Since the ride...

I gave Boomer a full 10 days off since the HTH ride was so hard.  Our first ride back was OK, but Boomer was really spooky and not being himself.  After a little thought I realized that he had been off his calming supplement for almost 2 weeks since I hadn't been out riding him!  I had suspected that the SmartB1 was working, but now I know for sure!  It was just one of those days where he was looking sideways at anything and everything and our hoof prints around the ring weren't exactly going in a straight line near things like piles of cones or scary doors.  

I rode him again Thursday expecting the same and was pleasantly surprised with a soft, forward horse!  Boomer was awesome today and was willing to do anything we tried!  I was thrilled with him!  He was a little 'looky' at the beginning but rode out of it quickly.  We worked on getting the trot more forward and swinging, instead of a lazy stride.  I think that endurance has really helped him find his stride as he trots out bigger for hours at a time.  His 'dressage trot' has improved and gotten a longer stride and faster tempo lately.  The canter was relaxed and trotting after the canter was much improved!  We worked on shoulder-in and leg yielding, both of which were very good.  It was actually the first time he really stayed straight for the leg yield and I actually felt him reaching under with the back leg.  It is hard to describe but it almost felt  like he was moving me over through my seat with his leg.  Like a rocking boat, the wave goes under you from left to right as you are moving forward.  That was super cool to feel what it felt like to do something right!  We also worked on trot-halt-trot transitions.  Those were a little hard, Boomer didn't want to stay straight, but he definitely has the power and push for it!  Halting square is something we need to work on more.  

I just had so much fun riding him today!  What a day!  

I am looking for someone who does custom leather work to make me new saddle fenders since mine ripped last weekend.  If you have any recommendations, let me know!  I need someone who can match oil and tooling.  Photo recommendations would be awesome!  Leave a message with the name and phone number!  Thanks!

HTH- Lake Oologah Pictures

"Put your ears up"

Riding for Team De-Lyte Bites!!!

We had to travel from camp to the trail head at 4am.  A nap was in order for the boys after I left!

Camp set up at the trail head

Untacking after loop 1

Pulse checking

Vet presentation

Trot out

Snack time!

Yum! Apples!

A butterfly landed on Boomer's rump before loop 3.

We drove back from the trail head to ride camp to spend another night before driving home.

Taking a walk before loading into the trailer to drive home

Home at last!  Boomer was EXCITED to be home!

Hotter Than Hell- Lake Oologah

We went to Lake Oologah for the first ride in the Hotter Than Hell series.  It really was hotter than hell.  On ride day, the high was around 103 and the humidity was upwards of 80%.  It was bad.  13 or 14 riders started and 7 finished.  Boomer and I came in 4th.  We were last all day until the last loop and people were just really dragging.  Boomer was doing well and we passed three riders by the time we got to the finish.  We finished with about 25 minutes left to spare and were less than 45 minutes behind the leaders.  The loops were all the same 16 mile loop with 2 miles added on a lollypop at the start of loop one.  I finished the first two loops in about 3.5 hours and the final loop in about 2.5 hours.    

The reason the trail was so slow was not just the heat.  It was also the HUGE amount of water on the trail.  The trail went around the lake and the lake went up 9 feet in the few days before the ride.  Parts of the trail were totally submerged.  We went through water up to our knees while on horseback.  It had to be 4 feet deep in places!  These were not just 30 foot wide river crossings either.  They were entire sections of trail.  We were knee deep for 5-8 minutes at a time for probably 8 times during the ride.  The water was deep enough that the horses tails were floating out behind them.  I have NEVER seen anything like it in my life!  

The water was both a blessing and a curse.  It was the reason that we were out in the sun for so long, but it also saved many horses from heat exhaustion.  Without the water, I don't think anyone would have completed.  Though, because of how much it slowed the ride down, we had to trot or canter everything else to make time.  The downside to this was that walking through chest deep water isn't exactly a 'break' for the horses.  

At the vet checks everyone was taking almost the full 30 minutes alloted to reach pulse criteria.  The horses were all hot and panting.  5 riders pulled on their own and two were pulled for not reaching pulse criteria in time.  None needed veterinary treatment.  Everyone rode this ride very well and was smart about taking care of their horses.  Those who finished truly learned the difference between and endurance race and an endurance ride.  This ride was not a race.  People stopped being competitive after the fist loop and just focused on riding their horses within their limits.  

On the final loop, I noticed that my right stirrup fender had a small tear in the leather.  I joked to John that I would be back in camp without a stirrup.  Guess what happened 5 minutes into that loop.  Yup.  Lost my right stirrup.  My plan had been to ride loop 3 as fast as I could to make time because we had an hour to pulse down at the finish.  I was suddenly so thankful for all of the riding lessons from my childhood.  We used to have to post the trot for an entire hour long lesson while the instructor shouted out 'drop both stirrups', 'pick up the left stirrup', 'post with right stirrup only'.  The reasoning was that if we were in the show ring and lost a stirrup, our posting trot should not lose tempo and we should pick the stirrup back up without faltering so that the judge would never know what had happened.  Well, that was a well learned lesson.  At about mile 12, my legs started getting sore and I started sitting the trot more.  At mile 14, my left stirrup broke.  I went the final two miles to the finish line with both of my stirrups hanging on my saddle horn.   

Upon arrival to the final check, it took just over 30 minutes to pulse down and we vetted through with mostly A's and a few B's.  

This was the hardest ride I have ever done and I am so proud of Boomer for being such a trooper!  He worked so hard and encountered a lot of new things.  He learns so much every time we do an endurance ride.  There is nothing like the stresses of competition to get a horse well trained.  

Great News!!!

John and I have been having a very hard time with the prospect of moving back to Bartlesville.  We just love Lawrence so much.  We have lived here for a year now and the newness hasn't worn off.  We love being surrounded by educated people, having community activities every weekend, and limitless local food options!  We love the parks, restaurants, and shops.  Lawrence is one of those places where you feel right at home no matter who you are around.  The past few weekends have been host to an art festival in the park, the annual tamale festival, and a folk music festival in the park.  

Getting the news of another job transfer made John and I fall in love with Lawrence all over again.  We started noticing the little things that we took for granted, visiting restaurants we love more frequently.  We were just trying to soak it all up before we left.  

We talked about starting our own family and what it would mean for our priorities.  We would rather raise kids in Lawrence.  We love the progressive attitude and kid friendly activities.  The school districts are great.  

We started doubting our decision to accept the position.  John didn't want to back out for fear of stymieing his career.  I didn't blame him.  We knew there would be trade-offs.  We could get land and be closer to family.  But we were still sad.  It felt like a huge loss.  

Then, after nearly a month of waiting, we found out some great news!  

We get to stay!!!

Corporate decided that Lawrence needs engineers more than Bartlesville and has decided to give John one of the other open positions here in Lawrence.  It seems that the Bartlesville plant is being slowly phased out and there is a chance they may not even fill the position John was looking at.  

To say we are ecstatic would be an understatement!  We are so thrilled!  I am so thankful that we get to stay here!    

Family visits

John and I have had a lot of fun family visits this summer!  We love having guests at our house and showing them the lovely town of Lawrence!  

My mom has been up to visit a few times and we make an amazing strawberry-rhubarb pie with rhubarb fresh picked the day before in Minnesota.  

While she was here we had a huge flash flood and our yard looked like this for an hour:

We have a creek just behind our fence and the water in our yard was running rapidly.  At the highest, I think it was up about 12-14 inches!

Mom also came out to the barn to visit and got to see Boomer!

We have also had John's sister's family up to visit for John's Birthday.  We had a blast with his sister, her husband and their two kids!  We adore our niece and nephew and had so much fun with them!  Kami is almost 3 and Xander is almost 1.  They came out to the barn to see the horses because Kami LOVES horses.  I had nothing to do with that, I swear.  It surely wasn't the pony rides and horse books.  Or subtle hints about horses being the best animals ever.  I asked Kami what she knew about horses and she said "Horses are gentle".  I almost fell over dead.  That girl is the cutest thing I have ever seen!  

We are so lucky to have such great family!  

Trail ride!

The last few days of riding have been really fun!  

Over the weekend John came out to ride with me on our friend's horse, JJ.  John wanted to have a 'lesson' in the arena to work on posting the trot.  I have to say, he did really well and caught on quickly.  I think it really works in his favor to have such strong runner's thighs.  He wasn't getting 'left behind' the motion as badly as most beginners do when learning to post the trot!  He was enthusiastic and had a good time!  This was the first time he was sore from riding and he finally realized how difficult it must be to do that for 50 miles!  This ain't no walk in the park, sweetheart!  I LOVE getting to ride with John.  He is so fun!  I rode Boomer while I helped John and I was so proud of my little pony!  He just did whatever I asked without spooking or looking at anything!  I was so thrilled when I realized that I hadn't been paying attention to Boomer at all and he was still just packing me around like a champ!

I rode Boomer on Monday and he was just a little resistant at first.  Not soft in the bridle at all.  I was a little irritated at first, but I spent a little extra time at the walk and he warmed up into it and we had a good ride.  For whatever reason, he just needed a longer warm up.  

I usually only ride every other day because Boomer can get cranky if he is over ridden (in his perspective, haha).  However, I got bored on Tuesday and went out to ride him.  Turns out, he was in a great mood and his work ethic was ON ON ON!  I rode in the outdoor arena and he was very forward, in a very good way!  His trot pace is usually much slower in the arena than on the trail but he was giving me his 'race pace' trot, so we went with it.  We did a little cantering as well and he was forward enough that I went up in 2-point and let him gallop a few laps around the arena.  How fun!  I loved feeling him ramp up!  Too bad the arena was too small to really let him go!  After about an hour, I decided to turn the day into an aerobic training day and we just kept trotting.  I took him out to the large roping arena and let him long trot some more at race pace for another 40 minutes or so.  I think we rode total for about 2 hours at race pace trot with a few minutes of hand galloping.  He did great for me!  

I had planned to give him a few days off after that, but the barn ladies wanted to go for a trail ride today so we saddled up and headed out again today!  We had a blast and walked 90% of the time.  We did some trotting and cantering in the open fields.  We were out for around 4 hours.  We had a group of 6 horses: 2 warmbloods, a lippizan, a QH, a TWH/foxtrotter cross, and an Arab!  What a mixed group!  Boomer was awesome.  No prancing, nervousness, or head tossing.  I have zero to complain about!  I used renegades on his front hooves as he is bare right now and sensitive on gravel.  So, I put them on for the .75 mile walk to the trail head, took them off for the trail, then rebooted for the walk home.  He did great with that plan and I didn't lose any boots!  

Smile, Boomer!

JJ in the front, Chunky the Lippizan to the right, Flanny the Grand Prix schoolmaster in back.  I got to see Flanny do a series of 2 tempi lead changes on the trail.  He must of done at least 10 of them.  It was awesome!

Here is Charmy the TWH/fox trotter on the left and Cambria the WB on the right.

We stopped to play in the water a few times!  Fun!

Yay Boomer!  

Summer time!

The heat of summer is officially here!  Temps in the upper 90's and high humidity.  I used to think Oklahoma was humid, it is nothing compared to Kansas!  My glasses regularly fog up when going outside here.  Thats a strange sensation, for sure!  

Boomer is doing really well.  I was getting a little bored with things after a while and decided to try some flying changes!  While, I am no dressage pro or trainer I figured it couldn't hurt to try!  I did teach my old horse to do changes and I also taught a few polo horses to do changes as well.  Polo horses always need to be on their right lead because that is the mallet hand and the side which carries most rider weight.  So, I taught a few mares who preferred the left lead how to do flying changes to help them make the switch faster if they got off balance on the field.  My way of teaching the flying change is to canter a small (15 meter?) circle and then switch and make a figure 8 while asking for the new lead.  If the horse doesn't get it right away, urge him forward and make the circle smaller.  They will switch when they feel off balance, usually within the first 1/4 of the circle. 

Boomer did really well with this and cross cantered a few time, switching leads in front but not back.  No big deal, just keep circling until he switched all around.  I was surprised that he didn't get anxious at all for this whole process.  He really seemed to be trying to figure out what I wanted.  I did get a few good changes in both directions.  I assumed his changes would be very big and expressive, but they were so subtle that I kept having to look down and see if he had changed!  Next time I will braid his mane up to make it easier to see his shoulders.  I probably will only work on this once a week at most, as I don't want him to get overly worried about not getting it yet.

The next time I rode I went out in the big roping arena (200x300ish) for the first time.  I put draw reins on him because it was a new area and there were a number of scary things (cattle shoots, mechanical bull , etc).  He did very well and I was surprised at how quickly he adapted to the new stimuli!  He seems to really be growing up and getting more 'broke'.  The barn has a fake cow 'heel-o-matic' that they can pull behind a 4-wheeler that bucks its legs up as it moves.  It was stored in the back corner and Boomer definitely noticed it.  I circled near it for awhile and then he was just over it.  I was very surprised by that!  At the end of our ride, I had him on a loose rein and actually had him go between the fake cow and the rail!  He hesitated for a second and then went on through like a pro.  I am really pleased with how much he is improving, both in performance and demeanor.  

After our ride in the outdoor, I went for a mini- trail ride with my friend on her Andalusian stallion after she finished her lesson.  We went out for just a few minutes, but it was a very nice break for both horses.  Boomer was very well behaved and an exemplary trail horse!  I am just so proud of him lately!  

As for our future plans, we plan on doing the Hotter Than Hell series in Oklahoma this summer.  There is a chance that we will have moved by then.  At the very least, John and Boomer will be moved and Charley and I will be trying to sell the house!  Who knows?

Don't forget to order De-Lyte Bites for your horses!!!

Expect the unexpected!

Lots of big news around here!  

First off, my De-Lyte Bites business is taking off in a big way!  I am offering an 8 serving bag (32 cookies) for $5.  I can ship up to 5 bags at a time for a flat rate of $10.  

The next big news is that John and I are moving again!  John was offered a promotion, which is great, but its back in B-ville.  It is definitely a bitter-sweet feeling.  We were so happy to leave Bartlesville for Lawrence.  We have only been here a year, but the newness hasn't warn off.  We LOVE Lawrence!  This is a good career move for John and we are learning to look at the long term in our decisions.  One thing we learned from our time in B-ville last year was that we needed to be closer to Tulsa.  So, this time around we are looking for property just north of Tulsa.  We will be much closer to family, friends, and culture.  We don't have any final dates yet, but it will be sooner rather than later.  

I'm not sure how the move will effect my endurance season yet.  I am hopeful that we can still go on as planned, however I am prepared for the financial crunch that buying a home always puts on a family!  If nothing else, an upside to moving to Oklahoma is that we won't have to get a health certificate for all of the rides in the state!  There are plenty of rides in Oklahoma and NONE in Kansas, so I was always having to pay an extra $60 per ride for the health certificate!  Thats a bonus!      

I know this blog is supposed to be about Boomer, so here is the latest on my guy!  Boomer has been doing wonderfully!  I have been riding him about every other day and he is doing great!  He is consistently in the bridle and seeking contact.  He has discovered the joy of stretching his neck down on a trot circle but comes willingly back up to a working frame.  He no longer roots the reins or fights contact.  His gaits are regular and rhythmic.  His canter has improved tremendously.  We are working on canter serpentines and figure eights with changes of lead through the trot.  I have no complaints about our progress!  He got his shoes taken off after our 2 day 100 mile ride and I trimmed them today.  They look great and you can't even tell he had shoes on.  I am so happy with how healthy his hooves are!  

We have lots of changes coming up this summer.  Seems like the summers are always busy times for me.  Two years ago I got Boomer, last year we moved to Kansas, and this year we are headed back to Oklahoma!  

Hang on for the ride!

Always the same, always a surprise

I am constantly amazed at how well Boomer does with time off.  I hadn't ridden him in 10 days when I decided to hop on for a short, easy schooling session yesterday.  I expected him to be full of himself and a little rusty on the basics, but he was better than ever!  I don't get it!  He just loves time off!  He went right to work and was easily and readily giving to pressure.  We had a nice long warm up on a long rein, then did a little more collected/lateral work, and then just a few minutes of trot and canter work.  He did awesome and I was so proud of him!  His post-canter trot work is really improving and he settles down right away if I give him a ton of things to do, mostly just zig-zagging from letter to letter across the arena.  We cooled out with some great stretchy trot circles and then walked on a long rein and practiced walk/halt transitions.  I was absolutely thrilled with the ride!  It took everything I had to not go back out to ride today.  But, I know he wouldn't be as good and I also have a ton to do around the house today.  

The De-Lyte Bites business is going very well!  I have had an overwhelming positive response and I have been shipping samples all over the country from Auburn, CA to Louisville, KY!!!  Most of my interest has come from endurance riders, polo players, and pleasure riders.  As far as sales go, I really think that most of my sales will come from events where I market in person.  Shipping is just so high it is hardly justifiable to pay as much for shipping as you pay for the product.  So, my goal is to make it to as many events as possible.  I plan on donating a few bags to each event I go to as prizes and then self-promoting throughout the day.  My 'aiming for the stars' goal is to get picked up by a distributor like Long Rider's Gear or Distance Depot.    

A question for my readers:  If you were purchasing De-Lyte Bites, would you rather have lots of size options for packaging or just one size?  I am debating between offering single serving (4 cookies), 12 serving (48 cookies), and 24 serving (96 cookies) sizes or just offering a 12 serving size and using the single serving size as a promotional offering.  I, personally, am leaning towards just offering a 12 serving size just due to packaging constraints.  What do you think?

As always, let me know if you want to try a sample.  Those of you who read this and also have your own blog, contact me if you are interested in doing a review in exchange for a free sample!  People are generally either doing reviews on palatability or efficacy.  If you have an event coming up and would like to use my cookies instead of your regular electrolytes, please contact me!  

De-Lyte Bites

Hello all!  I am in the process of starting my own business!  I think I have a product that will be useful to many of my readers!  

The idea for an electrolyte replenishing cookie has been floating around in my head for some time now.  I just assumed that horses wouldn't eat such a salty cookie.  So, I did some thinking and taste testing- and here we are!  

The concept behind the De-Lyte Bites is to make life easier for owners of equine athletes.  Being an aspiring endurance rider, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole, over-involved process of dosing with e-lytes on the trail.  You have to pre-mix your e-lytes with applesauce, then put them in individual tupper wares, once on the trail you have to dismount, fill the syringe, and dose the horse.  Most horses I have seen do not enjoy the process and many riders see it as a necessary annoyance.  Honestly, I have avoided the whole process by adding powdered e-lytes to Boomer's food at vet checks.  However, he didn't seem to like that and ate around the powder.  The other downside is that electrolytes are most effective if given in small, frequent doses.  

I knew there had to be a better way.  

Enter, De-Lyte Bites!!!

I have designed De-Lyte Bites to be a full serving of a balanced electrolyte mix per every 4 cookies.  So,  you have a single dose in 4 cookies to take out on your trail loop.  You can easily grab a cookie from your saddle bag every few miles and give the treat without dismounting!  Your electrolyte doses will be spread throughout the event and you won't have to waste time with dosing syringes.  The cookies are firm and sturdy, they won't smash or crumble in your saddle bags.  How much happier will your horse be when you give him a cookie instead of a syringe?

The electrolyte mix I am using is a pretty standard endurance blend.  It contains 5880mg sodium, 4200 mg potassium, and 600mg calcium per 4 cookie serving.  This is almost identical to SmartLytes and many other e-lytes on the market.  Right now, my packaging is limited but my goal is to offer 24 dose bags (96 cookies) for $8.  This is $.33/per serving which is right on par with most powdered e-lytes on the market.  I encourage you to pull up SmartPak's electrolyte comparison chart and compare my cookies with their products.  

De-Lyte Bites are an alfalfa, oat, grain, and wheat based cookie.  They contain molasses for flavor and to help things 'stick'.  For those worried about sugar content, each cookie contains less than half a teaspoon of molasses which is less than 4.5 grams of sugar per cookie.  This is about equal to the sugar in a peppermint candy.     

For me, the most important part of all of this is palatability!  I made a few batches of cookies and took them out to the barn.  Not a single horse turned up their nose and they all came right back for a second and third cookie.  I was afraid that the salty flavor would be rejected, but it was quite the opposite!  

I am so thrilled that I have found an easy solution to the whole electrolyte dilemma!  In fact, I am so convinced that this is the best idea since sliced bread, I want to share it with everyone!  Which is why I am doing what I am doing here.  I am in the very beginning stages of production and should have my packaging supplies within a week.  If you want to try a sample, check out my website and fill out the contact form or contact me through email at heather@de-lytebites.com.  I will get a sample to you as soon as possible.  Make sure you let me know what you and your horse think!   

Oh, and these aren't just for endurance horses!  Eventers, dressage horses, or any horse who sweats could use a little electrolyte replenishment!  

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