[RC] Pine Tree 50: Impressions from a Rookie Rider with a Rookie Horse (Part II) - Sharon Kenney
When we arrived back at the fairgrounds for our
last (20 min) hold, I went right over to the buckets I'd set next to the barn
earlier. There was a row of people standing
along the half-wall of the barn, leaning on the wall and looking out. I
sponged Zephyr quickly and looked at my HRM. It said 60, but I didn't know
if that was its last reading before I moved out of range, or the current one
reading. I hoped it was current, and went right to P&Rs. He
squeaked in with a 64 after a moment or two. He got B's on gait,
impulsion, and attitude, and A's on the rest. CRI of 64/60. We went
back to the buckets, and some of the people in the barn talked to me as I
sponged him. Don't remember what we talked about. One of
the guys noticed Zephyr wasn't drinking while I sponged, so he came out of
the barn and held a bucket up for him to drink from. He made a joke about
how at this stage in the game, even horses didn't want to have to do anything
for themselves. ;) I hadn't removed the bridle because it was such a
short hold, and the guy mentioned that Zephyr wasn't able to drink very well
with the bit in his mouth. I looked closer, and sure enough, even though
he was sucking hard, he wasn't getting much down his throat. My helper
pulled his bridle off and Zephyr stuck his whole head in the bucket and drank
about 3 gallons. Good boy. The peanut gallery (I mean that in a nice
way!) asked if I'd been e-lyting him, and I said yes I had been, but that at the
first hold I hadn't because he hadn't been drinking. They suggested that I
e-lyte him now that he'd had a good drink. I couldn't, because the other
syringe was in my hold bag. "Where is your hold bag?" "In Irving's
truck." "Well, I will hold your horse. Go get the syringe - you have
to e-lyte him now." (Gotcha, yes sir, will do!!) When I got
back, the helpful guy had walked Zephyr out of the commotion and was feeding him
some hay. Hey y'all, whoever you were, THANKS!! Later, I'd tried to
find the guy who'd been so helpful, but couldn't. If you're reading this,
please consider yourself thanked thricefold. :)
Zephyr was pretty bummed about having to ride out
again on the last 5 miles, but since his saddle hadn't been removed this time, I
think he kind of expected it. His pulse was still higher than usual, and I
was kind of worried. He was hanging over 100 even when we were
walking. Which we did a lot of on this loop, by the way! I hoped he
was just tired and hot... I squirted water on his neck whenever he dried off,
but eventually the bottles came up empty even though I had stopped drinking,
myself, in order to leave the water for him.
When we rode back onto the fairgrounds' property, I
made sure I wasn't last. I didn't want the turtle award! I think it
was Pam, then me, then Margaret (all close together) and finally Irving about 50
feet behind.
I noticed that Margaret and Irving stopped and
sponged at the barn, without removing their saddles, but I knew I had a better
chance of getting Zephyr under 60 if he was nekkid. So with Steph in tow
(friend who had finished the 30 with her hubby Bill), I headed up to my trailer
(pulse of about 80 at this point) and stripped him down. It was then
that I saw it. The strap of his right hind Easy Boot had slipped up over
his heel, and rubbed him raw!! I took the rest of the boots off first,
then tried to get that last one off, but Bill ended up having to cut the
strap with surgical scissors. As soon as the boots were off, Steph checked
his pulse with a handheld and he had dropped to 44 or so. I rinsed his
heel off with cool water, grabbed him and headed for P&Rs.
His pulse was nice and low, and he got all A's
except for B's on guts and skin tenting. The CRI was good - 52/52 I
think? He was perfectly sound.
I took him back to the trailer, set him up with
hay, water, and beet pulp, and quickly grabbed some dinner to bring to
the awards, which were in 10 minutes.
Somehow, I ended up with the Turtle Award after
all. (For those who were there, THAT'S why I looked so confused... I'd
been told that the Turtle Award went to the last person across the finish line,
and so I had made sure I wasn't last!) But that's OK, it's a very
nice turtle statue that someday when I have a garden, I will be happy to display
there.
Again - thanks to Tom and Kathy for a great first
experience; and thanks to everyone who answered my questions or helped me
out. :) Y'all are a great bunch of folks... one of the reasons I
chose this sport.
