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Re: [RC] Tevis trail accident - Chris Paus

I agree. There are lots of ways to simulate what our
horses need to know.

I'm working with a 4Yo mare now to prepare her for
competition. Lots of people have asked me why I'm not
competing on her yet. The answer is, she's not ready.
She could do it physically, but mentally she needs
some more experiences and more growing up.

I've been doing things such as taking her to charity
nose to tail trail rides, lots of solo work on trails,
riding around the neighborhood with barky dogs,
bridges, other scary stuff.

She had a little bit of trouble with a big (150
riders) charity ride last weekend which showed me some
of the things we need to work on.

Yesterday I took her on a 4th of July parade. Now
there's a way to get a horse used to noise, sights,
being bumped, etc. It was a good starter for her
because it was an "all horse" parade.. no marching
bands, no fire trucks with sirens, etc. She had to go
quietly behind other horses for more than an hour on
city streets and even a highway. We had a police
escort so it was pretty safe. I took her pasture mate
along with my grandson aboard him. She saw wagons,
mules, jingly harnesses, her reflection in store
windows. There were firecrackers, motorcycles and
bridges. She did quite well with it. I'm sure that
experience can only help her deal with the things
she'll see and hear at a CTR or endurance venue.

We've practiced camping out twice now, once in a
sturdy metal pen and once tied to the trailer
overnight. She's ridden in rainy weather, heat, and
snow. She stands still for the vet. 

I am trying to think of everything that will help her
deal with it. I have another competition horse so I
don't have to hurry her along. It's a nice luxury to
be able to take the time to fully train a horse for
this sport.

Maybe it's not a luxury. Maybe it's a necessity. My
competition gelding, Star, got thrown into the fray
too soon. He was old enough, but had been a pasture
potatoe and needed to relearn a lot. I competed on him
too soon and paid the price in high heart rates, bad
behavior, etc. Now, after 7 years, he's a real trooper
and knows his job, but I think had I spent a good year
preparing him, he would have been a good trail horse
much sooner in the game.

chris

--- Ericka Nelson <love2ridenv@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Amen, Heidi.
----- Original Message -----
From: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lif@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2004 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] Tevis trail accident


=====
"A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot

Chris and Star

BayRab Acres
http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

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Replies
Re: [RC] Tevis trail accident, Ericka Nelson