WOW, WOW, and just WOW, Sandman had an amazing “breakthrough” weekend as we completed 100 miles in back-to-back 50 mile rides this weekend at the White Tango in northern Arizona.
We finished 10th on Friday and then riding against fresh horses on Saturday, we improved our time and finished 5th with all A’s on his Vet card and a very low pulse on both days as well. He was also awarded the much coveted “Bad to the Bone” award as one of only 4 horses who completed the 100 miles.
On both days, Sandman led with confidence and speed when called upon and he also led a bunch of the longer climbs and the steep (and scary for him) Collarbone climb for our group both days. His willingness to lead our small group of three horses and maintain his pace with confidence is a BIG step forward for him and a recent breakthrough in our training. This willingness to lead has been a training objective for us for the last year and now, big accomplishment for him.
For those who’ve been following Sandman’s development from an immature young racehorse who would spook at his own shadow to a now more mature and much braver endurance horse who can pound along now on rough, rocky mountain terrain for miles and miles, this is a big win for us.
For those of you who are new to horses, you might wonder, why is leading such a big deal and so difficult for a horse? Well it’s complicated but the short answer is, herd dynamics and roles, pecking order, and leadership responsibilities. A horse is a prey animal who prefers to live in a herd with a leader and where safety comes in numbers, and where leading the herd or in this case, even two or three other horses on an unfamiliar trail and terrain, requires mental and physical energy both of which can wear a horse down over miles and miles.
The leadership roles comes with the responsibility to protect the herd and watch out for danger. That is why you’ll often see when the lead horse shies at an obstacle, the following two or three horses or the entire herd will immediately shy or switch direction in unison as well. If your horse is always leading, they will mentally tire, which translates to physical fatigue as well, so in our rides, when riding with a partner or in a group, we work on strategies to rotate the lead role so we can give our horses a break from that tiring leadership role and they can switch to follower for a while, draft the leader and not worry and then when rested mentally and physically, resume that front horse role when called upon.
This ability to seamlessly change positions, ride behind, in front as leader, or next to another horse, is critical in our sport as we are constantly riding up on other horses, riding next to other riders or passing and being passed, so our horses need to be willing to ride in any position and take those cues from their rider (their leader) and because there is a lot of talking between the horses in terms of body language, ears pinned back, rolling their eyes at one another, bared teeth, head tilt, neck snaking and staring, and attempted positioning as the horses communicate with one another and vie for their position in the “Congo” line” as the herd dynamics in a ride are constantly changing and horses are vying for their position in the pecking order of this constantly changing dynamic over the 50 miles.
With all of this in mind, it’s incumbent upon the riders to be their horses leader and “know their horse” and in some cases know the “horseanality” of your competitors horses and know how and where they perform best and manage that herd and pecking order dynamic among the horses and work together to insure the horses are safe and they can perform given this inherent pecking order and leadership positioning between the horses that is dynamic and constantly changing. Riders are constantly watching these dynamics and working together to position their horses properly so they can perform best.
This willingness to lead when called upon is one of the last few areas of training that I am focused on with Sandman and in this ride, he really stepped it up and carried the lead for a big chunk of these 100 miles and scored all A’s on this ride. With sometimes no urging and other times a little more 🙂 urging he assumed the front running role and once in that position, generally would pound away down the trail at 10-12 mph trot and pull other horses along with him and here’s the BIG upside, when out in front and “pulling” the other horses, he really seemed to enjoy it which is such a great sign and so fun to ride.
At this time, I’d like to thank Christoph for his various ideas and suggestions on how best to train Sandman to lead and be comfortable doing it, this combined with his insight on electrolytes and a protocol to use, it’s all working and there is just nobody better at this stuff than Christoph.
I really enjoyed riding with Kim and Carrie on Friday when we took this switching leadership role to a new level and probably rotated in a very intentional manner, the horses every 3-4 miles over 50 miles, and it was great teamwork and a fun easy ride.
I’d also like to thank Denise and Mary Jane for riding with us on Saturday where we strategically determined that Sandman was more comfortable (for who knows what reason) leading the single-track trails and Denise and Lightning would lead on the roads while Mary Jane would lead as well and manage the map and turn directions. Another great day and real teamwork as we managed their second day fatigue, with Lightening and Sandman both working on their 100-mile completions.
Finally, and very importantly, I want to thank our Head Vet Dr Mark Anderson, whose sharp eye and experience, insured that all of the horses were safe throughout the ride and who helped me diagnose the underlying reason for some mysterious welts on Sandman and his colleague Max Schmidt for his willingness to Vet and support our rides as well. These two managed a lot of stuff and we are lucky to have them both on our rides.
I would also like to thank Tracy Fink for her willingness to help with some Collarbone training, she took myself and a few other riders over to the Collarbone climb and we rode it down (Man from Snowy River like) and up a few times, so the next day, it was a piece of cake and so helpful for our horses confidence the next day.
Most importantly, congratulations and thanks to Lancette and Ellen for putting on what I think is a premiere ride in our Southwest region, the trails are amazing, the weather is always the perfect temperature and the always available food and drinks, never-ending gifts, and awards are both fun and really well thought out and useful for our sport. As always with Lancette and Ellen, the ride was a super well managed and safe ride and so much fun for everyone. 🙂
The ride mgmt. team did an outstanding job for all of us, all up all in, on every aspect of the ride, just top-notch attention to detail and ride mgmt. 🙂
Alicia Toedter, thanks for these great photos.
All up all in a great weekend, Lori and I are so proud of Sandman and the partner he is becoming.
Enjoy the ride, this was a good one 🙂