Monday, November 4, 2013

Cruise Control

Rainy grey days are made for... RIDING. I don't know about you, but when I put my mind to it, even the yuckiest of days can't stop me from getting in the saddle.

BUT, I will admit that sometimes it is a struggle. It's so chilly and grey and cold out, complete with alternating mist and rain.... who doesn't want to shut themselves up on a day like today in their warm house with fluffy pjs, a fat lap cat, and a steaming mug of tea? 

It is tempting, always tempting, on days like today. But I am well aware of the fact that the horses aren't going to work themselves, and that winners are not slackers. It wasn't full-on raining this morning, so I decided that I better get Tre done first, before the weather changed for the worse! It was howling wind and freezing cold, so I opted to just lunge and not get on. She needs time with the saddle on doing low-stress things, so lunging down near the barn where she is comfortable is a good place to start. I did the same thing yesterday, and she was so uppity that the previous looping of reins under her stirrups did nothing for her - she just raised her head as high as she could and ran. Today, I figured I would try something different... one old elastic training fork and one blanket strap later, I had created a mini-martingale for her. (Afterwards I rigged up some baling twine to hold the whole thing up.... I win the award for most innovative cheapskate out there!)

At first, I clipped the fork to the bit and looped the reins under the stirrups again (the fork has snaps). That didn't go so well... there was running....



Bracing...



And ducking behind the vertical....




Well that's no good. I stopped her and tried again, this time attaching the fork to the reins like your typical running martingale. That went MUCH better!





Working down by the barn near her friends is probably our best option for the time being. She is very focused on the other horses when you are on her (not when you are lunging, interestingly), so that might help her mentally. Right now she just needs good experiences and consistent, quiet rides. On a nasty day like today, it's not worth it to get on. 


It started raining steadily just as I was finishing with Tre, so I decided that O was probably going to end up with the day off. She lunged yesterday for 45 minutes, motoring along at a fast trot without so much as breaking a sweat the entire time - I still wanted to ride today, but figured that it was not the end of the world if it didn't happen. Luckily for me, when I went out to feed dinner there was a break in the weather - I didn't have much in the way of daylight, but I decided to saddle up anyway and head out for as long as I could!

"As long as I could" ended up only being about 1/2 an hour before darkness and rain moved back in. I've been trying out apps on my phone to see if I can find one that I really like... none of the really good ones are made for Androids. I have one from WoofWear that is decent, but it only records rides and gives you the readout after the fact - I can't check mid-ride and see my speed or how far I have gone, like you can on Equitrack (for iPhones only). Oh well, better than nothing for now... but any suggestions on a better app for Androids would be appreciated!


Obviously I didn't go very far, with the darkness and rain setting in... I stayed in the upper field except for one loop out to the far pasture and back. We long trotted nonstop for the entire half-hour (I know, when did I pick up the term 'long trot'....), which isn't much for either of us - sometimes it surprises me how easy it is to just set the cruise control and post to infinity. I can't run a quarter of a mile, but I can trot along for ages! Obviously the mileage isn't impressive, but I am pleased that I was able to get an average for her regular trot - about 8mph. She could easily kick that up to 10mph and still be at comfortable cruising speed. 
Our ride this weekend is only 9 miles (with an additional 6, if we feel like it), which, if we were rolling along, we could do in an hour. I figure it will be more like 2 hours - I don't know what to expect from this set of trails since I've never been there, but I was told they are nice and easy. I also think I am going to choose to do the ride the barrel saddle after all... I am most comfortable posting in that for a really really long time, given my calf problems. Some of those big wide endurance stirrups are looking really tempting right now....

Also, I tried M's hack on her, and she liked this one! I think it had more stability to it, so it didn't send her into a tailspin every time it jiggled. She was happy to just motor along on a long loopy rein, and I had plenty of whoa and steering. 




It was raining in earnest by that point and she was not amused. She got pretty bored just trotting around and around and around in circles, but a quick loop out to the back field perked her up again. She will definitely be happier out trotting on the trails, where she has things to look at and friends to be with.


Now I feel as though I deserved my hot mug of tea, pjs, and fluffy lap cats!

12 comments:

  1. I am not looking forwards to gray rainy days. Sadness!

    I started out using the WoofWear app, but switched pretty quickly to MapMyHike for exactly the same reasons - this one lets you see average speed as you're going. I've not had much luck trusting the current speed - I think there's a bit of a lag in the updates, at least on my iPhone - but then again, the pony doesn't usually give me much of a consistent speed to know if that might help.

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  2. Try MapMyRun if it has it for Android, you can check distance and speed on it.

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  3. I have Run Keeper on my Android and like it.

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  4. I tried WoofWear too and didn't like it, and have also had MapMyRun and RunKeeper for my running workouts. I finally settled on MyTracks by Google - simple, accurate, and gives super detailed metrics about average pace, where you slowed down, where you sped up, etc. It's by Google but I think it's available on Apple too.

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  5. Endomondo! I love it. And for $5 you get the pro version with more stuff. Average speed. Max speed. Lap paces. Voice comes on for each mile and tells you how long you've been out and what your pace for that mile was. Graphs are available online when you complete and you can drag the cursor along and see the elevation for each point of the ride paired with your speed. And you can export the tracks into a Garmin or a spatial analysis program like ArcMap. So totally worth the $5.

    Also, all of your jerry-rigged training tools are quite the inspiration! I like to save money where I can, too, and hearing about your pursuits is a big help.

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  6. I like MapMyRun, use it for all my walks, runs and rides. The display is easy to use and it saves regular routes. There is also a voice that tells you how far/long you've been going.
    I admit, I'm a fair weather rider! Riding in the rain has lost a lot of its appeal, so my hat goes off to you for being so dedicated.

    http://mymagnificentadventure.blogspot.co.nz/

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  7. I have Endomondo on my phone and have used it on trail rides with great success.

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  8. I use My Tracks for my walks. Saves everything, gives stats, no complaints so far.

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  9. Yeah I'm a fair weather rider too. I just don't like my tack getting wet. Maybe if I had a cheap nylon bridle and road bareback I might consider it, but to be honest I hate getting wet lol.

    Forty five minutes longeing? Isn't that really bad for their legs? I was always told to longe no longer than twenty minutes. I'm not criticizing, just curious.

    Tre is looking good. I'm a cheapskate too, but I think you have me beat on creativity. :)

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  10. Yes, long lunging periods are not ideal and I wouldn't do that normally - just sometimes my calf doesn't cooperate with me for riding!

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    1. Ahh gotcha. Did you go to the doctor for your calf? It's a little unusual to have persistent cramps like that for so long... my husband was having a similar problem with his calf, but I can't remember what got rid of it. I'm useless lol. I hope it gets better soon!

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