Re: RC: RC Conditioning questions..was Re: Pony Power

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/30/99 10:04:08 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
sbrown@wamedes.com writes:

<< Does it mean fully conditioned enough to get BC at the lower distances
 without undue stress to any part of the equine's body, or are we talking
 about fully conditioned to be able to do 100s?  T >>

Let's try fully conditioned to reach the horse's maximum potential, whatever 
that may be.  Once again, BC depends a lot on what your competition is on a 
given day.  Earlier in this thread, I pointed out that my husband "won" an LD 
ride his first time out on a teenage stallion who was just starting his 
conditioning program--with a time of something over 5 hours.  It so happened 
that the others were slower.  They also got BC--because a) the horse has a 
lot of genetic aptitude for this sport, b) my husband rode him to his optimum 
speed on that given day, and c) my husband is an experienced rider, knows how 
to keep his horse relaxed, how to present, how to take care of him, etc.  Was 
this horse "conditioned"?  Heck, no!

By the same token, a horse with a wealth of potential may be able to complete 
100's fairly early in his career, if he is the sort for whom "fully 
conditioned" means being able to medal at an FEI level.  On the other hand, a 
horse of lesser ability might have to really struggle to complete 100's even 
when he is fully conditioned.

All horses are NOT created equal, and we all have to condition and set our 
goals with an honest appraisal of the horse's strengths, weaknesses, and 
potential in mind.

Heidi


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