Karen's EasyCare & Endurance Musings

15th Washoe Valley Endurance Ride 2008

The Washoe Valley Endurance ride is a really well run ride with great ride management, vets and lots of volunteers.  The trail was very well marked with plenty of water and even hay provided on trail.  Dinners each evening and awards were also really well done.  If you haven't done this ride before be sure to put it on your calendar for next year if you are able.

As you can see, there is quite a bit of variety on this ride between the scenery and footing.  We had a lot of great wildflowers this year which came in all different colors.  Check out an entire album of photos and take a virtual ride through the day two 50-mile course!  I rode Bo for the 2nd time on an endurance ride (the first time was the middle day of Mt. Carmel) and he did very well.  He is a really fast walker, especially going up and down hill so we did a lot of walking with trotting reserved for the more level and better footing areas and finished around 31st out of 50 starters.  He now has 500 miles and this was the fastest ride he's ever done.  Here and here are photos that the ride photographers got of us during the ride.  Be sure to check out this photo as well - of Dave Rabe and Rushcreek Okay.  They completed the first day 50 miler.  This was Okay's first ride since the trailer accident and he did really well - Congratulations Dave!  (note:  there is still time to participate in the raffle to benefit Dave - click here to learn more!)

We had nice weather for the ride with a slight breeze which was perfect for the horses.  There were three loops with the first loop being 25 miles with an hour hold, then an additional 18 mile loop with another 15 minute vet check and hold (all in camp) and then a remaining 7 mile loop around Washoe Lake.  The first two loops had a lot of climbing with some incredible scenery.  Pulse criteria was 60, which Bo breezed right through and overall handled the ride exceptionally well.  He is really level headed and steady.   His shoes had come off the week before and he handled using four Epics and dome comfort pads just like he'd always been doing it - size 2's on the fronts, and 1's on the hinds.  So far he has been sound barefoot with no signs of foot soreness, so appears to be making the conversion to barefoot just as well as Chief did.  :)

 

Soda is bad for your bones

I thought this was important enough to share-- because I know so many of us drink soda of one type or another.  It is never easy to give up habits of things that you like or are used to, but in some cases the long term health benefits are going to be worth it. 

 

Quote by Charles Darwin

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”—Charles Darwin

Mt. Carmel XP Ride Photos

Click here to view the entire photo gallery of images from the 2008 Mt. Carmel XP. 

Needing to do research?

Here is a great list of resources on the internet -- "9 Websites to Satisfy All Your Research Needs". 

Check it out!  You may not need this information today, but it could come in handy - you just never know when you may need to learn what a hoof boot is, for example. ;)

Some humor from blaugh.com

A photo of Pro Bono (Bo) galloping with Easyboots on all four hooves!

Here is another photo of my new horse. This was the one that is in the 2008 EasyCare calendar. We are looking for photos for next year. If you have any, submit them to us. They need to be landscape shaped, and hi-resolution.   

I took Bo out on a ride for a couple of hours  tonight. We mostly walked with just a bit of trotting. I opened and closed the gate from his back. 

I put four Epics on him for the first time. He took 2's all the way around. I think that I will eventually be able to get 1's without a heelstrap on his hinds, but for now it's a bit tight. He lifted his feet up high for the first few steps but by the time I trotted him out and back he was moving normally in them and felt totally comfortable in them on our ride. I'll give him plenty of time to get used to the boots before his next competition. He goes fine in regular Easyboots, but now is the first time he's using Epics on his unshod hooves. I don't have very many size 2 boots with gaiters but now that I have Bo and Tigger taking 2's and will need 6 size 2's between them if they go out for a ride together I'll have to get some more!  Fortunately, if I need to I can use 2's on Chief's fronts as well - he actually measures in the size 2 range and the 1's are a super snug fit. It's nice when they can go okay in more than one size, and lots of times the Epics adjust enough so that they can.  I always like to be prepared, so that means having enough boots on the horse.  Plus I like to carry spares on my saddle and also in my crewbag at rides.  I rarely need them, but everybody knows who to come to if they need a boot -- ME!  So I often am lending them out -- usually to riders whose horses have lost a shoe, or have a loose shoe.   

Bo is definitely a pleasure horse - I feel so relaxed riding him. I've been spending time with him just hanging out getting to him. He wasn't bothered on our ride tonight by anything - the two dogs running about, birds, rabbits, motorcycles. I think he has close to a 5 mph walk too. I'll have to take the GPS with us next time and see. 

Xobni now available to everyone!

I have been using Xobni for a few months now and don't know how I could get by without it - very helpful add on for Outlook email!  I had been using Eudora which I prefer but have no choice with work email (I still use it for my personal email), and boy am I glad to have Xobni!  Here is a post I recently received about it.  If you use Outlook for email, be sure to check it out!

Thank you for your patience during Xobni's invite-only beta period. We're pleased to announce that beginning today everyone can instantly download Xobni to organize and search their Outlook email. 

Download Xobni for FREE here: http://www.xobni.com/download 

You can read more about Xobni's public launch in today's New York Times here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05xobni.html 

We look forward to receiving your feedback as we continue to work to improve Xobni and the overall Outlook experience. 

Thanks! 

Matt Brezina
Cofounder

And the shoes came off the endurance horse!

These shoes were removed intentionally!  I took a lot of photos of Bo's hooves.  He has nice sized feet and they seem to be strong and healthy.  There is definitely room for improvement.  I can't wait to see the changes!!!  Can you tell I couldn't wait to get the shoes removed - I've only had Bo for 24 hours and in that time have hauled him home over 600 miles.  He is so pleasant to work with.  I let him graze with Chief in the pasture for awhile after we got home.  He is in his own paddock now so the horses can get to know each other a little better with a fence between them. 

Karen may have found the perfect new horse!

I will post more about my new horse soon --we have only just gotten home from Utah this afternoon.  I rode Bo (here is his ride record) 55 miles (day 2 of the ride) and really liked him.  He sure is nice -- though not exactly what I was looking (he is tall).  Fortunately, he is built really well and my saddle fits so nice that getting on him is really easy!  Plus he is absolutely one of the best mannered endurance horses I've ever seen and stands still when you mount.  He turns 10 this month, so was at the top of my preferred age but that is okay. He is really well trained, very level headed and he is ready to go to rides!  I used Easyboots on over his shoes since he came shod, but we will be pulling his shoes off tonight!  I am going to ride him next at Fort Schellbourne and then decide if he'll be coming home with me permanently. 

This photo of him was taken at Bryce last year, with his current owner Kerry.  They are also the March 2008 photo in the EasyCare calendar and on the back of the EasyCare catalog.  Small world! 

It had been years since I rode a shod horse in an endurance ride.  It was kind of weird.  At least he had boots on over shoes, which was nice because it kept him from slipping on some of the slick rocks like many of the metal-shod horses did.  The boots also came off clean and nearly free of sand so were a really good fit.   He takes a size 76 blanket.  Chief takes a 68.   

Back from Mt. Carmel & Easyboot Contest Update

We had a great time this year at Mt. Carmel.  The weather was fantastic and the trails in great shape.  I love this ride because it is so colorful with lots of singletrack sections and some technical stuff as well.  A great variety of terrain - we ride in sugar sand, dirt, rock, coarse sandy washes, over slickrock, boulders, shale, through pine trees and pink and orange colored cliffs.  Turnout was good with 78 riders the first day. 

We had several riders in the EasyCare hoof boot contest racking up more miles.  Once all the results forms are turned in check for updates here at this link.  Terri and Oliver are still in the lead.  Have I mentioned before that Ollie is a gaited horse?  He is doing great in the boots, and is sure racking up a lot of miles! :)   

I rode Chief on days 1 and 3.  He had a really great ride both days.  He wore me out on the last day but then finally settled in a bit after lunch.  We went a little faster and that just made him want to go even more.  I used two Bares and two glue on boots on him.  They stayed on both days and really worked great.  He moves very nice in them.  Check out this photo and see if you can tell which hoof or hooves have the glued on boots on?  He had just been bathed and then had sand stick to him.  From a distance you can't even tell if the horse is barefoot or not.  Natalie and Cheyenne completed all three days together with the glued on boots on their hinds and EasyUp Easyboots foamed on the fronts.

50 Ideas for a Healthy Lifestyle

What is a Healthy Lifestyle?

According to a study by Michigan State University, a healthy lifestyle is defined by four basic criteria:

• Not smoking
• Holding weight down
• Eating right
• Exercising

Of the 153,000 respondents, only 3% participated in all four of what are termed healthy lifestyle characteristics.

Click here to read the entire article.

Great movie clip, an absolute favorite!

This is a great scene from "The Man from Snowy River".

New technology for horse foot wear

ABC News recently did a short story on advances in hoof care including the use of EasyCare hoof boots in place of iron shoes.  Click here to view. 

Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers

Ted.  Check it out.