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[RC] List of Stupid Questions - Carolyn BurgessOh Sara, I loved your list of stupid questions. Not really so stupid because I think that these are questions that everyone has when starting, and boy they really do go against what we all learned as kids. So here are my replies, I sure you'll get others. My biggest one is that I would want to see you have alot more miles on Teefa, most to get the horse what is called "legged up". This is the process of getting all of the leg structures (bone, tendons, ligaments) tough enough to do this without causing injury. Some horses can already be legged up for the sport, notably Standardbreds off the track, because of their training regime of being jogged around 7 miles everyday in harness (OK, I'll stop my Standardbred plug).
Question #1 - Aerobic Fitness:
You'll get much better answers from others, but I would warm up with walking from my barn to a bridge we had to cross on our trails (about 15 minutes to get to this point), and then we would pick up a trot. As long as we weren't going to run people over, I would trot as long as the trail would allow, or if the heart monitor got ridiculously high (over 180 since this was a relatively flat trail). What you're going to see and what it should be are going to be different since Teefa is still in the conditioning mode. But the number that used to scare me was over 200, even on a really hard hill. Recovery depends on condition, it will be slower at the start and will get faster as Teefa gets into shape.
Stupid Question #2: Is the long sponge rope just suppose to hang like it is off of my saddle? Won't it get caught on something? You can buy a long sponge strap for about $12 made of biothane. It has two clips, one for the saddle and one to tie the strap up so it doesn't drag. You can make your own, but then you have to figure out a way to tie them up. Also, your horse needs to get used to the strap so that if it does come lose, the horse doesn't melt down with it flopping all over the place. Stupid question #3: I am planning ahead and was wondering how much grain do people feed at vet checks? What is a "slurpie" and can I make one with the grain I feed (vintage racer-beet pulp based). It's weird because I was always taught to never feed a horse after she has been worked for at least an hour or don't work her after she has eaten for at least an hour. Boy, with endurance it seems as if I have to relearn everything! I feed about 1/3 of the grain I would feed in a normal meal with about twice the beet pulp of a normal meal and add carrots to the mix. My guy is not nuts about a sloppy meal so I only use juicy beet pulp. He is a good drinker so I don't need the food to get water in him. If you horse will eat them, add electrolytes to the food. I learned the hard way, if you horse is drinking well, electrolyte. Don't wait to see if he needs them, because you could be in serious trouble. I mix Perform n' Win with baby carrots, draw them into a syringe and give them.
Stupid question #4: What is road work? How often do you do it and at what pace? I do ride her on the road and mostly walk. However, I do trot her up the one long hill. Road work is actually getting out on pavement. One of my riding loops for training was 4 mile round trip down a paved road. On this particular road, you horse had to be very good around cars. But I started just walking on this, then ended up trotting. There are lots of rides in New England where you will have pavement as part of the ride, so of it a decent amount. You're horse needs to be able to trot safely on pavement. Apple Blossom, which probably won't happen again, was a great ride for having pavement (i think about 4 +/- miles of pavement) and if you didn't trot on the pavement, there was no hope of finishing on time.
Stupid question #5: Have people experienced horses getting sour if they train alone? I pretty much ride alone. I do ride an organized pleasure ride on the weekends but usually go solo. I tried riding with others but they wanted to canter the whole time and she wasn't ready for that. Now, I ride alone because I can better control her pace. Will this be bad for her psychologically to always go alone? Sara, as soon as I started training alone, it became more fun and productive, because I controlled what was going one. You also avoid the issue of your horse riding alone. I had problems riding alone when I always trained with a group. You can't always be guaranteed that you will have someone to ride with when competing, you and your horse have to depend on each other. So ride alone, get to know your horse, and then you can choose to ride with others only after you and your horse have your rhythm
Stupid question #6: I have been letting her grab leaves and eat as we go. People yell at me and tell me that I shouldn't do that and it is bad behavior. However, I am thinking it would be good for her to have food in her stomach. Who is right? Absolutely, let her eat. The only rule I have with my horses is that they can eat as much as they want, but they cannot stop unless I say so (like at a field of grass). So my guys all learn to grap and go. I build eating and drinking into all of my training rides. Carolyn Burgess
Email: carolyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Website: http://www.doubleheartranch.com
Phone: 1-978-897-6624 Fax: 1-419-735-1117
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