WINTER BLAHS

                     “ Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do”

                                  -Coach John Wooden          

Short days, layered clothing, lots of it, terrible footing, general slop, the list goes on. The result: doldrums, and depression. We know the drill; catch up on chores, have the vet out, get the blood work and the vaccinations done and have the dentist  float the teeth-and pray for an early spring!

Here’s a thought. Prepare your horse for competing in the heat. That’s right. Prepare for competing in the heat and do it now!  If you ask any exercise physiologist, you will be told that the basis for effective safe performance in the heat is with acclimatization and acclimatization relies almost exclusively on cardiovascular endurance. What’s more, cardiovascular fitness is best achieved in cooler conditions. If we have nothing else around here for the next several months, it is certainly cooler conditions!

Perhaps the most effective, and certainly the safest way of conditioning, a horse is by walking. Walking can be done during the winter. If the horse is walked  either under saddle or under harness on a consistent basis throughout the winter then, when spring arrives, you will have a sound fit horse, looking forward to doing trot sets, and even some gallops when the trails are clear. Moreover then, as the heat arrives, the horse will be better able to acclimatize and thus perform. If on the other hand you and your horse just sit around all winter and do nothing but gain weight, warmer conditions will find an unfit, overweight horse and acclimatization to heat will be a lose-lose proposition.

So bundle you and your horse up and hit the road. It will help both of you with your winter blahs and make for a safer and more rewarding show season.

Spring is coming! (faster please)

Dick Close