Day 10: Adventure Day

The view we had before heading down the mountain

Our last full day in Paraguay, Sunday, Dirce arranged for us to go on an adventure in the rain forest. We were told this adventure included zip lining and hiking. Dr. White was less than pumped to go zip lining, so she asked if she could skip that part. Marcelo told her that she probably could, and he thought there was a bus that you could ride around the place and look at everything. Turns out Marcelo is a liar... On a scale of 1-10 of extreme adventure, this was definitely a 12. First you were fitted with harnesses, helmets and gloves. Then we hiked down a mountain in a large group where we encountered a rope bridge whose footing consisted of oddly sized and placed boards.

Lyndi conquering the rope bridge 

Everyone in the group tackled this without too much difficulty, a few even having extra fun and bouncing it around while crossing being careful not do do so while Deanna and Dr. White were on them because both are afraid of heights. Next was a single wire, followed by a wire and plank combination bridge. Both were extremely challenging and we were pretty worn out after (editors note: Dr. White skipped the wire bridges, she's too old/scared for that kind of thing).  After hiking a while longer, and crossing another rope bridge, we zip lined across the gorge getting to essentially fly over the tree tops!

Chelsea and Hannah on the wire

After getting to the other side, we went around a bend and had to repel down the side of a very shear cliff that was about 3 stories tall.  YIKES!! Since the guides didn't speak English, it was a very difficult and confusing experience. Mostly they would just push you into place, which of course was pretty much just pushing you over the cliff. Whew, glad that was over.

Holly on the Zip Line

Lyndi on the Zip Line

Dr. White preparing for the Zip Line 

Brenda on the Zip Line

Chelsea on the Zip Line

Deanna on the Zip Line

Frankie on the Zip Line

Next we had to hike back, which was up the mountain in difficult terrain for 45 minutes. Everyone was red faced, sweating, and out of breath by the top, but had a very accomplished feeling.  The adventure was physically difficult, but everyone agreed we had needed to work off all the great food we had been eating anyway! It was an exciting experience that most of us had never done before and we loved the adrenaline. We were also glad that Dr. White and Deanna joined us even though they weren't too sure about it.

Marcelo coming out of the cave on the hike back up

Abby showing our adventure day gear

After returning to Asuncion, we showered (man we were stinky) and went out for a farewell dinner with Juliana, Paci, Juli, Dirce, and Marcelo. Mostly we chatted about what a great time we had, and how we didn't want to leave. We tried to convince Marcelo that he needed 9 new hands on the ranch.

This was also an early birthday celebration for Dr. White because her birthday is tomorrow which she will be celebrating with us eight in the Asuncion, Ciudad del Este, and Sao Paulo Airports. We are so thankful that even though it is going to be her birthday she chose to travel with us and give us this wonderful opportunity. The Restaurant brought out an ice cream dessert with a candle in it.

The smile and look on her face as we began singing happy birthday was one of the best memories from this trip. It was nice to see that all of us, including our new Paraguay family could make her so happy.  All of these great folks have become like our family and we are very sad to leave them.

Day 9: Our Free Day in Downtown Asuncion

As our trip is closely coming to an end, our days are still fully packed with adventure. Today (Saturday) we went to the downtown area where we enjoyed lunch in the very beautiful Hotel Margarita.

A view of Downtown Asuncion

An amazing meal at the Hotel

The hotel had a roof top pool and sitting area that was great for seeing the whole city as well as a beautiful view of the Paraguay river. On the way back down from the roof, a few of the ladies got the elevator stuck because it exceeded the maximum weight capacity.  It was a very small elevator and everything was in kilos and spanish, so we didn't know what was wrong.

Dr. White and Chelsea on the Rooftop

A view of the "back" of the Capitol

After, our fearless drivers Paci and Marcelo took us to see the country's Capitol building. We were able to walk all the way around it and take beautiful pictures. Behind the Capitol building was the river.

The front of the Capitol building

The Paraguay River

Marcelo explained to us that the actual front of the building was the side that faced the river because it was built when the river was still the main form of transportation for people to arrive at the capital. We then went and visited the "Palacio Legislativo" which is the old congress building that now has been turned into a museum.  There were things from fine art to cultural items as well as many things from the past wars and the presidents who led the country.  Driving around town was yet again, an adventure.  Our drivers, Marcelo and Paci, had to zip in and out of a lot of down town traffic. Paci must have gotten in a hurry because at one point she began taking off while Abby had one foot in the truck and one on the ground with the door wide open. As we all yelled "wait!!!" she realized we were not all in. Ha! It became a joke from that point forward.

To conclude the night we went back to the expo where we enjoyed more of the culture with great shops to bring souvenirs back for our loved ones and their delicious ice cream and candy coated popcorn!

We also got to see the amazing presentation they had prepared for the Futurity. It began with a powerpoint presentation containing the information needed, which included a list of events, price to enter, and overall winnings. It was nice to see how much effort they put into it. It was followed by a short movie of pictures and video clips of previous futurities going back into 2008.  We were all shocked when we saw how intricate the details were that were put into making the movie. There were multiple clips that worked in nicely with the music that was playing along with how the clips were presented in a professional yet appealing manner. Kudos to whoever made that video, it was a pleasure to watch. This just so happened to be an early night for all of us because we knew what tomorrow had in store.  The drive back to the hotel from the expo with Nico behind the wheel was uh.....a near death experience. Intense acceleration, parking lot diving to avoid one speed bump, brake screeches, constant horn blaring, and Spanish curse words should give you a glimpse of the trip. Yet, all of this occurred while Nico sat in the driver's seat drumming the steering wheel and singing passionately to the blaring Spanish music. Let's compare it to Jason Borne/James Bond driving performed by Fabio. But in the back seat, Brenda, Holly, and Chelsea slammed from side to side. They laughed hysterically at the madness of his driving and his indifference towards the chaos he caused. The hotel parking lot never looked more beautiful than it did to Nico's passengers.

Day 8: Concluding Our Clinics

Today we got up earlier than most because we had our clinic outside. Abby and Frankie demonstrated halter breaking with a 10 month old colt in a round pen. They showed the proper ways to approach your young horse and explained body language in accordance with round penning and catching. Once they showed how to catch your horse, they went over how to build a solid foundation with your horse when he is young so he will be able to overcome obstacles easier in the future. They explained the importance of imprinting as a new born which helps halter breaking the foal. Abby also provided examples of how to avoid accidents when working with young horses. Frankie was the speaker while Abby demonstrated on the colt.

Abby with the colt

Frankie explaining what to do

 Hannah and Lyndi stepped in to discuss and exhibit groundwork. Lyndi described proper release as the colt moved off pressure from the halter. Hannah demonstrated how to handle the colt and showed how to de-sensitize using the lead rope by throwing it around the back, hip, and legs of the colt.

Lyndi explaining what Hannah is doing with the colt

Lyndi showing how to flex your horse

Hannah working with desensitizing the colt

As Hannah demonstrated this, Lyndi was explaining to the crowd what Hannah was doing and about the colt's reactions. They stressed the importance of having your colt used to things around its legs and eventually carrying a saddle. Lyndi then moved into the round pen and showed the safe and correct place to stand while teaching the baby how to move off of side pressure. She did an excellent job showing the correct time to release the colt's face and how to ask the horse to come forward with his shoulder and move his hip away from her body.  The clinic drew the attention of the nearby horse show and cattle show.

Questions were raised about different bending techniques, as well as current problems attendees were having with horses. Finally, a long discussion about tying ensued in which lots of thoughts and experiences were exchanged between the NMSU group and the APCM group.

Dr. White signing completion certificates for the participants in the clinics

After the clinic we toured a local stable.  It was a very nice stable complete with beautiful barns, manicured lawns, pristine arenas,  and a lot of very large bulls.  The facility also collects bull semen and ships it all over the world.

The collection packing room

One of the many large bulls

The front of the facility is an auction house also. This place was quite large, and housed many animals, but was right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Asuncion.

The main barn

The announcing stand at Las Talas

The beautiful arena

Dr. White helping a few of the clinic participants examine their horse

We also learned that this barn will be hosting the 2012 Futurity which is a huge excitement for all Quarter Horse people in Paraguay. We will get a presentation about it on Saturday. As we were leaving, we saw a friend we had made at the clinics bringing his horse out to ride.  Before getting on, he bent and stretched his horses neck, just like Lyndi had taught him that morning.  We were so excited to see our efforts already making a positive impact.

 Driving with everyone and all the traffic was starting to become easier to handle as the days went on... Until today. Then gentleman that drove us to the farm, Nico, was very nice. But his driving was crazier than most. He was starting out very good, until we got behind a few busses which is when he started zooming in and out of them. We got closer to the hotel and he decided to take us on a short cut through this very bumpy road. Hannah told Dr.White , "Well we got to go off roading in Paraguay." we weren't too sure if he knew where we were going so we asked and he said yes at which time him didn't stop and cut off cars to make a left turn. Then he realized the hotel was in the other direction so he did a u turn very quickly cutting off more cars. There was a sign in our lane saying we couldn't go any further in that lane but the car he cut off wouldn't let him in, so he had to slam on the brakes before he hit the sign. It was quite an experience... We were all ok and joked about it afterwards... After all, he had just said he was the safest driver.  That evening Marcelo, Paci, Juliana, and Dirce took us to a little cafe where we got to try empanadas and other tasty dishes before we went to a local night club. We were all very excited to experience the local Paraguayan night life that everyone this week was talking so highly of. It was very fun, yet different, but overall  a great time! The night club was very posh, with topiary bushes hanging upside down from the ceiling, velvet couches, and a huge chandelier made from champagne glasses. Needless to say this was fancier than clubs in Las Cruces. It was again a late night for us but we all enjoyed the experience.

Day 7: Auction Night

We began the day with breakfast, which was slowly becoming a mundane daily occurrence. Coffee, juice, eggs and bread. The food is delicious, but the same every day.

Deanna presenting aging horses by teeth

Deanna was the first to give her presentation today. She talked about the importance of maintaining the horses teeth as well as being able to recognize when they need dental assistance. She taught the group how the horse's teeth emerge from their gums in chronological order as they grow older, and how to use this information combined with identifying characteristics of the teeth to tell the age of the horse.

Deanna teaching about how a horses teeth can change

She also covered the importance of knowing what is normal for your horse and how changes in your horse's behavior can be a result of a problem in the mouth, such as abscesses or sharp points on the teeth. Frankie and Chelsea were next, with an informative presentation about bits.

Chelsea and Frankie in Bits and Functionality

They covered the various functions they serve, and how bits can facilitate or hinder communication between the horse and rider. They had actual bits to help demonstrate the functions of snaffle and leverage bits. Bits was a hot topic with a majority of the group. Many questions were asked during this specific seminar.

Frankie teaching about different english bits

Chelsea explaining what different western bits do

Chelsea went last and she spoke about coat color. She explained how the base color of any horse is either red or black.

Chelsea presenting horse coat color

Then dillutions are added to broaden the various coat colors we have today. Chelsea gave examples of breeding for coat color. There were specific questions asked about breeding for certain coat colors and what kind of probability there was that the foal would have the desired color. After the presentations were done, we went and ate lunch. We then went back to the hotel for a quick nap and then after an hour or so, it was back to the expo for the horse auction.  Once we got in the auction house we sat at a round table that was conjoined with another round table.

The horse sale began shortly after we arrived. The whole atmosphere of the auction was definitely different from your typical United States auction. The first horse they brought into the ring was excited and full of energy.

Here, this is a desired trait when selling as opposed to the US where we commonly see more relaxed horses. About half of the horses that went through were hand walked, then lunged around the handler showing off their agility and quickness with the tight turns they were asked to make. The other half of the horses were ridden in the sale ring, and performed constant rollbacks, spins, and stops. A few times the crowd got reenergized with excitement when confetti and fireworks went off in the ring. On one side of the sale ring was a fog machine that made the horses look alert and it made them put their ears up in curiosity. None of the horses spooked through any of this, but there was definitely a feeling of increased energy in the room.

It was especially exciting when the lights, music, and fog worked together when they brought the expected high sellers into the ring. This was like watching a horse auction on the Vegas strip. Those few times it was a real treat and you could tell everyone was super pumped with all the cheering and clapping. The culture here is to emphasize the excitement you feel at an auction in order to have greater selling success.  Many of the horses sold were race bred or halter bred.  There were also a couple of nicely bred reining horses sold. Marcelo explained the risk of purchasing a halter bred horse in Paraguay. HYPP is not a required test for descendants of Impressive and therefore the disease shows up quite often. Horses are sold very differently than in the US. The price that the auctioneer is calling is the price you pay each month for 10 months, so you have to multiply the sale price by 10 to get the full price.  All horses are bought on credit that you can choose to use, or turn down. If you want to pay the full price right then, you get a 5 % discount. The seller pays a very small fee to enter the horse in the auction, and pays the auction 5 % of the sell price.  Therefore, if you sell a horse, and the new buyer pays in full that night, you get 10 % less than the original sale price. It was a long night, but was enjoyed by each one of us. There were many fascinating horses, food, and cultural appearances that we got to experience. It was a great end to the day.