Re: Show and Tell

I agree totally with the "3 year plan", but you don't need to start at LD's and you don't necessarily need to do it in competition. There are multiple ways to implement this. I never did a 25 with my horse Sunny. His first ride was a 50 completion and his second ride was a Top Ten in a 50. However, I conditioned him for three years just as tho we were doing 25's, then 30's, etc. until we were going all day. It saves lots of money and time (for us "retirees", both in short supply) <grin> and IMHO, you get better results. I KNEW he could do a 50 before we ever did one...he had already done it...in the mountains. When he hit that flat land down in South Georgia, he thought he had died and gone to heaven! His training also including lots of "camping out", and we "ran" with
other horses on the trail at speed to get used to being excited, then calming down and getting used to being "left behind". I insisted on impecable manners, both on the ground and in the saddle.

For example, if you're riding behind another horse and the other horse trots off, what does your horse do? Pick up the trot, too, right? You should NEVER allow this. What if the horse in front of you bolts and runs away? Would you want your horse to bolt and run away, too? If you didn't ASK for the trot, then he should continue to walk. How about when TWO or THREE horses trot off? This drill is difficult for a horse
to learn...because it's against his nature. But when the other horses CANTER off and your horse continues to walk, you are there.....he will WAIT for the cue. I don't think I need to expound on the value of this during an Endurance Ride. Believe me, it you're consistent, and do it properly, he may get excited and may pull on you asking to go, but he will listen....his mind is too conditioned to do anything else. "Don't do nothin' without checkin' with Da Boss first!" Sunny was excited at his first "real" ride...but he didn't turn into a creature I didn't recognize.

Limited Distance is great....and really helpful for riders and horses getting started in Endurance, but if you go about it the right way, you don't need to start horses on LD. It depends on what works for you. I think Howard was referring to himself doing a 50, not his horse.

Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic

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It's a bit of both Jim. I was quite content doing LD's and so was my horse. Now I want to do mostly 50's, but it's still a bit much for my Saddlebred. My Paint turns 5 next Feb, and I do plan on going that route (probably a ten hour ride; which my old body hates me for the next morning) when she's legal. Her metabolics are as good as any Arab, so far, which just amazes me to no end.

I was very flattered when Kristene wrote that I "have my head on strait", but that's not really accurate. I've made more mistakes than most and when I first started endurance, as a non AERC member, I had no mentor, thought it was a race, and was damn lucky that I didn't get Dance Line in trouble on his first run. It took me a few rides to realize things like trail etiquette, getting your horse to drink and eat, electrolytes and all the rest. During my first year I was a danger to myself, my horse, and quite a few riders who rode close to me.

As much as I respect Jim and his training techniques, he'll probably laugh hysterically when he finally does meet me and Dance Line. Even after two and a half years, I still ride an out of control moose during that first loop. And I kind of like it that way. Even though I do ride with a crop, it's not used to urge him on (this is never necessary), but for swatting bugs and getting them off his face, which I can't reach by hand alone. And I really don't have to worry about Dance taking off, following another horse that's ahead of him. He doesn't let any horse, except Val's, get ahead of him (on that first loop anyway). haha

My first try at a 50 mile run almost turned into a disaster. The leap from LD's to 50's is a big one; you might say it takes a leap of faith to make the transition. And it wasn't until that near disaster, with Dance Line under a tree on an IV after his first 50, where I realized just how tough this sport is. And that LSD isn't a hallucination; it's for real. You must go that route if you want to complete 50's with a healthy horse that's not only fit to continue, but fit to do another ride next month.

I'm not trying to sell LD's over 50's. Not at all. Heidi and Jim make very good points, and I know they prepared well before doing their first rides. I'm just speaking of the average rider who wants to try endurance for the first time, but doesn't have a mentor and isn't sure whether or not their horse is ready. They're the ones who should make their first ride an LD. That's all I'm saying.

You're not going to believe who is on ridecamp now. My wife, Erica! She took the time to sign on and now she's reading, learning, and wondering who this guy is she's married to who stirs up stuff on the Internet. I keep telling her it's my evil twin. She asks me, "Then where's the good one?" Anyway, maybe you'll see me being more careful (yea, right Howard) with what I say on here for awhile. Or she could join ole Wolfgang and just delete it if she sees my name attached to it. Auf wiedersein, Wolfgang

Howard (and, no, I won't tell ya her screen name or email address. You'll have to get that on your own)

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