>A year of 25s? My horse's brain would be
fried from watching all the racers by the end of that year. Some of us are not
interested in doing 25 milers now. A whole year of them would be insufferable to
me. Why should I do that if my horse and I are ready, conditioned and prepared
to do a 50?
I've got to stick with Tiffany on this one! I
did three LDs on the horse I'm riding right now, and it was the worst possible
thing I could have done to him. What it taught him is that "this is all
there is" and by the third one he was ready to boogie, never mind that we never
raced. I don't generally do LDs at all, but coming back from a long layoff
myself and being not very fit, I did them for ME. And over the years
vetting rides, I've seen more horses limited by doing LDs for too long than just
about any other single factor I can think of.
LDs are a wonderful tool for the horses that either
don't have the physiology to start off with 50s, or don't have riders who do the
prep at home, or for teaching a new one to work in a camp-out environment.
For most HORSES, when used this way, one is plenty. Furthermore, it isn't
anything you CAN'T do with them at home or in a non-competitive
atmosphere. Riders are another story--it takes some riders several LDs to
get THEMSELVES convinced they can do 50. There are also riders who enjoy
the sport who are physically limited and cannot ride further--and LD gives them
the opportunity to come be part of the "family" so to speak. And as such,
it is great to have the opportunity available.
But to chain good horses to LDs for a year is
counterproductive. (It is also interesting to note how few of the
really top horses with regard to both competitive capability and
longevity never did one single solitary LD...)
