Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

 Thanks, Frank :D

 This was pretty much what I was tryin' to get across in a
rather round about way... Basically I was trying to say you
really can't guage your horse well until you actually do
endurance rides and use them as conditioning/training tools
to enhance and round out the basic knowledge you've gained
through the *at home* rides.

 As far as the training alone vs training in groups I feel
both are equally important in your *program*. Yes training
alone helps develope that horse/ rider bond, as Truman
mentioned, where your horse learns to depend on you.....
but I sure wouldn't want to do an endurance ride without
having some group training rides under my horses girth,
where I've had the opportunity work on passing, being
passed and letting the group leave me and my horse
behind.... things you will encounter on an endurance ride,
even if you plan and try to ride alone.

 I can only speak for myself and my horse but, the more
actual endurance rides I use as training rides the better
my horse becomes. At each endurance ride he gets alittle
better at eating , drinking, listening to me, and begins to
actually use his brain sooner. I can't work on these things
at home rides where the stress level is low and get the
same results and improvements without that "endurance
frenzy". 

 Sorry... guess I got a bit sidetracked from the orginal
training program being related to a horse "crashing and
burning" at endurance rides thread.

Regards,
Penny  
--- DVeritas@xxxxxxx wrote:
> In a message dated 11/20/2003 9:16:05 PM Mountain
> Standard Time, 
> penelope_75647@xxxxxxxxx writes:
> I just can't mimic the conditions at
> training/conditioning rides that take place during an
> actual endurance ride. At home my horse is sane...vaccums
> up everything in sight.... drinks like a fish within the
> first 10 miles and will tell me when he's tired. At a
> ride
> he is waaaay pumped up (sometimes he litterally shakes
> just
> standing cuz he's so excited). He dosn't drink until mile
> 15-20...won't eat out on the trail if he even thinks
> there
> is another horse he needs to catch up to...and rarely
> acts
> tired.. On training rides he conserves energy by being a
> thinking horse and works with me...at an endurance ride
> he
> will waste alot of energy by being a reactive horse, his
> thinking brain dosn't engage until well into the ride.
>     Experienced endurance riders preach, "Ride at
> endurance rides the same 
> way you condition for them....speed and intensity, etc."
>     BUT, the STRESS of an endurance ride, i.e., long
> trailer rides, fine 
> muscle fibers twitching while going down the road for
> hours, strange water, 
> standing tied to trailers, hubbub, inability to focus
> cause all the pretty horses 
> are there screaming and prancing, etc., then the start of
> the rides, herd-sweep 
> sweeping through the horses, etc........
>      I've found that I actually am more comfortable
> riding JUST BELOW THE 
> LEVEL AT WHICH I CONDITION....the added stress of being
> AT an endurance ride, 
> then RIDING at the endurance ride, can factor in without
> WEIGHING in too much.
>     There are folks who ride faster than they condition
> for, and never pay 
> attention to the additional stressed state of their
> horses that sneaks in even 
> before the trail is open.
>      That can be catastrophic.
>      ---Frank 
>     

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