50's with a 1st year horse

[Eenergonzillen@aol.com]

Hello ridecampers!!!! I hope all of you are doing well and haven't been 
cooped up too much, waiting for the rain to stop.  We got a couple nice days 
this weekend and that was really nice.  I haven't asked a "real" question for 
a while, only because I didn't have a real question...and I didn't want to 
continue pestering everyone with my dumb, "not real" questions...
so, now I have a question...and I know each and every one of you are holding 
your breath, waiting with your eyes wide open...yeah right...
anyways, getting to the point here..
    What are your opinions on doing 50's on a first year horse.  Meaning, do 
you think that it is best to start with 25's/30's (lets just say limited 
distance...and by the way, I really hope this doesn't go against any ridecamp 
rules) and then do 50's later?? or do you think that it is fine to start a 
horse out with 50's??? Now, I know that it all depends on the horse's 
condition....but is it better to condition a horse with the idea of doing 
50's or should a 1st year horse only be ridden as if 25's/30's are the only 
goal??
    As you all know, I think, I have a 6 year old mare.  She did one 25 when 
she was 4 and 1/2...and has been ridden quite a bit since then, but not on 
extremely hard rides.  She is pretty good about trails these days...she 
really likes it...so, I guess I'm just wondering if I should "limit" our 
rides to limited distance or should I expect that she should be able to 
handle longer rides????
thank you for all of your opinions!!!! Even though each one is different 
<<g>>, they all provide lots of helpful information!
-Renee