Anuario Raza Polo Argentino Anuario2018 | Page 247
played at low speed; they go around in circles
and the periods last longer, which makes it
possible to correct defects. The first season
which normally begins at the age of 3-and-a-
half years or 4, trains the horse for the role it
must perform in future. By the second season
it has already become a polo-playing pony
without the drawbacks of the first, and here
muscular pain, bone deformities, etc. generally
appear. As regards the training of horses while
playing, this is done through exercising morning
and evening: on a tether; walking or trotting for
an hour-and-a-half a day; mounting the more
heavy-going, but each animal must be treated
according to its individual characteristics.
Training is completed by playing practice
matches. Basic feeding consists of 7 kg. of
oats distributed into two rations and 3 kg. of
dry alfalfa grass fed only at night.
We consider that this ration, when play is
intense, contains an excess of protein, which
brings on liver problems, for which reason we
are trying to work out how to balance it better.
When the polo season comes to an end, it is
very useful to let the horse loose on the farm
so as to eliminate certain intoxications inherent
to the concentrated rations, as well as to rid
it of all its aches and pains caused by the
exigencies of the game.
Deworming is also indispensable to horses
once or twice a year. The vet will see to this
using a catheter to measure the correct dose.
Molar eruption is common in equines, so that
periodic revision is recommended to eliminate
this because it produces sores that affect the
good performance of the polo pony.
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