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The next morning I was awake at 5 AM. A bit irritated that I couldn't sleep 
later, I pulled on a jacket and went to take Tanna for a walk. Everything 
looked foggy and hazy as I tried to see without my contacts. Daniel was still 
sleeping and I didn't want to wake him by banging around to get my contacts and 
I had left my glasses at home. I let Tanna graze for a long time and watched 
the camp wake up and begin preparations for ride day.

I then returned to my camp and settled Tanna in with some beet pulp and I 
settled into a chair with my laptop and my cell phone to attempt to get my 
email. Daniel stayed asleep and the horses started passing up and down the road 
to warm up. I still did not have my contacts on and I try hard not to squint so 
I was largely oblivious to who was actually passing our camp. If you passed me 
and expected me to greet you, I probably couldn't SEE you! :-) Tanna nickered 
once at some horse, so he must have recognized somebody.

After awhile, the camp grew quieter and I knew the 50 milers had left on their 
first loop. I packed up my laptop and headed for the showers. Ah, how nice to 
have a hot shower on a cool morning! I knew I would look forward to a shower 
after my ride the next day.

After having a leisurely breakfast with Daniel, we headed to Teddy's trailer to 
play with the Bosana boots. Tanna was pretty good except he kept wanting to bow 
for Teddy when she picked up his foot! I had been playing around with him 
earlier and I guess he thought he was still being asked to bow. I laughed at 
him and told him to cut it out. Teddy measured his front feet and we chose a 
boot size based on the chart in the boot brochure. Tanna was right on the edge 
of the sizes, so we went with the larger size. Teddy easily slipped the boots 
on. A success for her first time putting the boots on! :-)

Tanna stumbled the first couple of steps and then had no more trouble with 
them. Teddy suggested I head out on the trail to try them out. Daniel and I 
walked and trotted Tanna up and down the gravel road for a little bit and then 
I went to get ready for a ride.

When I mounted, Tanna gave his bucking signs and I was rather scared of him, 
not wanting to repeat the previous week's injuries. I dismounted and adjusted 
the bridle and checked for anything unusual. I saw nothing, so remounted. Tanna 
still acted idiotic, so Daniel led him around until I felt comfortable enough 
and we took off. Once we got started Tanna stopped his threats and continued on 
happily.

Tanna and I headed out the way the 50s would come in for the finish. I was 
planning a 9 hour ride time (excluding holds) for Sunday and knew that after 
that long, Tanna and I would welcome recognizing where we were and that we were 
close to "home." We walked, trotted and cantered our way along the trail having 
fun. I periodically checked to be sure I still had the Bosana boots and went 
out about 2 miles. When I turned around, I noticed that one of the boots had 
come off. So I walked back the way we'd come looking. I finally found the thing 
in the middle of a muddy bog. Ugh. I dismounted and retrieved the boot. I 
scraped off some of the worst of the mud and clipped it with a caribinger to 
the back of my saddle. Then we continued back down the trail. After just a few 
minutes, the OTHER boot came off. Grr. So I backtracked until I found it lying 
at the edge of a muddy bog. I repeated the process of scraping mud and clipping 
the boot to my saddle. Unfortunately, I didn't do a great job of clipping the 
boot and it jumped up and smacked me at every trot stride, leaving my tights 
muddy.

I managed to ignore the boots and continued on. When we got out on the gravel 
road where the finish line was, I leaned over Tanna's neck and sent him flying 
towards the finish line. Unfortunately, during the time I'd been on trail, the 
finish timers had arrived to be sure and catch the first 50 milers coming in 
from their ride. Tanna and I were unprepared for the sight of them, so we 
spooked hard to the left. Fortunately, there was a clearing and a trail to the 
left, so I was able to get Tanna back under control before we hit any trees. I 
circled back to the timers as they were calling out for my number. I smiled and 
told them I was just practicing for tomorrow and apologized for making them 
think I'd come in first. Then I sent Tanna back down the trail and came back at 
the finish line at a fast pace and kept my leg on him to keep him on the trail. 
Mission accomplished, I headed back to camp with the muddy boots.

I unsaddled Tanna and put him in his corral to eat, drink and be merry. And I 
settled down with a bucket of water and a scrub brush to clean up the Bosana 
boots. They were going back to Teddy immediately. I figured we should have 
chosen the smaller size. It took quite awhile to get the sticky, clinging mud 
from the boots. I managed to get most of it off and then Daniel and I headed to 
Teddy's trailer to return the boots. She urged us to bring Tanna back and we'd 
try a different size boot.

So we brought Tanna back and this time we chose a size 00 boot rather than a 
size 1. Teddy sprayed silicone spray on the boots to make them go on easier and 
these boots looked like they would fit much better. We discovered that the side 
to side measurement on these boots, at least for Tanna, was much less important 
than the toe to heel measurement.

I expressed my reluctance to try the boots on the actual ride. I wasn't 
concerned very much about rubbing, I didn't see much of how they could rub 
(although, there is always a way!), but I was more worried about having to keep 
track of boots when I wasn't sure they would stay on. So I took the boots with 
me and I will try them out over the next few weeks to see how they handle. I 
won't be riding Tanna for about 2 weeks, but he will be getting some round pen 
and back-to-the-basics ground manners refresher courses and I will likely put 
the boots on for those sessions to see how he handles them. If, IF I like the 
way the boots fit, I might try using them for a loop or two at Summer Breeze. 
We shall see. (www.bosanaboot.com for those interested in looking at them.)

I turned Tanna back into his pen, leaving the boots on his feet. Daniel and I 
figured it couldn't hurt to leave them on him in the pen. If he managed to 
remove them just wandering around, I definitely wouldn't want to ride in them 
anyway!

We ate lunch and then I laid down to take a nap. After waking up, I went out to 
check on when I could register for the ride. 4 PM. I had a little bit of time 
so I fiddled with tack and killed time before going to check in. I got my ride 
card in short order and returned to get Tanna for his vet in. I had to remove 
the Bosana boots and after a few minutes of contemplation and consulting the 
boot brochure, the boots were off with little effort. Hmm. Hope they stay on 
during riding! :-)

Tanna and I headed to the vet in. Daniel was napping, so I was on my own for a 
bit. Tanna was not happy about the caution tape that was strung to mark the vet 
area. I guess he can read and was worried there was something to be cautious 
about. I teased him and chatted with the lady in line behind me. When it was my 
turn, I chatted with Dr. Mike and trotted my horse out. He vetted in with all 
As and I led him back to the trailer.

I double-checked my tack and did some work on my saddle. Then I got Tanna some 
food and braided his mane while he ate and grazed. Finally, Daniel woke up and 
we ate quickly and went to the awards/dinner/ride meeting. We didn't eat with 
the others because this ride had the meal as an extra cost (which I like as we 
don't often eat the ride meals being vegetarian and it means I'm not paying for 
food I don't eat).

With so many riders, the awards took a very long time. I don't remember the 
exact numbers, but the completion rate was high. Over 90%. It was almost dark 
before we made our way back to our trailer. Daniel and I took Tanna out for 
another grazing walk before going to bed. I set my alarm to 1 AM and went to 
sleep.

To Be Continued...
April
Nashville, TN


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