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Re: [RC] physiology & conditioning - rides2farSo, Angie, do you give your horse off a week after a medium tough 7-hour 50-mile "race"? Heck yeah. Any excuse is good enough for me. I give *myself* a week off. g< I> In your experience, does it do an equine body good to school that second week then go back to conditioning unless there's a ride the second week? "School" is kind of an unused word around her unfortunately. I don't even have a place flat enough to lounge on other than a tiny circle. I'm hauling my new horses to a ring hoping to get this pair actually *trained* before they're conditioned. I really watch lower legs and feet...ESPECIALLY during the season. So, if all seems well, schooling collection or whatever suits your fancy? Collection. Wow. I'd love to see some collection in this lifetime. Maybe someday. Around here there's just "easy trail rides" and "training rides where you push their heart rate on the mountain". Sometimes I haul to a flat trail so I can post a little it's so up and down here. I've NEVER been guilty of OVERconditioning. I have but not lately. This weekend was fun. Rode Weedy, my 4 yr. old on his first "in the woods trail ride". Walked for 45 minutes *very* slowly, then he sort of weaved, and staggered under my weight up the hill back to the house. It was great, I totally loafed and felt like I'd really made him tired. Kaboot was no fun at all. You'd ride him 5 hrs. and he'd look at you like, "You think *that* put a dent in *my* energy?" Yes, the opposite is probably true. This year has been the best for me only because Kathy Crothers guilted me into conditioning more! LOL! I still don't ride as much between rides or during the week as she does but I'm getting better. However, in 20 years of competition, I've not had many lower leg injuries or metabolic/lameness issues. I believe that tendons are something you are far more likely to damage as a result of your day to day training rides than because of one competiton. You tear down a tendon thread by thread, not all at once. Those daily training rides without rest in between break a tendon down bit by bit till the straw that breaks the camel's back. I think it's hard to blow a healthy tendon in one hard ride. I'm betting if it blows at a ride, it was weakened coming in. Maybe I'm all wrong, but I haven't hurt one since I started believing that way. The way I understand what they've told me about conditioning is that a horse doesn't lose conditioning until he's had about 3 weeks off. Also, that it takes about 2 weeks for conditioning to take affect or come to fruition or what ever you want to call it. With that in mind I don't really plan *any* conditioning other than what the horse gets in competition once the season has started. It's too late then. The time to work on improving the horse was back in June & July. Now it's just time to keep him sound. Anyway, a 50 mile race is a heck of a conditioning ride in itself. I do ride some like others say, "just to keep him loose". I will also train some but it's probably more likely to help at the ride in Nov. than the ride this weekend. For whoever asked me about how multi-dayers do it. Heck if I know. Deal with the devil? Act of God? either guess is as good as mine. I've never done one so anybody in the world who's done 2 days straight has better info than I do on that. :-P I guess I just became the ambassador for "rest days" when I realized how hard I was busting my butt just to break down horses while other people were sleeping in a couple of days that I dragged my butt out and trained...and their horses were sound and beating me! Angie ________________________________________________________________ Get your name as your email address. Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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