I thought Bruce made a really great point. Horses didn't evolve to carry riders, and the stresses their feet need to meet in the wild are very different from a domestic horse in endurance training. Also - as in any population, there are probably individual horses that can meet those additional challenges, but the majority probably fall a bit short, and some need a whole lot of help (the old bell curve).
I don't know the weight of a foal, but even if the weight approach that of rider + tack, there is still the difference between walking/grazing for maybe 20 miles, and endurance speeds for 50 - 100 miles.
Also - I doubt that the weight distribution for rider + tack is the same for an in utero foal (which close to max weight only the last part of the gestation period, remember).
On Aug 12, 2008, at 9:18 AM, Karen Sullivan wrote:
However, nature designed this expansion to accomodate a non-weight bearing horse who walks/grazes 97% of the time, for usually no more than 20 miles per day in the wild. Add my 240 lbs of saddle, bones and liquor fat, increase the speed to 8-9 mph for 50 to 100 miles, and the increased expansion/contraction of those feet can make him sore.
however.....lets not forget mares in the wild....who are bred and carrying the extra weight of a foal every year...what is the weight of a foal? Those mares are keeping up with the herd while pregnant.....
