Hi Kimberly,
It's a tough question. You know your horse better than anyone,
but it seems to me, it sounds like you didn't do anything on that
first ride that Mystery wouldn'
t be able to handle. As you know, I have commonly gone down to
Pt. Reyes there and done relatively tough rides 3 days in a row,
with no soreness afterward. I doubt my horses are in much better
condition than Mystery.
I would be more suspicious about the change in space and feeding.
going from a large area to a smaller one, with "better" or more
feed, in my experiences, is often a sure-called recipie for tying-
up. I have done this to two horses (restricting them in order to
feed them up) While you may not have experienced that yet, I
would be really careful, obviously, with warming up and cooling
down. Maybe cut back on the alfalfa (high protein), and the grain,
at least for a while or until the weather gets really cold.
He may have just been unexcited about the same old place. My horses
often seem pluggy on our conditioning mountain.
Hope to see you Sat.
To: ridecamp@endurance.net