# This seasons campaign.



## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Well things arnt exactly going to well. I am finding out why it is called endurance.
My first ride was last winters LD in Patrick SC, 25 miles, Was a rough start, but got Bo calmed down after we ended up way in back. Got the completion and the turtle Award. at 4:23 

Second ride was a spring 50 at Biltmore NC, I let Bo go had a great ride. Fun on the trails,,,,,,,and got pulled at the first vet check because he didnt pulse down. we did the 15 miles at around 10mph. Oops. bad plan.

Next ride. Jun at Leatherwood Mt NC 50 mile. Huge steep climbs, reportedly worse than OD, yet without the rocks. Again fighting with Bo at the get go. Difference was a 2 mile seemingly straight up climb out the gate slowed him down a bit. My ride plan which I stuck to worked very well and we got the completion although Bo was in pretty rough shape at the end. Finished at 9:21. My basic plan was to hold 5 to 6 mph. Bo of course wants to go faster. Instead of letting him burn himself out I would let him stretch it out, when my average got over 7 mph I would find a grass/ water stop. Stop keep an eye on my average speed, and when it dropped back down to 5.5 or so would head back out. A system of frequent eating drinking and sponging , while not ideal , it worked for us that time at least. By the second loop or so he was fine and in control Second loop was horrendous and all I could maintain was about 5, and that was pushing it in places. One thing in our advantage, only 2 30 minute holds and 64bpm parameters. 

Next ride, looking for something easier terrain. Headed to Scioto OH,,, entered the 50.
Few things worked against us, which I figured out too late.
Terrain WRONG !!!!!!!! very steep long climbs, lots of single track woods not quite the easy rolling romp I expected.
3 holds 45, 45, 30 parameters of 60. That ate up alot of time. (2 hours of holds, vs 1 hour at LW,)
They started everyone on the same loop, not sure why. Also only a 15 minute gap, So about the time I got Bo calmed down and the 50's were spread out, all the 25 milers came flying by. 
Bo was a nutjob on the first loop just could not get him to slow down. He gets like that and is completely out of control. It isnt so much the speed its that he is so worked up about horses in front of him that he doesnt pay attention to where he putting his feet. At LW as long as a horse wasnt in sight he was fine, so I could either pass or hang back and let other riders move out. That wasnt working for us. I have no Idea how to manage this. If I hold him back he burns himself out fighting, He was lathered up sweaty not a mile down the trail. Alone on the second loop we were fine and I took it easy thats when I het soem rough steep climbs, about a mile out I realized I was screwed on time, came into the second vet check pulsed down fine but ride only allowed 10 hours max ride time and I was at 5:45 hours and only half complete,,,, Ooops.. yeh not gonna kill my horse on the second half (same loops) to make up that 45 minutes. No way to complete so I RO pulled. 
If I let him go ummmmm Bitmore. So far only thing that has worked is to RUN stop, Run Stop. 

Well loading up for a 30 mile LD at Broxton SC, my GF missed a completion at LW by 2 minutes and is ready to try again. Riding together this time so am not anticipating anxiety issues.


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## BBBCrone (Jan 28, 2012)

Looking forward to more of your posts on this! Hubby and I have an interest in pursuing this some day. It will remind me how crazy we are


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

could you trying starting a few minutes after the main group of riders go??check in for the ride on time but leave horse at trailer and then walk back to get horse. by that time the big group should have left and you will only have to deal with the majority of people who are riding for fun and not time :/ which should be a bit easier for BO mentally not seeing the other horses leave him behind.

the 2 small 30 milers i did we started the first one with the main crowd and OMG it was absolutely a nightmare trying to control denny not listening to me and he just wanted to follow every horse and rider. then the second one i started him about 8 minutes after the big group left and had alot less issues starting off. yes we were 8 minutes behind but we were able to make most of it up on the first and second loops since he was listening to me and paying attention rather then worrying and causing his breathing to become fast.

don't worry though you guys will figure it out 
good luck


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

kait18 said:


> could you trying starting a few minutes after the main group of riders go??check in for the ride on time but leave horse at trailer and then walk back to get horse. by that time the big group should have left and you will only have to deal with the majority of people who are riding for fun and not time :/ which should be a bit easier for BO mentally not seeing the other horses leave him behind.


This is my suggestion exactly. Most rides give you 10 or 15 min after start time to cross the start line (as long as you checked in before the start). Wait for everyone else to have gone out and then start.

When I rode the green off-track mare at Foxcatcher, I checked in while still on the ground leading her, then promptly went as far away as I needed to get from the start line until she couldn't see other horses. She was still pretty keyed up, but having been able to see horses, I suspect she would have been uncontrollable.

Hell, start out leading Bo if that is what it takes to help him keep his brain. Not unusual at all to see people with greenies head out on foot to start.

Hopefully having your gf's horse along next time will help with the anxiety issues. What kind of terrain is at the next ride on the list?


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

thats basically what I did, however it didnt work at all I shoudl have just started at the front. Let the faster people pass then ended up in the middle around similar speed people. Holding back and waiting pretty much just wasted time. As they started everyone on the same loop so about the time I worked my way to the back of the 50's all the 25 milers who where only 15 minutes delayed came flying up.


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

ahh that sounds like a crazy ride ... i hope you can figure out something to help BO keep his head

update on the next ride is a must


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

If he doesn't burn himself out, he will probably get used to things and calm down after a few more rides. Hopefully.

You just reminded me exactly why I am not competing. The Princess would not just go psycho. She would probably throw me off.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> thats basically what I did, however it didnt work at all I shoudl have just started at the front. Let the faster people pass then ended up in the middle around similar speed people. Holding back and waiting pretty much just wasted time. As they started everyone on the same loop so about the time I worked my way to the back of the 50's all the 25 milers who where only 15 minutes delayed came flying up.


I thought you let him go with the front of the pack at Biltmore and that made him not pulse down in time? Do you ride with a heartrate monitor? Does he run hotter going up front or waiting behind?


I hate it when the ride timing doesn't work to keep the faster, shorter distance people from running over the top of the slower, longer distance people. :-(


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I ran front of pack but kept going, at LW I stopped and took a grass/water break, as in complete stop. 

Scioto had 2 loops, No idea why they didnt start 50 on one loop 25's on the other.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Well this next ride, maybe you can be the fast LDer running over the slower 50 

What other rides are you hoping for this season? Will I see you in WV in August? Or at Ft Valley in Oct?


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

You may see me as ride staff. I figure to work at least one ride a year. I wont be doing any mountain rides until I get Emma in shape. Will be sticking to SC, might do a ride in FL in dec. My friend here tells me I need to do foxcatcher. I have a saddle on order for Emma. She is so much easier to ride. Bigger faster stronger younger. Hope to get her in shape to see how she does. She's a total lard butt at the moment. Amazing to look at her an Bo next to eachother. Bo looks like a body building muscle dude. Every muscle cut and defined. Emma,, umm kinda going for the walrus look.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

When I used to ride like you do, both me and the horse I rode way back then had great muscle tone. Now, not so much. Walrus is a bit harsh..........


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> My friend here tells me I need to do foxcatcher.


If you want to check out the foxcatcher trails, there is the Chesapeake CTR in Sept. While it technically is a CTR, they don't do obstacles and the lay judging is pretty reasonable. I did the 2-day 50 last year on a friend's totally-race brained gelding and it did great things to help tone down that race brain (though boy was I glad to be wearing gloves the first day!!).

The only big difference between it and a normal race was that everyone had to be stalled (stalls at the facility) and there was a set pace (which was something like 6.5-7 mph average if I remember correctly. 

Have to say I saw much more of the actual trail/area during this ride's beginning, as the foxcatcher start generally involves carefully watching those around you to make sure they aren't going to trample you! :lol:


And not sure if you have a ride/rides to volunteer at in mind, but the August RBTR in WV is run by a fantastic group who are a ton of fun. The year I couldn't ride it I went down to work and had a blast.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Another ride, another pull. Just have to face reality that Bo just isnt gonna be an endurance horse. It was hot, but I kept the pace down to 6 mph, took a few water breaks and still couldnt get anywhere near pulsing down at the 15 mile check. WIll start riding Emma now and see how she does. As much as I hate to get back into WTC horses, might have to give it another try.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Bummer. Sorry you're having a hard time.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Ugh, sorry to hear that you are still having issues. Was he all cranked up at the start again?


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

I don't think you'll need to give up on gaited horses. Why would you?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Nope, he was perfect at the start. Rode with his training partner. A 5yo TB X, that did act up a little with a bit of light buckng but settled down in about a half mile. Bo was the old hand showing the new guy the ropes. Having a partner at the start let him forget about all the other horses. Shari got the completion, her horse pulsed down with a minute to spare. I had to push her to saddle back up alone in the dark after I got pulled. 
Bo's in as good a shape as I am gonna get him he simply doesnt have the endurance. Even riding him at barely finish speeds, pulsing down is at the very last minute.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

How very frustrating for you. Does Emma seem to run cooler than Bo? Hopefully you can use Bo for pleasure rides and focus on Emma for competitions.

Hope to meet you at a ride sometime this season!


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

No idea havent pushed her any. Only been on a few, "getting to know eachother rides.
Shes a lard butt at the moment. Will start riding her as soon as I get the hitch in my new truck. Shes a much more powerful faster smoother horse. My friend top tenned at the OD 100 on a walker so is giving me hope for the breed, just maybe Bo isnt up for it.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> My friend top tenned at the OD 100 on a walker so is giving me hope for the breed, just maybe Bo isnt up for it.


I know she did, as I spent a lot of the day riding with Roberta. Smokey looked great all day.

And from what I heard, Broxton was a hellacious ride metabolically even for a lot of seasoned endurance horses due to the weather. So perhaps trying the same idea of riding slowly with your gf's tb at a ride that isn't 110 would be what Bo needs.

There is a woman (Mary Coleman) who has thousands of miles on exclusively Morgans who talks all the time about 'morgan weather.' If it's not morgan weather, she doesn't ride because she knows her heavier horse will not be able to pulse down. No way in hell was Broxton morgan weather!!


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Yes. Maybe you are quitting too soon. He is a great horse I'm sure. Unstoppable with tons of heart. It is awfully hot.


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## huntfishnride (Jan 25, 2012)

I don't do endurance racing, but have ridden horses in the backcountry for years and pushed them to their limits more often than not. Regardless of breed some animals are tougher than others and can handle the miles and weight better than others. They recover quicker and just hold up to work better even with the same feed and conditioning. I guess people are kind of like that as well. 

We have a 25 year-old TW that still can out work most of our young horses. He is just plain tough. Load him up with a 200 lb man and 40 to 50 pounds of saddle, rifle, coat, saddle bags etc and he can still climb out of the deepest nastiest canyons faster and with less rest that most of our other horses.

My family breeds MFT's and we use different mares/breeding to produce different types of horses. We have one mare in particular that consistently produce horse with exceptional strength and endurance and another that produces exceptional movers, but they don't seem to have the same staying power. Depending on a riders goals one may prefer one over the other.

I could go on but my point is that I wouldn't give up on a breed you prefer based on an experience with a single animal.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Well as soon as I get the hitch in my truck will start riding Ms Emma, I know she is faster and stronger. We will see how she does this winter.


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