Re: Major Beginner

["sherman" <shermano@prodigy.net>]

Marissa:  It sounds like you have the right idea.  Have you heard of LSD...
as in Long Slow Distance?  Well, one good place to start is to volunteer at
a ride... either an endurance ride or a CTR ( competitive Trail Ride.)
There you will get first hand knowledge of what happens when a large group
of horses get together and run down the trail.  We started with a 22 year
old Morgan.  By the end of the first year, he was in fine shape and could
handle a 25 miler just fine.  He was a very forward horse and had to be held
back to travel at a safe speed, where he wouldn't wrap me around a tree and
wouldn't kill himself from a tie up or a heart attack.
  Meeting people and scribing for a vet or a PR person, will teach you
things about what the right heart rate should be and breathing, and what to
feed him during a ride, and what danger signs there are to tell you that he
is going past his limit.
  At endurance rides there are vet checks where your horse must pass certain
tests before you will be allowed to keep going.  Those checks add a lot of
safety to the rides and help keep people and horses safer.
  I hope you check out the online ride calendars and find a ride near you to
just go and watch or volunteer at.  Once you see what it is like up close,
you can have a better idea of what it is all about, and will make your first
experience a better time.
 Sherman, Fl