Kristi & I decided to do some hill intervals today, so tacked up in the 70+ degree afternoon sunshine and headed off. I put Rhio in 4 boots, but switched to the Gloves on the fronts and the Bares on the hinds, to see what (if any) difference that may make in his gait. April 20 and we were both in tank tops! The boys were feeling the effects of the warmth, too - both were very lazy and we barely managed a 6 mph trot on the 2 mile route to the "sheep hill."
Our plan was to do 6 sets up & down the hill, for a total of 1 1/2 miles of hill work. We walked up, walked down, trotted up, walked down, cantered up, walked down, then repeated in reverse so the canter sets were back-to-back. Both horses had heart rate monitors on and were working well and recovering well. It actually seemed to be less work for them than I had anticipated.
The last trip up Kristi & I decided we'd jog, too. It may not have been all that much work for the horses, but just 1 trip up the hill was plenty for me!
We trotted home the 2 miles, and Rhio had recovered to 58 bpm by the time we walked down the driveway. I was pleased that he seemed to move better with this arrangement of boots - I wasn't aware of much forging, although I did note a pretty big interference mark on the inside of his left hind fetlock and there are noticeable scuffs on the back of the Glove gaiters, especially the left front - so he was clearly still having some issues.
Kristi & I were freezing at the end of our ride! The wind switched to come off the lake and it was definitely an April wind. I started the ride pleased that I'd remembered to put on sunscreen, since my shoulders were bare for the first time this year, and ended it covered in goosebumps and wishing I'd brought a jacket to the barn!
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