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Re: [RC] getting for 50's - Heidi SmithI think if all can do a slower pace of 25 comp or LD and as the year progresses ride 25's back to back (here in the midwest we have LD on both Sat and Sun) It really provides a good solid base for moving up to 50's. I really like to have 1000 miles of comp on my horses before I move them up to 50's. Speed is easy to teach a horse ....but, taking care of oneself on the trail comes with time and patience for both horse and rider. Now, see, those are some of the very same reasons why I prefer to start right out on 50's with most of my horses. They learn that this sport is a LONG WAYS and that they shouldn't go too fast. They learn that they are going to be out there ALL DAY and therefore it behooves them to eat and drink. The distance and the duration teaches them to take care of themselves on the trail, and it only takes once to teach them that it's gonna be a long day and that they might want to reconsider their natural desire to go fast. What I see happening with some horses (well, many horses actually) when they only do 25 miles is that it gets so easy for them so quickly that in their boredom, they really push to GO faster. And you are right--speed is something that needs to come later. It is the fact that they get so fit and are going so slow that drives some of them almost batty. I don't think I have ever owned a horse that would really be content doing 1000 miles of shorter distances. Even when we did CTR, we usually did rides of 35-40 miles, and found them to be utterly boring before we ever got to 1000 miles. (I have a total of 600 miles of CTR--it is an educational experience that I cherish, but I don't think I could stand to repeat it!) But when we step up to 50's, the day is long enough that they are quite content to go slower, and we avoid the problems of early speed. Again, you have to "read" the horse and do what is best for him. Yes, I've seen horses that could quite happily do 1000 miles of CTR or LD to get a base. They are not the sorts of horses I seek for my personal mounts. (And I'm no speed demon, either--I just personally like to ride a horse that is physiologically "designed" so that 50 miles is a walk in the park.) I like to ride horses that have 100-mile gaits and mentalities--and constantly going shorter distances just isn't their cup of tea. And again, the point here is understanding that horses are NOT all alike--and that we have to be open-minded enough to allow each horse to do the optimal thing for HIM, not for what fits our personal picture of how it "ought to" be... (Although in that vein, I do advise people to seek out horses that fit their own riding preferences--God help you if you try 1000 miles of LD on the ones I like to ride, and I'd not be very happy riding one that needed that. So best we each seek horses that fit our own riding styles, and have the level of horsemanship to understand when we encounter one that doesn't, and likely belongs in the hands of someone else.) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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