|
Depends a lot on the horse--have to say our guys
are all raised out and bred for this, so walking several miles is not a big deal
physically for them. (And Frank is right--we stay at a walk for quite
awhile, until they are secure and comfortable.) On average, for us, I'd
say 3-4 miles, though. Depends on their comfort level--if they are
marching along ears forward and enjoying themselves, then it might be farther,
but if we are dealing with issues, we will look for a positive note where they
are happy and comfortable, and then stop.
One of my favorite horses ever to start under
saddle was my foundation stallion's full sister Tueyma, who had been a
broodmare all her life--she was somewhere in her early teens when we started,
and I put her on a lunge line twice for some basic voice commands, got
on her twice in the arena and rode around a bit, went out on the trail all
by herself on the third ride, and she was having such a good
time going out 6 or 8 miles that at two weeks I took her to a novice CTR
that averaged about 5 mph for 20 miles and she placed 4th and had a
blast! (I have to add that she naturally WALKED that fast, so we were able
to do the CTR with just a few stretches of trotting where the footing was
good. And no, I don't expect most of 'em to progress that fast--but she
was one of those that was just tickled to have a JOB.) Completely off
topic, but talking about that wonderful old mare reminds me that I should brag
about one of our fillies this year who is a 4th generation tail
female descendant of that old mare, and who looks so much like a
smoothed-out and fancied-up version of great-great-granny that we're
actually going to name her for the old gal.... :-)
Heidi
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 11:52
AM
Subject: RE: [RC] How soon to take green
horse on 1st trailride?
How
far do you all go that first trail ride?
|
