Re: RC: Ready for 50?

["Nancy Mitts" <mitts_n@hotmail.com>]

Sue,
Unfortunately,there really isn't any "magic moment" green light that says 
when a horse is ready. Give it a try & play it by ear. Even if they're 
really "ready" ride day might end up being a "bad" day for them. The 
inexperience of the riders at the 50 mile distance is the most problematic 
element here. If I remember right from your original post, the horses 
sounded like they were okay to try on a 50. But it's really critical that 
the rider be able to judge the horse's ability to continue throughout the 
ride. Especially with the horse that thinks he's the king of the world.
Can you hook up with a more experienced rider that will be going slowish on 
the ride you plan to try? Try to find someone in advance who will agree to 
help you evaluate the horses during the ride. Also, when you vet in, make 
the ride vets aware of your situation, and that you welcome their 
suggestions/input, even if the horse is not to the point where they would 
pull them.
Choose a ride that has at least 2, preferably 3 vet checks. I don't remember 
where you're located. If it's a point to point ride, make sure there's a 
convenient way to haul these horses in if they can't complete the distance. 
IMO the best bet would be a looped ride so if any of the horses become 
questionable it's easy to pull, they can just stay in camp.
Nancy Mitts


>From: Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>
>To: ridecamp@endurance.net
>Subject: RC:  Ready for 50?
>Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 07:57:55 -0800
>
>Thanks to Richard for sending me the URL for the article on getting ready
>for 50 miles (at http://www.foothill.net/tevis/training/ )...*however*...it
>didn't tell me anything I wasn't already doing.  It's pretty basic and
>covers what everyone should be doing in preparation for any mileage with a
>green horse.  Good article, btw, but it didn't tell me anything new.
>
>What I want to know is (2 questions) -- 1) With horses you have been
>getting ready (doing all of the stuff in the article) and have done a
>season of LD...how do you know when they are ready to make the jump to a 
>50?
>
>2) How do you know when a green horse (who has also been prepared according
>to the steps in the article) is ready?  I'm reflecting here on the horse
>who has lots of energy and "go" down the trail that you'd rather *start*
>with a slow 50 rather than an LD.  The humans involved here have never done
>a 50 on any horse...so we don't know what it's going to be like -- ie, we
>have no way of judging their readiness.
>
>I know a lot of you prefer to skip LD with certain horses...how do you know
>when that horse is ready to start competing?
>
>I *think* we're near ready, but I have no personal frame of reference.
>
>Sue
>*************
>Sue Brown
>Tyee Farm
>ARICP Certified Riding Instructor
>Recreational Riding, Dressage
>Marysville, Wa.
>sbrown@wamedes.com
>
>
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