Re: Re : Bute

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/6/99 3:51:45 PM Pacific Standard Time,
rainbow@montana.com writes:

<< So you are saying that horses DO NOT get muscle soreness after a ride ?
 Even a 75 , or 100 miler ? I am not trying to cover anything up at all I
 just feel that it helps with the trailer ride home .  >>

No, I am not saying that there is none.  But if there is so much that you
can't walk it out or so that they are uncomfortable in the trailer, then yes,
there is a problem.  Have seen all too many horses complete entire multi-days
and still be so loose and free that one would be hard-pressed to find
significant soreness anywhere.  Most 100-mile horses also look like this.  The
ones I feel sorry for are the stoved-up 50's that tried to keep up with the
leaders and shouldn't.  And if this shoe doesn't fit, and the horse is sore
anyway, then YES, there IS a problem somewhere.  Also, don't equate fatigue
with soreness.  I can vouch for the fact that in my younger years when I was
fit, I could be completely fatigued and still not be sore.  And guess
what--drugs don't do anything for fatigue!  That is the level of fitness for
which we should strive, and given that horses also have different aptitudes,
we need to learn where our horse's threshhold is and not ride past it.

Heidi