This afternoon Vicki rode Mojo, Amanda rode Devil, and Alex rode Teddy. Everyone did walk, trot, and canter. As a family, we are working to have horses that are appropriate for kids and parents alike. I think we are on the right track.
2 weeks ago, we rode as a family at the Lyme Trails Association Hunter Pace (aka Lord Creek Hunter Pace). I rode Mojo with Alex as my teammate on a trial pony, Zippy. Anna rode Teddy and Vicki rode Devil. While Zippy was a good trail mount, we decided he wasn’t quite what we were after to replace Dakota, so we have since returned him. However, we were thankful for the chance to ride as a family at a great venue. For the past 2 years, horse or people injuries have resulted in only 3 of the 4 of us getting to ride. Anna and Alex went around the jumps this year, as neither was ready for that on their mounts. Vicki and I went over jumps… a lot of jumps. It was AWESOME. Mojo and I went over jumps that were bigger than anything I have ever attempted previously and only gave me 1 refusal all day. Here are links to the Judy Bosco’s site, who was the ride photographer. I bought a copy of Mojo and I jumping.
https://judybosco.smugmug.com/Equine-Events/Lyme-Hunter-Pace-2016/Team-29/
https://judybosco.smugmug.com/Equine-Events/Lyme-Hunter-Pace-2016/Team-48/
This weekend was Ayer Mt Farm’s Autumn Daze, which is also known as Jump, Jump, Jump. It is a 3 phase jumping show which includes stadium jumping, derby jumping, and cross-country. Derby jumping is a combination of stadium and cross-country jumps. For any of our local riding friends, this is an amazing little show (I think there were 16 entries) and tons of fun. I highly recommend you do it next year if they don’t cancel due to low numbers.
Since the previous weekend went so well, I decided to bump Mojo up to the Elementary Division (max 2’3″ jumps) while Vicki and Devil rode in the Grasshopper Division (max 18″ jumps). To be clear, I had never actually ridden a stadium jump course on Mojo at anything other than 18″, so Anna considered my choice of divisions completely impulsive and irresponsible. Anyone who knows my approach to riding will understand, it’s just my style to go for it and not worry about failure. It turns out, Vicki has the same go-for-it attitude.
Anna had this to say about the following picture: “This picture is one of the proud mama moments I had as Devil was a total brat pony all day and Vicki totally rocked her confidence as she made her pony do what he didn’t have any intention of doing. He refused this jump twice before she made him jump it and then stayed on for the mega leap.”
Vicki did get eliminated during her derby round because Devil did a spin refusal approaching a log jump and she came unseated (meaning hit the ground). Despite that, she never lost her reins, bounced back up, and was back on Devil before the nearby fence judge could get there. The event is “schooling friendly” and still allowed her to complete the rest of the derby round and ride her cross-country course. Vicki was all smiles despite the elimination.
Things went a little better for Mojo and I. In stadium, he knocked down 1 rail over a roll top (which was almost a refusal). In the cross-country round, we had 2 refusals at a coop which were my fault. I realized on the second refusal I was reading all the words on the side of the coop and Mojo was spooking at it because I was looking down. As soon as my eyes came up, so did his front feet. Despite these minor issues, we were able to take 2nd place for the day. I think it was the best showing experience I have ever had and continues to show how much heart Mojo has. I definitely benefited from recent lessons with Ann Bowie and Julia Cronin who both gave me insight that aided our performance. We have plenty to work on to get better at our jumping, but it’s so nice to have a willing partner that forgives my errors.
One last thing. For all the riders who feel pressured to put shoes on your horse, I rode Mojo barefoot for the stadium phase (because the grass was a little slick) and in Easy Care Gloves for the other 2 phases.
Update – only a few minutes after posting, a long time friend got in touch about Dakota. They already came to visit him and he will be going to their farm this week to be a trail pony for grandkids. If things don’t work out, he will come back to us.
For the past few months, we have struggled with some indications that Dakota was not cut out for the volume of riding and competition that we, as a family, participate in. After a recent round of lameness, we pursued further examination of Dakota’s legs to determine what was going on. The results were devastating for Anna and Alex in particular, as both has developed a significant bond with Dakota. Dakota has a cyst on both left and right front pastern bones and arthritis (diagnosed by a vet with xrays). These issues make him not suitable for a high-use home like ours. He is currently pasture sound, but shows some lameness if worked in the arena. As a result, we have decided to start the process of looking for a new home for Dakota. His info/ad is listed below. Please feel free to share a link to this post if you know of a good match for Dakota.
Dakota is a 9yo, 14.1hh grade pinto pony. He is some sort of gaited horse cross because he will gait when bitted in a curb bit, but otherwise is a W/T/C pony. We have owned Dakota for almost 3 years. He is barefoot, has a current Coggins/rabies, and his teeth were done in the spring. Dakota trailers very well and is an easy keeper – he currently eats hay and hay pellets with supplements. He lives in a herd (currently geldings only, but he gets along with mares) and prefers to be out at night, but will stall as well.
Dakota has logged hundreds of trail miles since we got him and did a 30 mile Limited Distance endurance ride last fall and 25 mile Limited Distance in the spring. He has also done many hunter paces, participated in Pony Club camp, and has been ridden by adults and kids. He has camped over-night. Dakota doesn’t test electric, but if spooked, he will bolt through electric fencing. Therefore, he needs a hard fence, with or without electric inside.
Unfortunately, Dakota has a cyst on both left and right front pastern bones and arthritis (diagnosed by a vet with xrays). These issues make him not suitable for a high-use home like ours. He is currently pasture sound, but shows some lameness if worked in the arena. Dakota would do best as an occasional trail horse or as a companion.
I am a barefoot trimmer and pulled his shoes 3 years ago. He is absolutely fine for trimming and he will go to a new home with a current trim and full set of 4 Renegade Vipers for trail riding. Dakota is not very trusting of new people until he has a bond with the handler. We believe Dakota was mishandled by a farrier prior to us owning him, based on my experience as a farrier.
Dakota has been handled by kids the entire time he has been here. He is kid safe; he actually prefers to be handled by kids over adults. He is wary of men (see farrier issue above) but not dangerous, just nervous.
Dakota trail rides in a hackamore and is best suited for a quiet, balance rider because he is sensitive and forward under saddle. He has good brakes, but he is not a kick ride. He will cross water, logs, bridges, etc, but does get a little nervous around motorcycles and bikes. He is not a spooky/looky horse on the trails. He has been regularly trail ridden by 10-12 year old kids.
Dakota is offered free, but vet and farrier references will be required and checked. A home visit will also be done, either in advance or as part of delivery. We are willing to trailer him to you.
Follow this link to read all our family blog posts related to Dakota https://thesawyerfarms.com/?s=Dakota
Last Sunday was the WGHA 2016 Hunter Pace #3. This time, I (Rob) rode on Teddy, Alex rode Mojo, Vicki rode Devil, and Alexis rode Ace. We had a good 12 mile ride that took us 2:16. It was good enough to earn me 6th place and the kids got 5th in the Jr division.
Pinetree Pioneer Rides were held at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds over 5 days from Tuesday, August 9 through Saturday, August 13. There was a 50-55 mile event and a LD (Limited Distance) 25-30 mile event every day for 5 days. The Pioneer Ride is the three middle days, and totals 155 miles of riding. This was to be Vicki’s first distance ride. Alex was unable to ride; Dakota has been lame and Alex was still dealing with a double ear infection and sinus infection.
The logistics required to travel and camp with your horses for an endurance ride are not to be under estimated. When it is a whole family going to camp and leaving the majority of the herd at home, it takes a few days of prep just to leave the house. We started making our packing lists weeks ago. Leading up to this trip, I printed the lists and kept making updates as we figured out what we needed to add. Sunday and Monday were spent going through the camping gear to make sure everything was there and loading into totes. We also packed the horse trailer with hay, shavings, tack, extra tack, and everything we could imagine needing. Once all the camping gear was loaded into the truck bed (around the gooseneck hitch), clothing and sleeping bags in the horse trailer, and tack in the trailer, we were ready to leave.
We hit the road on Tuesday morning at 0900 and headed to Maine! The first stop was 35 minutes into the drive for a couple of items we needed at Wal-mart. The second stop was only 20 minutes later for a bathroom break. We decided to skip lunch and just finish the drive (with no more stops) to get the horses off the trailer faster. That turned out to be a mistake, because once we got to camp, it took over an hour to get the horses settled and to the point we could unload enough to eat. In the future, we will ensure we have eaten before arriving at camp.
Once things we set in camp, we vetted in the horses for the ride and took a break. Our campsite consisted of an electric fence paddock for the horses, canopy for the horses, canopy for our kitchen area, stove, coffee pot, 2 tents, folding table…. The chuck box we used for storing food and such was built by my Dad in the 60’s when he was in scouting. I would say it has gotten some miles.
The ride camp had a coordinated dinner that you could participate in, so we did. After dinner each night, the awards for the day’s ride were given out and then the ride brief was conducted for the next day. We arrived on Tuesday, so we got to see the first day awards and hear some feedback about the trails.
We have learned from previous rides, the endurance ride camps get quiet early. It seems everyone wants to go to bed early. Of course, since we had just traveled in, our crew wasn’t as tired, so we didn’t fall asleep quite as fast.
Wednesday morning, the 50 mile ride started at 0530. Our camp setup was right next to the vet area and the start/finish. Anna and I were up at 4:45 with Vicki only shortly after. Alex and Amanda slept in a little. We cooked up some eggs and sausage for breakfast. While there is typically muffins or doughnuts available for a ride breakfast, it is important to fuel your body for the ride, especially when 1 of the bodies is an 80lb, 10 year old girl.
Vicki and I were riding the 25 mile, LD ride. We started at 6:30 and 1 mile into the ride, you cross a river. On the other side, you enter some potato fields where you ride on sandy farm roads for the next 5 miles. While the potato fields were pretty, calm, and fast riding in the morning, they were hot and hotter once the sun started baking things. The first hold was 15 miles into the ride, and was away from base camp at a covered bridge. Anna, Alex, and Amanda met us there with snacks for the horses, snacks for us, and to simply help out. We quickly determined that at this age, Vicki can handle the distance, but needs the support of someone to crew at the holds so she can take a break and fuel up herself.
When you arrive at the hold, your hold time doesn’t actually start until your horse has pulsed down below 64 bpm. In anticipation of that, Vicki and I walked in (us off and leading on foot) the horses for about the last 1/4 mile. Mojo can pulse down quickly, but we wanted to make sure Devil was ready to go. It worked great and Devil was below the threshold as soon as we arrived. 40 minutes later, we were back out of the trail for 11 miles back to camp, including the potato fields. We arrived at base camp and Mojo immediately met the finish pulse criteria of 60 bpm. 6 minutes later, Devil had cooled off and also passed a vet check as “fit to continue”. Vicki and Devil had their first completion with a ride time of 4:27 for 26 miles in the saddle.
Once the horses were taken care of, we hiked a mile down to the river and took a swim to cool off since the temps were in the upper 80s (I thought Maine was supposed to be cold?).
Some people at the Pinetree ride actually ride every day. However, many ride a day and then take a day off. Because we did our first ride on the second day, there were only 11 entries in the LD ride for our day. Even though our time wasn’t terribly slow, Vicki was the last finisher, which meant she won the “Turtle Award”. In the endurance world, the motto is “To finish is to win” and we have been teaching that to the kids as we train. Winning the turtle isn’t demeaning, because it is still a completion. There are actually some riders who compete to collect turtle awards. Vicki was all smiles at the awards ceremony as she collected her ride prize, her Jr rider award (a blanket she slept with every night since), and her Turtle.
No one in our family had trouble falling asleep on Wednesday. We took Thursday off, and I was glad we did! I listened to the sound of ~30 riders leaving camp at 0530 (all distances started at 0530 on Thursday and Friday due to the heat) and then I went back to sleep for another hour. After getting up and eating, I broke out the hammock. There were not a lot of trees available, but with the truck parked just so, the hammock fit nicely between the horse trailer ties and the stake pocket ties on the truck. Amanda and I tested it out for a nice hour nap. After, we walked the horses around for some grazing (Vicki decided to ride bareback).
Thursday was HOT! The camp thermometer broke 100F in the shade. We went out to get more ice for our cooler and some ice cream. We also went to a different part of the river for a swim to cool off again. In the late afternoon, Vicki and I rode the horses bareback down to the river. We took them into some deeper areas and Vicki and Devil actually got to swim (it wasn’t deep enough to cause Mojo to swim). Thursday night dinner was lobster night and after the ride brief, we went to bed for a 0400 wake up. While Vicki was very happy to have finished her first ride, she did talk to me about strategy before we fell asleep. She said, “Dad, can we ride a little faster tomorrow. I don’t want to Turtle. I want to Win.” I told her we would ride within our horses’ abilities and the priority was to finish with everyone in good condition, but yes, we could go faster. She was ok with that. On Friday, we were riding the same LD course as Wednesday.
The temperatures on Friday were definitely hotter than Wednesday. While we did ride a faster first loop, we slowed down some on the second loop and ended up finishing within about 5 minutes of our Wednesday time. Again, both horses were in excellent condition and we both had smiles at the finish. As Vicki and I hand walked our horses the last 1/4 mile, she was already talking about her plans for the next ride. To say she is hooked on endurance is an understatement.
While the temperatures were high, we had nothing but an amazing week. Amanda was talking with everyone about her pony Huey and how she planned to ride him at Pinetree next year. Alex didn’t get to ride, but is still interested in trying it out. Pinetree was definitely a top-notch, family friendly event. Our thanks go out to Tom Hutchinson and Sue Niedoroda for managing the ride and to all the volunteers who put it on. We will see you again in 2017!
Since Anna and the kids are out of town, I went out for a solo ride on Mojo today. WGHA was having a full camping weekend at Escoheag with rides yesterday and today, so Mojo and I went for a day ride. I had plans of getting there early to have lots of time to ride. Those plans didn’t work out. We finally left the house just after 9 and hit the trails at 10.
Today’s ride was all about working on riding without his best friends and trying out some new gear. I ordered some new riding tights from Saddlebums and wore them today. I was very pleased with them overall, however, I did forget my half chaps and my calves paid the price. I have decided that I prefer to do my distance riding with a biking jersey top. The elastic around the sleeves and waist keep the shirt from flapping around and the pockets on the back come in handy for snacks, cell phone, trash, etc. I also got a new hackamore for Mojo and I love it. He isn’t a heavy horse in the first place and the hackamore lets him eat whenever I offer a stop without getting grass all stuck in his bit. We also did some tweaking of existing gear such as how the saddlebag was attached. There are little things that add up to annoyances or actual rubs/problems over longer distances, so it’s important to get it right.
It was hot out there (mid 80s with high humidity). The humidity definitely impacted our speed. In the end, we rode 16 miles at a 5.3 mph average; just a hair over 3 hours of saddle time.
Mojo definitely enjoyed the 3 stops where I let him wade into the water (2 creeks and a lake). I have no doubt this horse will swim with me if I give him the chance. We did a lot of trotting, but I did let him run a couple of times. He gave me a new top end speed of 23.3 mph! Overall, we had a great ride and we are looking forward to our next endurance ride in 10 days.
It’s been a long day. I did some trimming this morning while Anna and the kids did chores. After lunch, we had a swim with some friends, then back home to ride some horses. Vicki spent some time riding Devil bareback, including jumping him to get ready for the show tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow she will likely be using a saddle. Alex and Vicki both rode Nike for a short session. After that, Vicki rode Dakota (her third ride for the day), Amanda rode Huey, and Alexis rode Ace. Anna and I were able to go for a short trail ride to evaluate Teddy on the trails. Teddy is making great progress with he fear of ears being handled. We are able to halter him reliably and bridle him, although it requires disassembling the bridle. He is not ready to have a bridle passed over his ears and it requires patience to put the brow band back across his head. Anna has been working on this with him every day, and he is showing a lot of improvement. I am confident he will continue to get better and we will get past the problems eventually.
On our trail ride, I was on Mojo and Anna was on Teddy. We just did a 5 mile ride because it was late and the deer flies were ridiculously bad. I had a few that made it into my mouth, my ears, and swarmed my eyes. Teddy is definitely an Arab. He has a nice solid trot, but does have that Arab mindset that large rocks and logs could be a hiding place for a mountain lion. Nothing too dramatic, but just enough to keep the ride interesting. We have introduced Teddy to Glove boots. He wasn’t too fond of them on his hind feet, but once we got moving, he didn’t have time to worry about it.
I did manage to take a short video while we trotted through the corn fields. Anna thinks maybe we should invest in a GoPro to mount on my helmet. Teddy walked through water, has a nice ground covering trot, and Anna looks good on him. His first trail ride was an overwhelming success. The only thing he is lacking is conditioning, but we know how to fix that.
This morning we left on a short trip to check out a new horse. This afternoon, we arrived at home to a herd that was anxious to find out who was on the trailer since the seven of them were all in the pasture.
Teddy is the newest member of the herd. He is a 15.1hh, 9-year-old, bay Arabian gelding.
The rest of the boys are hoping he gets to come out and play with them soon.
Teddy has been acquired because Alex is ready to move back onto Dakota for his primary mount. Nike has been awesome for Alex for the past two years, but Alex will always have a stronger love for Dakota. The two of them have an amazing bond. With that in mind, we have consented which meant Anna needed a different horse. We were expecting that Teddy was a 14.2hh Arabian, but he felt bigger when we rode him. Once we got him home and saw him standing across the fence from the others, we grabbed the tape and checked. Sure enough, he is a solid 15.1hh. The plan is for Anna to ride him through the fall and into next year. At some point, we will decide if Vicki gets him for her next mount (which she is convinced is absolutely the case) or if we need something different. If these kids would stop outgrowing their ponies, life would be much easier.
We have a few things to work on with Teddy. He has some serious head shyness around his ears (worse than Dakota was when we bought him) which makes it difficult to put on a bridle. He also needs work on his trot-canter transitions. Since the kids will be at 4-H camp next week (including Amanda at day camp), she will have 5 days of nothing else to do, so she should have everything fixed before next weekend. Or not. Either way, he is in good condition, barefoot, and a good size, so we have a solid starting point. The million dollar question is, will he be ready for his first 25 mile ride in 4.5 weeks? Stayed tuned for updates!
For Father’s Day, Vicki and I rode in a dressage and 2 phase horse show. Alex and Amanda didn’t want to show and we decided that was fine. This was my first show (other than some fairs) since 2010 when I was still on King. This was also the first time I have ever actually entered a jumping class. While I was not necessarily totally ready and refined, I wanted to take Mojo to the show and see how he behaved.
King was always a great horse at home, and still is, but about 3 times as much horse once you got to the show grounds. “High energy” would be an accurate description. I was extremely pleased to find Mojo was the same horse on the show grounds as at home. I think he was actually more focused and ready to work than schooling at home. Mojo and I entered the 18″ cross-rail 2 phase division which includes dressage test Intro B. We separately rode dressage test Intro C. To get ready for the show, I did ride Mojo through the Intro B test twice in the weeks before the show. We never tried Intro C. As for jumping, I think I jumped Mojo 3 times in the month we have had him. We never actually jumped a full course. In fact, I don’t think we ever put more than 4 jumps together in a set. Anna’s opinion was I was crazy to go so under-trained and having no idea what would happen on the jump course. I figured why not give it a shot.
Let’s be honest. Dressage is boring. I’ll just summarize the 2 dressage tests with we have areas to improve on but I wasn’t last in my divisions. But Vicki did get higher dressage scores on Devil, riding the same tests with the same judges.
The jumping was much more fun. When we got out into the warm-up area, Mojo and I started working over the practice fences and it was awesome. He was ready to go, so we headed on the course and jumped a clear round. He didn’t give me any hesitation and we had a blast. Anna would not that my form requires improvement, I look down at the jumps, I sometimes catch him in the mouth, and Mojo doesn’t always get the correct lead coming off the jump. That’s why she is a better rider. I just know we had fun and he can definitely jump higher! Vicki and Devil also jumped a clear round and had a blast doing it. We want to find a jumping only show…
I would also like to note that Mojo has now been with us for 5 weeks and has been out of shoes for 5 weeks after many years in front shoes. He has been tender on his front feet (to be expected for the transition) so we normally ride him in boots. However, for the dressage show, I couldn’t ride him with boots. Last week I gave him a trim and applied Hoof Armor. The Hoof Armor worked like a champ and he didn’t take a tender step all day. I will be continuing to experiment with the Hoof Armor on my own horses before offering it to clients, but so far, I’m happy with it! The next step is to put it on the ponies and see how they do on the rocky trails without any boots.