Once you taste that first 50, a 25 will
seem like a very expensive training ride. If your horse does ok at that 50, and
your goal is eventually a 100, then 50’s would be the minimum distance to
compete in. Your horse needs to learn how to handle the excitement, the
distance between waters and food, and fatigue. On a 25, he’ll barely
even notice it.
How often? All depends on your horse, how
deep his conditioning is (sounds pretty deep at this point), how well you are
managing his diet and exercise, etc. He’ll certainly be recovered within
a week of doing a 50, and he’ll be telling you that he’s tired or
ready to go. For his first year of 50’s leading to a 100, once a month
might work just fine. A multiday (multiple 50’s) would be a fantastic
way to boost his stamina and are way more fun than single day events. Just
listen to him: watch his eagerness going down the trail, his appetite, if his
legs are filling after a ride. He’ll tell you if he needs you to back
off or if he’s ready to up the ante.
Mike
On April 16th I will do my first 50 mile ride. My horse is a 10 years
old arab mare and it will be her first 50 also. We have done some CTRs and
several 25 mile rides during the past two years and I am confident we both are
ready for our first "real" endurance ride. My question is: what do we
do after that first 50. Do we continue to do just 50s or do we go back to
a few 25s until we do our next 50 mile ride? How far apart do we do our 50s? My
ultimate goal is to do multiday rides and hopefully one or more 100 mile rides
in the future. What would be the best way to work up from the first 50 to the
first 100?
Maria Berger
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