Endurance Riding - where do you train?

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Remi

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I'm really struggling with places to train atm. I've just started out in endurance and both me and my horse love it but the hacking round my way isn't too great. The majority of the bridleways are gravel tracks and we only have a few grassy stretches.

I've been out on 25km hacks just in a circular route but each time I'm constrained and feel guilty due to the amount of road work/gravel tracks.

So what do all you endurance people do to get your horses fit?

I've been thinking about boxing up to the Berkshire Downs at some point but I can't be doing that every week. Do most people have to box up somewhere? And where do people train in the Hampshire/Berkshire area?

Thanks and cookies XD
 
I have a friend who does endurance and she has a friendly farmer who lets her use a 20 acre field to gallop her horse.

Start off with 10 mile pleasure rides and work up. If you go on the rides and start chatting to the other competitors they will probably give you advice. There may be a local endurance club you could join also and they would also help you.
 
I had a go at endurance with my friend a couple of years ago. Luckily our yard backed onto the forest so we had miles of track to use. That said however, we predominantly spent most of our time building their fitness trotting everywhere. When competing, yes it's predominantly done in canter/ gallop, but it's not always safe and possible to do that for long stretches around the average yard. The competion rides do also vary, the terrain on some do mean it's not safe or possible to go fast. Good luck
 
I'm not in your area OP so can't comment on the terrain in your location. I can say though that in Staffs/Cheshire where I am the local bridleways are about the same as yours. Through parks so multi user paths and gravel to boot. We have had a new one open up which is great as it includes a lot of grassed areas, so some nice canter spots. They have kept the dog walkers away mainly to another route which helps as I think every man and his dog uses the bridleways up here despite a vast number of public footpaths!
There are also a couple which take in a lot of roadwork to get to, but do have nice paths and some cross fields too.
TBH I don't really like to do much trotting on roads but sometimes I have to due to time as can't always walk everywhere, plus the trotting helps to fitten up because on most competitive rides I have seen they go at trot and above all the way around the course.
Mine are all bare now which helps in the concussion on roads department as feet are less heavy than with shoes on, however when you get off road the gravel tracks are not always nice for barefoot horses so I try and get onto the grass wherever possible.
I have never tried boots but as two of my horses have big feet and one has very big feet at the age that he is 21 and not many years of riding left in him due to age related problems I am not going to spend hundreds on getting boots to fit at his age.
He copes nicely without shoes and I just take it steady on stony ground, but he is a happy hacker after all. It is the other horse with rock hard feet that does the endurance now as big lad I don't think is up to it anymore.
I only do pleasure but I would like to start competitive this year as I have been doing it for around 4 years now. I have no transport though so I can only go to one or two rides a year which is pathetic because how could you expect to have a horse fit. Unless anything changes then I am considering giving up altogether and maybe even the horses as well :(
I would say that if you are able to box your horse anywhere then go for it.
Have you tried googling for any other bridleways that are local to you that you don't know about? I didn't know about all the ones around here as they are not wel publicised. You could try getting an ordnance survey map unless you have one and have a look. Also try contacting your local bridleway group if you have one? Bridleways.co.uk have some information on bridleways in the area but don't know how local they are to you?
 
Do you do anything other than hacking out?

My horses all lunge at least twice a week. If they are in side reins, chambon etc then this will be for twenty minutes at trot. However I also lunge them just in a headcollar (they stretch long and low) and they will do up to an hour trotting and cantering like this when fit. This would be done on a large circle, approx 35m diameter.

We also use the outdoor school for fitness work. It is 80m x 40m so taking in to account cutting corners, it is approx 1km travelled for every 5 circuits of the school. This allows lengthy trot and canter sessions to continue when the ground is frozen/too muddy in winter but also when it is very hard in summer.

A walker is also very handy and currently all are walking for 60-90 minutes a day in addition to lunging and ridden work.
 
I read about a German endurance rider who kept his horse in his garden at home and he used to lunge the horse every night during the week and take him out to the forest at the weekends (and presumably the summer evening as well). He did well, but I don't know how long the horse lasted!
 
ooh thank you everyone for your responses! :D

Unfortunately, I don't have a school and our fields are too boggy at present to ride in, although I will be able to later on in the year. The lunging idea does sound good though. I've never used lunging purely for fitness before so shall give it a go when i can use the fields. I have a friends school which I can use, a good 30 mins hack away, however it's very small about 20x30m. We normally use that once a week :)

OrangeHorse, I may have to be brave and ask a few farmers then ;)
 
We've hardly got out of walk yet. Just too muddy and dark :( At the moment we are trundling round the local housing estates. I'm not panicking too much yet though - the lighter nights are coming and we're not thinking of even doing a short pleasure ride till March at the earliest.

I tend to do two long slow rides a week and two shorter faster rides (speed and distance depending on fitness). When they're up at competitive fitness, a 25km loop like you've got would be fine for my two longer slower rides, in fact probably not even that far to be honest. Remember it's all about the quality of your fitness work rather than putting miles on their legs for the sake of it. Don't forget your own fitness, too - on the days you don't ride go out for a jog.

Once they do get fit enough to start going out to rides, you can use the local group social/training/fun rides to add fitness and variety. If you're canny over the rides you pick, you can steadily increase the difficulty as the season progresses.
 
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