South Dakota Days 1 -3

SET UP CAMP AND THE FIRST 2 TRAIL RIDES

Saturday-Monday, August 7-9, 2010



In the previous post, we traveled from Nebraska to near Custer, SD, in just a little under 12 hours! That’s all! I thought it would be 10 or less. With 5 women, I guess we needed more potty breaks!



But we arrived at the Iron Creek Horse Campground safe and sound. The trip actually went fairly fast, except the last hour. That last hour always seems slow.

The campground was small, and we parked head to tail in our own numbered site. The horse corrals are awesome.



Large and spacious, with 7 paneled sections and a walk thru gate. On the downside, we had no electricity and no near water. We could walk the horses to a tank, or carry water. Dianna had the great suggestion to wheel water in a clean muck bucket with the muck bucket holder. This saved carrying water buckets each day.

With 1 corral pen to each site, Savannah had her own corral, since I trailered by myself. The pens were not connected, which I liked. She could see other horses, but she couldn’t touch noses, or fight, with her neighbor.

We arrived Saturday about 6 and set up camp. I am self contained, so all I had to do was park as far off of the road that I could and not hit the large boulders. I hayed and watered Savannah first as she has had a long day in the trailer. I did give her hay in the manger for the trip. I also gave her a small, ½ bucket of water to be able to slosh her hay in.

Once she had eaten for an hour, I grained her. I have decided just to give her 4# of her high fiber pelleted feed, split between 2 meals. She will also be able to graze as we rest on the trail.



Savannah is being pretty good! She is just a little goosey and jumpy on the trails for the first hour, then settles down into a nice, ground covering, flat walk.

We had decided ahead of time that this trip is a vacation, and that we were not getting up early and riding all day. We wanted to sleep in and alternate longer, 6 hour riding days with shorter, 3-4 hour riding days.



Sunday and Monday, we rode out each day about 11 in the morning, and got back to camp about 3.



On Sunday, we followed Centennial #89 to the north, along the Centennial Bypass #89B route east to the iron Mountain #16, which brought us back south.



We saw deer along the way.



At the end of that trail, we tied our horses to trees as we climbed a rock ledge,





to take in the view.





We returned to camp by the same route.

One of the horses jumped a log, catching the fetlock area on a sharp edge of the log. We went into a creek to let the horses drink, and once we were out of the water, we noticed the horse was bleeding a little. We were heading back to camp, and the horse starting favoring the leg as we neared camped. The owner soak the foot in Epsom salts, put an ointment on the cut, and applied a bandage with some drawing salve. All of us helped to bandage the leg that first night. The horse did not want anyone near her foot. Later in the week, 2 small pieces of wood came out of the cut.



Monday, we rode Centennial #89 to the south, which would be an easier ride for the horse. But within a ½ hour, the horse with the cut was walking stiffly. We returned to camp, and the owner stayed and retreated the leg as the rest of us rode back out for a short 2 hour ride.

We continued to follow Centennial #89 south for a little over an hour, then turned around and headed back to camp as there was not any other alternate route. Along the way, we stopped for many picture shots.



We also just had to pick up some pretty white, quartz and pink stones.

Aren't the skies really blue out here?

Black Elk Wilderness

Saturday, August 7, 2010


We're here in the Black Elk Wilderness in the Iron Creek Campground, near Custer South Dakota. I loaded Savannah at 6:30 on Saturday morning. We arrived at 6 Saturday evening! Long day, which went faster with a CD book. I won't be posting too much this week, as I don't have much internet signal. I'll have pictures from every day once I get home!


Savannah in her campsite pen. They were large and roomy. I liked that each pen was totally separate from the next pen.


Our campsite area.


Savannah and I are ready to go riding on Sunday morning.


Riding down the rode, a few riders in front of us.


Savannah waiting patiently, tied to a tree, as we walked a rocky edge for a better view of the area.


That marvelous view!


Another fantastic view.


My riding buddies, Cindy, Sharon, Vicki, me and Dianna. We are having a fantastic time!

Westward Bound

I’m preparing for a weeklong horse camping trip to South Dakota. And I’m a little apprehensive.

I’m taking Savannah. She had been calmer the last couple of days. But previously, she has been goosey. I have been feeding her well, and she has been “feeling her oats”. I’ve decreased her sweet feed, and have continued to desensitize her.

But I can understand why my friend Tammy, from HorseTrailRiders.com has been excited about her new trailer. I ordered a new horsey comforter and I am so glad that I did. The outline on the comforter is exactly like my new logo, that I had an artist consign for me. The comforter that came with the trailer was a plain brown.

I packed the trailer for the last 2 days. Yesterday I made up the bed. King Size! I had to order new sheets along with the comforter. But I’m going to South Dakota and the nights are a little chillier than her. I put a 5# Down sleeping bag between the sheets and the comforter. I want to be warm!

Yesterday, I also made a large pot of chili. There are enough people going that we only have to do one evening meal. Fantastic! I also made a pasta salad, and I have a bag of frozen fruit. And I have a loaf of Italian bread. That is my meal.

I made sure I have enough water, as the place that I am going to does not have water or electricity. I am glad that I have a toilet and I have a shower. I may not be using it very much, but I’ll try to use it the night before I come home. I’m sure my hubby will appreciate that!

I think my horse will be ok. She relaxes when there are other horses around her. I didn’t ride her today. She better load up tomorrow. We have been practicing off and on since I got her.

I hope to post all week, but I’m not sure if I’ll have coverage. Check back next week!

Come along with my journey, even if may be a week late.

Are you a Balanced Rider

Why do you think you are not a balanced rider? What is not in balance? Your upper body? Your lower body? Or an individual part of your body? Your legs? Your head? Your right or left shoulder?

One of the Centered Riding Basics is Building Blocks. The alignment, that we were all taught in 4-H or basic riding lessons, still applies. Back of ear, through your shoulders and hips, to the back of the heel. A straight line from your shoulder, hip to your heel. But what is also just as important is the ear.

How much do you think your head weighs? 2#? 5#? 10#? How about 10-12# for an adult! That is a lot of weight that can throw your whole upper body off balance. And where do most people go when they are thrown off balance? Forward, over the horse’s neck.

Even if you are not thrown off balance, but you are constantly looking down, where did the weight go? Forward. And down. Down onto your horses withers and shoulders to the front legs.

As I’ve been doing lessons the past few weeks, I have concentrated on balancing the head of the rider, as well as the rest of the body. It is amazing how much more you look UP after you have balanced your head. First, look straight ahead, and look at a point on the wall. Remember where this point is, because we will come back to that point to see if we are still looking at it.

We start to balance our head by tipping the head side to side, first one way than the other, slowly. Each time we go from side to side with out head, we tip our head a little less each time, until we settle into the middle. Then we balance our head from front to back. First touching our chin to our chest, than slowly leaning our head back. We tip our head a little less each time, until we settle into the middle.

Where are you looking now? Every time I do this myself, I am always looking a few inches higher. Another thing that I have realized this past month, as I’m doing the exercises along with the lesson people, is that I’m not as stiff in the neck and shoulder area as I used to be. I still am a little tight behind one shoulder blade, but as I do the stretches, I can tell that my body is starting to relax and to stay in proper alignment.

Another exercise that I feel has been helping with the head alignment is a vertical stretch of our arms. First, let’s get our soft eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. As we stretch, we will breathe deep. Breathe in through your nose, fill up your lungs, so that the air pushes down onto the diaphragm and your stomach moves. Exhale through your mouth. Breathe deep a couple of times.

Now, with your hands on top of your shoulders, and your eyes soft, breathe in deeply. Try this now, sitting in your chair. First put both feet flat on the floor, shoulder width apart. Look straight ahead and see where you are looking.

Now, as you breathe in deeply, slowly straighten your arms upward, then as your breathe out slowly through your mouth, turn your palms out, with palms down as you slowly lower your arms to the sides of your body. (Turning your palms down as you lower your arms is important so there is no twist on the bones in your arms.) Repeat 2 more times, slowly, deep breathing and with soft eyes. Where are you looking? I am looking about 2” higher than I was looking before doing the exercise. On a horse, looking at the arena wall, I may look 6” higher, depending on how far the wall is.

We always want to move our joints slowly, to allow the tight muscles and ligaments to stretch without causing them any harm. And as always, if you feel any pain or discomfort, stop stretching. If the pain or discomfort continues, please see a doctor (I almost said vet! Lol).

I am interested in what you are thinking so I can help you. Do you tend to lean one way? Do you feel like you're not sitting straight? Where are your muscles tight? What gets sore when you ride?

I’ll move on to balancing the shoulders and more upper body exercises next.

Come along on the journey!

When the Un-Expectant Happens

Horses are so unpredictable sometimes. When you think they are riding just fine, they will, all of a sudden, get ansy, jumpy, snorty. What just happened?

As I concentrate on my Centered Riding exercises, I ride with "open eyes". I see the world around me. I know when I do that, I'm breathing better. This doesn't stop my horse from spooking at that bird that just flew up, but I'm more prepared for the spook. I sit more relaxed these days. I have even a deeper feel for what my horse is going to do. And when I feel that spook starting to happen, I sink deeper into my center. By doing so, I've deepen my seat and I have a greater grounding feeling in my stirrups.

I’m aware that my horse is a little goosey or jumpy. I’ve only had Savannah, a 4 year old, TWH, for about a month. Yes, that’s not very long. Yes, she is young. But yes, she didn’t use to spook. What changed?

First off, I’ve been feeding her very well. About 6 hours of grass and the rest of the time is spent on a round bale. She is eating all the time. I thought she was a little lanky. I slowly increased her pelleted grain from 1# to 2# to 4# per day over the first 2 weeks, changing the increments about every 3rd day. I felt she was still lean, as I‘ve been riding her every week and she has been sweating with this heat and humidity. What I have been graining her is probably at maintenance level for the amount of work that she is doing. I slowly increased her to another 4#’s, but this time, she was on a very good grain mix that is high in nutrients, but also high in molasses and fat. I think my young girl is feeling very good. Too good. I’ve decreased her feed back to 4# of the pelleted feed. No more high energy feed for her until her energy level drops!

In the outdoor arena, she used to ride fine. Then one of those gigantic black flies landed on her one day. I saw her out there, running and bucking. I think that monster fly bit her, and now every time I ride out there, she is watching for it. I make sure to totally fly spray her croup and back legs. And I’m watching out for those black flies. I have never seen so many as I have seen this year. It must be the heat and humidity bringing them out!

She also started seeing monsters in every shake or sound in the trees. I have desensitize her to every sound out there, and she never spooks when I’m on the ground. She is a little better when there is another horse in the arena or in the adjacent lot. I think she is very insecure, and maybe a follower. When I’ve had her on a trail ride, she leads out fine though. I have started lunging her before riding. I want that energy level decreased and her attention on my cues increased. This has helped.

I have also stopped pushing her into the gait as much as I had been doing when I ride her. I’ve left her to walk the arena and outside areas. Walk and relax. And I relax and breathe and use my soft eyes to see the area around me. By doing so, I’m watching for things she can spook at. Not to anticipate, but to be prepared. I’ve ridden enough to stay relaxed, even if my horses isn’t. This has helped to ride her at a slower pace.

As I relax, breathe, and use my soft eyes, I also feel very grounded. My feet are solid in the stirrups, as if I’m standing on the ground. This doesn’t mean that I’m pushing down into my stirrups, but my legs are laying in a relaxed, balanced position, and my feet are “grounded”. This grounded feeling gives you a more secure position.

I have also started lunging her with the backpack on, with a slicker thrown over the saddle, and with water bottles in the backpack. I want her used to the items that she will carry, BEFORE we are on the trail with them. She was a little bucky today at the lunge time, feeling the backpack behind the saddle. I had it secured down at 3 spots, but the sounds were still there. And the sounds were coming from behind her head, which seems to cause her to be a little bit more scared. But it seems with Savannah, once she gets over being spooky about something, she never spooks at that again. She could care less if I swing the slicker over her neck, but on that first day of showing her the slicker, it took 15 minutes of waving it around before I could approach her with it.

She took her time to realize that some items won’t hurt her, and she is fine. Just like when I opened the wire of the fence to let her in the grass area. She wasn’t going to stand by me as I moved those wires that first day. She was at the end of her lead rope, but to her credit, she didn’t pull back to try to run off. Now, 4 days later, she is a few feet from me, at a safe distance so as not to get the wire tangled in her feet, but the lead rope is slack.

If you’re wondering why in the world would I be opening up a wire section of the fence, with my horse standing near me, it is to desensitize her to the wire. We never know what we may come up on out in the real world of trails, and fences, and pastures. She knows that she doesn’t have to be scared at what has scared her in the past. She has an old wire cut on her back leg, and I’m sure she has been caught in wire before.

I’m hoping that with all the desensitizing that I am doing, the next time Savannah is spooked, she’ll be brave enough to stand and wait on my cues. I hope to build her trust in me. I want her reflex to not be scared and for flight, but to be stop and stand, and trust!

As I work with Savannah, I continue to work on centering myself. Just as I want a more relaxed response out of her to be natural, I also want to have the centering to be natural to my body. It is true that as you search for the correct balance point or a specific feeling, that it becomes natural. Your body wants to naturally seek to find that spot. I not only want my body to naturally find that spot, but to always be in that spot.

Come along on the journey!