We had a somewhat interesting trip up there. Just before we left Leslie's place, her sister Leigh called to tell us that she had just spun her truck and trailer going over the mountains. She and the horse were unhurt, but pretty shook up - the trailer ended up coming to rest in a snow bank facing the wrong way down the freeway - and it hadn't even started snowing yet and she was only at Blue Canyon.

When we got up to Baxter (maybe one third of the way up?), they had chain controls in place and turned us around (we had no chains). We'd already discussed how if we had to chain, we shouldn't really be hauling, but now Leigh was on the wrong side of the mtn, all shook up and supposed to sleep in Lester's LQ with us and was begging us to make it. Leigh got chains on and said it wasn't too bad, so we turned around, drove back down the hill 10 miles to Colfax, got chains and went back up. Sat in the chain control jam for two hours before getting back to the chain control site (by then, it had moved up the hill some, so the temp. was rising seemingly).
 

The chain control guy said they looked a little baggy (I couldn't get them any tighter) and recommended that we got the special bungees from the next gas station, so we did that too - running  back and forth in 6" of slushy snow  and wrestling the bungees on. Ta da!
 

On our way again, it wasn't too bad until the very top where icy snow completely covered the road and I started wondering what the heck we were doing up there. L said apologetically that she was going to drive like a granny, which I told her I was fine with - preferably 5 mph down Donner grade (steep and long downhill with twists and drop offs) once we got over the summit.

Were able to take the chains off in Truckee and GAH was it cold down there - blowing a gale and sleeting and standing in 2" of wet slush. Finally pulled into RC at 9:30 pm - 8.5 hours after we set off (it's usually about a three hour trip).

The nice thing was Crysta and Leigh were in camp so able to tell Ride Management what was going on so they knew we were coming and Leigh got our rider packets and we were able to vet-in in the morning (fully tacked up at 7 am when the ride started).
 

It turns out Crysta and her Jr were long gone, so me n' Uno, and Leslie n' Eagle started out with Tami Rougeau (RM for Rides of March). Eagle and Uno aren't exactly a good match, pace-wise, so L and Eagle soon discreetly trotted away leaving Uno with his new best friend, Fancy. 

He was a little squirrelly at the start, worrying about things behind him and how he was in imminent likelihood of dying, but he soon settled down. 

At one point he bolted forward about 30' when a horse came up over the hill right behind us unexpectedly, but that was his only real indiscretion for the whole ride (funny thing was, the horse was a buckskin and as it passed, he thought it was Fergus and started nickering and whinnying after the horse - dummy). 

By 4 miles in, he was good and settled and on a completely loose rein (he didn't like me holding him in at the start and was head-tossing like crazy, so I was glad he settled so quickly).

(Having done Lake Sonoma 50 in October, Desert Gold 50 in November and DVE 50 at Christmas, he then had six weeks off with an abscess and had only done 35 miles of conditioning since then - 20 miles of which were ponying off of Roo... not exactly what I would call "good preparation" :(  ).
 

After the VC was a long climb up over the ridge, up into the snow. It got pretty cold up there, but was so pretty winding up the narrow cut in the mountainside. Down the other side was a long steep trail which we hand-walked down. Then a few miles of whupped-out m/c trail which we could trot some off but had to walk a lot of. About half-way down the long downhill, Uno started drinking a little and snacking on the limited grass clumps that were available, which was good. Tami was excellent company and kept me entertained the whole way.

Back in camp for lunch and an hour hold, Leslie was still there with a sad-looking Eagle. His poor pasterns were rubbed all around from boot gaiters and he was quite sore. At that point I decided to put my neoprene wraps under Uno's gaiters. He wasn't rubbed yet, but was showing signs of starting and I decided not to take any chances. He nibbled a little at lunch, but of course wouldn't touch the elyted food that I'd put out for him, so I gave him straight LMF Gold (juicy stuff) and made sure that he had a supply of Eagle's hay (Eagle had a supply of Uno's hay, so that worked out well).

They were serving burgers and hot dogs for lunch, so I wolfed down one of each while watching the weather deteriorate up the valley where we were headed - it was snowing up there and blowing really hard.

During the hold, Uno rolled twice fully clothed in his saddle with bridle hanging off his shoulder. Bet that was comfy. That's the third time this saddle has been rolled in now - glad it's a treeless. The second time I was sitting in Leslie's truck calling pft to let him know we were safe and saw Uno's knees buckle in the truck wing-mirror. Jumped up and went and yelled at him and he scrambled up looking guilty - NV stickers and sand ground into my sheepskin saddle cover. Great. Thanks Uno.

We set out again - Uno seemed a little stiff leaving the trailer but warmed up soon enough, although Tami's mare Fancy really wasn't happy to be going out again, so we got in the lead and trot-trot-trotted down the road in the lead, Uno bright and cheery, ears forward, proud as punch. By now he was getting his sea legs and starting to sneer back at Fancy and Artie (a second sneery horse who'd joined us).

We saw a herd of loose cows with horns and babies right next to the road and although he stopped to poop right opposite them, he was interested but unalarmed. And he couldn't care less about any of the dirt bikes/ATVs that passed us - even when they came up behind us. ??

It got so windy and cold going up the valley, you couldn't even talk to the person trotting next to you, so we kept going as fast as we could into the wind and were relieved to get to the furthest-away point where we could turn back and have the wind behind us. It began to snow.

But Uno did great. This section was the same as first thing in the morning, only backwards, with lots of short steep downhills, followed by short steep uphills, all winding on singletrack through the sagebrush. It was really fun and he still felt strong. The wind died down a little and we even got a bit of sun.

Finally we came in the last section - a long haul on the hard dirt road - Uno still going strong. He never pulled, never rushed, just kept going in his trot-trot-trot pace. Although I wouldn't say that he ate great or drank great, he did at least drink and eat on the trail (which is more than he managed at any of his previous rides) and seems to be 'getting it'. It turned out the ride was about 52 miles long (yikes), so he definitely did the distance.
 

He finished up with all As, except for a B on guts (no surprises) and a 60 pulse (also no surprises). Considering I'd expected him to look crappy at the end of the ride (what many people described as a tough one), he looked really good and perky - was hungry back at the trailer (and happy to see Eagle).

I think the fact that it was cold really helped - if it had been a warm ride I think he would have suffered more. Not only did it make it easier on him metabolically, it also helped his legs - I didn't wrap or ice and his legs looked good and tight this morning, as did Eagle's. He looks a little more svelte than he did before we set off, but hopefully that'll get better as he figures out the eating/drinking part.

Elevation Profile
Total Elevation Gain: 6,917 ft 

I am so proud of that pone and how well he did, and constantly amazed at what this horse can pull off given how little conditioning I've put on him. Except for his tendency to scuttle forward when he thinks he sees a monster, he's really really steady on the trail - doesn't spook at every single rock/bush/desert trash (as Roo does). He's good natured, trucks along, and doesn't yank on you. He's still not the most graceful horse on the trail and feels a tad clutzy, but is figuring it all out and gets better with every ride. Wooo!
 

Latest Ride Calendar:
 

• March 26/27/28 - Cuyama 50-50-50
• April 3/4 - NV Derby 50-50
• May 1/2 - Washoe Valley 50-50
• (June 5 - Just Coe Crazy 50)
• June 12 - NASTR 75
• (June 19 - Sunriver 100)
• June 26 - NV Moonshine 50
• July 3 - Mendocino 50
• July 24 - Tevis (Dan and Gina's badly scheduled wedding <grump>)
• August 14 - Bridgeport 50
• (August 21 - Big Bear 100)
• September 4/5 - Cuneo 50-50
• September 18 - VC100
• (October 15 - High Desert III 50)
• (October 23 - Sonoma 50)
• October 28/29/30 - Moab 50-50-50

Rides colour-coded for Roo  
and Uno

Rides in Green are part of the NASTR Triple Crown

Rides in (italics) are possible alternatives

Thursday 8th
Roo Still Off :(

Managed to sneak out after work and ride at Cool in the late evening. Although we didn't go far and didn't go fast, Roo's LR leg was evidently bothering him again by the time we were done. It didn't swell up as last time (ten days ago), but he was resting it a lot, so it's time to get it ultra-sounded to make sure he hasn't done any long-term damage. 

Why Roo isn't wearing boots much at the moment  

I've made him an appointment to see Marty Gardner in Reno the Monday after Washoe Valley, so I'll drag Roo up there when Uno and I do the ride and stay until the following day. 

This gives me more incentive to maybe try both days on Uno. We'll see how Saturday goes and take it from there.

This herd-situation was working swimmingly until I detected that young Jackit was starting to get delusions of grandeur. 

Although Hopi was allowed to stand with him during the napping phase of the day and under certain circumstances could eat with him, Uno wasn't allowed within 15' and if he had the audacity to try, Jackit would rush him, teeth bared, neck snaking. When I was mucking, there was a lot of leg waving and mini-bucking going on - both of which are banned when I'm in the immediate vicinity. The fact that both Hopi and Uno are over 15 hh and Jackit is about 12:2 hh didn't seem to be a deterrent. Either way, Jackit was definitely getting above himself and it was time to nip it in the bud.

Usually in these circumstances it is suggested to put the offender in with an alpha mare. We don't have one of those, but we do have Provo. So into Provo's small paddocklet went Jackit.

Within 24 hours, Jackit was minding his manners and politely asking Provo if it would be OK if he could come in and eat a little from the hay net? ...no?... oh. Ok, then, I'll just stand here at a respectful distance until I'm allowed. Perfect.

Rasping

Saturday afternoon it was time to rasp Provo, Hopi and Jackit. Both Hopi and J had gone way too long (their last rasping can't possibly have been November / December, can it??) although neither looked too terrible. Thank goodness they don't seem to grow much in the winter..

Provo used to be awful to trim - he'd barrel into the shoer, lean on you while you had his leg up, and try to kick when you picked up or put down a back leg. Now he'll just about stand ground-tied, asleep, while you rasp him. His right-rear can still be dicey, but generally he's pretty easy. He grows lots of toe and no heel, giving him a curly-elf shoe look.

Hopi was next. He's a funny one. He's been with us for two and half years and at first I thought his antics were caused by fear (and he was just about afraid of anything you tried to do to him - approach with a brush, pet him, halter him, pick up his foot, etc), but after some consideration I've decided that a lot of his behaviour is more a case of "Don't wanna, and you can't make me". 
 

Of course, because I'd left his feet so long they were in a pretty bad state. The only good thing is that he grows very evenly. And he's been standing in wet mud so his hoof was relatively soft. I got out the nippers and hacked away until the feet were back under control while he stood beautifully. There were a few hiccups with the back feet but mostly (for him) he did really well and I was very pleased with him.

Finally it was Jackit's turn. His feet are hard to do for four reasons:

• He's too small to get under, so you can't get at the right angle to rasp
• His feet are so small, you rasp off the edges of them and end up rasping Lucy body parts (knees/knuckles)
• His feet grow very, very upright and don't look anything like feet I expect to see, so I sometimes have a hard time figuring out what to do with them
• and lastly, he's a fidget pants and will decide to leave when he pleases, regardless if you have a leg in the air - he'll just hop along.

Still, I got him rasped up OK - a little shorter than perhaps I should, but it's hard when you're rasping a moving target. Despite his fidgetiness, I decided that while he was in this current demure state it might be a good time to see how he felt about being saddled.
 

Result = absolutely nothing. 

He did turn and sniff the saddle, but otherwise seemed totally disinterested. We walked around. We trotted up and down. We lunged for a short while. And he just went along as though nothing was different. 

Not exactly filled with histrionics, our Jackit.

This is what I look like after rasping three horses in a row.