ridecamp@endurance.net: Shoeing/Conditioning

Shoeing/Conditioning

Wendy Milner (wendy@wendy.cnd.hp.com)
Wed, 09 Apr 1997 14:23:08 MDT

Ronda asks:
>1. Do all endurance horses need shoes, and how do you decide if yours
>does. (I have a 4 1/2 yr old mustang mare she was in the wild for 3
>years and has feet of steel we ride in the Mohave desert aprox 8-15
>miles a day and her farrier says she has the best feet he's seen)
>
Check with the ride manager and vet before you start out. Most ride
entry forms say that you need shoes, but you can generally get a waiver.
If your horse truely does have feet of iron, you probably won't need
shoes until you get into heavy compitition, and then, you'll see the
need.

>2. How do you start a conditioning program? (As mentioned above she
>goes 8-15 in aprox 1hr-1/12hr and I can't get her to loose weight. I
>ride 6 days a week every other is a easy day 8miles or arena work. She
>is always eager to go and I feed 8lbs alfalfa and 1lb grain. She is
>14.2 hh and I can't feel ribs beneath her coat.)

Start by adding miles. Long slow miles. Do a couple of days of the 15
to 20 miles each week. Do a couple of days of faster interval training.
And keep up the good training ring work. *** ONLY change one factor at
a time. ***

Get off the alfalfa and onto good grass hay.
Alfalfa is too high in protein, tends to raise the heart rate by
a couple of beats, and might cause long term problems.

And check out the ridecamp archives - there are many articles on
starting your conditioning program.

--
Wendy


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  Wendy Milner                     HPDesk:   wendy_milner@hp4000
  Hewlett-Packard Company          e-mail:   wendy@fc.hp.com
  Mail Stop A2                     Telnet:   229-2182
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