Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

 OK, I've had enough.  Heidi is right.  And I feel that the statement is
true.  JUST ABOUT any horse and rider COULD POSSIBLY do a 25 mile ride.  As
Heidi states she has seen it done many times.  That is not to say that it is
wise for the horse or rider.  One would only hope that the owner of the
horse has enough common sense to know the possibilities or limitations of
their horses before they endevor to do a 25 mile ride.  We don't always know
what that horse has been used for or if it is used at all.  Maybe the horse
has a back country back ground and is use to climbing hills, doing long
days, going over all types of terrain, albeit only at a walk.  Maybe it is
just a pasture pet but the owner likes to trot up and down their lane 5
times a week.  Granted maybe that is not the type of conditioning that we
LEARN is good for our horses.  But sometimes unless a rider has a mentor or
someone to talk with them about proper training before doing their first 25
mile ride then if they show up green, so be it.  If the vet passes the horse
at the pre-ride exam and the horse is deemed fit to start then they should
be allowed to start.

 Also, that is what the vet is there for.  I would hope that if a vet sees
a horse at the pre ride exam that they clearly feel is not fit to start then
they should make the call.  But as we all know, horses are amazing animals.
They can do things that we only marvel at in their endurance, athleticism,
and their strength.  To squash a future riders possibilities because they
show up at a ride with not a clue, but with a hope is not fair to the rider
or the horse.  This is hard for me to write as I don't want to see anyone's
horse hurt nor do I want to give the impression that I feel it is OK to take
an unconditioned horse on a ride.  But also is not my/our place to judge who
is fit to try their first 25 either.

 I live in an area where time and again I see people's horses stand in the
pasture all most all year long.  Maybe the rider gets on once in a blue moon
and takes a strole down the road.  Then hunting season comes along.  They
load up their horses, take them to the mountains, pack their camp in 10
miles, get their game up at the top of some god forsaken ridge, drag the
horse up the mountain to carry out an animal that is half their size, pack
the camp back out, bring the horses back and turn them out to the pasture
for the next 11 months until they do it again.  The horses probably weren't
prepared for that either, but they make it.  Doesn't make me happy either,
but it is not my horse.

 I do not condon or like to see a horse over ridden or not properly
prepared, but sometimes we discover that even the best planning doesn't
prepare our horses or riders for what they are about to face.  But we learn
and hopefully not at the expense of our dear friends.  When I first started
distance riding I had the luxury of having a friend that had been a rider
for many years.  We started training together and she told me alot, but even
with all her mentoring the real teaching came in the doing not the lessons.
I think that even being a veteran rider every ride is a new learning
experience of some kind.  We all had to start some place and hopefully each
experience gives us the knowledge to be better prepared for the next ride.

 Becky R. - Montana
 OK, crawling back to deep hole, as I know I will get majorly flamed on
this one.


============================================================
Why should I look good if I don`t smell good? 
~  author unknown

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

============================================================