Need some advice. Our 3rd year will be coming up in 2015 season and we want to do a 50 (slow 50, Ill come in last and not bother me one bit ) but my horse seems to never get fit looking .. Ive been told that a fit endurance horse should be able to tell where their ribs end. And also that to condition enough for a 50 you need 6 months. Well my boy and I only get from May-sept each year conditioning. So maybe it isnt long enough or I am not riding enough? We usually do 1-2 rides a week 7-12 miles and one long one on the weekends 15-18 miles. (Normally riding with a Friend ) He seems to be in very good shape, although we came in last on our 30 mile LD in sept, (he is very hot around other horses as well as it was my friends first ride ,so we walked a lot of the first of the ride to get our horses calmed down a bit!) we trot and cantered all the good footing a good long stretch on the way back in and my horse pulsed down almost immediately. He also is a sweat machine. He sweats almost immediately on trail. Makes me worry he isnt in good shape, but hes always like it , no matter how much we condition. When we do conditioning rides with friends he does have to work it to keep up with them. They are in very good shape and are much taller long legged than him. But I only ride with them on average of 2-3x month on weekend ride. He has 24/7 turn out, and stays pretty active in the pasture. I am way more concerned about having a healthy happy horse in the long haul than anything else , I do not want to over condition, but I also do want to step it up to 50s. He is made for 50s & 100s ! (In HIS mind anyway!) Thanks for any advice. Here is a picture of Kizz in his best condition he gets. Hes normally very round! (He is 142)
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:24:16 +0000