>race.
>
First, I want to emphasize along with some of our other posters that ever=
y
horse is an individual and what works for one may not work for others =
(that
applies to the leg wrap question, too).
When I first discovered endurance riding and read some articles on
conditioning, I thought I would never do well because I didn't have the =
time or
the dedication to do that much work. I was pleased to discover that it =
need
not take long workouts five or six days a week!
I agree with the other respondents that it is better to undertrain than =
overtrain. Also, to get the most training benefit from exercise, the =
horse
must follow days of work with days of rest. The body tissue needs time =
to
respond to the exercise, to repair and strengthen itself.
Three to four days a week of a varied routine should be enough to bring =
most
good horses into condition for endurance rides. I'll leave details of =
a
conditioning program to the experts. BTW, there is a thorough and detail=
ed
conditioning program laid out in the AERC Rider's Handbook, available =
on the
Endurance page on the WWW. I personally think it's too much, but Nina =
Warren
wrote it and she is one of the top riders in the world.