ASK THE MUSHER Vol 2: Rick Holt

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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Moose » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:45 am

Thanks again, Rick, for your honesty and candor. An honest team with an honest driver. ;) I wish your post above could be read by Iditarod dreamers everywhere. At least the dreamers here have enjoyed your race and can benefit from your personal experiences. You're an inspiration. Really.

Tiff, is he really the coolest musher on the trail? I think I'd like to adopt him...the whole family, actually. Could the kids use another grandmother? :D
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby eluciq_kennels » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:35 am

Moose wrote:Tiff, is he really the coolest musher on the trail? I think I'd like to adopt him...the whole family, actually. Could the kids use another grandmother? :D


Well...he is a pretty incredible person. He has such passion, drive, dedication & enthusiasm in all aspects of his life...we are pretty lucky to have him as a father, husband & friend in our lives. He really does have that positive outlook on life and he TRIES very hard to not judge...he leaves that part to me...giggle :lol:

Oh yeah...the boys' love to have lots of Grandma's...you can never have too many grandparents...well that is what the boys' would say...hee!

Iditarod 2008 has allowed Rick plenty of time to reflect...and I appreciate his honesty too. AS I think many mushers either forget or don't know exactly how to put it down in words the challenges that occur on the trail and I love that Rick makes so many connections with what he was thinking-doing on the trail with his own life outside of mushing!

tiff
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby ThisSpaceForRent » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:08 pm

Raising Hand.....hey....I could be an older brother/uncle....still not ready to add "GrandPa" to my name yet...LOL

Tiff and Rick...please feel free to type as mush as your fingers will allow. :D

Rick (or Tiff) How do you find time to train AND have a full time job? Any of your team "house dogs"?

Again, as has and will be stated again, Thank You both!!

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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby aren » Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:25 am

Hello Rick and Tiff, Thank you so much for taking time answering questions on the forum.
I was absolutely speechless after reading your answer "..... about things learned I thought I would combine that with high and low points.... etc". You are so eloquent and honest. This answer must come straight from your hart and we certainly do appreciate that. The answer was just right and not one word too long ;) What you say show great insight, depth, are so true in many of lives situations... and it made me sit down and really think about a thing or two. Thank you !
I do have a couple of questions for you.
You said in the above mentioned answer that you wished you were more skilled in various areas, one being dog health. How much knowledge do you have in physiotherapy / massage on dog muscels and how much do you empahise this during the Iditarod and in your dayly training.
What was it that made you decide to run the Iditarod in the first place and how much actual race experience did you have before the start of the race.
Btw, you have made me a supporter of the eluciq kennel. Hope we will see you race again :) :)

All the best from Norway
aren

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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby flowerpower » Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:43 am

Hi Rick, Thank you for your generous replies! One thing you should know about us--You can NEVER give us too much information :D -who do you think came up with the bathroom question?

I was laying in bed last night thinking about the dogs, and got to wondering-how many are neutered or spayed? Obviously it seems like it would cause problems if you have a female in heat and a bunch of un-neutered males on the team (I was wondering if that caused the problem between Lances' Larry & Hobo). How and when do you decided if a dog is potential breeding stock? Or is everyone not fixed because they could be potential breeding stock?

Thanks again!
"No matter how little money and how few possesions you own, having a dog makes you rich." - Louis Sabin
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Daphne in Alberta » Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:02 pm

I love learning about this sport and your response was definitely NOT more than we wanted to hear. It was insightful and has provided me with much food for thought.
One question re your comment that you are not a dog trainer - does this in any way inhibit your ability to recognise a dog's strengths so that you know where he belongs on the gangline. This, to a complete novice, seems to be a real skill - to know if a dog is a wheel dog, team dog, or swing dog. Is it their inherant ability, strength, or training that assigns them their positions. Hope I made myself clear and it's not too stupid a question. :)
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby eluciq_kennel » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:33 pm

Many apologies for not being back in here sooner. I had a wonderful surprise after returning from the race (and a weeks worth of work up in BSSD) both of my sons have decided that mushing is for them.... so the last few days they have been going out together on a 4 dog team running a 2 mile loop out behind the house. Great fun to see them work together on the sled and in the yard.

I will do my best to answer the last few questions, more apologies if I do not get to yours. Please do not hesitate to ask again.

How do I know where a dog belongs on the gangline? There are some skills (in my limited ability to know these things) that I look for, for some spots. Wheel dogs have to be tough and agile able to move quickly form side to side to avoid obstacles (they don't get mush warning as their vision is blocked by other dogs). The do not have to be the hardest pulling dogs just the best built to take the added force of the sled. In fact the hardest working dog you have will eventually fail in wheel. My hardest working dogs go furthest up the line. My one leader Houston (referred to as an SUV by the start line commentators) works so hard that lead is really the only spot for him. I had to train him to gee haw but it was innate for him to be out front. Really what amazed me during the race was how important swing dogs are. After 400 miles they really drive the team. While the leaders show the way the swing dogs seem to set the pace and keep the team moving. In general I move dogs around in training to see where the are happiest and look for dogs who are always tight on the tugs and dogs who take small breaks (slack tug) while we are running. Certainly far from a stupid question :) I still make different choices in team placement than other more experienced mushers have made with some of the dogs I run.

Neutered and Spayed...Well on the team I ran this year I had one spayed female and the rest of the team was in tact. Turns out one female was in full season and had to be sent home because it was causing issues....that did not stop me from parading her up and down the team in Ruby to get the boys a bit fired up ( I felt a bit like a pimp) but eventually I had to drop her. Unfortunately I am not smart enough to know if a dog is breeding stock or not so in general I no longer breed dogs. I have tried in the past but it is expensive in the long run and I have only been moderately successful. I rely on experienced breeders for dogs. That being said I am thinking of changing my practice because of the huge advantage that comes with having dogs that you have raised from birth. I took 5 "A Team" dogs that another musher was going to run (but had to withdraw before the race started) they were wonderful dogs who did their job but did not work hard for me they worked hard because thats what they do, so when it was tough or I needed more they were not invested in me and chose not to give extra. The mutts I had raised and were running with me stepped up and out preformed the "A team " dogs. Now, I believe, those same "A team" would have put the rest or my team to shame in the hands of the owner who bred them. But my own dogs have a relationship with me that allows them to exceed their breeding and perform like all stars.

Dog health and Massage. I had almost zero experience with things like wrist wraps and shoulder massage mostly because I was not and have not had issues during training and racing (no neck lines is the key). So when those things developed, and they did because I started to add necklines during the race (out of ignorance and fear) I has to rely on what I had heard about how to treat the injuries. I did fine and the dogs were fine but I would have liked to not have to rely on on-the-job training.

Deciding to run the Iditarod. Well this is multi layered. Much like when Shrek says Ogers are like onions I feel that there are many layers to this answer. I ran mainly for selfish reasons. I am nearing 40 and feeling not as athletic as I once did, I love being outdoors with the dogs, miss being competitive, wanted to celebrate my family's (grandfather and father) connections to dogs, wanted to have the adventure of a life time, wanted to apply the years of outdoor skills I had accumulated, wanted to explore more of Alaska and really wanted to tackle what appeared to be an impossible task. The race was an excellent combination of skills I thought I had and an amazing place to put them to the test. Before the race I had run many many races in Unalakleet, mostly short sprint type with a few 80 and 100 mile races and one 200. Then I added a 200 (Gin-Gin) and a 300(Don Bowers) this year.

How do we have time for a full time job and dogs...well I will end with this one tonight. I don't. The truth of the matter is that I was sleeping about 4 hours a night for the last 3 months before the race. I am a fanatic about doing what ever I choose to do to the best of my ability. And quite frankly, I don't feel as though I was giving my all to the big 3 in my life: Family, job and dogs. I was exhausted before the race began. I am very luck y to have such an understanding and supportive family. Many times if not all I refer to the team as we did this or we did that...and folks think it is cool that I refer to the dogs and I as we..well yeah sure the dogs are in there but the real we is Tiff the boys and I. They made huge sacrifices to make Iditarod a reality. Tiff took on all the house chores, the home schooling of the boys and some dog chores. The boys gave up me reading to them in the evening and me being around most hours they were awake, missing out on play time and good quality family time. The folks I work for are amazing and tolerated what I would consider less than my best efforts. And the dogs could have gotten much better attention but there were times when training was adjusted to meet family and work schedules... it was too much and I am tired. And after nearly 9 years of all of the family working hard to make my dream come true it is time to put the energy into helping the family make their dreams come true. I will be parking the sled for a while....I have placed the team in good homes with wonderful mushers... and I will be on the sidelines for the next couple of years. I am looking forward to starting our next adventure, the adventure that we will all do together. At this time we have not committed to anything but are looking a several options. I do not regret one ounce of effort that we all put into Iditarod and every second of the trail has changed who I am and how I think about what we can accomplish as a family. I look now at the possibilities and think we can do ANYTHING...there is nothing that can stop us from achieving our dreams. I know now that it will not all go smoothly (like the race) and that there may be times of great sorrow and despair but that we always have each other and the family and friends who believe in us who will, without question, support us and cheer us on AND there will be times of great accomplishment and celebration that will bring us closer to our goals. As a family we are even more committed to what has become our mantra over the last few years Dream it. Plan it. Do it.
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Moose » Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:45 am

Big, huge lump in throat. Tears welled up in eyes. Rick, you do your adoptive mom (me) proud. ;) I'm pleased to have met you through these pages. You seem to be moving through life making the best of each lesson. And while the BSSD kids can speak to your teaching skills, I can see that you're an awesome student of life. Carry on.

Mama bear hugs to you, Tiff, and the boys.
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Di* » Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:34 am

What a treasure you are Mr. Holt! :D 8-)
Thank you SO MUCH for joining us here on the forum, I can't remember when I've learned so much about so many things! You are a true gem of a guy I'm sure you will be incredibly successful at anything you do. Your time and attention to each question asked here is unprecedented and greatly appreciated!
Kinda sad to hear your sled is parked for now but I'm glad you are putting your family first!Best wishes for you and your precious family! :D
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby fladogfan » Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:39 pm

Rick,Tif, Sons and dogs,
Thanks for sharing your adventure. Am sorry to hear sled parked for awhile, but 40 is not old in 'running the Iditarod' years, so when the runners git going again we'll be here to cheer you on. In the mean time what ever family adventure you choose, have fun !!!
Might we see the younger Holts on runners :?: :lol:
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