Doc Larsen Trail 2010

It's been over a year since I have been on the Doc Larsen Trail and a lot has happened since then. The reason it's been so long is because of the Station Fire that occured around this time last year and the subsequent closing of the entire area. Although the area has not been formally re-opened, people have been going up there anyway so I decided why not me? It also helps that a number of my trial-riding friends had alreay been there so I was able to get good intelligence before going.

I figured that this would also be a good time to really put my new/sed Tucker Trail saddle to use and so I got Max prepared. Since I haven't really used this saddle for a lot of extended trail riding, I also had to figure out a way to pack along the usual sorts of things like a first aid kit. Fortuantely, after some rummaging around the tack shed, I managed to rig up a set of pommel bags and a set of saddle bags so I didn't have to spend any money on new bags.

I started out about 9:30 am, heading north towards the Oaks and then turning right and heading up the start of the trail that leads to the Doc Larsen. I ride this area quite often so there weren't any surprises and best of all, nobody else out on the trail.

After about a mile, the trail ended at a fire road and then followed the road, heading north. After about 1/4 mile, the Doc Larsen Trail starts and I procceded to follow it, heading east (in a general sort of way). I noticed immediately that the canyon that the Doc follows had seen a lot of waterflow during last winter and a lot of rocks and sand had been washed down, obliterating what trail there had been. After following deep sand for awhile, the trail thebegain to climb, alternating between sandy creekbed and harder higher trails. There had been a number of wash-outs bout there had been a lot of trail repair work (no doubt by ETI Corral 20 among others) so, trails had been re-routed and marked with rocks. Also, it helped that the trail was graded so the transitions betwen old and few trail wasn't steep or abrupt.

After about 1/2 mile, the trail began to climb steeply and here it was pretty much unchanged from the last time I'd ridden though. However, after another 1/4 or so, you could then see where the fire had burned down and the trail then entered the burnt-out zone. Here, things were bit rough in terms of footing and not as much work had been done. At several points, there were small drop-offs in the trail where it would cross the canyon bottom and I had to spur Max pretty hard to get him up the grade.

At the final stretch leading into the bathtub, the trail was fairly steep and eroded and the best thing to do here was to trot/canter- the horse definitely needs to keep momentum because parts are pretty slippery. Sure, you can walk it but it's both hard on horse and rider. This is one area that's going to have problems when it rains again, unless further trail repair efforts are made.

We finally reached the bathtub and was it a contrast to the last time I'd been there. It used to be completely covered in shade from the brush but now it was almost completely open around it. This, of course, didn't deter Max fro drking his fill and we paused for about 10 minutes or so to rest up.

The rest of the trail leading up to Doc Larsen flats was a but anti-climactic but there were definately some steep grades here and once again, trotting/cantering is recommended to get up it (yes, this probably doesn't do the trail surface any favors but it's better than the horse laboring to scramble up it at a walk).

From Doc Larsen Flats, I followed the fire roads in a loop, heading in a generally westerly direction. Finally I reached the intersection where I can either go towards Foothill Blvd or back to the fire road where the Doc begins. I opted to go down the fire road towards Foothill Blvd. It's kind of a pain going down the fire road- it seems to take forever but eventually we made it down. From there, I crossed Foothill and made our way home around the Equestrian Center and then up the wash.

Overall, it was about a 3 hour ride at a somewhat leisurely pace and it was good to get out on a long trail ride on our home range. For too long, we've been away. :-)

Huh? Did anyone say "Alfalfa Smoothe?"



The pause that refreshes- Max takes a well-derserved water break.


The bathtub- it managed to survive the Station Fire intact.

Doc Larsen Flats- Looking Eastward.


Looking east towards the Fascination Springs Trail.

The tie rail- this whole area used to be full of brush to the point where you could not see beyond the rail.

Coming up on the Bathtub. This whole area used to be a forest of brush...


Upper Doc Larsen Trail heading east. The fire definitely got down here- the area is pretty bare, even with susequent new growth.

Middle Doc Larsen Trail heading east. The fire didn't make it this far.

Lower Doc Larsen Trail- the Winter rains eroded parts of the trail that cross the dry creekbed in the canyon.

Little Tujunga Canyon, heading north towards the Oaks.

In Training & The Independent Rein

Today I did my usual Sunday morning lesson with Max. Recently, we've been working on our usual activities such as collection and working on the beginnings of flying lead changes (and I mean VERY beginning and basic flying lead changes) but now using mostly just one hand on the reins.

OK, the dressage purest will probably sniff and laugh but I'm approaching this from a cavalry perspective (and at root, isn't that what dressage is descended from- getting the horse from Point A to Point B so you can kill the opposition?). One of the most basic things about cavalry is that most cavalries throughout history have used the sword as their basic arm (OK, you have knights with lances, mounted spearmen, or more recently pistol-armed cavalry like many found in the American Civil War). Even if you're using a pistol or other weapon, you still have one hand on the reins (I don't think anyone is up to trying reinless riding in a battle situation, at least voluntarily).

For me, my trainer introduced me to a new way of holding my reins and she explained that there are several ways to do so but the bottom line is that each allows you to acheive an independent rein for each side. This is easily done when riding two-handed and with finesse and skill, you can effectively communicate with you horse. One-hand reining is a bit more difficult and for me, the conversation goes like this:

"Hey Max, wake up!"

"Huh?"

"Move to the right so I can swing my sword at my opponent!"

"Huh? Why can't I go left? I ALWAYS go left!"

"Dammit Max, just do it!"

"Ouch! You're being mean! I don't want to play anymore!"

"MAX!"

"SCREW YOU!"

And it then descends into a fight and I have to back off and regroup.

Hopefully, most of this can be reduced/eliminated by being able to more effectively communicate with Max and so that's been the recent focus in training.

Basically, the goal is to be able to send a more direct message rather than a muddied one to the horse and I've noticed that when I have the reins arranged properly (rein maangement is sometimes tricky and it's slowly coming to me) to that they're even and not dragging on one side of the face or the other, it does halp to sharpen the message you're giving the horse. One good example of this is when leg yielding. Normally, you use the leg opposite of the side you're moving towards and then slowly flex it (kind of a pulsating effect). When combined wiht a gentle twistin movement that puts pressure on the side of bit (we're talking snaffle bit here) towards the direction of movement, it seems to sharpen the horses response. In actuality, I find that simply squeezng gently on the rein leading to the desired side often works as well. This is a subtle movement and when combined with the leg aids, seems to get good results- assuming thave eventhing is lined up correctly, my seat is correct, and Max is in the right frame of mind.

This is hard to describe without pictures but it does appear to be having a positive effect. The basic idea is to get be able to effectively communicate while having to deal with manipluating a sword or pistol. Also, in my case, Max has a bad habit of refusing to follow the opponent to the right when I'm mock sword-fighting. Sometimes he'll do it but often he'll refuse. Part of the problem is my seat- it's actually pushing him away from the opponent's horse but at the same time, he's able to take advantage of my only having one hand on the reins to refuse and I don't have much leverage like I would if I were riding with two hands on the reins. Also, the indpendent rein should help hammer a more precise and sharp command to "MOVE RIGHT!"

So, for now, in all my movements I'm using one hand to rein but at the same time using direct reining to move the horse rather than relying on neck-reining (which works when the horse is compliant but if he doesn't want to move in the direction you want, you're only recourse is to intensify the use of the leg aids (even with spurs, this only works sometimes). In Max's case, this simply doesn't work so we need to be able to engage ALL of Max. Or at least that's theory but it seems to be working some although I have yet to try this in a battle re-creation situation.

Now to PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! :-)

On The Trail and Through the Woods...

Today found Max and I doing our usual Saturday morning drill with the Warhorse and Militaria Heritage Foundation. Due to various issues (probably the threat of heat), most of the members didn't show so we have only four riders. After working out for about 30 minutes, we decided to go for a trail ride, mostly around the Ponds and through the forested area in the Eastern Hansen Dam Basin.

While I have ridden this trail before, even at dusk, that's usually been at a walk. However, today we rode a good part of it at the trot and was that a challenge! The biggest issue is watching out for low-lying branches and you have to be ready to duck and flatten yourself onto your hrose's neck at an instant. Being tall at 6'1" also doesn't help and in some places it can really be rough. :-)

Naturally the other horses were all Arabs so Max really had to move out to be able to keep up. Amazingly, we had no issues and Max was very confident and handled the various twists and turns with no problem. Me, the rider, also had no issues but I was feeling like a pretzel by the end of the ride from all the ducking and weaving. :-)

It certainly was a good test for horse and rider and the best part was that we beat most of the heat. It wasn't until I headed home riding up the wash that I began to feel the heat (the wash can sometimes feel like a blast furnace on hot days). When I arrived back at the stables, I calculated that we'd been riding for a good 2 1/2 hours- a pretty respectable workout.

Swordwork, Seat, Independent Reins & Max

Last night I decided that it was time to get some swordwork with Max. For some time, I've been working with Max and we've been to a few reenactment events where we've had mock battles. Unfortunately, both Max and I need work in this area. For Max, one big problem is that he doesn't always like to follow the opponent, rather he'll attempt to veer off in the opposite direction- normally, when you do a mock swordfight (since you're not intentionally trying to injure/kill your opponent), you basically clash blades and push back and forth (some call this the "Dance of the Saber Fairies"). You can also spin in place while clashing blades, typically spinning to the right, following your sword arm.

As I mentioned above, Max has issues with this. Also, when doing the initial approach, sometimes Max attempts to refuse contact and will abruptly swerve (typically to the left). Needless to say, this is a real pain and so far I've been able to keep my seat but it really puts a strain on the legs.

To address the situation, I've been working on a combination of mock battles with a friend, constant manuever drills on my own, and rethinking how I keep my seat. After some analysis in conjunction with my trainer, we concluded that part of the problem may be that in attempting to wield my sword, I'm leaning out (it's a natural thing that we don't really think about too much) and this in turn is putting hip pressure to the right side, thus actually driving the horse AWAY from the opponent.

To correct this, we've been doing a series of drills where I approach a target (typically a bush, tree, or some other object) while dropping my hips to the left and putting pressure to drive me towards the right (following the sword arm). At the same time, I'm extending the trunk of my body to the right. It basically feels like I'm bending into a "V" of sorts and it's counter-intuitive but it serves to force the horse towards the opponent while at the same time you're able to maintain your sword swing. You can also do this in the opposite direction (i.e. holding you sword arm over the withers and attacking to the left). I usually do this using a dressage whip.

Another new development is holding the reins in one hand and maintaining independent reins where you can manipulate just one rein at a time rather than both. This is typically employed in two-handed reining but it's a bit more tricky when using one hand (and especially when combined with a snaffle bit but that's another story). I've practicing moving my fingers and manipulating both sides independently and it's not easy. The idea though, is to be able to direct rein the horse and communicate with him in a more sure manner (kind of like a loud "HEY BUDDY!").

I've noticed that this is especially useful in leg yields and half-passes. Now granted, I'm just learning this and I've made mistakes with this, combined with an improved seat should (and I say SHOULD) help in sword work in that it can be used to head off Max's refusals and keep him moving in the right direction when clashing swords. At a minimum, it should remove the incentive/opportunity for Max to take the "easy way" out of close contact situations. Don't get me wrong, Max doesn't appear to have a problem with close-manuevering and sword fighting, it seems to be more a matter of differing interpretations on how it should be done.

So, getting back to last night- we did a number of drills in an attempt to put all the pieces together. It's a lot of work when using a real sword, especially with the weight and that the sword I have is an unbalanced reproduction (trust me, the originals work a lot better but I'm a bit short on cash at this time). This is something that I'll have to put some more time into but hopefully the payoff will be good. Certainly Max didn't seem to mind and he was especially good in the tight manuevering and spinning. Now to put all the pieces together and make it all work. :-)

Morro Bay 2010, Part I

This year's trip to Morro Bay was interesting, and for the most part, one of the better trips I've had. In contrast to previous years, this year Max and I rode very little on the beach and tended to stay in the mountains. The reason for this? I failed to allow for Max's arthritis acting up due to the cooler temperatures- we went from nearly 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley to the low 70s during the day/high 50s at night at Montana de Oro. This in turn made Max a bit stiff and I was concerned that a lot of walking/trotting/cantering on the sand would have an adverse effect (not to mention the ever-present possibilty of bowed tendons or any number of hoof and leg issues.

I arrived with Max about 2 PM on Thursday, August 19 and in contrast to the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara, it was foggy and overcast. I quickly settled Max in and got myself situation in the back of the horse trailer as I usually do, after spending time cleaning it up.

One thing I've noticed from all the times going up to Montana de Oro is that often, Max doesn't like to be alone or to go out alone and this time was no exception. When I went to saddle him up to go on a small ride, he was shaking in the hindquarters and nervious to the point whe it was difficult, if not impossible to saddle him. Fortunately, I had brought both my English saddle and Tucker Trail saddle (I bought it earlier in July- more on that later) and with all the rigging, it's nearly impossible to saddle Max with the Tucker when he's moving around. So I managed to get the English saddle on and soon we went for a small ride.

While it wasn't the most fun ride, I managed to get some work out of him and he started to relax a little. After following a coastal trail for about 30 minutes, I turned back and naturally his step picked up a bit. After I was done riding, I made sure max was blanketed and I mixed him up his usual A&M and Omolene bucket.

More to follow....:-)

Group shot- Morro Rock is in the background.


Max and I at the end of the canyon at the end of the east Boundary Trail. The view was fantastic that day. :-)

Catching Up

OK, it's really been a LONG time since I've blogged. The reasons? Life in general and simply a lack of motivation...I go through those phases sometimes...

It also didn't help that I lost the month of June and was unable to ride due to a cracked rib that I sustained when Max shied out from underneath me while I was doing a school program. It was pretty embarassing in that he was being so good and then out of the blue...actually it was because my haversack was too long and it got caught between the saddle and my leg when I mounted him. I stoop up in the stirrups, leaned over to the right to free the haversack when he swept out from underneath me and launched me to the ground. Needless to say, I didn't have any balance whatsoever and I wasn't expecting him to do that. The kids thought it was an act so I had to immediately remount and gallop (yes, GALLOP) the horse around the athletic field a few times. It's amazing what adreniline will do for you. Did I also mention that I then rode home, unsaddled Max, fed Max and then went out to Pierce College to take a final for a class. It was only afterwards that I decided to have it checked out at the hospital.

The end result was that I had a cracked rib and that I wasn't supposed to ride for 6 to 8 weeks. Right, try telling that to a horse person! Anyway, I was riding by early July but it really depressed me. Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom.

So now to catch up...I'm going to be filling in some stuff and part of it is probably going to be backdated a bit just to even things out a bit.

Some Horse Humor

I haven't been too motivated to blog lately but here's some horse humor to amuse :-):

Back to School With Max

Today, Max and I went back to school...in a manner of speaking! :-) Actually, I was helping a friend of mine put on a program at a local private school on horses and the American Revolution. The audience was made up of 4-6 graders so the presentation was fairly simplified. The school was close enough to the stables and my friend's house so we wound up riding over.

My friend did most of the talking and then occassionally I would discuss various things such as the role cavalry in the American Revolution and what sorts of weapons were used. What was pretty neat was that we were actually able to fire a couple of blanks from one of friend's flintlock pistols (this was a private school- no way you could have done this in a public school). The horses, and especially Max were very good and for the most part very patient. Better yet, the shooting barely affected Max.

To cap things off, we had a competition where the kids would run in competition with my friend on his horse- the kids are convinced that they can run as fast as a horse and this is a popular feature ever year (my friend has been putting on presentations at this school for some time). Naturally all safety precautions were observed. It was pretty cool to watch- some of those kids are pretty fast and for a few moments, I wasn't too sure...and my friend's horse is an Arabian! :-)

Naturally, to end things, we let the kids feed carrots to the horses. Talk about hitting the lottery! Max was in heaven with a long line of kids handing hin carrots. Talk about a "Carrot ATM machine"! :-)

Overall, it was pretty neat and the kids asked some pretty intelligent questions. Perhaps there's still hope for America's youth. :-)

Video of Station Fire

Here's an interesting video of the Station Fire taken from the perspective of one camera located in a canyon that was in the path of the fire. I definitely would not have wanted to actually been there...

Angeles Requiem from Tocho on Vimeo.

And Yet More Anza Pictures...

As the pictures have trickled in from the last Napoleonic event Max adn I attended at Anza, I've been posting them to my blog. Here are a couple of nice portrait shots although the background isn't the greatest:

Working My Way Through The Barn

Today I decided to give Max the day off and to work with some of the other horses in my life. :-)

I first worked Max for about two hours, doing various dressage moves for the first hour and then doing sword work (talk about having a sore arm and shoulder after I was done!). I also practiced various dressage moves while working the sword- the goal is to be able side-pass, leg yield, transition, half-pass, etc. while not really having to think too much about it. Overall, it worked out well although I need to work on keeping my hand more quiet on the reins. Max's back was also fine after having been ridden for two hours and it appears that some of the hair coming back.

Next there was Lenny...talk about a horse with a "spring in his step"! It's been strange riding him- he's got such a springy step that I find it hard to maintain a decent seat while at the trot. The walk is no problem (it should be!) and the canter isn't so bad too but the with the trot, it feels like I'm going to get launched out of the saddle. I've taken measures to reinforce proper placement of the legs and ensure that my body remains in the vertical. At this point, I think the key is to also use my calves to keep a firm, constant contact- bascially a light grip.

I worked Lenny at the walk, trot, and canter and did a lot of transitions (the transitions were more for me than for Lenny). I found that as time went on, he became more responsive to my aids and especially my half-halts. I even tried some collection. At the canter, he fell into it once I figured out how to ask him and it took very little to get him to frame up. At the trot was another matter...it seems that the slow trot is not his strong point and with the springy step, it's more difficult to set him up and maintain it. Perhaps this will improve with time. :-)

After about an hour or so, I simply walked Lenny around on a loose rein. What's very interesting is that outside of the arena, he tends to fix on various things and stare at them until I remind him to pay attention to me- no doubt this is due to his being a show horse and I seriously doubt that he ever got out much except to work or show and this belief was confirmed when I decided to walk him down to the wash and have him check out the stream.

WIth a little urging, I managed to walk Lenny down into the wash but he was definately on high alert and uneasy. I decided not to rush things and simply walked him up to the stream as close as I could. Lenny was definately not up for this so I wound up circling him many times, driving him closer to the water's edge. I didnt' really push him too hard and while we didn't make into the water, we ended on a good note and I figured that there was no rush- we can work up to it gradually.

After unsaddling Lenny and putting him back in his stall, I then rode Kisses. Talk about a contrast! Kisses is a Standardbred Pacer who started life as a harness racing horse. In more recent years, she's been primarily used for trail riding and some driving and she hasn't really been ridden or worked in about six months. She's got a nice trot but her pacing is simply horrible (talk about being thrown from side to side). I mostly worked her at the trot with an emphasis on her keeping the trot- Kisses' tendency is to speed up (no doubt from her racing days) into the pace (while occassionally you can get her to canter, it's never for very long). At the trot, she actually has a nice carriage. I mostly worked her at the walk/trot.

I finished by walking Kisses in the wash. She's normally OK on the trail but sometimes she can get excited by other horses (but not all the time) and starts spinning. Hopefully I can take the edge off of this over time.

By the time I was through riding, I was pretty beat and it was definately time for a beer. :-)

Back to Work...A Little Bit At A Time

Because Max is recovering from some sort of a raw spot on his back. The skin has now healed and it appears that there's a little hair coming in. I've severely limited my riding time and so far, it doesn't appear that the saddle and/or saddle pad have been rubbing the area (which leads me to believe that something else was the cause, especially since I hadn't ridden in a week when I first discovered the area). At any rate, it's been close to three weeks but I'm still keeping things light.

Saturday morning found me at drill practice with the Warhorse Foundation and throughout the practice, Max acted perfectly and gave no indication of being in pain or uncortable. We did the usual variety of drills at both the walk and the trot and even tried some new manuevers. What's unnerving is that Max knows a lot of the manuevers and he'll usually do a lot of them without much urging on my part. The only things I have to really control are the speed and position- my theory is taht what seems "right" to Max is not necessarily what I want. What's amazing is that Max even knows when to turn on some manuevers and he gets a little annoyed when the other horses don't execute things at the right time- most of this was while Max was on the outside of the line.

We concluded the drill session by cantering the horses in line, in two groups of three riders each. Max was on the inside (not by design) and he was pretty good on the canter departs- often he gets excited and then loses all thoughts of cantering or listening to my aids- he just dances around. However, I've begun to counter this by applying the aids a lot more quickly and keeping my seat more behind the vertical- I don't fall out of position as easily plus I can drive Max forward a lot easier. Today, though, I didn't have to worry and he was pretty good.

While we only spent about two hours, it was a good work out for Max and he definately earned his bucket today. :-)

One More from Anza 2010

Here's one of the few pictures of me from the recent Anza event. Not too inspirational but he it is...Viva Espania!

Lenny the Ex-Show Horse

With the raw spot on Max's back, I've been riding a lot of other horses at the barn. One of these horses is Lenny who is a warmblood. He used to be a show horse in hunter/jumpers and his show career ended when he developed problems with his stifle joints. Nevertheless, he's still a great horse with a lot of good moves.

The one interesting thing about Lenny is that he has an incredibly springy step (than I'm used to anyway) and I really have to work hard to keep a good seat (as opposed to simply staying on the horse). He's very well trained but I'm still learning where all his "buttons" are. We worked for about an hour today, mostly working at a combination of walk/trot/canter and all the transitions. I also did some leg-yields and side passes. Most of the time he's getting it although sometimes it can be a bit choppy transitioning from the canter to the trot.

Also, I even took him into the wash to check things out. He's mostly been an arena horse all his life so the wide open spaces made him a bit nervous. He was also very unsure about the stream running down the wash- I didn't push him to cross it but I did a number of circles to try and make him more comfortable with it. It will take some time but I think we can get there.

A very interesting and challenging horse. :-)

Volcanos and Horses

With the recent volcanic activity in Iceland, here's a chance to combine horses and volcanos...the ash has been playing havic with the respiratory systems for both animal and man. I know the feeling...

Horses graze in a field near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow dark smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Ingi Sveinbjoernsso leads his horses on a road covered volcanic ash back to his barn in Yzta-baeli, Iceland on April 18, 2010. They come galloping out of the volcanic storm, hooves muffled in the ash, manes flying. 24 hours earlier he had lost the shaggy Icelandic horses in an ash cloud that turned day into night, blanketing the landscape in sticky gray mud. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Bye Phil!

With the semester winding down, the Pierce College herd will be going back to the pack station in the Eastern Sierras. Last night was the last night in my Intermediate Riding Class that we would be riding so I made the best of it and even managed to get Phil into an extended trot. :-)

I have been either riding Phil for my riding classes or using him for my training classes and I've gotten to know him over the course of school year. Phil may not seem to be the most impressive horse but he taught me some valuable lessons. Basically, Phil is like a lot of school horses and has been ridden by a variety of people with varying degrees of riding skill. When I first was assigned Phil, I discovered that his mouth is very hard to the bit, he's a bit forward in his gaits and he really doesn't like to listen to the rider. He tolerates them but that's it. To add to it, Phil has also picked up a lot of weight since over the year and his feet are not in the best condition.

With all of that, I had to adapt my riding style to a horse that's considerably larger than Max and who is very dull to the aids. Worse, when you do press with your legs or kick, he immediately interprets that as a cue to speed up and/or go into the trot. When I first got him, side-passing and leg-yielding were an impossibility.

While I was only riding him once a week, I tried to do what I could to put some feeling back in his mouth and I found myself maintaining a loose rein while trying to combine it with half-halts, the idea being to keep off his mouth as much as possible while trying to communicate with him. This was especially important in that he does not have a good stop and often he takes his time- you have to tighten and release the bit. While at first he didn't seem to respond to this, by the Spring semester he was actually beginning to respond and I found that a half-halt combined with a quick tightening/release on the bit usually got results. The key is to RELEASE the pressure once Phil begins to comply but not to do it too soon (i.e. make sure he comes to a complete halt). It's really a matter of timing and sometimes I got it and sometimes not.

I also believe that the training class also helped because I was also doing ground work with him- primarily Pat Parelli's seven games and for the most part these have helped, especially in getting him to yield to pressure without speeding up. I believe that gradually he's developed the distinction between pressure to speed up his gait and pressure for him to yeld off of.

I'm no expert or anything but it definately taught me the value of patience and made me realize that Max lies for me quite a bit- I can get away with things that Phil would just look at me and go "what?". In short, I found that I really had to figure out how to communicate with Phil and sometimes it wasn't easy. By the end of the training class, I even managed to get Phil to jump over a barrel using the squeeze game (albiet, in a somewhat clumsy manner)- the instructor was amazed.

Anyway, I completely believe in the adage that all horses have something to teach you and that's certainly been the case with Phil.

Below is a somewhat poor cell phone picture of Phil and I at the end of our ride last night. I'll miss that boy! :-)

And Yet More Anza...

Although I’ve been reenacting various periods, this one was a new one for Max and I and unlike the others; this involved the use of the sword and lance rather than pistols. Basically, the setting is during Napoleonic Wars in Spain and the landscape is very similar to many parts of Southern California. The event itself was help on a friend of mine’s place located close to the town of Anza, east of Temecula.

This was the second time Max and I have attended this event so I had a pretty good idea of what we would encounter but I still opted to trailer Max out the day before so I could work him before the event actually started. Set up for this event was pretty easy and we had a separate horse camp where we parked and tied the horses off the trailers. The weather was warm and sunny during the day but at night the temperature dropped into the 20s so horse blankets were definitely in order, especially since Max had already shed his winter coat.
Working Max was pretty straight-forward and I spent most of my time simply walking around the property and checking out the footing. The one thing that definitely struck me was that the winter storms had washed down a high volume of sand and footing in most of the low areas and the creek beds was very soft, almost on the order of a beach and this in turn meant that I was going to have to avoid fast trotting and cantering in these areas so as to reduce the possibility of bowed tendons. Most of the battle area was open with some scrub brush, trees, and some dug fortifications and presented few issues except the deep footing mentioned earlier.

After a cold night, the next day, dawned sunny and clear with temperatures in the mid-70s. Since the battles wouldn’t start until about 11 am, I took my time grooming and tacking up Max. By the time I finishing tacking, some of the infantry units were falling in for drill and firing practice volleys. Soon the cannon joined in, and soon the air was filled with black powder smoke.

Our group formed up next to the infantry to watch them practice their shooting and strangely enough, Max was somewhat upset by the shooting even though he’s been exposed to it before at exactly the same distances. At this point I was forced take Max off by himself and do a quick desensitization session and after about 15 minutes, Max seemed OK again.

We then began the battle. Unlike the prior Civil War reenactment that I went to, the battle was mostly unstructured and it continued for about two hours with the two sides constantly shooting at one another, advancing, and retreating. For the cavalry, we divided up into two sides and although I was playing a Spanish Guerilla, I became “French” in order to even out the numbers (in practice, it made little difference). The cavalry would either clash with the other cavalry or we’d harass the infantry by riding up close and retreating. The weapons consisted of rubber swords and bamboo lances and the combatants would attempt to tap each other on the arm or the shoulder, which counts as a “hit”. Anyone taking a hit would retreat from the immediate battle, wait a minute or two and then recycle back in. For me, I spent the time giving Max water (we had stock tanks filled with water scattered about the property).

The battle proceeded pretty smoothly for Max and I although on occasion Max wouldn’t turn into the opposing horse while I was in clashing with my opponent- I found myself having to use a lot of spur and pull hard on the reins. Not sure if it’s fright, excitement or something else- it’s a real pain while holding a lance in one hand and neck reining with the other. We’re going to have to put in some more practice and get him to focus more on me than what’s around him.

And as with all group equestrian activities, the one factor that always needs to be considered is the power of the “herd mentality”- Max was eager to join the other horses in battle (he knew most of the horses and some live with him at the same stable). This can be good when trying to close with the opposition or chase someone but it can also work against you if you’re trying to separate or stand still in position. It wasn’t a major issue but I constantly had to remind Max to pay attention to what I want versus everything else. I think this will reduce itself as we do more battles on a frequent basis, supplemented by more practice (to include some one-on-one sword fights with a friend).

After about two hours, we paused for a long lunch break. Naturally, I made sure that Max was drinking water and eating; there were no worries on that point and in fact his appetite was pretty fierce (I was amazed by the amount of alfalfa he put away).
The rest of the afternoon battle went pretty well and the only real issue was Max shying away from a cannon (it wasn’t in use at the time) while I galloped past it. I managed to stay on but my left leg muscles were cramped severely from the strain of pressing against him to keep on. It certainly demonstrated the value of having a good seat and my companions were amazed that I stayed on and even kept my lance. It also goes to show that sometimes, objects that you don’t think will cause an issue can and it happens suddenly. Naturally, afterwards I had Max sniff the cannon and soon we were running past it many times over with no issues.

Overall, it was a good weekend but it also pointed out some gaps in our training and we’re going to have to take some time to do further work on our seat, moving off the haunches and generally focusing Max’s attention on me so he’ll be more responsive to my aids. Also, I noticed that his appetite was greatly increased, most likely due to the cold nights and the exertion during the day; he ate far more alfalfa than normal (I always bring extra anyway so food supply wasn’t an issue) and his water intake was increased. Both of us arrived back at the stables exhausted and we’re both taking the week off.

More Anza...

Here's another picture from Anza, taken during a battle. It was pretty neat charging through the gaps in the fortification walls- Max actually leaped through those. :-)

Phil- My Training Horse at Pierce College

Here are a couple of pictures of Phil, the school horse I'm using for both my Advanced Training and Intermediate Riding classes. Phil, along with the rest of the school herd, will be heading up to a pack station in the Sierras in May to begin their summer jobs as riding horses for pack trips. Phil gained a lot of weight over the Winter and no doubt he'll be losing a lot of it during the Summer.

Phil can be a pretty stubborn horse and his mough is pretty hard due to all the various students and others pulling on his mouth. In the year that I've been riding him, I've managed to get a little bit of his mouth back and he now knows that when I apply leg pressure for a leg yield or sidepass, it doesn't mean speed up...most of the time. :-) Compared to Max, Phil is HUGE and his training is not as extensive but he does have a good personality and he tries- he could easily be Max's bigger brother.

Max & I Return to Anza!

Last weekend, Max and I returned to Anza for another Napoleonic battle reenactment. Although I had plans to have a more proper Napoleonic uniform by this years' event, it didn't happen (life got in the way) so once again I donned my generic Spanish Guerilla outfit, which in reality is a modified Southwestern outfit that could pass for anywhere between 1840-1900 (depending on the guns and other equipments).

I trailered Max out early Friday morning so I would have time to set up my camp and be able to saddle up and work Max some. The trip out wasn't too bad except for the usual traffic around the 71/91 Freeways around Corona and we made it down in about three hours. Unlike last year, the weather was clear and sunny with a cool breeze. Apparently, it had snowed the previous week and the weather was unseasonably cold- at night it got down into the 20s and the water in the horses' water buckets actually froze. During the day, it was heavenly!

Here's a couple of pictures from the event:

Here I am guarding the flank of my compadres. We were a mis-mash of uniforms and because of the imbalance between the British and French forces, I acted as one of the French (Spanish Contra-Guerillas).

Group shot after one of the battles. Here we're moving back towards our camp area so we can water the horses. As you can see from the sand, the footing in the wash and many other areas was a lot softer than last year and we had to exercise some caution in riding- bowed tendons are not good! More to follow!

Chilean Cavalry

Check out this interesting video of the present-day Chilean cavalry on YouTube:



Except for the modern planes and cars and some smaller details, this could easily pass for Germany c. 1918. The cavalry march itself is German, along with the styling of the uniforms, equipment and horse furniture/tack. Way cool!

I especially love the collected canter- yeah!!!

Max & I Doing Civil War at Prado

Last weekend, I participated in a Civil War reenactment with my horse Max. I’ve been involved in Civil War reenacting for some 20 years but this was the first time as mounted cavalry. I arrived at Prado with Max late Friday afternoon and we had ample time to get Max situated with ample supplies of water and alfalfa. The group I belong to had already set up a picket line (aka high line) and I picked a place to tie him up that wasn’t too close to another horse so as to avoid injuries from fighting or play. It’s essential when taking a horse away from their normal environment to make sure that they have enough water and forage to eat, preferably the forage that they normally eat at home. Some horses also don’t like to drink the water in a strange location so I brought water from home but ultimately didn’t need it.

Early the next morning, I assisted in mucking along the picket line and feeding and watering the horses. When in a group situation, it’s always advisable to feed and water all the horses at the same time so as to avoid fighting or disruptive behavior. Afterwards, I saddled and tacked up Max. While the first battle wasn’t until 1 PM, I wanted to work Max first and see how his attitude was. Because we portray Union cavalry (Company A, 10th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry), the standard issue saddle was the Model 1859 McClellan saddle and that is what we use but in reproduction form.

After saddling and tacking, I found an empty area and proceeded to work Max. I started, as I normally do, at the walk and using a number of exercises aimed at increasing Max’s flexion and stretching his muscles. In a typical reenactment, a horse is often called upon to bend, twist, move on the hind end and fore-end and be ready to trot or canter at a moment’s notice. It is highly recommended that any horse used in battle reenactments be in excellent physical condition and possess a high degree of flexion. After loosening up at the walk, I then proceeded to work at the trot and finally at the canter.

While working at all three gaits, I also combined various movements such as leg-yields, side-passes, spins on the haunches and fore-ends, and transitions between gaits (you can never have enough transitions). My horse was a bit on the lively side, no doubt due to the new venue and being around the other horses and while I managed to get Max calmed down a bit, I also knew that I was going to have to stay alert to Max’s actions. Finally, I worked Max along with the rest of the unit in various formations and for the most part he was good (although keeping him in line required some quick corrections).

Finally, it was time for the first battle and we proceeded to the battlefield site, along with the rest of the unit, in proper military formation. Two of the most commonly used formations are line and columns of twos or fours and these are the basic formations used in battle. Soon, the battle began and we found ourselves opposed by an equal amount of opposition (we were playing the part of Confederates for this battle). The horses in my formation soon picked up on the presence of other horses and you could feel their excitement. As we proceeded to maneuver, I found myself having to constantly tap Max with a spur to focus his attention on what I wanted- it was clear that his attention was not on me.

There are two basic forms of combat that we use: Pistol shooting and saber fighting. For pistols, we use reproduction single-shot cap and ball revolvers that fire black powder charges. Typically, we will ride forward single file and the formation will then circle away while each person fires in the direction of the enemy (we maintain a safety zone of about 50 feet) and we’ll repeat this until our pistols are emptied. Afterwards, we would regroup in formation and await the next command. Often, we’ll then be given the order to draw saber and charge the enemy.

For saber fighting, each person will pair themselves up with an opponent and proceed to clash the saber blades. Making slashing movements against either the opposing horse or man is prohibited so typically a fight will consist of each person pushing their saber blade against their opponent’s saber blade. At the same time, each man will be moving their horse in a circular fashion and attempt to gain an advantage by getting around their opponent’s blade. Once this is done, the disadvantaged opponent is considered to be wounded or killed and they will withdraw from the engagement. Often, opponents will pass each other at either walk or trot, and strike their blades before moving off and finding another opponent. There are no hard and fast rules for “victory” and the end result is often determined by the scenario.

Most of the fighting is usually between opposing cavalry, although occasionally the cavalry will ride up and shoot at infantry. With any shooting, care is taken to ensure that the minimum safety distance is maintained and nobody directly fires at another person. Also, when cavalry fights, combats are to involve only one type of weapon (either pistol-on-pistol or saber-on-saber). The preceding description is just a basic overview and there can be all manner of variations on how the forces fight. However, the one thing that’s constant is that safety always comes first; especially since people can get unhorsed quite easily (it happened twice during the weekend). The battles themselves lasted about 30 minutes each and we did two per day. After each battle, the horses were rested and watered. Also, they were provided with a constant supply of forage.

Although doing mock battles on horseback can be fun (and exhausting), there are some things that the rider has to be prepared for. First, the rider needs to train extensively prior to attending their first event- the event itself is not the time to introduce a horse to reenacting and it’s a recipe for disaster, both for yourself and others around you. Ideally, the rider should have been working with a group for at least three or four months prior on a regular basis and getting their horse used to working in close proximity with other horses. When working as cavalry, horses will frequently bump and crash into each other and you don’t want your horse to react by striking out (the temperament of the individual horses also needs to be considered and some never make suitable cavalry mounts). Also, horses need to be desensitized to gunfire, cannon fire and being in close proximity to large numbers of people moving around them on foot in close proximity with weapons. Each horse to going to react differently and you have to be aware of your horse’s personality.

Some other essential things to remember in preparing for reenactments is that the rider needs to constantly train so as to develop a good seat- battles happen so quickly that the rider doesn’t have time to worry about where their body is positioned and they need to constantly remain in balance. Also, the rider’s seat needs to be independent of what the rest of their body is doing because there’s a lot of things that are going on at one time: handling weapons, looking out for other riders, listening for orders, looking out for ground hazards such as gopher holes, etc. Bottom line is that the rider doesn’t have time to think about your riding too much and it has to come naturally.

Finally, the rider has to be aware of the herd mentality and know how to deal with it: sometimes it can work to the rider’s advantage and at other times at a disadvantage. For moments like charging into battle or rallying, it can be helpful because the horse naturally wants to be with his buddies. At other times such as moving off alone from the unit or having the unit move away, the horse still wants to follow and you have to fight the horse’s instinct. Naturally, training can help reduce a lot of this problem but it’s always going to be there.

Overall, this was an excellent event and I learned a lot about working my horse in stressful situations. Also, my horse and I learned a lot about working together as a team and by the end of the weekend, I felt that Max was actually having fun (especially chasing the other horses) and that he was paying attention to my aids. I’d definitely recommend this for someone looking to do something different with their horse.

ETI Trail Trial Playday

Here are a couple of pictures from an event that my ETI Corral (Corral 10) put on last Sunday. Max learned to chase a giant rubber ball and I taught him to stand on a tree stump with his front feet.

On the Trail (And No Rain!)

In contrast to yesterday, today was relatively clear, sunny and a bit breezy.

Today, a bunch of us decided to hit the trails (the ones we're still allowed on) and head up to the Sheep Pens (about the only area we'e legally able to ride in, thanks to the Station Fire last year). Lately, Max has been acting a bit full of himself on the trail, especially coming back to the stables (no surprise) so this gave me an opportunity to work on this some.

Today, all the horses (and one Mule) were pretty "goey" so Max was constantly being left towards the rear so I'd have to continually trot him out to catch up. Some of the people I ride with have horses with a pretty long stride and most of the time Max doesn't have an issue with it but today was somewhat different. Also, the Mule is pretty long-strided and this didn't help (plus the Mule has a bad habit of pushing himself forward past other horses if he feels he's going too slow- definitely a rider issue there that needs to be addressed).

The only way I can really manage it and have a somewhat pleasant ride (not a great ride) is to let Max trot forward periodically and use half-halts while walking and try to maintain as light contact on the mouth as possible. Also, sometimes when he gets to a gully or hill, he gets excited and likes to run so I have to check him sharply in these areas.

Everything went pretty well although I think Max was having trouble with the pace- he has problems with an extended walk ("power walk", as I term it) and we weren't trotting so he's kind of stuck. Every so often, he'd get himself bound up where he's almost self-collecting so I'd have to bump him into a trot to get him to extend his body and loosen him muscles. I'd then pull him back.

Of course the moment we started to head for home, Max then picked up his pace and wanted to move as quickly as possible- which I prevented. Just to work him a bit, I blocked every effort he'd make to trot with a half-halt. He didn't like it but he complied.

When we got back to the gate leading towards the stables, I purposely made Max stand and wait until the riders had gone up the ramp and disappeared from view. Max definitely didn't like that but I made him stand. After about 5 minutes, I then made him walk up the ramp.

Pretty mundane stuff here, I'll admit, but the issues I have with Max fit a lot of horses when they go out on the trail. One of the biggest problems on the trail is when the gaits of the horses are mismatched- the most extreme example being a Tennessee Walker with a group of ungaited horses. While you're going to have issues such as in the case of gaited vs nongaited hores, in many cases it's a matter of the horse not being trained and/or the rider either not paying attention or allowing the horse to act up. I've been guilty of this in the past and as a courtesy to my fellow trail riders, I try to keep Max in check and if it's really bad, I'll opt out of the ride.

Anyway, I strive to constantly work with Max to make him a good trail horse and while it doesn't always work out, most of the time it does. Happy trails!

I Hate The Rain!!

It seems that I just can't gauge it right these days when it comes to rain...

Naturally, it had been clear for the entire week until Friday when the clouds started moving in. Saturday morning rolled around and while it looked a bit dark and cloudy from my house, there were also some clear spots...

So off to the stables!

I dressed for rain but as I tacked up Max, I decided that maybe it won't really rain, just maybe drizzle a little talk about being overly optimistic) so I decided to not bother tying my rain parka on my cantle pack (it's a pain to secure and tends to get in the way). So off I rode to Warhorse practice...

I was the first one there and managed to work Max for about 45 minutes before anyone else showed up and soon Max was warmed up pretty well. There was only six of us so we focused on some basic formations and drills; Max quickly fell into the synch with the rest of herd.

While it was getting pretty dark and overcast, still no rain so I thought we'd dodged the bullet...until about an hour into the practice when it began to drizzle a bit. I pretty much shrugged it off until the drizzle turned into a light rain. At that point we decided to stop practice.

So you would have thought we would have headed home? Naw! We decided to check out the river crossing. We rode through a low-lying set of woods which were pretty much now a swamp due to the recent rains but the footing was still pretty sound. By the time we started to cross the river, the rain was pouring down and I was beginning to get soaked, to say the least. But I sucked it up...

After another 15 minutes of riding we all pretty much conceeded that we'd had enough so it was time to head home. I then split off from the party and headed back to the stables by way of the Equestrian Center. Along the way, I stopped to take a break underneath the 210 freeway where I tried to dry off a little bit. Max proceeded to graze on some conveniently located grass and didn't seem to mind being completely soaked.

Finally I decided that the rain wasn't going to stop so gritting my teeth, I rode on for home.

Upon return to the stables, I managed to scrounge up a couple of beach towels and made a half-assed attempt to dry him off. When I took the saddle off, you would see the steam coming off his back- amazing! Max was very happy to stand underneath the shelter in his stall and eat alfalfa.

After making sure he was allright, I fed Max his bucket and then focused on getting myself dry- I'd left my gortex rain parka in the tack sheed along with a vest so after putting them on, I managed to warm up a bit and not feel quite so soggy.

While I've had my share of dealing with wet weather, the older I get, the less fun it gets and the longer it takes for me to warm up. When I got home, I immediately got some dry clothes, downed two shots of Port and curled up in front of the TV.

And that was my Saturday...

And Now Something Silly...

Non-horse related but I thought these were funny:





And I don't even drink Kahlua...:-)

Road to Nowhere (or I Hate Rain)

Well...this last weekend was almost a complete bust, thanks to the weather (or lack thereof). Max and I were scheduled to go off to Acton again for another Civil War cavalry weekend but there was the threat of a major rainstorm. I hoped that we'd dodge the bullet but by Friday night it was pouring down buckets so I figured that things were off.

So I slept in a bit and when I awoke, lo and behold it's clear and sunny outside!! So I quickly thought about quickly getting over to the stables, and stuffing Max in the trailer and heading out anyway- I might be late but I'd be there. But after checking the weather on the internet (big mistake), it appeared that there was still a storm system over the area so I nixed that idea (due to crappy cell phone reception, there was no way to call someone at the event to find out what the weather was like up there).

Just then, I get a call from my friend telling me that the Warhorse was practicing and to get my butt over there. OK...so I'm flying down the road in my truck, get to the stables, tack Max up and ride over to Gabriellano Park- about a hour's worth of work.

Max and I finally make it to Gabriellano Park and we managed to get in a good hour of Warhorse practice so it wasn't a complete loss- Max was pretty energenic once he saw his herd buddies. The weather was breautiful and afterwards I worked Max out some more back at the stables- nothing fancy, the usual transitions, side-passing and leg yields. Overall, it was about two hours of practice so Max and I got an OK workout.

Sunday found the day to be overcast and Max got the day off. I wound up helping a friend of mine on a movie shoot (for the same movie I did work previously with Max). It was a pretty long day and my job was taking still photos and actually shooting footage with a very complex (i.e. expensive) Cannon digital camera- I was literally handed the camera, given a quickie "how-to-work-the camera" course and left to my own devices.

My job was to take as many pictures as possible from various angles so that there's an extra supply of footage if the director needs it for various shots. Also, I was filming the crew as they worked on the production, the idea being that this would be the basis for a separate "the making of..." video. The location was over in Chatsworth Park (I haven't been there in some 20 years- it sure was a LOT smaller than what I remembered it to be).

The day went pretty uneventfully and as with almost every movie shoot I've ever worked on, the production was running WAY behind and there were all sorts of glitches along the way. We didn't get out until about 6 PM. Now, if I could only get PAID for some of this time...that would be nice! :-)

Such was my weekend!

Now I'm a Teacher's Assistant

For the past year, I've been taking equine classes at Pierce College and volunteering my time for some of their programs, all in an attempt to soak up as much "horse knowledge" as possible. As part of this ongoing effort, I decided to become a Teacher's Assistant (TA) for a basic riding class taught by the instructor whose basic riding class I took last semester.

I decided to do this not because I plan on becoming a riding instructor (although I wouldn't necessarily rule it out) but in order to observe the instructional process of teaching riding. It's one thing to be participating, it's another to be acting as an observer and helping out where need be.

Tonight was our first meeting so we pretty much just went over policies, proceedures, basic admin stuff, etc. The Pierce horse herd consists of about 18 horses although as a general rule, the instructors prefer no more than 15 students because of safety issues and span of control. Also, the horses actually belong to a packing outfit and they work in the Sierras from May through September taking riders on pack trips. What this means for the class is that we'll lose the horses in May so hopefully the weather or holidays won't cause us to lose too many instructional days, especially since we only meet weekly.

What's also interesting is that the Basic Riding Class is required of all students, no matter what their riding ability/experience is (although this isn't explicitly stated in the catalog). While some my disagree with this policy, it's more intended as a means of teaching students the protocol for how horses are handled at Pierce (it's a bit different than what I was taught to do so I a hard time keeping it straight sometimes).

Anyway, it should be interesting and I actually earn 1 unit of credit (yay!).

Collection Continues...

Lately it seems that I've been on this strange desire to delve into dressage in a big way (for me anyway) and especially collection.

Today Max and I took our customary weekly lesson and naturally the focus of the training was on various aspects of collection at the walk, trot and canter. Also, attention was paid to transitions between all three gaits with the focus on SMOOTHLY making those transitions and maintaining a seat on the vertical- I sometimes have a tendency to shift forward.

While working on collection at the trot and especially at the canter, for the first time I REALLY felt/experienced what it means to have a horse shift their weight onto the haunches. It's a weird feeling and if you didn't know what was going on, you would think something weird/bad is going on- in some instances it almost feels like the horse is literally falling apart.

The think that never fails to blow my mind here is that Max and I are getting to the point where in many instances Max VOLUNTARILY begins to collect up with little urging on my part. I can guarantee that NO amount of muscling on the reins or other force on my part is going to force Max to do what he's doing- it's all coming from him.

Now this by no means absolves me of my responsibilities as a rider and in fact, it demands even greater attention and physical effort- the rider cannot just sit and ride their way through- they have to actively ride this. What's also key is that I have to constantly ensure that my seat is correct- most of the time this means being on the vertical (i.e., I'm sitting perpendicular to the horse's back)and allowing my body or legs to swing forward (it's so easy to do), especially when collecting at the canter.

While collecting at the canter, as the horse collects up, the front of the horse seems to grow a little taller and the haunches drop down (duh!) and my tendency is to follow the horse's front with my body so that I'm leaning forward of the vertical. Naturally, this may seem to be the right thing but it's not and I have to constantly remind myself. Moreover, because the half-halts require "tucking" your pelvis underneath you (the best analogy, and it's a bit crude, is imaging having a hard bowel movement- yeah gross, but it's it the only analogy that works, at least for me). By allowing yourself to move forward, your actually lifting your rear off the saddle and thus you can't engage in complete half-halts.

As a final note, I've also begun to be more aware of just what my body is supposed to be doing in half-halt- it's almost like coiling oneself a like spring in the shape of a "c" with the pelvis being one end and the diaphragm being the other. You really learn to use those muscles!

Although I don't pretend to be any sort of an expert and I'm sure that I've missed a lot of technical points, I do find it amazing, especially since most of the people who do this started at a very young age and I started WAY later.

Finally, I also think Max is getting better at this and there's been times where he's now collecting spontaneously while trotting and cantering (at times when I don't necessarily want it)- very interesting! :-)

Back on the Trail

After a week of rain, things finally cleared out and slowly the ground has begun to dry. The downside is that it's been very cold at night and even during the day it was a bit crisp...the end result was something that's not normally seen here in this part of Southern California: SNOW!

Needless to say, I had to get Max out on the trail again and so I decided to scout out some of the storm damage. I avoided low-lying areas since there's still a lot of water and the attendant risk of quicksand. Also, any of the usual stream crossings in the Hansen Dam Basin are going to be higher than usual with a fast current (all the run-off from the mountains). My area to ride in was going to be somewhat limited.

I rode down the wash and except for fast moving water in the stream, it wasn't too much of a problem. When I rode under the Foothill Blvd. and 210 bridges, I noticed that the stream was only running on one side and it was fairly easy to cross so I could have accessed a fairly large area of the basin in either direction.

I decided to go towards the Equestrian Center and Gabriellano Park, working my way around the Equestrian Center and then heading east on the Haul Road. I then took a loop home that took me past the Park (where I decided to work Max some). Finally, I made my way up Orcas Ave. towards the stables.

Overall, there was the usual sort of earth movement and the run-off had deposited a large amount of ash from last August's Station Fire. There streams running through the basin had definitely expanded so it's going to be awhile before I get down there. I took a few pictures with my cell phone- not the best camera, it was more beautiful in person.

Max did pretty well and he was eager to get out after a week in his stall but he wasn't crazy. Working him out in the Gabriellano Park was definitely a good idea and we even reviewed some basic dressage moves and collection. Hopefully the weather will stay relatively clear for awhile (although another storm is supposed to be coming on Monday- we'll see) so I can get back to working Max.

Little Tujunga Canyon


Haul Road looking east


Looking east from Gabriellano Park


Big Tujunga Canyon, looking northeast


Another view of Big Tujunga Canyon, looking northeast

Infantry vs Cavalry

Some thoughts on the old "Infantry vs Cavalry" debate:

1) Horsemanship- The state of horsemanship was abysmal. For the most part, there was no formal instruction and it was up to the individual companies to train. With motivated/competant officers and NCOs, results could be achieved in time but to a great degree, training was of the character of "on the job", especially if the company was going on campaign (before departing, companies were reinforced with new recruits, some who had just barely enlisted).

2) Logistics- A good part of the horse's normal garrison ration was grain. Out in the field, supplies were spotty and for the most part the horses depended on grazing the local grass. After three or four weeks of campaigning, horses frequently broke down and if nothing else, lost a lot of weight. The horse breeds used by the Indians were far more hardy and capable of subsisting on a lot less. In fact, it could be argued that the march rates after three or four weeks were actually more favorable for infantry.

The reality was that for the most part, the cavalry was incapable of catching up with Indian war parties, who operated mostly in the Spring and Summer. The key strategy that Miles employed was the winter campaign when forage for the horses was hard to find and limited food supplies. Snow and severe rain limited mobility and especially with the women and children. Basically the Indian villages were "fixed" during the winter, making them a target. Miles basically gutted the Sioux with the 5th Infantry in the Fall of 1876/Winter of 1877.

IMHO, much of what we see and hear of the infantry vs cavalry debate is tainted by a combination of officers attempting to save their careers and justify their actions after-the-fact and later with Hollywood movies and just plain BS. The record is fairly mixed and I believe that both cavalry and infantry were essential, cavalry to provided a wide-ranging "presence" and the infantry to act as the proverbial "rock" to anchor a campaign.

The 1870s Walk-A-Heap

One of my interests has always been the military side of things in the Old West and especially things that people don't usually associate with the West such as infantry. When it comes to living history, people often only think about Custer and the 7th Cavalry and that unfortunate encounter at the Little Big Horn. This ignores 99% of what else was out there and contrary to Hollywood movies, bad novels and other media, infantry played a key role in the Army's campaigns during the Indian Wars.

I originally posted this on another living history board but I thought that it might be of interest here...and yes, believe it not, there actually WAS infantry in the West and they were often more useful than cavalry for heavy campaigning. :-)

The following is some general information for those who would like to put together an 1870s infantry impression so here's a brief overview:

First, you have to ask yourself what year are you portraying? Uniforms and equipment were in a state of flux during this era and often times key items were different from year to year. Contrary to popular belief, soldiers were not simply issued with leftovers from the Civil War (in fact, it was due to poor storage that a lot of these items were rendered unuseable which prompted the Army to seek replacements).

With that said, I'll start with the necessary kit for an 1876 impression:

1874 Sack Coat w/ branch of service trim on the sleeves. This was a four-button sack coat, unlike its Civil War cousin.

1872 Trousers or Civil War era trousers (preferably Schuykil pattern). There is very little difference between them and both were used.

1851 or 1872 Shoe (aka brogans). Both appear to have been used throughout the 1870s and the 1872 model was made with copper screws which in turn made them especially unforfortable in the winter.

1872 Forage Cap with appropriate branch of service, company and regiment brass. These are arranged a bit differently before and after 1875.

Campaign Hat- At this point there was no official issue model (in 1877 there would be) and the soldiers bought these from the post trader or other civilian source. These would be non-descript slouch hats in a variety of colors, mostly black, brown and grey. One note: DO NOT PUT HAT BRASS OR HAT CORDS ON THESE!!! The actual soldiers rarely did so (and it wasn't authorized) and it will mark you as a farb.

1873 Greatcoat- This was a pretty warm garment and was blanket-lined and had a double-cape.

1874 Canteen- This would be a converted Civil War era canteen and there were at least two different models.

1874 Haversack- This came in two basic models, the earlier in cotton duck with a tarred cover and a later one with a thick canvas cover.

1874 Meat Can- The Army's first attempt at an issue piece of mess wear. Descendents of this basic model were used by the Army up until the late 1980s.

1874 Knife, Spoon, and Fork- Once again, the Army's first official issue eating wear. Before this, soldiers bought whatever they could at the post trader.

1874 Cup. Similar to it's Civil War cousin in size and configuration. Unlike those in the Civil War soldiers did not install wire bales and efforts were made to keep these clean (from what I can tell from the research I've done).

1874 Clothing Bag- Rarely carried on campaign, this was intended as a means carrying clothing and along with the haversack, made up the Palmer Brace System.

Blanket- Can be either the Grey pattern found in the Civil War or the later 1873 model with purple stripes (yeah, purple! ).

Gum Blanket- Same as it's Civil War predecessor (it was the same item).

Shelter Half- Identical to the Civil War model, mostly the 1864 model. Wooden stakes simliar to those found in WWI/WWII were also issued along with two-piece poles.

Prairie Belt- This was the ammo belt consisting of loops. At this time there was no official issue item like this so soldiers would purchase their own from either civilian sources or from one of the Post saddlers. Old 1851 waist belts and NOC belt buckles were popular for conversions. By 1877/78, the Army finally developed it's own issue belt.

1874 belt and McKeever Pouch. These were garrison items and along with the haversack and clothing bag made up the Palmer Brace System.

Bayonet and Scabbard. The Bayonet scabbard was developed in 1872 and the bayonet was usually a converted Civil War era bayonet (althogh there some bayonets specially made for the 1873 Springfield Rifle. The bayonet was also a garrison item and was left behind on campaign.

The above is only a rough sketch and I'm partially going off memory here so I might have gotten a few things wrong so please bear with me. Also, while it can be successfully argued that it took time for items to be put into the Army supply system and distributed to the troops out West, the process still occurred in a reasonable amount of time so using this as an excuse to use Civil War stuff really doesn't cut it.

Also, and this is a gripe of mine, all too often the "it took time to issue new items" is used as a cop-out by people to weasel out of having to expend the money and time to procure the right stuff- in some cases, it simply doesn't work and makes you look like a farb. Also, while in some instances you can justify the Civil War item, in order to really set the Indian Wars impression apart from Civil War, you really have to use the stuff that's unique to the 1870s to really stand out. Just my opinion there.

Unfortuantely, there are way too many half-assed Indian Wars infantry impressions out there (and don't get me started on cavalry) and they're not even good Civil War impressions. LEAVE THE CIVIL WAR BEHIND! OK, that's my dos centavos on that matter.

Also, just an observation: While it's easier to put together a c. 1867 impression using mostly Civil War items, procuring the 1866 Springfield (aka Second Allen) is a killer- apparently the prices have gone through the ceiling.

On the other hand, doing a more latter impression such as the later 1870s or 1880s is easier from a weapons standpoint (though not much with the prices), getting the proper unifroms and equipment is a bit more of a challenge.

Finally, the one thing really holding back things is the lack of a good uniform vendor. The only game in town is the Quartermaster Shop and the authenticity of some of their items is pretty questionable (although the workmanship is pretty decent). Perhaps things have changed but at least that's what I encountered about four or five years ago.

Just my dos centavos but I hope people find it helpful.