After the ride

When we got home from the ride Abby and Cat where standing in the pasture. Abby was in the round pen and Cat was by the big bale. I thought it was odd that Abby didn’t run to the trailer but at the time thought nothing of it. As Chase was trying to get a picture of Lucy and I with our ribbon, DH yelled at me that Abby had stepped on something and to get down to the barn. When I approached the barn I noticed she was holding up her left front leg. As I walked around to her side, this is what I found.



I thought it looked like Cat had maybe kicked her so we put all of the horses in the barn so we could inspect it better. As we started looking closer we notice the hole went deep and deeper. As I ran out of the barn to grab my phone to call the vet I noticed my fence between my dry lot and my front pasture was on the ground. The wood post that held it up had been snapped off at the ground.



When I called my vet I got a message that he was gone and so was the other vet in his office so we panicked to find a vet close by to look at her. We finally found a cow vet about 15 miles away so we loaded her up and headed out.

When we arrived the vet cleaned it up as good as possible. He said it was very contaminated w/hair. I’ll bet he spent a good 30 – 45 min. just cleaning it. He said she went through both the first and second layer of muscle and almost completely through the third. Had she gone through the third she would have collapsed her lung. He said it is still possible she has a small pinhole in her lung but she was breathing fine so he wasn’t worried about it.

Before closing it up -



I thought he did an exceptional job of closing her up.





We took her to MILs because I have no way to keep her separated from our horses right now. I went and checked on her yesterday and she seemed to be doing better. We turned her out for a bit with Black and she seemed to be very happy. She is still very sore on her left leg so I’m worried about it.

Here is what I think happened. We have a gate w/a sure-latch gate latch on it. It was partially opened to the front pasture. I think she was in the front pasture and tried to run through the opening (Cat chasing her???) and got the gate pin in her side. As she continued forward the gate would have come with her digging and ripping deeper into her side. Her left shoulder would have hit the gate post causing it to break.

You can see from this video that she really doesn’t want to put any weight on her leg.



We have to take her back on Friday to have her rechecked and possibly for the staples to come out. After that she is going to a friend’s heated barn closer by so I can keep an eye on her.

ACHTA Ride Results

Saturday morning we got up and headed over to Jester Park for the ACTHA ride. We arrived shortly after 9:00 so we had plenty of time to check-in and get warmed up before the ride started. We had access to use the indoor so that was nice. Lucy was a bit suspicious about the garbage cans and the buggies next to the arena but she got over it. Sis was psycho. I’m not sure what her deal was but she was full of it. She was spooking at the overhead door going up and down and just being goofy. Yes, I realize she’s had some time off too but she’s normally better then that.

At 10:30 we got the obstacle list and a brief orientation on how things worked. I was placed in the last group with DH (the safety rider) so we weren’t schedule to go out until 12:15. MIL was the trail boss and left with the first group at 11:30. When we got to the first obstacles (uphill) it was backed up. Apparently there was an accident in the indoor arena so the judges weren’t at the obstacle. We waited for a bit and then turned and rode the trail back to camp just to keep the horses moving (a few in our group were not very happy about standing still).

When it was finally our turn for the hill it was a bit greasy since we’d had a warm up and all of the other groups had already been up it. We were required to take it at a walk. Lucy did well. I had a bit of a tighter rein on her then normal and after thinking about it I wish I would have just left her on a loose rein and corrected her when I needed to. She did take a few trot steps but I’m honestly not sure if it was avoidable.

In the meantime, DH was at the bottom of the hill with Bell. She got a bit antsy that her buddies were leaving her but he just kept turning her in circles and she eventually calmed down.

Obstacle #2 was going downhill at a walk. Lucy did fine for the judges but she got a bit rushy for me so I got after her. I don’t think the judge could see it from where she was standing. We waited for the other riders in our group and then headed on down the trail.

To my surprise Bell was walking right out in the lead. Lucy was slowly bringing up the rear. A pile of snow fell from a tree and spooked Bell and the two horses behind her but both her and Brandon handled it well. It was cold down by the lake. My toes were starting to take the brunt of the winds.

Obstacle #3 was to pick up a set of sleigh bells and jingle them 3 times. I thought Lucy did well at that but when I read the scores there was a comment that she took two steps to the side. That was because they had a barrel on the ground and she wasn’t sure about it. I didn’t realize it counted towards the bell score.

Obstacle #4 was to pick up a hat off of the ground with a stick. They had a driving whip and a Santa hat so it wasn’t very easy for me. I couldn’t get the stick in the hat far enough to get it off of the ground w/o the hat falling off. I finally did manage to get it in my allotted time frame but I will have to keep practicing that one and/or teach Lucy how to pick it up for me.

Obstacle #5 was a sled drag (so glad I practiced that the other weekend). Lucy was perfect! The judge almost got ran over by one of the contestants.

The final obstacle was an emergency dismount. I don’t practice these and I wasn’t moving very well in my thermals, jeans and chinks so it wasn’t very pretty.

Finally we were done so I could warm up! Since we were the last group we didn’t have to wait very long for the awards.

Below are my scores and the placing.

There were 22 riders total. 3 in Junior, 3 in Open and 16 in my division.



Here are my individual scores & comments:



And Lucy got a pretty halter plate and ribbon!

It's official!

I'm signed up for the ACTHA ride this weekend. There is no turning back now.

MIL and DH are going along as the safety riders so I'm a bit more excited. I told the ride organizer she'd better put MIL as the front safety rider and DH as the rear one. Bell will be fine I'm sure, she just isn't confident enough to lead the pack.

I'm hoping Mr. Weatherman is wrong about the forecast (or a day off). It is supposed to be 35* Friday but only 21* and windy on Saturday. Yes, that is still a fair amount warmer then what it is now but it will still be cold.

Wish me luck (and warmth)!

I’m Not Going

I’m not going to the ACTHA ride this weekend.










But only because it has been rescheduled due to the weather! They have now moved it to the 29th of January. They need two safety riders so I asked DH and MIL if they wanted to be the safety riders. To my surprise DH said yes. I think MIL will too but she’s still debating. She wants to make sure there are no liability issues since she is a RN.

What is a safety rider you might ask? Well one takes up the lead to show the contestants where the trail is and the other one brings up the rear to tell the judges when they are finished. They both carry 1st aid kits and a cell phone so they can call 911 if necessary. I joked and told DH he would have to bring up the rear because there was no way Bell was going to lead that pack.

Originally there were 13 or 14 signed up for the ride so it will be interesting to see how that changes due to the change in the day. So far there is only 1 signed up (and no, it isn’t me - yet).

What is my problem!

I don’t know if I’m having bouts of anxiety or AOF (adult onset fear). As you guys know, the ACTHA ride is coming up this weekend. I have to decide by Wednesday if I’m riding or not.

The weather is supposed to be between 18* - 26* (big difference I know). I’m not sure if there is going to be any wind or not but it isn’t going to be horribly warm either way.

The ride will last approx. 2 hours and will be six miles long.

There are 12 riders signed up so far.

So what’s the problem? I don’t know! Lucy has always been very dependable. Even when she’s scared she doesn’t scare me. So why now? Why all of the sudden am I worried she’ll spook?

Saturday I got her out to see how she would handle dragging an object (a sled). I jumped on bb w/a halter like normal and she was goosey! She didn’t like the wooden squirrel that was in the front yard (it has been there for ages) and she hated the sled!

DH started off pulling Chase on it behind the 4 wheeler w/us following. I thought I was coming off a few times but quickly regained control. When they went inside to warm up I jumped off and desensitized her to it a bit from the ground & then hopped on. She was good as gold. I even had Chase come out and get in it so I could pull him (from both sides). I’m not sure if she could have been any calmer.

I have to say, I’m almost more nervous about doing this ride then I was going to the CA clinic. I’m nervous she’ll spook at the obstacles, I’m nervous she’ll spook at deer (even though she never has before and these deer are so used to horses that they don’t move), I’m nervous about stuff I don’t even know I’m nervous about.

Any thoughts?

Go for the Silver Winter Wonderland CTC

I’m on the fence and looking for a bit of input from you guys. There is an ACTHA trail ride on the 22nd of this month and I’m debating on going. I’ve never been to one before but they look like a lot of fun. DH of course thinks it is a horrible idea since I haven’t ridden Lucy since Nov. Hey, I’ve ridden her once since then!

It looks like the cost of the ride would be approx. $93, not including food or fuel ($35 for membership and $58 for ride fees). I know they money goes to a good cause and that they have over $1200 worth of prizes at every ride but that does sound a bit expensive. On the other hand – I tend to follow through with things when my money is on the table so to speak.

The ride is 6 miles long with 6 judged obstacles and 6 different judges. Here is the list of possible obstacles (you don’t find out which ones until the day of the ride) and my comments in red on how I think Lu would do.

Slicker (Raincoat) – I think Lucy would be fine w/thisHat Pick up – Not sure if I can do it but I don’t think Lucy would be bothered.
Water Obstacle – Might take some coaxing
Mount – No problem
Dismount – No problem
Drag – I’m not sure how she’d do on this. For some reason, I don’t think she’d care
Back- No problem
Uphill – No problem, I do this when she anticipates going down a hill
Downhill – Never tried it but I think she’d do ok
Stop – awww, her favorite thing to do!
Canter (Lope) – shouldn’t be an issue except for picking up the correct lead. Somehow I doubt they ask for this in 7”+ of snow.
Mailbox – since she tries to rub my leg off on ours, I don’t think this would be an issue
Vine Simulator (Ropes dangling down) – she was ok w/the ones at the CA clinic & they were pretty scary.
L-Back – I think if we communicated well she would do fine.
The Jump – she can, I can’t!
Noise Control – I have no idea
Bank (Up an Embankment) – she’d do fine.
Bank (Down an Embankment) – she’d do fine.
Trot Transitions – We’d have to stop her from stopping on the downward transition.
Turn on Haunches, Forehand, and 360's - since this is done in a box, I’m not sure. She does the hq well but not so well on the fq.
Barrel Board Pin Wheel – this looks difficult!
Side Pass – I’ve never tried to sidepass her so I have no clue.
Tarp – I don’t think she’d mind. I think I’ve taken her over them before.
Trot Weave – no problem.

You can see videos of all of the obstacles and more detailed descriptions of how to complete them here.

Well those were my initial thoughts until I looked at some of the ACTHA photos on FB! The drag used a fake person, the vine simulator was cups, stinger, etc., they had a fake deer on the one side of the bridge, a mirror in front of the dismount, etc. These are things most people wouldn’t think to train their horse for. It almost intrigues me more!

And DH is right. I haven’t ridden Lu much but I don’t think she’d do anything out of character. You ride out in a group, not by yourself. You just do the obstacles by yourself.

I also think it would be a great place to meet new people. So far there are only 10 people signed up so it is a very small group.

Any thoughts?

I rode!

Yes I know it is amazing isn’t it?

I decided if I wanted it bad enough there really wasn’t a reason why I couldn’t ride (even though I have tons of them). I left DH a note saying I was taking some “me” time and headed out to the barn after work. It was cold! I think it was around 30* with a nice, brisk wind.

I started out doing some GW with Cat.

Problem #1 – the ground is so hard the horses can barely move over it.

I took her up to the drive thinking it might be better.

Problem #2 – the drive is no better then the drylot.

I decided to end her where I was at and do some desensitizing. She was ok until I started slapping the stick/string on the ground. Guess I now have a starting point for desensitizing.

I backed her all the way from the house to the pasture. She had that one down pat so there really weren’t any issues. After that I got Lu out. I did a quick (2 second) run of gw with her and then jumped on bb w/the halter.

It was too dark and the ground was too hard by the barn so I rode up into the backyard. She was a bit nervous at first but soon settled. I worked on flexing and then bending. I swear to you it is like we never left the clinic. Once she “gets” something she gets it. She still isn’t great on her left side but her right side is wonderful.

It was a nice ride and it was much needed! After being in the cold for an hour I had to go home and defrost.

Oh and on a side note - I'm pretty sure Cat has finally figured out how to open up those "horse proof" latches.