endurance/long distance riding?

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SarahRicoh

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Id love to give it a go but really have no idea about it. Obviously arabs are reknowned to be the best at it but you can use any horse at lower levels cant you?

Can anyone give me any info about it? How i could get started? How to practice for it? What i need? :)
 
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be positive

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The rides are run by www.endurancegb.co.uk

The best way to start is probably going on a few sponsored or pleasure rides to get the feel for how your horse will be.
Any type of horse can do endurance, many at the top level are not Arabs, for the lower distances your horse needs to be fairly fit but not any more than it would need to be for hunting or eventing.
You dont really need any special equipment to get started, just normal tack and riding wear.
 
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tazzle

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any equine can do the pleasure / training rides and many types horses can do competitive stuff. For sure arabs are often the choice for those aiming high ... one reason is that its easier for the thinner skinned equines to lose heat and not get dehyrated, more risk of that with the "cold blooded" natives.

Heres my welshie doing 20 miles ..... for part of it she was keeping up with the trotting speed of some arabs but we were not fit enough at that stage to sustain it ;)

TazandI.jpg



you can look at the official websites for information and can have a go at training / pleasure rides that start often at about 12 - 15 miles. It is a great way to see part of the countryside not usually available to ride on ;)


http://www.endurancegb.co.uk/

I like it too because until you get into the racing aspect of it the only person / animals you are competing against is yourself. The challenge is to get home still fit to continue and if you are and within a set time range ( not allowed to go to fast for your level) you get a rossie :D :D :D

equines are farrier and vet checked before and after.

What you need to do to start is have a sound horse and have practised doing quite a bit of trot work ( after obviously working up the fitness levels with mostly walk ;)) as to get the distance in the time its fair bit of trot. To give you an idea of a beginners time we did 20 miles in usually 2 1/2 hours or less but you can take longer.

You need not a lot to start with , the obvious being a very comfy saddle for both you and horse !!!

Its years since I did any and I want to get back to it.... if I only had transport to get to events I would get us fit again !!!
 
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Email your local branch (as on website linked above), and start out by signing up for a pleasure ride. Our branch's PLs range from 16km to 29km, and they also do "tasters" as short as 7km. Basically, if your horse is fit enough to do a fairly fast hack of about 2 hours, it should be fit enough to manage a pleasure ride. There's no special dress code or tack requirements, though you can only carry a short stick. You have to carry a first aid kit with specific items in, but our branch always has some of these along for newbies (or forgetful non-newbies) to borrow.

Basically, at pleasure ride level, what happens is about like this:
1. after you arrive, you go to the secretary to get your paperwork and your tabard. If you don't have a buddy to ride with, they can usually help you find someone.
2. Then, you take your horse to the vet to have his heart-rate taken and do a trot-up.
3. Then, you tack up, and set off. You give your paper to the starter, who tells you what your starting time is. It's good to remember this, so you can figure out how fast you're going.
4. You have lots of fun, mainly trotting along! You follow the route according to markers/maps, and try to keep track of how far you've gone and how much time you are taking, to make sure that you come back inside the time.
5. You go through the finish, and collect yet more paper.
6. You cool off your horse.
7. You present to the vet again, before the time that it says on your paper. Assuming the horse's heart-rate is ok and he trots up sound, you can then collect your rosette!

It's lots of fun, and you get to see lots of lovely landscape!
As to stuff you need, nothing really different from what you'd take to any other away party. Lots of water for cooling off is good, sponges, food for you and horse! :)
 
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paulineh

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Any horse can do Endurance. Any horse that is ridden regularly can easily do 20 miles.

It is worth getting hold of the local Endurance group, which is Heart Of England this is the web site http://www.heartofenglandegb.co.uk/ They hold training rides etc and will give you all the help you want.

You need to increase the amount of trotting you do and work on the distance. Balance the work you do with some schooling. You need to do one long ride every two weeks (About 10-15 miles)
 
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EstherYoung

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It's very addictive :)

Lots of good advice above, and if you contact your local EGB group you will find some friendly eccentrics who will talk you through what the rides are like in your area.

You absolutely don't need an arab, even at top level. Don't get me wrong, I love my ayrabs, but not all top endurance horses are arabs and not all arabs are good endurance horses. The world Young Rider championship was won yesterday by a Uruguay polo pony, and the other weekend our mate's overheight connemara was crowned EGB supreme champion of 2011 (for the second time in his career).

We've got a few videos up here: http://www.youtube.com/user/WestridingEGB
 
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hackedoff

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My old boy who is a welsh cob did upto 60 km rides in a day. The vhs inhand horse of the year Bobby is a coloured cob who did 100 mile in a day rides at international level.

My tip is to build up loads of stamina and aim to ride at least 4 days per week. If you are in the north/midlands sport endurance do some nice rides and are very friendly.

If you google mimi endurance the site has some good training schedules.
 
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Fantasy_World

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Echo Sport Endurance being a good group, there are some members who cross between these and EGB too. It doesn't matter which group you choose, none is better than the other. Both hold many good rides throughout the year.
Best to start off on some pleasure rides and of course if there are competitive rides taking place too you can ask the vet to vet your horse before and after if they have the time too. This will give you an idea on the level of fitness of your horse.
Some good tack to buy would be a map holder, bum bag/saddle bag for drinks etc for you and even a water bottle for horse to slosh over him/her on hot days. A compass if you are going to get real competive or do rides that take a bit of map reading lol.
Waterproofs, lightweight, top and bottom for riding in the rain.
Also a stethascope to check your horse's heart rate both at home and on rides.
My experience with endurance people is that they do mainly trot, with some canters. So echo about the fitness level of the horse.
TB's are becoming increasingly popular on rides, they do have a lot of stamina and speed also.
Arabs seem to be at virtually every ride but you don't need one to compete.
Have seen quite a few cobs too, with the Welshies being the lighter alternatives and crosses. Heavyweight types are ok at the lower level and will have stamina to burn but like mentioned above you have to consider the weight of a horse and its hydration levels too.
When doing a ride even a pleasure ride it is important to always have water for your horse to drink at the end of it and adding electrolytes can benefit them by replacing salts that have been lost through sweating. You can get quenches to add now that will encourage poor drinkers to take water.
If you are keen to join and thinking about going competitive then I know one group holds events that are for people taking their first steps to becoming a competitive rider. Also if you take your horse to any of the two day events there are always people around for a chat by the camp fire or barbeque, especially on SE rides, and they will offer friendly advice.
Good luck x
 
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EstherYoung

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[youtube]1DGKEWI2CTA[/youtube]

And don't forget the amazing cob/trotter Patchwork Polly with her trademark racing finishes....

It's horses for courses to in some respect - just like as you go through different types of hunting country the 'typical' build of hunter you see may change, as you head further north and into the hills the build of endurance horse you tend to see changes too. Natives were designed for our mountains and moorland and for our weather - believe me there's nothing to beat coming in to a vetgate on a tough ride in the peeing down rain and all the finer horses are shivering whereas your little tough native marches straight to the front and presents straight to vet. When I used to compete my friend's welsh x, we used to call that 'perfect Orrie weather'. A chunkier pony may not be your first choice if you want to ride at insane mph over the desert, but a good dose of native/cob blood is very useful if you want to climb some 'ills. They certainly can do the distances.

Work wise, when H & me were competing, I would generally ride 4 times a week, two long slow rides (scouts pace - walk and trot) and two shorter faster rides. How long the long rides were and how fast the short rides were depended on how fit he was. Then after a competition I'd give him one day off for every 10 miles ridden.

ps If anyone's in the Yorkshire area and interested, drop me a line as I'm on the committee of the West Riding group of EGB (W&S Yorks) and am good friends with N&E Yorks EGB too so can put you in touch with some friendly faces.
 
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Hedwards

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Endurance is great fun, and echo all those that have already provided information, the EGB site is useful and definitely contact your local group, i've only ever done lower distances 40k being the most, as a nanny for my friend and her youngster, but I've always loved it.

I even did a 30k on Connie my Cobx and it was fab!

My friend has done some really decent rides (including the golden horseshoe) on her 14.2hh connemara mare until she retired to have a foal last year, so size really isnt a problem!

Get lots of advice from your local group on what you need kit wise (which isnt a lot) and what you should do before and after a ride, see if you can crew for someone in the group to immerse yourself into the world of endurance (I sometimes find the crewing more interesting than actually riding!)
 
Oberon

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SarahRicoh said:
Thankyou everyone :) been so helpful! My pony is a 14.3hh ish... Reckon he'd have the stamina?

Im based in gloucestershire
Click to expand...

A fit and healthy horse should be able to do 20 mile rides without any problems.

That is about 3 - 4 hour's riding.

Start off with a pleasure/charity ride and enjoy the scenery. When you've found your feet and decided if you enjoy it, then a 20 mile novice, competitive trail ride is where you start and you build up from there.

It's a really great sport. You get to ride on some fab country and see the most beautiful scenery (Cumbria's Tebay is my favourite), you can either compete against others or compete against yourself and the people are really great.

This seems to be your local group

http://www.endurancegbsouthwest.com/
 
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LauraWheeler

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This is me and my old mare Lucy doing endurance :D
img061.jpg


img062.jpg


She was a 13.2hh welsh mare. We did rides of upto and including 80km. She was atleast 20 years old when we started endurance. (although at the time I thought she was only 16 :eek: Long story) But she coped fine and often did better than my friends Arab. we mainly got grade1s :D

As others have said it's a great sport and i'm hoping to do it with one of my new ponies :) I hope you manage to give it a go and have as much fun as Lucy and I did. :)
 
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EstherYoung said:
[youtube]1DGKEWI2CTA[/youtube]

And don't forget the amazing cob/trotter Patchwork Polly with her trademark racing finishes....

It's horses for courses to in some respect - just like as you go through different types of hunting country the 'typical' build of hunter you see may change, as you head further north and into the hills the build of endurance horse you tend to see changes too. Natives were designed for our mountains and moorland and for our weather - believe me there's nothing to beat coming in to a vetgate on a tough ride in the peeing down rain and all the finer horses are shivering whereas your little tough native marches straight to the front and presents straight to vet. When I used to compete my friend's welsh x, we used to call that 'perfect Orrie weather'. A chunkier pony may not be your first choice if you want to ride at insane mph over the desert, but a good dose of native/cob blood is very useful if you want to climb some 'ills. They certainly can do the distances.

Work wise, when H & me were competing, I would generally ride 4 times a week, two long slow rides (scouts pace - walk and trot) and two shorter faster rides. How long the long rides were and how fast the short rides were depended on how fit he was. Then after a competition I'd give him one day off for every 10 miles ridden.

ps If anyone's in the Yorkshire area and interested, drop me a line as I'm on the committee of the West Riding group of EGB (W&S Yorks) and am good friends with N&E Yorks EGB too so can put you in touch with some friendly faces.
Click to expand...

I did the TREC event that ran alongside this event! :D
 
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EstherYoung

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This is Jeni and Flurrie:
310810_1912107683185_1256686644_31688113_5402233_n.jpg


Flurrie is a 14.3 unregistered overheight connie with an exceptional endurance record. He was national novice champion in 2002, and national supreme champion in 2007 & 2011. He's also done several 100 mile ERs. So yes, of course 14.3 native types have the stamina ;)
 
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