Bit of Everything!

[Joane Pappas White <Lyoness@Castlenet.com>]

Hi,

OUR MEN:
I could have guessed that Truman and Howard would prove my point about
the men in this sport!  Truly unique characters! 

In all fairness, we have a goodly number of men in endurance in the
mountain region.  Many are fathers of young children whom they sponsor.
I crewed for my junior and Crockett Dumas at Color Country's 50 a few
weeks ago and MJ was the only women with the leading group! I remember
thinking that it was an usually "male" top 10.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN RIDE:
I just returned from a safari in South Africa. I really think it was the
most amazing trip I have ever taken.  If any of you can take up the
offer made a couple of issues ago to lease the South African horse and
ride in their national ride--DO IT!  I can hardly wait to go back again. 

STIRRUPS:
My Cowboys have teased me forever about paying more for stirrups than
saddles.  I have a tendency toward numbness in my right (sometimes left)
foot, then ankle, then leg etc.  I used to think I had weak ankles and
bought every pair of stirrups I read about--with some really comic
results:

        1.  First, I just had to have the $200 Sprenger jointed
stirrups, which are great if you are a little thing.  I put them on my
saddle and my teacher just started to roar. When you are 5'9" and HW,
the stirrups become mini trampolines. They magnified every step of the
trot until I was almost propelled off the saddle.  They were retired to
my tack room after the first lesson and are available to anyone who just
has to try them.
        2.  Next I had to have Cloud Nines--Not the plain ones but the
leather covered ones.  They are beautiful but too heavy for me.  They,
too, are in the Tack room.
        3.  Next I had to have the EZ Rides.  These were great and
helped a lot.  But I was still sure there had to be a better "mouse
trap" so I had to have the new plastic EZ Rides the minute Teddy showed
up with them at Pan Am. I broke the cardinal rule and put them on my
saddle at the next ride.  By 12 miles I was dying--they are too light. 
Every thing my toe brushed against caused them to flip.  At the vet
check, off they came!  Sold those at the convention.
        4.  My friend Christy swears by Trailtech for her knees but I
don't dare try anything new now.  

As it turns out, the numbness is really a back thing and the stirrups
have little to do with it.  

TRAILERS:
You don't take aluminum trailers into our back country and expect the
trailer welds to survive for very long so I was looking for something I
could really abuse.  You really have to see the ranch to appreciate a
durable steel trailer.  I drag my custom TrailsWest everywhere and it
has performed very well.  It is nicked named "The Doll House" and is
carpeted, wallpapered, and equiped with Hors-n-around Corral and 75
gallon water tank with pump.  I had never seen one in our area until I
got mine but a lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon since I got
one.  You really have to decide what kind of trailer will work for your
usage requirements.

HANDHELD TEMP DEVICE:
I played with one of these at the convention.  It was awesome and I need
to order one.  You just point the device at something and it will give
you an instant reading.  Point it at an injured leg and you can see the
heat immediately.  The salesman pointed out how it could pick up a hot
nail, abcess, increased skin readings etc. Given the new information on
skin temperature as an indication of developing problems, this looked
like a real good idea for vet checks and general health care.

Bye for now,

Joane and the Herd
Price, Utah
Lyoness@Castlenet.com