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Sunday, September 15, 2024

Conditioning Hugo, Horse Heaven Loop

Joe drove me and Hugo up to Horse Heaven so I could do some trail ride conditioning.  The loop is 8 1/2 miles with a 1100 foot elevation change.  
Hugo is still barefoot.  He has never had shoes even before we bought him.  I am finding however, that he prefers to not trot on gravel. He has no problem walking on any surface but when I ask for a trot, he gets over on the edge as far as he can.  The ride that I am aiming for is all sand, no rocks or gravel.  So that’s good. 
I also think he is a bit lazy.  I had to do a lot of encouraging to keep up any kind of pace.
It was a beautiful day, low 70’s, light breeze, and he didn’t even sweat that much.  

 We finished in just under 2 hours.  That pace doesn’t leave much room for error when we only have 6 hours to do 25 miles.  But at least his pulse was within finishing limits as soon as I got him tied up and was able to check it.  

2 comments:

  1. That sounds like a good place for conditioning. Have you though of getting him a pair of front boots for the rough ground? I highly recommend Cavallo Trek boots. I ride barefoot too and any abrasive ground I like to put boots on Gussie's front feet. The Treks don't come off even in rivers or over big boulders.
    That photo of Hugo makes me thing he has a good dose of Morgan blood.

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  2. Very interesting info from Shirley's comment. Beautiful view

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