Ridecamp: [RC] Sun River ride

We did our first 50 at Cascade Challenge, now I'd like to do Sun River.  
Problem?  My mare has some sort of soreness that makes her reluctant to go 
down hills.  She appears to be absolutely sound at all gaits on a level or 
uphill, or even a gentle downhill.  When we go down steeper hills (like the 
kind you want to get off and walk down) she short strides on the right front. 
 She has some soreness in the left shoulder/withers/lower nuchal ligament 
area, which I found out when I was grooming her.  I've been doing some body 
work on her, and the soreness seems better.  I also have her turned out on a 
little pasture 24/7.  

So the question is, with the ride a week away, do I risk another slow 50?  I 
plan to ride her on some fairly level trails with just a tiny bit of downhill 
over the weekend to see if she is still as sore as she was last weekend.  

Does the Sun River ride have a lot of up and down?  I think she would do okay 
if it was a flatter ride like Grizzly Mt.  I wouldn't even think of taking 
her, but even last weekend after she was starting to show soreness (didn't 
put 2 & 2 together--dumb me) she started trotting toward the trailer when she 
saw it and jumped in on her own.  So the soreness doesn't seem to bother her 
too much.  

Otherwise, I'll wait another three weeks and see how she is for Renegade, 
which I know has a LOT of elevation change.  

jeri (If it ain't time, it's money and if it ain't money, it's lameness!)

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