hot/humid weather

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Diane Nelson safehavn@fast.net
For ECTRA CTRs, the standard 10/20 minute hold can be extended by ride management if weather conditions indicate that it would be prudent to do so.  The ride time can also be extended to compensate for weather or special terrain difficulties.

For ride managers, the trick is to know what the weather conditions will actually be like out there.  Generally with an early start, it is the humidity rather than the actual temps that can cause problems.

Virtually all Eastern ride managers sweat blood the day before and day of the event trying to puzzle out what will be the safest option for riders and horses.

At the Chesapeake 30 over Labor Day weekend a field of experienced competitors faced unrelenting humidity in the face of an approaching tropical storm.  Heat and humidity in the woods, coupled with high winds over the exposed fields/hills, made for a challenging scenario.  Virtually every competitor came in on maximum time, some with only seconds to spare, and not one of them hustling at the end to make that time.  Smart riding from smart people.

But it was really tough out there.  Only one horse colicked out on trail, the rest came in looking bedraggled.

How to train for that?  You have to go out when the conditions ARE that bad - no riding early morning or late evening to beat the heat if you really want to acclimate yourself and your horse to that kind of weather.  But obviously you don't do it fast or go as far...just use common sense.

There is no magic bullet as far as electrolytes are concerned.  We use ALL of the available products.  Each of our horses has unique needs - one mare typically goes into Ca deficit so we need an electrolyte to help her maintain K & Ca ( we haven't found a really good one yet).  Our gelding can use any old thing, including home brews, and is perfectly fine.

One thing I started doing this year was putting a 15 gallon bucket of water with 4 scoops of AppleDex (a cheap electrolyte with some sugar)in the field.  It is drained dry almost every day.  We also have loose salt and minerals from ABC free choice in their stalls - these are sometimes devoured, sometimes not.

When I ride I carry as much water as I can stand to have on me - most of it ends up on my gelding.

I don't know what else to do when the weather is like this.  Sometimes we choose simply not to ride and go to a movie instead.

Diane in Allentown PA
enjoying a drought-alleving rainy day...finally


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