# new to endurance



## rileydog6

I would like to try endurance my little guy, but because of his breed will he even have a chance at being competetive? he is a 13.2 hand norwegian fjord that weighs 950lbs. we have done JPR's, wich are 10 mile rides with obstacles and we mostly trot with some galloping and he would barely have any sweat on him.so for the most part he is in good condtion.i would just like to know if anyone thinks a fjord could be competetive, i have only heard of one and he was in the tevis cup and finished.


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## Annanoel

rileydog6 said:


> I would like to try endurance my little guy, but because of his breed will he even have a chance at being competetive? he is a 13.2 hand norwegian fjord that weighs 950lbs. we have done JPR's, wich are 10 mile rides with obstacles and we mostly trot with some galloping and he would barely have any sweat on him.so for the most part he is in good condtion.i would just like to know if anyone thinks a fjord could be competetive, i have only heard of one and he was in the tevis cup and finished.


With good conditioning / training I would think any horse could do it including your fjord. Now when it comes to finishing top, or "winning" an endurance ride that might not be in the realm of possibility. Who knows though? I say go for it! It can't hurt to try. Let us know how it goes!


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## jillybean19

Any healthy horse can usually complete an LD. Any breed, but fewer horses, can do endurance. And any breed can be great or really suck it up. You'll just have to try! Make sure you get a good mentor who's willing to sake it slow and doesn't focus on winning. The best advice I was ever given was to condition where it's good and healthy for your horse, ride the races like you condition, and one day you'll "accidentally" top ten. Heck, this year, I "accidentally" got 1st place as well in my last ride! But we were taking it just like a normal conditioning ride and I even got off and walked/jogged quite a bit of it.

You can't go into endurance to "win" - those are the people that end up loosing horses no matter how fantastic they are. The AERC motto is "to finish is to win", and it's just a cherry on top if you finish in the top placings!


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## rileydog6

thank you both of you for the advice!
i looked at the AREC website and am going to try the fitness test that they suggusted*After a warm-up of 15 to 20 minutes that includes walking, trotting, a bit of cantering, until the body temperature of the horse is warm, start the fitness test.Â Trot your horse over the distance and, using the stopwatch, time your duration over the chosen trail.Â You can trot some, canter some, even walk some, according to the fitness level of the horse.Â The overall intensity/duration should not be harder than your general training miles.Â At the end of the distance, record the time in a little notebook that you carry in a pocket.
Start the watch again at the stop of exercise. At two minutes, take the heart rate using the stethoscope for 15 seconds. Record this number.Â While dismounted, walk the horse along and re-take the heart rate for 15 seconds at five minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes.Â Record these numbers.Â Cool out your horse (or continue with training miles, depending on the fitness level and your targets for training).*

i saw that they also have a mentor program.has anyone ever tried that?Do you think that they would let try a ride with a mentor,slow of course.also quick question,if i start doing endurance will i have to give him grain before/after?right now he doesnt get any grain but he gets a supplement and in the summer electrolytes.here is a picture of hard work for almost 2 years,he went from 1250lbs to 950lbs, 300lbs lost!








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## jillybean19

Haha, my training and mentoring was much more simple, though I'm sure that'd work. Here's my two cents about getting started with endurance:

1) Volunter for at least one ride - definitely work some of that time at the vet check. Ask questions. There's a lot you can learn sitting with the vet and other volunteers (usually riders themselves) during the course of a 12 hour ride during which your job is mostly to sit, talk, and wait for a rider to show up. Observe and take in as much as possible about what's going on at camp, the vet check, ride meetings, starting the race, holds, and what riders are saying about the ride. You can learn more from one ride than a year of riding yourself.

2) Get your horse into fit and regular riding shape (you look like you're already there).

3) Get GPS that will tell you how far you've gone and how fast you're going (I have a Garmin Venture HC, about $110). This has been useful in riding in general - I log my arena miles just like my trail miles, and it sure is helpful on a ride to know how far you've gone and how far you have left to go! You'll also need a stethoscope. Don't worry about a heart rate monitor unless you really start getting into endurance. I still don't have one and don't feel any need for one, unless I start competing at the higher distances. Finally, you'll need a watch that shows the seconds.

4) Practice taking your horse's pulse with the stethoscope right behind his front left leg. There's plenty of websites to help you with this. When you start, time how many beats there are in 15 seconds and multiply by 4.

5) Get a good feel for a "working trot" - not a slow job, but not extended either. For most horses, this is about 8-9 mph (yours might be different because if his shape - I'm not familiar with the breed).

6) Take your horse out on a 4-5 mile ride and try to maintain a working jog most of the time. Keep cantering to a minimum, and walk where you need to. Cantering takes a LOT more out of a horse - that's why a good trot is the "working" gait of a horse. Walk the last 10 minutes/last couple hundred yards (figure out how far it takes your horse to walk 10 minutes).

7) Taking the pulse. When you get back, take your horse's pulse immediately, but not while he's eating/drinking/whinnying/being excited. You want an accurate pulse. Your target is 60. If he's already there, you're golden. If he's below somewhere 61-69, keep checking his pulse. As long as he's down to 60 within a couple of minutes, you're good. If he doesn't come down OR he's still very high (70-75 would be "iffy" while above 76 I'd be worried), then you need to go lighter. I highly doubt that's likely, given the work you've put into him and that any fit and healthy horse shouldn't have a problem coming down after only 4-5 miles of a working trot.

8) Adjust your training. If he's coming in at "golden", add distance OR speed - not both. If you're already up to 8-9mph good working trot, I'd just add distance, not speed. Any more speed really isn't necessary and strains your horse's ligaments which take years to build, not weeks. If you're coming in at "good", keep the same training schedule for a few weeks, then start adding distance. You'll get to know your horse. My horse always comes in at about 64bpm or lower, no matter if I went 5 miles or 25 miles.

9) Ultimately, you want to be conditioning at least 20 miles per week, but NO MORE than 30 miles per week. That does more damage than good. At least one of those days, you want to do hill work. If you can get in a short ride with tough hill work, that's great - but make sure it's shorter distance. You can count arena riding as conditioning, too! We were working on discipline at a working trot one day, and I got in all 8 miles. My friend does drill team with her GPS on, and she did even more than that! All riding counts as conditioning - even walking.

As far as nutrients goes, I'd say you definitely need to start with beet pulp, then add grain mixture. Soak the beet pulp to get a mash (you don't want any hard pieces) and it will help keep your horses hydrated. When you're just conditioning, this doesn't matter as much because your horse will have plenty of access to water most of the time. However, you want to get them used to eating it because it'll be a lifesaver at a ride, especially if your horse forgets to drink but is plenty eager to eat your beet pulp, getting his hydration that way. There are already plenty of threads on here about how to feed beet pulp, though, so I won't get into that many details. Just be sure to soak it, since hydration is the whole point of feeding it.

I add a Triple Crown Senior to my beet pulp because it's low in molasses, I'm already feeding beet pulp so I don't need a grain mix with that, it's high in fat, and has lots of other good stuff. I used to mix my own stuff together, but this is way easier and ultimately better and cheaper. You'll also want to get a good mineral powder to put in there, and electrolytes are great, but make sure your horse is used to them. I don't do electrolytes, but I want to explore it in the future. Ultimately, talk to your vet about what your horse needs. Since he's a different breed and build, he may require different supplements, but I don't think you can go wrong with that combination.

Oh, and I forgot to mention - the horse that took first at one of my favorite rides this year was a little welsh pony ridden by a junior bareback and in a halter. She and her siblings, also riding ponies, are some of the top juniors nationally. That'll give the people who think only Arabs can do endurance something to think about!


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## Lins

Now that's a beautiful Fjord! He looks like he's in amazing condition, so sleek and muscular.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jillybean19

Yeah, I told my husband we're getting one now lol


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## jillybean19

Long Riders Gear is really popular among endurance riders and that's why they tend to cater to. I found their Facebook page and immediately thought of you when I saw their cover photo. Thought you might like to check it out 

http://www.facebook.com/longridersgear


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## jillybean19

Long Riders Gear is really popular among endurance riders and that's why they tend to cater to. I found their Facebook page and immediately thought of you when I saw their cover photo. Thought you might like to check it out 

http://www.facebook.com/longridersgear


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## RiverBelle

rileydog6 said:


> thank you both of you for the advice!
> i looked at the AREC website and am going to try the fitness test that they suggusted*After a warm-up of 15 to 20 minutes that includes walking, trotting, a bit of cantering, until the body temperature of the horse is warm, start the fitness test.Â Trot your horse over the distance and, using the stopwatch, time your duration over the chosen trail.Â You can trot some, canter some, even walk some, according to the fitness level of the horse.Â The overall intensity/duration should not be harder than your general training miles.Â At the end of the distance, record the time in a little notebook that you carry in a pocket.
> Start the watch again at the stop of exercise. At two minutes, take the heart rate using the stethoscope for 15 seconds. Record this number.Â While dismounted, walk the horse along and re-take the heart rate for 15 seconds at five minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes.Â Record these numbers.Â Cool out your horse (or continue with training miles, depending on the fitness level and your targets for training).*
> 
> i saw that they also have a mentor program.has anyone ever tried that?Do you think that they would let try a ride with a mentor,slow of course.also quick question,if i start doing endurance will i have to give him grain before/after?right now he doesnt get any grain but he gets a supplement and in the summer electrolytes.here is a picture of hard work for almost 2 years,he went from 1250lbs to 950lbs, 300lbs lost!
> 
> 
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> 
> 
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He lost 300 lbs of just hair!!! LOL. Beautiful horse.


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## Joe4d

where do you ride ? I know several virginia endurance riders, we are all spread out and dot ride together though. so depends on your area, I know a hundred mile top ten winner, and a couple that like to finnish, my GF's daughter has a grade pony about that size that is tough as nails. Pulses down immediately. Pick your rides though. Learn from my mistakes, DONOT go south in the summer, the heavier breeds just cant handle heat.


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## rileydog6

jillybean, thank you for all this wonderful information,im sorry its taken so long to respond,i have been trying to fuigure how to respond. i will definitly volunteer for a couple rides,i found out that there is an endurance group in the area and i will be joining them i still need to get a stethascope and a GPS though.I went on a ride this morning,2 and 1/2 hours, we went at a fast walk with some trotting, our trails are hilly and rocky and we had a 3year old tag along, i dont know how many miles it was but we came back he didnt have any sweat on him and he still had enough energy to run around in the ring and when i let him out in the field he was bucking and galloping.i will try to go out to a park sometime this month to trot the 5 miles,its really flat. as far as getting enough water hes a pretty good drinker, he drinks almost an entire bucket at a time and every time we stopped at a stream he drank.wow,bareback and a halter, i do that only when we walk only on short trails cause hes so bouncy.thats an awsome picture with the fjords on the beach,id like to try that but there are no beaches any where near us


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## rileydog6

joe4d, i board him in fairfax station and live in springfield.he OK with heat but beause he is heaver its a little harder on him,although we did do a 10 mile ride in the upper 90s but we stayed at a walk for our horses as much as ourselves


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## rileydog6

rileydog6 said:


> 2 and 1/2 hours


Opps, meant to say 3 and 1/2
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## WSArabians

Oh my goodness he is a FREAKING ADORABLE!!!!


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## gottatrot

Your Fjord is looking fantastic. I think it would help you out a lot to ride with some endurance riders and see how it goes. It sounds like he may have the mental drive that is necessary to do endurance.

What some people don't realize when they start out is how fast you actually have to ride in order to finish in time. There is not much walking done in an endurance ride, you are trotting and cantering most of the time for a few hours. This is where some of the heavier muscled and draft type breeds lose their motivation and it can become too difficult to push them on even if they are physically able to complete.

Pay special attention to cooling measures for your horse, he will need more help in this area than the lighter breeds.

It may be helpful to time your horse and see how fast he goes trotting for a mile or two. He needs to finish a mile in at least 10 minutes in order to do a 25 mile ride in the 6 hours allowed. When you do the math, that seems to allow for tons of extra time, but the 6 hrs. includes the vet check, and you would be surprised at how quickly your time gets eaten up by narrow spots, steep downhills, bad footing, water breaks, etc.

The reason this is helpful to know is that some people who have tried to use "non-endurance" breeds have not been able to get their horse to sustain a pace and have had to give up for that reason. If your horse easily does several miles in a half hour, then you know there is a higher chance that you will be able to do endurance.


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## Joe4d

yeh a walk isnt gonna finnish. You really need to be able to maintain an average of 6mph, anything slower and you are getting real close to an overtime. You have 6 hours for a 25. But that is from start to final pulse down. In that 6 hours you are gonna come into a vet check, untack, cool off pulse down, (assuming all is well 15 minutes) then you are gonna get about a 40 minute hold, then head back out, when you are done again you have to un tack and cool off, again about 15 minutes. So for that 6 hours you only have about 4 hours 50 minutes of actual ride time. Factor in at least a couple water breaks, and you need a bare minimum of 5.5 mph to get a completion. Realy work on the canter and trot, and keep an eye at your spped and distance, and pick your first ride carefully. IE flat terrain and cooler temps.


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## pmaehj

I am also looking into getting into Long distance riding and competitive trail with my Haflinger. I had some of the same questions, so thanks for this thread because it helped me answer them!


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## rileydog6

Thank you so much for all the advice everybody! I am taking him to battlefied park tomorrow where there is a lot of flat/rolling hills.I am going totime him at one mile and trot 3-5 miles depending on how he is doing and how my back holds up.I. have a stethoscope and a mile tracker on my phone,don't know how acurate it is;he will be in a hackamore,leather breastplate,and 13.5 lb aussie saddle.I will let you all know how he does tomorrow 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## rileydog6

ok, so we went on a long ride and trotted most of it.i timed him for 12 minutes and he did 4.4 miles,his pulse hit 72 and after one minute it came to 64 then after 30 seconds it came down to 60.we then trotted for 20 minutes and covered 8.3 miles, his pulse hit 89, after 1 minute it was 72 after 2min it was 64,then after 3min it hit 60.i was surprised how fast he went and held that pace,he held between 8.5 -9.3 mph the entire time,pretty steadidly at the trot; and hes only 13.2 hands! so..... is this good?


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## rileydog6

oh also the temperature was in the upper 40's and he had a little swae ton his chest,under saddle, and under girth;but he was only lightly warm to the touch.the terrain was varried, there were open fields,hills( big and small), rocks, and several stream with one of them up to the top of his legs/ belly; and he trotted through sll of it. im very proud of him,when we finished he was still happy and wanted to keep going,when i let him go in the field at home he was bucking and galloping with one of his buddies, so i say he still had some energy left in him


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## NorthernMama

I didn't read all the posts because there's a lot of info just about endurance there and I just want to deal with the original breed question, plus the bit that Joe4D said about walking. Let me tell you about the Fjord that was at the training ride I went to last year:

This little guy was heavy, swaybacked, and his feet were overdue for a trim. I saw that a young teen or maybe tween was going to be riding him, so I stayed mum. I really, REALLY wanted to question that this horse should be going on the ride at all. But he wasn't lame, he was alert and responsive, passed the vet check so...

Talk about put me to shame on my Standardbred  That little guy walked so fast I had to trot my 15h horse every couple dozen yards to stay with him. He WALKED at least 6 mph, no kidding. He could walk the entire trail and come in well in the time alloted without any exertion whatsoever! Plus, my girl ended up lame because she wasn't used to the type of rock on the trail, so we bowed out. 

So, yes a Fjord can do it and yes some horses can do it at a walk the whole way and not be exerted at all.


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## pmaehj

That is so awesome! That gives me even more assurance about my Haflinger!


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## aarenex

JillyBean19 has great advice. I agree completely, especially about going to an endurance event to VOLUNTEER before you get too deeply into your training. Hang out with the vets for a day and the stuff they teach you will save you effort and anguish. 

Also, 'tis the season for regional and national endurance conferences. If you are able, go to one--an excellent learning opportunity, and you also get to meet people when they aren't tugging on a leadrope!


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## rileydog6

Yes, I definitely plan on volunteering at a few,I found that there is a endurance group in my area so I will contact them too.so are my times/ numbers are ok? Should I have kept him at a slower pace?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jillybean19

Sends good so far! however, the pulse aren't going to tell you much after such short intervals. The key is measuring fatigue, which takes tone to build. keep going for about thirty or forty five minutes straight, then give him about ten minutes walking to cool down and then take his pulse. If you're still getting similar numbers, then you're doing great. If he's not coming down after you cool him down, then you need to take it slower or go less time.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jillybean19

If you take his pulse immediately after you stop trotting (before you cool him down), don't be alarmed if his heart rate is above 90 or even 100 bpm. Anything under around 150 keeps you in aerobic exercise, which is what you're going for (this is where a heart rate monitor is useful in conditioning for longer races - you can make sure you're keeping the heart rate at an aerobic level rather than moving into anaerobic (usually above 170 bpm), which can lead to problems if kept up for too long. This is why it's important to cool down, but not for too long, since you need them to come down within a reasonable time and still have an accurate measure of fatigue.


I found an excellent article where I got the bpm numbers and it's all about measuring fitness by heart rate and is featured on a site specifically for distance riders. I didn't read the whole thing, but definitely plan to since it looks like really good info!

http://www.distanceriding.org/php/articles/condition/MonitoringFitness.pdf


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## HappyHoofPrints

What a beautiful horse! I don't see why, with proper traing, he can't do endurance. Ancient breed, very hardy, thrifty, and great feet! Don't over feed with concentrates and keep barefoot (boots when needed) and you will do fine!! Keep us posted !! Gorgeous!


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## oliveoats

I have been seriously contemplating training for and competing in an Endurance race with my my Tennesee Walking Horse and this advice has given me a good idea of where to start. Thank you, and good luck with your Fjord!!


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