Ridecamp: Re: [RC] A little more Help on Windpuffs

on 6/19/02 6:36 AM, Snodgrass, Bonnie at snodgrab@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Yes, they are a permanent blemish, won't go away. like a bog spavin. Doesn't
> mean that the stress to the legs is over. For instance, some people never
> condition their horses on hard surfaces like hard packed gravel roads and
> pavement. They just ride softer terrain that they have at home. Then they do
> their first ride that incorporates a lot of hard surface concussion
> (concussion is a major cause of windpuffs). Their horse develops windpuffs
> after the ride. Permanent. They go back to soft terrain, months later they
> finally compete on hard surfaces again. The horse is stressed again but
> because it already has windpuffs the owner doesn't "see" that the horse was
> stressed again. This is a bad training/conditioning plan. If you are going
> to compete on a certain type of terrain and especially footing then you want
> to regularly train on that type of footing. Sand is another tough footing
> that causes major problems for horses not conditioned on it.

Yes, I am aware of that. I do trailer out to Norco frequently to ride in
sand. I live in an area with all hard footing and rocks. For miles. I'm just
west of the Cajon Pass, and we don't get much soft anything around here. The
day she got that windpuff was a day that she was being squirrelly and we
fell in a hole in the river, where she twisted her hind foot. I've been
conditioning this mare for three years to get her ready to race, while I
have been raising two toddlers. She is ready, has never shown lameness, not
even for a day and rides regularly over hard surfaces and a limited amount
over soft and sand. This mare can do 30 miles through rocks and hard packed
roads and trails, so my bet is that those legs are used to some concussion.
Some of us, including newbies to racing, but not to riding cannot get away
all the time. I've got two small kids (2 and 4), a full time job, and a
husband. You just do the best you can and for me that has been lots of LSD
work, with some trailer outs, group rides, and lots of miles in training. I
thought that was how you were supposed to do things.
Tiffany


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