Since that IS the point of doing endurance right? To walk funny the day after and have people look at us weirdly? And once that doenst happen any more can anyone say "move up a distance!"?
Yup, if you're walking normally the next day, then YOU are ready for a longer distance. Still, the horse might not be ready, so you can stay with LDs for a while, right? >g<
EG, it sounds like you are still working out the kinks of tack and equipment (horse- and human-), which I consider ANOTHER excellent reason to stick with LD. When you and Phoebes are comfortable with startlines, blacktop, electrolyte protocols (I include human e-lytes in this) and eating before the ride, it's time to go further.
Speed: it all depends on the horse and what you've done BEFORE you came to the ride...and by that, I mean "what you've done in the last 3 years."
At six years old, I hope to death that Phoebes hasn't been worked steadily on tough terrain for three years, and that is the point that I personally look for before we go faster (well, that and equine sanity at a gait faster than a walk). I used to think that 2 years was a good length of time to leg up an endurance horse. I took an extra year with Fiddle and it's made a huge difference in her ability to handle tough trail. She is now 8 years old and just starting her endurance career.
That is, of course, my 2 cents, adjusted for the current economy!
A 50 mile is still way off my radar. Too many issues to iron out.
For those that don't know the history, I didn't start Phebes under saddle until she was a four year old, didn't start trail until she was nearly 5, her first LD (the disaster one at 5 years). We've only started cantering on trail in the past month or so, but just learning our balance and that you don't tuck and buck :(
I don't want the canter for competition as I REALLY don't go fast. Her finish this time was a fluke as her average speed was BELOW our normal pace of 7 mph. I just want to start short intervals of cantering on the flats as an attempt to build heart and lungs, and make her stronger. She really deflated those last five miles and I don't want that happening to her, so I'm trying to figure out how to build a horse with more "endurance." Don't want to gallop her, or race her, just work cantering intervals, but only if it is safe for her at this point? At an LD the idea will be to do what we've done, trot, trot, trot.
Here's my 2 cents about having a "tired" horse at the end. Both my horses were exactly the way you descirbed near the end of a race, everytime I moved them up a distance. Whether it was their first LD, or their first move up to a 50, or their first move up to a 65, or their first move up to a 100. All of a sudden, usually 10 miles past the longest distance they had done they felt like they were totally exhausted and were going to die under me. I felt like such a bad e-rider.
But they weren't. They just hadn't figured out how long the race was and they thought I had brought them out there to die alone in the wilderness.
Once I've done the same distance twice within a couple of months, all of a sudden they figured it out, and even without ANY additional conditioning, all of a sudden they had MORE than enough energy to get through the distance.
I guess my point is that although she may have felt physically tired/exhausted, her finish CRI score doesn't really support that and it's more likely it was a mental fatigue. If it is mental, than should go away in the next LD or 2 without any further conditioning.
Farley did that to me in our last 100. at about 70 miles I thought something was REALLY wrong. She was SO slow and SO TIRED. Then she figured out we were going to camp, tried to buck me off, and trotted straight through to the vet and was immediately down. Tired horse? I think not. It was just that the longest ride we had done was 65 miles and once we got to where she thought we should stop, she was convinced I had brought her into the middle of the desert to commit suicide.
I agree with Aarene about the 2-3 years of prep and legging up before starting any kind of real speed work, even in conditioning.
Of course - like everything else - this is just a personal opinion it it comes from someone with limited experience in one region with just a few issues - none of which have identical issues to Phebes.
Endurance: If you feel like you got hit by a truck, you're doin it right. ;)
ReplyDeletePeter DeMott was taking pictures Saturday. Was he taking photos friday as well? Otherwise I don't have any photos.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
If you DIDN'T feel like you had been hit by a truck....we would have all insisted you do the 50 next time. :)
ReplyDeleteSince that IS the point of doing endurance right? To walk funny the day after and have people look at us weirdly? And once that doenst happen any more can anyone say "move up a distance!"?
ReplyDeleteYup, if you're walking normally the next day, then YOU are ready for a longer distance. Still, the horse might not be ready, so you can stay with LDs for a while, right? >g<
ReplyDeleteEG, it sounds like you are still working out the kinks of tack and equipment (horse- and human-), which I consider ANOTHER excellent reason to stick with LD. When you and Phoebes are comfortable with startlines, blacktop, electrolyte protocols (I include human e-lytes in this) and eating before the ride, it's time to go further.
Speed: it all depends on the horse and what you've done BEFORE you came to the ride...and by that, I mean "what you've done in the last 3 years."
At six years old, I hope to death that Phoebes hasn't been worked steadily on tough terrain for three years, and that is the point that I personally look for before we go faster (well, that and equine sanity at a gait faster than a walk). I used to think that 2 years was a good length of time to leg up an endurance horse. I took an extra year with Fiddle and it's made a huge difference in her ability to handle tough trail. She is now 8 years old and just starting her endurance career.
That is, of course, my 2 cents, adjusted for the current economy!
A 50 mile is still way off my radar. Too many issues to iron out.
ReplyDeleteFor those that don't know the history, I didn't start Phebes under saddle until she was a four year old, didn't start trail until she was nearly 5, her first LD (the disaster one at 5 years). We've only started cantering on trail in the past month or so, but just learning our balance and that you don't tuck and buck :(
I don't want the canter for competition as I REALLY don't go fast. Her finish this time was a fluke as her average speed was BELOW our normal pace of 7 mph. I just want to start short intervals of cantering on the flats as an attempt to build heart and lungs, and make her stronger. She really deflated those last five miles and I don't want that happening to her, so I'm trying to figure out how to build a horse with more "endurance." Don't want to gallop her, or race her, just work cantering intervals, but only if it is safe for her at this point? At an LD the idea will be to do what we've done, trot, trot, trot.
Here's my 2 cents about having a "tired" horse at the end. Both my horses were exactly the way you descirbed near the end of a race, everytime I moved them up a distance. Whether it was their first LD, or their first move up to a 50, or their first move up to a 65, or their first move up to a 100. All of a sudden, usually 10 miles past the longest distance they had done they felt like they were totally exhausted and were going to die under me. I felt like such a bad e-rider.
ReplyDeleteBut they weren't. They just hadn't figured out how long the race was and they thought I had brought them out there to die alone in the wilderness.
Once I've done the same distance twice within a couple of months, all of a sudden they figured it out, and even without ANY additional conditioning, all of a sudden they had MORE than enough energy to get through the distance.
I guess my point is that although she may have felt physically tired/exhausted, her finish CRI score doesn't really support that and it's more likely it was a mental fatigue. If it is mental, than should go away in the next LD or 2 without any further conditioning.
Farley did that to me in our last 100. at about 70 miles I thought something was REALLY wrong. She was SO slow and SO TIRED. Then she figured out we were going to camp, tried to buck me off, and trotted straight through to the vet and was immediately down. Tired horse? I think not. It was just that the longest ride we had done was 65 miles and once we got to where she thought we should stop, she was convinced I had brought her into the middle of the desert to commit suicide.
I agree with Aarene about the 2-3 years of prep and legging up before starting any kind of real speed work, even in conditioning.
Of course - like everything else - this is just a personal opinion it it comes from someone with limited experience in one region with just a few issues - none of which have identical issues to Phebes.