 |
RE: [RC] Gaited horse in LD - Peter HarperLaurie, Great to see another gaited endurance rider. You need to approach preparing for a ride on a gaited horse just like you would on a non-gaited horse. You need to have a good base of long slow distance building up to the ride. You have four weeks to prepare. Depending on how much you've trained and what type of distance you've built up to it might be asking a lot to do a 25LD this quickly. How much are you currently riding each week? At what speed? What is your longest ride? Don't ask him to do significantly more speed or distance than you've done in training. I'd like to see a horse do at a minimum 15-20 miles at a 5 mile/hr pace before I took them on a 25LD. Taking is slow is the right idea. As one of the central region vets likes to say "You've paid for a full 6 hrs you might as well use it." With a stocky horse you are going to be carefull to keep them cool. Braid the mane to allow plenty of air to get to the neck. If you don't already have one get yourself a sponge on a leash. Soak the neck and shoulders at every water opportunity. Pull the saddle and the vet check and cool the back if they are overheated. Take is easy there will always be another ride if your not ready. Good Luck, Pete From: "Mike & Laurie Hilyard" <PFmorabs@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: [RC] Gaited horse in LD I have a grade gaited gelding that I am considering taking in a LD ride = this fall. Right now, he is chunky, and so am I. Any LD we do would be = very slow - think 5.5 to 6 hours. I've only ridden Arabs in this sport, = and know that an Arab would have no problem being ready for 25 by the = Tin Cup Springs ride on September 18 . Can anyone with more experience = with gaited and/or horses not inherently suited to this sport give me = any advice on conditioning? As blocky as his confirmation is, if it's = too warm (think 80 degrees plus for more than one hour in 24), we won't = attempt it. I'll train in warmer weather for shorter distances, but not = that far that far from home. Thanks for any tips - Laurie in Clare ------------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|