I've been told by my wife, friends and others that sometimes (usually) I ride too slow.
I've been told that riding too slow (and still meeting the cutoff times in endurance) can be just as hard on a horse (physically, emotionally, mentally) as riding too fast.
Do you suppose that can be true?
And, one last question this morning, each horse that does this sport has a FIRST RIDE. We pick that day.
So, with an "apparently" sound horse, how does one know when it is that horse's LAST RIDE? (I'm not talking about the (so-called) "exceptional" horses with "exceptional" riders.) I'm talking about the horses that grind 'em out. I'd say that in our sport that most horses have their LAST RIDE due to physical problems associated with the hauling and "hauling" (if you know what I mean) long before they get "too old".
Just wonderin' on this frosty frigid morning with eleven inches of snow on the ground....
