minimum maximum mileage

[Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>]

<< Here's his basic formula and rules of thumb.
 Ride at the speed you will compete.>

Ahhh I just love people who live in a perfect world.  Sure, I think I'll
go over here to Pigeon Mtn. (10 million rocks per square mile) and do 15
mph since that's what we're going to do for parts of the Liberty Run
(couldn't find a rock to smash a tick if you tried)

If you listen to people who tell you "minimum 50 miles per week...." at
LEAST ask them when the last time they started a horse on 50's themselves
was.  The UAE tends to buy horses that have all this behind them.  If you
buy horses that are already winning, and have proven they have the
soundness and speed etc, etc, to last long enough to get noticed, chances
are you don't spend a lot of time starting the backyard horse.  Then
there's the other people who do 25's for 10 years because they never
thought they had enough time to commit to the 40 hour per week
conditioning schedule that they read about.

I used to ride with a girl who seldom found time to train.  I ride on the
average, 3 days per week.  She did well to show up one, BUT if we met
trail riders who asked about endurance, she'd stand there with a
perfectly straight fact and explain that you *have* to ride 4 days a
week, 25 miles on Saturday.....( I think she actually managed that once
in her life and it became her token perfect week of training) and she
HONESTLY didn't realize how rediculous she sounded to me.  

Some of you assume that beginner's horses crash because they didn't train
long enough, my experience is that most of them over train and it's SPEED
on race day that is the problem, not distance.

I made the mistake of following the directions on how to condition that I
read in books too.  Kept making horses lame before we ever made it to a
race.  Finally started just doing what felt right to me, going farther or
faster as it "felt right".  I got Kaboot in March just before he turned
5.  He did his first 50 in late September.  We did our first 100 in 1998
four years later.  He got fast after that. 

I think it's nearly impossible, and around here foolish to try to train
as fast as you compete.  I add long climbs to get heart rates, but save
legs for the race where you have to take chances.  Tom may be able to
allow for 20 horses in training, 10 go lame and 10 get to race hard. 
I've got one horse, and I'd like to get to ride on race day.

Angie (riding a borrowed horse this weekend)

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