# 17 Mile Relay Race



## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Sounds fun! Cannot wait to see what others have to say.


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

*Recent Picture*

Here's a picture of him from today with my 6' 4" 210 lb husband riding him (very inexperienced rider..no need to critique.lol).. just so you can see what he has for muscle tone and conformation..


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

you already are riding him enough time wise, pick up the pace get that horse in gear ! 7 miles is short. Get out there and get him and hold him in a lope. Learn to check pulse rates. See how he does. See how long it takes him to pulse down to 60, if he is at 60 five minutes after stopping you aint riding fast enough, aim for a 5-15 minute pulse down. Once youve done that awhile you'll get a feel for what he can handle. Where is the ride ? sounds interesting.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

We were taught lot of long trotting. A lady who excelled in endurance conditioned her arabs with long trotting and hillwork. She rarely cantered her horses as it requires more effort to cover the same distance. You'll want to use your english if you'll be doing a lot of posting.


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## Catpeedontherug (Oct 23, 2012)

subbing


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Saddlebag said:


> We were taught lot of long trotting. A lady who excelled in endurance conditioned her arabs with long trotting and hillwork. She rarely cantered her horses as it requires more effort to cover the same distance.


This is what I was taught too, but more current research is actually proving that the reality is the reverse!!

Research is finding that a _long_ trot, over time/miles, puts a lot of unnatural strain on the shoulders and back of the horse and actually changes the muscle development in a way that is potentially detrimental longterm. I don't have the links to the studies in front of me, but I will look for them when I get home. I know I can feel a difference in how my mare moves between a normal and a long trot, so I can see why it would develop different muscles.

A regular trot makes the best use of the suspension mechanism of a horse's limbs, but a balanced canter (and that is the key, balanced) seems to work best in terms of covering the miles the fastest. Seems the crazy FEI people who canter 100 milers (or the scary Europeans who canter on pavement during rides :shock were onto something after all.

I did a 3-horse experiment (with the 3 in my backyard) and found their heart rates were equal or even less at the canter than at the long trot. I was really surprised, but it made me focus on getting my mare to have a nice, balanced canter (trot is def her gait of choice).


To the OP, I think just start picking up the pace on your rides and see how your guy does. I think he's much fitter than you give him credit for!


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

Great information from all of you! Exactly what I was looking for! 

Joe4d, the ride is in Douglas, MA. It's in it's second year here but I've heard of it being done in other states for quite some time. I'm very excited to give it a try and I love the concept of raising awareness of sharing the trails-I live in a suburban area and there is very little respectfulness towards horses on the State Park Trails that are overrun with Mountain Bikers (I think it's mostly due to the fact that they just don't know how to move around a horse and such.)

I'm loving the information on the best gaits/pace to go at. So I'm thinking that I'll see how he goes but start trying for a lot of regular trotting and small amounts of cantering? I'm hoping to order some Renegades within the next couple of weeks but my pace will be limited until they come in. All of the trails here are rocky and hard on his feet (which is the main reason our rides are so leisurely). I was hoping that his soles would toughen up in time but it's been a year barefoot and they're only slightly better. Until the boots come in, I'll work him pretty hard going around the fields at the farm. Doing a lot of hill work at the trot?
And I guess I'll ride him english..and I'll be doing a whole lot of posting. I think I'm going to have to get my butt into shape for this too! 
I'm so excited! Thanks again for all of the information! If you've got anymore suggestions throw 'em at me!


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I know things are relative, but for only 7 miles ? I could do that now at a solid canter on my TWH Bo, or at a flat runwalk on Miss Emma. Long as temp was cool. Thats where a HRM is a must or even the ability to take pulse if you can use a stethescope, Emma is inefficient at the canter, HR spikes stays up, Bo does well at a canter/walk cycle. He is more a racking horse. so at a mid gait his pulse is higher. I imagine other horses are gonna be different. For that horse who already has trail miles ? Id start doing some cantering.


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## Faustinblack (Aug 16, 2011)

This sounds like a lot of fun
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

Joe4d, so you're saying to take his pulse after trotting a distance and after cantering a distance to see which gait he is more efficient at? 
Also, do you guys use watches so that you know your time per mile? Is it worth it for me to do that? or is it too short of a distance to worry about it..
What is a reasonable time per mile to aim for (for someone at my level)?
Thanks again.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

No way of knowing , you say you ride 4 times a week, but how far ? how fast ? how heavy a load ? Just to many variables. You need some kinda speed over measured distance device. Most of us use a hand held or wrist GPS. I am a turtle rider, IE come in back of the pack on endurance, so I tend to average about 6 mph over 25-50 miles. Dawns a front runner, she's probably averaging 9. But thats average, counting stops for water breaks and such. 
What Id do to figure out whats what is come up with a way to measure pulse and measure distance/time. Simple math will give you speed. Sooo get out there and walk/trot/canter. say 10 miles. Stop check your watch and check your rides pulse 5 to 10 minutes after you stop. If he is at 60 bpm, you didnt ride fast enough. Add more cantering less walking next time. As he gets in better shape you shouldnt have any problem cantering the 7 miles, and still pulsing down in around 15 minutes, assuming a reasonable level of fitness and a horse suitable for the task at hand. I mean if hes an over weight shetland and ur pushing 300 lbs, might have some problems.
Granted there are better more accurate ways to go about this, but Im figuring on u not buying anything, as you probably already have a watch with a second hand. You will just need a known mileage course... Also some cell phones have GPS aps you can use. But you'll have to ask someone else. 
You just dont wanna over run your horse starting off. So learn to take pulse, can stop any time and go to a slow walk, dismount and mosy for a few minutes within 5-10 minutes pulse should be in the 60's .. All things relative I guess, those of us that train for 50"s 7 is just a warmup. but for walk along trail riders 7 is a couple hour ride. Ive done 15 mile loops in under an hour. granted my horse was pretty much done for the day, but he was none the worse for ware. took him about 35 minutes to pulse down, so oops. live and learn, A little to much YAH and not enough whoaaaaaa


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

*We've had a setback...*

So Jack scraped his hock and although it looks superficial he seems to be a little off on it. It happened a couple of weeks ago and I wasn't too worried about it but it hasn't healed at all (it still bleeds randomly)..and he still seems a little off. I scrubbed it pretty good but he wouldn't let me look at it and even while I was scrubbing it I was having to get out of the way when he kicked at me because he's so sensitive about it (he's like the worst patient ever!) Maybe something is stuck in there keeping it from healing? I've still been riding him some and lunging him but I don't want to work him hard over rough ground until he gets checked out. The vet is coming on April 18th to do spring shots so I'll ask him what he thinks then. Until then we're not going to be doing too much for training on the trails. Hopefully he'll be okayed to do the relay, even if we'll have to do it slower than I had originally planned


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## laurapratt01 (Oct 3, 2012)

Hey guys! So the relay race was today! and I'm pretty happy with how Jack did  I feel so blessed to have a horse that tries so hard to do whatever I ask of him!

Our section of the race was between 7 and 8 miles. I haven't gotten the official time yet but it was around an hour and 15 minutes. The trails were rugged with lots of really rocky spots that were difficult to maneuver through at anything more than a walk (lots of big rocks close together that show through because of erosion, I call them ankle breakers.) We did walk through those portions of the trail but we trotted, cantered and galloped in all of the parts of the trail that we could. Jack worked up a pretty decent sweat by the end of it but wasn't breathing too hard.. If the trails weren't so rocky I would've pushed him harder. We had a blast though!

I wasn't prepared for the amount of truly competitive people there. Most of the horseback riders were competitive trail riders. One guy I met up with on the trail was telling me that he has an Arab at home that he's training for 100 mile endurance rides. That guy did all 3 segments of the race himself (rode 7 miles, rand 6 miles and biked 10 miles consecutively). Most of the horses were coated in sweat from the tips of their ears to their ends of their tails. I've never seen a horse's rump covered in sweat. Craziness!
I'm happy with how we did but I'm not sure which place we were in because they only announced top 5. We'll see when they put up the official times. I think we were second to last..haha. Jack is not a speed demon by any means but such a good boy


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

congrats!!


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Sounds like a fun ride!!


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

You made it to the finish line and that is a very good start to this type of event.


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