Jasper is a Fatty

When I returned late Friday night from my post-grad two weeks of vacation, I insisted we stop by to visit the ponies before driving home. When we arrived, my jaw dropped, and I was literally speechless for a few seconds.

"Uh....uh....umm.....Is that FAT?!?!?"

Oh, yeah.

Apparently, some combination of 5 lbs of Safechoice daily, pasture grazing, probiotics, weight gain supplement from SmartPak, and either the stimulation from being FAMISHED on the 60 or lack of any work for three weeks has turned my formerly svelte Jasper into a jiggly Jasper. Great success!!

See the butt lumps?

I'm going to have to re-fit his saddle--his withers haven't been this well-padded since I brought him home almost two years ago!

I'm so very pleased with my horse and am happy he's finally putting on the weight (and keeping it on). Now that he's conditioned for the season, he'll require almost nothing to maintain it, which means he'll be more likely to keep this weight for the remainder of the season. I don't believe in over-conditioning for rides, and believe our current conditioning program has created in Jasper a willingness to work, a desire to GO, and the freshness and great attitude to complete his rides in good form.

For example, to prepare for our 60 a couple weeks ago, we started conditioning in February. We started with a couple of nice arena sessions and progressed to riding out a couple times a week. Usually a shorter faster ride during the week (3-5 miles) and a longer, slower session during the weekends (8-11 miles). This prepared him for the 25 miler at the end of March, which I used as a training ride for our first 60. He got a full week off after the 25, and then I rode him once weekly (remember I was in Hell during the weeks, so one training ride a week was all I could do--and really was all he needed). We did 11-13 miles a weekend at a moderate pace and one shorter, faster ride about 8 days before the ride.

This brings up a bit of a problem for me, though. With my minimal training schedule (and hectic personal life schedule), that leaves me with much to be desired in self-conditioning. I was pretty sore after our 60, and likely will be very sore after this weekend's 50. Now that life is settling down once again, I'm DYING to get back out on my bicycle to ratchet up the miles again. Until then, I'll be packing around a huge bottle of Ibuprofen and a big, new tube of arnica gel. Sigh.