# Never Done Endurance, Curious



## RosiePosie06 (Jun 3, 2012)

I've never done endurance and don't plan to because my horse is in no way bred for long distance. However I'm curious about how you condition your horses for this! Does everyone who rides endurance have access to really good trails, or just make do with anything? How long do you ride everyday? And anything else you'd like to share! I've wondered this ever since I read an article Arabian Horse World Magazine about the Tevis cup.


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Everyone goes about it a little differently, but conditioning for endurance is very involved and certain trends arise. Going by the advice of my vet (who is the head vet at all the rides in my area, which there are quite a few), you need to get to where you're riding 20-30 (no more and no less!) miles each week at the speed or slightly faster than you plan to ride in a race. Generally, a good working trot will do. Once a week you do need to do hill work, but don't overdo it. Without it, your horse will not be ready to climb up and down the hills that you encounter at a ride. Since I don't have a trailer or truck, having BLM access was a must in choosing where to board - I can ride for miles (literally I could cross the state if I wanted to) right off the property, which is important when each of your rides are 8-10 miles. If you want more details, I recommend checking out the thread about conditioning that's somewhere else in this forum...

As for your horse being bred for distance, ANY healthy horse that is conditioned properly can complete an LD (usually 25-35 miles). Those equines were made to move


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## RosiePosie06 (Jun 3, 2012)

Thank you! I have great respect for this sport so I've been curious what it takes to be good at it It is something I'd attempt, but I don't have 
access to 25-30 mile rides! Maybe someday I'll get myself into endurance. 

Also out of curiosity, how much time does a ride of that length usually take in the race?


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

depends on the riders and terrain. Most AERC events will require you to have a 5mph average to finnish on time give or take a few minutes. Winners may be running 15mph.
One of the things hurting me is I live in flat country. I also dotn have anywhere to ride without trailering. HAving a 20 mile trail would be great but you can ride a 5 mile trail 4 times. It does get boring but it is all about how much you want it. Most endurance studies I have read seem to indicate 8 to 12 miles, twice a week. Once your horse is in shape. Alternating between hard day and easy day. Hill work would be great if I had any hills. Leather wood mt kicked our butts.


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

RosiePosie06 said:


> Thank you! I have great respect for this sport so I've been curious what it takes to be good at it It is something I'd attempt, but I don't have
> access to 25-30 mile rides! Maybe someday I'll get myself into endurance.
> 
> Also out of curiosity, how much time does a ride of that length usually take in the race?


The LD's have a time limit of 6 hours, which includes a hold of about an hour long, so max riding time of about 5 hours. Most completion times I've seen have been between 4 and 5 hours plus the hold. I'm pretty sure you can check ride results on the aerc site even if you're not a member
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## 2SCHorses (Jun 18, 2011)

Even if your horse isn't a typical endurance horse, you can still join, ride and have a lot of fun. My daughter is doing her first LD ride on her QH. Now, he won't win, but he can do it, and he is sane, sound and willing. She won't be doing any 50 milers with him, but he can do the 25 milers and probably do OK as he has a pretty long stride for a QH. And just going to the rides is pretty fun! It is a great way to meet a lot of neat 'horse people'.


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## RosiePosie06 (Jun 3, 2012)

It does sound like lots of fun! Thanks guys


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## soenjer55 (Dec 4, 2011)

I don't do endurance, but my friend and her mom do it, pretty competitively. They live right next to a large wash which leads into Catalina State Park, which is where my friend rides/ conditions- she has access to deep wash sand and rocky hills/mountains.... needless to say, her little arabian is in pretty darn good shape. She basically just hops on her horse and goes off on a 3 hour ride, round trip- and she keeps a pretty fast pace. This is just for fun, so I imagine her conditioning is pretty brutal...Actually, her little joy rides pretty much count as conditioning, lol.


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## TrojanCowgirl (Jun 1, 2012)

I just started conditioning my babydoll. Just by looking at her you'd think "OMG, why are you working a pregnant horse?" Hehe, trust me, she is just that much out of shape! We've been working things slow just lunging right now until she loses a little bit more of her belly. Right now we're lunging at a trot for 10-15 minutes a day, cantering for less than a minute (slowly building up there, last week she could only canter for 2-3 strides at most), and walking only 3-4 laps at most during warm up/cool down. I also had walk/trot her around the property. I don't have any hills anywhere unless I were to trailer out about 15 miles south, and I don't have a trailer. So while we're at home we do a LOT of backing up and quick turns/stops to help build his hindquarters up a bit. Nothing beats hills tho, IMO 

Our total work out time a week is probably around 4.5 hours and we get about 5-6 miles in ATM. Of course, she's no where near being ready. Like I said she's so badly outta shape I feel terrible so we really have to build things up slowly. But the good news is that she's improved a LOT!


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## usdivers (Jun 27, 2012)

2SCHorses said:


> Even if your horse isn't a typical endurance horse, you can still join, ride and have a lot of fun. My daughter is doing her first LD ride on her QH. Now, he won't win, but he can do it, and he is sane, sound and willing. She won't be doing any 50 milers with him, but he can do the 25 milers and probably do OK as he has a pretty long stride for a QH. And just going to the rides is pretty fun! It is a great way to meet a lot of neat 'horse people'.


That is one of the greatest things I love about endurance, that families can compete together. I often do LD's with my daughter...awesome Father-daughter time


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