> > The most I've done was 40 miles, and jaspar was in peak condition but > > at the end I felt we were both at the end of our limit. > > I have never ridden a horse that far, Janice. I did ride my bicycle 65 > miles once, though.
it was thru very rough terrain, river crossing, bog crossings, up and down steep sandy hills. 1 horse died on the ride, another died after dropping out. On that ride I learned that even the most minor tack problem, something so insignificant, can cause huge problems on a ride that long. we had started out real early in the morning and as it warmed up I had taken off my long sleeved shirt with metal snaps and looped it under the endurance pommel of the saddle. It had caught and worked its way under the edge and during the ride the metal snaps had rubbed Jaspar raw and bloody. When I read about people wanting to go on long distant rides and endurance rides I always think "I hope they know about things rubbing..." Something that would not even make a mark on a horse on a two hour ride can rub one bloody on a 5-8 hour ride... Janice -- even good horses have bad days sometimes.
