Traveling Home

Rifle was the superstar on our trip home. Out of the three horses he was the only one that would drink at the lunch stop and he drank a full bucket each day. He also ate two full hay bags worth of hay each day plus cleaned up his regular dinner at night. I have posted two videos of him loading into the trailer. The first was unplanned, thought I would see what he would do if he was loose and it was time to go. No surprise, he jumped in without us even touching him. He was slightly confused as to what I wanted but with a few kisses he figured it out. http://youtu.be/V86mg5kYLHI The second is how I normally load him, just toss his lead rope over his back and he self loads even when he's the first one in. http://youtu.be/MZVahB6s4oM Sorry they're sideways, I can't edit video from my phone so you also get to hear us talking lol. Side Note: No, I don't travel with the bars down on the windows. I just opened them to offer the horses water at the lunch stop.

New Video

Finally got the video of Rifle running loose in the pasture online. This is just three days after doing his first 50. http://youtu.be/FfgO02e35wc

First 50 mile race

Check out the video of Rifle on the ride: http://youtu.be/789vNjbs5_k

We did it, Rifle and Kate completed their first 50's and Bob his first endurance ride. It was a long ride, 55 miles in 11.5 hrs but everyone came through looking great. The ride was about 3hrs from home. They both traveled quietly and as normal Rifle ate his whole hay bag and Kate ate maybe one bite. We arrived and parked then let the horses loose in the arena to run around and roll. We tried to get everything ready the night before but of course had a few hang ups in the morning. It was a controlled start and was about 10 min late. We left about 5 min after at a walk on a loose rein, just out for a trail ride :). After a extra warm up walk we started to move out when Bob and I both noticed how calm Rifle was. Now he is normally calm on trail rides but the last race he was prancing and did not want to settle down for several miles. The calmness was actually un-nerving and we took the first 15 miles quite slow. There was a vet check for the 30's then and after we checked and did a few tack repairs while the horses ate we went on. At this point we had been getting passed quite frequently and Rifle seemed to perk up and realized we were on a ride so we started moving out. For the next 15 miles he looked and acted normal, willing to slow down but happy to move out as well. So beside a few pictures stops and water breaks we trotted back to camp. About a mile out we hopped off and walked in as my mare is hard to pulse down. It did the trick as Rifle was way down and her just down as soon as we entered camp. We went back to the trailer and un-tacked letting them eat for a few minutes before back over to the vet. Both looked great at the vet check, Rifle had A's and one B. My husbands knee is in recovery so I trotted them both out at the same time to everyone's amusement. Rifle ate all his bucket and ate grass hay till we were ready to go. For the first time my mare actually ate decent too!

Back to the trail we had another 14 miles till the next stop which was a pulse and 30min hold. We made good time trotting along with a few water and grass breaks until we came to the HILL. Ok now to explain, steep downs used to be one of my biggest fears. Probably since I broke and trained my youngster who had very wobble legs and almost fell down a few with me. As we came up to this one I saw it was quite steep but as my mare is very sure footed I decided to give it a try. I told Bob he had to stay on too as on a previous hill he was constantly slipping on the gravel and had slightly hurt his ankle. At 15+ miles to go we could not afford for him to twist it. Down we went, and down, and down, then down some more. Now Kate's style is to barrel down the hill at a fast walk. She actually did quite well even that fast and did not slip once. Rifle prefers to take little steps and tip toe down so I had time to take video and pictures.

After we started down it was not too bad until the second down when my mare started refusing. We went a bit sideways and had several balks but eventually made it down. Not Rifle, he just kept on trucking down one step at a time. Between the hill and the footing down to the vet check we did not make good time. Right before the check was a small pond and after Rifle led in as Kate's not fond of water they got a good drink and their feet cooled off. When we came into the check it took a minute to come down after leaping out of the pond, they said since we were at the tail end it was up to us how long we stayed. At this point I knew it was a really long day and there were only two riders behind us. As 11 hrs is long 11.5 is long too so we might as well stay. The horses enjoyed eating a small bucket and we relaxed for about 20mins as they ate hay. Still 11 miles to go though so back up on the horse and out to the trail we went. We relaxed on the way home alternating trotting and walking. I knew the horses had another ride coming up in a few weeks and did not see the point in shaving off a few minutes by rushing home. Both horses looked great coming into camp, the riders not so much lol. Rifle was A's and two B's on his final vet card. We spent the night and let them out in the arena in the morning while we packed up camp. They felt fine the next morning as my mare did not want to be caught and Rifle followed trotting circles around me. Had a safe trip back home and they were happy to see their green pasture and went straight to grazing. Next race is Cooley Ranch 50 in CA and it will be interesting to see if Rifle is calm or excited.

Visiting California

So due to a death in the family I will be traveling home to CA the beginning on June. I will go through Nevada and up to Northern California visiting Eureka, Santa Rosa and Placerville area. For a serious inquiry I would be happy to detour so you could try out Rifle. We will be competing at Cooley Ranch in the 50 mile ride on either 6/9 or 6/10 which is in the Santa Rosa area. We plan on being around the first two weeks of June but plans are not definite yet.

Arena Day

Took everyone to the arena today. Now this is probably one of the more stupid things I do, please not too many lectures. But I take all four horses at the same time. As you can see from the pic I alternate riding the chestnut or black gelding, and always pony the mare with Rifle tied to her saddle. Now this was really easy when I only had three horses but it got more difficult with the fourth. Thank goodness Rifle is such a good boy and happily follows along. The only one who is a problem is the chestnut Ike who if I am riding he either goes to slow or fast and if I pony I have to drag him.

So we made it there and back safely. Everyone was a little hot today, not sure why maybe the irrigating this morning and them getting flooded lol. So Rifle started out a bit tense and jittery. We just walked around the arena for a few laps then started adding halts. He would not stand still at first but with several one rein stops he finally decided standing still was a lot easier. Tensed up again as we started trotting but relaxed after a few laps. Now when I say tense that's all I mean, no bad behavior he is just on alert trying to figure out what you want. I think he keeps expecting someone to tell him to rush or get mad at him but when I just wait him out he calms right down. He used to do this every couple of rides but has not done so in months. Something about today as all the ponies took extra patience in their own way. We did some leg yielding at the trot then went to canter. His canter is great, it is so easy for him to collect up and go slow or fast. He prefers to drop him head rather than go into a frame so we worked on that then added in leg yielding. We did some more work on transitions then called it a day as he was chill and I had two more to ride still. Totally calm on the way home. Had a big almost semi truck pass us rattling and a pack of small dogs charge us but did not even blink a eyelash. Several days off now and then his first 50 on Saturday.

New Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXyYo30h6g8&feature=share&list=ULiXyYo30h6g8 Finally got some video online from our ride a week or so ago. My husband came along on his gelding and took bouncy video but I wanted to show how chill Rifle can be. I rode Rifle and ponied my mare who is not easy to pony as she wants to race. Rifle was perfect! Walk, trot and canter on a loose rein and he did not care about the mare body slamming him or trying to take off. The video shows Rifle's base personality. Most days he is like this, calm and willing to do what ever you want. Occasionally the nervous side kicks in and he gets tense and wants to prance but you can calm him down quickly with your seat and half halts. Rifle is great to pony off and ponies great too. His first trip to the beach I ponied him off my black gelding and we went w/t/c and in the ocean. When we go to the arena here I tie him to my mares saddle and pony her and my husbands gelding off my black gelding. A bit crazy but a short walk through back streets lol. http://youtu.be/BQfnP2rJpA4

How to describe him

Rifle is what you would call a sensitive soul. When he does something wrong all you have to do is glare at him and say no then instantly he backs off and says sorry. He's the type of horse you can't get mad at when he's misbehaving or upset as it just make him worse. If you reassure him and tell him everything ok and he's fine or put him to work he calms right down. His base personality is very calm and laid back, but every now and again he gets nervous and needs something to focus on.

So after the endurance race I was not able to ride for 2.5 weeks. Wisdom teeth out, had to go to a flat track race ect. I am lucky enough to live about 1/2 mile from where I work and my boss is fine with my horses hanging out in one of her paddocks. So that day I decided to ride Rifle even though he had done nothing for awhile. Went out caught him, tacked up and hopped right one. We calmly rode down the street walk and trot on a loose rein, seriously I was riding on the buckle. With no exercise for 2.5 weeks and no lunging or anything he was totally chill. We passed goats, cows, horses, lawn mowers, big trucks pulling trailers and no reaction. Then of course he has to look funny at a overturned wheel barrow lol. We get to work and I decided to take him with us to the track. I load up the race horses and untie Rifle and he walks right into my boss's trailer which he has never been in, no hesitation at all. We get there, and he has been there at least 3 times before and when I tie him up he starts to panic. He paces back and forth and starts whinnying. I had race horses to deal with so I just untied him and threw him on the walker. Within a few minutes he settled down, stopped whinnying and just walked around. About 30 minutes later when the race horses were done I go pull him off, jump on and start riding around the track. We did four laps, trot, canter, hand-gallop and trot. He was not tired at all but that's about all there is time for before the race horses are cooled and ready to go. Load back up, put the race horses away, hop on and calmly walk on the buckle back home. Not sure what happened to make him scared at the track but all he needed was to go to work and he was fine. I love having a horse around that I can just jump on and go though. It save me a lot of gas money :)

Endurance

Picture is from the first ride of our season, Antelope Island 4/15 where Rifle complete the 25 mile race placing 5th with my friend Lindsy. We had a great ride with all three horses finishing. Rifle was slightly hyper at the beginning and wanted to prance but he calmed down as soon as we got to work. He pulsed down right away at the pulse and go and each vet check. He ate all of his bucket, had a drink and munched on hay until the lunch break was over. At the pulse and go on the way home he had a long drink and was quite relaxed. He was down when we crossed the finish line was passed his vet check with flying colors. We have been doing lots of other condition rides this winter with several people riding him including my husband who is a heavy weight rider. He does all of our training rides barefoot and goes over rock with no problems. For races he wears renegades and would also fit in easy boot wide gloves. His boots stay on without any tape or glue and he is a pleasure to boot up. On May 19th we plan to do a 50 at Hell's Kitchen. My husband will ride him accompanying me on my mare. Rifle goes in a Free n Easy English endurance saddle currently but he is very easy to saddle fit.

The start of Rifle's training

Above is a picture of my friend Barbara riding Rifle in a Western saddle on the trail. Rifle and I have done many things together over the winter. We started out working at Ricochet Ridge Ranch where I rode him on a riding vacation with about 20 other people on horses. He started out a little nervous in that big of a group and would prance while we walked along. He quieted down quickly with the use of half halts and my seat. By the end of the week he was confident riding in a big group and we had a lovely canter down the beach with about 10 other guests. He was one of the few horses in the group calmly cantering along with little rein contact. He was happy to be in the front and content to be in the back. This winter I started his training in Dressage and he is currently showing training level and training first level. With about 30 days of solid Dressage he would be showing first. He has great athletic ability and very even movement. He could easily go second or higher. We then progressed on to Jumping. Now I am not much of a jumper so we have mainly stuck with small jumps. He is great fun out on the cross country course flying over logs. He stays quite calm and is willing to walk, trot or canter over depending on what you tell him. His balance comes in handy canting up and down the hills into jumps. An educated guess would say his previous arena training had been western. He easily puts his head down during the canter and will start to collect underneath himself. He has a rough canter halt transition and with then canter on from a standstill. He neck reins in the arena and on the trail and will smoothly back up collected. We have just started to work in the arena with barrels and he will continue in training till sold.

The beginning - how Rifle came to live with me

My dear friend Forrest Tancer bought Rifle from Global Endurance Center in Moab Utah. Anyone who knows of their reputation knows they sell wonderful endurance horses. Forrest and Rifle did a successful 25 mile endurance ride together and Forrest took him home. Sadly Rifle and Forrest did not work out together. I was staying with Forrest at the time and had took over his conditioning and training. We meshed quite well and while I had two horses already I could not leave him behind. I took Rifle home with me with the plan being to sell him for Forrest in the spring. I have had Rifle for 9 months now and while I really enjoy him it is too much work to train and condition 4 horses myself. I am looking for a forever home for him where he can have his own person to love.