Ride 'em like you stole 'em!

Well, at least that seems to be how many of the riders at yesterday's ride seemed to ride. The winner of the ride from Al Shahaniya Stud averaged around 25 km an hour. There were others who went faster that were pulled. I have to admit that these horses all looked strong and I don't know their histories, but I am sure many of them are veteran endurance horses. I liked what I saw for horseflesh (and this time saw very few underweight or skinny horses). Al Shahaniya and Al Shaqab teams dominated the top 15 spots that pay money (I don't have final results for the entire ride as we were exhausted, called it a night and went home early, which was about 10:30 p.m.). I can say that of the first 15, Al Shahaniya won 3 placings (1st, 5th and 6th) and Al Shaqab won 6 (3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th). It looked almost as if Al Shaqab were pairing their horses and perhaps they were, but they did not all arrive at the same time, though they were within 1-3 minutes of each other. They also had 15 horses entered! :) Al Shahaniya had only 4 in the 80 that I could count. None of this is official, of course, just placings as of the time Nelson and I gave it up and went home. It's about an hour and 15 minutes from Al Khor.

My biggest complaint and issue with their methods here, in addition to the speed, is the ICE WATER. They literally pour buckets and buckets of ice water on the horses, not only on their necks and shoulders, but over their back and hindquarters as well. The less organized teams with less experienced grooms (or perhaps it was less well-disciplined because I know those grooms have been doing this a few years) literally rush the horse, 4 or 5 at a time, and start throwing water at it. ICE water. I wanted to throw a groom or two myself right into those barrels of ice water. And then they panic and wonder why the horses are jumping around and their pulses won't come down! One groom was in such a rush that he grabbed his rider's horse as he came up, the rider jumped off, started to loosen the cinch (some of them actually know to do this), and the groom started trotting off with the horse....the poor horse was so discombobulated by the rush of activity, conflicting messages from groom and rider and people rushing at him with buckets, that he literally fell to his knees! He was ok (and he was one we helped crew and so did not get the massive amounts of ice water and not over his hindquarters and also managed to show the grooms how to scrape the water they were pouring off the horse...this lasted for that one horse...they did not repeat what they had learned, although I saw the rider do so when he came in again). Unfortunately, we were busy with other horses when he came in and he got the ice water treatment from the grooms (in spite of reprimands from the rider, too). Pulled for lameness. Gee, ya think? What really bugged us the most was watching the horses come in SOUND and then go lame when the ice water treatment caused them to cramp up. It makes me want to scream!

So, what else can I say? It is soooo hard not having a horse to ride. But, we met more people yesterday, and even better, saw more that we KNOW already. It was nice being there and being recognized and greeted as old friends. Everyone couldn't believe I don't have a horse to ride yet. Well, who knows what the future will bring? I am hopeful, but if I have to ride for someone else, they will have to let me use Nelson as my crew/groom. :) We ought to put on a clinic about crewing (and we did sort of on the spot yesterday, but it went in one ear and out the other, it seems). There is so much they still don't know here, simple, common sense things-things that have been researched and that work. I sure wish we could get Susan Evans Garlinghouse, DVM, here to teach them how to properly use beet pulp before a ride to keep a horse hydrated and out of the vet tent. I didn't even venture over there except to say hello early in the ride. Later, we saw a line up of horses waiting to get in for treatment. I think because it was a night ride and had been a beautiful, warm day (if not hot...probably mid-high 80s), people were not prepared to need blankets or rump rugs. It cooled off to the mid-70s, but there was a good brisk breeze blowing that was already cooling horses off during the ride. They should know better this time of year that it could be quite cool at night! They certainly did NOT need ICE for the water, no way, no how! I also did not see any electrolyting, which seemed odd to me. Doesn't mean it wasn't happening, but I never saw it. And all of the horses I saw are allowed NOTHING to eat or drink before vetting in, not a carrot or slice of apple to get the gut sounds going, nor a swallow of water. I know they believe that allowing a horse to eat and drink will drive up its heartrate. And it can. However, I am not talking about buckets of water or feed....I'm talking about enough of something to get a horse to relax, to get its head down (which lowers HR), to get its guts working, to simply start thinking about the vet check as the place to relax and replenish. Our routine with Malik of an apple, loosen the cinch, walk up to the check, maybe grab a bite of grass and rub his head on Nelson, works successfully for us every time. Most of these horses are not looked at as individuals (perhaps the small stable of 3 or 4 horses maybe) with individual needs and quirks. What works for one may not work for another. But they are quite rigid in their ideologies here and change does not come about easily.

Two more crazy stories about yesterday and then it's back to bed for a nap for me....I can feel a little bit of a sore throat coming on (dust and wind yesterday) and am just so TIRED!

Shortly before we arrived at Endurance Village, a Land Cruiser was tailgating us, flashing his lights to get by and zoomed on ahead.....right into a roundabout where he proceeded to go up on the right side tires into a perfect Dukes of Hazzard wheelie stunt, or whatever you want to call it. He held it for at least 20 seconds, maybe longer, I'm not sure and we were sure he was going to roll it over. Then we realized that this was no ordinary driver....he MUST have done this before. Later when we told our story to others, they told us YEAH, happens all the time. Well, that was my first eyewitness account. Speaking of eyewitness accounts, on the way home, I saw another spectacular sight in the dark. I'm still not entirely sure what I saw: it was a flash, a huge flash and when I looked, at first I thought it was so bright, it must be a flare from Mesaieed, but we were far away from there by then and it was behind us. Then I thought fireworks (in the middle of the desert above the power lines?). Then I noticed it was falling downwards. It seemed to be burning up as it went and then, just as suddenly, was gone. Nelson never saw it, which is a pity. He says he only saw a bright flash out of the corner of his eye. I wondered if it might be a meteor? Nelson said "falling star." But I've never seen a falling star like this one. This was CLOSE. And BRIGHT. I'd welcome any thoughts or ideas on that one!

So, today I must finish grading essays (I did get 3 done on our way to the ride yesterday in the car and only have 10 more to go now) and get some sleep. It's review week and mid-term exams are next Saturday. How exciting! Stay tuned!!