Moving up

[Wendy Milner <wendy@wendy.cnd.hp.com>]

Cheryl Newbanks asked:
>If you knew then what you know
>now about going from ld's to 50's what advice would you give me?

The figure I once heard from Dr. Matthew Makay Smith was:
(and it was for a 100)
Use 25% of the horse during the first 50 miles,
Use 25% of the horse during the next 25 miles,
Use the last 50% of the horse during the last 25 miles.

What this translates to, is that even though you have felt really
good on 25 mile rides, you have to really concerve the horse when
moving up to the 50s.  

Slow down during the first 25 miles just a little.  You want to make
sure that the horse has enough energy left for the last half.

Take your time at the vet checks, make sure the horse eats and drinks.
Make sure *you* eat and drink too.

There is a mental attitude that you need to take.  If you can put
your mind in the right place and think this is a fun, and long,
ride, then you can finish.  If you can find some one who want to 
ride with you at your pace, this helps too.

Go with the thought in mind of having fun.

As for moving up in altitude, I think that you'll find the horse
will feel good, but might take a bit more time to recover at the
stops.  It does depend on how much altitude and when you arrive.

--
Wendy

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 Wendy Milner                     HPDesk:   wendy_milner@hp4000
 Hewlett-Packard Company          e-mail:   wendy@fc.hp.com
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