Re: [RC] [Guest] Minutes of the AERC BoD Conf Call Meeting Online - Laurie ... - Karen Sullivan
With all due respect to you and Barbara and your
great pool of experience, I DO think there is nothing wrong, in certain
situations, in taking a year to get a horse ready for a 25....for example, I
bought a pasture-potato Anglo Arab (4 1/2) mid November, started a lot of
walking daily, introducing trotting....then introducing hills....over the
winter. She went out at least 5 days a week, sometimes ridden and sometimes
ponied. She probably was worked up gradually to 15 mile rides, with legs and
back checked after every ride, and all looked fine. End of May we went and did
Camp Far West 25....and took the entire time. We probably did more
sustained trotting than in training....but you all know that is a very easy 25.
She did the ride easily, and her recoveries were great, but next day there was
some filing in her legs.....so I felt that I had rushed things. So what
did I do wrong?
I honestly do not believe you can take an unfit
horse out of a pasture and go do 25 miles in 6 hours, without some trauma to the
legs and back....let alone the metabolic risk. I have yet to see a 25 mile
ride you can mostly walk (since vet check times are included in the 6
hrs.) You would have to trot quite a bit to make times....IT seems very
unfailr and abusive to an animal.
I see enough horses on horse-camping trips over
ridden on 15 mile rides...
My current project is the 4 1/2 year Arab/paint
cross I brought home when she was 5 months. At 6 months, she started
following on short trail rides. (20 min) ...working up by end of age 2, to hour
plus rides, sometimes ponied and often following free ( run, jump, tear around
like a 'real" horse). We slid on a her back a few times at age 2, but that
was it. Age 3 was very short sessons on her back (under 15 min) teaching
basic cues....and all this time, the trail rides with no rider, 3-5 times a
week. to build muscle, bone and tendon strength. At age 4, more riding,
but under an hour on her back, still the ponying out in the real world, 1/2 hour
lessons in arena, short rround pen lessons, and light trail riding, often
getting off on downhlls. This was my attempt to build an equine athelete from
the beginning, with controlled feeding and exercise. She is 15.3, great legs and
feet, no splints or leg problems, strong back.....and there is no way in heck I
would ever consider doing 25 miles this first year of riding.....and this is a
mare with consistent exercise and conditioning while growing up.
I think also, the term pasture has a lot of
meanings......for some it means great hilly pasture, where horses do self
exercise and condition, (maybe those are candidates for an easy 25 mile ride
with a light rider), and for some it means an acre flat pasture.
Logically, a person cannot go out and walk/jog
maybe 10 miles if they have been sititng on the couch a year..(without getting
really sore or straining muscles) ....it would be inhumane to ask a dog to do
that also....why should a horse be any different?
I would rather see a person spend a year working up
to a 25 mile ride, and have a horse that is relaxed, eats, drinks, good
recoveries and well behaved......than some of the folks I have seen who do 3 25
mile rides then go and try to top ten a 50....
Karen
ACtually I agree that you pretty much can do
that. HOwever, it does depend on the ride and how hard it is. I
think people sometimes say that because of the ones that spend a year getting
their horse "ready" for a 25 miler.....mb
