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Re: [RC] LD/Endurance - heidiThanks kristen. i coach newbies into the sport of distance riding.I can tell you that NO. MOST Riders and horses out there cannot do a 25, or at least cannot do it safely and well. Most RIDERS--I might agree. Most HORSES--well, you addressed that later in your post. You or i could probably take many back yard horses and coax them through a 25. Exactly. Remember, even at our baby distance of 25 miles, we are riding farther and harder than 95 percent of all the equestrians out there. most people are clueless how far they really are riding. i took a student out yesterday and she was sure we rode halfway to Colorado. We rode 5.5 miles. I sure wouldn't advise her to go out and do a 25 mile ride tomorrow. i think her horse could finish one, but would it be a good idea? nope. Exactly what Barbara and I and others have been saying, Chris. Odds are her horse COULD finish one. And nope, it is not a good idea. But that isn't the issue--the issue is that he COULD, and that is one of the differences between LD and endurance. I let a friend borrow one of my horses to ride a truly baby distance... a 15 mile novice CTR. Again, a 5 mph pace. She was flabbergasted at how FAST the riders were going, LOL...and she said even at that distance, every muscle and bone in her body hurt. She never came back and wanted to do any more distance rides. This is an experienced horsewoman. Again, I agree that there are a lot of RIDERS who can't do it. But the majority of HORSES can! Heidi ============================================================ REAL endurance is eating egg salad sandwiches for 3 days straight! Heidi Sowards... but then again... REAL endurance is riding behind someone who ate egg salad sandwiches for 3 days straight! ~ author unkown ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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