Blog Hop: Racknabout Stable

Aarene Storms has challenged us to take her Blog Hop Challenge, so here goes.
Instructions:

• Answer the questions (below) on your own blog, and leave a link to that post in the comments here.
• In your post, invite readers to answer the questions on THEIR blogs, and link those blogs to yours AND to here.
• Let's see how far this can travel!
• Pictures!  Let's see lots of pictures of people and horses!

*  Introduce yourself!

*  Introduce your horse(s)!

*  What's your favorite horse sport?  Do you cross train in other activities?

*  Who else in your family rides?

*  What's your proudest equestrian accomplishment?

*  What was your lowest moment as a horse owner/rider?

*  What's the most important small thing you ever learned in a lesson?

*  Do you have any riding rituals or superstitions?

*  What are your short term goals for yourself/your horse?

*  Long term goals?

*  If time and money were no object, what is your dream equestrian vacation?

*  What kind of horse activities were you doing 10 years ago?

*  What kind of horse activities do you think you'll be doing 10 years from now?

*  What is the quirk about your horse that you like most?

____________________________________________________________________

*  Introduce yourself! I'm Patricia Clark. Lifelong equestrian. I have been riding endurance since 2008. I am also a high school social studies teacher and have a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. 

*  Introduce your horse(s)! My main man is East Meets West, standardbred extraordinaire. He has over 1500 AERC miles. My back up horse and Eli's side-kick is ND Jazeb Faserr, my black arabian gelding. I also have a speed racking horse stallion, Indiana Ram Jam. Rocky mountain horse, Golden Dust. Tennessee Walking Horse mares, My Precious Star and Twilight Revelation.

Ram Jam

 East Meets West

 ND Jazeb Faserr

*  What's your favorite horse sport?  Do you cross train in other activities?

Endurance. I have always done natural horsemanship training and pleasure riding. 

*  Who else in your family rides?

My sister. 

 

*  What's your proudest equestrian accomplishment?

Finishing the Alabama Yellowhammer 75 on East Meets West and the Biltmore 100 on Sierra Bey Wind. 

 

*  What was your lowest moment as a horse owner/rider?

The day that my heart mare had to be put to sleep due to an aneurysm that left her partially paralyzed. 

 

*  What's the most important small thing you ever learned in a lesson?

Always listen to my gut. The one time that I had a horse get into metabolic trouble with thumps, I did not listen to my gut that something just wasn't right. 
 

*  Do you have any riding rituals or superstitions?

I always have a successful endurance ride if I injure myself in some way the week prior! You don't really want to see a picture of any of these!

*  What are your short term goals for yourself/your horse?

Stay healthy and enjoy rides as they come. I'm also trying not to put pressure on myself to reach ego-based goals. I always strive to put the horses first. 

 

*  Long term goals?

Decade team with Eli. Three seasons to go!

 

*  If time and money were no object, what is your dream equestrian vacation?

Trip to Australia!

*  What kind of horse activities were you doing 10 years ago?

Trail riding (much more than a normal person) and breeding racking horses. 

 

*  What kind of horse activities do you think you'll be doing 10 years from now?

Endurance!

*  What is the quirk about your horse that you like most?

He "snortles." When anxious or very relaxed, he makes this little fluttering/snoring sound that is quite adorable. 

 

2016 Update

Well, I have to say that I have been extremely negligent on the blog this year. So, I'm going to give a photo rundown of what has ended up being a very successful year after our scare at Leatherwood. Eli is 100% and doing the best he ever has.

Biltmore 30 on Muscalotti owned by Rebecca Johnson

The morning after my Graduation from Gardner-Webb University with my doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction, I drove straight to Biltmore and had a really fun ride on Lotti.

In August, I ventured out to California and did my bucket list ride at Redwood National Park. I was honored to ride Champagne Supernova, a wonderful singlefooting gelding. We completed the 50 mile ride and had so much fun in Orick, CA.

Back on the East Coast, Eli and I conquered the very tough South Mountain 50 on our home turf. Wildfires have destroyed a majority of the trails recently, so these photos are very bittersweet. There are some pictures of Jazeb marking trail as well.

It was Jazeb's turn after that for a super fun ride at Sandhills Stampede in the 25 mile ride and he also did 30 at JDs Carolina ride and finished 8th.

 Eli wrapped up the year with a romp in the Broxton Bridge 25. Tons of horse and tons of fun.

Arrythmias, Tachycardia and a trip to NC State University

Just an update for those of you following Eli's condition after Leatherwood. He had an arrhythmia during the ride that was probably an electrolyte imbalance and it cleared up completely a few hours after the ride was over and the vets were not worried about it as his other parameters were good and he finished the ride bright with a great trot out. After getting him home and while checking to make sure his heart rate continued normally, I discovered that his heart rate had stayed elevated in the lower 50s. He was eating, drinking, peeing, and passing manure normally. 

I took him to the vet early in the week and we ran blood work. His electrolyte levels were all normal but he had a slightly high hematrocrit indicating some level of dehydration and/or a splenic contraction during the ride which is not abnormal. When his heart rate continued as an elevated tachycardia for the rest of the week I opted to take him to NC State for a cardiologist to evaluate his heart. Luckily, his heart met all normal parameters via a detailed ultrasound and his ECG was normal. He pretty much had all the vets stumped including the vets at State. We discussed a couple of things that might be causing it but we haven't been able to confirm anything at this point. (Possible abscess brewing, low magnesium which sometimes doesn't show up well on tests). So, my instructions were to take him home and watch and wait and continue electrolytes daily to make sure he is drinking well. I've been taking his heart rate twice a day. It is always 4 beats higher on the evening reading. Today, he is at his best levels so far, 40 this morning and 44 this evening. He is feeling really good and fingers crossed that his heart rate continues to steadily improve each day.

So, naturally he is out for the South Mtn 50 in a few weeks and he'll be on vacation for several weeks as I continue to monitor him. Odds are that his next ride won't be till fall given how quickly it gets hot here.

Lesson learned, always monitor your horse's heart rate for up to a week following an event. If I had not been checking for a possible arrhythmia then I would not have known he had an elevated heart rate since he was acting so normally. I will continue to update on his condition as I hope it can help others to learn. If anything is true about endurance, we never stop learning. In our 8th year of competing together, Eli and I are continuing that journey.

Leatherwood 2016

Itchy and Eli enjoying the quiet accommodations at the Trail Barn 

Our Leathewood 50 journey this year has been quite a whirlwind. This was our first ride back for the season and it proved a reunion of sorts for all my friends, both old and new. Laura came in from California to ride Mary Howell's great gelding Shiloh (he is 24 years old). Tim and Lara were there, with Lara riding Slick with us in the 50. Dody rode Itchy in the 50 and Sarah and Deb rode Puff and Sasha in the 25.

 Sasha and Deb

 Eli and I taking some mountain pictures

 Friday before the ride

Braiding Itchy's tail

The weather was lovely for the ride. It topped out at 69 on ride day and there was a nice breeze blowing over the mountains. 

Dody, Lara, and I started off in the 50 near the tail end. Our goal was for completions all around and to enjoy the majestic beauty of Leatherwood mountains. The first loop took us up on the mountain and then down and around to Elk Creek. Eli about fell down a few times in the river. I think his Easyshoes do not have good traction on wet rocks. He made it through though and we got a great ride picture. 

Eli, Slick, and Rusty crossing Elk Creek

Photo John Pearman

He felt strong and was definitely very fit. We came into the vet check and he got really good scores but Doc Duane looked at me and said his heart-rate was irregular. We conferred on electrolyte protocol and I was doing all the same things that I normally do. He was getting a dose of Lyte Now before each loop, during the long loops and again at the next check. He did not eat very well on the first hold but he started picking up on the second loop. I took him back to Duane so he could listen to his heart one more time before we left and he told me he was fine and he would see me on the next check. Needless to say, I was worried.

 Photo Becky Pearman

 Photo Becky Pearman

If they had not told me about the irregularity, I would not have guessed it from his performance. He tackled the hills and moved out when it was safe. The trails were in amazing shape and as dry as I had ever seen them. The three of us stuck to our plan to ride steady and conservative and the horses were looking great. 

At the second check, Doc Otis checked Eli. I told him what Duane had heard on the first hold and he listened carefully and said it was probably an electrolyte imbalance. He said to keep a close eye on him and to carry on. He had all As at that check. He ate with gusto at this check and drank really well. 

The last loop was a killer. There were some really steep climbs for horses on their last loop and it took us about 90 minutes to get through the first 6 miles of hills. Once we got up on the ridge we were able to move out. Eli was stopping for grass at every opportunity. At this point, Lara was concerned about Slick because he wasn't wanting to eat and was panting a bit. So, we slowed up a bit more and stopped more often for grass breaks. As we finished the out and back, Slick perked up knowing we were heading for home and we made good time down the mountain. We finished together at 6:19. Everyone hopped off and we walked the horses back into camp, letting them graze a bit on the way in. Doc Ann checked Eli at the end and she commented on how great that Itchy and Eli both looked at the end of such a tough 50. She and Duane listened to his heart again. She instructed me to listen to it every day for a few weeks. If it was still there the following day, she recommended taking him in for an ECG. Atrial fibrillation is more prevalent in Standardbreds than other breeds. Luckily, he seemed to return to a normal rhythm by dark that evening. It sure did give me a scare though. On reflection, the only thing that is different is I had started him on Amplify about 6 weeks ago. I'm going to take that back out of his diet and we are going to see our local vet for bloodwork and follow up this week.