Re: [RC] Starting the middle aged horse in distance riding - Barbara McCrary
Back several decades ago, before there was
endurance riding as we know it, no one would EVER buy a horse that was older
than 8 years old. That very concept amuses me endlessly now.
My current horse will be 10 next month. I
deliberately bought a horse with a little maturity, figuring, correctly in this
case, that one of this age would be beyond most of the silliness one finds in a
younger horse. Of course, there are horses that are 10 that are still
silly, but that's another story...
Subject: Re: [RC] Starting the middle
aged horse in distance riding
My horse Fox was not broke to ride until she was 9 years old.
She had been a broodmare for all of her life before I bought her.
She is now 15 and has completed over 2000 miles including 6 100s. Her
most competitive year was as a 14 year old.
Before the experience with this mare, I never would have considered that
a horse could accomplish so much at 13 and 14 years old. Her performance
improved with every ride season. There was a time that I would not have
considered starting a older horse but this mare completely changed my
mind.
