Re: First 50 miler advice/high altitudes

[CMKSAGEHIL <CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com>]

In a message dated 98-04-15 22:26:29 EDT, horsetrails@inficad.com writes:

<< Also we are riding in a higher altitude then we are used to.  Is there
 anything I need to watch for or do special to help my horse?  Will he be
 slugish due to the altitude change?  
  >>

It does take time to acclimate to altitude, but one should either go
immediately before the ride, or take at least three weeks to acclimate.  The
in-between is the worst.  How much altitude change are we talking about here?
If it is just a few thousand feet I would not worry too much, but if it is
going from sea level to a base camp at 8000 and trails to 11000 or some such,
that might be another story.  Usually the horse handles it better than you do,
because of his reserve of red blood cells  in his spleen.  Expect SOME degree
of lesser performance, but just slow down a bit and he should be able to
handle it.

Heidi