Saturday 26th The Susk and I participated in our second 1* 80km endurance.  This time I new we´d get some speed up. Our first 1* we trekked through deep sand dunes and switch-back type trails through a forest.  All very hard work, all very pretty (!), but impossible to do at speed. But remember, we won and took the BC trophy :)

It was a hot, oh but twot day.  A field of 5 similarly classed and prepared horses, so it was going to be a great competition.  The first phase we averaged 22.36 kph finishing 2nd.  On two different occasions I realised I´d stopped breathing - concentrating so hard on pointing TWB on the best possible path - because the girl just puts her head down and ´goes´ without a care for where she puts her toes, and the path was "nasty" (railroad sharp stones, concrete, asphalt, and compacted hardcore).  Fortunately I realised before I keeled over LOL

At the end we finished 3rd, with 0.80 kph time difference between us and 1st place, but just looky-looky at our recovery times.

Now am I crowing?  Of course, just a little.  We have overcome many hurdles over the past few years, with my health and a couple of injuries to The Susk.  We have been totally ridiculed for competing with no shoes nailed to our horses feet.  People have been so disparaging and downright rude they have done so just shy of right in my face.  I also have not rushed my horse through the ranks, as too many riders do, preferring to have a horse that is still around, and fit to compete for many years, not burnt out after a couple. 
Nothing I do, I do lightly.  I make sure I am as well informed as I can possibly be.  Fortunately my husband has supported me through all my studies, and what, initially, over 12 years ago now, appeared a totally hair-brained idea to him.  For that I must thank him from the bottom of my heart. 
I think I can truly say I practice what I preach.  I have not only proven this with my lovely barefoot beauties, but also developing my own feed (along with a well known Spanish manufacturer), to provide the complete package for unshod horses.  Equilibrium - Hoof & Heart (of course) is the fuel that got Suska to this level of fitness - along with our training and her naked hooves

There is nothing like a full hay barn to make me relax.  Hay ´shopping´ is a nightmare at the best of times, but this year, with very little rain since last April, it is even worse.

Every year, for the past 16 years, I have had the same conversation with one supplier - "I have really lovely hay, full of grain", he informs me.  Again and again I explain to him that once gone to grain it´s of little interest to me as I want a forage high in fiber.  He protests that everyone loves it when it´s full of grain. I make it quite clear "I´m not everyone"!

Once a forage runs to seed the fiber content is seriously depleted.  The mainstay of a horses diet, that forms muscle and gives them energy is the fiber and protein that comes from their forage.  Ideally that will consist of a mix of natural grasses and meadow plants, often medicinal.  On the Whole Horse Protocol courses you learn exactly why the fiber is lost when grain is formed and how you can provide a selection of medicinal plants for your horse to self-select.  Because we are realistic.  In this day and age lush meadows, untouched by chemicals, with a good selection of plants, just don´t exist.  A quality hay provides all a horse needs to survive, and survive well.  We only need to supplement that with hard feeds if asking a lot of work from our horse.  And I mean supplement the hay, not the other way around.  So many people feed 6/7 kg´s of hard feed (grain based) and only 3 or 4 kg´s of hay daily to their horse - then wonder why they get poor performance, their horse readily sweats with little work and most likely suffers a colic every now and then!

No photos for our first ride to the beach of the year :(  Well, it wasn´t planned (always the best way really!) and it wasn´t the afternoon either - whilst we´re clearing things up!

This morning was beautiful.  Family home for the holiday so we went for a slightly more relaxed ride than is our usual training mode.  Flim Flam Frangi Pan (Autistic Anni) is an absolute diamond as her rider left her to choose the pace and the direction, because they were too busy catching the sun on their face and chitty chatting the head off all the rest of us - mentioning no names LOL  The Susk was very happy to go in chill-out mode, though still preferred being at the lead.  Q-T has yet to learn chill-out mode, despite having been with us a year now.  I guess 9 years of being shut away about 95% of the time and being made to run like the wind the other 5% will take some undoing.  It´s all good.  He will when he´s ready.  All we can do is give him the tools and let him choose when and how to use them.

en·dur·ance
enˈd(y)o͝orəns/Submit
noun
noun: endurance
1.
the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.
"she was close to the limit of her endurance"
synonyms: toleration, tolerance, sufferance, forbearance, patience, acceptance, resignation, stoicism More
stamina, staying power, fortitude, perseverance, persistence, tenacity, doggedness, grit, indefatigability, resolution, determination;
formalpertinacity
the capacity of something to last or to withstand wear and tear.
Origin

late 15th cent. (in the sense ‘continued existence, ability to last’; formerly also as indurance ): from Old French, from endurer ‘make hard’ (see endure).

Last Saturday 5th March we participated in the II Raid La Breña (Barbate, Cádiz).  First time ever for a 1* for The Susk and we faced a real, oh boy I mean real, endurance circuit. The trees closed in on us and the sand swallowed us up - literally it felt.  Exposed roots, twists and turns like a fairground ride, up and down hills, and boy oh boy, then down some serious sand dunes where we sank up to our knees (I have no great urge to get out my bucket and spade anytime soon!) Kilometre after kilometre of deep sand sure took it´s toll on the girls. I have never known TWB to drink so much - but hey we still WON & took the trophy for BEST CONDITION.
Personally I love this kind of competition.  For me this is what endurance is all about.  You and your horse resisting the elements, being in complete harmony, knowing when to slow down, when you can speed up, reading your horse, knowing exactly what they can give you and what you need to give to them. 
The Susk (AKA The White Bullet) only has two modes - campo or competition.  At home and before and immediately after a competition she is one super laid back dolly, the ´bi-polar pony´ converting into a lean keen endurance machine the moment we prepare to leave the start line.  Subsequently the minute she crosses the finish line she stops, at the nearest bucket, which happened to belong to someone else on Saturday and was empty!  LOL  So, the mountain came to mohammed and the only other part she will play is performing the final trot out.  Just gotta luuurve that girl, and she completed the 88 km´s of circuit COMPLETELY BAREFOOT and bitless.

The changing of the hour at the weekend has completely upset my week.  My body just hasn´t gone with it this time!  Subsequently I have lost a lot of hours this week, but not least because we now have 2 new horse babies.  Yes, Mumu Mama gave birth to our second colt on March 19th, after Lula dropped her´s on March 10th.  Two stunning foundation Appaloosa boys.  Two very good excuses to loose hours every day, getting foal kisses and scratching perfect little bottoms!