lauren/endurance and lameness

[California Horse Adventures <wendyl@jps.net>]

Lauren-
When searching for a fast stallion who sires exceptional endurance horses
be sure to look at Dolly DeCair's stallion Wazir's Karahty. (advertised
in Endurance News) Ask Dolly about his speed records. His get have 
shown phenomenal speed and endurance capabilities. I own 3 of them and
am impressed by their athleticism on a daily basis. My 3 year old, who
is 15.3H, will be shown in dressage for 2 years before competing and should
show quite well as he is a tremendous mover.
  On to your other topic - keeping horses fit and sound. In my opinion it
is equally 1. breeding and conformation, and 2. proper conditioning. It is no
accident that Wendy Merendini's Fire Mt. Flikka is doing so well. She
spent years 4-6 doing dressage and light trail before going on to endurance.
So many riders are too anxious to get those young horses to the rides.
Even slow 50s can be too stressful for younguns. The old timers all told
me it took 3 years to bring a horse along and not to race it before that,
and they were right.    Good luck.