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We get a lot of riders from out of state at FL rides. We get a lot or 
riders from the NE, CT - including Texas - and some from the MW at FL 
rides. While they may see some sand - it not common in those regions. 
Sure many of our horses see sand 365 days a year, but some don't. Some 
people actually live in areas that are not sandy. FL is a huge state 
with a huge diversity of both climate and terrain. I live in the 
temperate climate zone. Fifty miles south of me is the line for the 
subtropical climate zone and another 200 miles South is the tropical 
zone. When I lived further South in FL than I do now, I had very little 
sand to ride in. We were flat turf, palmetto prairie and swamp. Even 
then I went to the sandy rides and finished.

The big difference with conditioning in sand came from the fact it made 
the horse much stronger which resulting in cutting more than an hour and 
½ on how fast she comfortably could do a 50. Lawton Johnston used to run 
a ride near Aken, S.C.- the old Granitville Gallop. That was run on the 
large land holdings of the fabric mill where Lawton was the chief 
engineer. That area is particularly sandy. It was run a little on dirt 
roads, woods trails but mostly on disk fire breaks which translated to 
deep sand. There were horses from all over at that ride. Lawton and I 
talked about it once and his observation was the same as mine. While you 
might think you'd see more injuries in the sand - you didn't.

For my money - mud is a much higher risk for injury than sand.

Jonni wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Truman Prevatt" However, I must say that if you look  at the rides in
> FL - many but not all area sandy - I haven't noticed any  higher pull rates
> or any more problems with leg injuries than in any  other conditions. <<<
>
> But I'd be curious, how many horses go to the "sandy" Florida rides, with
> out ever getting in some conditioning in sand.  Maybe you don't see more
> pulls or injuries, as most of the horses AT the ride, are used to being
> ridden in sand. And those who are not used to sand, are ridden extra
> careful, to prevent said problems.
>
> Jonni
>
>  


--

"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems."

- Paul Erdos (1913-1996)




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