Re: RC: Susan...Sarah...heeeeeelllllppppp!!!

[Abby Bloxsom <goneriding@snet.net>]

Well, I'm not Susan/Sarah, but there may yet be some non-nutritional
things goin' on here ...

> This year, I've decided to do it differently.  As he's just come out
> of Horse Sickness, and not been worked for a while, I have started
> lunging him for 20 minutes per day.  (Please bear in mind that this
> horse is an angel on the lunge : you can free-lunge him on voice
> commands only and he behaves like a schoolmaster...it's ridden work
> that gives him his kicks) and upped it this week to 30 minutes per
> day.  

I'm not a great fan of longeing, unless there's an important
training-related reason for it.  Not that I think the longeing is a big
factor in your problem (gotta chew on that one for a while) but unless
you have something specific to get out of it on a daily basis, I don't
think I'd keep it up.

> At the moment, he is on 500 grams of concentrates per day.  He looks
> like a million bucks.
> 
I'd leave him where he's at, at least as a trainer ...

> My concern is this : as this horse gets
> fitter, he gets worse, and worse, and worse.  
> 
> So, how do I balance his nutritional needs against my need to
> survive?  Do I keep him slightly less fit, and if so, am I being cruel
> by asking him to do the work I'm asking for.

Answering specifically the conditioning question here, I'd say "do what
you have to do to keep him fit enough for the job at hand.  To do a
couple of miles at 400 m/min, you don't have to have him fit enough to
do 25 miles over hill and dale, so don't bother.  With most horses, I
would say "the fitter the better" but if it's *really* fitness that's
giving him fits, then you don't have to push that envelope.  Also,
sometimes you can do "hours in the saddle" without pushing speed for
fitness.  How does he do just walking (some horses, when they get fit,
just can't WALK without bursting)?  
> 
> And before anyone asks : yes, I've checked teeth, tack, back, feet,
> etc.  He's fine.  

The only other thing I wonder about is how much turnout time vs. stable
time he gets.  

-Abby B
-- 
* * *
Abby Bloxsom
ARICP Certified Instructor
Level III Recreational and Distance Riding
Colebrook, CT USA
dearab@horsecom.net
goneriding@snet.net