Sorry,another question on horse choice!!

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bikina

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www.expeditionequus.com
Hi all,
sorry for all the posts! I have set my heart on buying an Arab to take me on several long distance rides - Dover to Land's End this year, next year London to Japan...so finding the right horse is obviously important! I want an Arab because they are so good at endurance - but on further thinking, what I really need is something that not only can do the distance, but can be left out 24/7 without a rug, is a good doer and has good feet. Do Arabs like this exist or should I find a furry beastie?! Whats your opinion?
 
If you want a horse to be fit enough and well enough to compete (and I put endurance riding in the same bracket) then are some things that you do need to understand about their basic level of care.

A horse that is fit enough to do the kind of work you want will need to receive the highest level of care. That will include the right kind of feeding, stabling, rugging and shoeing.

The horse will need to be clipped and rugged in the winter. Your food bill will be high, as will your veterinary bills.

Think in terms of your horse being an athlete - You can't do the job on a shoe string, and chuck it in the field afterwards.
 
Excellent advice AmyMay.
Arabs are more hardy than you may think Lemonade, look at their native terrain, I know plenty of Arabs that live out all year round, but at the same time if you are wanting a horse to do THAT amount of hard work then it goes without saying you cant expect them to live on fresh air.

Have you done a lot of endurance, if so can you not find a good horse through any endurance contacts, especially as you seem to be doing the really long distance stuff?
 
I dont think that is possible

You will find it almsot impossible to have a fit horse that can be left in a field rugless! because most of therse types are slightly chubby cobs, which would be unsuitable for endurance if unfit

You will need to re think your plans and think about your budget, how much you can afford and whether endurance is really an option for you right now, the best way to find this out is to speak to people allready doing endurance and find out how much there horse cost of upkeep
 
I think your best course of action would be to get talking to endurance riders and possibly go to some meets where you can have some good chats and receive loads of advise on the subject. To find your horse, I think net-working would be helpful.

Your aims and goals are high and I believe it can take a lot of time/effort and money for both you and the horse to reach this standard.
 
Dear me, you must all think I'm a terrible horse owner!! have any of you seen the long riders guild? that is what I am planning on doing, trips like that, not full pelt endurance! The horse would of course recieve a high level of care - but would need to be a good traveller as you have to make the most of what is available, whether that be food, shoes, and accommodation. For instance, getting a horse shod in Iran is quite an achievment (and yes, got the barefoot / horse boot thing sorted!) I just wondered if there is any particular breed that would excel at this type of work
 
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I just wondered if there is any particular breed that would excel at this type of work

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Im assuming by this that you havent done any of these international rides before, do you have much experience in endurance/ long distance?

I woudl join your local endurance club and get talking to people , networking, you will haear of the best horses that way.

But yes if you are planning on countries like Iran etc, an Arab type would be a good type.
 
What's Iran got to do with anything? You asked about having a horse out 24/7 unrugged and able to do endurance.
 
I am involved in low end endurance and also involved with the Derbys group of EGB and I have picked up an awful lot of good advice and training help since becoming involved. If I were you I would buy your arab and start off doing endurance rides with one of the organisations that do this - www.endurancegb.co.uk or www.sportendurance.co.uk and work your way up. For the level of work you are looking at doing you need one seriously special and fit horse that has been worked steadily and built up in order to be able to cope with 20 - 25 miles per day over several days...this level of commitment to training will require you to have time to get that horse fit over long distances at both weekends and during the week...and I don't mean in a school either...endurance fitness needs miles!
Yes, there is no reason why an arab could not be kept out 24/7 but it will need clipping and rugging and all the other care required for such a level of work. I strongly advise you to get involved in these groups and get their magazines in order to learn more...no offence! But in the year I have been involved I have been amazed at the time and efforts required to get a horse up to even 40/50km rides...never mind what you propose!
 
a lady on my yard does endurance to a high level. Her arabs are pretty high maintanence. She knows exactly (to the lb) how much her horses eat - they are all on hayledge and shavings (as any breathing problems put pay to endurance), they are clipped and so come in at night. Also she is up at 4.30 am so that she can get them out on at least two 7mile hacks during the week before work (up to 17miles at the weekend) so that they are fully fit to compete. She starts training them in december and her first competition was a couple of weeks ago. She couldnt compete them unclipped as they would over heat - plus turning out a knackered steaming horse thats just got back from a 15 mile hack is not an option. Endurance horses are atheletes and need to be treated like an eventer.
Good luck in your search
 
I see where you're coming from with this and yea, my gut feeling would be something araby.

My only reservation would be that you're going to need a conformationally very sound horse, so watch for that when you start looking. I'd also suspect that you're going to need to be willing to part with a decent amount of cash to get the horse in the first place.

As for the rest, its a totally different way of keeping horses than what we're used to in terms of modern competition animals.

I'd do as the others suggested and try and seek out some specialised advice from people who know more about this than most of us are going to.
 
Just had a quick scan over their site and they, of course, mention the mustangs (i'd love one of these btw!).

Have you considered contacting them for advice about the whole thing?
 
Dont forget when you find your perfect horse/arab/whatever. Get it vetted and tell the vet what you plan to do with it. They will most definately tell you if it is suitable or not.. Good luck with your search....
 
Yea
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Id be wanting 5 star vetting, full x rays... the lot :P

Have you done much endurance riding on a smaller scale? It seems an awfully large step to take if not.
 
I did contact the Long Riders Guild but they said it was impossible! So I'm out to prove them wrong! I am going to be doing a lot of training and practice runs between now and departure, and joining my local endurance club is definatley on the agenda. I wouldn't go in blindly to something like this - thats why I ask so many questions!!!
 
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I did contact the Long Riders Guild but they said it was impossible! So I'm out to prove them wrong!

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Why would you want to do that when they have years of experience on how best to look after endurance horses???

All very curious.
 
What part of it all did they say was impossible exactly?

While I appreciate 100% your determination to prove them wrong, you've also got to see that what you're undertaking is.... hmm huge to say the least. I can't begin to imagine the logistics of trying to organise what you are. It all sounds lovely to go trekking across the world on horse back but the practicalities of it are huge.

The other thing you have to understand is that the people on here probably don't have much experience of what you're aiming for. So while you can ask questions here all you want, you need very specialist advice. So in a way, you ARE going blindly into it
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What exactly did the Long Riders Guild say to you? Did they offer nothing useful at all?
 
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I did contact the Long Riders Guild but they said it was impossible! So I'm out to prove them wrong!

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Why do you want to prove them wrong? They have far more experience than you and will know what is the best way to go about getting and looking after an endurance horse.
I say you are going about this the wrong way and are asking for a trouble and not thinking about the horses welfare
 
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I did contact the Long Riders Guild but they said it was impossible! So I'm out to prove them wrong! I am going to be doing a lot of training and practice runs between now and departure, and joining my local endurance club is definatley on the agenda. I wouldn't go in blindly to something like this - thats why I ask so many questions!!!

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They said what was impossible? The ride? Or leaving the animal unclipped and living out?

Its ok saying you are going to prove them wrong but horses do die on these rides you know.

again how much endurance have you done?
 
So London to Japan is your ultimate aim?

There are plenty of people who've done extreme long distance rides (one guy is still in jail in India I believe trying to do something similar). I think it unlikely you could buy just one horse in the UK and succesfully complete such a huge journey. People who've ridden long foreign routes tend to buy local horses used to the terrain and climate. Plus they don't rely on just one horse. To carry all your gear as well as yourself you would either need vehicular back up or another horse... that way you can swap from riding one to the other to give each one a rest.

If you really want to ride a challenging route why don't you try one of the charity long distance rides. The ILPH organise some (http://www.ilph.org/Challenges.asp) as do the BHS and various other charities. It would give you great experience of riding in foreign countries, looking after horses on route and yourself. You might also get some good contacts who would help you if you then wanted to try something on your own.
 
how negative! I have spent the past 18 months researching, going on recce trips, meeting up with people who have done it and am actually joining up with a long rider this summer to do a practice run - hence Dover - Land's End. I will also be going to France, Morocco and possibly Hungary on riding trips. The horse I am looking to buy will go as far as we can together - and I will not mistreat it or ride it to the death. Red tape prevents it doing the whole journey anyway. And before you ask, yes I am making preparations for said horse to have a nice home at the end of its part of the trip. I just need a decent horse that will go the distance from here to Turkey/Iran, visas pending. Its not unheard of for people to do long distance riding. There is a French girl who is riding from France to China and back (similar route) and has taken 4 years so far. And to ride the Silk Road has always been my dream, so by hook or by crook, I'll do it!
 
Well if you have the experience you say, then you're probably much better educated at the kind of horse you need and how it should be kept and managed than most of us on here.

So good luck
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how negative! I have spent the past 18 months researching, going on recce trips, meeting up with people who have done it and am actually joining up with a long rider this summer to do a practice run

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Fair enough but we arent pyschic! and I myself asked a couple of times if you had much experience with endurance earlier in the thread and you didnt answer, cant read minds.

As was already said not many of us on here know a great deal about endurance, and also you never once mentioned, until now that you would be using more than ONE horse for the journey.

Good Luck.
 
I didn't think it was negative I thought it was very good advice!

Good luck with your rides whatever you choose to do, and in answer to the OP, yes arabs are the most widely used for endurance and probably your best bet, but I doubt if one could live out in a field unshod and unrugged yet do the long distance rides your talking about.
 
In general terms a slim Arab (not the show type) would be your best choice, will live out (I know people who compete top distance endurance and whose horses live out year round but they are clipped and rugged), and is sufficiently hardy to do a signficant part of your planned journey. I think the shoes question will depend on speed and surfaces and rugging and turnout will hang on available good quality grazing and your ability to carry suppliments or buy what you need.

Of course this journey could be done..it will take years of planning though. Good luck
 
I wasn't being negative - just realistic. I do endurance myself so I know a bit about what I'm talking about. In your original posts you never mentioned any of the above, in fact one of your first posts on HHO was asking how much for an arab, 7-10 years old as a happy hacker... That gave no indication of what you really wanted to do with the horse. Perhaps if you'd stated everything you wanted to do and everything you had checked out already we'd all have been able to give you more informed advice.
 
Thanks for the good luck messages. In response to Gerenskis_girl, I only didn't say anything before as I knew the response would be 'its impossible!' and hacking is what it is - just a very, very long hack ;-)
 
"You can't.... chuck it in the field afterwards. " YES, you can! I dont believe a very fit arab could live out the winter without a rug on though. But I believe the BEST place for a fit horse is out in the field! Sod stabling! All my horses (TB / WB / Arab x's etc.) have lived out 24/7 all year round. One of my current horses competes at novice BE and BSJA so is pretty fit - he also lives out. As long as they are well fed and rugged - the horse could easily live out.
 
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Thanks for the good luck messages. In response to Gerenskis_girl, I only didn't say anything before as I knew the response would be 'its impossible!' and hacking is what it is - just a very, very long hack ;-)

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I cant believe this.

A horse suitable as a happy hacker, which is what you first enquired about, isnt a horse suitable for an international extremely long endurance ride!! My horse does 15 mile pleasure rides, but he cant do 1000 mile desert endurance rides!

Sorry but the more I read the more it sounds like you dont know what you are letting yourself in for, or what you need to do it.
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