[PoFoSho]

I love horse camping! It's the only way to camp, honestly. lol

 

[phantomhorse13]

Has anyone heard anything from @phantomhorse13 ? Has she posted lately and I missed it? Hope everything is ok with her.

I have been having password issues for months. I tried to log on today on a whim and apparently Santa brought my access back! I have a lot of catching up to do, but thank you for asking after me.

 

[knightrider]

I am so glad that @phantomhorse13 is back! Have to say that before I write a anything else!

@QueenofFrance08 , are you the person who has Ona? I think of her sometimes when I am working with Windy. I have made so much progress with Windy. I even enjoy riding her and look forward to the mornings when it is her turn to go out. But one thing Windy is not good at is riding solo. In the summer, when Windy is out on pasture 24/7, I have been able to ride her quite successfully solo many times, although it isn't a lot of fun and can be a bit worrisome.

But in the winter, when Windy is living in the sacrifice pen, she is downright scary to ride solo. The weird thing is she does just fine heading out. It is always on the way home that she suddenly leaps into the air, rears, or bolts without warning. Sometimes she is fine the whole ride. Most of the time she is not. She is perfectly delightful to ride in the company of other horses. But I often have to ride alone, and I need a horse that can do that.

Part of Windy's problem is that she is rarely ridden solo because she is my daughter's horse and my daughter won't ride solo. A few years ago, I realized that most likely Windy is going to be my horse for the rest of her life, so she'd better learn to ride solo. She's young, healthy, sound, and sturdy and likely to live a very long time. Training her to ride solo has been quite challenging.

I remember that Chorro was pretty awful riding solo and Isabeau was downright dangerous. So why am I having so much trouble with Windy? I think I had a mental breakthrough this morning. When I was trying to train Isabeau to ride solo, I discovered that I could easily ride her out my gate to my neighbor's house where she used to live as a secret horse for a year and a half. She was happy to go there because she remembers living there. And she was happy to go home from there because it was heading back home. So I could ride her back and forth, back and forth, and viola! I was riding solo!

Windy goes just fine to my neighbor's house because she also lived there with Isabeau for that year and a half. And she rides home fine now, although for about 2 years, she did not. She would bounce and buck and rear little rears and leap sideways because (I think) she was eager and anxious to get back to her friends and eat hay. Windy does not ride home calmly. Well, she does, for the most part. But suddenly, with no warning at all, she will leap sideways, flinging her head wildly and bolt. She's easy to stop, but still . . . it's very unnerving. She's not a bit hot. She rides along perfectly until suddenly she is airborne and all over the place. And for several years, she'd ride like that going home. So I took @egrogan's advice and simply got off and led her home that short distance from my neighbor's house. And over the years, she got better until she could safely ride me home solo after riding with my friend. My neighbor is elderly and at times has had some bad falls trying to mount or dismount, so I want to be at his place when those things are happening.

I thought this morning, when I had to ride solo, that I would try out my technique that worked so well with Isabeau. I knew that years ago, Windy was a total brat trying to ride home from his place, but for about 3 years, she's been just fine. I hoped for the best.

Windy did the first pass up and back perfectly. But I discovered that once we got to my neighbor's house, Windy wouldn't leave to go home. It made me realize that for Windy, everything needs to be the same. And after arriving at my neighbor's house, we normally open the gate, go in, watch him mount his horse April, and then ride out together. We DO NOT get to the gate and turn around and go home. We go in the gate. And Windy wasn't going to do anything but stand by the gate waiting for me to unlatch it and go pick up April. I really had to get after her to leave and go home. She kept swinging back to the gate. "Mom! We go in here! We don't leave without April. Stop telling me to go home! We don't have April with us!"

Finally I got her to leave, and she rode home as nicely as she normally does. I thought we had figured out a solution. Nope. The second ride back to the neighbor was a bit jumpy, but OK. On the ride home, Windy was very jumpy. The third time was really wonky. And heading home, Windy leaped, banged my nose with her neck, bolted, and was just downright awful. I realized that Windy is a creature of habit. When things deviate from what we always do, she falls apart. Or else she was just plain mad that I was torturing her by letting her think she was done with the ride. Anyway, my plan failed.

I rode her around in the yard near the other horses for about 10 minutes, and then rode her in the sacrifice pen (which she has always done just fine) for another 20 minutes. Every other winter, I have just ridden her in the sacrifice pen when it has been her turn and I am solo. I really hoped, since I was able to ride her out for hours this summer, that this winter we could manage the same thing. I think what I am going to have to do is lead her to my neighbor's and back about 6 times.

Another idea I have is to ride her in the hayfield and woods across the street for 30 minutes and then lead her home. One thing I do not want is a broken nose, and I really think if I push this too much, I will end up with my nose broken. It is still a bit sore from 2 weeks ago when I thought I could ride her down the trail for an hour and a half and she was awful several times on the way home and she bashed me hard twice.

 

[phantomhorse13]

I have months of catching up to do.. back in September, I went down to North Carolina for a ride. I rode Lapco. The whole story is in my journal.

2021 mileage
...

9/19	phin	1.01 miles	52 ft climb	3.1 mph	70F	1275.01 total miles
9/23	lapco	6.19 miles	489 ft climb	4.1 mph	65F	1281.20 total miles
9/24	lapco	52.41 miles	4859 ft climb	6.1 mph	74F	1333.61 total miles

 

[weeedlady]

@phantomhorse13 yay! so glad you were able to get back in.. I've been worried about you and missing your posts!

In my world we have had deep snow and then rain, which makes slush and ice, then more really wet snow, then more rain. I can't ride on the roads. I've set my goal for 2021 at 400 miles and I only need 3.2 more miles..... Raven and I can do this- I will just ride around the "backyard" one day this week.

 

[phantomhorse13]

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin doing rehab walks:

George:

Amish:

2021 mileage
...

9/26	phin	1.01 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	68F	1334.62 total miles
10/1	phin	1.02 miles	56 ft climb	2.9 mph	67F	1335.64 total miles
10/3	george	6.63 miles	682 ft climb	4.9 mph	76F	1342.27 total miles
10/3	phin	1.00 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1343.27 total miles
10/5	phin	1.01 miles	52 ft climb	2.9 mph	65F	1344.28 total miles
10/6	george	10.04 miles	1522 ft climb	4.7 mph	74F	1354.32 total miles
10/7	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1355.33 total miles
10/8	george	2.8 miles	269 ft climb	5.0 mph	73F	1358.13 total miles
10/10	amish	6.91 miles	1042 ft climb	4.2 mph	68F	1365.04 total miles
10/11	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.0 mph	70F	1366.05 total miles
10/13	george	3.03 miles	322 ft climb	4.3 mph	72F	1369.08 total miles
10/14	phin	1.05 miles	62 ft climb	3.0 mph	68F	1370.13 total miles
10/14	amish	10.25 miles	1250 ft climb	4.4 mph	81F	1380.38 total miles
10/15	george	4.58 miles	469 ft climb	4.6 mph	88F	1384.96 total miles
10/16	george	2.78 miles	299 ft climb	4.4 mph	80F	1387.74 total miles

 

[milady133]

View attachment 1122021

I'm curious. What kind of harness is your horse wearing in the picture? I mean the strings going through the backside. I don't think I have seen them before.

 

[phantomhorse13]

What kind of harness is your horse wearing in the picture? I mean the strings going through the backside. I don't think I have seen them before.

That is breeching. You often see it on pack saddles vs riding saddles, though it seems to be fairly popular with some mule riders and is becoming more common with distance riders. It helps to keep the saddle and the girth/cinch from sliding forward.

 

[milady133]

That is breeching. You often see it on pack saddles vs riding saddles, though it seems to be fairly popular with some mule riders and is becoming more common with distance riders. It helps to keep the saddle and the girth/cinch from sliding forward.

Oh, thanks! So the function is similar to what I've seen here in Spain known as "baticola":

https://www.centralhipica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/baticola-caballos.jpg

 

[phantomhorse13]

Oh, thanks! So the function is similar to what I've seen here in Spain known as "baticola":

https://www.centralhipica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/baticola-caballos.jpg

Here, that would be called a "crupper." It, too, will keep the saddle from moving forward, but it does not effect the girth/cinch at all. Some distance horses wind up with rubs by their elbows from the girth moving forward and getting pinched, so a crupper would not help that problem but breeching will.

 

[charrorider]

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin doing rehab walks:
View attachment 1122053
View attachment 1122065
View attachment 1122083

George:
View attachment 1122064
View attachment 1122066
View attachment 1122067
View attachment 1122081

Amish:
View attachment 1122069
View attachment 1122078

2021 mileage
...

9/26	phin	1.01 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	68F	1334.62 total miles
10/1	phin	1.02 miles	56 ft climb	2.9 mph	67F	1335.64 total miles
10/3	george	6.63 miles	682 ft climb	4.9 mph	76F	1342.27 total miles
10/3	phin	1.00 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1343.27 total miles
10/5	phin	1.01 miles	52 ft climb	2.9 mph	65F	1344.28 total miles
10/6	george	10.04 miles	1522 ft climb	4.7 mph	74F	1354.32 total miles
10/7	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1355.33 total miles
10/8	george	2.8 miles	269 ft climb	5.0 mph	73F	1358.13 total miles
10/10	amish	6.91 miles	1042 ft climb	4.2 mph	68F	1365.04 total miles
10/11	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.0 mph	70F	1366.05 total miles
10/13	george	3.03 miles	322 ft climb	4.3 mph	72F	1369.08 total miles
10/14	phin	1.05 miles	62 ft climb	3.0 mph	68F	1370.13 total miles
10/14	amish	10.25 miles	1250 ft climb	4.4 mph	81F	1380.38 total miles
10/15	george	4.58 miles	469 ft climb	4.6 mph	88F	1384.96 total miles
10/16	george	2.78 miles	299 ft climb	4.4 mph	80F	1387.74 total miles

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin doing rehab walks:
View attachment 1122053
View attachment 1122065
View attachment 1122083
I'm glad the reason why we haven't heard from you is due to computer malfunction. I've had that situation happen to me and I've had to switch search engines. For example I can't get access to HF using GOOGLE.
George:
View attachment 1122064
View attachment 1122066
View attachment 1122067
View attachment 1122081

Amish:
View attachment 1122069
View attachment 1122078

2021 mileage
...

9/26	phin	1.01 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	68F	1334.62 total miles
10/1	phin	1.02 miles	56 ft climb	2.9 mph	67F	1335.64 total miles
10/3	george	6.63 miles	682 ft climb	4.9 mph	76F	1342.27 total miles
10/3	phin	1.00 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1343.27 total miles
10/5	phin	1.01 miles	52 ft climb	2.9 mph	65F	1344.28 total miles
10/6	george	10.04 miles	1522 ft climb	4.7 mph	74F	1354.32 total miles
10/7	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1355.33 total miles
10/8	george	2.8 miles	269 ft climb	5.0 mph	73F	1358.13 total miles
10/10	amish	6.91 miles	1042 ft climb	4.2 mph	68F	1365.04 total miles
10/11	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.0 mph	70F	1366.05 total miles
10/13	george	3.03 miles	322 ft climb	4.3 mph	72F	1369.08 total miles
10/14	phin	1.05 miles	62 ft climb	3.0 mph	68F	1370.13 total miles
10/14	amish	10.25 miles	1250 ft climb	4.4 mph	81F	1380.38 total miles
10/15	george	4.58 miles	469 ft climb	4.6 mph	88F	1384.96 total miles
10/16	george	2.78 miles	299 ft climb	4.4 mph	80F	1387.74 total miles

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin doing rehab walks:
View attachment 1122053
View attachment 1122065
View attachment 1122083

George:
View attachment 1122064
View attachment 1122066
View attachment 1122067
View attachment 1122081

Amish:
View attachment 1122069
View attachment 1122078

2021 mileage
...

9/26	phin	1.01 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	68F	1334.62 total miles
10/1	phin	1.02 miles	56 ft climb	2.9 mph	67F	1335.64 total miles
10/3	george	6.63 miles	682 ft climb	4.9 mph	76F	1342.27 total miles
10/3	phin	1.00 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1343.27 total miles
10/5	phin	1.01 miles	52 ft climb	2.9 mph	65F	1344.28 total miles
10/6	george	10.04 miles	1522 ft climb	4.7 mph	74F	1354.32 total miles
10/7	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.1 mph	72F	1355.33 total miles
10/8	george	2.8 miles	269 ft climb	5.0 mph	73F	1358.13 total miles
10/10	amish	6.91 miles	1042 ft climb	4.2 mph	68F	1365.04 total miles
10/11	phin	1.01 miles	56 ft climb	3.0 mph	70F	1366.05 total miles
10/13	george	3.03 miles	322 ft climb	4.3 mph	72F	1369.08 total miles
10/14	phin	1.05 miles	62 ft climb	3.0 mph	68F	1370.13 total miles
10/14	amish	10.25 miles	1250 ft climb	4.4 mph	81F	1380.38 total miles
10/15	george	4.58 miles	469 ft climb	4.6 mph	88F	1384.96 total miles
10/16	george	2.78 miles	299 ft climb	4.4 mph	80F	1387.74 total miles

 

[charrorider]

Hauled the horses to the trailhead and then rode through the woods to reach the river. It has been several years since I rode this trail. Beavers have been busy.

 

[phantomhorse13]

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin on his rehab walks:

George:

Honey:

Bee:

2021 mileage
...

10/17	honey	5.0 miles	722 ft climb	3.6 mph	46F	1392.74 total miles
10/18	phin	1.01 miles	59 ft climb	3.3 mph	40F	1393.75 total miles
10/19	george	9.10 miles	1490 ft climb	4.9 mph	60F	1402.85 total miles
10/20	link	0.37 miles	12 ft climb	2.7 mph	52F	1403.22 total miles
10/20	george	6.03 miles	689 ft climb	4.6 mph	70F	1409.25 total miles
10/21	phin	1.02 miles	59 ft climb	3.1 mph	46F	1410.27 total miles
10/23	george	3.04 miles	276 ft climb	5.6 mph	54F	1413.31 total miles
10/24	bee	10.59 miles	548 ft climb	5.7 mph	52F	1423.90 total miles
10/25	phin	1.02 miles	56 ft climb	2.8 mph	64F	1424.92 total miles
10/25	george	4.07 miles	459 ft climb	5.0 mph	75F	1428.99 total miles

 

[phantomhorse13]

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin on his rehab walks:

George:

Bee:

2021 mileage
...

10/28	george	9.20 miles	1302 ft climb	5.0 mph	64F	1438.19 total miles
10/28	phin	1.07 miles	59 ft climb	3.4 mph	52F	1439.26 total miles
10/31	bee	8.76 miles	1362 ft climb	5.0 mph	53F	1448.02 total miles
11/1	phin	1.51 miles	98 ft climb	3.0 mph	38F	1449.53 total miles
11/2	george	5.02 miles	978 ft climb	3.9 mph	41F	1454.55 total miles

11/3	phin	1.58 miles	121 ft climb	3.1 mph	36F	1456.13 total miles
11/4	george	9.08 miles	1549 ft climb	4.6 mph	50F	1465.21 total miles
11/5	link	1.08 miles	43 ft climb	2.8 mph	33F	1466.29 total miles
11/5	phin	1.58 miles	135 ft climb	3.0 mph	45F	1467.87 total miles

 

[weeedlady]

Did it! Raven and I took what will probably be the last ride of 2021 today. We did just 3.9 miles in our backyard so that I could get my ytd total to 400. 200.9 with Raven and 199.9 with Tucker.
It's not a lot of miles compared to some but it's a record for me and I'm quite pleased with it.
And just look what a glorious day it is. 25F and sunny. Just a little bit of wind occasionally to make the snow fall gently from the trees. It was pretty magical.

 

[phantomhorse13]

Great job @weeedlady! Perfect way to end the year.

 

[phantomhorse13]

More catch up. I had the final event of the season at the beginning of November. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin's rehab walks:

Link:

George:

Honey:

2021 mileage
...

11/7	bee	15.53 miles	312 ft climb	6.0 mph	50F	1483.40 total miles
11/8	link	0.42 miles	13 ft climb	2.2 mph	54F	1483.82 total miles
11/8	phin	1.63 miles	92 ft climb	3.0 mph	64F	1485.45 total miles
11/9	link	1.03 miles	59 ft climb	2.9 mph	51F	1486.48 total miles
11/9	george	5.26 miles	614 ft climb	4.7 mph	61F	1491.74 total miles
11/10	link	1.64 miles	92 ft climb	2.9 mph	44F	1493.38 total miles
11/10	phin	1.59 miles	90 ft climb	2.9 mph	46F	1494.97 total miles
11/14	honey	1.75 miles	203 ft climb	3.4 mph	41F	1496.72 total miles
11/15	phin	1.57 miles	98 ft climb	3.2 mph	29F	1498.29 total miles

 

[egrogan]

Taking stock of the year in the saddle, I can't say it was the best we've had. We fell short of our mileage goals, and sadly our endurance attempts didn't go the way I'd hoped. The weather turned awful Thanksgiving weekend and we didn't end up riding in December at all because we've had ice all month- I can't think of the last time I didn't ride at all during December. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in how the year went, but at the same time, I like to end the year thinking back about the best rides of every season. I had fun pulling together a couple of pictures from each part of the year to post.

Winter 2021...The winter was snowy, cold, and icy. We mostly puttered around near the house, and did some handwalks of a couple of miles at a time just to break the boredom.

Spring 2021...Spring came early, and muddy. But temps felt warm pretty early on, and we tried to get back into shape. The year held so much promise, with big plans!

Summer 2021...So. Much. Rain. If I had time to ride, it rained. If I couldn't ride, it was sunny. But slowly, steadily, we took advantage of the nicer days to build up the miles. We attempted our first couple of intro endurance rides. Had some snafus with trail markings and my riding buddy's horse. We gained a lot of experience and had a lot to think about.

Fall 2021...Fall was slow to come, and it seemed like all the rain earlier in the year was going to give us a lousy foliage season. But one day a switch flipped, and the foliage came in beautifully. Managed to ride a lot with friends during the fall and show off our beautiful state to people who visited. It felt nice to just ride for the fun of it, not trying to "get ready" for endurance.

2021 MILEAGE GRAND TOTAL: 490.8
Here's to happy trails in 2022! Thanks to everyone on this thread who has shared their rides all year. I love seeing other people's adventures!

 

[phantomhorse13]

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin's rehab walks:

George:

Honey:

2021 mileage
...

11/16	george	7.03 miles	883 ft climb	4.8 mph	36F	1505.32 total miles
11/17	phin	1.58 miles	112 ft climb	3.2 mph	40F	1506.90 total miles
11/18	george	6.19 miles	758 ft climb	4.8 mph	62F	1513.09 total miles
11/19	phin	1.59 miles	118 ft climb	3.1 mph	27F	1514.68 total miles
11/20	honey	5.03 miles	594 ft climb	3.9 mph	44F	1519.71 total miles
11/22	phin	1.58 miles	121 ft climb	3.0 mph	34F	1521.29 total miles
11/24	phin	1.58 miles	115 ft climb	3.0 mph	24F	1522.87 total miles
11/24	george	9.66 miles	1519 ft climb	4.8 mph	35F	1532.53 total miles
11/25	honey	6.46 miles	991 ft climb	3.8 mph	34F	1538.99 total miles
11/26	phin	1.61 miles	113 ft climb	3.1 mph	28F	1540.60 total miles
11/30	phin	1.58 miles	118 ft climb	3.2 mph	30F	1542.18 total miles
12/1	george	4.39 miles	276 ft climb	3.9 mph	36F	1546.57 total miles
12/2	phin	1.64 miles	131 ft climb	3.1 mph	32F	1548.21 total miles

 

[phantomhorse13]

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal:

Phin's rehab walks:

George:

Honey:

Amish:

2021 mileage
...

12/5	phin	1.77 miles	69 ft climb	3.4 mph	34F	1549.98 total miles
12/5	honey	6.16 miles	928 ft climb	3.8 mph	40F	1556.14 total miles
12/6	george	2.67 miles	200 ft climb	5.5 mph	45F	1558.81 total miles
12/7	phin	1.59 miles	108 ft climb	3.2 mph	36F	1560.40 total miles
12/9	phin	1.6 miles	118 ft climb	3.1 mph	38F	1562.00 total miles
12/9	copper	0.4 miles	3 ft climb	2.9 mph	42F	1562.40 total miles
12/10	copper	1.66 miles	82 ft climb	3.5 mph	40F	1564.06 total miles
12/12	honey	7.88 miles	1296 ft climb	3.7 mph	34F	1571.94 total miles
12/13	phin	1.57 miles	121 ft climb	3.1 mph	32F	1573.51 total miles
12/13	george	5.01 miles	630 ft climb	4.2 mph	35F	1578.52 total miles
12/13	amish	4.94 miles	735 ft climb	4.3 mph	35F	1583.46 total miles
12/14	phin	1.58 miles	131 ft climb	3.0 mph	40F	1585.04 total miles
12/15	george	6.37 miles	965 ft climb	4.5 mph	37F	1591.41 total miles
12/16	phin	1.57 miles	112 ft climb	2.9 mph	55F	1592.98 total miles