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RE: [RC] Judgment Call - Mike LewisTeri and Bruce, Thank you for your thoughts. This is indeed my "new" mare... she has had some conditioning but nothing I think could be considered as a base. We rode FITS at a pace that she seemed comfortable with, but in retrospect made a few mistakes along the way--one of which was (with some exceptions) allowing her to do what she "seemed" to be comfortable with. She did not seem to exert herself unduly during the ride, so it was difficult to judge her true condition. Another mistake was not recognizing just how hard some of those "dirt" roads are. I imagine working on that surface would give a horse the equivalent of "shin splints" if they're not conditioned to it, and suspect someting like this is what happened to my mare. Think we'll slow things down a bit for the spring/summer and build up a base, with the goal of completing a 2-day 25 (GERA) in June before attempting our first 50 this winter. Not sure what good "base-building" schedule would be, but am guessing something like 1-2 nights a week of riding, 5 miles per session, with one easy 15-20 mile ride one day of the weekend except for an occasional slow "race." Mike --- Teri Hunter <teri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Hi Mike, I wouldn't do it. Is this your new mare? Does she have a base at all. I would develop the base and then enjoy the years with her. If you want her to last as your old horse you are going to need to go slow. I know you are anxious, I am dealing with the same issue. Develop a base. See you on the trail. Teri -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Lewis Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 6:52 PM To: Ridecamp Subject: [RC] Judgment Call My mare completed the FITS 25 miler last weekend, but had some swelling on her right/front lower leg after the ride. I noted that she felt slightly "off" about halfway through the ride, and suspect it was due to pounding on a harder surface than we're accustomed to (we only have sand in my area to train on.) The Sand Hill Stampede is THIS weekend. I have given my mare light groundwork nightly since Monday night, and she seems happy and pain free. The swelling on the leg was gone the day after the race despite an 8 hour trailer ride home. My judgment says that she would benefit from the conditioning she would gain if I went ahead and gently rode her in the Sand Hills 30 mile ride at a noncompetitive pace. Very interested in other folks' thoughts, though, as I don't want to give her too much work too quickly and end up with an injured horse and a lost endurance season. She has had about 100 miles of racing and conditioning in the past month after coming off of a 2 year "break." Thanks for any thoughts... Mike =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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