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[RC] Thankful/Trailride/gps/ story/ post EPM - Laurie Durgin

We fTrail rideok our first outing on the trail, 11 months post Rascals EPM diagnosis.Took my new Speed and Distance GPS too.All most was disapointed though. My key no longer fit the gate ! As I went to the neighbors mailbox in his yard (the one with the arsenal, firing range and the cannon)!.I checked for the sapre key, not there, dang! WEll , heck, i'm not gonnna turn back now, so I started to walk the fence line towards the opening on his property.Then as I approached the easement I heard ,gunshots close. POOP! I turned around, in spite of Rascal wearing his orange eared gnat- net and a red saddle pad, but at the last minute I didn't put on my orange vest, had dark colors on. About that time I turned around to try and find another way in , maybe thru the other negihbors undergrowth, not a safe, or fun idea. About that time , the neighbor came driving thru the clearing and I went over and he said he'd stopped puttting the key in the box as people kept taking them. Told him I hadn't ridden in a year almost, was our first time out after my horse was sick. He opened the gate and gave me a new key.Thank goodness, I just triedto be friendly, he is bit strange ;and can be jovial then flash a quick temper.(cops been there for 'domenstic disturbence calls").
We walk down the road,get to our 'mounting place" .Inintend to just walk, maybe the whole short loop, which I believe is 3.5 miles or so.I take my new TIME and DISTANCE GPS to check out length, and time his walk. Real slow , he has only been back riding for a monthe or 6 weeks in the arena only. Other than his turnout, this is his first uneven ground with a rider ,11 months after his EPM diagnosis, which he was a grade 1-2 on the neuro tests. I have only ridden him for up to 40 min, mostly at walk, just starting to trot him some , he seemed back to his 'rascally self'. He was very alert( must be the new gravel on the road/tail(power company uses it for access for high tension lines)"Whoa " he thinks 'whats this?' 'Good grief ,Rascal, they just shoved some dirt on a pile and the sunlight is filtering thru the leaves.Backing very well, I decided I just get off and lead him, cause I actually wanted to ride and wasn't up for silliness the first 50 feet. No big deal,it didn't eat me, so he was fine with it. I walk about a 1/\1/2 mile, noting some of the junk had been cleaned up and you could get to one of the side loops I like that goes across the creeks and through the bamboo thickets and up a nice hill. Bit closed in though , who knows if it is horse passable anymore.But athey cleared the mattress, glass and siding away so 4 wheelers must be using it.We ride out to the high tension lines, they fille din the big hole I had to go around before, good , no knee knocking. We stop ane eat trees and ground stuff about 3 times.Wind is blowing enough to make the trees sway. Cross the HT lines, go to gas easement, "Whoa, was ZAT?" "It is a truck witha 4 wheeler trailer on it, just parked empty in the middle of the road come on", "no I thinkk it may have a horse monster in it".Okl, I dismount and we walk by it."Like you've never seen a truck and trailer before , duh". We walk another 1/2 mile on the ground, pass a guy on a cell phone in a pull off, 'hmmm looks like a developer to me".I am finding the best path around the dirt bike ruts on the road now, this seciton is not fixed. We used to have a nice fairly level area to trot, but about 1/4 mile in two places on this loop are "ruint". I also snap some 'helment crashing 'branches".I remount after we graze a bit."no not posion ivy, you idiot"..We get close to the end of the loop, but I look at my watch and need to turn around.
I had checked it a couple times, found to my surprise his walk varied between 2.8 to 3.8. His good walk is 3.6-3.9.Ithought he only did bout 2.4.His real pokey walk is 2.8.
He Jigged some , I was making him walk, with half halts, He did 5.4 at a "Jig" :p
Turned out we traveled 3.2 miles and the loop wasn't completely done. So my 'short loop' is longer than I thought . Probably 4 miles or more. This will be neat to figure all the loops as I go back over my original riding trails and also to see what is left. And since I am 'restarting him' I will walk them all the first time, to help rebuild muscles and wind.
He was jiggy, alert, there are alot of rocks, gravel. I was hoping it didn't bother his feet, they are really hard, but he hasn't done much but move around in the mud/rocky paddock, and isn't shod on the back. he did semi trip twice, but hopefully it's just normal rocks, Well see .
It had an average "Pace" at 11'3" , and a maximum pace at 34'34" ? Now it was on my arm, and I did dismount and walk some. So I wonder how to figure his pace or stride, if that is what it is?Couldn't find anywhere in the book, where to figure out what it means.
What a great day!!!!! Laurie and Rascal


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