In a message dated 5/17/2004 11:33:58 AM Mountain Daylight Time, owensall@xxxxxxx writes:
It's not the distance, it is the speed. IMO the problem is with people, often newbies, who let the horse dictate the speed. Horses have no idea how far they are going, and so will go fast as far as they can. They are prey animals, adding adrenaline causes their genetics to direct them to flee. IME horses can go a lot further traveling slower than faster. You are much less likely to get a horse into trouble at any distance if he is encouraged to trot at a comfortable(for him) rate interspersed with periods of walking. You can cover a lot of ground without overstressing the horse this way.
Speed kills.
Good post, Katee. Sometimes, each of us will find ourselves at the mercy of a horse who wants to go too fast, too soon. How we deal with it often speaks to the endurance life of that horse.
Your distinction between DISTANCE and SPEED is an important one.
