Re: Oregon Dunes Weather

[flemmerl@rcbhsc.wvu.edu (Flemmer, Linda)]

Teresa Van Hove wrote:
> 
> Lucy writes:
> >
> > oooh, I just thought of another place where there is some
> > sand - right down by the river. Should I go down there, and
> > make him walk up and down the river bank, 
> 
>       If your arena is reasonably deep, that is good for some
>  "sand training."  You just want some work in a soft surface to
>  train the muscles and ligaments/tendons.  It is quite a bit
>  different than traveling on a hard packed trail or other firm
>  surface.  I use local stubble fields for my "sand training".

When we lived along the coast, we'd trailer to the beach to get in some
sand.  Now that we live in the mountains, that's a little harder to do. 
We ask to ride in freshly plowed fields (before they are planted).  It
is soft and helps to develop the muscles/tendons, but it still isn't
like riding in really <loose> sand.  We'd also try to ride in soft
ditches when we knew that the trash had been picked up recently. 
(Didn't want to be the one who found the broken glass, etc.)  What I can
simulate here in WV doesn't even begin to get my horse ready to compete
in, say, the Ocala Nat'l Forest in Florida.  It helps, though.  OTOH,
rocks & hills, here we come!

Linda Flemmer