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[RC] Conditioning the older horse/person - sbolingeSeems horses and humans are similar in many ways as far as exercise physiology is concerned...except horses lose their conditioning much slower than do humans. With that said, MY experience as an older human trying to get back into shape is this: takes much longer for out of shape muscles, tendons and ligaments to get strong again; much more stiffness and soreness after exercise (which requires lots of massages!); have to do MUCH more to stay limber and stretchy; it is always two steps forward and one step back...learned to ignore the one step back; get dehydrated much easier. There is a gentleman who was in his mid 70's and pretty much confined to a wheelchair because of arthritis. His son put him on an exercise program and a couple of years later he walked/shuffled a marathon. Then there is that mare who has 20,000 miles of competitive trail rides and recently, at the age of 37, completed another ride! Wonder how old she was when she started?
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