Re: Cass at Liberty Run

[Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>]

>Thanks for th\e advice.  Two years of what?  25's?  Ten miles of 
>trotting? >Is cantering a bad thing (implied strongly in recent posts) 
What is a>reasonable two year training practice?  At what speed and for
how long>should we "newbies" be shooting for?

O.K. everybody help me here.  I've got somebody thinking I know what I'm
talking about and they're liable to follow my advice. :-/

To me two years means...steady week in week out riding very gradually
going from long trail rides, to training rides, to more intense training
rides and medium/slow competition.   In my latest horse's case it meant
he did a 50 5 months after I started him under saddle, but stuck around
7-8 mph for 2 years (and I did fudge some during that time on some easy
rides).  I think it means not *racing* for the front for 2 years.  I
never do 25's.  

If I'm starting a horse I tend to ride slower and more often.  Maybe just
a couple of miles on a weekday (every other day) with some hills thrown
in.  On Saturday I'd ride 5 or 6 hours.  Now that he's got lots of miles
I'll still probably only ride 5 or 6 hours, but I'll cover lots more
ground.  I'll still only ride a few miles on weekdays, but it might be
running up a mountain instead of walking.  When I'm thinking "2 year
foundation" you've just got to think about bones and tendons... so I
gradually throw in a little trotting on hard surfaces to condition the
bones.  Just a tiny bit at first, then a little every ride later.  I'm
sure others can give you a more scientific plan.

As far as the cantering goes, I didn't do much cantering until he got
faster simply because I was teaching him to extend.  If I'm going hard
for a heart rate, I might run him uphills, it seems easier on the legs
with less speed.

Angie McGhee
on the Tennessee/ GA line.

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