Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

My advice would be to take some of what you read on ridecamp with a grain 
of salt, and search out enough information so that you will know what you 
need to know so that you can do what is best for your horse.  There is some 
excellent advice, for example, in the May issue of Endurance News from 
Robert Ribley on starting a young horse in endurance. It's probably pretty 
good advice for any horse, not just a young one.   If you go too fast too 
soon, you can hurt your horse in a lot of ways.  Lameness, metabolic, 
mentallly, the damage can accumulate and follow you throughout the horses 
career.  If you go too slow you risk being over time.   Or with some 
horses, maybe blisters on your hands.  Gloves can fix that ;)  (and really, 
a good endurance horse should be able to do whatever you ask of it, just be 
careful about asking for too much, because they will give it)

I think one of the things that will make it not as much fun, is if you 
decide that you must meet some sort of schedule, and that everything will 
fall apart if you fail to meet part of it.  Don't be in a big hurry to get 
to a ride, if you don't feel your horse is ready then don't go, and rely on 
your own judgement not just others -- educate yourself enough so that you 
can rely on your own judgement.  There will be another ride on another day, 
but only one of your horse.

Some of the things that I read on ridecamp, sure would never apply to me, 
just as some of the things I do would not work for anybody else. The horse 
I have been riding the most for the last year is over 3k miles now and I 
think he has done only one ride in under 7 hours.  He is fit and strong and 
pretty capable of going much faster. However, that is not my goal for him 
and he will never do a 4 hour 50.  I get a much greater satisfaction out of 
completing all of the days of a multiday, over winning or top tenning, all 
things that I have done enough to know what matters most.

Here is a link to more excellent advice, look near the bottom of the 
page:  http://aerc.org/long_annes.asp

Karen
in NV



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