sallyellis
Well-Known Member
I suppose the title says it all really but I was wondering if anybody here competes in Endurance rides on anything other than an arab or TB?
Anybody Compete in Endurance on Anything Other than an Arab?
- Thread starter sallyellis
- Start date
Coffee_Bean
Well-Known Member
We don't compete-but me and my friend do it for pleasure on trakehners
dieseldog
Well-Known Member
Jenny Jackson was ranked 4th in the world - I think that was her best postition and she rode Connermaras (I think) weren't arabs anyway. She also rode in normal tack and long boots.
isabella
Well-Known Member
i have a mate that does it on her coloured cob and my old riding instructor used to compeate on her appaloosa i don't think the breed matters just the stamina of the horse
Deefa
Well-Known Member
My ponies half brother does very well in endurance - well, looking at the reults i found on the internet! He is a Welsh Cob
Patches
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping to give it a go on my cob. The vet told me cobs do well in endurance because their heart rates return to normal pretty quickly.
Jemayni
Well-Known Member
My mum does on our connemara, only low grade ones though! I think if they have good conformation & are fit, they can manage fine!
Woodland
Well-Known Member
I compete at Open Level on my Hackney, she loves it. Actually tomorrow is my first ride of the season, we are doing 33km.
hussar
Well-Known Member
I have Arabs but friends compete successfully on cobs, Connemara crosses, Morgans, Standardbreds, IDs, Exmoors - you name a breed, there'll be one doing well in endurance.
Marnie
Well-Known Member
I used to on a Cleveland Bay X TB - she could trot for miles!
Lucy_Ally
Well-Known Member
Someone came to look at a welshy I was selling to use for endurance. She had a section C and was doing well but had outgrown him (teenager). Pretty sure most horses will do it if fit enough.
Onyxia
Well-Known Member
One of the things I really LOVE about endurance is anyone on any horse can do it.
Sure the higher levels are full of Arabs(and fair enough, they do exel at it) but any horse can do well.
Sure the higher levels are full of Arabs(and fair enough, they do exel at it) but any horse can do well.
EstherYoung
Well-Known Member
My friend has had some of the highest mileage horses in the country (in fact I think some of the EGB distance awards are named after them) and they're welsh cobs. I've done advanced stuff on her welsh cob cross. The most successful horse in our local group at the moment is an overheight connemara and I've known some very good highlands, too.
We've got two ex racer TBs who love it, and even my shetland has had a bash in her younger years. Yes we do have a couple of arabs too, but just because a horse is an arab it doesn't mean that it will automatically be a good endurance horse. One of our arabs has fun batting around the lower levels, but he'll never make a top flight horse because he's too idle, bless him... Great fun, and we love him to bits, but he's not a 100 miler. Not every arab is suited to it, not every arab pulses low, and sadly these days not every arab is sound enough for it because some breeders are more interested in heads and 'hooky necks' rather than sound legs, feet and backs.
I think the ideal endurance horse is about 14.2-15.2, well put together, moves easily, efficiently and athletically, not too heavily musclebound, and with a good keen but sensible brain. Yes a good arab (keyword - good) does tick all those boxes, but there are 100s of other breeds and cross breeds that also tick all those boxes too. Connemaras, standardbreds, akhal tekes, TBs, lighter warmbloods such as Trakheners (in fact the horse who was IMO the best british endurance horse of all time was half trakhener), cob/native crosses, etc etc all do very well. And the list could go on and on.
Some heavier more cobby types can struggle with pulses in very hot weather, but the flip side of that is they tend to be more robust and consistent. They really come into their own on more difficult moorland courses and in bad weather. There's been many a time when the heavens have opened and I've been able to ride little Orrie straight into the vet to present, whereas the lighter horses have been sat around shivering.
We've got two ex racer TBs who love it, and even my shetland has had a bash in her younger years. Yes we do have a couple of arabs too, but just because a horse is an arab it doesn't mean that it will automatically be a good endurance horse. One of our arabs has fun batting around the lower levels, but he'll never make a top flight horse because he's too idle, bless him... Great fun, and we love him to bits, but he's not a 100 miler. Not every arab is suited to it, not every arab pulses low, and sadly these days not every arab is sound enough for it because some breeders are more interested in heads and 'hooky necks' rather than sound legs, feet and backs.
I think the ideal endurance horse is about 14.2-15.2, well put together, moves easily, efficiently and athletically, not too heavily musclebound, and with a good keen but sensible brain. Yes a good arab (keyword - good) does tick all those boxes, but there are 100s of other breeds and cross breeds that also tick all those boxes too. Connemaras, standardbreds, akhal tekes, TBs, lighter warmbloods such as Trakheners (in fact the horse who was IMO the best british endurance horse of all time was half trakhener), cob/native crosses, etc etc all do very well. And the list could go on and on.
Some heavier more cobby types can struggle with pulses in very hot weather, but the flip side of that is they tend to be more robust and consistent. They really come into their own on more difficult moorland courses and in bad weather. There's been many a time when the heavens have opened and I've been able to ride little Orrie straight into the vet to present, whereas the lighter horses have been sat around shivering.
jinglejoys
Well-Known Member
Don't forget Mules!
"The Great American Horse Race was held in 1976 to commemorate the nations bicentennial and the role played by equines in the settlement and developement of the United States.The event started in New York and ended in California.Several Arabians competed but the winner was a mule!
"The Great American Horse Race was held in 1976 to commemorate the nations bicentennial and the role played by equines in the settlement and developement of the United States.The event started in New York and ended in California.Several Arabians competed but the winner was a mule!