Conditioning Isn't THAT Complex!

Now that I'm all caught up on an established endurance blog (Redheaded Endurance), and some of the newer endurance blogs (Willstheconquerer and green-to-100 and silver eagle soars), I'm off to go find another established endurance blog to devour like mad.

I keep jumping back and forth between Endurancegranny's and Funder's "It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time".

This is also along with my brief glimpse into the "arena set" of the $900 Facebook Pony and She Moved to Texas' blogs as well.

I especially adore the older blogs.  They're established, and there's enough reading material there to keep me happy for a few weeks while I get caught up to the current entries.

I'll probably continue to devour Endurance Granny's blog and then go read Funder's.

But, and I've known this, I've Known this, I've KNOWN this, but conditioning needn't take all that long.  I'm kind of "out" of it due to the weather, but for well over a month, I was committed to getting out to the barn 3 times a week and 1 day on the weekend, and I was lunging 2 horses at a gait or at a trot for 20 minutes (with brief breaks, they're both out of shape) because it was time consuming for me to catch 2 horses on 100 acres, groom and tack up.  Yes, short cut, but I'm trying to juggle my family and my horses and my "endurance" (well, right now, my Limited Distance) hobby.  So lunging was what I had the time for.

Now though, that we've moved, they're in a pen.  Very easy to catch them.  The property I'm boarding on has a lighted arena I can use.  A nice round pen.  And marked trails!  And a rought guesstimate about how long the trails are on each side of the property.  And one side is fairly flat trails, and the other side is hilly trails.  Conditioning opportunities abound now!  And I'm so close to McKinney roughs that I can haul over there for a morning ride on the weekend should I so desire!

So, as I'm reading through the Endurance Granny's blog, I'm noting that conditioning rides during the week are 6 or 7 miles (give or take, sometimes more), and I realized; hell, I can do that now!!  Pick a side of the property, pick a speed and get my tail shaking!!  I can do this. 

So I'm back to committing some of my time on weeknights to getting out there and getting myself some time in the saddle. 

I have a few "large" purchases I want to make before our next ride:
Heart rate monitor (about $100)
Hoof boots (price varies; probably about $160-$200?)
New saddle (the one I'm looking at, about $350 at the top end)

It's all doable, and it's all potentially doable prior to our next ride (in October, but I need the hoof boots ASAP to try and make the first ride in October on Strider).

I'd like to get Socks some official AERC miles.  Still trying to figure out how to make that happen.  It might be possible if I can borrow a lighter trailer to haul both boys.

In which case, I REALLY need to get myself a tent.  :)