Last night I decided it was time to start the rehab/exercise program with Max. He'd done well over the weekend but I noticed that he was breathing pretty heavily even at doing mostly a walk so I figure he's out of condition.
I started with about 15-20 minutes of just walking around the track and then, for a little variety, we walked outside the stables and down the wash. With daylight savings time kicking in early now, there's more time to ride when it's light (not that the lack of light ever stopped us before :-)). We also rode over to the California Polo Club and anywhere else with soft footing. We also trotted in a few soft spots and even cantered a couple of times. I stayed away from going up and down any elevations.
By this point, Max had warmed up sufficiently and it appeared that he was moving normally with no issues. I then rode back to the stables at a walk and we did some more trotting/cantering around the track. I would make transitions fairly often and walk some portions. Everything seemed to work out fine and although he was breathing heavily, he wasn't sweaty. His pulse also was within normal limits.
All said and done, we rode for about an hour and afterwards, Max was rewarded with his usual and customery bucket (after allowing sufficient time for cooling down). Things are looking good here.
Finally, at the recommendation of my trainer, she suggested getting 7% Iodine and applying it to the hooves in order to toughen them up. However, it appears that there might be a problem since it's supposedly used in Crystal Meth manufacturing so the DEA is restricting it (typical government BS). I'll have to look into thsi more.
I started with about 15-20 minutes of just walking around the track and then, for a little variety, we walked outside the stables and down the wash. With daylight savings time kicking in early now, there's more time to ride when it's light (not that the lack of light ever stopped us before :-)). We also rode over to the California Polo Club and anywhere else with soft footing. We also trotted in a few soft spots and even cantered a couple of times. I stayed away from going up and down any elevations.
By this point, Max had warmed up sufficiently and it appeared that he was moving normally with no issues. I then rode back to the stables at a walk and we did some more trotting/cantering around the track. I would make transitions fairly often and walk some portions. Everything seemed to work out fine and although he was breathing heavily, he wasn't sweaty. His pulse also was within normal limits.
All said and done, we rode for about an hour and afterwards, Max was rewarded with his usual and customery bucket (after allowing sufficient time for cooling down). Things are looking good here.
Finally, at the recommendation of my trainer, she suggested getting 7% Iodine and applying it to the hooves in order to toughen them up. However, it appears that there might be a problem since it's supposedly used in Crystal Meth manufacturing so the DEA is restricting it (typical government BS). I'll have to look into thsi more.
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