Re: Summer Breeze

[Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>]

>You people in the east & south are TOUGH RIDERS. 

Oh goodness, don't get us into a "who's tough" contest...remember Paddi
got soaked and did a ride in a the snow Saturday. :-?

> I wonder what you do to keep yourselves from passing 
>out and>falling off the horse.

The best tip I can give anybody for summer riding is take off your helmet
and dunk it in water.  Feel free to dunk your head too.  When you put it
back on, it feels GREAT.  It also cures all itching problems.  The water
will seep down your neck for a long time.  Once the weather gets really
bad, I do this BEFORE I even start a training ride.  It helps to have bad
hair in the first place.  I squirt a little water from my water bottle on
my face occassionally too.

I DON'T think it's a good time for bareback.  If you had to carry a kid
on your back on a hot hot day would you rather you both had clothes
between you or that you both had bathingsuits on?  The mutual exchange of
heat would be a detriment to both.  There's going to be a heck of a lot
of heat rising off that horse's back, and you're going to be sending some
back.  At Million Pines this Spring it was hot.  I would be doing fine,
then we'd stop for water and it was amazing how fast my face would heat
up from the heat rising off Kaboot's back.

For clothing, I prefer a white T-shirt with the sleeves cut off and a jog
bra. (optional for guys).  I think more heat is generated at the sides
than the neck and this is open enough to catch a breeze.

I never fail to be amazed at riders who go down a dirt road on the sunny
side when there's shade on the other.  The problem is, your horse will
fight you to take the exact same path as the horse in front who's on the
sunny side.  Kaboot finally quit that when he learned leg yields.

Try to avoid building the heat up in the first place.  If your horse is
able to hold a 7  mph trot on the flat without over heating, and then you
get to a hill, walk it.  Don't let the thermostat climb if you don't have
a way to lower it.

Angie

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