Burro Mtn Challenge Story (long)

[Cheryl Newbanks <horsetrails@inficad.com>]

Well to start I'll tell ya how the ride from hell can actually be the
absolutely best ride of the season for me!  Thanks to a well managed and
totally enjoyable ride management group they turned what could of been not
so fun into the best vacation I've had all year!   Burro Mtn is beautiful,
the ride was held at the Burro Mtn Homestead by ride manager Mac Mandeville
and co-manager Frank Kenny who was also the drag rider on the 60 miler.  My
horse really stresses from trailer rides and this one was a long one for
us.  It was over 9 hours to get there after picking up my ride buddies and
Blue was pretty stressed from the ride.  So we stayed back and got to ride
the whole ride with Frank Kenny, who by the way is a Ridecamp lurker, a
scholar and a gentleman!  Thanks Frank! Lancette and I really enjoyed your
company!  

The Homestead is gorgeous, I am not sure how many acres but it must be at
least 300, they lease out rv spaces to mostly retirees and they put the
ride on for us.  Boy did we get spoiled!!!!! These are the most friendly
people I've ever had the privilege to meet. And they really go all out for
their guests! They fed us a huge dinner sat night and a sunday morning
breakfast in a covered dining area called the cook shack!  We even had
SHOWERS!!!!!!!!  This was a premier ride and management did a great job for
a first time ride manager.  The VC's were well managed (of course I was
dead last so there wasn't any line:}) The trail was the best marked trail
I've ever seen too!  All in all if your looking to do a "spoil you rotten"
ride and get out of the summer heat you have to try Burro Mtn next summer.  

The trails were tough, so tough in fact I pulled at the 45 mile marker (but
I'll be ready for them next year)!  Mostly all uphill.  How the heck is it
that we went 75% of the ride uphill and 25% down??? Isn't it supposed to
come out equal???  You go down going in and come back up getting out????
HUH, maybe I missed the coming back up out part on the last 15 miles that I
didn't do?  Anyway, I knew at about 15 miles that I didn't have the same
horse I usually do under me.  He had no get up and go.  What did I learn?
Well the next time I have to trailer my buddy that far I get there early
with at least 1 day of complete do nothing but walk around and graze
recovery time for Blue.  I've been conditioning in 12 miles of sandy wash
but 35 miles or more really kicked my already tired horse's butt!  Next
thing I learned, next year before I do this ride I'll do a couple of 30
milers in our 12mile canyon before I go. But what gorgeous scenery!  We
actually rode down a purple rock canyon!!!  Yes, we got pictures too! At
vc2 we did a CRI on Blue and he was 64/64, that was how I determined to go
on but the vet and I agreed I'd probably pull him at the 3rd vc.  3rd vc he
wouldn't come down, it took him almost 45 minutes and this is a horse who
has 2 to 3 minute recoveries.  He drank really good on the ride, I
electrolyted, Fast Tracked, and carbo loaded him.  About carbo loading, it
didn't do good for my fatigued from the trailer ride horse.  I am currenlty
re-thinking my strategy on carbos.  Hey Ti, have you heard of Easy Care's
Proburst?  Anyone out there know about this stuff?

Well anyway back to my story, I pulled him and he didn't come down till he
was back at the trailer 30 minutes later!  I put him away and we went to
dinner and after dinner my ride partners Lancette Koerner and Frank Kenny
finally came back in.  They walked in the 8 miles becauser Lancette's horse
pulled up lame.  Since they cut off 3 miles of the trail they didn't get a
completion.  Bummer!  But we still had fun.  Got to go back up to the cook
shack and stayed eating and drinking till late.  The next morning the Burro
Mtn homesteaders put on a sunday breakfast for us for only $2.50 a head!
It was great food!  Also I've never been to a place where the deer were so
tame that they will come right up to you to be petted!!!  Yup the wild deer
are pretty tame around there, the retirees that feed them said that if you
don't have food out when they expect it that they'll come up to their
trailer doors and paw at them!!!  NEAT!  Cept for the bucks are probably
pretty easy to shoot come deer season.  There were tons of tall trees and
shade and a pretty creek bed that runs in the rain, which we had at night.
Over the creek were wooden bridges to cut across on foot.  

The ride home was really tough on Blue!  Next mistake, I should of gave him
a couple of days recovery before shipping home.  Coming home he wouldn't
eat or poop in the trailer for 9 hours!  He drank good though.  He was
pretty stiff and hurting all over when I dropped off Lancette, so we got
him out of the trailer, walked him around and gave him some bute.  He was
breathing heavy but not sweating, normal temp, but slow on jug and cap
refill.  We buted him because he was kinda squirmy from hurting, loaded him
back up for his last hour trip and got him home.  At home he blew me away
how smart he is, he did the most amazing thing!  I got him off the trailer,
took his shipping wraps off and turned him loose in the paddock.  Blue's
paddock is 130ftx160ft, first he went right to his pee spot and pee'd.
Good sign, but since he hasn't pooped for the whole day I stayed out there
with him.  He started eating his soaked down hay then he'd walk a circle
around his paddock, get a drink and eat more hay then do the whole paddock
perimeter walk again, over and over, same pattern.  He was actually walking
and watering himself out!!!!!  After about 1/2 hour and he was done
drinking I syringed electrolytes and fast track into him then gave him a
sloppy bran with his grain. First let me tell you that Blue was off all
grain from the minute we left home,  but the minute we were back he plowed
right into the bran, ate some hay and walked the whole circle again.  He
continued to do this walking himself out and eating pattern for the next 3
hours!!!! I've never seen a horse take such good care of himself.  My kids
checked him every 30 minutes after I came in and he was still doing the
walking.  Yesterday his legs were slightly stocked up and so were his hocks
and knees, but no heat. Today when I woke up I checked him and he had not
one single speck of filling left anywhere and no heat, he looks like he
never went a mile on those legs! This horse teaches me something new all
the time.

Anyway thanks for listening and if you ever get a chance to do a New Mexico
ride try Burro Mtn Challenge, you won't be disapointed! 

disclaimer: please excuse any spelling errors, I am currently still
suffering from DIMR! <VBG> 
   
                                  Cheryl Newbanks 
~~~           ~~ ^ ^        SW Region
~~~\      _ ~~/ /\ /        Buckeye, AZ
       (   ) __    ) ' '        horsetrails@inficad.com
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