Keeping their horses safe and healthy is job one for chuckwagon drivers.

That's why High River's Jordie Fike is happy to be part of the Calgary Stampede's "Fitness to Compete" program again this year.

"It's a program to track horses throughout the 10 days of Calgary. Track how many days they're running. Every horse that hits the grounds is checked in, and they check their heart rates and just check the overall condition of the horse and make sure that they are fit to compete."

Fike is a big supporter of the program.

"Every horse is microchipped and they track when the horse runs and how many times a horse runs, so they know the horses aren't being overused and abused, which is a great thing for the sport. If a horse isn't feeling great, he's not going to compete to his full potential anyway."

Fike says drivers can use horses three days in a row, and then give them a day off.

But generally, most drivers only run any one horse for two days and then give them two days off.