That depends on where the horse is vis a vis next
race--longest would be a month before (50 or 35 if conditioning), with
mileage/time decreasing from there the closer it gets to ride day.
Although I haven't had a lot of wins, I've had many top 5s and lots of BC
awards over the years using this same system, so I do think you can be
competitive if that fits your definition (as it does mine) of
"competitive."
Plus I think horses are more likely to stay sound if we
can condition them as little as possible while still enough so they're not
taxed on race day.
(Of course that Fine Line is not easy to hit with a
formula, since each horse holds their conditioning differently.)
and Susan wrote:
When I used to do 50's once my
horse got in condition to finish well in the 50's, really didn't need to
condition between 1- 50 mile ride per month if we didn't want to. A lot
depends on your goals for your horse and how competitive you plan to be. They
get burned out just like we do. Too much of anything is bad.... even if
it's good???
Anyway, once you're in condition and your heart rate drops
quickly, one long ride a week generally is enough for most of us
schmucks who aren't trying to finish first or second.
