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| I'd love to know the top NFR girls work and feed routine of any knows! Esp considering they are always on the road. I know they have crazy sponsors that I'm sure give them all the products and supplements they could ever want but I wonder if you actually sat down and talked to them what they would say they really used/fed. Any info would be awesome! |
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Location: Ohio | I've often wondered myself how they keep them rode and in shape when hauling so hard. When I'm hauling more than 6 hours a day I like to not also ride that day, let them rest. Is this feasible on the pro rodeo road? It takes a tough horse that's for sure. |
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Elite Veteran
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| Nobody has a BFF that has ever qualified for the NFR? Or at least got really close so they can give us some insight? |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| BarrelRacingReport will often have the winner of big races/rodeos answer some questions on what equipment, feed and alternative therapies they use. It is free to sign up for it and lately Jill Moody has been writing a little editorial piece that is REALLY good to read. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 634
| I would also be interested in this! I think Barrel Horse News did an article about some of the workout routines of the NFR girls a while back that was pretty good.
I try to ride for about an hour 4-5 days a week. Lots of long trotting, loping, softening, bending exercises and the occasional trail ride. If it's muddy or I'm in a rush, I have her long trot 20 min each way in the round pen. My mare seems to be in pretty good shape and she's usually pretty cool and isn't breathing hard by the time we get back to the trailer after a run.
Just to be clear, I take her to the trailer, unsaddle, then walk her to cool her out. It's a pet peeve of mine when people make a run, walk their horse to the trailer, tie them up, then they are sitting back in the stands 3 minutes after their run. |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
 
Location: Kansas | I'm no NFR girl, but in 2012, I put a lot of miles & runs on my gray horse hitting the ammy rodeos in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. I think I exercised him TWICE in the month of July. We just rodeoed and went for hand walks at every rodeo grounds in the country. LOL. He ran at 11 rodeos between July 3 and July 25, and would have run at 3 more the 26-28 if he hadn't bled on the 25th and gone on vacation for a month. It must have worked because he placed at 7 rodeos in a row (July 3-6, July 12 & 14, July 19) and the streak only stopped because I hit barrels at a couple in the same weekend. When I have been hauling more than one and trying to exercise the backup on the road, I don't do much different than I do at home, though I shorten workouts by a few minutes to keep legs fresh in case I need that horse to run unexpectedly. |
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Elite Veteran
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| Yea, I would think they dont have much time to really "excercise" the horses, but more walk and loosen them up when they get some where and then run again. |
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 Extreme Veteran
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| The only small piece of insight I have is as to Michele & Slick's workout routine. (I'm friends with one of her daughters) Before the NFR we started talking about what everyone was doing to prepare Slick to be back in Vegas. I'm not 100% as to what they do when they're hauling a ton, but when time permits, Slick is ridden 4 miles per day, even when he's going to make a run. We mapped out the distance around my arena, and I started trying to work mine up to the 4 miles/day routine, and HOLY SMOKES. They started being able to fire so much harder, and make phenomenal progress as far as stopping the clock is concerned! That's not to say that between November and now that his routine hasn't changed; as far as I know, it could have changed a ton! |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | On the feed side, we do quite a lot of horses at that level. For our program, Stingray for instance, 1 1/2 pounds per day RG, and good hay in front of her all the time. Sherry feeds some supplements, but no other calorie supply.
Edited by winwillows 2016-06-13 1:07 PM
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Location: SoCal | rpreast - 2016-06-13 8:41 AM
The only small piece of insight I have is as to Michele & Slick's workout routine. (I'm friends with one of her daughters) Before the NFR we started talking about what everyone was doing to prepare Slick to be back in Vegas. I'm not 100% as to what they do when they're hauling a ton, but when time permits, Slick is ridden 4 miles per day, even when he's going to make a run. We mapped out the distance around my arena, and I started trying to work mine up to the 4 miles/day routine, and HOLY SMOKES. They started being able to fire so much harder, and make phenomenal progress as far as stopping the clock is concerned! That's not to say that between November and now that his routine hasn't changed; as far as I know, it could have changed a ton!
How much of that 4 miles was walking, trotting or loping? (If possible, about how many minutes you did of each) I believe previously from an article (or video, can't remember which) Michele had said about 5 minutes of loping is a mile? I had done that each direction previously with an older mare who I was then running high school rodeo on and that seemed to help a ton with her conditioning, but wasn't sure if this 4 miles/day is only loping, long trotting, ect. |
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Extreme Veteran
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| Last Catt - 2016-06-13 1:20 PM
rpreast - 2016-06-13 8:41 AM
The only small piece of insight I have is as to Michele & Slick's workout routine. (I'm friends with one of her daughters) Before the NFR we started talking about what everyone was doing to prepare Slick to be back in Vegas. I'm not 100% as to what they do when they're hauling a ton, but when time permits, Slick is ridden 4 miles per day, even when he's going to make a run. We mapped out the distance around my arena, and I started trying to work mine up to the 4 miles/day routine, and HOLY SMOKES. They started being able to fire so much harder, and make phenomenal progress as far as stopping the clock is concerned! That's not to say that between November and now that his routine hasn't changed; as far as I know, it could have changed a ton!
How much of that 4 miles was walking, trotting or loping? (If possible, about how many minutes you did of each ) I believe previously from an article (or video, can't remember which ) Michele had said about 5 minutes of loping is a mile? I had done that each direction previously with an older mare who I was then running high school rodeo on and that seemed to help a ton with her conditioning, but wasn't sure if this 4 miles/day is only loping, long trotting, ect.
I would trot 1 mile in each direction, and then lope 1 mile in each direction. I would imagine 5 minutes being pretty close to a mile. My arena is a little under a quarter mile/lap if you stay on the fence the whole time. These fitness apps made it insanely easy for me to just walk the perimeter to get a rough estimate of the circumference! lol I didn't count the walking as a part of their 4 miles though |
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  Whack and Roll
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Location: NE Texas | Marlene McRae outlines a 4 mile warmup in her book. She talks alot about conditioning and exercise and the importance of a thorough warm up.
She even talks about venues that don't have a good warm up area and her stopping somewhere close to the rodeo and getting the warm up in before she gets to the rodeo grounds....it's that important to her.
I'm a firm believer that a warm up such as this, combined with an exercise program that builds a horse up to being able to handle this type of warm up is a fantastic way to keep a horse from ever starting to bleed and getting a bleeder back under control.
Edited by Herbie 2016-06-13 2:34 PM
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Expert
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Location: Willows, CA | Just had a talk with Ivy Conrado about her program. Her good horse ties up. ERM not PSSM. These horses still need to be exercised every day, and she does that, no matter what it takes. Doing an every single day program limits the risk of tie up and keeps the horse running fit at the same time. Feed program for the last three years is RG and hay. If hay quality is poor she adds a little stabilized rice bran. This horse can not eat grain based feeds of any kind or she runs the risk of tie up. She uses a joint supplement and mixes turmeric herself.
Edited by winwillows 2016-06-13 4:46 PM
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Elite Veteran
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Location: Weatherford, TX | winwillows - 2016-06-13 4:43 PM Just had a talk with Ivy Conrado about her program. Her good horse ties up. ERM not PSSM. These horses still need to be exercised every day, and she does that, no matter what it takes. Doing an every single day program limits the risk of tie up and keeps the horse running fit at the same time. Feed program for the last three years is RG and hay. If hay quality is poor she adds a little stabilized rice bran. This horse can not eat grain based feeds of any kind or she runs the risk of tie up. She uses a joint supplement and mixes turmeric herself.
What is ERM? |
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Expert
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Location: Willows, CA | Gator Bug - 2016-06-13 5:59 PM
winwillows - 2016-06-13 4:43 PM Just had a talk with Ivy Conrado about her program. Her good horse ties up. ERM not PSSM. These horses still need to be exercised every day, and she does that, no matter what it takes. Doing an every single day program limits the risk of tie up and keeps the horse running fit at the same time. Feed program for the last three years is RG and hay. If hay quality is poor she adds a little stabilized rice bran. This horse can not eat grain based feeds of any kind or she runs the risk of tie up. She uses a joint supplement and mixes turmeric herself.
What is ERM?
ERM is Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
This is muscle breakdown from extreme physical exertion. This is not a genetic condition like PSSM, but rather thought to be more related to an extreme sensitivity to excess sugars in the system. Ivy has this horse under complete control through her management program.
Edited by winwillows 2016-06-13 6:21 PM
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Elite Veteran
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| winwillows - 2016-06-13 6:18 PM
Gator Bug - 2016-06-13 5:59 PM
winwillows - 2016-06-13 4:43 PM Just had a talk with Ivy Conrado about her program. Her good horse ties up. ERM not PSSM. These horses still need to be exercised every day, and she does that, no matter what it takes. Doing an every single day program limits the risk of tie up and keeps the horse running fit at the same time. Feed program for the last three years is RG and hay. If hay quality is poor she adds a little stabilized rice bran. This horse can not eat grain based feeds of any kind or she runs the risk of tie up. She uses a joint supplement and mixes turmeric herself.
What is ERM?
ERM is Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
This is muscle breakdown from extreme physical exertion. This is not a genetic condition like PSSM, but rather thought to be more related to an extreme sensitivity to excess sugars in the system. Ivy has this horse under complete control through her management program.
I would say shes doing a good job!
I wish so bad I could get Renew Gold in my area. We dont have Tractor supply and my feed store cant or wont order it for me :( |
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A Cool Sharp One
| rpreast - 2016-06-13 11:41 AM The only small piece of insight I have is as to Michele & Slick's workout routine. (I'm friends with one of her daughters) Before the NFR we started talking about what everyone was doing to prepare Slick to be back in Vegas. I'm not 100% as to what they do when they're hauling a ton, but when time permits, Slick is ridden 4 miles per day, even when he's going to make a run. We mapped out the distance around my arena, and I started trying to work mine up to the 4 miles/day routine, and HOLY SMOKES. They started being able to fire so much harder, and make phenomenal progress as far as stopping the clock is concerned! That's not to say that between November and now that his routine hasn't changed; as far as I know, it could have changed a ton!
interesting to see if they were long trotting, loping, etc that 4 miles....... I ride mine 2 miles each way 3 laps walking, 3 laps trotting, 3 laps loping and then turn around and then lope, trot and then walk |
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Regular
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| What is RG? |
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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | barrelmom68 - 2016-06-14 3:34 PM What is RG?
Renew Gold it's a horse feed. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | horsiace1025 - 2016-06-14 7:57 AM
winwillows - 2016-06-13 6:18 PM
Gator Bug - 2016-06-13 5:59 PM
winwillows - 2016-06-13 4:43 PM Just had a talk with Ivy Conrado about her program. Her good horse ties up. ERM not PSSM. These horses still need to be exercised every day, and she does that, no matter what it takes. Doing an every single day program limits the risk of tie up and keeps the horse running fit at the same time. Feed program for the last three years is RG and hay. If hay quality is poor she adds a little stabilized rice bran. This horse can not eat grain based feeds of any kind or she runs the risk of tie up. She uses a joint supplement and mixes turmeric herself.
What is ERM?
ERM is Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
This is muscle breakdown from extreme physical exertion. This is not a genetic condition like PSSM, but rather thought to be more related to an extreme sensitivity to excess sugars in the system. Ivy has this horse under complete control through her management program.
I would say shes doing a good job!
I wish so bad I could get Renew Gold in my area. We dont have Tractor supply and my feed store cant or wont order it for me : (
Not my intent to turn this tread into an advertisement. I can only show those feed programs that use RG simply because those are the people we work directly with.
On the topic, I do see a lot more horses running on less grain based concentrate and better roughage than we did in the past. The stress of hauling to as many rodeos as it takes to make NFR does not need to be increased by having an unbalanced digestive system. You can't feed a horse to be faster than it is genetically capable of running. More and more people are looking at reaching the absolute potential of the horse by maximizing digestive efficiency rather than thinking that more and more high starch feed will give them a faster horse. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2128
| FLITASTICs mom qualified for the NFR. Maybe he knows a little. |
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 Leggs
Posts: 4680
Location: lexington KY | I have talked to quite a few of the girls, past and present about their routines, etc. I don't have time to dig them all up, but did a quick search on my website. You can use the search box at the top as well:
http://ontherodeoroad.com/?s=nfr+routine
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 618
| Let me preface my comment by stating I'm not an nfr qualifier, I do know a few and have seen some of them conditioning their horses and I'm NOT trying to be combative just making an observation as a human personal trainer and athlete myself.
The 4 miles of cardio training is great however our horses are not only running straight lines. They are turning/pushing off (squatting) and reaching/pulling(think upper body, like pull ups). Long trotting and loping alone while keeping those muscles condition on some levels need simulation exercises, such as turning a barrel to be completely developed to make that turn more powerful. This can be achieved in a variety of ways using different drills and ground conditions(resistance). I'd be interested to see what types of exercise they do in say off season to keep these muscles in shape. I'm not referring to training, in a sense of knowledge, but physical training. |
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Expert
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Location: The Great Northwest | iloveequine40 - 2016-06-15 10:42 AM Let me preface my comment by stating I'm not an nfr qualifier, I do know a few and have seen some of them conditioning their horses and I'm NOT trying to be combative just making an observation as a human personal trainer and athlete myself. The 4 miles of cardio training is great however our horses are not only running straight lines. They are turning/pushing off (squatting) and reaching/pulling(think upper body, like pull ups). Long trotting and loping alone while keeping those muscles condition on some levels need simulation exercises, such as turning a barrel to be completely developed to make that turn more powerful. This can be achieved in a variety of ways using different drills and ground conditions(resistance). I'd be interested to see what types of exercise they do in say off season to keep these muscles in shape. I'm not referring to training, in a sense of knowledge, but physical training.
 Exactly the way I see the exercises needed too! Barrel Horses don't just run straight!! |
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 Elite Veteran
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Location: Georgia | iloveequine40 - 2016-06-15 1:42 PM
Let me preface my comment by stating I'm not an nfr qualifier, I do know a few and have seen some of them conditioning their horses and I'm NOT trying to be combative just making an observation as a human personal trainer and athlete myself.
The 4 miles of cardio training is great however our horses are not only running straight lines. They are turning/pushing off (squatting) and reaching/pulling(think upper body, like pull ups). Long trotting and loping alone while keeping those muscles condition on some levels need simulation exercises, such as turning a barrel to be completely developed to make that turn more powerful. This can be achieved in a variety of ways using different drills and ground conditions(resistance). I'd be interested to see what types of exercise they do in say off season to keep these muscles in shape. I'm not referring to training, in a sense of knowledge, but physical training.
Very good points! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 790
Location: Mt | When I hauled hard in 2008, I can honestly say that my horse got more rest time than exercise time. During the winter run, there was plenty of time off during the week to exercise them 2 or 3 times a week, but from about June on, he rested during the week as much as possible. If he made 4 or 5 runs a week, that was plenty, IMO, so he got to rest. I would take him out of his stall and let him roll, graze etc, but if I had him in portable panels, I would try to just let him rest. My horse slept alot so he enjoyed his "down" time. As for exercise, I would try to long trot him and maybe lope some circles. I didn't work him on the barrels unless I felt we needed to fix something but I also have different beliefs than most when it comes to barrel work.
As for feed, I kept hay in front of him all the time, even when hauling. Grain, he got a molasses based feed twice a day, 1.5 pds twice a day and then of course his supplements, which there was only two of them. His hay is a good grass/alfalfa mix, probably 60/40.
Hope that helps.
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 Ms. Elvis
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Location: Running barrels or watching nascar | Herbie - 2016-06-13 12:32 PM
Marlene McRae outlines a 4 mile warmup in her book. She talks alot about conditioning and exercise and the importance of a thorough warm up.
She even talks about venues that don't have a good warm up area and her stopping somewhere close to the rodeo and getting the warm up in before she gets to the rodeo grounds....it's that important to her.
I'm a firm believer that a warm up such as this, combined with an exercise program that builds a horse up to being able to handle this type of warm up is a fantastic way to keep a horse from ever starting to bleed and getting a bleeder back under control.
If I can, I sometimes warm up at home before heading to jackpots. Or I'll get on before the warm up arena starts getting crowded. That way I can do what I have to to have my horses ready. I just can't stand the warm up situations but that's another topic. It's hard to tell how your horse is feeling when you are dodging traffic all the time. |
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Elite Veteran
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| I think my warm up routine at the house (when I am fixing to work barrels or just do some excercises) is a lot like Marlene. But my warm up at a race is a lot shorter simply because I dont want to wear them out before I run. And the horses Im running right now don't require a lot of warm up but I have had horses that did. I would go warm up like an hour before I had to run and then let them cool off and then do a 5-10 minute short warm up before I ran. But I really think the bottom line is, know your horse and do what you think is best for them. |
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 Expert
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| Herbie - 2016-06-13 12:32 PM
Marlene McRae outlines a 4 mile warmup in her book. She talks alot about conditioning and exercise and the importance of a thorough warm up.
She even talks about venues that don't have a good warm up area and her stopping somewhere close to the rodeo and getting the warm up in before she gets to the rodeo grounds....it's that important to her.
I'm a firm believer that a warm up such as this, combined with an exercise program that builds a horse up to being able to handle this type of warm up is a fantastic way to keep a horse from ever starting to bleed and getting a bleeder back under control.
Marlene is my new Neighbor! So excited to see her out here! Her and my mom went to the NFR at the same time :) |
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Expert
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Location: The Great Northwest | Wow! How exciting!  |
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Expert
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| scwebster - 2016-06-15 9:34 AM
FLITASTICs mom qualified for the NFR. Maybe he knows a little.
My mom was big on daily exercise as well. And BIG on letting them out of the trailer every 4 hours if you were hauling a LONG LONG way or every 5-6 if it was a shorter distance. THey didn't have all of the fancy floors in trailers like they do now and supplements etc. She left hay in front of them 24/7. |
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Expert
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| skye - 2016-06-15 2:27 PM
Wow! How exciting!
Barrel races in my area are TOUGH..... Here is a list of folks that live within half hour of my house....lol
1. Marlene McRae
2. Melanie Southard
3. Linda Vick
4. Chris Gadbois
5. Brenda Mays ( During parts of the year)
6. Danyelle Campbell ( But just moved to Tx)
7. A whole host of other super trainers that make NFR horses but might not actually haul and compete themselves.. I would imagine living in TX is about the same.lol |
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Expert
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Location: Bandera, TX | CanChick - 2016-06-15 3:12 PM When I hauled hard in 2008, I can honestly say that my horse got more rest time than exercise time. During the winter run, there was plenty of time off during the week to exercise them 2 or 3 times a week, but from about June on, he rested during the week as much as possible. If he made 4 or 5 runs a week, that was plenty, IMO, so he got to rest. I would take him out of his stall and let him roll, graze etc, but if I had him in portable panels, I would try to just let him rest. My horse slept alot so he enjoyed his "down" time. As for exercise, I would try to long trot him and maybe lope some circles. I didn't work him on the barrels unless I felt we needed to fix something but I also have different beliefs than most when it comes to barrel work.
As for feed, I kept hay in front of him all the time, even when hauling. Grain, he got a molasses based feed twice a day, 1.5 pds twice a day and then of course his supplements, which there was only two of them. His hay is a good grass/alfalfa mix, probably 60/40.
Hope that helps.
Miss seeing your smile!
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Expert
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Location: Bandera, TX | winwillows - 2016-06-14 6:32 PM horsiace1025 - 2016-06-14 7:57 AM winwillows - 2016-06-13 6:18 PM Gator Bug - 2016-06-13 5:59 PM winwillows - 2016-06-13 4:43 PM Just had a talk with Ivy Conrado about her program. Her good horse ties up. ERM not PSSM. These horses still need to be exercised every day, and she does that, no matter what it takes. Doing an every single day program limits the risk of tie up and keeps the horse running fit at the same time. Feed program for the last three years is RG and hay. If hay quality is poor she adds a little stabilized rice bran. This horse can not eat grain based feeds of any kind or she runs the risk of tie up. She uses a joint supplement and mixes turmeric herself. What is ERM? ERM is Exertional Rhabdomyolysis This is muscle breakdown from extreme physical exertion. This is not a genetic condition like PSSM, but rather thought to be more related to an extreme sensitivity to excess sugars in the system. Ivy has this horse under complete control through her management program. I would say shes doing a good job! I wish so bad I could get Renew Gold in my area. We dont have Tractor supply and my feed store cant or wont order it for me : ( Not my intent to turn this tread into an advertisement. I can only show those feed programs that use RG simply because those are the people we work directly with. On the topic, I do see a lot more horses running on less grain based concentrate and better roughage than we did in the past. The stress of hauling to as many rodeos as it takes to make NFR does not need to be increased by having an unbalanced digestive system. You can't feed a horse to be faster than it is genetically capable of running. More and more people are looking at reaching the absolute potential of the horse by maximizing digestive efficiency rather than thinking that more and more high starch feed will give them a faster horse.
Win, I loved that you've made this point. I had a friend that was high up in the standings a couple of years ago and would have made the finals had she not fx her ankle. That was one of the points I told her -keep his GI tract happy and he should do well. No need to add gross amounts of starch. Today she has him on RG and 1/2-1 # of oats daily with loads of good alfalfa and coastal. She's trying to make the Circuit finals this year and next year go for the gold again. |
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NFR horses work out & feed routine