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[RC] eating on the trail - Jennifer AdamWell, a while back I said I would take a break from asking dumb newbie questions, but I can't - there's just too much I want to know! Sorry - and thanks for your patience. Here's another stupid question -I had a discussion with some horse people in my neighborhood last night about eating on the trail. Now, their main interest is western pleasure and halter - they don't see the big deal about endurance because they think any horse that can do a 10 mile trail can also do 100 - just takes more time (:-/. Two of them never ever let their horses snatch a bite once they have a halter on. The other two let them graze in halter, but once they saddle up the horses aren't allowed to eat at all. They were arguing that letting a horse snatch bites takes away his focus and keeps him from concentrating on his rider. I will admit - I've been on trail horses (those dude ranch kinds) that were so busy grabbing mouthfuls they hardly wanted to move down the trail. It can be an annoying habit, but I want my mare to learn how to eat on the go, how to eat quick when she needs to. So, my question is - how do I keep her concentration and let her eat when she needs to? How do you all handle it? Do you give a cue (lengthen the reins, whatever) to let your horses know it's okay to eat? Or do they just like to go so much that they automatically eat on the run? What is the right way to teach a horse when it's appropriate to eat and when they need to concentrate on moving out? I don't want to screw up my mare by doing something wrong. Thanks - Clueless and Curious, Jen _________________________________________________________________ Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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