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Christina,

I have to differ with your view - the rider's attitude really 
translates to the horse.  The horse is typically capable of MUCH more 
than the rider.  :-)

My husband was signed up for a 25 mile CTR in the NE run under ECTRA 
some years ago.  The pace is about that of middle of the pack finisher 
for AERC LD 25.  His primary horse was kicked in the field & wasn't 
able to compete that weekend.

Mike took Major to the event at the last minute instead, thinking he 
could always pull if they had problems.  Major (age 19) had competed 
last about 5 years prior and been retired as a pasture ornament for the 
last several years.  He was ridden infrequently by the little kids that 
would come to visit, or an occasional trail ride to clear trail - 
walking for 10 miles once or twice each Spring.

Major finished the 25 with "spunk & go" to spare.  No lameness issues, 
no metabolic issues other losing a few points for pulse.  (As a black 
QH, he simply didn't recover as fast as the Arabs - ever.  It was his 
baseline recovery.)

After 5 years of virtually no riding or conditioning - just turn out on 
open pasture, he easily completed 25 miles at a good clip.  That's as 
close to pulling a horse out of the field as you can get.  While I 
wouldn't recommend it as a usual practice, it is NOT beyond the 
capacity of the horse.  Mike & Major are not an isolated case, either...

Again, the riding ability of the rider, the rider's attitude, and the 
atmosphere around the horse all contributes to the horse's willingness 
to compete for 25 miles.  I would be done in if someone sat on my back 
at a walk for 2-3 hours, too.  Need to change up the pace and keep the 
horse's interest!

Linda Flemmer
West Virginia

Quoting Mrs Christina Hykw <distance_ryder@xxxxxxxxx>:

> Cindy,
>  I think we agree that many horses conditioned for it can complete a 25.
>  What I am trying to say is that you could not just take any old horse that
>  we often see going down the trail for the Sunday ride complete one, 
> not without
>  specifically conditiong for 25 miles ahead of time.  I think even if 
> they did finish,
>  they would have metabolic issues or lameness issues.


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