>The first 21 miles was really wonderful, it was flat even
>ground and Dulce was feeling great and her long trot was
>awesome. In fact, I don't think that horse has ever moved out
>that well.
A year ago I was in your shoes. The first 50 my horse and I
tried ended up like yours. I think the key is in your first
paragraph. The long trot at speeds greater than training with a
new horse sounds like me. The horse is motivated and I allowed
it to move out before it's body was ready for that speed at
distance. Some time off and riding with experienced riders at
closer to the rear of the group has now enabled me to finish the
next 6 of 7. The other one I got pulled at could be the same
story again. The footing was good but did have some gentle
downhills with soft material. We trotted forever with little
break. I got pulled at 47 miles and even the 1500 mile horse
with me showed some filling and tenderness in the tendon area
the next day. Obviously the top 10 horses are going at that
speed. But my horse is not old enough, strong enough yet or
built just right to handle it.
Jim