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[RC] What if your horse hates to condition? - Kristi SchaafHi all -
I'm trying to get my horse ready for a 50 by
mid-summer. He's 14 and we've been together for 10
years and many many miles. He has 1000 NATRC, a few LD
and countless 'pleasure riding' miles. He's been
ridden both alone a lot and with other horses the
entire time I've had him. For our conditioning rides,
I try to vary our route and our terrain, and also vary
loops with out-and-backs, but he still despises going
out and doing the miles alone. I hope that he never
TRULY becomes lame or ill when we're out riding,
because he's cried wolf so many times that I wouldn't
believe him. On the ride away from home, he 'gimps',
is sluggish (I'm lucky to get his trot up to 6 mph)
and he tries to convince me that he's very near death.
I also haul him to trails away from home whenever
possible, but then the trailer becomes his 'home' and
he acts the same way. Whenever his little nose is
pointed toward 'home' he becomes a new horse - very
willing with a trot to die for (and to his credit he
never gets out of control or anything like that). I've
tried rewarding him by letting him graze for extended
periods at the farthest point away from home, leaving
him standing tied for awhile when we get home, etc.
But, I think maybe he just doesn't like to condition
(like the women who go to the gym but hate it). At an
organized ride or riding somewhere new (but I've run
out of new trails!), it's a different story; he's very
willing to go down the trail alone. There is still a
little thought in the back of my mind that physically
maybe something is bothering him, but hubby thinks my
horse is just pulling the 'master manipulator' stunt
on me. Are some horses just reluctant to condition? It
would be great to know if other distance riders
encounter this problem, because then I'd quit worrying
about it. There is no way that I'm overriding him, if
anything, I'm not pushing him enough. Kristi
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