1,000 mile seasons

[cberto@juno.com]

Karen, my Morgan, Billy, and I had back-to-back 1000-mile years in 1993
and '94, when he was 15 and 16 years old.   We achieved this by multi-day
rides such as Pony Express, our favorite!   He did especially well on
those and got stronger as the series went along.   Now, how did we do
it...hmmmm... 
    Well, I made sure that while we were in camp he had high-quality hay
in front of him at all times, and on multi-day rides he got about 4 times
his usual amount of grain (which was small to begin with as he is an easy
keeper).  He maintained his weight fairly easily.  The one multi-day that
had obvious long-term effects on him was Outlaw Trail in 1995, when he
was 17.   By "effects", I mean he lost weight and ws ribby going into
winter.   However, I participated in that Univ. of Michigan stress test
on OT that year; the tests involved twice-daily weighing, and  pulling 35
cc of blood twice a day for five days, plus once before the series began
and once after;  that may possibly have added to the stress, as well as
his age.
    Billy got the usual electrolytes, vitamins, corn oil.  I never padded
his feet nor used boots; he uses ordinary rim shoes.   At home he has a
back-yard  corral to wander around in, plus a shelter (no stall).   He
gets LOTS of attention and conversation and little goodies (dumb things
like veggie peelings, bread crusts especially sourdough bread, corn husks
and corn stalks from our veg. garden, etc.).  He loves baths (he must
have been a seahorse in a former life) so he gets them a couple times a
week.  What else helped him do these miles?  Well, we live in a very,
very quiet valley with no through traffic.  Maybe this totally peaceful
home area helped. 
   One thing I always do:  get a full blood test panel before the ride
season starts.  I want to know his base line before the rides take
effect.   I also learned to "see" what I was "looking at"  when I checked
him over every day and to notice body fat changes, etc., when they were
still small.   Billy's retired from competition, with 6,185 miles..
   Big mistake?   I should have offered him to be cloned instead of that
dumb sheep!
Best wishes in your ride season...Cheers (;-), Connie B  (CA)

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