training/tranquilizers

["Lysane Cree" <cree_l@LSA.Lan.McGill.CA>]

Hmmm....I have not received any responses at all to my questions I 
had posted at the beginning of the week. Could my questions not be 
relevant......or does  no one have any advice, words of wisdom, etc. to 
share with me? Isn't anyone out there worried about what a newbie at 
endurance like me could be doing to my poor unsuspecting 
horse!? :)' vbg

1) I may only be able to ride twice a week (saturday and 
Sunday) this summer because of my summer job. I can probably squeeze 
in a 'third day' for an hour ride on Fridays. I am in the process of 
getting my horse back into pre-winter fitness for a 25 mile ride in 
June (I did ride over the winter, but not always every week because 
of weather -a certain ice storm comes to mind). I am wondering if this 
is realistically enough conditioning time? Someone (not on the list) 
has suggested that I ride twice/day on Saturday and Sunday, with one 
'training session' being less intense than the other and one being in 
the early morning and the other in the late afternoon. I know that 
human athletes do this sometimes, but is this a plausible training 
method for a horse? I always allow plenty of warm up time before 
riding and plenty of cooling down time after a ride.

2)I was also wondering how long a tranquilizer (I use something 
called Atra-vet) is generally detectable in a horse's system? I have to 
tranquilize my horse to shoe him in back and so I was wondering how 
long before a ride i should have his last trim/re-set done.

Lysane and Buck