# conditioning for LD



## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

That training schedule sounds reasonable to start with, but you may find you need less as she gets fitter closer to the ride itself. If you are worried about her staying limber due to her age, you can cut back on the miles you are riding versus the amount of times in a week.

In terms of judging fitness, do you have a stethoscope? If not, I would suggest buying one. If so, start checking her heartrate at the end of your rides. See how long it takes for her pulse to drop below 60. You will see this time get shorter and shorter as she becomes more fit.


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## TrailDustMelody (Jun 23, 2013)

Thanks for the advice! Yes, I have a stethoscope. I took her pulse at the end of the workout portion of our ride yesterday (6 miles averaging 5.5mph) and it was at 64. We'd only been trotting for a few minutes after a longish walking session, so that's probably why it was so low. But from there she probably dropped below 60 in no time. I'll keep doing it to see how she improves with the exercise.

We're going to start doing some dressage work either with a friend or an actual trainer to get her moving better and build up her topline. I figure if we eventually work up to 2-3 arena sessions during the week, we'll only need to get out on the trails once or twice for the milage.


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