mileage/conditioning

[Suzanne Mounts <mountss@usfca.edu>]

I have been a bit perplexed as I watched the mileage debate.  First, let me
say that I do not think that twenty-five mile rides are endurance rides.  
The part that has perplexed me a bit is seeing statements to the effect that
"any horse could be taken out of the pasture and ridden twenty-five miles."
I have heard such statements for years, and although I did not quite take
them literally, I assumed they were not too far off from the truth.

I think my half-belief in these statements was part of the reason I was
surprised by the reconditioning program suggested in the Whole Horse
Journal.  The modified version of that program was suggested for a horse
that was "fit last season" and had as little as a "two month vacation from
work." According to the article, Benson, who obviously knows a lot about
endurance horses, suggested starting with extremely brief workouts and
taking at least six weeks to get to very moderate levels (hour of walking
and trotting).  

Even if we say that these recommendations are too conservative, there is a
pretty big gulf between their general drift and the statements referred to
above.  I wonder if, in trying to downplay the exertion necessary for a
horse to go 25 miles, we might be encouraging people to do something
potentially damaging to the horse--i.e., take him out of pasture and ride
him 25 miles.

Suzanne