Well, I finally did it and went to my first CTR of 25 miles in Ontario. It was not without its dilemmas or stressful moments and we almost didn`t go when truck troubles resurfaced the night before the ride. We managed to find someone (at 10 pm no less) who was able to drive us the next morning to the ride (only 2 hours away). We got a little lost on the way to the ride and lucky for us things were a little behind schedule and we didn`t actually have to vet through until 8:30 am (we had been told it was expected to start at 7:30 am). The weather also held up with only a few droplets of rain during the day. What a relief it was to finally held down the trail, although we were a little concerned about getting lost. But we had nothing to worry about the trail was very well marked. I went with a friend of mine and rode one of her horses - it was a first time ride for both ourselves and our horses. Our strategy had been that she would take it slow and easy since she had less time to condition her horse and her hor
se was only four, and I would go out ahead if things were going well with the horse I was riding. But we were a little surprised at the trails and so ended up riding together the whole way.The ride flyer did not adequately describe the trails and "flat, good footing, some roadwork" did not reflect the miles of rocks and hard-packed roads covered with gravel. I have never seen so much rock in my life! :) We are both from Quebec and the trails we ride on are mostly dirt, sand, and mud with very little rocks. We can do quite a bit of riding without having to go on the roads at all. The horses both have good hard feet and we have even ridden them barefoot lots of times with no problems, but they are just not used to that amount of rock and pounding on hard roads. While we had been told that the horses would require shoes all-around, I would definitely have put pads also if I had known more clearly what the trails were like. Note to self - get specific details, details, details. Anyway,&nb
sp;we figured we would just aim for a completion and not jeopardize our horses' legs or feet.
I have volunteered at a couple of rides, but I was finally able to experience the "other side". I was surprised at how long the distance can feel when you don`t know where you are or whats coming up. The second loop seemed to go by faster since it was over the same terrain and we had already ridden over it once. My horse and I almost flipped going down the trail on the first loop - my horse stumbled, tried to catch herself and stumbled again, then managed to get back on her feet. When she started going down I leaned back and just left the reins loose (I figure they know alot better than I do what they need to do to get back on their own four feet - I don`t believe in trying to pull the horses head up when they stumble), and I could not even see a head in front of me and barely a neck. It was a little scary. My friend who was riding behind said that my horse scraped her nose on the ground! I got off and checked for any cuts or scrapes but she was clean thankfully.
We took the maximum time allowed for completion to finish the ride and walked quite a lot on the first loop taking close to 3 hours for the first 12.5 miles. I know, must sound very long for some of you experienced people ![]()
On the second loop we went faster wherever we could, trying to ride on the side of the roads as much as possible. We managed to make up half an hour and finish within minutes of the time allowed (I think there was about 10 minutes left). We met parameters at all checks and finished with tired but healthy horses.
We were able to see what we need to work on, such as trot outs. The horses were not that used to it and they would walk a few lengths before actually moving out faster, so it didn`t look as good even though they weren`t lame or anything. Also standing still for the vet and the people at the pulse check. Not standing still and relaxed probably kept my horses pulse higher than it would have been had she been more mellow about it. My horse was tired but would recover quickly when she had a chance to rest and she was all excited about being in a new place with many strange horses and sometimes she was not as responsive to me telling her to whoa and stand still. At the end, she was supposed to be tired and yet she still tried to drag me around!
These Rocky Mountain horses sure drew alot of attention anyway with their singlefoot gait. Well, the 4 year old is registered as a Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse - same breed of horse/bloodlines, but there is more than one registry because I think not everyone agreed on criteria for the breed at the beginning, so one horse can be registered in more than one of the registries. The vets seemed to be entertained watching them gait down the field during the trot out, I think it was the first Rocky Mountain horses they had vetted. The 4 year old starting trotting out on the trail when she got tired, which is something we have never seen them do. Trying to compensate I guess and use different muscles. The horse I was riding kept her gait throughout although at the last vet check she was getting lazy to move out and she was loosing the intervals between footfalls so that her gait was looking like a pace. Interesting. We were so proud of our horses for getting through so many new experiences (first CTR, first competition
of any sort, one of only a few trailer rides, being around so many new horses, standing tied to a trailer in a strange place). I am sure the stress of all this affected their stamina as well. But nevertheless they just kept giving and never refused to do anything that was asked of them. For their first time ride, they drank and ate very well. The 4 year old was not drinking at first and had us worrying, but then I guess she got thirsty enough and saw the other drinking, so she caught on. We let them get bites of grass along the way and fed them apples and carrots whenever we had a chance and electrolyted too. So everything was pretty good on the vet cards. Just the heart rates were kind of high, especially for my horse, although she did meet criteria at each vet check (had to be below 64). I have measured her resting heart rate at home in the 30s and low 40s, but at the first p/r in the morning it was at 53. I am sure it was due to the newness of everything. I also lost a few points because my horse had a little bit of heat a
nd puffiness in her left ankle - could have been from when she took her tumble, or maybe from the concussion on the roads. She is all better now, so it was nothing major.
I must say it was a great learning experience and it pointed out the areas where we can work on to get lower heart rates, etc. All we can do is improve from here on. I must say it was a very good and satisfactory feeling to get my completion certificate. Now I am looking forward to working on stuff over the winter and trying out some more rides next season.
Lysane
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