Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

Re: [RC] [Guest] Minutes of the AERC BoD Conf Call Meeting Online - Laurie ... - Karen Sullivan

With all due respect to you and Barbara and your great pool of experience, I DO think there is nothing wrong, in certain situations, in taking a year to get a horse ready for a 25....for example, I bought a pasture-potato Anglo Arab (4 1/2) mid November, started a lot of walking daily, introducing trotting....then introducing hills....over the winter. She went out at least 5 days a week, sometimes ridden and sometimes ponied. She probably was worked up gradually to 15 mile rides, with legs and back checked after every ride, and all looked fine. End of May we went and did Camp Far West 25....and took the entire time.  We probably did more sustained trotting than in training....but you all know that is a very easy 25. She did the ride easily, and her recoveries were great, but next day there was some filing in her legs.....so I felt that I had rushed things.  So what did I do wrong?
 
I honestly do not believe you can take an unfit horse out of a pasture and go do 25 miles in 6 hours, without some trauma to the legs and back....let alone the metabolic risk.  I have yet to see a 25 mile ride you can mostly walk (since vet check times are included in the 6 hrs.)  You would have to trot quite a bit to make times....IT seems very unfailr and abusive to an animal.
 
I see enough horses on horse-camping trips over ridden on 15 mile rides...
 
My current project is the 4 1/2 year Arab/paint cross I brought home when she was 5 months.  At 6 months, she started following on short trail rides. (20 min) ...working up by end of age 2, to hour plus rides, sometimes ponied and often following free ( run, jump, tear around like a 'real" horse). We slid on a her back a few times at age 2,  but that was it.  Age 3 was very short sessons on her back (under 15 min) teaching basic cues....and all this time, the trail rides with no rider, 3-5 times a week. to build muscle, bone and tendon strength.  At age 4, more riding, but under an hour on her back, still the ponying out in the real world, 1/2 hour lessons in arena, short rround pen lessons, and light trail riding, often getting off on downhlls. This was my attempt to build an equine athelete from the beginning, with controlled feeding and exercise. She is 15.3, great legs and feet, no splints or leg problems, strong back.....and there is no way in heck I would ever consider doing 25 miles this first year of riding.....and this is a mare with consistent exercise and conditioning while growing up.
 
I think also, the term pasture has  a lot of meanings......for some it means great hilly pasture, where horses do self exercise and condition, (maybe those are candidates for an easy 25 mile ride with a light rider), and for some it means an acre flat pasture.
 
Logically, a person cannot go out and walk/jog maybe 10 miles if they have been sititng on the couch a year..(without getting really sore or straining muscles) ....it would be inhumane to ask a dog to do that also....why should a horse be any different?
 
I would rather see a person spend a year working up to a 25 mile ride, and have a horse that is relaxed, eats, drinks, good recoveries and well behaved......than some of the folks I have seen who do 3 25 mile rides then go and try to top ten a 50....
Karen


ACtually I agree that you pretty much can do that.  HOwever, it does depend on the ride and how hard it is.  I think people sometimes say that because of the ones that spend a year getting their horse "ready" for a 25 miler.....mb

Replies
Re: [RC] [Guest] Minutes of the AERC BoD Conf Call Meeting Online - Laurie ..., Merryben