I think the original thread started with how do I
keep a horse in condition to do LD. I don't thin this was a question about how
do I develop an endurance horse, it was how do I keep my horse fit for its
job.
In my limited experience and from what I have
gleaned from others, it doesn't take a ton of conditioning to keep a horse fit
to do LD. You can search the archives and find dozens of mentions of "any
person can take any horse and do 25 miles in 6 hours" and
occasionally qualified by "it's not smart to do this."
So, I would think that a 10-15 miles ride as week
with another shorter more intense ride would probably suffice [if you were doing
say one ride a month].
Feel free to disagree, but I think it is
important to let people know that they don't have to give up everything to
condition a horse for miles & miles and hours & hours in the dark
several days a week with reflective materials on them to be able to do a 25
every month!
Remember, these are the same people you are all
telling "JUST GO FOR IT - DO A 50!!" So give them a break about conditioning
reqts for a 25.
It IS simplistic. But so is most of life. There are
two kinds of people in this world. Those that DO what they want to
accomplish and those that DREAM about what they want to
accomplish.
It is your choice. Just like Karen said, if you
want it badly enough, you will make it happen. A lot of us started
with old trucks and rickety trailers whose only strong point was the
floor! We didn't go to a lot of rides, just as many as we could
afford.
