidity, coma or
no
> coma.
>
> After a while, I eliminate all negative thoughts and just enjoy what Jen
and
> I are doing.  No one is ahead of us.  We go on like this for at least 5
> miles.  Very little hills (hey, it is central Florida) and the most change
in
> elevation is about 6 feet (Florida Mountain).  I do love my state, and
wish
> more riders would come down here to run with us locals.  This time of year
> the bugs are dead and the snakes are buried deep underground, out of site
> where I like them.  Few tornadoes and no hurricanes; what more could you
ask
> for?  I did forget the fire danger is high, but nothing's burning yet.
>
> I notice Dance is sweating a little more than I'd like to see, so I slow
down
> to a trot and then to a walk. Not long after doing this I hear the first
> group of 50 milers closing in.  Jen and I let the group of 4 riders pass.
I
> ask my partner if she wants to try and keep up with the big boys.  She
yells
> a resounding YES and off we go.  Dance always seems more motivated when he
> can see a horse or two in front of him.  And today is no exception.
>
> I keep the riders in site and sometimes we even get close enough to pass.
> But I hold back, knowing these riders will canter all the way.  And they
do.
> Not once do any of them trot their horses; even after we follow for
several
> miles. The trail is wide enough for a vehicle, but it better be 4 wheel
> drive.  Jen and I stay right behind the leaders for almost 5 miles, then I
> pull back on Dance and we trot for a while.  And then I notice something
bad.
>  Damn.
>
> Dance's head is bobbing every so often, in the trot, even though he
doesn't
> feel off.  I curse to myself, knowing I might have pushed him too hard.  I
> get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that he's gonna get pulled
at
> the first vet check, which is only a couple more miles ahead.  Even if
Dance
> isn't lame, if the vet sees his head bob while trotting out I'm gonna be
> stuck out here in the middle of nowhere.
>
> We walk a bit and I try and figure out if Dance is lame or just tired.  I
> play around with his trot, post on the left diagonal then the right, to
see
> if it's the left front, where his old tendon bow is.  He stops bobbing his
> head, so I wonder if he's OK?  I feel no sign of lameness and hope we
might
> atleast get thru the first vet check without a hitch.
>
> And up ahead I see a group of people hanging around and realize we just
> covered 14 miles.  I'm ready for a break.  Jen and I give our cards to the
> check in lady, who marks our in time, and hands them back.  We dismount
and
> walk over towards the vet area. I bend down and feel Dance's old bow, no
> swelling or tenderness that I can see.  Good!   Rebel and Dance are both
> pumped up cause of all the other horses and activity.  We stop for water
at a
> large trough, and I spot Phil, who crews for his wife.   I know he has at
> least a stethoscope.  I ask if he'll check out Dance's heart rate, it
tends
> to run high, and Phil pulls out this really cool electronic thing, puts it
on
> the left side in front of the girth, and in less than ten seconds tells me
> it's 70.  He checks Rebels and it's in the low 50's.  Damn Arabs rule when
it
> comes to pulse and respiration.
>
> We walk around a little with our horses, Rebel and Dance cannot be
separated
> in this situation, with me looking for my bucket of feed.  I don't see it
> anywhere.  There's not much of a line at the P&R area so I decide to
gamble
> on Dance's pulse.  I turn Dance so he can look at Rebel while the lady
uses
> her stethoscope and she gives us a passing 64.  Rebel is 50.  I go up to
one
> of the vets, he does his thing super quick and then tells me to trot out.
> Dance and I take off and I can tell he's OK.  Back to the vet, check
> complete, all A's, and wait for Jen to finish.  Too easy, what was I so
> worried about?  Jen finishes with all A's also and we start our 30 minute
> hold.
>
> We wander together, looking for my lost bucket loaded with beet pulp, some
> grain and other goodies.  I spot Phil again, and he offers this beet pulp
> mash that he has left over.  Phil's a classy southern gentleman who I hang
> out with any chance I can, hoping some of it will rub off on me.  This has
> yet to happen.  His wife, who does 50's, is getting ready to leave the vet
> area. She has to be in that 4 group that we followed for so long.  Dance
and
> Reb dig into the food, both gobbling it up, which makes me and Jen quite
> happy.  They also steal some nearby hay and drink a lot of water.  These
two
> are into this run today.
>
> I get concerned about them stealing the hay, Phil comes by and tells me
it's
> his, help yourself.  What a cool dude.  I'm still irked that my bucket is
not
> here, because I had two syringes of oral electrolytes I wanted to give the
> horses.  Oh well, crewing for yourself is the pits (pun intended).
>
> Our 30 minute hold flies by and we mount up, tell the clipboard lady we're
> leaving and off we go.  I spot Roxanne up ahead, with a few other riders,
and
> Jen and I join them.  We work our way up to the canter, and off we go.
Jen
> loves talking to Roxanne, so the Mouth of the South (Jen) starts in on
her.
> Poor Rox, I know she's gonna hear whatever is on Jennifer's mind for the
next
> 5 miles or so.  It always amazes me how Jen can talk and canter her house,
> simultaneously.  When I first started riding endurance I was never able to
do
> this, and I'm still not crazy about it.  But I notice a lot of women have
> this gift, while a lot of men either don't have it or elect not to use it.
>
> Speaking of men, I forgot to tell y'all, I saw two male riders at camp and
> both had cuts on their cheeks, a result of running into the low hanging
> branches.  One gentleman was bleeding so heavily I was concerned and
> mentioned it to him.  This kind of struck me as funny, for some morbid
> reason, especially when I noticed not one female had even a tiny scratch
on
> her face.  Must be a macho kind of thing, instead of ducking we'll just go
> through those branches.
>
> I ask Rox to point out the tricky turn the 35 milers have to take.
> Evidently, a large number of riders missed the intersection last year and
> ended up doing a 50.  She says she will and that it's not much further up
> ahead.  OK, my conversation is over, and Jen takes my place.  The mind of
an
> eleven year old girl is constantly evolving, and I do believe if the mouth
> doesn't continue to move the whole process stops.
>
> Rox points out the turn to us and we all separate.  One rider has joined
us
> and she asks if we mind her company.  I advise her she might want to wear
ear
> plugs, Jen gives me a dirty look, and we introduce ourselves.  Her name is
> Maria and she is riding a tiny Arab mare about Rebel's age (ten).  It's
> Maria's first endurance ride and she seems to be enjoying it quite a bit.
I
> tell her we plan on cantering most of the way, and she says, "No problem,
> I'll try and keep up."  Dance leads the way and the three of us continue
on a
> wide path out in the middle of nowhere.  We're so isolated I feel like a
> Knight whose job it is to protect these young women on a dangerous trail
> while traveling between castles.  Any pervert shows himself out here and I
> will lop off his head.  haha.
>
> This loop definitely seems more remote than the first.  It's not really a
> loop, the entire ride is one loop.  The only people who do it twice are
the
> hundred milers, and from what I hear there are only a few of them riding
> today.  I still don't understand why the number of riders is so low.  The
> weather is perfect and the trails are well marked.  And we've run into
just a
> few 4 wheelers, who have all been courteous to us, pulling over and some
of
> them even turning off their machines.  If Dance keeps up the pace I still
> might have time for my afternoon nap, even though we're adding an extra
ten
> miles to our normal 25.
>
> WHEW, almost done.  Please let me know some of you are reading this.
>
> cya,
> Howard
>
>
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