Fw: Re:10 yr Conditioning

["Becky Huffman" <TOS@htcomp.net>]

(forwarded from a friend)

Becky Huffman
Huffman's Arabians ~ The Original Series
http://www.htcomp.net/Huffman/

-----Original Message-----
From: John M. Sewell <jms@kef-inc.com>
>>I am the very proud new owner of a 10 yr Blue Star mare named Sarah who's
got about 9 mo of slow distance under her belt. She hasn't been under saddle
too long, and has great potential. She has always lived in the pasture, and
is in excellent health. I want to pay particular attention to her tendons,
ligaments and bone during training. At this point in time, I am not nearly
as concerned with metabolics as I am with structural soundness. From
everything I've researched so far, conditioning the tendons, ligaments and
bones takes a lot longer than conditioning for metabolic parameters, and is
often overlooked in the rush to hit the trail. For Sarah's sake, I intend to
avoid that error by a goodly margin.
>
>>At present I haven't decided when we'll test the waters of a ride, but I
shouldn't think any longer than nine months to a year. I need feedback from
endurance riders... how would you go about conditioning such a prospect
using emphasis on structural soundness?  Post me at jms@kef-inc.com with
comments.
>
>Thanx foalx!