# Are You A Tough Sucker?



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Bleak country but beautiful all the same.


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

D: I wanna do Endurance...

Cool video!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Yes, but not tough, or rich, enough to pull a trailer to Idaho!!

Always wanted to come up and meet Steph and everyone from up there!!


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## IndianaJones (Aug 13, 2014)

I can't decide if riding gaited is cheating or just sheer genius! Hahahaha...looks FUN


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Some day when I win the lottery, I will be able to get out that way to rides..


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## The Equestrian vagabond (Mar 14, 2014)

Foxhunter, it is bleak but beautiful in its way. We do have some amazing hidden red cliff canyons you would never expect driving down the highway. greentree, when phantomhorse13 wins the lotto she is bring you along! Roman: DO IT! and Indian Jones, there are a number of people who ride gaited horses in endurance and do very well, and, of course, they swear by them!


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

The Equestrian vagabond said:


> Roman: DO IT!


Maybe :wink: I wouldn't know where to start. Are your endurance rides part of a competition or just for fun? I wonder if a possible barrel horse could do Endurance as well as barrel racing. I don't think my Arabian could do all those miles. :lol:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Roman said:


> Maybe :wink: I wouldn't know where to start. Are your endurance rides part of a competition or just for fun? I wonder if a possible barrel horse could do Endurance as well as barrel racing. I don't think my Arabian could do all those miles. :lol:


Endurance riding is much like marathons for people.. some people are very competitive and are out for the win, other (dare i even say most) are just out there for the fun and the ability to say they finished one. AERC's motto is "to finish is to win" and most people out on trail at the rides are riding with that motto in mind.

As for not knowing where to start, my suggestion would be to look up any local rides in your area (ride calendar is here) and go out to watch and volunteer. A lot of rides are now offering not only Limited Distance rides (generally around 25 miles), but Intro Distance (generally 10-15) which is very do-able with a bit of conditioning.

I wish you were closer.. I am getting my SIL and another lady from her barn out on trail with the goal being some LDs later in the season. You may want to poke around facebook (if you use it) as I would suspect you have some sort of local group. I just did a quick google search and found the MOTDRA group, so maybe some of those rides are local to you.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

The Equestrian vagabond said:


> Foxhunter, it is bleak but beautiful in its way. We do have some amazing hidden red cliff canyons you would never expect driving down the highway. greentree, when phantomhorse13 wins the lotto she is bring you along! Roman: DO IT! and Indian Jones, there are a number of people who ride gaited horses in endurance and do very well, and, of course, they swear by them!


It is many years since I did endurance competitions. That was when they held the first 100 mile Golden Horseshoe ride in the SW UK. 

I stayed near Salmon in ID back in 01, loved the area and the mountains. I then drove with a friend from there to Colorado through Utah high dessert, very bleak and HOT. 
Couldn't help but wonder how the pioneers ever got across the land. Beautiful in the bleakness and fascinating the structure of the rocks. I want to explore some of the canyons I have seen in Nat. Geo. Magazine.

No matter where you travel here there are few places where you do not see signs of civilisation.


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## jimmyp (Sep 5, 2013)

Roman said:


> Maybe :wink: I wouldn't know where to start. Are your endurance rides part of a competition or just for fun? I wonder if a possible barrel horse could do Endurance as well as barrel racing. I don't think my Arabian could do all those miles. :lol:
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Endurance is the arabians claim to fame.....

Jim


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Any horse can do 25 miles even if it is only half fit and the rider doesn't over exert it. 

To get a horse fit for the international competitions takes a lot of work! 

Arabs do come I to their own with this sport, the horse I dod 100 miles on was and Anglo Arab. We never made the top times as he pulled a shoe. 
I tell you, I have never been so glad to see a finishing post!


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## The Equestrian vagabond (Mar 14, 2014)

PhantomHorse is right, try going to an endurance ride to volunteer or just watch. I can 99% guarantee you'll meet some fun people, and you may find people to ride with. Or, people who need their extra endurance horses conditioned. that will really give you an idea of how to condition a horse for endurance rides. that's how I've ridden my entire endurance career - never had my own endurance horse, because most people have more than one horse, and many appreciate help/company riding them. 
In any case every ride manager appreciates volunteers and you'll get the flavor of the sport. and I also agree, while endurance riding is a 'competition', most people ride for fun and to finish.

Foxhunter, one time I got to ride in a 3-mule wagon over a part of the Oregon trail (Rinker Buck was an author driving the trail, writing a book on it; his book is coming out this summer), and that experience, and in fact every time I ride horses over the Oregon Trail, or anywhere here out West, I think about those pioneers and how brave, clearly crazy, and tough they were.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Please let me know about the book when it is published, I would love to get a copy.


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## SolsticeDream (Aug 15, 2012)

Amazing video! I would love to ride there!


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

Ah, love that area! I used to live in Payette County and traveled down to SW Idaho fairly regularly for work and pleasure. The beauty lays in the details, and the more I learn about dryland, high desert ecology the more I love that area.
Maybe if I can wrangle a truck to haul with I will come out!


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