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Re: [RC] a year of 25's - Heidi SmithA horse will learn what the rider lets him learn. The astute rider also knows when a horse needs to do something different. If a particular thing is not productive, the rider will do something else. While it is true that some regions have the benefit of CTR, I can attest to having come from a CTR background myself, and that it is not productive for all horses to stay there X amount of time, even though I agree wholeheartedly that CTR is a great learning experience. But I know of many great horses that NEVER did a public LD or CTR--not just that they don't show up on the records, but that their riders attest to that fact. Deanna, if you bothered to read my AERC record, there are actually three LDs that show up there--all three on the horse I'm currently riding. Don't forget that LD records only go back a few years, though--I've actually done a whopping total of six. But that really isnt' germaine to the discussion, as the conclusions I've drawn with regard to the detriments of LD have come not from my riding career but from having vetted a copious number of rides over the years, in which I've seen horses come back to do LD after LD until their minds were fried. And no, I'm not talking racing--I'm talking about conservative riders who were "told" that this was what one had to do, but lacked the experience to see what was going on with their horses. Also, Bob is right--I'm not talking about the rider's learning curve here--I'm talking about what is best for the horse. A rider is only a beginner once--at least in terms of "learning" about the sport. (I qualify that as I came back to LDs myself due to physical limitation--not due to learning curves...) So once a rider has done the LD scene OR the CTR scene, the rider at least should have derived the benefit and not need to repeat that in terms of educating the horse. And as Bob and I have both pointed out, what one can learn there can also be learned elsewhere. (Actually, you pointed that out, too--you correctly pointed out that I didn't learn it on LDs, although you likely didn't know that I rode CTRs prior to ever doing endurance at all...) My concern here is the concept that a year of LDs is good for the HORSE. While some may benefit from that, a great many will not, and will actually be hampered by not moving on. This isn't a debate about LD as such--it is a debate about what is best for the HORSE. And since that is different for each individual, the rider needs to have the freedom to make the right choices for his or her individual horse, instead of having to "survive" a rule aimed at the lowest common denominator, so to speak. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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