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[RC] national championship ride, treatment, conditions, etc. - Ed Kilpatrickit sounds like the heat and conditions at this ride were more than some bargained for. it was really hot and humid back in may for the liberty run, which is the last ride i did. i started two days, and didnt finish either day. STFFC,(speed too fast for conditions) thats what it was! drop the temperature 20 degrees and things would have probably been fine. reduce my ground speed and things would have probably been fine. let me ride on flat terrain with firm footing, things would have probably been fine. now, which of these options do i have control over? pretty easy isnt it? it is still the rider's responsibility to take all factors into account and ride accordingly. sometimes it is not quite as easy to recognize certain things when you are sitting in the saddle. your horse may feel good to you, and look good too, but that higher temperature can just sneak up on you, and you may
realize a bit too late that the same horse that was fine at a 8 1/2 mph trot a month earlier, under completely different conditions, probably needed to cut back to 5 mph for today's ride.
precautionary treatments? i would say good call. i hope if i were in a situation where i found myself saying, well, i sorta screwed up here, not drastically, but i have some options on making things better for my horse. and if it appears that you may have pushed things a bit, recognize what your horse needs and take care of it. ed
if i have to take 10 or 11 hours to do 50 miles, or 20+ hours to do 100 miles,henceforth, that is what i will do, even if it is a national championship ride.
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