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[RC] Leatherwood - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Alicia Mansuetti mmansuetti@xxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== Leatherwood- a little bit of horse heaven! I attended my second Leatherwood ride this year and for the second time enjoyed myself and most everything about it! Abbie Hanchey and Phil Rash did a wonderful job once again with this ride! The trail is well marked with ample water everywhere. The food at the ride is some of the best around and who can beat the stalls for your horses and the "cabins" to stay in. The hot tub under the stars at our cabin sure did feel wonderful after the ride!! The trail this year was definately the toughest I have ridden and my horse thought so too! I brought my "backup backup" horse who probably does not like me to much now. He started his usual happy go forward self and looked really good at the first vet check except for a little bit of back soreness on the left side. The next loop was the toughest I knew from experience and it proved to be very tough for him. the first mile into it a stick went up into his splint boots and gave him a nice scrape. the blood coagulated quickly so we went on after I cleaned it and found no soreness or swelling. the rideges next were AWESOME but soon after our ride went south. He was body clipped and for some reason every fly on the mountain seemed to be on us. I felt like I was in a fly horror movie. My friend Claire did not have a one on her but boy were they on us. Next he decided that he was not going to climb up anymore mountains and almost took me and him over the mountain. I dismounted where he decided to toss and shake his head so violently that he bent my thumbnail backwards twice under gloves! then he stomped my foot. He made me so mad I tried to ride him again to almost fall off of the mountain again. I dismounted and tried to tail, he got away from me with my friend Claire catching him and then he bit her! After I climbed on foot up Bob's Branch I decided he was not right and we rode back to camp in the trailer. All of the vets expected to see a crazed horse after we called down, but by the time we got down his heart rate was great, metabolics good and just a little sore back. I felt like I had egg on my face but they did not see what I went through. My friend Claire can attest to his tantrum! Inspite of my horse tantrum I had a blast and am looking forward to their labor day ride!!! ===========================================================REAL endurance is taking your non-horsey family to a ridecamp with you! ~ Heidi Sowards ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ===========================================================
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