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RE: [RC] Taking horses to higher elevations - heidiBecause I LOVE to plan trips (I should have been a travel agent), I'm already in the process of planning a major horse trip to the mountains for next fall. Does anyone have any info to share on the problems with taking flat-lander horses to the mountains? We're talking going from my house at under 1,000 feet above sea level to 8-10,000 feet. It seems that I read a post on ridecamp awhile back that mentioned that you either need to take them up and do your ride and get back down, or you need to acclimate them slowly before riding in upper elevations. We plan to be 'in the mountains' for approx 7 or 8 days. Anyone have any info on how/when to ride while up there in no-oxygen land? We'll condition the best we can with the hills we have, so the actual climbing isn't as much of a concern as elevation sickness. It takes about 3 weeks to change oxygen uptake. But horses have a built-in adaptation, since they have a large reserve of red blood cells in their spleens. They can simply increase the number of RBCs circulating to gain the oxygen uptake they need while adapting. So the posters who have suggested that you need not worry about your horses are absolutely right. You are more apt to "feel" the elevation than they are. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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