My guess is that wild horses are not as "conditioned" as we know it, and also they are not fed high energy feeds. The way we condition endurance horses is not normal to a wild horse. They tend to drift from place to place, casually, and they feed only on grass. When they are startled, it is my understanding that they will bolt and run very fast for a short distance (I've heard 100 yards), then turn to see what was after them. It is this equine instinct to bolt suddenly and run that causes so much trouble with humans who try to ride horses.
Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sullivan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Rides 2 Far" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 6:33 PM Subject: [RC] tie up question > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Rides 2 Far" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > The only way I've found to get a horse to self-condition in a pasture is > > to take away all his buddies and watch him have a running fit. Trouble > > is he never walks 15 min. to warm up or cools himself down. :-P > > Personally, if I were you my biggest fear would be tying up > > Okay, this brings up a question I have been wanting to ask, but afraid to > sound stupid. but heck, here goes. > > I have had several horses over the years tie up, so am a fanatic about long > warmups and cool-downs. But, if the horse is a "flight animal", with the > instinct to run fast from danger, then why don't wild horses "tie-up" if > they go from very slow grazing to full run? > > Karen > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
