RE: proper weight

[Steph Teeter <step@fsr.com>]

I have finally gotten my 'problem horse' to the point where he can work hard,
compete, and still maintain his weight.  Here's what works for him:

Regular excersize - light, steady work seems to stimulate his appetite, and
keeps him  'tuned up' for harder workouts and competition.  This seems to
work better for him than lots of days off.

Feed - he has free choice hay and pasture, and I feed him 6-10 lbs per day
(2 feedings) of LMF EnerG - a prepared feed. I don't have the exact ingredients at
hand, but it's 7% fat, and around 8% protein. I'm not sure of the fiber/carb
component. I sometimes mix beet pulp into the feed, but not religiously. He
doesn't like corn oil, so I don't often use it. If I was home during the day I'd
probably add another mid-day 4 lb LMF feeding. He seems to be able to
tolerate it.

Supplements - basic vit/min supplement (part of the prepared feed) and
gamma oryzanol - this is a rice hull derivative, stimulates appetitite and
muscle tissue gain. I also feed probiotics during and after competitions.

Carbo - glycogen loader - I use this during competitions, and it seems to 
help his energy level, but IMO (and at Ti's advice) the most important
administration seems to be immediately AFTER a competition. Tom's theory
was that this would prevent him from 'going catabolic' - i.e. breaking down
his own tissue to feed his energy deficit. 

Time and condition - I bought this horse spring of '97, he had been competitive in the
past, but then spent 4 years on vacation when his owner quit riding. He 
was *not*  fit when I got him , but I needed a heavywt horse for my husband, 
so he went to work. He did lots of slow (multiday) rides, and even the
Tevis, but by the end of the year he was mighty thin - his level of conditioning 
could not support his work load. He was laid off in between events so we could
try to get weight back on him, but he never really did get the regular conditioning
he should have had. He spent the winter with Kat in S. Cal. After
Deathvalley she spent 3 months diligently conditioning him (oh to live in a
warm climate!!) - and really  pumping the feed to him. This was undoubtably 
the best thing for him. He was able to build up  muscle and condition, without the stress 
and excessive demands of competing. 

He's already done almost 600 event miles this season (including my husband's
first 100 miler 2 weeks ago!) with a hvywt rider - and so far, seems to be holding
steady regarding weight and condition. 

Of all the things I mentioned above,  the time and conditioning is certainly the
single most important factor in enabling this horse to maintain his weight and
still work hard. All the other things (grain,supplements,etc) are certainly going
to help somewhat, but none of these can take the place of a good conditioning
program - and this takes time. They have to have the muscle/cardiovascular
development to do the work. Too much work, too soon will set them back. If your
horse is thin to start with, or becomes too thin with his workload, then you
need to back up to a level he can sustain - and work forward again once you've
reached a good condition/work equilibrium.

Probably the hardest thing (for some of us) is weighing your goals against your
horse's ability. In my case my husband FINALLY showed some interest in 
Endurance, really liked the horse, and we had the opportunity to travel and
ride a lot of the year. So we did it - and rode a  fine line with this horse
and his ability. He's a tough horse ("tougher than snot" in the words of Marilyn
McCoy) and we watched and cared for him VERY diligently all year, but it was
certainly harder than if he had been conditioned for the amount of work he did!
Much easer to start slow and work up...

Steph


-----Original Message-----
From:	Tim Morris [SMTP:tm23012@navix.net]
Sent:	Thursday, June 25, 1998 7:47 AM
To:	ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject:	proper weight

I too have been reading all the posts about weight management.  I have
almost the same horse as Chelle Sherman and have the same questions.  I
am very interested in hearing from any of you out there about how to
manage this type of horse.  I am thinking of using him for long distance
riding whether it be endurance or CTR.  Thanks in advance.

Carolyn from NE