Re: Pain Releif in Hard Rides

[jlong@mti.net (Joe Long)]

On Wed, 6 Jan 1999 12:18:56 -0700, Cheryl Newbanks
<horsetrails@inficad.com> wrote:

>So forget the bute people, if you feel you HAVE to bute after a ride then 
>you need to re-evaluate your program.  I also do massage, stretches, and 
>rub legs down with linament after competition.  Good old fashion hand 
>walking every few hours helps too.

I decided to add my two cents in support of Cheryl, Heidi and others.

Back when Kahlil and I were competing one to two thousand miles a
year, he often did not get time off between rides ... we sometimes
rode a 50 one week after a 100.  But I never used bute or any other
painkiller (unless he was being treated for an injury, and then we
were *not* going to rides!!!).  The last thing I wanted was to mask
symptoms of a minor injury that could turn into a major blowout his
next time out.

If your horse is fit and properly conditioned for the workload you're
asking him to do, and ridden within his abilities, you don't need
painkillers after a ride.  If he does come up stiff and sore you may
feel like you're doing your horse a favor by buting him, but if you
mask the pain he may further injure himself even in his own pasture --
and that's no favor!  Mild linaments and braces, massage, walking, all
are good ways to make him feel better that take more time and effort
but are kinder to your horse in the long run.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@mti.net
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