Horse Care and Health Tips

You just completed your first endurance ride (or you are on your 45 minute stop). Your horse has pulsed down and you completed! Congratulations are in order for you and your horse. You head back to camp to unsaddle, but you have no idea how to care for your horse after putting him or her through their very first horse marathon. You look around and see people with all sorts of rituals that each one of them aware by. You wonder what works, but also realize you may not have the equipment that you need to take care of your race partner. Here are a few pointers that might help alleviate soreness or stiffness in your horse. - Get a sponge and sponge your horse with cool water on the neck, front legs, and shoulders. DO NOT GET IT BEHIND THE CINCH. Let the rest of your horse cool naturally. Many people keep blankets on their rump to keep them warm in the rear. -If it is chilly out, put a blanket on your horse, he is sweaty and will be very cold. - Give him some electrolytes. There are several ...

During my time hunting for a well fitted saddle which I can use to ride 25-50 miles rides, I have learned more than I can imagine about saddles and fitting. Everybody seems to have the perfect rig and the perfect setup, but it is rare that someone will tell you why they recommend, because it trull is a very individual and unique experience that each person must try out on their own. I don't trust another person to tell me which jeans will be my favorite jeans. I need to try them on and decide for myself. Because of this, searching the internet is difficult, but its not as hard as one might think, as long as you have some knowledge about your horses back, and your body shape/riding style. I started my journey in endurance riding with a Bob Marshall trail saddle, 3.4 inch skito pad, and a Dixie Midnight pad. After my first 25, my mare developed white hairs under my legs, most likely form uneven weight distribution and my constant posting. Granted, I only weight 120 and am 5'3...

Two days ago my trainer was working with my mare to help her get over her fear of the trailer. We have a trailer with the double bar cam lock.  As she stepped down, she caught her leg in the cam latch thingy (the one on the right), and it is a nasty- deep wound.  luckily, she was putting weight on it and there was not tendon or bone damage, and she was not limping. We had several pieces of advice on the wound, most of whom determined that stitches would not do so well, and it was better just to maintain. Here it is after irrigating it right after it happened.  We irrigated, used Vetericyn and a salve (Bag Balm), wrapped it over night.    Day 2 - This is what it looked like after we removed the bandage. Again, we irrigated, until it bled again. We let it air dry and this time we used Vetrecyn and Neosporin, then wrapped again. She is being stalled at night and hanging with the horses during the day to stretch it out.  More updates as we bandage her.  I ...

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Maybe you are looking for your first trailer with living quarters, or perhaps, you like to rough it in a tent, but who cares, you are with your horse camping under the stars and living the dream! So you might be wondering what do you need to bring to be prepared for your first camping trip and what considerations must be taken into account. Some Considerations: Where will you be staying? Will they have electrical hookups for your trailer and water (remember you need water for you and your horse, and they drink a lot when they are being worked on the trails) Places to go in Texas: Zhan Road, on the beach near Corpus Christie: Zhan road in Chorpus Christy is the only place (as far as I know) in the area where you can camp with your horses or even ride on the beach. There are two roads that lead to the beach, the first is Zhan road, and the second is just north of Zhan road at the second entrance. The first, Zhan road is north past the large Stripes gas station  about a mile to the ri...

AERC: American Endurance Ride Conference  Training plan for Endurance rides Cliff notes on the AERC Training Plan Chapter Six Conditioning I. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS In conditioning, the ultimate goal is to develop to maximum potential whatever natural athletic ability any given individual possesses. The object of this chapter is to acquaint the reader with the basic principles of conditioning and to suggest some methods and time frames appropriate for preparing a horse for competition in an endurance test. Each horse is an individual and each horse’s ideal conditioning program should be tailored to the horse and to its environment. For example, horses running each day on 50 acres of hilly pasture will need far less conditioning under saddle than a horse kept in a 15’ by 20’ corral most of the time.  Know your horse: Trainers concern themselves with more than pulse rates and blood counts, although these things are surely important. The best trainers have...