Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> I want to make a VERY IMPORTANT clarification to my "advice" here.  I am 
> NOT talking about doing this is a ride/race!  Nor even on the trail with a 
> fitter horse in front of you!!!
> That's just asking for metabolic or structural breakdown.
>
> I'm talking about in a TRAINING RIDE ONLY, preferably ALONE!
>
> For how to deal with a horse like this in a Ride/race, please see Karen's 
> advice below.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dreamweaver" <nvrider@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2005 10:20 AM
> Subject: [RC] [RC] What type of training?
>
>
> > Maybe there is a compromise people can do with their horses, without 
> > having to run them till they drop on a ride.  With some horses, they will 
> > expend more energy not getting to go, than getting to, and in the process 
> > because their brain has left orbit, they aren't paying attention or 
> > focusing and then end up being even more likely to hurt themselves or 
> > their riders than if they were allowed to go faster.  The problem with 
> > letting them go, is that is the easy way out for the rider -- and then 
> > the difficult part is knowing when to pull back and actually doing it. 
> > It's also fun to ride fast. :)
> >
> > I think that the art of pacing is the most difficult thing there is to do 
> > with a horse on an endurance ride.  Very few people really have it down, 
> > some are quite good at it, but I really can only name a handful or two of 
> > people that really are consistent about it all of the time.  I'm not.  I 
> > try, but it's a struggle.
> >
> > What I have found is that each horse is different and what works for one 
> > of them, will definitely not work for another.  For example, I have one 
> > horse that is very forward with the ability to back it up.  He has always 
> > loved to go go go and wants to trot up everything, the steeper and longer 
> > the better.  Early on I took him on one of my training hills which is 
> > fairly steep, and long and he wanted to trot up it.  I wanted to walk, or 
> > at least go a little slower.  He fought me, so I said okay, let's go. 
> > When he got about halfway up he wanted to walk.  Nope, you wanted to 
> > trot, we're trotting.  It taught him a lesson that did really get thru --  
> > that is be careful what you ask for, you might just get it.  He was 
> > already conditioned enough to be able to do that, and it wasn't long 
> > before he could trot all the way up without any hesitation or wanting to 
> > stop, but when he does that now it's because I gave the ok, not because 
> > it was his idea and he is fighting me over it.  If I had tried that on 
> > the flat, we'd still be going <g>.
> >
> > It is really nice to have a horse that can run in the front, but it is 
> > even better to have one that can also go in the back without a fight, or 
> > basically do whatever you want to do that day.
> >
> > Sometimes I wonder what the @#$$ am I doing going slow so much of the 
> > time with Chief.  I look around camp when I come in and everyone is done 
> > cleaning up, relaxing, talking, hanging out and I'm just getting finished 
> > with an hour left on the clock, sometimes less, sometimes more.  It would 
> > be a lot easier to let him go faster, less effort on my part and I'd be 
> > done sooner.  But then, I remind myself, so would he, in more than one 
> > sense of what done means.  My choice is to get to ride him a long way, 
> > for a lot of years and if going slower lets me increase those values by 
> > 25% or 50%, then it'll be worth it.  We really do have a good time out 
> > there all day, but it isn't for everybody.
> >
> > If I could exchange every first place or top ten that Rocky has had in 
> > his career, for double that # of slower rides I would do it in a 
> > heartbeat. It all seems so important when you are doing it, but the 
> > reality is that even the best horses are subjected to wear and tear by 
> > going faster, and you end up putting a lot more than dimes and quarters 
> > into them.
> >
> > Karen
> > in NV
> >
> >
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> >
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