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RE: [RC] Barefoot horses & pavement - heidiI had been planning to avoid the concrete because I didn't want to cause any long-term soft tissue damage. Are you saying, Heidi, that walking those roads not only is all right, but is actually beneficial in the long-term? Can you explain the benefits? Yes, walking on hard surfaces can have benefits. Bone remodels in response to the stresses put on it. Soft tissues also have to be stressed to condition. The key is to not do too much at any one time--you want to stress, but you do not want to injure. By keeping the horse to a walk on hard surfaces in the beginning, you don't add near the concussion and speed that you would at faster gaits. I don't have any hard and fast numbers, but I do know one very successful trainer who went from endurance to training Arabian race horses--she recommended walking on pavement for around an hour at a time, 2-3x per week, to build bone. Remember that at the beginning of any conditioning, bone actually demineralizes for the first 6 weeks, and then begins to remineralize in stronger patterns. After the second 6 weeks, the bone will be as strong as before you began the conditioning, and from there on out, it gets stronger. (The reason why race horses tend to buck shins--which is just microfractures right under the periosteum--is because they tend to start adding speed when the horse can handle it metabolically--which is right around the time of maximum bone demineralization, when the bones are at their weakest.) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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