DAY 30

DAY 30 (Wed. Sept 30): Today was a GREAT day! We walked in the morning on the flexi, with the usual random comes and random sits. The weather has turned off cold, and the wind was so strong I had a hard time standing up. I must admit, it is hard to make myself "work" the dogs when the weather is that bad. I just want to finish the walk and get home!

Later in the day, though, the weather improved. Rain threatened, and the wind was blustery, but the temps got into the 50's. Because I am leaving for Florida on Friday, I needed to "put some miles" on Crosby TODAY. So Rad & Crosby & Shadow & I rode out to Seven Sisters (recreation area/hunting preserve) on the Yellowstone River. It is about a 5 mile round trip, so total mileage would be about 6 for the day (with the flexi walk).

We did a lot of trotting to keep warm. When you trot a horse, you can sit the trot, which can be kind of bumpy, or you can "post", which means you lift yourself up and down in the saddle to the beat of the horse, being careful to let yourself down gently, so as not to bump the horse's back. When I post, I sing a song in my mind. That song on the radio about "you belong with ME -ee- ee" is a great song to sing! ("She wears high heels, I wear sneakers, she's cheer captain & I'm on the bleachers..."). You have to speed that one up a bit to keep up with the horse, but it can be fun. If I'm all alone in the forest, I'm likely to belt out a line or two just to see if anyone is listening... but I digress.

With trotting more than 50% of the way, the dog is getting good conditioning. Moving along for a sustained amount of time at this speed can also raise a dog's temperature. A "working" dog (a dog that is moving quickly most of the time) that is in good shape will reach a plateau with his temp, or a "working temp". A dog's regular temp is about 99 (degrees Farenheit). An ideal "working temp" is about 101 to 101.5. Dogs that are worked when they are NOT in shape will have "working temps" that are at 103 or 104. On a very hot day, an out-of shape dog may have a working temp that is much higher, and therefore more dangerous. At the national Road Trial in Kentucky in 1993, when day temps neared 100, some of the dogs came into the vet check with working temps of 105 and 106. In other years, there are often dogs that come in with temps of 103 and 104.

One way to gauge conditioning is to take the dog's temperature. So today I took Crosby's temperature at rest, in the house. 99.3. I decided that was his "at rest" (or normal) temperature. I didn't take his temp again until we had been out on the trail for about 1 1/2 hours. I made sure I trotted him for a while just before I dismounted and temped him again. (That was quite a sight - me trying to tie the horse, get out the thermometer, temp the dog...). I am VERY HAPPY to say, Crosby's temp was 101!!! That's right! 101! That is a GREAT working temp! I'm so proud of him (and his breeder! At age 10, this is great!). This is AMAZING!
Admittedly, it was not hot outside, but still, for a 10 year old dog to have a working temp THAT LOW... well, all I can say, is, "This dog was BUILT for this!" (yeah, we knew that!)

Now I'm off to Florida for the weekend for a nephew's wedding.