Long Ride

Once a week Brownie's new endurance program has a ride that's longer than on the other days. This is usually be done on Saturdays to give working people more time to get the long ride in. That also means that we're starting to put on Easy Boots now which allow brief periods of trotting on asphalt and helps to reduce wear and tear on his feet. I hope we won't have to shoe him but just use the boots all the way through his training.

We're starting pretty slow here to get him used to all the non-stop trotting. Even though the endurance ride will probably be 25 to 30 miles long, today's long ride was only 6.3 miles, but it was still challenging because after a 7-minute warm-up walk Brownie had to jog for 5.7 miles without rest. It was pretty warm and humid for December, but he still did good. Maybe a little slow, but we're just getting started and he was all sweaty when we got back. Still Brownie sped up on the way back.

Jogging Splits:
2 miles @ 17:29 min. 8:44/mile
2 miles @ 16:31 min. 8:15/mile
1.7 miles @ 13:25 min. 7:54/mile

We went on the Powerline Trail almost all the way to 520, did a little jungle loop there and went back. It was a good ride. Brownie is a good horse!

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6.30 miles in 1:01:52.

Riding in the dark

Horses see about seven times better in the dark than people.
I didn't have time to ride all day long, but could squeeze in a little ride in the evening. We were out of beet pulp, so I had to go out to the barn anyway. I also bought oats that Brownie is getting after our endurance training rides now.

Just went straight down James Road to I-95, rode around the lake and went back the same way, avoiding all the jungle where it's even darker. Brownie ran good and fast. It seemed like the time of the day, the cooler weather and the route was really good for him. We loped back beneath the canal, totaling 3.82 miles in 36:41.

After the ride I talked with Gwen for a while who is going to help at an endurance ride her horses brother is competing in on Saturday in Ocala.

Endurance Training Week 2, Tuesday

Monday is a rest day for Brownie, but on Tuesday I was back at the barn for a quick early morning ride. The temperatures were just right, it just got a little warm in the end but that might have also been because I was wearing a light coat over my long-sleeved shirt (gotta love the winter in Florida!).
Brownie and Endre were eating when I got there, so I gave them a little more time with their hay by taking a wheel barrow full of horse apples out of Brownie's pen. I had let that slack for a bit. It really needed to be done.

Brownie was saddled and ready to go - with Endre being locked up in her pen - at 7:45. I walked him to the road, climbed atop and started jogging. At first I stopped at most of the concrete driveways as usual, especially because I still didn't put any easy boots on his feet, but had a little faster start than last week.
When I finally got to the trails and could have him trot without stopping Brownie seemed to be running steadier. Faster in the beginning, not speeding up that much in the end. Maybe he's getting an idea of how an endurance horse is supposed to move?

After twenty minutes and 2.52 miles of continuous jogging on the trails, through the jungle and back down James Road - on the way back Brownie now always jogs over the crossing driveways - we got back to the dirt road that leads to our barn. I dismounted the horse and walked back.
Brownie wasn't really sweating that much when I took off the saddle. While he had his post-training grain I finished cleaning his pen.

Tuesdays are just perfect for morning rides for me. I had to be at the zoo at ten, but got home even before nine, so there was plenty of time to get ready. What a nice way to start a day!

3.84 miles in 41:49

Endurance Training Week 1, Saturday

The nice thing about endurance training is that you get a good amount of mileage in relatively little time. I was at the barn at 8:30 am, rode Brownie and was back home before 10. It was a very nice ride, Brownie sped up on the way back and we did 26 minutes of non-stop jogging, the last 9 minutes at a good pace of 7:00min/mile.
It's very motivating to train for a purpose rather than just going out for a trail ride even though there's not really a big difference.

4.85 miles in 49:44

I walked the first and last 6 minutes on the dirt road as usual.

Endurance Training Week 1, Thursday

The third consecutive day of riding. That's pretty good for me!
It rained all day, but stopped late afternoon so I was able to get a quick little ride in.
It was nice and cool after the rain and we did 20 minutes of continuous jogging.

3.81 Miles 40:11

Just got back in time before it got dark.

Endurance Training Week 1, Wednesday

Only a short ride today, that took Brownie and me out to the trails between the barn and the highway. We did several loops, alternating 0.25 miles of walking and 1 mile of jogging. It rained last night and was warm and humid again. Brownie did the second jogging mile faster, so I was happy with him. Don't we all want negative splits?

2.80 miles 35:59
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Of course he got grain again after the ride and enjoyed a nice roll in the sand before he and Endre got back to the pasture.

Endurance Training Week 1, Tuesday

Brownie's official endurance training plan started on Monday - with a rest day. He just got his feet trimmed and was ready for our first ride on Tuesday morning. It was much warmer than the previous weeks, so he was a little slow and got really sweaty. It was a very beautiful morning though and he did get a shower and extra grain after the ride.
We covered 3.81 miles in 42:43, lots of jogging, some walking, but no loping this time.

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