You can tell adventure season is nearing multiple ways, but a good indicator is I start neglecting this poor blog. And yet, with FB feeling a tad more wearying and a tiny bit less fun more of the time, this is the best way I have to chronicle my time with Tarma. Since my last post in February we’ve been hard at work, tinkering and adjusting and failing and occasionally finding that sweet spot where everything flies by, nearly effortless.

What has not been effortless has been, as always, keeping Tarma’s feet protected in a way which is both affordable and safe for her. I know I caused a bit of a stir among my friends, sharing my efforts and failures with teaching myself to glue on the composite shoes. I can be both incredibly stubborn and not as careful as I should be about learning new things. I tend to skip steps or forget to, as my husband likes to remind me, measure three times, cut once. I won’t lie that there’s a huge learning curve to the glue ons, but when I get them right Tarma flies (and my bank account doesn’t cry as loud as farriers have to charge to put the dang things on). I can’t ask Tarma to go 50 miles in pretty much any boot combination I’ve tried, not when her heel bulbs looked like this after our last 50 at Mary and Anna, when she had EasyBoots on the fronts (which didn’t rub nearly as badly) and Scoots on the rears:

Somehow she vetted through and we got our completion, but I feel awful that she had to deal with this. So if I sound a bit like I’m tilting at windmills over these shoes, that would be why. I could have a farrier nail them on for me, but that means finding one (my current trimmer doesn’t) and I probably will for Tevis but it’s a last resort for me as Tarma’s never had nails yet.

Considering that we leave in the morning, naturally my to do list and packing lists are only three quarters checked off. Maybe a bit less! I still have all the hay, horse feed and horse and human water to Tetris into the rig, plus all my clothes and food and some extra goodies I can’t wait to camp with. I have to print out paper maps, visit the bank for cash and checks, download a bunch of podcasts and audiobooks, squeeze in a last fun workout for two weeks and finish the Sweaty Equestrian challenge, put fresh shavings in the trailer, give Tarma another dose of Ulcerguard…and work a full day!

Thankfully I’ve done this packing rodeo enough times to know I’ll be out the door tomorrow, probably an hour later than I meant to. It’s my personal trip tradition to forget one item; not a super critical one, usually something like an extra, extra pair of shoes or my toothbrush. It is settling in that I’ll be doing all this solo, just my horse, my doggie and me…and a bunch of phone numbers for US Rider and friends and friends of friends along the way, just in case. Even with all the checklists and uncertainty of hauling long distances, I can’t wait to get settled into a fresh ride camp and testing our mettle in an entirely unfamiliar area for us both.