# Tell me about endurance



## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I started taking an interest in endurance riding.I'm not sure if they are common here in the USA but hopefully. For those who do endurance. How did you go about it when you first took interest?Is it a lot of hardwork?Is it really expensive?Have you done an over night endurance race?


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

It's pretty popular in the US. 

1.) I love trails, but I hate slow trail rides. My BO first introduced me to CT (competitive trail, where every endurance rider should start), and I knew than I wanted to move to endurance eventually. I got a good little horse that shares my heart to run in the woods... The rest is history in the making.

2.) Oooh, yeah. Tough, tough, tough. Before you even get to endurance, you have to spend a while in CT (not HAVE to, but most people use the "ladder system" and start there). CT is tough too. Conditioning, learning to care for your self and your horse over distance, working five or six times a week... You have to learn a lot. You have to read your horse, know his limits, and know when it's okay to push and when to quit... It's a lot to take in. You must have an uncommon degree of knowledge about equine health and fitness, lameness, trails...

3.) Less expensive than most disciplines. No fancy cloths to buy, no fancy saddle, show fees aren't much...

4.) Not yet. I'm still in the CT zone. :wink: I have done overnight, weekend long CT rides.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

THANKS BE!

I think I might look into it  It sounds like a lot of fun and I talked to a lady who does lessons and she asked what I am interested in and I told her that.
CT..got it. I will have to ask some people around here to see where I can get started. I usually lope and trot on trails.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Oh, yes they are common. We have number of endurance riders here in Maryland (some are members of the same club as me). What is tough about endurance though (and why I never even considered it myself) is that your horse has to be VERY fit and capable to do endurance (it's not for every horse).


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

it's not?

well that makes sense. Like race horse fit?


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## vivache (Jun 14, 2009)

My old instructor did it for a while.

It's very physically demanding on horse and rider. A lot of horses broke down on one of the rides she told me about, and many didn't get pass the heavy vet check.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Gidget said:


> Like race horse fit?


Actually more than that I'd think. :wink: Race horse goes a very short distance. Endurance horses go very long ones on good speed. Its very hard to keep it in that kind of shape (you have to ride a lot, condition properly, etc. which means lots of time spent as well). Plus as I said not every horse is capable of going on long distance. While I'm sure some horses from any breed can do it, endurance riders often use certain breeds (like Arab is one of them).


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

okay,I don't think Gidget would be able to do that kind of riding unless it was like a 25 mile ride max.
Is CT pretty muchthe same? I want to get into a horse sport that is really fun.I found a trainer that has done 3 day eventing and has done jumping. Now,I know Gidget really isn't jumping material. Is there any sport you guys think she would be good at BESIDES any western sports.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Gidget, as the very old (and very well known around here) jumping trainer told me once: ANY horse can jump. Depends how high. :wink: If Gidget _likes_ jumping you can just keep training her up to 2 feet or so. My qh does NOT like jumping at all, so after couple attempts I just switched. There are plenty of disciplines: jumping, equitation, dressage, XC if you want to show or just have fun!


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I am really wanting to show and of course it would be ammature shows. I want to get into a specific sport and preferably an english sport. I tried jumping my horse once...bad idea cause it was in a western saddle and I flew over the horn and hit my head on her poll and I literally saw stars and laid on her neck and I later found out western saddles can cause internal bleeding if you land on the horn.I let everyone know that in my family so they wouldn't do it. My mom and I are the only ones who ride english in our family. I just need to train my horse how to jump with her legs tucked under and not one tucked in and one out  Silly girl. My trainer I am interested in has done stadium jumping...whatever that is.She also does tune-ups on horses I found out so I will probably end up giving my horse once weekly tuneups. She isn't a horrid horse. I would also like to practice 2 point. I have been off of lessons for almost 3 months becausr my other trainer is waaay out there and it takes a lot in gas for me and this new trainer said she will come to me.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

My old BOs were endurance racers. The had Arabians that were very fit. Their idea of exercise for them was a 10 mile ride of just trotting. Lots and lots of trotting gets them in shape pretty fast, apparently. I went with them one day and made it about 7 miles before my ankle kept rolling (I wasn't using my saddle and the stirrups were up a notch or two too high) until I had to stop. 

It's more popular around here than I would have assumed. More in Minnesota, but I still hadn't figured it would be a big thing up here.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

It looks to be a lot of fun but I am honestly not into arabs. I do like morgans though and they are used for endurance right?

I prefer more of the stock horses. I love paints! I also am in love with Fjords,Mules,Belgians. Not sure if mules are used for endurance or not. It looks to be a lot of fun but I know my horse isn't cut out for it and I don't have anywhere to go trot for 10 miles straight.


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## Poseidon (Oct 1, 2010)

I'm not into arabians either.. Since theirs were so toned and fit, they were even dinkier than usual and me and the breed just clash.. ugh. Stock breeds are my favourite too. I went riding on Abby with my BOs daughter to she could work out her horse a bit and Abby trotted faster than the Arabian did..but she also has her fast prancy trot..

And I'm not sure how they figured out it was 10 miles unless it wa just a rough estimate. THey rode down gravel roads and threw a field. I just remember it being a big circle with some backtracking. It was a weird pattern..


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

Gidget said:


> It looks to be a lot of fun but I am honestly not into arabs. I do like morgans though and they are used for endurance right?
> 
> I prefer more of the stock horses. I love paints! I also am in love with Fjords,Mules,Belgians. Not sure if mules are used for endurance or not. It looks to be a lot of fun but I know my horse isn't cut out for it and I don't have anywhere to go trot for 10 miles straight.


You absolutely have to have the right horse for endurance! If your interested in endurance then you will have to learn to like arabs. If you decide that you want to get competitive with endurance you and your horse are going to have to go to a whole new level of fitness. A very good friend of mine competes at the national level of endurance. She is currently training for her first hundred mile race with the arab she has now. A hundred miles on horse back takes roughly 12 to 18 hours, I know I would be entering a whole new world of pain staying in the saddle for that length of time.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Gidget said:


> I later found out western saddles can cause internal bleeding if you land on the horn.


Sorry - but landing hard on anything can cause broken bones and internal bleeding.

Don't rule out a specific sport because of the tack. I did 1,000's of miles of distance riding on a quarter horse in a western saddle.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

kiwigirl said:


> If your interested in endurance then you will have to learn to like arabs.


Not true at all. I competed a paint mare and a quarter horse gelding. One of my steady trail buddies rode an appaloosa.

It's the condition and heart of the horse. Not the breed!


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

well yes.I agree if you land hard you can do damage in any saddle BUT I believe it's more likely in a western saddle.There is a part of the saddle that is protruding out and unlike and english or endurance saddle it is more likely to cause more damage as an english saddle and endurance saddle doesn't have a horn.

You don't see many ppl jumping in a western saddle and thats probably one of the reasons IMO.


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

mls said:


> Not true at all. I competed a paint mare and a quarter horse gelding. One of my steady trail buddies rode an appaloosa.
> 
> It's the condition and heart of the horse. Not the breed!


Actually that is very true! My endurance friend was more than a little put out because the NZ endurance champion is a Paint/TB x. Sorry her Arab purist attitude rubbed off on me for a minute lol. What is also really important in endurance is recovery, an endurance horse must have the right type of muscle for quick recovery. I'm sure these types of horses exist outside of the Arab breed. But your still looking for a lean light horse with fast twitch muscles rather than anything heavy with large muscle and big bone.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

what about pasos?


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

I honestly don't know enough about Pasos to be able to answer that. I know that the Peruvian Paso crossed with Standard Bred is becoming very popular as a general riding horse in NZ but I don't know whether they will make an appearance in endurance circles. I think I heard that lightly built SB's are starting to make a name for themselves in endurance here.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

ohhh okay,gotcha.

this is off topic but why are horses that are 14.2 known as ponies in english? 
My horse is 14.2 if you measure her up and straight across at the wither with a ruler or something flat ( some ppl measure with wrapping the measuring tape over the wither..i guess it depends on the person but I know that adds extra height..it would on a human..I would prob be 5'10" if it were me!)


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

I honestly don't know. I always thought that it had to do with show catagorizing. Certain sized horses fit into certain classes in the english show arena. Anything 14.3 and under fits into the pony class. Of course within the pony class there are different catagories like pony hack etc. Anything over 14.3 is in the horse class but of course there are a number of different catagories within horses as well. Like hunter and park hack and so on and so on. That is how I came to understand it but someone within English riding circles could shed more light on the subject I would imagine.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Okay,thanks.I was curious. I wonder if there is a pony club I can join unless thats for kids...

also how do you measure your horse? ...I will start a thread on that actually.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

Arabs aren't the only horses that can run distance. They are just the most common.

Any horse with a decent build, good conformation, heart, a love of running, and condition can do CT or endurance. No heavy draft horses, because they can't cool themselves well and simply aren't designed for distance. Horses with bad conformation will eventually go lame. A horse without heart will give up. A horse without condition will kill itself. 

Arabs tend to fit the requirements very well, but they aren't the only ones. I've met successful distance mules, QHs, Paints, TBs, gaited horses (pasos, iceys, SSH, TWH, fox trotters...), Appys, Standies, Morgans... The list goes on. 

I'm currently going CT (and eventually endurance) with a SSH. She is a mixture of TWH, saddlebred and arab (NSH), racker, and grade spotted horses of unknown origin. And she does great.

I urge you to try CT with Giget. If she does well and you start winning, do a limited distance endurance ride. It's hard work, yes. Conditioning is fierce -- "racehorse fit" is a standard. But it's very possible.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

well how can I get her race horse fit?
Also,I think she has decent confo.Nothing sticks out as negative.

Gidget and I jumped today...I set up a jump and we actually jumped it. With no hesitation!..of course we both sucked,lol. but we did it!


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Since you're in Oregon you can check out this website: www.nwrides.com
If you look under the calendar section you can find all the rides for 2011. I have never done CTR but instead started with Limited Distance rides which are 25 miles. It is really fun as long as you love riding A LOT.
Endurance in a way is cheaper than showing but I have spent a lot on getting tack that fits well and on horse boots.
The main issues I've had are making sure things don't rub (a girth that doesn't bother a horse for a 10 mile ride might rub a sore after 25), hoof protection and getting my horses to drink on the trail.
Any breed is fine for a 25 miler. However if you want to win you are more likely to with an Arab. On my last ride with friends we had a Paint, an Anglo-Arab, a Connemara/Standardbred cross, and my Arab. Both my Arab and the Connemara cross will easily be top ten horses as we bring them along. At the end of 25 miles they are ready to do 25 more. The Paint was done mentally after 20 or so. It comes down to heart even more than the physical issues. Some horses really lose the will to keep going after awhile, even when they are passing the vet checks well. I have seen TWHs do really well.
The hoof issues can be tricky since on rocky trails in Oregon horses' soles can bruise even with shoes on. I prefer boots, but it's tricky finding which ones work for your horse.
My misconception when I first started was that endurance rides were walk/trot. They are actually mostly trotting and cantering, if you want to place. So imagine how much riding you have to do to get your horse fit enough to trot and canter for 50 miles. 
Endurance people are really nice to be around. The rides have a great atmosphere.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

it said it was forbidden =/


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Folks, out of curiosity... What saddles are used usually on those long endurance rides?


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

kitten_Val said:


> Folks, out of curiosity... What saddles are used usually on those long endurance rides?


I used a thorowgood mutli purpose on the paint mare, a Big Horn western synthetic on my QH gelding. Had to have a saddle custom (western) made for my Anglo mare and used the same custom western for my Arab mare.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

mls said:


> I used a thorowgood mutli purpose on the paint mare, a Big Horn western synthetic on my QH gelding. Had to have a saddle custom (western) made for my Anglo mare and used the same custom western for my Arab mare.


Interesting... I've seen those "endurance" saddles in catalog, which looked quite different. I think my butt would fall off after a day in western saddle though! :lol:


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

I really like the look of the endurance style saddles.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

Sorry, posted the link wrong: NW Rides Home

I ride one of mine in a cheaper dressage saddle that fits her well. The other one I ride in a Stubben Rex. The main thing is that it fits your horse well and has wide enough panels to distribute pressure.
Someday I would like an Arabian Saddle Co. Solstice saddle.


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

gottatrot said:


> Sorry, posted the link wrong: NW Rides Home
> 
> I ride one of mine in a cheaper dressage saddle that fits her well. The other one I ride in a Stubben Rex. The main thing is that it fits your horse well and has wide enough panels to distribute pressure.
> Someday I would like an Arabian Saddle Co. Solstice saddle.


 
Grizzly mountain is 3 hrs away from me


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

I would say 2 months is not enough time to train for a 30 unless your horse is already in pretty good shape, since it's your first ride. 
However, this sounds like a great first ride to do because the trails are dirt so you wouldn't have to worry about bruising your horse's soles. It also sounds like moderate terrain so it's not straight up the side of a mountain. 
So IF you were dedicated and started training tomorrow, you could possibly do it. Or you could call and see if the 30 mile course is done in 2 loops, then you could just do the first loop and see how your horse feels before doing the whole ride.
The first month you would have to work your horse slowly up to doing fast 5-10 mile rides (on trails, not in an arena). 
You would need to be able to have your horse do a 12-15 mile ride (mostly trotting and cantering) at least once a week for the last four weeks before the ride. Plus two fast 5-6 mile rides a week that last month.
If you can, practice having your horse stand after riding while you or someone else checks him over (to practice the vet checks). They will listen to his heart, pick up his feet and listen to gut sounds. Also practice trotting him out in a straight line.
The workouts I am describing would be to help your horse FINISH, not to win. In endurance you shouldn't think about trying to place for your first several rides. To finish is to win.
Here are more details about the Grizzly Mountain ride:

Endurance Riding Online - AERC Ride Detail


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_Race horse fit...._

_To properly get a Standardbred fit for racing, they are excercised daily at a working trot for several months before they start getting slow "training miles" put on. Training miles being working them fast the correct (race) way of the track. Once you get them to a certain time for a mile, you are now ready to qualify. Our horses get jogged for 30 minutes every day--rain, shine, sleet, snow....even in the winter, unless of course it is too cold._

_Before they even start racing, they will have several hundred miles under them._

_I would imagine that getting an endurance horse fit would have to include the same theory, just tweaked a bit differently. _


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## Gidget (Jan 19, 2010)

Thank you both 

If I decide to give it a go I will want to condition my horse waay before hand and right now I am working on getting my license so after I get that it will be easier to see my horse when i want to.


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

kitten_Val said:


> Folks, out of curiosity... What saddles are used usually on those long endurance rides?


 
Anything and everything. I use a wintec AP. Some people use aussie saddles, special endurance saddles, cavalry saddles, dressage saddles.. The only thing I don't see a lot of is western saddles, unless especially made for longer distances.


As far as getting her fit, that's a big subject. What I'm going with my girl is starting long and slow. We go around eight miles, five times a week, 75% of the time walking, 25% percent trotting. We're gradually going to work that up to 50/50 walk-trot. That's a start.

For now, you can lay a foundation for "serious" conditioning my doing a lot of trotting. Start out trotting constantly for five minutes. Gradually build up to trotting for ten straight minutes, 15...


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