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PLEASE!!!!   Go slowly down hills.  i too went fast and BOB did really well at it and I loved it.  but in 2004 I had to retire him due to severe ringbone in BOTH hind fetlocks.  Now this is from the heart.  since I lost BOB in Nov  I had a lot to reflect on and will do things differently with  Mar Gee. 

 

also BOB was conditioned, well schooled  controlled on trail.  I took care to never race him, push too hard but we did love the downhills. 

 

donna

Shannon Chastain <wagaman@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Question here on the moving out going down hill. My horse loves to go fast down the 
> hills and he is good at it. But, I was at a ride last month and Jim Baldwin was one of 
> the vets he told us Newbies (I have done 4 LD's but
>  always stay for the first time 
> riders lecture from the vets) to go slow and walk the down the hills or we would be 
> looking as some serious injuries. So I guess my question is can you condition your 
> horse to go fast down then hills and reduce the possibilities of the injuries Jim was 
> talking about?
>
> This has been a issue for me since I started I competiting. My main riding buddy walks 
> down all hills when conditioning and at comptitions. Then I was riding with a 
> different friend at a ride and she told me to go fast down the hills, I was confused, 
> still am???
> Shannon and Drinks R Served
> Missouri
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:12:39 -0700, Joe Long wrote
> > rides2far@xxxxxxxx wrote:
> > >> 'To top ten - you train at top ten speeds'
> > > 
> > > I totally disagree. For my horses to top 10 I trained consistantly but
> > > conservatively most of the time, then added high heart rates on
>  hills.
> > > I've never ridden with anyone who trained "top 10 speeds" consistantly.
> > > If I did it my horses would all be lame before I ever got to a ride. 
> > > I've had a win & BC on one horse, and a win/high vet score on another, on
> > > both I was very careful to find somewhere with good footing for our speed
> > > work and we did do some, but never headed out on a 12 mile trail with
> > > tricky footing and let it rip. That's a chance I'd only take on race day.
> > > 
> > > Angie
> > 
> > Sorry, Angie, but I believe "To Top ten, you train at Top Ten speeds" is 
> > good advice. My bedrock principle of training is, never ask your horse 
> > to do on a ride what you have not done in training.
> > 
> > Now, training for Top Ten or First Place is only done after the horse 
> > has a solid foundation, including a couple of years of endurance rides 
> > at mid-pack or slower
>  pace. But once at that level, I condition at 
> > speeds at least as fast, or faster, as the speed at which I expect to 
> > compete. That includes difficult terrain and downhill.
> > 
> > IMO horses are more likely to be lamed by being competed at higher 
> > speeds than the speed they trained at, than by proper conditioning. If 
> > you gradually increase your speed over hard or rocky terrain at home, 
> > then the horse will be able to handle it on the ride.
> > 
> > There have been times I've been out riding with another endurance rider 
> > (training ride) and come to a downhill, and they've said "I'm going to 
> > walk down the hill, I'm saving his legs for the rides." And I've said 
> > "I'm sorry, but I need to condition for downhill, so I have to go on" 
> > and I've moved on ahead at competition speed.
> > 
> > BTW, I've never had a career-ending lameness (or any career-ending 
> > injury) with any
>  horse that I've brought along in endurance.
> > 
> > -- 
> > Joe Long
> > jlong@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > 
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