Last year I did my first LD in October. We didn't finish
because of a sore chest muscle (horse) -- he injured it the night
before the ride in a fight with his new blanket. Even though he passed the
vet check, I knew he was not happy and pulled. I've been gearing
him up for our next "first" ride in two weeks, which will be a 30-miler.
I've been riding as much as I could around my neighborhood during the week and
trailering off to a nearby park on the weekends.
I
don't ride an Arab and have been a bit concerned about our slower speed and
whether or not we can really do this within the time limits. We
trailered over to the park and had a really great ride. You know, one that
leaves you still glowing the next day and wanting to tell the world how
wonderful it was. Since I live alone and mostly ride alone, you guys are
the only ones who would understand. My horse was just wonderful -- he's a
little 14h Paso Fino and he just ate up the trail yesterday. We did almost
20 miles and averaged 5.5 mph (I use a GPS -- great little tool) and I wasn't
pushing him hard. I'm sure 5.5mph is crawling for the Arabs, but its
enough speed for us to finish a ride!
All
the trees are starting to bud and we saw some gorgeous little purple
butterflies. I got off and walked up and down some of the steep hills so
he could practice keeping up with my pace and not running me over on the
downhill. He drank at all the streams and I stopped a few times to
let him eat grass. When we got back to the trailer, I unsaddled, let him
roll and checked his heart rate. 59!!!
I'm
just so happy today thinking about our wonderful ride yesterday. Can't
wait till next weekend and we can do it again.
Karen
(still smiling)
Karen Williams Spotsylvania, VA www.mattariver.com
