Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Bonnie, that's one of the problems with too few vet checks....especially
for the young horses and novice riders.  Here in the SE, we usually have
three in a 50 and 6 in a 100, which means you are never "out there" too
long without an opportunity to put something in your horse's stomach.

I ride the Wilderness a lot...so I'm out there all day..sometimes from
dawn to dusk sometimes, and there is not much to eat...have to find some
way to get something in my guy's stomachs.  I started off carrying a
back pack crammed with hay, then switched to chopped hay "forage" in a
fanny pack. After much experimentation, I finally ended up buying a
"Wadder Bucket"...hmmmm..spelling is probably wrong...from Sportack. I
now carry several (depending on how long I'm out) quart plastic bags in
my cantle and pommel bags packed with well soaked beet pulp, Omolene,
and two scoops of Perform 'n Win Electrolytes. You also get moisture
with that, it takes up less space, and there is no waste. Every couple
of hours, we stop, the horse scarfs up a quart in a few minutes, and off
we go. It's the best "bang for the buck" I've found. It's also good
training for young horses, because they get used to eating beet pulp
slurry just about anywhere, anytime, which improves eating in Vet
Checks.

Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic

"Snodgrass, Bonnie" wrote:
> That's the tough part, keeping forage in them the whole length of a ride. So
> many trails have little along them to eat and the length of time between vet
> checks (for most of us) is a couple of hours. My retired mare did develop
> ulcers, poor eater combined with electrolytes. I'm trying to figure a way to
> carry a form of hay with me from check to check when I start competing my
> young horse. I'm afraid to rely on what she eats at a vet check to last long
> enough in the stomach. She is a very willing eater so I may be carrying
> chopped hay along to feed by the handful.

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