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Re: [RC] What if your horse hates to condition - Magnumsmom

Kristi,
 
Try buying a house on the top of a mountain.  Walk him
away from home all the way down... say, about 3500 -
5000 ft.  Then, turn him around and let him lose.  :)
 
I'm half serious here.  When we were finally looking for 
property, I was intrigued by a house in the CA foothills
that was near the Wild West ride trail.  Cross the road
and drop down into a canyon.
 
Houses are mostly built on the flats.  I thought it was a
great idea... actually, here we kind of worked that way.
While I don't have 2500 ft, I do have atleast 800 ft down
depending on which way we go.  We have to climb back
up to get home.
 
Another thing that really helped was getting the trail dog
to go with us.  Now I have 2.  Blue really enjoys having the
dogs along... and when one dog ranges out front I tell him
"get the doggie!" and he bounds ahead.  Sometimes a dog
will pass us on the trail at full bore and Blue will take up
the race.  This works best when going uphill though...
 
Trail dogs are easier to do here in NM than when I lived in
CA.  The cattle dogs are amazingly tough and do the miles
easily once in condition.
 
Invite friends along.  Especially one with a horse who is just
a bit faster than yours.  But any horse works.  Offer to mentor
someone who wants to try endurance.  Or just ride with a
non-endurance friend and let your horse burn up excess new
found energy by looping around trees and cantering in place
or sideways down the trail.  :)  :)  :)  A few rides with other
horses perked up the regular alone rides we do. 
 
Take some grain and treats out with you.  Stop at the furthest
point and graze / sit / grain / brush.  Make it kind of like being
home again.  Find a few "Vet Check" spots so your horse
learns where they are.  When you get close to your stop, urge
him to run as fast as he can for a little while... let him have
some fun.  Here in NM these are mostly "water" spots since
we end up riding between water holes.
 
Just some thoughts here...

Kathy Myers
in Santa Fe, NM