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Re: [RC] [RC] ? [RC] What if your horse hates to condition? - Barbara McCraryIn 1970, when our eldest daughter decided she would be the first member of our family to try a 50 mile endurance ride, she dutifully rode her horse 20 miles a day, at a fast trot wherever possible, every day of the week. We knew nothing about endurance riding and conditioning at the time. When race day came, she made it to the first vet check, 12 miles form the start, in 45 minutes, all at a trot. Her horse pulsed in at 82 bpm, but just never recovered. In those days, pulse criteria was much higher than it is now, something like 72 bpm comes to mind. Anyway, they pulled her horse, but there was no rescue trailer (there wasn't any water at that vet check, either), so she rode her horse back to the start, plus 4 more miles to our home. Imagine a horse pulled for lack of pulse recovery, no way to get it out of the wilderness, and the rider putting in another 16 miles after the horse had been pulled. Endurance riding has REALLY changed! Yes, one CAN over-condition a horse. Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: <Cowgirgoof@xxxxxxx> To: ""Howard Bramhall"" <howard9732@xxxxxxx>; <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 11:37 AM Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] [RC] What if your horse hates to condition? You sure can over-condition them, although you don't see it as much as you did back in the 80's when we all thought you had to ride the snot out of em'! When I did my first ride in 1980, it was nothing for me to condition six days a week at 6-8 miles each day I rode (no lie, I have the journals to prove it!). After a couple years of this I realized I was bringing a burned-out horse to the rides and backed off some. Becky ============================================================ Of course things aren't perfect, perfect doesn't exist on this earth. Doesn't mean we won't go on trying to get better at what we do. Besides, if everything was perfect today, what would you do tomorrow? Slamming each other doesn't get anything done. ~ Dot Wiggins ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================ ============================================================ Of course things aren't perfect, perfect doesn't exist on this earth. Doesn't mean we won't go on trying to get better at what we do. Besides, if everything was perfect today, what would you do tomorrow? Slamming each other doesn't get anything done. ~ Dot Wiggins ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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