AERC President Mike Maul wrote a short piece in the latest Endurance News on lessons learned in conditioning horses for endurance. You can see it at the link provided. His words of wisdom: "It's easy to over condition . . . (and) . . . save the downhill trots for compitition . . . there are a finite number of them in every horse."
More on the Maine Equestrian Trails Alliance:
PLEASE READ This article and See the Piece Below on Maine equestrian Trails Alliance. I have created the first of what will be a quarterly newsletter that includes these 2 articles and more. It is ready for printing--which I am donating at some expense because I cannot do it myself. I would be delighted if there is a trail user out there who does professional printing and could offer to print for me at a discount with mention in the newsletter. Contact me today--I just thought of this idea but I really must get the printing started tomorrow. Moreover we need MEMBERSHIPS.
Another Riding Club?
There is a new Trail Club being formed in Waterboro with members from the towns of Buxton, Limington, Hollis, and Lyman as well as Waterboro. The primary reason for this group is to support the Maine Equine Trails Alliance. We have come to the realization that there is good reason for us to become as organized and many of the motorized vehicle trail users.
There are many Equestrians using local trail systems regularly who are negatively impacted more and more frequently by local town government as development progresses. Their singular voices of protest remain unheard.
Increasingly common are cluster projects which often times are built using an established trail as their main street, leaving users cut off from miles of riding opportunity and enjoyment. Unorganized Horseback riders too often remain uninformed of pending projects and stand little chance as individuals, of influencing governmental policy and decision making when they do hear about proposals to cut off trails.
We are confident that if Equestrian trail users across the state band together in small local groups to become the supporting structure of the Maine Trails Alliance, we would form a substantial body and therefore have an influence in keeping those local trails accessible.
In a recent account in Waterboro during the development phase of one housing project that planned to use an established trail head as its main entrance, the locally organized and State recognized snowmobile clubs came together with the landowners, and government decision makers to create an easement around the project that would allow continued access to trails.
It is time for Equestrian trail users to come together and create an equally organized and powerful voice in our towns and in our state. The work of the snowmobile clubs in the case described here benefited all users and one might well assume that if a group is already focused and organized and effective in this effort why bother.
Well, this easement that was agreed upon could have easily included a bridge. Not an uncommon situation in our state of brooks, rivers and wet lands. Without Equestrian input a bridge built to accommodate snowmobiles could literally block access to trails by horseback.
Scott Hatch V.P. of META has been hard at work and has engineered a horse friendly bridge plan that would satisfy the needs of all trail users. We are finding that the snowmobile clubs are open to our discussions and offers to collaborate in the effort of maintaining trails, negotiating access to trails in some cases, and bridge building.
Please become part of this exciting move to organize and be heard among the ever growing population of outdoor enthusiasts’ vying for access and control of the decreasing trail miles available for use. Go on line today at www.maineequestriantrails.org
And join.
Our dollars are building bridges of wood. Tell your trail riding friends to do the same. Go to your local riding clubs and get them to join as well. Consider joining your local snowmobile or ATV spring trail clean up days. Building strong relationships with other user groups is a valuable tool towards our goal.
Our camaraderie will build bridges of cooperation. Together we can ensure horse friendly trails will remain available throughout
Maine
long into the future.
Edna Leigh Libby –
META
Member
Bridge Materials Grant Program
The Bridge Materials Grant program is designed to foster mutual benefits for the grantors (equestrians), and grantees (clubs or organizations including but not limited to Snowmobile, ATV, and Land Trusts).
The benefits to the equestrian community are twofold
1. Written permission to use all trails associated with the bridge location.
2. A guarantee that the bridge is safe for use by equestrians. You may already be using trails managed by other groups that have bridges of questionable quality.
The benefits to trail managers are also twofold
1. Any new resource available to a trail manager allows existing funds to be shifted to other needs.
2. With the inclusion of equestrians in their trail planning and annual land use consent documentation a trail manager would have a new source of volunteers to assist with trail construction and maintenance.
We will be purchasing bridge materials in bulk. The funding will come from grants, fund raisers, philanthropic, and corporate support. And, most importantly, $20.00 from every
META
membership will be dedicated to the bridge material grant program. Management of this program will be handled by a sub committee of Maine Equestrian Trails Alliance.
The materials available will consist of 8x8 bridge stringers, and 3x6 decking. All materials would be treated to 4 atmospheres of pressure. The life span of a bridge will be 20 years. Bridge stringers could be produced up to 30ft. By ordering 12ft. 3x6 bridge widths could be either 6ft. or 12ft. Railings would be constructed from 3x6 where needed. (see drawings)
A $5000 tractor trailer load of material, will produce approximately 350f.t of 6ft. wide bridge. To have 3 or 4 distribution sites statewide with a full truckload at each site would give us the ability to handle close to 1000ft of bridge per year.
If a 10ft bridge opens up ten miles of trail the investment will be well worth our while. Many trail management clubs have large volumes that would be available to us in there entirety. We would be replacing existing bridges as the need arose thereby spreading out our investment in a shared use trail system over time.
(As of this printing, the first load of lumber has been sawn and is ready for shipping to the pressure treating processor. We now need new memberships to help pay for the cost of this treatment)
Scott Hatch V.P.
META
I'm bummed. I got mis-information and jumped the gun in my excitement.
June 7-8 2008. It's too early for Lucy and I to be ready to ride, though I may take her just for the travel experience, provided there is a stall available. I have volunteered for this ride. It's a great one. We have the use of the carriage trails on the weekend before the carriages start start hauling visitors to the peaks and the place becomes a buzz of activity. It is so lovely and quiet for the weekend of Colleen's event! Contact Colleen through ECTRA for details and registration form. These are just a few of the magnificent views to be seen:
. . . From the Scribners Mill Ride this past weekend. I was at the hold and the finish so didn't get scenery. But snapped a lot of pictures of horses. Also will be adding more to the Fryburge Album.
They got their river crossing this year and were delighted. Last year the waters had been too deep and the current to strong. I'm so glad I had this chance to wade out in the river to snap a few crossing shots between my dashes to meet the front runners at the road crossings. My jeans and shoes dried pretty nicely while standing around at the edge of the pavement in the sun. The toughest part of attending the road crossings: managing to salute and thank every single car that passes (99% of whom slowed in response to my large yellow Caution signs). Route 5 in Fryeburg is a very busy and fast road in summer. But the people are great.
We had people stationed on either side of the river with manure forks to quickly scoop up any residue that might offend the campers. We had a complaint last year when some competitors took their horses for a swim after the ride on day day one. A rider was asked if he was going to pick up the offending matter. His reply was to ask the camper if he was going to pick up his shit and all the toilet paper that they just rode passed along the wooded trail. Some impassioned discussion ensued which resulted in the ride manager getting an earful from the camp ground owner. Money makes people behave strangely at times. Aah the intricacies of diverse groups sharing our lovely natural resources. This year we were careful to be courteous. This post is going to be pieced together due to time constraints this week. So stay tuned for additions . . . OK here's what I did: I added a photo album in the side bar with photos of the ride. I wrote captions for a lot of the photos. Once you open the photo album (by clicking on it in the side bar) click on a picture to open the album and view the captions. Enjoy
So you won't feel abandoned. 
This is about what it looked like all weekend. But folks managed to have a blast in spite of it. The waterfalls on Saturday were amazing.
And then the sun came out. I had the loan of a pony for over two hours of racing around the carriage trails late on Sunday afternoon. It was glorious. I had never ridden up there. I had never even been on any other trail than the one I was on the one time I went on a carriage ride. There will be more on this next week. I have to get my notes organized and all the winners verified. I have a plan to do this on Sunday afternoon.
Tomorrow I'm off for Acadia National Park on Mount desert Island. Colleen's Ride is taking place there this weekend. I am one of 10 volunteering. I'm a little bummed out about not being able to compete. But I'm trying to keep my chin up and get more involved with working the rides this season, learning, and making connections. I have a gift certificate for the Maine mall from our Software teams manager and I am going to sneak out on my lunch break dash over there and get more memory for my camera. There shall be lots of pictures of soggy horses, wet people and the lovely drenched scenery of the Maine coast and Cadillac mountain through a thick bank of fog. I am going to put more than the usual effort into writing about the rides this season. Stay tuned.
I sat on an overturned bucket trying to read about the 'ideal' endurance horse in the opinion of Marcy Drummond from her book: "Long Distance Riding" Marcy laments the loss of some of the original traits of 'heart' and the mysterious physiological dessert horse elements of the old breed through what she refers to as indiscriminate breeding. (I just opened the book to check the print date and white Willie hairs tumbled out onto my lap. Willie did not think I should be sitting there last night ignoring him while he had to stand with his foot in a bucket of hot salted betadine water. He kept nosing my hands with his gigantic muzzle. So I reached up and scratched his chest and chin and forelegs and continued to try to read through the snowstorm of hairs for twenty minutes. Anyone who ever cared for a Cushings horse knows the falling hair never ends, March through November. The shedding and growing cycles are maxed out for about nine months of the year. It would be nice to be able to clip him. He will not tolerate clippers. And at 1800 pounds or better it's hard to argue with him. They tried tranquilizing him once but he flew up and off from a staggering semi sleep when he heard the clippers turn on, Kicking violently at the girl who was bent over at his leg with the clippers and barely missing her head.
The gravel (hoof abscess) has blown out just above the coronary band at the top edge of the hoof wall. There is an inch and a half long gash there that oozed the nastiest smelling thick pustulous ick you can imagine down over his hoof for the first 24 hours after the burst. I got the stuff on my hands and couldn't get the smell off after three washings in dish soap. The betadine wash finally got it off. Willie sure felt better. The pressure of swelling in the hard hoof is very painful. With this episode he only limped for 2 days. I soaked it that second day and it blew during the night. Cushings horses are also prone to gravel. Poor Willies hind feet are quite cracked and split at this point, and it's easy I guess for bacteria to get where it shouldn't be.
This book was written in 1985. I like the way it is written and wish their had been a updated one published just because I would like to know what she felt had happened in the last twenty five years with regards to breeding and new equipment etc.. I looked at Amazon to see if there were other books by her. Nothing more recent than 1993. I bought the hard cover version of "Long Distance Riding" a week ago for 5.00 on Amazon. There is only one listed there today and it is at 48.00 used. (?) WOW. It was recommended to me by a woman on the Chronicle of The Horse Endurance Riding Forum. Perhaps the recommendation set off a mass search and purchase of the book and drove the price sky high? I can't wait to finish mine and re-sell it!
Dan is off to Boston today to install wire on a fishing vessel. He told me to have fun today, but he could not remember what I was going to be up to. He has been so preoccupied with the business these past two weeks. He missed a lot with the broken leg and surgery and is trying to play catch-up. This is his 'manic season' anyway. The time of year when he is in over-drive thinking and planning and scheming on some new venture to diverse and grow D & E Enterprises. I am very proud of the work he does, and that he provides a living for a few other folks as well as himself. The latest thing is sandblasting. He is looking into putting up a building to house the specially designed room and garnet sand recovery system he will need to succeed. He won't notice me much for the summer. I will miss him and dream about what it would be like to have ones husband share in the things one is passionate about. I will try to share in his scheming and planning as much as he wants. And then I will keep myself busy with my horse stuff--and hopefully figure out what I want it to become. Perhaps the reason it is usually in flux and prone to stalling out is that it is always something I am doing just to keep busy (?)
Summer is not my manic season. I fade and wilt and cease to move. I look forward to sleep at the end of the day more than any activity to try to get involved in after about 11:AM. As I walked from the barn last night listening to the wind I stopped and stood for a moment watching the leaves in the maples and poplar being shaken clean of pollen and dust. The maple leaves have grown so broad and vividly green. I feel as though I am bound to the trees in some way-- they are so vast, so incredibly large and consuming--as if they pull their energy directly from my soul every summer and leave me nothing but empty. I am in awe of the trees in summer. I am jubilant in fall as the foliage dies and falls beneath my feet. I am triumphant as I run over the snow beneath barren gray limbs throughout my winter manic season.
I am off this morning to audit half of a natural horsemanship clinic at footloose farm in Brownfield. After that I will swing over to Waterford to catch a piece of the endurance ride that is taking place there this weekend and meet up with a woman I have penned with on the COTH Forum, who will be photographing today. I may find out about endurance riding and camera stuff. I have begun a search for the new camera which will have a name.
Hay to Rescues
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