Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

At 07:11 PM 5/25/2004, you wrote:
> First I normally ride alone and when we

Why won't anyone ride with you Truman? (just teasing)

I think everybody just has to figure out what works for their individual 
horse in each situation. All of my horses drink differently. I have got one 
that will go up to a trough and hesitate, as if he's collecting his 
thoughts, before sticking his face in and drinking like a giant vacuum. I 
know that if I try to get him to continue on before he gets a drink, he 
won't budge. We drink on his schedule. Another one, won't drink until he's 
peed once or twice, and usually pees an average of 7 times on 50. I think 
he just has to make room. (his mom was a sponge, I always tell people) 
:+P  We all just need to learn the routine that works best for each horse. 
Sometimes roaming a few feet away and letting them graze or hand feeding 
them snacks first does the trick. I remember often having discussions with 
my juniors over getting their horses out of the way of the troughs when 
their horses were done drinking. I would hear "but he isn't done drinking 
yet". Well then, I'd say -- he needs to put his face in the 
water....otherwise get out of the way! You can come back, but stop blocking 
it for other people.

If you've got a horse that you've been doing a lot of multidays on and they 
are used to having say for example 1 or 2 waters before lunch, 1 at lunch, 
and 1or 2 after lunch....then when I go to a ride that happens to have 
about 8 or 10 water stops I am not going to get too freaked out if he 
drinks really well at 5 or 6 of those stops but isn't interested in sipping 
out of every single one. Tho, Chief does seem to be pretty adamant about 
drinking from every single water stop. I think that is what got thru his 
head by taking him to a multiday that had the first vet check (and only 2nd 
water that day since one of the troughs had been emptied by cattle) more 
than 30 miles into it for his first ride. A lesson he's never forgotten. It 
is sort of funny, I honestly can't think of a single water stop on any ride 
that Chief has ever done, that he did not drink. Now that is one heck of a 
benefit received for not taking him on any shorter distance rides!

Karen
in NV

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Common sense should also be a part of the decision making process. If you
see someone who doesn't have any, hand them your tool box.
~ Lisa Salas - The Odd Farm

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