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Wednesday March 10 2010
"Be
back at 5 or 6," I tell the herd when I open the green gate to the
canyon in the early afternoon. "Don't eat too much grass, and don't get
hurt!" They all give me the eyeball as they walk past me through the
gate, then either spread out immediately to graze, or start trotting up
the canyon to the more choice spots.
Sometimes, I think I've got
them trained nicely. Some days, they come down on their own at 5 or 6.
Some days, at 5 or 6, I stand on a little rise and I holler, "Hey
booooooooooooooooooys!" which, on a still day, bounces off the hills,
echoing far up the canyon. I'll yell a few times, and here they come in
the distance,  trotting and cantering down the road, waiting till they pass through the green gate  to blast down to the house.  I always feed Mac and Jose grain, so they know what's waiting for them when they get back.
However,
sometimes they don't come down at all. They let me stand there and
holler myself hoarse for half an hour, (and I KNOW they can hear me)
before I have to get the ATV out and drive up the canyon and find them
and holler from closer. I SEE them watching me from across the creek,
but some days they completely, absolutely, totally, ignore me. Some
days they'll watch me, then head further UP the canyon. (The nerve!)
Only when I give up near dark and drive back home do they suddenly come
running down to the house, hot on my heels. Mac and Jose know they'll
still get their grain, even if it is dark.
On the days the
timing and communication work out perfectly, I enjoy watching them
hurtle down to the house. On the days they make me wait and ignore me,
well, they enjoy hurtling down to the house when they feel like it.
They've got me trained.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Friday March 5 2010
The
golden eagle is not on the federal list of endangered species, but some
states list it as endangered, some list it as a candidate, and some
state and federal agencies are greatly concerned about golden eagle
populations. Here in the Snake River Birds of Prey Conservation Area,
the golden eagle population has declined by 30% since 1970.
Retired
bird biologist (and endurance rider) Karen S helps monitor golden eagle
nests in this area, and I've been out with her to a couple of nests the
last couple of years, by vehicle, on foot, and on horseback.
We drove out Tuesday to check on a couple of nests.
First, the new golden eagles on Bates Creek. 
They are not nesting yet, though I see them almost every day that I
drive down the road past the nest. At least one of them likes to sit on
his pointed cone on the distant rim, from where he has his eagle eye
view of the nest. Sometimes I'll see them both soaring over the creek,
and occasionally one will be sitting in a tree near the cottonwood tree
with the big nest in it. One day last week I saw one of them standing
on the nest, and a neighbor saw one of them fly to the nest with
sticks. They are still giving indications that they will use that nest,
but no egg-laying or sitting on the nest so far.
I worry about
the proximity of the nest to the road, and the traffic on the road.
Mind you, it's a dirt road, and the traffic might be 1 car twice a day,
or at the most 4 cars twice a day, but that still might be too much for
them. Anytime I slow down when one or both are in or near the nest
tree, they fly away. Perhaps they are waiting for the leaves to come
out on the cottonwood tree to shield them, in which case humans won't
even know they are there, and if we do know, we won't be able to see
them.
Or maybe they won't lay eggs at all. So far, all we really
know is that they are still interested in that particular tree nest on
the creek. We'll know soon one way or the other.
Second, the
Browns Creek canyon site I discovered on my hike. Karen hadn't known
about it, and thought perhaps it was a previously unrecorded site.
Moreover, when we went there, Karen spotted the eagle on one of the
nests 
that I'd only glanced at on my first visit, because I'd been
concentrating on the largest of the 6 nests on that cliff, the one that
looked like it was going to be used.
In
fact the eagle I'd seen fly off on that first day had probably been the
mate perching nearby, and the other eagle had likely been on the nest
and I'd just not seen her (or him - both male and female eagles will
incubate the eggs). Today she seemed not the least concerned with our
presence, hardly deigning to watch us. 
She'd picked ultimately the best positioned nest; this one got morning
sun, but not the blazing afternoon sun. Heat is a main killer of young
eagles in cliff nests; that won't happen here with this nest. It's a
fair sized nest, built up at least 3 feet over the years, partially
tucked in a crevice, and you can see the fresh (brown) sticks and
grasses on it.
Third, Castle Butte. 
Karen
was unable to check this site last year, but the previous year, a pair
had laid eggs and incubated them, but ultimately failed. The three
nests on this cliff face are directly in the sun all day - a tough
obstacle in a hot summer. Karen put her scope on the most likely nest -
one which had whitewash, and fresh 'greens' for 'decoration' (or in
this case 'browns' - since there isn't much green in the desert right
now). It's a sizable nest too, about 3-4' tall. 
We soon spotted one eagle soaring over the butte... and after a while
saw the second one soaring with it. Likely the nest was unoccupied so
far. There's still time for them to lay eggs.
It wasn't a bad golden eagle day: 5 golden eagles, 3 territories, 10 (or so) nests. But only one pair nesting... so far.
(And there are more territories to check soon.)
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Tuesday March 2 2010
Speed
through the Owyhee desert on the highway and all you see is boring
rolling desert hills dotted with sagebrush. But get a little closer to
the mountains, pick any of the big creeks coming down, and you'll find
some spectacular canyons hidden away. 
I'd
ridden across the Browns Creek drainage in places before - and in fact
one day of Steph's multi-day ride often goes this direction, but I've
only gotten to do it twice - but I'd never seen these cliffs that I
discovered last week, by driving along the ridge between the Browns
Creek and Castle Creek drainages. Spread out at the downstream side is
the wide Browns Creek drainage 
(an old homestead in the distance) that eventually empties into the
Snake River ten miles to the northeast. Looking toward the Owyhee
mountains, a dramatic, deep, narrow red-walled canyon (with running
water now) rises abruptly,  and serpentines about a mile  before ending just as abruptly on the upper end in more rolling hills.  Beyond that another mile or two is another similarly enticing canyon... but I'd save that hike for another day.
In this canyon was a sheer cliff wall that I knew just had
to hold a golden eagle nest. As I climbed down closer to the rim of the
canyon across from the cliff, I saw whitewash, and as I got even
closer... a golden eagle flew away from somewhere in the area of the
cliff.
In fact I counted five golden eagle nests on the cliff
face (they often have several within their territory, and often rotate
nests each year).  I thought that one looked like it might be in use, or was going to be used. 
I kept studying the nests and the skies but didn't see any eagles. (I
was being watched by a prairie falcon about a hundred yards away,
perched on a high rock.) The golden eagles in this area nesting on
cliffs should have laid eggs by now, and since I did see an
eagle, it was still a possibility there was a nesting pair here. I'd
have to bring my bird biologist friend back.
Driving further up
the ridge above Browns Creek, if you drop down on the correct road, and
take a left at another intersection of another overgrown road, along a
seemingly random, minor tributary to Browns Creek, you come across this
spectacular sight: an old dam!
An
old timer from around here said it was really used as a wild horse
trap. I suppose it could have functioned as one back when wild horses
roamed this part of the Owyhees; the low end of it is in quite a steep
narrow canyon, and could have served to trap a small herd.  The upper end, however, has held water at some point in its existence. 
And though there was no water coming down now - and probably hasn't had
any steady water coming down for fifty years - back in the old days the
water table was much higher and there was a lot more water, and perhaps
it did serve as a dam.
It was, in any case, probably a CCC
project. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief
program developed by Franklin D Roosevelt during the late 30's to early
40's to provide work for men who were unemployed by the Great
Depression, and to help conserve and preserve the nation's natural
resources. "C's" crews worked on reforestation (some 3 billion trees
were planted), building dams, fire fighting, and forest recreation
development. 25,000 Idahoans received jobs and training from 1933-1942.
(I've
come across evidence of a CCC camp on Browns Creek in central Idaho,
but nothing on the Brown's Creek here in southwest Idaho so far. A trip
to the Owyhee County Museum and archives is in order.)
And, in any case, this dam was no little project. 
I
used to work on trails, and I've built retaining walls a few tiers
tall. Even something that small is not the easiest thing to do, when
your materials are right at hand. Most often the materials were not
right at hand, and we spent a great deal of time searching for rocks
and carrying or rolling them to the site we were working on. And of
course the rocks usually weren't perfect; you had to shape a lot of
them, and hope you didn't break them in the process. (Or your fingers
or toes, which also happened upon occasion.)
That this dam is
still standing and likely fully functional - in the unlikely event of a
hundred-year flood - some 70 years later is a tribute to how well it
was built.
This Owyhee corner of Idaho really is spectacular country, full of scenic treasures, and hidden surprises from the past.
The Full Eagle Report will follow.
More photos at of the canyon and dam on This Page.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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<div style="float:left; padding:10px;"><img src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/object2/1211/28/n276481943449_9081.jpg"></div>
Wednesday March 3 2010
Gary Sanderson's horse Amigo, who was <a href="http://theequestrianvagabond.blogspot.com/2010/02/amigo-one-amazing-horse.html">impaled by a tree branch</a> on January 17 and who has been fighting courageously for his life since at the University of Tennessee Large Animal Clinic had another serious setback yesterday.
After pulling through several crises over the weeks, Amigo was strong enough to be scheduled for one more surgery to remove one abscess that hasn't gone away with antibiotics.
He collapsed during surgery. "Both lungs collapsed," Gary reported. "they lost him. They were able to get him back and then put him to sleep via IV drugs. He is having an extremely rough time getting through being out cold!" Gary's girlfriend Kara reported Amigo looked the worst he'd looked throughout the whole ordeal.
Gary and Kara seriously discussed euthanizing Amigo, but once again, Amigo pulled through; by evening his bloodwork looked good, he was stabilized, and he was standing on his own.
You can follow Gary and Kara's daily updates on Amigo on Facebook at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&story_fbid=377719199621&id=1279847831&n_m=merri%40endurance.net#!/pages/Amigo-One-Amazing-Horse/276481943449?ref=nf">Amigo - One Amazing Horse!</a>
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Monday March 1 2010
The Wagon Wheel Homestead on Brown's Creek was our destination today.
We'd
approached it from the north side of Brown's Creek one day last year,
but we'd come to a locked gate and were only able to look down on it.
There are no locked gates on the other side, so we thought we'd try to
get there from the south side.
We did our reconnaissance on a
map and planted the route firmly in our heads, then lit off southwest
toward the Owyhee mountains. Karen recalled some of the way from the
June Almosta Bennett Hills endurance ride that used some of this trail.
Close to the mountains we turned southeast  on a 2-track road near the base of them. 
The snow had just melted off this road. Horse hooves slipped and sunk
in the mud, and we did a lot of walking. We crossed the three big
drainages: Little Hart Creek, Hart Creek, 
and Brown's Creek, (we think we named them correctly - the little ones
can have deceptively deep canyons at some places) and several little
ones, all of which had varying amounts of running water from snowmelt
at this time of year in these mild winter temperatures.
We
knew we had to turn left after we crossed and climbed out of Brown's
Creek (in fact I'd seen a road on the ridge in the distance)... but
somehow we missed any turnoff. By the time we'd crossed another couple
of drainages, we knew we'd gone way too far, and we were going to end
up on Bachman Grade road, a main gravel road that climbs up into and
crosses the Owyhees.
But, no matter. It was new scenery, a
completely new trail for me, and the horses were getting a good workout
in that mud and from the climbing out of all those drainages. 
Coming back down toward Oreana on Bachman Grade road, we had some long
steady miles of trotting. The skies were clear and it was cool and
breezy - a perfect winter day for riding.
We
had to do a bit of bushwhacking on the way back, because a new fence
has just been put in across our usual trail back > : (
...but Jose's Homing Compass was working just fine, and he had everything under control.
The
horses had worked up a good sweat with the workout and their hairy
coats, and by the end of the day I was whooped. I felt like I'd done an
endurance ride today.
And come to think of it - we did! We'd made a 25 mile loop. Nice jaunt on a winter day in the Owyhee desert.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Sunday February 28 2010
He's an odd fellow.
He's
been here about 6 months, and he still doesn't really fit in. He is
quite herd bound, but at the same time, he is often off by himself. He
hasn't buddied up with anybody.
Parelli would call him a basic
Right Brained Introvert. Yvonne Barteau, who wrote "Ride the Right
Horse," (good book, by the way), would classify him as a basic Fearful
personality, but with a few Aloof and Social characteristics.
He's
a very cautious horse... every time I approach him, and I mean every
time, I have to approach him cautiously. You can't just barrel up to
him and throw an arm around him or pat him on the butt like I do Stormy
or Jose or Kazam. I can walk up to him 10 times a day to interact with
him, and he's the same every time. He will sometimes come up to me, but
he always stops a few feet away and thinks about and weighs the
alignment of the Universe before he cautiously approaches. Then he
sniffs my hand, and only then, if everything checks out, I can slowly
pet his face, and his neck. If I approach him from the side, he won't
turn his head to me but he'll become very alert, head up in the air,
one ear cocked toward me, and eyeball me out of the side of his eye. If
I take a step back, he'll swing his head to me. If I take a step
closer, he'll either move away or turn his head straight, back at full
alert.
The night he choked, he seemed to want me close. Not
necessarily touching him (especially his throat, I probably rubbed his
throat too much and added to his discomfort), but close. The next day,
he didn't want me near him at all! Two days later, he doesn't mind me
approaching him again... though he's still cautious as usual.
He's
the kind of horse who could really use his very own human to bond with.
I think he'll be a very loyal and trusting horse with that person.
And he is a beauty, with that chestnut coat and blond mane, and pretty face.
He's a funny guy - just a bit different personality.
(And, okay, he's a bit round right now...)
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Saturday, February 27 2010
Amigo Update
Gary
had a little bad news on Wednesday when Amigo's temperature spiked to
100 in the morning. "Not high, but something to watch." The vets
re-scoped his system and everything was okay; fungus in the stomach was
gone. There was a fluid build-up in his chest but it was minimal and
was expected.
Thursday Amigo was doing well and continued to
improve. His temperature was down to 99.6 and his PCV was 36, in the
normal range. He enjoys his 'vacation pen' outside when the weather is
nice. He eats hay, but not enough grain - he's on a medicine to
stimulate hunger.
Amigo was going to go home today, Saturday
February 27, for a few days anyway, but he's had an abscess that has
been resistant to antibiotics. He could have possibly lived with it,
but, Gary reported, "Amigo has surpassed all expectations and the Vets
feel that he is strong enough to be able to withstand yet another step
toward recovery." So, they have decided to go ahead with surgery to
remove the abscess. The left chest drain was put back in to prepare for
his surgery on Monday or Tuesday.
Gary reported today, Saturday,
that "Numerous fans came by to wish Amigo well while Kara and I were
there. They were the nicest folks! Amigo is munching on treats, grass
and hay but seems more interested in watermelon, fruit loops (of all
things) and a few carrots than grain!"
As of Friday February 26, donations to the vet school and from paypal accounts have totalled $6500.
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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Thursday February 25 2010
Little
did Keith Urban know, I bet, that when he gave his 2006 album this
title that it was the perfect theme for Endurance riders.
There's
no question most of us love our horses and love the opportunity they
give us to get out and ride, and ride far, and it's pretty obvious many
of us are obsessed with it. Even if there is a little pain involved.
Look
at Melissa, who broke her leg pretty badly a few months ago, and got 3
accomplices to sneak her out to her horse and put her on board. She may
not be done with surgeries yet, but she's already making plans to ride
Tevis (of all rides!) this year and is having her horse taught to lay
down so she can mount easier. Her doctor isn't excited about that, but,
what's he going to do?
Is she crazy?
Not any crazier
than, say, Karen, who rode Tevis (of all the rides to do this!) with a
broken rib, and a punctured spleen in questionable state of repair.
Karen
II got jumped on by her horse, spent a day running errands before she
went to the doctor and found her leg was broken. She rode once with a
broken arm too.
Five miles from the finish of the 2009 Pan
American Championship in Guatemala, a Malaysian rider's horse fell 5
miles from the finish. The rider was hurt and couldn't remount, but as
his team was in contention for a medal, he walked the 5 miles in on
foot leading his horse, and remounted (with help from his team) to
cross the finish line before he was hauled off in an ambulance. He'd
broken his collarbone. (They won the medal).
I heard a rumor that one US rider rode a loop with an IV needle in her arm, but i haven't been able to confirm that yet.
Julie
Suhr, our 'First Lady of Endurance,' broke her shoulder in a fall from
her best horse, HCC Gazal +/, 5 weeks before the Tevis ride that could
have, with a finish, given her her 20th buckle. While the doctor told
her she'd be fine in a couple of months (!!!), Julie rode Tevis anyway.
She compromised by riding a borrowed horse, not Gazal, who tended to
pull her arms out of her sockets. Her arm hurt the day before, and the
day after, Tevis, but not at all on the day she became the first rider
ever to receive a 2000-mile Tevis Cup silver buckle.
One of the
world's top endurance riders from Australia fell off a horse last year
and was in a coma for nearly two months. She's determined to get back
to riding as soon as possible.
One gal broke her foot out on a
loop on an endurance ride... but she didn't quit when she got to the
vet check. She sucked it up and went out on the second loop and
finished her ride... and only afterwards removed her shoe and dealt
with the damage.
I myself am guilty of the Whole Crazy Thing,
although I am definitely wimpier than a lot of tougher riders. I had a
sorry accident 10 years ago, and was desperate to ride again. I had no
business getting on a horse 2 1/2 months after the accident, but I was
consumed with an almost deperate need to do so... and I did.
I
broke a middle toe in June and, sad to say, totally wimped out from
riding 2 days. I'm still miffed about that - I should have just cut the
top of my shoe off and sucked it up and rode! (I mean - really - it was
one toe, not even the big one!)
When I broke my rib in
September, I climbed right back on my horse and rode him some more
(before the breathing got too difficult : ) to make sure he knew he
couldn't just get away with dumping me and running off. However, I just
couldn't bring myself to do a 5-day ride a week later. (I could
have dealt with the pain, but not the chance of worse injury, and the
expense, and the extra time off I would have been forced to take.)
I
have a knee that's about shot, but I keep riding - I can't take the
time (or money) to get it looked at. I figure I have quite a ways to go
before the pain gets really bad.
Why do we do it? Because we
love our horses. We love riding. Even though there is 'always another
ride,' we don't want to miss one. I don't think we are masochists. Or are we? I know we're addicts. Count me as one.
What
about you - have you ridden with pain, broken bones, damaged organs?
Or, I should probably be asking, how many of you HAVEN'T ridden without
pain and damage, when you definitely shouldn't have?
Are riders of other disciplines as Crazy? Or is it mainly endurance riders that have a lack of judgment?
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| Posted by The Equestrian Vagabond at | | | |
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