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Re: [RC] Returning to competition after foaling - heidiA friend (you know who you are) asked if I knew of any mares returning to 100 milers after foaling. Although I can't see why this would be an issue I could only come up with a few names. How many of you have mares who took the time off to foal and then returned to competition? Any issues or do they generally fall right back into it as most women do after having our babies? How long do they spend on down time with the babe and do they take any longer to get back to an acceptable fitness level? I've sure not seen any issues in mares returning to the sport after having foals--nor, for that matter, in starting out in the sport for the first time after having several foals. (One of the reasons that you probably couldn't come up with very many names is because not enough folks ride mares in endurance in the first place... ;-) ) I've started several broodmares under saddle over the years and they have done just fine--although in several cases I put them back in the brood band after getting a taste of what they could do, because they were too important to me as broodmares to take TOO much time off to compete. I know I've told Sansih's story several times in various context on RC--but she was a mare who was not started under saddle until she was 13, did one CTR that year, did five endurance rides at 14, went back in the broodband until she was 17, whereupon she was pulled out and ridden by a junior rider (somewhere close to 600 miles that season--can't remember if there were any 100s in that or not) to be PNER Junior Champion and AERC Junior Top Ten. She was in foal at the time, so she had a baby at 18, and then I took her back on two 80s that fall after weanning to earn her 1000-mile medallion. At 19, she did well over 1000 miles, including four 100s and a 90. She Top Tenned all but one ride that year, and earned at least one BC award. She was pregnant at the time she did that as well, and had a nice healthy filly at age 20. Over the years I've seen several mares do well who have been broodmares either prior to their endurance careers or have taken time off to have babies. It has more to do with the individual capability of the mare than it does to the having of foals... Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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