Beginning conditioning schedule, advice, part 1

(no name) ((no email))
3 Oct 96 16:23:52 EDT

You and your horse can be ready in 8 weeks and win Best Condition on your first
25 mile endurance ride! I did. I picked up a handout from the Ohio Arabian
booth at Equine Affaire with a schedule which seemed realisitic. Of course,
many experienced endurance riders and veterinarians answered my questions,
too. Also a lot depends on you and your horse's previous conditioning, so use
this as a guideline. At first I thought it meant I had to ride EVERY DAY.
After only the first week I was beginning to see why there aren't too many
regular riders that have full-time jobs. This was before I read any books on
the subject. Patti Pizzo told me just to get the total miles for the week in
in hopefully two or more rides a week, and to give a day or two of rest after
any stressfull rides.

WEEK 1 do 3-5 miles a day of walking and trotting
WEEK 2

This is why this is Part I...stay tuned (gotta get it off my refrigerator at
home). This will keep you busy for a week, ha! Also, Karen Paulo's book
*America's Long Distance Challenge* is good reading & packed with necessary
information while not seeming to be a daunting volume. The pictures (B&W)
break it up, and some are funny.

Re: rump rolls, blankets: season doesn't matter! Use whenever you think the
temp. or breeze will cool your horse's big rear muscles quickly. Sept. 15 was
warm but cool-breezy in the a.m., so we used old bed blankets on our horse's
rumps while we sponged the hot sweaty fronts, legs, and inner thighs of our
horses at our first vet check. Our friend didn't cover her horse's rump soon
enough and her horse cramped a bit from standing around.
Bridget Brickson in sunny but still-moist SE PA where the leaves are just
starting to turn colors.