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[RC] riding sick horses is not okay - Dream WeaverI really am sorry if my original post about the ride led anybody to believe that it is okay to bring a sick horse to a ride or to ride a sick horse, or that it's okay to ride a shorter distance on a sick horse. It's NOT okay!I did not drop down to the 65 from the 100 because I thought that Chief was sick. I did it because he had been fully body clipped and the weather predictions for the next day were for freezing temps and high winds, with a chance of precipitation. He would not have even been brought to the ride site had he shown a single sign of being sick. He has since shown no signs of being ill, and I don't expect him to. I do feel that watching for signs like more mucous than normal could be an indicator of something being wrong when there are no other signs and that is why I was watching so closely and making myself worry over it. It's something to pay attention to, but not get so worried that every horse in camp gets pulled from starting a ride because the horse blows a chunk of boogers. ;^) I have found with all of my horses as they get exposed to more and more, they develop strong immune systems. One time following a ride Chief did get sick. A full blown respiratory infection. That ride was in July and he did not go to another ride until November. I certainly would suggest to anybody who has a horse get sick following a ride that they give the horse plenty of time off to get over it, and then double that amount of time just for good measure, and then add in another month or two just to get the horse back into competition shape. I hope every horse stays well after every ride this year. Karen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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