Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

My guy has learned that he is allowed to eat if he does it on the run. He 
will reach down snatch a bite and keep trotting. The only time he is allowed 
to stop is if I give him the cue to. Funny story, we were trotting along one 
day and he reached down to bit the top off a plant (probably about 3ft high) 
well to his suprise the whole thing uproots. He never let go though. 
Continued trotting down the trail as he calmly munched his plant with it 
dragging between his front legs. Oh and no questions are dumb questions if 
they help you learn.
Jess Spoone-Raines

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Adam" <jatatahoe1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 8:32 AM
Subject: [RC] eating on the trail


> Well, 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!!
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=