First 50 III

We encountered large ruts, crossed a dam, and had lots of rocks to climb plus wash-out/erosion due to the large amount of rain received this summer. Every mile I felt better. Important point to remember-Keep Hydrated and make sure your horse drinks and eats..!!!!!
The second loop was much more technical than the 1st. We still were in the lead, but the heat and difficulty slowed us down considerably. By the time we got to the 1st crew stop, which was 7 miles into the loop, it felt like we had been riding for days...it was fortunate that they had a hose and our horses could be sprayed and the water scraped off them. The reason this is so important is that leaving the water on the horse acts like an insulator which actually makes the horse even hotter. So by scrapping the water off cools the horse down by removing the heat from the outside.
We where about 3 miles from our next hold when my partners horse lost her shoe. We started walking as her mare became ouchy quickly on the rocks. After debating together whether I should stay with her or move on, she insisted very firmly I should continue ahead. I was torn; we had come so far and it looked like my friends horse was going to be pulled from the ride. I continued on, my mission to get someone out to her to put a boot on her horse. The next portion of the ride was rolling hills on street pavement. This is very stressful and jarring to a horse, the concussion of tarmac against his feet and legs.
Three miles of this was difficult and finally seeing camp was hearting.
In retro-spec, it turned out to be a good thing we had a head start because it took longer for JJ to trot out without looking sore. His girth had been cinched a bit too tight and his back was bothering him a bit. This also made him look stiff in the rear. So we needed to walk it off, and massaged his butt muscles and back. My partner meanwhile made it back to camp and was having the farrier put on a new shoe for her horse. All in all, it wound up I was only 9 minutes ahead of her so I started out slow on the last loop, waiting for her to catch up....