"I think horses of "today" are accumulating more lifetime mileages because we know how to care for them more, and yes maybe coddle them more. Why? I'd rather have a horse last for years than set a record for a year or two. You can do research and find the exceptions to the rule, of course!, the horsesriding that did it in spite of what was done to them."
I think a one in million horse in the right hands can do a lot of rides at speed over many ride seasons. As mentioned, Rio, is one of those horses. Pete Davie's Hondo is another. Look up how many years Hondo competed and was always at the top. I think he won a ride or BC last year and he was winning rides and BCs in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I think we do take better care of our horses because we have a lot more information and knowledge in nutrition and training. But I would like to make a couple comments. This is not directed at the person who wrote the comments above but what I perceive is a general sentiment I pick up often time in many posts that talk about mileage and speed in the same paragraph. It seems that there is school of thought out there that if you are not riding to accumulate mileage records or riding conservatively your horse can't last more then a season or two.
I think that with horses that are not one in a million we have to make a choice if we want to ride at speed and have our horses last. That choice is fewer rides/miles at speed with lots of recovery time between competitions. Some horses may only compete at two or three rides a year and are trained and are peaked for those rides. In those rides, they are ridden fast to place high. Just because you only see a horse at competition two or three time a year doesn't necessarily mean that it is a flash in the pan. It could be deliberate strategy by the owner.
l think that the majority of riders would like to have horses last more then a year or two whether they ride to set records or ride primarily to accumulate miles. It seems that goes without saying. It infuriates me that so many think that the only way to have a horse last for more then a couple seasons is to ride to accumulate miles and not ride to be competitive or god forbid place in the top or even try to win. If your horse has the talent and even more so if you have the skill as the rider and trainer, the above average horse can have a career of mostly top 10 placings that will span over years. To be successful, one needs to be able to balance the intensity of competition and the amount of recovery or rest between competitions. This of course, usually adds up to fewer competitions over a particular ride season which will mean fewer lifetime miles. The majority of horses ridden this way may not accumulate the high volume of miles over the span of their career but they certainly will last more then a season or two as is implied many times when speed is brought into the equation.
Sometimes I think that we look at lifetime miles and use that solely to judge if a horse has had a successful career. I think a much better way is to look a the number of seasons a horse has been able to compete and what that horse has accomplished during those seasons. I think it is admirable that so many endurance riders I know can take their horses as close to their maximum potential in competition and be able to compete year after year at this level. Many of these horses never quite make it to the radar because they have not accumulated the high mileage goals yet they have great performance records over their careers.
