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[RC] Endurance riding on an older horse. - Ridecamp Guest

Please Reply to: Charlene Large diablohot2trot@xxxxxxxxx or 
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Hello everyone!
My name is Charlene, and I am new to endurance riding. I have a 25-year-old 
Egyptian Arabian, Hollywood. He and I met a wonderful lady who does endurance 
at our vet's office several weeks back, and I have been riding with her since. 
This sport has always been something that has intrigued me, as I have spent 
years riding trails for pleasure.

What I'm looking for is some tips on making sure I keep my older horse safe 
while pursuing endurance riding. I am only interested in finishing with my 
horse healthy and sound. I would probably only do the 25 mile rides, with him 
in consideration.

I'll give you a little background on him: Although he is 25, he has no 
ailments, and has what you would call "a strong basline". He is healthy, 
although in the last two years I have struggled to keep proper weight on him. 
Perhaps age and changes in metabolism? He and I have many many miles together, 
often riding for 2 to 7 or more hours every day leading trail rides follwed by 
our personal rides together. He seems very well suited for endurance riding, 
and in a sense, has been doing it all along.

My main concern is keeping weight on him while we are conditioning. Currently, 
he has free choice to a nice new round bale, he gets soaked beet pulp mixed 
with a scoop of Purina Ultium twice daily, along with a daily wormer. He 
doesn't have pasture at the moment becuase we re-seeded this year. When we 
finish the fencing on the alternate pasture, he'll be out there in the 
evenings. So, with all this, I'm not sure what more I could do without 
overdoing it on something.

Secondly, do you think I should consider a joint supplement for him, even 
though he shows no signs of arthiritis? Perhaps as a preventative?

Third, does anyone have experience with synthetic horseshoes? I have looked at 
several different ones, but have never used them. I like the idea of soaking up 
some of that shock, plus the better tread and some styles have a partial heart 
bar, or cover the frog entirely to stimulate blood circulation in the leg. I've 
tried keeping him barefoot, but his feet don't hold up, so I'm considering this 
option.

And please, if there's anything else you can think of that would be of help, 
let me know. Look foward to meeting some of you at the rides! My first one will 
be the L&S in June, then Moon Me in July.

Thank you!
Charlene


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