<snip>
>A testimony to this base Trumann is referring to that encompasses not
>only
>what it takes to get that extra 5 minutes but all other factors as
>well? Or
>the natural toughness of these guys? Or a combination I suppose...
>
You're catching on, Tina. This is the whole point to building a great
(or even good) endurance athlete. You have to build from the
foundation. A horse new to endurance can't go out and win a 100 mile
race, and repeat that effort again and again. Only the horses with the
proper foundation can do that. The ones that don't get the proper
foundation of Long Slow Distance and conservative early career
competitions, don't make it past 50 milers. They don't make it through
the second or third season, if that far.
Just for fun, pick an exceptional endurance horse. Then, go back in the
yearbooks and see how that horse was campaigned in the beginning of his
career. If that horse has a consistant record with no extended layoffs,
I'll bet you'll see that horse was ridden conservatively at first.
Linda VanCeylon & crew
Buhni, Sunny, Rabbit, & Fiddler
lindavan.eqath@juno.com