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[RC] Problems with electrolytes - Jonni JewellI live in SE Tennessee and have been doing 25's on my 9 yr. old mare for a couple of seasons. She is off the track and she does go into race horse mode at the endurance rides. Trying to rate her speed is very hard and tiring.<<< But, IMO, the best thing for a horse like this would be to do the rides as SLOW as possible, using ALL the time allowed. The longer the horse is out on the trail, the more likely it will learn it has to eat and drink. If the horse is zipping through 25's, and getting done in few hours, it has not had time to realize it needs to eat and drink, and take better care of itself. It may be hard and tiring to rate a horse like this, but in the long run, it will pay off, as you will have taught the horse how to take care of itself on the trail. It will learn it does not know how long of a day this is going to be, and it better drink when there is water, and eat when there is food. If the rider gives in to its pulling and wanting to race, then when you move up to longer distances, I feel your chances of metabolic crashes have greatly increased. I am really liking the idea of starting horses on Multi-day rides, going slow, teaching them they need to conserve excess energy, as they might have to go again the next day. I'll know how well this works after this summers XP2004, with one of my horses that I am taking who has very limited experience on rides. I will bet the first day he will be very excited about the other horses on the trail, and want to GO. But he will learn to go slow, and not be allowed to set the pace. Setting the pace is my job........ Jonni ============================================================ I think home work is the key to having a healthy partner. ~ Steven Proe ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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