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RE: [RC] was rearing - now sluggish - Don HustonHello Mike,Just guessing here and tossing around ideas. I would do some testing before I would push the horse. A complete blood panel including Lyme Disease to see if he has some underlying problem like low glucose or whatever. When he gets sluggish jump off and check heart rate (should drop to 60 in 10-15 min or you are riding him beyond his conditioning level) and respiration (if higher than heart rate he is having trouble cooling), check rectal temp (102 is max IMHO, 103 no more riding and start sponging down to 100). Also could be a low grade type of road founder where he is fine for a while then just won't move out. If you get him onto softer footing does he immediately go better? If so, he is telling you something. And of course there is what you are feeding him which I would not change until I got my vet's analysis of the blood work. Good Luck because it's always nice to have some. Don Huston At 06:37 PM 9/12/2007 Wednesday, you wrote: Varies. Usually we go on big loops, like 5 miles across, so I'm not sure if he knows when we start to arc back. Also, it's been real hot lately, and I try to set it up so that there's breeze in our faces on the return, which is the hotter time of the day, so he's going to feel better on the way back. Further complicating, anything that gives him a spurt of adrenaline, including some kinds of stumbles, will crank him up. Actually he's usually but not always at his goingest for the first mile. But hard or gravelly footing will slow him down too. SanDiego, Calif
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