A Fine Horse in New Country

Rating The Pace and other Musings

As well as working on the ol'cardio-vascular stuff on our training rides, we have also been working on perfecting other trail skills, which I hope will make the long ride a more pleasurable experience. Things like 'stand means stand', however long it's for...enabling me to work out where I am on a map or to have a conversation with a passer-by, or to nimbly (ahem) vault on from a handy vantage point. The boys are pretty good at this now and will generally sigh and go to sleep, allowing me to concentrate on other things.

A second skill I've been working on is developing good manouevrability of the pack horse - not as easy as it may sound, but it's important to be able to place the second horse just where you want him. Sometimes I want his head up at my knee for better control (for example travelling along a road, where the packhorse is between my horse and the verge). I don't want him any further ahead than that though, otherwise the packsaddle bangs my leg somewhat painfully - and the boys then like to play the 'MY nose is in front' game, which in the early days led to us proceeding along at warp speed pretty quickly!

Sometimes I want the packhorse following directly behind - for example where the path is narrow. The packhorse learns to not tread on the heels of the one in front - or worse, playfully bite his bum! Negotiating gates and other obstacles while mounted with a packhorse means being able to quickly manoeuvre the horses where you want them - I use voice commands for forward, back, sideways right and left - like for the old ploughhorses. Each command has to be proceeded by the name of the horse it's aimed at, too, otherwise both boys start shuffling about in an equine pas de deux. I started this training in hand and it has taken a lot of practice, especially as right and left has always been a challenge for me - the ponies are better at it! Initially it took ten times longer than simply getting off, but we're getting good at it now.

One of the other things I have been working on is speed - not in a Pony Express kind of way (!) but in covering the ground reasonably briskly. I believe that it is muscularly better - and probably mentally more interesting - for the horses to vary the pace with some walking and some trotting. Cantering is very hard on a packhorse except for very short distances - being 'dead weight' the bags start to swing and bang him, however well they're packed.

Walking must be brisk. Luckily both Doogs and Yeoman are naturally good walkers - I would have difficulty in riding a horse which walked more slowly than I do. Increasingly, we are walking briskly up more demanding hills - I look for the ponies to be using their bodies effectively by pushing themselves from behind, rather than pulling themselves up from in front. It does take a while for the muscles to develop for a horse to be able to do this for any length of time.

On the contrary, I want the trotting to be rather slow - to stop the packs banging about which would happen in a brisk trot, and also to keep it at a speed which the boys can happily keep up over long distances, where the track is suitable. So we've been working on a slow trot, almost a jog-trot, which is comfortable for them and me. It's not a collected trot as a dressage rider would understand it - the ponies are not on the bit in full collection, and I'm not looking for that degree of engagement and power. However, they are carrying themselves in a slightly shortened frame, not slopping along on the forehand, and although the riding horse is on a loose rein (and the packhorse on a long leadrope) they are still moving in good form, with their backs up and not dropped. As you can imagine, this takes muscular development also on their part.

My reasoning behind this is that by moving in this way their backs are protected over long periods on the road, as well as being supremely comfortable to sit on.

How fast is too fast? I rely on guidance on this matter from the buxom chest with which the Lord saw fit to endow me! When it starts to wobble - well, that's too fast. Sorry if that's no help to you.

More use to you might be the information that the German Cavalry used to split up a day's march (32 miles) thus:

AM: About 2 miles at a walk (half an hour). ( My Note - this is reasonably brisk walking)
About 2.33 miles at a trot ( quarter of an hour);
About 2 miles at a walk (half an hour);
About 4.5 miles at a trot (half an hour);
About two miles at a walk (half an hour);
About 2.33 miles at a trot (quarter of an hour);
About 2 miles at a walk (half an hour).

The morning's march was 17 miles in 3 1/2 hours with half and hour for short halts. After a Grand Halt for two or three hours, this was repeated in the afternoon.
From: The Cavalry Horse and His Pack, Being the World's Most Comprehensive Military Study of Equestrian Travel by Lieutenant Jonathan Boniface (first published 1903 www.horsetravelbooks.com)

Compact Corral Kit

As I have discussed here, staying overnight with horses brings its own challenges - particularly being certain that your mount is still there in the morning!

On my last few camping trips, I have used a home-made fencing corral, which although it did the job just fine, was a little fiddly to erect and awkward to pack and carry - not too much of an imposition if you have a pack horse, but impossible if you've only got a riding horse.

After discussion with the ever-helpful Bill at Electric Fencing Direct in Balfron, they have designed this corral which looks like it will be just the job - and at 2.5 kilos, much much lighter than my home-made Blue Peter effort.

Looks like I won't be lying awake wondering where Doogs and Yeoman are! Of course, the use of this corral depends on having a horse or pony which respects electric fencing - luckily the boys are good in this respect.

If it's of interest to you, they can be contacted at www.electric fencing.co.uk

Preparation update
Our fittening continues - much easier now with decent weather and plenty of daylight. We have logged a LOT of hours now, and the results are starting to show, with improved stamina all round. The boys are full of enthusiasm (bit too much sometimes!)

Doogs is still being ridden barefoot, although he is due to be shod in the next few days. I have mentioned before how lucky I am to have excellent grassy tracks like this one next door - we have several routes which together notch up about 10 km, with plenty of hill work and have not had to do anything on the road. The reason he has not been shod over the winter was to give his feet a chance to improve after many stoney tracks and bouldery river crossings on last year's trips...and improve they have, immensely! The quality of horn is unrecognisable and I am particularly amazed that his frogs have doubled in width. A little 'ouchy' when his shoes were first removed in October (at that point I used Old Mac boots for riding in, for his comfort) - he now strides confidently over any ground.

Although I wouldn't do a trip like this summer's barefoot (too much in the way of roadwork and stoney tracks, for too long) I will certainly repeat the 'shoes off' experiment over the winter again. It seems to have suited him, together with careful and regular trimming, biotin supplement in his feed, and some good old -fashioned Cornucrescine a couple of times a week. His feet look in the best shape ever and hopefully will hold up well to the rigours ahead.

Once he has his shoes on, we will be able to start ranging further afield to add some variety into our fittening. Most of the current work is ride and lead: I ride one out, swop over halfway, and ride the other one back. In addition, the boys do a couple of sessions a week in the school to keep them flexible.

The five-year old who is the 'Plan B' packpony if either of the guys need a wee break this summer is also undergoing a fittening regime (and loving it). In fact she's miffed if it's not her turn. This will be the first time she has been fully fit, so the work is mostly LSD - that's long slow distance, not a drug, as well as accustoming her to carrying packs, even when branches brush them or she has to negotiate through narrow spaces. It also hardens up her muscles, ligaments and skin, so that hopefully there won't be any soreness, if she has to take a turn on the trip.

So at the moment the ponies are shaping up well - I spend most evenings feeling exhausted though, which is not so encouraging!

Hello Mum!

This little guy was born today (17th) after a long and anxious wait. As I said in a previous post, Mum has been showing every sign of foaling any moment for a while. Today found her straining - but no foal.

Normally foaling is very quick (a few minutes) - in fact it's unusual to see it. It's much more common for us to find a mare in the early hours with a foal beside her. However, things looked far from right this morning - the only consolation being I could see the foal moving inside Mum, so at least I knew it was alive.

Closer inspection revealed that the front feet were presented as normal for foaling - but alas they were upside down! In fact the foal was twisted right round - definitely a case for the vet.

It's not often we have to help a Highland foal (not like our noncy thoroughbreds...) but this mare simply wasn't going to manage on her own, so the colt was turned and then helped out with the aid of ropes.
The mare was given antibiotics and painkillers, just as a precaution, as well as a shot of Oxytocin to encourage her to pass the last of the afterbirth.

All ended well, and the colt is now on his feet and has found the 'milk bar'.

As the foal names begin with 'F' this year, he 's called Finlay - short for Fin(al)ly!

Gravity

Anyone who has ever had anything to do with packhorses knows that gravity is the most immutable law. A moment's carelessness in saddling or a badly balanced load means there's a wreck a-coming. Be sure that Isaac Newton will always find you out!

What Isaac doesn't explain though, is Yeoman's mane. Hogged last year to compete in cob classes (as he exceeded 'Highland' height some time ago), I decided to grow his mane back in for the Big Trip as I felt it would offer him more protection. Something to hang on to when he's having an 'athletic moment', too!

It's growing all right - straight upwards like a skyrocket. He reminds me of those Roman soldiers with the helmets which have the hair sticking up. Hopefully by July it will have tipped over and look a little more mane-like - meanwhile he continues to look like he's stuck his hoof in the electricity socket.

Welcome, Flora of Caenlochan!

This little filly is our first foal to put in an appearance this year. She is by Oakley of Whitefield, a young stallion - this is his first crop of foals, and out of our senior mare Morag of Caenlochan. She is a delightful character, very bold and friendly - even though she's not quite sure what colour she's going to be yet! The in-house veterinary adviser suggests a new colour, 'tartan dun' - but experienced friends think she will go bay like her Dad when her foal coat comes out.

Foals will often change colour - a good indicator of their final coat colour is to look at the colour round their eyes. That will often tell you what the rest of the coat will become.

Hopefully Flora will have a playmate soon: Pepsi has been threatening to foal for some days now, with a full bag of milk and wax dripping from her teats - usually a sure-fire indicator that foaling is imminent. Not in Pepsi's case though - we keep thinking 'surely tonight' but so far, nothing, although she's as big as a whale. It's common for the mares to foal in the early hours of the morning, when the world is quiet, although we have occasionally had them foal during the day. Regular checks at the moment - they foal in the field here.

Access Matters
With just 11 weeks to go to the start of the big trip, life is getting busy, trying to get everything organised. I have had a lot of help from various council access officers regarding access for horses on various parts of my route. These guys are on the whole knowledgeable and helpful: you can find a list of them covering all the different areas of Scotland here.

From The Angry Corrie website:
"Local authorities now have the power to act - indeed are required to act - on illegal and inappropriate signs, path-blockages and the like. So if you encounter a Scottish access situation about which you're concerned, just work out which council area the obstruction or whatever is in and then contact the relevant officer."

As the relevant Land Reform Act legislation is relatively new, I personally don't expect all access everywhere to be set up for horse riders! What I do hope is that estates and access bodies will do their reasonable best to assist me with access, whether that be unlocking a gate to let me through, perhaps temporarily boarding over a cattlegrid if there is no other way across (although I give plenty of notice - I don't expect people to drop everything to instantly help) , or giving me accurate advice as to the state of the ground/path. Not everywhere is suitable for horses, or ever will be - that's my responsibility to check out.

That's my take on it anyway - and generally I have found that honey traps more flies than vinegar: ie polite and courteous requests for help (with reasonable notice) means that landowners and recreational users can co-exist harmoniously. That's the theory - you may wish to follow my blog en route to see how it works out in practice!

For March News, click here.