# Opinions...would he be ready?



## mtngrl7500 (May 29, 2011)

I got a new horse about 3 months ago. He was very thin when I got him and I have slowly been getting his weight up. He's feeling a lot better so I've started doing some light riding around the pasture and just yesterday did a very easy 2 mile ride. I do intend to do longer distance rides on him in the future once he is more up to par. My question is this...a friend asked if I would like to do a 12 mile ride coming up at the end of September. It's 6 miles of a flat trail through the woods to a creek, will have a rest at the creek for lunch and horses to drink, then go back the way we came in. Could he be ready for something like that in just barely over a month? I'd like to go, but I'm still trying to get his weight up and worry if 12 miles would be too much right now. I'm putting some pics of him that I took today so you can see where we're at condition-wise.


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## mtngrl7500 (May 29, 2011)

For some reason it's only letting me post the one pic, I don't know why.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

2 months is plenty of time to get up to 12 miles, you can have him there in a couple weeks just by riding him 40 minutes a day to leg him up. 6 miles of flat in with a rest then back out again really is an easy ride.

Your biggest hurdle is to balance his caloric intake with the extra exercise. Up his feed with more exercise and watch his weight closely. If he starts dropping weight again back off the riding.


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Twelve miles really isn't as long as you think it is. I'm sure he'd be fine so long as you keep him ridden in the time you have.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Twelve miles at 3 miles an hour is a four hour ride.

I don't see any reason he couldn't be ready, just ride him.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

This sounds like a good goal for you, and 12 easy miles with a long break in the middle sounds fun for you both. 

But, the only way you will know how he is going to handle it is to start conditioning for the ride & see how he does.

What are you using to bring his weight up? Adding some fat to his feed works really well & doesn't make the horse "hot" so the weight stays on.


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## mtngrl7500 (May 29, 2011)

Thanks, I thought that it should be fine just needed some others to say it should be okay, too  I plan on riding him at least 5 days a week to get him in better condition and also to get him to respond a little better to cues. 

As far as feed, using a 64 oz scoop, he gets half Strategy Healthy Edge and half alfalfa (chopped and compressed kind) twice daily. He's also on 24/7 very good quality pasture. He's been picking up nicely. If anyone has a suggestion of anything to add/subtract from his feed I'm open to hearing about it. When I got him his ribs were more prominent and angles were much more sharp. He's filled in nicely over his rib area and he's starting to get a little padding. His croup was also much more prominent and sharp with a "valley" between the bone. It's padding up and filling in...and really is the most noticeable sign of his weight gain to me. It's hard to see how much they pick up when you see them every day!


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Take a picture every week, so you can see the difference. Don't forget worming either, cause worms can make it hard for them to gain weight.

I don't like to ride more than three days in a row before giving them a break. 

Doing interval training will increase the lung strength and long slow work in each gait will increase the muscle strength. Bone takes a long time to build up, so it is really inportant to have good muscle strength until then. 

Oh, and remember to have fun!!


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I like rice bran to help add fat myself. Shines up their coat and doesn't make them hot.


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## mtngrl7500 (May 29, 2011)

I have been doing pictures, and worming, too. It's been a long time since I've had to pretty much start something from scratch condition-wise, but we'll get there! I used to do some competitive trail riding when I was younger and I'm so happy that I'm finally back where I have the time to get into it again. This will be my first ride in probably 13 years of any real distance so I'm going to have to get myself prepared, too, lol. I'm looking forward to it though. I've missed it!


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## mtngrl7500 (May 29, 2011)

I'll look into the rice bran if the added riding seems to decrease the weight gain.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

He should be fine. The only issue that I can foresee with him being thin is that his back may get sore because it is still bony. You are working on the weight gain and that is good. I would also be sure that you have a really good saddle pad to fill in the gaps.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Well, I'm going to go against everyone else, and say that unless your horse puts on a LOT of weight, and honestly I don't see how that is going to happen if you are going to start riding him frequently, I wouldn't do any major riding for quite some time.

Not knowing how emaciated your horse was, and I am going on the basis that the picture you posted is the most recent one? You don't need to be riding him period. In 3 months, he should be in better shape, and not so thin still.

If the picture is after you have been feeding him for 3 months? Then he must have been pretty bad, and at that point living off muscle tissue, which includes the heart. No way I'd be riding him at all, period, not until he got more weight on him.

Just not worth the risk.


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## mtngrl7500 (May 29, 2011)

Thanks. I have pretty much decided to just wait and see. I have ridden him some, bareback. He hasn't filled out enough for any of my saddles to really fit him properly and I don't think that by Sept. 22 that would have changed. As much as I would like to go, I don't think it will happen. There is another coming up in November and I think the possibility of that one will be more realistic. It will also be a scavenger hunt, so will be a pretty slow pace and not very long. As far as riding, I do hop on him a few days a week but we just walk for the most part. I may let him trot for a few minutes, but he's a trotty horse so it's mostly just to let him get it out. I don't want to rush him...just having some wishful thinking I guess.


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