Re: RC: Re: Am I on the right track?

["Carolyn Burgess" <carolyn_burgess@hotmail.com>]

Kimberly:

This gives you an idea on how quickly you can increase your mileage.  I did 
my first CTR of the season in late April of this year.  The weather stunk up 
to the beginning of April.  I didn't really have a horse yet to compete on, 
so I stole Hubby's 18 y.o. Arabian.  He really hadn't been worked since last 
season, but I did get a couple of 10 mile training rides on him before we 
did the 25.  He was tired after the ride, and he got points off for 
hydration (why is it that they won't take a sip until 20 miles into the 
ride) and fatigue, but he did complete.  I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND DOING IT THIS 
WAY.  But trail conditions in our area did not allow for conditioning the 
way I would have like to. I guess this just show that the old addage that 
you can pull any horse out of the pasture and do a 25 still holds true.

The key is to increase the riding time and watch how your horse responds to 
it.  If he is doing well, continue to increase.

Carolyn Burgess

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