Mandy's Latest Endurance Ride

Mandy'sMarty · Mandy's Latest Endurance Ride

We're back! Completed our first endurance ride of the season on Saturday. The Camp Osborn Pow Wow Endurance Ride near Sylvester, GA. We ran the 25 mile event on Saturday, Feb. 11. I'll write more about the weekend soon.
Brrrr...it was cold!!!

Sonya, we were apparently only a few hours by horseback from you! You live in a wonderful place for riding barefoot.

PasoBaby_CarolU

Way to go Marty! Looking GOOD there! Congratulations.

ElaineW

That's great!!! Love the photo..

HopeMissouri

Looking forward to reading more about your ride!

Shannon

Looks like a lot of fun! I'm jealous that there's no snow on the ground where you are!

becdubie

Good for you both!

Mandy'sMarty

It was about an hour before sundown when we finally arrived at ride camp Friday. Two hours later than planned. I had been up since 4:45am and had traveled about 250 miles. I quickly found a space among the larger truck and trailer rigs amid the pines. There were two suitable large pines available for running a high line from which to tie Mandy. I quickly unloaded her and walked her briefly around the site so that she could snort and greet the neighbors. Soon she was securely tied off from the high line, water bucket was filled and flakes of hay were tossed.

Next I quickly unrolled my expedition tent and had it erected within a few minutes. I always like to get my tent up and snug before dark, before it rains. While placing tent pegs I smelled something awful. I then realized that the entire area around my site had been used by my neighbors as a toilet for their dogs. Their old, sick dogs. Very smelly dog poop. It took me awhile to clean the area and relocate my tent several feet to a safer spot. Somehow I managed to avoid stepping in any landmines.

Next I unpacked Mandy's dinner ziplock, mixed it with some water and liquid electrolytes in her black dish, and nestled it by the water tub tied to one of her trees. Then it was Bodacious' turn to eat. She got her regular mix of kibbles and canned food stirred with water into a stew.

By now my blood sugar was crashing. I needed to eat. But I had not yet erected my kitchen. I have a tent lean-to that I erect next to my Brenderup trailer. It always gets an admirer or two at endurance ride camps. Once erected, I then set up a camp table with chair underneath the canopy. I hang a lantern from the trailer sidewall under the canopy. I heat water with a JetBoil Personal Cooking System that I use when backpacking. It sits neatly on the camp table. Within two steps I can reach my 4 Runner hatch back where my cooler and my dry-goods locker sit.

My original plan was to join some friends at their camp and use their grill to heat up a take-out Cuban dinner. Bistec a la Parilla. A marianated ribeye steak with tomato criolla sauce, yellow rice and black beans. Thirty minutes before my arrival at ride camp I finally got a call back from Alisa, who informed me that she and Carlos had already passed me on their way back to Atlanta. She was sprawled out on the truck back seat, heavily medicated, and suffering from a broken tailbone. During the 50 mile ride that day, a deer had almost collided with her mare in a bizarre accident that sent Alisa crashing to the ground on her tailbone. Needless to say, I was not then joining them for dinner.

Another friend called me and her grill was cold because she was about to walk over to the ride meeting at 7 pm. I begged off joining up at ride meeting. I had to eat...soon! I spent the next 30 to 45 minutes in a stupor as I struggled with my tent/tarp/lean-to. It's a great concept but a terrible execution of interconnected tubing with stretched-out shock cord that must be threaded through narrow sleeves in the fabric. In the dark. Amid steady winds that were now approaching 20 mph with stronger gusts. Eventually I figured it out and was able to strap it tight against my trailer and stake it down securely. Fortunately it had a large window that I opened. allowing the wind blasts to spill out before ripping the whole thing away like a big kite. Remarkably, it remained intact throughout the weekend even as the winds approached a steady 30 mph.

With my kitchen canopy erected, I could then install my table and camp chair, and arrange my lanterns so that I could see without using my headlamp. I could now finally eat! Exhausted, I sat down and opened up my cold dinner. I was now feeling sick and did not see how I could be fit to ride early the next morning. I heated up some water for hot tea and drank that while inhaling my cold bistec a la parilla. The protein helped. I started to come alive again.

To be continued...

becdubie

Love it.....i'd like to load this story to my Kindle.

Clarissa

Marty, Mandy is certainly looking fit & keen in that photo. However I was surprised to see you have her wearing bit. I felt sure you would be a bitless rider.

Please Explain?!?!?! (Aussies would see the funny side of that phrase better I think)

lol Marty

Your latest post read like an advert for a camping equipment store!!! Like I would expect from a sponsored sportsman!

Mandy'sMarty

My friend Amy called after the ride meeting to make sure I knew the start time. Endurance ride managers are notorious for changing the scheduled ride start time the evening before the event. That happened to me last October at Raptor Run when the field of rider teams took off 30 minutes early as I was waiting to get checked in. Mandy and I started that ride dead last and still managed to finish and complete the ride in 6th place. This ride was to start at 7:30am. I needed to meet the vet to check Mandy in at 7:00am. And I was to look for Amy and Katherine at 7:15am as we all started our warm-up routine on the road next to my camp site. I set my cell phone alarm for 5:00am.

I still had to check in and register. I wandered over to the registration building and found someone kind enough to re-open the office and register me. Ride maps were not provided. I was told that the loops were well marked and that the 25 mile event would start on blue ribbon markers and finish on pink. Both 25 and 50 mile riders would start together. Friday's start had involved more than 100 horse/rider teams. Saturday's was supposed to involve about 55 in the 50 mile event and 25 in the 25 mile event.

By about 9:45pm, I was crawling into my tent with Bodacious. Within minutes it started to lightly rain. The forecast was for slight showers to last until about 3:00am. A winter blast of frigid air was scheduled to move in quickly overnight with winds increasing in intensity during the next day. I soon fell asleep to the soft pitter patter of light rain on my tent. Perhaps twice during the night I got up to check on Mandy and my kitchen canopy.. It was really blowing.

At 5:00am my alarm woke me. Normally I wake up to the sound of generators being cranked up at trailers all over camp. It is the downside of camping in a tent amid a clustered mass of horse trailers with sleeping quarters. For some reason, no generators were on yet. I quickly dressed while still on my back inside the tent. Soon I was fixing a breakfast for Mandy and then one for Bo. Finally I made myself some instant oatmeal with lots of fruit, hot tea, a hard boiled egg, and a protein drink.

By 6:55am I had Mandy tacked up, Bo tethered to my truck with plenty of water and shelter. I walked Mandy over to the vet box where we were immediately vetted in. Mandy was assigned the letters "AZ". A ride volunteer applied the letters to her hindquarters with a grease pencil. I then mounted Mandy and we trotted over to rendezvous with Amy and Katherine. My plan was to ride with them as Mandy and I had ridden with both of their horses...and Mandy still needed a horse to pace her during an endurance ride. She needs another horse to drive, follow or compete with.

Amy's Mustang is a very businesslike gelding that just motors along. His name is Maverick. She just starting endurance competition with him last fall and she does both Friday and Saturday 25 mile events to prepare him for moving up to 50 mile events. He had already completed the 25 mile event on Friday. Katherine's mare, Bambi, is part Appaloosa. She usually competes in 50 mile events. I didn't ask her why they were in this 25 mile ride. I was just glad to have someone I knew to pace Mandy with.

It was 7:25am and Mandy was really amped up. Perhaps 20 different horse/rider teams were warming up around us on a stretch of hard packed trail...everyone else either walking or trotting. Mandy was so jazzed that I trotted her over to a small cluster of pines where we did a manic series of serpentines and loops among the trees. Then we would move away from the others so that I could let Mandy canter and then gallop a bit to burn off some of her pent-up energy. It wasn't working. She had a full head of steam and was spinning her wheels with smoke spewing from her nostrils.

At 7:29am someone yelled out that there was a run-away horse loose in ride camp...with a corral panel stuck on its neck. We were to remain in place until the run-away could be caught and safely contained. I learned later that the horse was caught by the biggest guy in camp. He's a 6'8” rider who apparently was able to physically hold the horse down until the panel was cut away. The horse was severely cut by the shredded panel but is expected to fully recover.

Slowly we all began to ease over to the start. Amy, Katherine and I were all riding more or less alongside each other as a threesome. We were at the back of the pack. I later learned that there were about 44 teams in the 25 mile event that day. There were almost 100 teams massed together at the combined start for both the 25 and 50 mile events.

The first half mile was hard-packed dirt roadbed and quite wide. Plenty of room for teams to maneuver and jockey around each other. Mandy was not interested in the pace that Maverick and Bambi were making. Amy did not want Maverick to go as fast as Maverick wanted to go. Katherine did not want to go as fast as Mandy wanted to go. I have long ago learned that it is a waste of good energy to fight with Mandy...especially during a ride that she knows is really a race. Besides, this race was another test to see how fast Mandy could go and maintain her pace barefoot, without the constant worry about throwing a hoofboot whenever she cantered.

Mandy was obviously motivated to catch all or most of the nearly 100 horses in front of us. She was already pulling away from Maverick and Bambi and still accelerating with her big extended trot. I relaxed and let Mandy pick her pace. The last words I heard behind me from Katherine were "Marty, I'm not going to go as fast as you are now going!" Without turning my head, I just waved my arm back at them as if to say, "That's OK, we'll meet you up ahead..."

To be continued...

Mandy's "AZ" ID brand during the Endurance Ride.

Mandy'sMarty

bit

Woo hoo! I'm all zippity just reading this! Must be how Mandy feels with you riding her! LET'S GO! With Eclipse's "issues" of having to be first on the trail, and a big motor, sounds like we'd have fun...till she passed out. Got some conditioning to do. LOVE your lean to! I found bitless to be Eclipse's hall pass to GO! Hope you are enjoying warmer temps. That's one fuzzy mare! Stay safe and write often!!!!!!!

Mandy'sMarty

Last October my friend April Battles finally got to meet Mandy 'in person'. Until then, she and Mandy had been communicating with each other energetically. April lives in California and Mandy in Georgia.

It was only the second time I had been with April in person since we met over the phone about seven years ago. Back then April became my endurance mentor and holistic coach. Since starting out as a horse trainer and behaviorist, April has studied an impressive array of healing modalities and integrative therapies for equines, dogs, and even people.

She's no longer competing as an endurance rider. She's working full-time and traveling, conducting workshops and clinics in equine holistic therapies across the country. She's the one who pushed me for years to develop my talents and study with one of her teachers, Regan Golob. April is the one who is most responsible for helping me help Mandy to transform herself into the athlete she is today.

April was attending a healer's retreat in Taft, Tennessee during the October 15 weekend when I was competing with Mandy at the Raptor Run Ride in Alabama. We were only about 75 miles apart. After the ride, I trailered Mandy up to Taft and we camped out at Dragonfly Farm. For about an hour Sunday, April broke away from the retreat in order to coach me on some new healing techniques with Mandy. They felt like a blend of craniosacral work and Reiki.

It was then I realized that Mandy's hindquarters were getting only about 75% of the life force energy ( chi, qi, ki, or prana ) coursing throughout her body. April showed me where to place my hands in order to direct energy to where Mandy was blocked. The next morning, Mandy told me she was fine and that she now had access to 100% of chi throughout her body. April couldn't believe that the healing had happened so fast.

Since that weekend I had been wondering what specific effect such a healing would have on Mandy's performance during an endurance ride. Well...last Saturday I found out. As Mandy pulled away from our intended pace horses, Maverick and Bambi, I felt an action under me that was both powerful and somewhat awkward. At least it was somewhat awkward for me to ride. I soon noticed that my bootlaces would not stay tied. I must have tightened and re-tied them every time I dismounted during that ride. It then dawned on me that this was what it felt like to have 100% of Mandy's energy available and moving down the trail.

As we passed a couple of 50 mile competitors ( yes, we were passing those guys!), one of them called out and told me my cantle bag was falling off my saddle. I turned and looked down to see that a D-ring had been torn from the fabric by Mandy's new-born athletic action in her extended trot. My whole body was being shaken and stirred in a new way. Whenever the trail opened up enough to pass, Mandy's big trot took us past every team in our way. I remember at one point, as we motored past about half a dozen teams trotting in tight single file formation, that one rider cried out “There goes that cute Morgan!”

To be continued...

Mandy'sMarty

Mandy and I arrived at the mandatory vet check at 8:52am. I believe that first loop was 14 miles. My ride card shows that Mandy's pulse time was at 9:02am. It should have been about 5 minutes sooner but I was told to step out of line and remove her tack before having her pulse taken. I think we should have had the option of keeping tack on to keep our horse warm. It was cold and very windy that day. Removing tack is to give the horse the benefit of removing weight in order to achieve the target pulse easier. The required pulse at the midway vet check is usually 64. Mandy pulsed in at 44, well below the required rate. She scored all “A's “ on her physical exam.

We had a mandatory 50 minutes hold after achieving target pulse before we could continue the ride. I walked her over to my tent camp, removed her tack and offered her water and hay. She had yet to drink any water and wasn't thirsty now. I grabbed a power bar and some trail mix. I was too excited to feel hungry. We were ready to go at least 6 minutes before our 50 minutes was up. Now I felt like Mandy, pawing at the ground and wanting to just GO. We could only impatiently circle around the timer until we were given the signal to go at 9:52am.

The wind during the first loop was a real challenge. It was blowing steady at 18 to more than 20 miles per hour. We were often riding along the border of cotton fields and pine forest, where we were totally exposed to the wind. At one point we were riding straight into what was probably a steady 30 mph blast. It literally took my breath away. The net effect on us was a blast of 40 mph headwinds.

I don't remember many details about the second loop. We eventually found ourselves alone on a very wide and straight hard packed sandy road. The sort of road where we could have galloped and cantered easily for miles. Instead, Mandy felt like she was lost. She had no one in sight to chase down, no one to compete with, no one to push and drive in front of her. For the first time in the ride, I took the tail of my lead rope and slapped it against my legs to spur her on. It seemed to only momentarily encourage her to go. She was weaving from one side of this road to the other rather than just going straight. The road was at least three lanes wide. Mandy began to feel like she was halfway pushing forward with her brakes on. I sensed that she was waiting for a horse that was slowly gaining on us from behind.

Moments later I could hear the hoof beats and steady breathing closing in on us. The horse and rider cantered past us and then Mandy surged forward to catch them. Within seconds we were easily cantering alongside them. The rider was happy to let us join them and so we continued for the remainder of the second loop. We took turns helping each other see the turns up ahead so that we wouldn't miss them and waste time doubling back. The rider was from Florida and familiar with this venue and trail. She was helpful in alerting me to what to expect along the trail before us. It soon became obvious that her mare and Mandy enjoyed each other's company and were happy to trot and canter alongside each other for miles.

Our companion started checking off landmarks along the trail as we were quickly approaching the last mile of the loop. I couldn't believe that the ride was almost over. It felt so short. She said that we were actually doing only 24 miles, that the first loop was about 14 and this one was only about 10. Soon we were bearing down on the approach road back into ride camp. I don't remember what then happened to our companion. Mandy chased down a group of about three teams ahead of us and then we were cantering the last few hundred yards. Normally at this stage of a race, I slow Mandy to a walk, dismount, loosen her girth and then walk across the finish line so that her pulse is near the required 60 when we walk into the vet box. Not this time. Mandy wanted to run and I let her. We arrived at almost a gallop.

To be continued...

lizloveshorses

Marty, she looks as thin and and as beautifully proportioned as a greyhound. I think it's stunning, as they are in my top 3 of dogs. It's so exhilarating to read about your rides! Thank you for continuing to update us.

ElaineW

Loving the updates Marty!!!

Malcolm

Nice one Marty! I was into endurance myself for a couple of decades off and on. Now some of my friends have taken it up as novices after riding on some long trails that made them famous before they started racing.

http://www.theadventurists.com/th...erby/tales-of-adventure/joe-barry

http://www.barryarmitage.com/

Mandy'sMarty

My ride card shows that we arrived at the finish at 11:05am. I quickly dismounted and walked Mandy over to the vet box. I pulled her tack and temporarily set it all on a nearby hitching rail made from a huge tree. I then turned and saw a ride volunteer watching us to see if we were ready to check Mandy's pulse. When we first started competing in endurance, I would take Mandy's pulse myself to be sure we were ready for the official check. Now I have an intuitive feel of when she's ready to be checked. I smiled and walked Mandy over to meet the volunteer halfway. She first checked Mandy's respiration and then practically gasped “She's only at 10! She's incredible!”

In spite of arriving at almost a gallop, it appeared that Mandy had not really been working hard. Pulse was then checked and Mandy was right at 60, the required rate at which the completion time was to be recorded. The clock was then at 11:11am. Mandy's official completion time was recorded at 2:51 and we were in 14th place. We walked over to the vets who then checked Mandy's vital signs. Once again she scored all A's. Finally we did the 'trot out and back' to check her soundness. The attending vet commented on how classic and perfect her trot appeared. Mandy was then officially graded as “fit to continue”. With that we had achieved the official completion for the ride.

It's difficult to compare ride times from different rides. The weather conditions, temperature, humidity, terrain and footing can be so variable from ride to ride. Back in 2009 when we started this sport, we were using the entire 6 hour clock allotted to complete a 25 mile ride. We were also competing at Longstreet's Charge and the GERA Ride at Dawson Forest, both among the toughest venues in the southeast AERC region. Back then, Mandy was much heavier. At the 2009 GERA Ride, she weighed in at 1125 lbs. before the ride and at 1075 lbs. right after the ride. She was also carrying me and my tack at a combined weight of 200 lbs.

Last Saturday Mandy weighed in before the ride at 954 lbs., including about 40 lbs. of tack. After the ride she weighed 895 lbs. without tack. That's 180lbs. lighter three years later.

We completed the GERA Ride last June 18 in 4:13 and placed 30th. The Yellowhammer Ride last October 1 in 3:08 and placed 16th. The Raptor Run last October 15 in 4:04 and placed 6th. And now the Camp Osborn Pow Wow on February 11 in 2:51 and placing 14th.

The conditions at this ride were excellent. The footing was almost perfect for a barefoot horse. Hard-packed sand/dirt roads, soft cotton field roads, and soft sandy trails. The terrain was slightly rolling open forest and expansive cotton fields. At the end of the ride, Mandy's feet looked like they had been polished. Her frogs had become rock hard. They were very different from the feet that had been living in a relatively warm, moist north Georgia pasture a few days prior.

I was very pleased with Mandy's performance. We had elected to start the ride and pace ourselves with two horse/rider teams that we knew from previous conditioning rides. With the confusion regarding the runaway horse just before start time, the three of us crossed the start line at the back of the pack of about 44 teams. There were perhaps six teams behind us at the start. Mandy immediately asserted herself and let me know that she wanted to run faster than our companions.

We had chased down perhaps 25 teams in front of us by the time we reached the finish line...at a canter! And within about 5 minutes of finishing the race, she was officially monitored at only 10 breaths per minute.

Mandy demonstrated to me, in this ride, what she can do when allowed to run the race her way...barefoot. On this day, there were no worries about throwing that front left hoof boot whenever she canters. We never had to stop to replace, tighten or repair a hoof boot. And we never lost time because of those hoof boot issues.

The only issue that continues to slow Mandy is running the race by ourselves. She still needs another horse ahead of us or with us to keep her surging down the trail. Perhaps another year's experience of endurance rides will help her feel comfortable running alone with me.

Mandy'sMarty

For ten days before the Camp Osborn Ride, I checked the weather forecast. It's funny now to think that I was concerned then about the warm temperatures initially forecast for that weekend in Sylvester, GA. I wondered how Mandy would cope with warmer temperatures while she still had such a heavy winter coat. Trimming her winter coat was never an option. She lives outside on a hilltop pasture 24/7 and I knew she would need some insulation to keep comfortable until spring officially arrived.

Saturday ride temperatures probably never got out of the 40's. The wind became an issue as the day progressed. As arctic air swept into the south, the wind was blowing constantly at 18 mph and more. For a while, it felt like it was blowing at 30 mph...particularly when we were riding into the headwinds across those open cotton fields. My eyes were constantly tearing throughout the ride.

Saturday night the temperature plummeted into the 20's. Water buckets and horse apples froze. I wore several layers of fleece to sleep inside my down sleeping bag and I never did get comfortably warm in my tent. Meanwhile Miss Bodacious was warm and sound asleep all night.

Fortunately, at the last minute, I decided to bring Mandy's fleece cooler along to the ride. She rarely gets to wear it. During the 50 minute mandatory hold midway through the ride, I removed all of her tack except halter bridle and covered her with that cooler.

After the ride, I immediately covered her again with her cooler. She was now shivering in the big muscles of her hindquarters. I massaged those muscles and eventually she stopped quivering. For some reason I then took her cooler off while I fixed her a mash meal and replenished her hay.

After giving her a full post-race body check, I grabbed her cooler and prepared to toss it over her back. She quickly moved away from me and we then went around and 'round in circles under the high line where she was tied. I soon realized that she did not want to wear her cooler. Perplexed, I stood back and gave her a look...and then I 'got it'.

She wanted to use her winter coat, but it was not pliable and fuzzy. Her thick coat had been thoroughly soaked by sweat and now it had dried into a stiff and rigid covering. She was not able to effectively manipulate the hair in her coat to create the loft of trapped air heated by her body that would help insulate her.

I combed her coat out with a metal shedder tool. She immediately transformed herself into a red fuzzy plush horse. Mandy spent the night without wearing her cooler. I think every other horse I saw that night and next morning at ride camp was blanketed.

Mandy was happy as long as she had hay to munch on all night. That became a challenge as the night wore on and the winds increased. As the hay flakes dried out, they began blowing away like tumbleweeds. It took me awhile to figure out that the solution was to drop a full tied-up square bale...not to cut the baling string nor break the bale into flakes.

Mandy during the mid-ride mandatory hold.

Mandy resting immediately after the ride.

Mandy's stiff and sticky coat immediately after the ride. Right side.

Mandy's fluffy coat after being combed. Left side.

bit

wish I could give you both a huge hug and a high hoof! Wow, you must be so proud! She looks great! Congrats, and I'm filing the "don't cut the bailing twine" thang.

Mandy'sMarty

One of my specific goals for the Camp Osborn ride was to test Mandy's ability to run barefoot and to test the health of her right front foot.

Since Mandy's return to endurance competition last June, we have experimented with different forms of hoof protection, and no hoof protection, and with limiting her speed in order to keep her hoof boots from coming off during a race.

At the Yellowhammer Ride on October 1, we arrived with Gloves glued on all fours. As we were walking up to vet in before the ride, one of her front Gloves came off. The adhesive had not bonded properly because of the temperature drop during the application 35 hours prior. I pulled the other front Glove off, put my spare Epic on one foot and borrowed an old Epic for the other. Mandy lost the borrowed Epic somewhere during the second loop, completing that ride barefoot on one foot.

RF Medial Side View. Borrowed Easyboot was lost during Yellowhammer 2011 Ride. It had been shimmed
with vet wrap and duct tape to snug the fit. Mandy ran half of the LD ride on this bootless foot.

I ran Mandy in the Raptor Run Ride October 15 specifically because the course footing was described as "little rock and generally good footing".
It turned out to be one of the most challenging rides we've run, particularly due to the harsh, rocky footing. Mandy ran very well that day and showed me she preferred running barefoot. However, her feet were battered. Self-trimming was evident particularly where her front feet were flared with some hoof wall separation.

RF Lateral Side View. Photo taken 10/24/11, nine days after Raptor Run.
Remnant black Vettec Adhere glue visible on hoof wall.

The footing at last weekend's Camp Osborn Ride was excellent for running barefoot. Minimal native rock and no harsh, loose gravel roadbeds. Very sandy soil mixed with red clay on road beds. Rich loamy soil on forest trails and trails across cotton fields. Occasional sandy beds.
At the end of the ride, I checked Mandy's feet and was impressed with how polished they appeared.

Note the shape of her frogs on her front feet. The left frog is more open at the central sulcus. The right front frog is perhaps slightly taller and it is beginning to show some bending over. I believe that this is Mandy's way of protecting the internal structures of her right front foot.

I believe that Mandy's right front foot had been compromised for years before I found her. She says it was from an injury to her navicular bone when she was two. It left her with a tiny bone chip that began floating around in her hoof capsule the year before we met. Although it probably was re-absorbed within a year or so, it apparently set up a pattern for Mandy to avoid landing heel first. It wasn't until her founder rehabilitation of 2010/2011 that Mandy re-learned to trust heel first landings. Proper heel first landing stimulated her internal structures of that right front foot to repair and remodel itself.

A couple of months ago I started riding Mandy barefoot on the very rocky terrain and gravel roads at Dawson Forest. I speculated that her feet were more concave during the moist winter months and perhaps better able to avoid the impact of rocky footing. I wanted to help accelerate the conditioning of her feet and internal structures.

Research by Robert Bowker, VMD, PhD indicates that the healthier foot has a digital cushion composed of fibrocartilage rather than fat and elastic tissue. He believes it is created by the correct stimuli, i.e., exercise. I intended to accelerate this process by riding Mandy barefoot on challenging footing and terrain.

Mandy has been telling me that her right front foot has indeed responded to this recent conditioning exercise. She says the digital cushion of her right front started to transform almost a month ago, becoming more fibrocartilage and less fatty tissue. I believe the different appearance of her front frogs illustrates how she is using her right front frog for more support until that digital cushion becomes denser and more supportive internally.

Left Front immediately after the Camp Osborn Ride Feb. 11, 2012.

Right Front immediately after Camp Osborn Ride.

PasoBaby_CarolU

Quiet an interesting thread Marty. Looks like she did real well and her feet now look remarkable. You've done a great job with her.

Mandy'sMarty

Thanks, Carol. It's been quite an education. Mandy is quite a teacher. The lessons never end.

HopeMissouri

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing the details!

becky b

I have enjoyed every word of this thread. I hope you will keep it going with other adventures you and Mandy share. You two make a perfect pair!

ElaineW

Very awesome thread! I also enjoyed the posting!

whisperingwindfarms

I just have tears in my eyes. Thank you so much for being such a guiding light in listening to her and letting her tell you what she needs. I am in awe of both of you!

CoolsLadyInRed

Really enjoyed reading your adventure! I can't add much to what everybody said

bit

Rode with a lady that owns morgans today, and bragged on you and Mandy. She puffed up pretty proud when I told her about you all. Says a lot for the Morgan horse!

sandra smith

What a story. Makes me think of a friend who did competitive rides. She had to give up riding at 82 yrs. She had a fall and fractured a vertebra. That wasn't during a competitive ride she was just pleasure riding at that time.
Her mare won the Vermont 100 mile 3 day ride twice. The first time only a year after nearly dieing from diarrhea!!!

My hat is off to anyone who does this. You really have to be dedicated!!! Marty looks great. Her feet especially. You've certainly done a wonderful job with her.

Too funny about her telling you about needing her hair fluffed up to keep her warm. They are so darned smart!!!

Sandra

Mandy'sMarty

Mandy and I completed two 25 mile rides at Red Barn Run this past weekend. We were in southeast Georgia near Chester, between Macon and Savannah. This was our first 2 day event at endurance riding. The beginning of my plan to start doing 2 day Limited Distance (25 mile) events as a way to transition up to the 50 mile events.

Some riders refer to these events as endurance rides. Others refer to these events as endurance races. Mandy wanted to run with the fastest on Friday. Rather than argue, I let her run. She wanted to race and be out front. We placed 3rd at the end of the first 15 mile loop among about 47 teams starting. For a mile or so, we actually led the field. After 15 miles we had our mandatory vet check and hold for 40 minutes to recover. Mandy was so hot that it took her almost the whole allowed 30 minute period for her to pulse down from 75 to 64.

Still wearing a heavy winter coat, the heat/humidity became too much for her during the second loop and we slowed to finish 20th for a completion. Next day we went slow and finished 40th among about 67 teams for another completion. Overall score was A on Friday and A- on Saturday. Very proud of my girl.

This photo taken during the morning loop on Saturday. It was shot just as Mandy accelerated from her collected canter into a gallop. Her turbocharger is just kicking in at this moment.

Photo Credit: Jessica Willis Unbridled Imagery

CoolsLadyInRed

Nice photo of horse and rider loving what they do:) Congratulations!!!

Clarissa

Mandy sure looks hot & sweaty but happy enough in that photo!

Interesting that she paced herself a little more on the second day. Perhaps she needs to do a 25'er every day for a week so she learns to pace herself everytime she goes out. Rather than needing to be in front all the time.

Is she bare footed there Marty?

misstux

I can't see the pic

Mandy'sMarty

Clarissa, you are correct. She was very hot and very sweaty...and very happy!

You make an interesting point. I strongly suspect that I need to ride Mandy a few days sooner before our next endurance event. The last time I had ridden her was the previous Sunday. And that Sunday ride had been cut short because she acted out of sorts. It was the first time I had turned around before completing our regular 13-14 mile conditioning trail loop.

When I asked her what was wrong, she answered that she was exhausted. I knew that her exhaustion was not due to our conditioning rides. It had been a week since we had ridden. After pressing her for possible reasons for feeling so tired, I eventually asked the right questions. Her answers reminded me that she was the lead mare and that she was often burdened by the responsibilities of leadership. She said that the previous night had brought a thunderstorm and that lightning had struck her pasture. She had apparently been running around worrying and checking on her band mates all night long. I had wondered why, earlier that morning when I arrived at her pasture, she and the rest of her band had all galloped up to greet me. That was not a typical greeting.

Anyway...back to brainstorming my pre-race strategy. I have probably not given enough attention to the typical pattern of our rides leading up to an endurance event. Perhaps I have been erring on the conservative side and allowing too much lay off time between our last conditioning ride and the race event. I must remember that Mandy will have quite a bit of repressed energy if it has been more than 3 or 4 days since we've ridden. I must also remember her tendency is to quietly internalize much of her emotions rather than constantly express them like a much more extroverted horse would do. There's a lot of energy in Mandy. My challenge is to find creative ways to express it.

It's been almost two years since Mandy was boarded in a pasture where we could ride at a flat out gallop for a straight half-mile across even terrain. I remember that sometimes I would just have to let her go and run hard for a few minutes when it had been almost a week since our last ride. It was if she really needed the emotional and physical release and expression of intense, suppressed energy. And as soon as I had let her run for a few minutes, she would quickly settle down and be very present and attentive to me. It was our way of re-connecting after being apart for too many days.

I will strive to ride Mandy 3 days before our next endurance race. That will give her a day to rest and recover before we spend a day traveling to the venue and setting up camp. Perhaps I should strive to arrive at ride camp earlier so that we can get in a short ride where she can blow off some steam the afternoon before the race.

I believe that Mandy will always feel the need to be up front. As long as she has the strength and stamina to be there, I choose to not restrict her. I believe my energy is better focused on supporting her drive and enabling her to be in the best physical condition.

Clarissa, she did run barefoot in both events. That's a significant reason for competing down there. Like the Camp Osborn ride last month, the terrain and footing was excellent for going barefoot.

I'll post photos later of her front feet. I'll see if I can post photos taken at her last trim and photos taken Sunday after competing at Red Barn Run.
I think they will show an interesting pattern of her natural way of wear. It is not symmetrical, but I believe it shows where she breaks over with her slightly pigeon-toed conformation.

This photo was shot Friday morning from the exact same vantage point as the photo previously posted, taken on Saturday. Mandy is in almost the same exact form in both photos.

Photo credit: Jessica Willis Unbridled Imagery

Mandy'sMarty

This is for anyone interested in understanding how the endurance rides are monitored and controlled for the benefit of the horses.

My rider cards are shown below. The yellow card is from Friday's 25 mile event, the blue card is from Saturday's 25 miler.

Official 25 mile start time on both days was 8:30 am.

The two columns represent the two loops in the 25 mile event. At this ride, the first loop was 15 miles.

Arrival Time marks when I officially presented Mandy to the timer as we finished that loop.

PR Time marks when Mandy was officially timed as reaching the required pulse rate. For these two events, the required pulse rate was 64 at end of first loop, and 60 at end of second loop. The PR Time is recorded by ride staff volunteers at one station before moving on the the vet station.
The horse is allowed no more than 30 minutes to reach the target pulse.
If the horse has not reached target pulse after 30 minutes, the horse is pulled from the event.

The Mandatory Hold Period cannot begin until the target pulse is reached and then marked as the PR Time.
In these two events, the Mandatory Hold was 40 minutes. This period is determined by the attending vets just prior to the ride, depending on the local factors of temperature and humidity.

The Mandatory Hold Period is intended to allow the horse to recover. I typically walk Mandy to our ride camp and let her rest without any tack on. I make sure she drinks water and has plenty of hay to eat. I'll use this time to check her all over and provide any body work or energy work if needed. Then I consume a couple of Gatorades and a protein snack.

Out Time represents the end of the Mandatory Hold Period, which begins the moment the PR Time is marked.
In a perfect world, I am riding Mandy ready to continue and we are walking up to the timer's station a minute or so before our designated Out Time.

The following 14 items comprise the metabolic scores performed by the attending vets, vet techs, or qualified practitioners. Scores are graded A,B,C,D and can be qualified with a + or – sign.
There is a vet check at the end of each ride loop, as well as a Pre-Ride examination. The Pre-Ride Exam scores are recorded on the other side of the Rider Card.

Finally, the Heart Rate Recovery is scored. At the final vet check/exam, typically one vet performs the exam recording all of the above data, and then the horse/rider team move immediately to another nearby station where another vet marks the horse's pulse upon arrival at that station. Then the vet directs the rider to have the horse trot alongside to a set of cones, about 35 yards away, and back.
This is a test for lameness.

PasoBaby_CarolU

Marty, that's really something to be proud of. Where you placed time-wise is immaterial. You did great with your horse, those are great scores. I like "A"s!

Oh yeah, Mandi did great too! Wonderful horse.

Mandy'sMarty

Thanks, Carol. I'm really proud of Mandy. I've always listened to her and we've almost always scored all A's whenever we've competed. Including those early rides when we either came in last and won the Turtle Award, or came in overtime and did not score a "Completion".

By the way, I finally got to introduce myself and meet Ed Casillas. ( I had be-friended him some time ago on Facebook.) We talked quite a bit as we both let our mares graze on some sweet pasture grass after one of the races. Ed's a very nice guy. We'll probably become good friends at the endurance events. It's good to finally meet a male endurance rider who is on the same wave length.

PasoBaby_CarolU

Cool! Ed is a good, long time friend. Glad you two got to meet. He's done these for years, a good learning resource.

But, he didnt convince you to switch to Pasos? You still do the same 50 miles, but you can still walk at the end of each day!

Hertha

Really enjoying your story, Marty and Mandy.

misstux

I'm enjoying it too. And I can see the pics on my home computer :-)