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[RC] Is this horse ready for an LD? - Jennifer ThompsonOkay, this may seem silly to some, since I'm only asking about a 25 miler, but I don't want to hurt my horse.... I bought a new gelding in November. He's 9 yrs old, was evented last summer, then turned out for a few months on 80 acres. His life prior to that was that of a pleasure trail horse, and also did some ranch duties up in Oregon. I bought him in late November , and discovered that while he could go quite a while on the flat no problem, he could not handle hill work at all. Acted like he wanted to die. :) The month of December consisted of a lot of walk/trot and slow hillwork, about 60-90 minutes, three times a week. By the end of the month, his wind had improved greatly, so I think what I experienced with him at first was just a temporary lack of fitness due to a few months off. He was in great shape prior to that, as he was 3-day eventing that summer, like I said. Jan, Feb, and first part of March, I upped the distance and intensity, doing 5-6 miles twice a week, with *lots* of hill work at both trot and canter. Then, one ride on the weekends of about 11-12 miles, walk/trot/canter, but on level ground. He handled all of this just fine and was recovering quickly even from our uphill sprints. Well, since about mid-March, due to travel, weather, chiropractic visits (no riding for several days after!) and you-name-it, I've only managed to get about two or three short rides in per week - I haven't been able to do any of our 12 mile rides at all, let alone 20-25 mile "practice" rides! Each ride is 5-6 miles, but still a lot of hills. We typically walk out for 1/2 mile, then begin a 2-mile ascent up a long, fairly steep fire road. We do the two-mile stretch at a fast trot, with some canter thrown in, if not an all-out gallop up to the top. He is panting quite a bit at the top, but recovers quickly and is ready to go again after walking just a few minutes. We then loop a different way around, to come back down, which consists of short very steep uphills, downhills, and some flat spots. We trot/canter the flat and uphills, walk the downhills. This loop we make is about 5.5 miles, maybe a little more if I take different side trails, etc. This routine has continued for the last six weeks, and I'm scheduled for our very first ride ever, on May 3rd - the Lakeside Classic in Bradley, CA. I have about two weeks left to condition. :( Does it sound like we've done enough to do a 25? Should I plan on just walking it, with just a little trotting here and there? Or does the fact that he can handle a lot of hills at a fast pace for 5-6 miles mean he can handle an easy 25 just fine? Thanks for any advice. Jennifer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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