I spent winter of 06-07 in Texas and I noticed the same thing
when I went to a Texas ride. Several of the horses could have been SPCA poster
children as skinny as they were.
From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Carrie Kitley Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2008 8:34 AM To: Janeene Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Newbie with a Concern
Welcome to the group, Janeene. Good to have you!
One thing that has to be considered is that the majority
of horses ridden in endurance are Arabs. Often, Arabs tend to look lean
in general. I have a Polish bred mare that is just built on the slight
side. I beef up the fat in her diet, especially before e-rides but she
can lose some weight even during one ride. She has high withers, a
prominent spine and hip bones that stick out. However, she is of
average weight for an Arab and she is fed VERY well and is a good
eater. I think sometimes people tend to compare Arab's conformation to
that of Quarter horses or other beefier breeds when this isn't a fair
comparison.
The only other thing I can
say is that maybe there are people in TX who aren't feeding properly or hay
is different, you may have noticed something that definitely IS an issue.
Without seeing, I can't really say. And you're right about likening
endurance horses to marathon runners, but that is precisely why we have to
stay on top of the proper feeding and supplementing of these horses, because
they work much harder than the average horse. Just my 2 cents.
Keep an eye on that though, you might want to point it out to a
ride vet there and see what they have to say. I'm sure if it is a big
issue, they will take notice.
~Carrie <\_~
//
\\
"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's
ears."
~ Old Arabian Proverb
--- On Sun, 9/28/08, Janeene <janeenesings@xxxxxxx>
wrote:
From: Janeene
<janeenesings@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [RC] Newbie with a Concern
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, September 28, 2008, 4:52 AM
Hi,
I just attended my first endurance ride this weekend (the Texas Tango), and I
had a great time as a volunteer. The ride was well-organized, people
were extremely helpful and friendly, and it was just an overall great
experience and it definitely motivated me to get more involved (I'm planning
to do a 25 at next month's Armadillo). Here's my concern: the
number of what I consider "skinny" horses I saw at this ride.
Now, I know that human marathon runners are lean and sometimes downright
skinny, but, if I had seen some of these horses in someone's pasture, I would
have called a rescue to report neglect. To be fair, the top riders and
their horses were not guilty of this; for the most part, their horses looked
lean, but in good flesh and well-conditioned. The first-time riders
seemed to all have horses in good weight. There were, however, a very
large number of horses that just looked downright underweight (ribby with
toplines prominent and hipbones protruding). What is up with
this?&nbs p; Is it due to overconditioning? Underfeeding?
Stress? I really am getting hooked with this sport, but I want to do
right by my horses. I would love to hear some feedback from you
guys....
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