Re: [RC] [RC] advice for horse - Laurie Durgin
Well my arab is a chunk(crabbet/wintez)and has been fine in training. I ride
in winter (SE) where it is always wet on the trails, from 6-8 inches of mud
on some to rocky/slick on the slopes. I ride in hills. I ride in 40's(I skip
the 30's, as it will usually be nice in a day or two).He is only shod on
front,so far been fine.I do slow him down in bad footing, and pick it up in
good spots. Half the trail I ride on are seriously erroded(but he sure is
sure footed) and rocks, gravel, 4 wheeler ditches, etc.Some power line
road(dirt, erroded). (But I haven't done real long distances yet, just been
training for 2 years, green horse,$ syndrome.But will this Jan. or at latest
March.
I clip my horse in winter, because he turns into a woolly mamouth.And I warm
up on the way out, and walk the last mile.Never had a "cramping"problem.
Course I haven't used my rumprug yet, except at Talledaga, Al.at the vet
checks.(I'd bodyclipped and the temp.dropped that day to 40'sin daytime(got
to 50 maybe for an hour). But I didn't use the rug riding,only when we came
thru the Vet check, but I did a slow ride.But we were just doing a training
ride.
(from what I've read and saw and heard vets say, some horses at rides are
too thin really, so I wouldn't necessarily compare yours.)According to alot
I've heard here, "the ideal endurance horse" body, conformation, etc. isn't
really a "rule". Been some great horses that don't fit the "ideal". Have
fun, best wishes.Laurie and Rascal(the chunk)
From: "Kathie Ford" <MsPoOh17@xxxxxxx>
To: <Ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [RC] advice for horse
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:00:21 -0800
Hi there and Happy New Year to all!
I have a question. I've got an arab/pinto I'm trying to condition for
endurance. I introduced her to the sport with two LD rides last may. I
wanted to see how she would handle it, and if she'd like it. We did the
Quicksilver Classic and CFW. She did seem to like it and do okay. But I'm
concerned about a few things and would like to gleen some opinions from you
more experienced riders.
Firstly, for her natural weight she is built husky for an arab. She has
pretty good conformation, and nice feet. However, her hindquarters are a
bit larger and seem to be a bit more muscular than what I see in other
arabs in endurance. I'm worried she may have some "tie up" episodes if I
don't care for her properly. She hasn't done that yet-but I'm wondering if
she is higher risk for it due to her build. I take good care of her and do
watch her closely. She gets good quality hay and is wormed and trimmed
regularly.
Currently, she is on free choice grass hay, with no more than 10% alfalfa
(I personally don't like the stuff and usually don't give it at all-but
decided this little amount might be okay)
I also feed her a small amount of LMF, corn oil, strongid C2x. She also
gets-according to ride schedule some beet pulp and a little rice bran once
in a while for a treat. I make this very watery and put apples, and
carrots in it.
This horse has much natural stamina and endurance. But I still need to
build her correctly. I did take her for a lot of long walks with a little
trotting the first year I had her. She had had an owner who only rode her
2x's a year if she was lucky. So, I wanted to build her skeletal system
and strengthen her tendons and ligs.
What sort of diet would any of you suggest for her at this point. I'm
going to do a couple more LD"'s to keep my eye on her but would like to
progress to 50's and eventually do the Tevis with her. She is not to
spooky and listens pretty well to her rider, though sometimes she can be
strong. But if quietly correctly she says "okay",,,sorry...lol.
Actually, Maryben, you've seen this horse I'm training now...what do you
think? Any ideas?
Secondly, we get a lot of rain up here. I have a nice sand arena to ride
in and also some trails in our neighborhood. Many of the trails get
slippery though and errode easily so we tend to stay off some of them in
the winter. These trails have some great hill climbs, but due to to
slipperyness of them I feel they may not be safe, even though I have her
barefoot most of the time. If I ride her in colder weather (high
30's-40's) are there any risks involved? Special care issues I need to be
aware of etc? I do warm up and cool down. But I've read some posts on
"cramping". I don't want to cause any harm or damage to her, yet she loves
to get out.
I ride most of our horses thru winter in some way as they get bored. I
also read somewhere that if not exercised during winter at all that they
lose bone density? Is this correct? Any vets out there have thoughts on
this? My neighbors never ride in winter and think I'm crazy. In the worst
weather I at least get them out for a walk around the block (3 mile
loop-lots of sightseeing).
Anyway, I'm riding Cira differently than my others because I do want to
ride endurance on her. That's why I'm seeking additional knowledge.
Thanks for helping in advance!
kathieGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download :
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