First of all, my main impression is that I want to do this again in one form or another. Not necessarily only on horseback, but I will definitely do that too - I have many ideas for journeys on foot, bike and horseback now! I want to introduce Norway to the sponsorship tradition. We do support charities, but for people to take on a challenge and raise money that way is new to us. I think it's a brilliant idea as it encourages people to be more active and pushing their limits while they're fundraising for organisations that really need a bit of support because what they do make a huge difference. We have many, many people who take on challenges all the time anyway seeing as Norwegian nature is still fairly wild and people want to be a part of it. If all these people put up a justgiving account a lot of money would be raised for lots of different causes!
Next time I go on a ride like this I will have two horses, or at least go with another person on horseback. Juniblest isn't very dependant on other horses, but it would be good for him to have horsey company when on a journey like this. He does seem more motivated if there is another horse to keep up with! =) Also, if I have one horse to ride and one to carry the bags it would obviously be easier on them both and I could take more things such as camping gear and more of the hardfeed Juniblest can cope with. A video camera would be great too!
When it comes to rain I learned that the only thing that works is a rain poncho. When I get my horse number two in the future I will spend a lot of time waving plastic bags and tarpaulins around its head so that it becomes desensitized to flapping things and I can wear a poncho safely. It's lightweight and completely waterproof - brilliant for hacking/hiking/trekking!
I also learned to trust myself and my instincts regarding Juniblest's welfare. Feeding him shedloads of hardfeed ended up giving him a pulse in his lower legs and sore feet - very early signs of laminitis without necessarily tipping over the edge (no leaning for instance). Some horses may not get it while in hard work, but research has shown that laminitis can also be caused by a series of metabolic issues and that sugar and starch can be that drop that makes the glass run over. A horse does not have to be obese to get it and knowing my Norwegian Northland pony who is made to live on heather and moss, work harder than any horse does today (apart from some athletes, of course) and live out all year round, very nutricious feed can be incredibly destructive to him. Also, wild horses walk for distances of 15-20 miles a day in their search for food so the amount of work Juniblest was doing on this journey was highly natural for him - except that he was carrying me a lot of the time. All you have to do is make sure your horse is fit for before you leave! =)
Next time I will probably organise my training differently and make sure I train with the saddlebags and the exact equipment I'm going to use to avoid complications and surprises. Duck tape, multitool and bale twine will always be a part of the travelling kit! Not sure if I'll use a bit next time as I realised at some point during the ride that I have no idea why I use it. I find it handy for dressage, but on journeys like these you ride on a loose rein a lot! A bit is just a lot of hassle in lunch breaks and shorter stops when it's convenient for the horse to graze, although Juniblest is happy to graze with a bit in his mouth and has never had any problems juggling the grass around it =)
I will leave the justgiving pages open for a while longer as I'm planning on contacting some horsey media that will hopefully help us squeeze a bit more into these accounts ;)
If you haven't donated yet and really want to, please visit World Horse Welfare or Riding for the Disabled!
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