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Re: [RC] trail riding help - A. Perez

 Even if a horse is being ridden for the same amount of time or
distance in the ring and on the trail, the trail ride may be
more strenuous for a variety of reasons:

1.  speed: is he having to move fater to keep up with other
horses on the trail?  Are you spending more time trotting or
cantering on the trail than at home?

2. Terrain: hills vs flat, muddy vs dry, sandy vs hard, all make
for a tougher ride and can lead to strain.  If the footing is
substantially different, cut back!

3.  Excitement: new places, riding with new horses, camping out
- all add to the adrenaline rush, which can add to the strain. 


My advice is, whenever doing anything substantially 'new'(new
tack, new terrain, new location) with a horse (especially a
youngster), do it for SIGNIFICANLY less time/distance at first
than your 'usual' rides.  If you usually ride for a half hour in
the ring, when you do a 'new' ride, do only half an hour the
first few times.  If you trot half of your ring rides, only trot
a quarter when doing the 'new' ride. Build up slowly, as the
'new' ride becomes more familiar.   I'd also ride every other
day, with a day off in between, on a 3 year old.

good luck!

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