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Re: [RC] ridecamp@endurance.net - Chris Pausvery good points, Val! I stand corrected! I've only known/seen a few Andalusians. I am in awe of their beauty. chris --- "Tartaglino, Valerie" <vtartaglino@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: [MHO is that Andies are gorgeous creatures, but being more Baroque type horses, they are a bit heavy muscled for distance riding.] I went on a riding vacation in Andalusia 10 years ago and was amazed at the horses we were given to ride. They looked like a horse version of a greyhound. While they had the Andalusian breed size and type, all the big rounded muscle mass one is used to seeing in the show/dressage classes was not there. We rode at good speed for 8 - 12 hours a day; they subsisted on a few handfuls of corn and something that looked like straw (without a trace of green to it.) Some were not even shod. The owners did not use saddle pads or blankets, contending that the sand got under the saddle pads and caused sores. While I was appalled at some of their horse management practices, I cannot deny that these were superbly fit and conditioned animals. I will always remember galloping on roller-coaster dirt tracks through the cork forests, hoping the horses could see better than I through the clouds of dust! I imagine they would be superb endurance candidates. Then I look at my fat round Andy, out on summer pasture, and wonder if she is even the same breed! Is it all a matter of conditioning, or does a leaner, hardier type develop where life is harder and demands greater? Val ===== "A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot Chris and Star BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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