# Any tips?



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I personally don't do endurance but I have a close friend who does. 

She does not wear jeans on a ride. Of course, she also rides in an endurance saddle. Breeches/jophers with half chaps just seem to work better. 

She also lets her horse eat while she rides. Which suits her purpose when she is doing a 50-mile ride. Her horse can be trotting along and snatch grass without breaking step. 

Of course, it's important to make sure you have your horse in shape. How long is the ride you plan on doing?


----------



## k9kenai (Jul 1, 2017)

I just started lessons for Endurance riding and I highly recommend the sport. 

If you are new to the sport, I would suggest going to volunteer at a couple rides or see if you can crew for somebody first before you attempt to ride yet, especially if there are only longer distance rides in your area and you and/or your horse is not used to being around all of the energy and excitement. You may also see if you could ride somebody else's trained Endurance horse as well and get some riding experience that way.

And, if you have the chance, see if you can locate a mentor or instructor in your area who can give you lessons on either one of their horses or your own horse, too. 

There are other more experienced Endurance riders here on the board who I'm sure will pop in to give you more specific advice.


----------



## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

You need to start with a sound horse, tack that fits the horse and you, and the interest. I wouldn't worry about buying new tack right away, assuming what you have is working without issue now. I would suggest something other than jeans, as seams are not your friend.

When and how long is the cancer ride you are hoping to do? What age and breed is your horse? What type of workouts are you doing with your horse currently?

I always tell people to document where they are currently - as in actually record it somewhere. That way you have a concrete place to start. Do you have a routine or does life mean how often you ride changes weekly? What are you doing (in general) for each ride, as in how long are you riding, what gait(s) are you doing for about how long?

Once you have the basics of where you are at, you can look at ways to start conditioning. You want to increase either the distance or the speed or the challenge (eg, flat vs hills) per workout, but not more than one of those things at a time. And generally small, steady increases are better than huge jumps. Time off is also important as the body needs time to rest/heal.


----------



## LillianE (Nov 15, 2017)

Thnxs alot for that


----------

