In FL it may not be only LD, but in general most horses are brough
along slowly either using CTR's which are mostly 25 or LD's. A year of
two of 25 mile CTR's and maybe some LD's thrown it sure doesn't seem to
hurt them. Down here many a horse got it's start doing 25 mile CTR's to
build a good base before he was asked for more.
Truman
Heidi Smith wrote:
Re: [RC] Malik:
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...)
