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Jennifer, I only did the first day of DVE some years ago from Panamint
Springs to wherever---that particular experience is in the archives
somewhere as "My Stupidest Day". I made mistakes you wouldn't believe.
In the interest of you hopefully avoiding same, these are my suggestions
regarding DVE as they applied to that ONE day during ONE year (your
mileage may vary)...
1) It was incredibly cold. If I did it again, I would be prepared to
double blanket my horse. During the ride, this was the only time I have
EVER started a ride in anything other than a T-shirt---I had on every
stitch and was still cold. Be prepared with lots of layers that you can
peel off if necessary.
2_ There is no way I would have put water on Mikey during or after that
ride. Maybe scrubbing with a damp towel to get the worst off would
work.
3. If anyone still remember back, I was the congenital idiot that
showed up with a driver to drive my rig. Luckily, Jackie bailed me out
and shanghaied me a driver, for which I will forever bless Jackie's
fuzzy little heart. The bad news was that since I wasn't driving the
rig, and the gas gauge on the (borrowed) truck turned out to be broken,
I found out at the top of a mountain trying to go home that I was out of
gas. It's a long, sad and truly pathetic story that demonstrates that,
educated or not, some sorry folks shouldn't be let out in public without
a keeper and a leash. The moral of the story is this is an EXCELLENT
ride to bring an extra few gallons of gas in a gas can---and REALLY make
sure ahead of time that the spare tire is working and present, that you
have a jack and tire iron, etc. Folks at ride camp are incredibly
helpful in an emergency but DVE is in the SW Region and _I_ already have
dibs on the position of Village Idiot.
4. This would be an excellent ride to bring a rump rug to. DAMN cold.
5. Did I mention it was cold?
6. Don't be surprised if you see mustangs wandering into camp. I woke
up at three a.m. to hear hooves clicking on the rocks, thought Mikey had
gotten loose, went catapulting out of the trailer to scare the holy
bejesus out of a hungry mustang who had come slinking in to snatch a
little alfalfa. By way of apology, I left a half bale behind when I
left.
As long as you're prepared, this is a terrific ride. Have fun!
Susan Garlinghouse
>
> 1. How much water should I bring for one horse? The entry says
> riders must be totally self-sufficient.
> 2. Considering how crusty these ponies get, how should I go about
> keeping him clean if the weather is cold, windy and wet? Normally, I
> bathe him with warm water, put some coolers on him and put him in a dry
> stall until he's dried and out he goes, but for these circumstances,
> what do you do?
> 3. Should I consider trace-clipping him? I've heard that it gets
> cold enough on this ride that the water buckets ice over.
>
> Any other information and "I lived thru it, so don't you go and do it"
> stories would be tremendously appreciated.
>
> Thx!!
> Jen & the Sunman
>
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