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[RC] Lameness Causes - GarnerTThere are probably as many causes as there are horses, but I'd tend to agree that speed is a big factor. I caused my horse to slightly off on one of his first 50s by trying to keep up with my riding buddy. My boy doesn't go down as well as he goes up. The trail was a fairly steep downhill single track trail with logs placed every 5 feet or so to prevent erosion. It was also at the end of this difficult 50. I feel it was a combination of going too fast for my horse on the downhills AND being tired. I finally asked her to slow down (stupid me didn't say anything sooner!). We finished the ride with him being just slightly off. I still feel bad. He was tripping & stumbling trying to keep up, now we just ride by ourselves. My friend has two horses that can just scream down the hills. My horse can power up the hills, but he just likes to take his time & jog carefully down the hills, so that's what we do! Our horse just don't combine well, so we ride apart. I've learned to walk through rough terrain/rocks and to take my time going down the hills with my particular horse. We've never had a pull yet, and he's as sound as a dollar...wait... that saying used to be a good thing! Well, you know what I mean. Kathy Garner & Taz ============================================================ The two best drugs to have in your kit are Tincture of Time and a Dose of Common Sense. These two will carry you through 99.999% of the problems associated with horses and endurance competition. ~ Robert Morris ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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