Heat Sheilds

[Lucy C Trumbull <elsie@calweb.com>]

Steph writes:
> >And it looks like I'm going to have to
> >get serious about heat management. Body clipping, conditioning
> >during the heat of the day ... all that big black horse stuff.

and Angie writes:
> I'm considering a canopy/cab made out of a reflector "foil" blanket.

Angie might be on to something...

I spent a lot of time in March "watching" the Iditarod
(1000 mile sled dog race in Alaska) on the Web.

One of the things that struck me, was the many similarities
between mushing and horse endurance. Worth reading about...

This year it was unseasonably warm and the snow melted
towards the end of the trail (so they were "sledding" on
dirt and grass).  Some of the mushers used reflective
blankets on their dark dogs in the heat of the day
(and commented that white dogs were an advantage). They
also spent more time than usual resting up in the "heat
of the day" (31 degrees) and going out at dusk.

Another thing they talked about was the bond between dog
and musher, and how, even if things were going badly,
they would try to remain as upbeat as they could around
the dogs to keep their spirits up. They said you can have
the best dogs in the world, but if they're demoralised and
not having fun, they won't run well.

They also talked a lot about nutrition (and how much
it was improving over the years), about run/rest ratios,
fitness and conditioning, etc... All good stuff. The
only difference seems to be that when a dog goes lame,
you can drop it at the next vet check and continue on
with its buddies... no fair... <grin>

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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull - elsie@calweb.com
Repotted english person in Sacramento, CA

http://www.calweb.com/~trouble
http://www.calweb.com/~elsie
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