Any SERIOUS Endurance riders here??

JanetGeorge

JanetGeorge

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I'm after some advice ref a little mare I have here for schooling on and sale who I THINK would make a serious endurance horse (she's very bold hacking and totally tireless - but doesn't fancy dressage at ALL!)

But I have NO experience of competitive endurance riding - so not sure if her few little bad points would rule her out!:rolleyes:
 
pm me with the fault details if you like. Just to say that the correct attitude ie go all day without getting stressed is paramount coupled with good conformation. TBH most horses are capable of 32km and 40km longer distances require more "perfect" conformation esp in the legs to avoid lameness,so basically decent legs and a good shoulder with a forward seeking attitiude and low natural heart rate and you've got your endurance horse.
 
EnduroRider said:
What are her bad points?!
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She's a bit of a MADAM! She was sent elsewhere last year for backing and they screwed her up BIGTIME! Tight side reins, regular beatings I'd think ... never managed to hack her - in fact I'm not sure if they actually rode her (though they say they did :rolleyes:)

She is quite spooky in the school - easily bored. And she can be a bit of a tart in the field - and the stable - if she doesn't get enough work. The more she works the better she is!

When we started with her, I thought she'd NEVER settle. But since we've started hacking her we've seen a very different - and MUCH nicer mare. Scared of nothing and just bowls along. And she has THE most comfortable paces of any horse I've ever sat on.

She IS by a very good TB stallion (3 generations of Derby winners!) out of a BIG moving RID mare. She's thrown more to the TB - but has some substance (she can carry me with no trouble and I'm no Twiggy!:D)

Megan-j.jpg
 
The attitude is not an issue provided that she will settle during a vetting and maintain a low heart rate despite vets touching her. She sounds just like my mare, the harder she works the nicer person she becomes!

Personally I think that they need to have a bit of attitude, some grit and fighting spirit to excel at endurance.

Sounds like you should give it a go, but be warned it is addictive!
 
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EnduroRider said:
The attitude is not an issue provided that she will settle during a vetting and maintain a low heart rate despite vets touching her. She sounds just like my mare, the harder she works the nicer person she becomes!

Personally I think that they need to have a bit of attitude, some grit and fighting spirit to excel at endurance.

Sounds like you should give it a go, but be warned it is addictive!
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:D No WAY am I taking up endurance - at my age and with a gammy leg! 40 years ago maybe - but THEN I was spending all day mustering!

She's here for sale - just trying to find the right 'market' to aim her at because she will NEVER be a 'novice' ride and she needs LOTS of work to keep her sweet! She doesn't mind being handled - even by strangers - so vetting shouldn't be an issue. And 'fighting spirit' she has by the bucket full!
 
What's a serious endurance rider?

Successful endurance horses tend to be a bit eccentric, just like their riders ;) But just as an example of two extremes of the spectrum from our group, on the one hand you've got Flurrie, who will quite happily ride round 160km on his own at a ride, but can be an idle nappy sod at home; and on the other hand you've got SBH's Darcy, who is an adrenaline junkie who would run himself into the ground if you left him to his own devices, and who is a rude bargey *rse at the vettings (to the point where you're lucky to come away with a 64 pulse...) unless he has done over 80km in which case he will settle and come away with a grade one pulse. Both horses have several national trophies/championships under their belts.

The only thing I would say about your mare is that sometimes the bigger horses can struggle to get their pulses down quickly (ie canter into vetgate, pass vet in under 2 mins), which could be an issue if someone wanted an international prospect, but would be less of an issue for someone not interested in international teams, particularly if her attitude on the trail was spot on and her conformation is good.

If you were looking to market her as an endurance prospect, I'd be tempted to:
- Take her to a vetted pleasure ride or two, so that you've got some formal evidence to show that she does like the trail and she will vet nicely. This will hopefully also get you a nice pro photo of her actually out there. Next year's schedule is here: http://www.endurancegb.co.uk/html/n...=99991231&CD=10001231&RF=&RC=&RD=10001231&LE=
- Take her hacking away from home - ideally somewhere hilly and challenging to see how she reacts. I'd suggest one of the Clee Hills or the Mynd.
- Assess how she is around other horses on the trail (ie overtaking, being overtaken, taking a different route to the ones in front)
- See if she will eat and drink on the trail, as if she will that is a huge selling point
- Start taking her pulse before and after exercise. If she's under 50bpm within 15 minutes of finishing work at home then that's a good sign that she has quite a bit of natural fitness, although it will improve with general fitness so don't panic if she's not there yet.

Doing the above will show that you have actually thought about it and haven't just suggested endurance because the mare is insane ;)
 
Well she sounds like she might just do very well at endurance :-). Its a pity I'm not looking at the moment as I would definately be intersted.The only downside I can see is the lack of arab blood. Now that wouldnt bother me, I've had a number of arabians for endurance and they excell at it but it doesnt mean that they are the only breed. In fact a non-arabian which does well at endurance tends to be very very good indeed in my experince. But you will need to point this out in marketing her I think, as many people are put off by the lack of arab blood. However,she is ideal to market to the taller/larger rider :-)Edited to add, wise words from Esther as usual.
 
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